#I went bonkers with the light

[m0rninglatte]

Lightning boi in the Void with lightning.

[quirkle2]

been a hot minute since i've watched invader zim but god do i love this lil guy

[ophelialoveshandsomemen]

Say what you will about Van Helsing 2004; hate it, love it, be indifferent, But the All-Hallow's masquerade ball went sooooo hard and it had zero right to do so! It's a fun, campy, monster mash movie with wonderfully dated ( and expensive) cgi and non-stop action meant to be a popcorn flick one takes out to watch around spooky season. And it has this* chef's kiss* GORGEOUS 6 minute sequence plopped arbitrarily in the second act, which unexpectedly surpasses nearly every other ball in the last 30+ years of film( notable exception being the Cinderella 2015 ball) for literally no reason other than to be dramatic af.

Like feast your eyes on this Gothic masterpiece!!! Who doesn't want to immediately live in this picture?!??

They used those candles with oil in them so that they would have real candles, real string orchestra( I believe), probably around 100 real life extras( something which is tragically absent in modern film), said extras are all in beautiful fully decked-out costumes( which are in luxuriously dark colours, but nearly no fully black, another thing you cannot say for much modern cinema), REAL CIRQUE DU SOLEIL PERFORMERS for all the acrobatics!!!! Hell, instead of filming in a sound stage, where they could control the reverb and the acoustics and the size of the set and the bloody lighting ( they apparently had a heck of a time emulating the firelight for this sequence) and the temperature( it's very cold in stone churches!) better, they filmed in a Baroque church in Prague! As I said, peak dramatic splendour, jfc...

Think about that a second...They filmed a vampire masquerade in a Baroque Catholic Church( St. Nicholas' in Lesser Town, if you were curious) with amazing over-the-top acoustics and marble statues and real, tiled floors and marble pillars and a choir loft which they very much utilized, covered the pipe organ and the altar with a grand brocade curtain so it wouldn't be so obviously a, you know, a church! And there's a gold gilt elevated and canopied pulpit into which they put two vampire kiddies for, again, the sake of being dramatic.

And the costumes! They remind me of the 25th anniversary Phantom of the Opera Masquerade costumes. Same quality, like they're old, well-cared-for costumes pulled out of a warehouse, instead of fast industry churn-outs. With lots of trim and colour and masks and lace and feathers and..just...ugh.. they are all perfect! Just look at all the head pieces on the ladies and the hats on all the gentleman ( save Dracula of course) and the powdered wigs on the musicians. ANNNNDD! The dresses are historically correct!!!!!! It's the 80's bustle era! Nobody does the 80's bustle era in film anymore and it's a bummer. Oh and one other thing! Anna's ( and other women's) hair, at least here in the ball, is also historically accurate because it's all pinned up! None of those fucken modern beachwaves at a ball! Everybody's got updo's!

Gah, I swear, Dracula in his gold cloak really does things to me in this scene!

By the way, the acrobatics are bonkers in here for just background stuff!! Especially the random guys on unicycles and the dude playing the violin whilst standing on a ball...Like....WHAT?

Anyways, all this to say, that this masquerade ball feels sooo real and tangible and because of that it blows every other film out of the water, and no, I will not change my mind!!!!!

Here's a few more gifs, bcuz, why the hell not, this scene is sexy as fuu*ck?

Alright I need to go to bed now.

[honourablejester]

I’m realising as I browse around that I really love lore when it comes to ttrpgs, games and game worlds. And by that I don’t mean I like to obsessively learn lists of dates and wars, and the names of leaders of factions, I mean …

I like learning weird, juicy details about the worlds of games. I like finding little nuggets that say things about the set-up and culture and assumptions of the world. I like finding fragments of ideas to hang whole story and character concepts off.

I love that in D&D 5e’s Spelljammer, the Astral Sea is full of the corpses of dead gods that you can fully sail up to in your ship. Just. Floating out there. Waiting for you to rock up to them.

I love that in Sunless Sea, the king of the drowned is the way he is because he fell in love with an eldritch sea urchin from space, and successfully married it. His niece is an angry sentient floating mountain whose mother is a goddess-mountain and whose father is a face-stealing humanoid abomination. This is fine and normal.

I love that in Starfinder, there are mysterious bubble cities in the surface of the sun that the church of the sun goddess discovered and cheerfully occupied despite having no idea who the hell built them or for what purpose.

I love that in Dishonored, the entire industrial revolution that has built the empire we’re in the midst of saving or destroying was built on the properties of whale oil harvested from eldritch tentacled whales that live half in the oceans and half in an eldritch void personified in the form of a weird-ass black-eyed shit-stirrer of a deity who was formed from a murdered and sacrificed child. And this is largely a background detail.

I love in the Elder Scrolls that the dwarves up and fucking vanished, as a race, at some point in history and absolutely nobody has any clue what happened to them or where they went, but their technology is so insane that ideas like ‘they time-travelled’ or ‘they erased themselves from existence’ are absolutely on the table.

I love that in Numenera, so many incredibly advanced civilisations have risen and fallen on this world that it’s absolutely littered with bonkers science fiction artefacts that have caused the current medieval-esque society built over top of them to develop in bizarre ways, and also you can find a mysterious artefact that absolutely baffles and delights your character, but that you the player will fully recognise as a slightly-more-advanced thermos flask.

I love that in Fallout, an irradiated post-nuclear apolocalypic hellscape, there’s a cult that worships the god of radiation as they have come to understand it, and they are mysteriously immune to radiation with absolutely no explanation whatsoever. They’re not ghouls, the usual result of fatally irradiated humans with some resistance, they’re perfectly normal humans who can somehow just tank rads all damn day. It could be a mutation, but Lovecraftian gods apparently do also fully exist in this setting, so it’s also possible that maybe they were on to something with this Atom thing.

I love that in Heart The City Beneath, there’s a mass transit train system that they tried to hook up to the eldritch beating god-thing buried under the city so that they could metaphysically chain the stations together more easily, which went horrifically and metaphysically wrong in entirely predictable fashion, and now there’s a whole order of train-knights who have to keep people safe from the extradimensional weirdness magnet the network has become.

That, and all the fantastic little details you can stumble across. There’s a biotech augmentation in Starfinder called an angler’s light that gives you a little angler-fish bioluminescent antenna on your forehead, and it was developed by asteroid miners who needed light but also both hands free for work. In Dishonored there’s a festival that everyone pretends is outside of time so nothing you do during it can be held against you. There’s a god of snuffed candles mentioned in a single line from Heart The City Beneath who has pacifist cannibal priests, and that is literally all the information you get on him.

While things like the history and geography and timeline of a world do also fascinate me, I’m not really here to memorise stuff like that. I’m here to find weird little nuggets of information and worldbuilding and delight in them. Give me funerary customs and weird myths and oddly specific circumstances and baffling little objects and absolutely bonkers cosmological implications. Give me the corpses of dead gods, and aesthetic movements with highly specific backstories, and bureaucratic fuck-ups of titanic scale, and mysterious things that seem to break all other rules of your setting with absolutely no explanation because people in-universe have no fucking clue how they work either. Why are the Children of Atom immune to radiation without ghoulifying? Not a clue, but Confessor Cromwell has been cheerfully standing in that irradiated pond that kills the player character with about 10 minutes of exposure for the last year and he’s still absolutely fine.

I just. I really love lore. I like my settings to have some meat in them, some juicy details to dig into, some inexplicable elements to have fun trying to explain. Particularly that last bit. I feel like a lot of people when building worlds feel like the rules have to be absolute and everything has to have an explanation, but nah. Putting some weird shit in makes everything immediately feel bigger, more real, because we don’t have even half an idea of how our world truly works, there’s always something we just don’t fully understand yet, and you can put that in a fictional world too. Some mysteries, some contradictions, some randomness, some weirdness. There’s a line, obviously, this depends on execution, but a little bit of mystery really does help.

Lore is awesome. And weird lore is even more so. Heh.

[rafesbuzzcutseason]

chasing city lights

chapter 11 - flatline

synopsis: you move to new york to start fresh, hoping to find comfort in the city’s atmosphere. that’s when you meet sarah cameron, where she takes you to a concert and you catch sight of the lead band member, rafe cameron. it only takes a moment for you to realize you’re captivated by him. as sarah helps you navigate your new life in the city, you start to get pulled deeper into rafe's world—the music, the fame, the chaos. the more you get to know him, the more you realise that rafe is not just the rock star he seems to be. he’s wrestling with his own demons, and the last thing he needs is someone like you getting close.

masterlist

cw: language

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after your day with rafe yesterday, the girls had so many questions and you told them everything, down to the song he wrote for you. what you didn't expect however, was that the song was going to be released in a few days time.

"i genuinely can't believe this," sarah started, "i mean him opening up to you? the commincation? the song? where is rafe and what have you done with him." she giggled.

"no y/n i don't think you understand the extent of this. like we've all been friends with rafe for a good 6 years, and i have never seen a girl have this affect on him before."

"guys stop you're making me think i'm some kind of miracle." you laughed with them.

"that's because you are a miracle." cleo joined in.

"so do you think you'll become official soon...?" sarah questioned.

"i don't know, the fans already think we are." you stated.

"the fans are fucking crazy. you'll get used to that i promise. when me and pope started dating everyone went bonkers over it." cleo reassured you.

"i guess so, it's okay i don't mind it, it's just getting used to seeing my face whenever i open twitter." you said. "whatever, we've got a flight to catch." you all finished your last minute packing and made your way into the car that was waiting for you outside the hotel.

part of you was sad to be leaving the state you had made so many memories in, but you knew heading back to new york all together was just the beginning for this new chapter for you and rafe.

once you made it to the airport, you found the rest of the boys who had left earlier as they all entered 'dad mode' and were getting stressed, john b to blame for that.

"finally you're here!" john b began as he saw you walk through the door.

"yeah thought we were gonna have to leave without you." pope said sarcastically.

"enough. we're here now aren't we?" cleo said rhetorically.

"yes ma'am" jj joined in, everyone was in agreement that cleo was the boss of the group.

you made your way to say hi to topper, who was slowly starting to become his usual self again, you assumed him and rafe had a conversation to try and clear the air.

but you eventually made it to rafe, who looked like his was patiently waiting his turn to get your attention, "hey you" he said.

"hey" you replied with a slight blush, "i didn't know you were actually going to release the song." you rushed out.

a look of concern took over him, "do you mind?" he asked worriedly.

"no! no i'm happy" you started, "but the fans are a little crazy."

"yeah i know they are and i should've warned you about that, but the best ones mean no harm and all you can try and do is ignore them." he replied.

"hard to ignore them when they're commenting on everything i post." you quietly said.

"i can say something if it really bothers you, okay?" he softly reached out to give your hand a squeeze.

"okay" you smiled at him, always putting you at ease.

"ok love birds pack it in," jj hollered "i don't think this plane is going to wait for us."

"whatever dude" rafe grinned, "ready?" he turned to you.

"ready."

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a/n: sorry guys i made this chapter a lot more smau, just as i had the idea to do the thread (which took me ages LAWD) and also wanted to get the song mentioned ! 5 points to anyone who knows the actual song and band🙈

taglist: @hoefordrewstarkey @marleymarleymarleymarley @bee-43 @cherryhoneybabe @skye-44 @drewrry @drewrry  @yesterdaysproblemm @pogueprincesa @dylsdaily @rafeysworldim19 @valyrianflower @kaiparkerwifes @judesgfirl @4urvalidation @chillgal135 @drewstarkeyslover @yesshewrites1@amterasuu@babykhloutofthisworld @blushmimi  @moonywhisp3rs @rafeysworldim19 @marleymarleymarleymarley@sabrina-carpenter-stan-account@vcnillafairy @bambii1i @sammyrenae68 @popou61

[traveler-at-heart]

Doctor's In - Holiday Special

Summary: You get ready for your first Christmas with the Maximoffs, but not everything goes according to plan.

Part 2 of 3 of the Holiday Special

A/N: Can you spot the major character we're introducing?

Wanda Maximoff x F!R

Wanda wakes up, alone and confused. The light outside tells her it’s later than usual, and she suddenly remembers it’s a school day.

The woman hurries down the stairs, finding you in the kitchen.

“Hey, chatty patty” you say with a smile, loving her disheveled state. “Hungry?”

“What time is it?”

“Almost 11” you look at your wrist watch, pushing a plate towards her.

“School! The kids!”

“I already drove them to school, and yes they had breakfast that wasn’t just cereal” you explain. Wanda finally sits, and looks at the french toast you’re offering.

“This is really good” she praises as she takes a bite.

“I know I call you cute when you’re cooking, but that’s not the only reason I watch you do it, baby” you smile, kissing her temple as you stand up to pour her some coffee. “In Medicine you learn by watching and doing. I’m trying to learn cooking as if it was the same”

“You’re on the right track. Thank you” she comments as you hand the mug. “I’m just a little lost, why did I not wake up?”

“You really don’t remember?” you say, amused.

“No. Did we…?” she says, suddenly afraid that she fell asleep in the middle of sex.

“Oh, no. If we did, you’d remember. Trust me” you say in a low voice, moving closer. Wanda’s eyes drift to your lips and you smile, pleased with her reaction. “No, we didn’t have sex, baby. You woke up at two in the morning talking about a book idea and I wrote it all down until you went back to sleep”

Wanda notices the notebook on the counter, and she takes it. The story is about a girl that makes a drawing of her perfect pet. Her brother sees it and adds things like dragon wings and fangs. By night, the drawing comes to life, and it follows the girl everywhere she goes.

“This is a full story”

“Mhm”

“This is like three months work”

“Glad to hear we were productive” you nod, not understanding her issue with saving months of work.

“This never happens!”

“Counterpoint, you never had a light sleeper that woke up to your mumbling” you point out, stealing some of her toast.

“Yeah… that’s a good point” Wanda says, frowning. You miss the way she looks at you, as you lean forward to read over everything she said while asleep. Honestly, the story is sweet and very original. To think it was something she came up while asleep is bonkers.

“Wow” you laugh as Wanda lunges forward, kissing every inch of your face.

“You’re so hot right now” she says against your neck and you sigh, pleased.

“Well, let me show you what other stuff we could do to lose some sleep” you propose, carrying her to the couch.

—

For the next day, while you’re at work, Wanda is focused on meeting with Laura and her publisher. You get a few texts here and there, but you know she’s in the middle of a creative storm and you’re happy she finally found the inspiration needed for her next book.

Still, it’s a tough shift as you lost sleep on your day off.

“Wild night?” Darcy says as you’re sprawled across the break room couch.

“Jealous?”

“Meh” she shrugs her shoulders. “I hear Fury is going to be lighting up the Christmas tree in the foyer. Wanna come see?”

“Oh, yeah!” you stand up, eager to check if it will go down the same as every year. Without fail, someone forgets to test the lights and as he plugs it in, nothing happens.

Darcy and you are leaning against the railway, chuckling while Fury screams.

“Every damn year! We run a hospital. Why can’t anyone check the lights?”

“It never gets old” you smile, feeling like the holidays are finally here. You’re about to suggest a trip to the cafeteria when Carol comes right behind you, borderline hysterical.

“Where the hell have you been?”

“Uh… is there an emergency? Did you page me?” you check your device, Darcy frowning at Carol’s outburst.

“Yes, there’s an emergency! Come here, the both of you”

With surprising strenght, she pulls you to one of the meeting rooms, a couple of sample cakes in display.

“We’re tied”

“Who is?” you say, reading the flavors written in the small cards.

“Maria wants one flavor and I want another one. We need a tiebreak. You are my maid of honor. So, help me!”

“Ok, we’ll try them out. Jeez”

“I’ll be right back” Carol says, leaving the room in a hurry.

Grabbing a fork, you begin to take little bites of every cake, nodding approvingly.

“Chocolate ganache is to die for” you moan, feeling so happy that Carol is in the middle of this predicament.

“You should have red velvet for your wedding” Darcy points at the one she’s tasting.

“I’m not getting married”

“Yet”

“Darcy, come on” you roll your eyes.

“Oh, like you don’t have an idea on how to propose to Wanda already” she mocks, which shuts you up real fast. “I know you better than anyone. And I better be your maid of honor”

“I’m not getting married” you insist, this time  with less conviction.

You keep discussing the flavors and come to the conclusion that chocolate ganache is the winner.

“That’s the wrong answer! Carrot cake!” Carol huffs when you tell her your decision.

“Not everyone likes it. It’s just a weird choice” you say, while Darcy nods.

“Everyone likes chocolate” she points out.

“Fine, whatever! You win, Willy Wonka” Carol storms out of the room.

“Wow, you dodged a bullet there” Darcy says and you nudge her side.

“Don’t be mean. She wants her wedding to be perfect. That’s nice” in that precise moment, you get paged and you decide to take the rest of the chocolate cake to eat on the way. “See ya!”

“Thief!”

A couple of emergencies take your attention, making you go into the OR. Your phone is forgotten and by the time you check, there’s a single text from Wanda.

W: Are you coming for lunch? I want to tell you something important.

Your heart begins to race, and you remember a few days ago during the snow storm. She mentioned something but you distracted Wanda and you figured it wasn’t that important.

Y/N: Is everything ok?

Coming out of nowhere, Carol once agains blindsides you.

“Are you ready to go?”

“Go…”

“Dress fitting. Your bridesmaid dress”

“Now?” you look at your phone. Wanda hasn’t replied. But Carol looks ready to kill you and you won’t take your chances. “Sure, let’s go”

Y/N: Gotta take care of something, will try to be back for lunch. Love you.

There’s no reply and during the entire car ride, you look out the window, wondering if you messed up in any way.

“I’m sorry” Carol says, mistaking your silence with annoyance. “For snapping at you”

“Oh, that’s… well, not cool, but I don’t take offense. I just never thought you’d be the Bridezilla type, Danvers” you joke.

“It’s more about the holidays. Maria’s family and mine are coming over. They’ve met each other a few times, but you know… it just feels like whatever happens during Christmas will set the tone for the wedding. And marriage”

“Sounds like a lot of pressure” you agree.

“I admire you for setting boundaries with your mother”

“It’s not a boundary, it’s more like thousands of miles and avoidance” you reluctantly admit, which makes her laugh. “It’s all gonna be fine. You’re marrying the girl of your dreams, and I will be there as well, in a cool, not at all pink bridesmaid gown to help with whatever happens”

“Actually…”

“It’s pink?” you say, mouth wide open. Carol nods, avoiding your eyes and you huff. “You’re lucky I’m such a good friend”

—

Wanda’s buzzing with excitement as she stops by the cafeteria, ready for her second meeting of the week with Laura.

It seems as if this new book will be out fast, and if it’s as successful as her past stories, Wanda could finally have some free time to focus on a whole different thing: a trilogy for young adults.

Wanda leaves the cafeteria carrying a tray with two cups and scones, knowing that you’d be the first one to support her if it all works out.

She’s surprised to find you walking across the street, as your last message gave her the impression you still had work to do. Wanda is about to call for you, when someone else joins you in the sidewalk.

Carol says something that makes you smile, linking her arm with yours. Both of you walk in the opposite direction of Wanda, getting inside a store.

Wanda replays the moment where Carol opened the door for you over and over again.

“Ready for day two?” Laura says as soon as her friend walks to her office. “Wanda?”

It doesn’t take much for Wanda to tell her what she saw. Beyond that, she goes over your strange attitude recently, smoking compulsively and having trouble sleeping.

“Maybe she’s rethinking our relationship, maybe Carol is trying to win her back…”

“Wow, slow down. You said they were going inside a bridal shop?”

“Yes, I think it was”

“Well, what if… she’s thinking about… ya know” Laura says, wiggling her eyebrows excitedly.

“No, I don’t. What do you mean?” Wanda says, resisting the urge to drive back and get answers straight from you.

“Ok, so she’s been nervous, she visits a shop with all kinds of things for a wedding. Could it be that she’s working up the courage to propose?”

“No… I don’t think so. Do you think that could be it?” Wanda says.

“I think based on everything I’ve seen and heard about Y/N, that makes a lot more sense than her cheating on you” Laura shrugs her shoulders. “Look, just tell her you saw her. I’m sure there’s a perfectly reasonable explanation”

“But what if she is proposing and I ruin the surprise?” Wanda pouts, torn between what to do.

“Let’s get to work, I’m sure you’ll figure out what to do” Laura tries to divert the conversation, which works for a little while.

Except, she’s typing and Wanda is just doodling instead of creating sketches.

“Would you say yes?” Laura asks, amused at Wanda’s enamoured look.

The woman shrugs her shoulders, biting her lip as she imagines what it would be like to be married to you.

Needless to say, she doesn’t get much work done after that.

—

The flowers might be too much, but you rather be on the safe side. Wanda never replied to your text, so you drove straight home as soon as you came back from the dress fitting.

“Honey, I’m home” you joke, leaving your winter jacket and scarf at the coathanger. To your surprise, Wanda is sitting at the kitchen counter, looking conflicted.

“Hey” she says, letting you kiss her cheek. “What is this?”

“My favorite girl’s favorite flowers” you sit next to her, worried. “Is something wrong? I know you wanted to talk”

“Yes. I…” she takes a deep breath and turns to look at you. “Is something going on between you and Carol?”

“What? Is that what you wanted to talk about?” you say, confused. Where is this coming from?

“No. I was at the cafeteria around Bleeker Street and saw you with her” she admits, sighing.

“Wanda, I’m sorry. No, nothing’s going on. Carol and Maria are getting married and she asked me to be her bridesmaid. I said yes, before even thinking about consulting you. I guess I didn’t even know how to bring it up. I know our past… makes things weird”

You hesitate about reaching out for her hand, but then she lets out a laugh.

“I was about to ran over Danvers’ bike” she says, bringing her hand to her chest. “I’m sorry for not trusting you”

“No, I’m the only one who should be apoligizing. I should have told you. Can you please forgive me, love of my life?”

“There’s nothing to forgive”

“You know, you should play hard to get” you point out, your arms around her middle, placing a kiss against her temple. “Don’t forgive me so easily, I was planning on taking you out to a fancy place to earn it”

“Mmm, you’re right. I’m too forgiving” she jokes.

“Wait, you sent me the text before I left with Carol. So that wasn’t what you wanted to talk about” you suddenly remember.

Going back to face her, you lift Wanda’s chin with your hand, making her look at you. She seems suddenly nervous.

“I was thinking… you don’t have to answer right now. And also, with this new book, I might be too busy and the house will be a mess for a while and you don’t wanna be around for it, you want your own space… forget I even asked”

She’s rambling, so you craddle her face in your hands, making her stop with your lips on hers.

“You haven’t even asked anything” you nudge your nose against her, smiling lovingly at the way she melts against your touch.

“Move in with me. Us”

“What?”

Never in a million years would you have guessed this was coming.

“This is your home as much as it is ours. I want you here all the time, I want to make room for your stuff, look for my clothes in the closet and stumble upon your scrubs” Wanda says. “Either way, you spend more time here than at your own place. You could also save some rent money”

“You had me at this is your home, my love” you laugh, kissing her again. “And no worries, no wet towels in the bathroom, I promise”

“We have a deal” she smiles against your lips, heart beating faster at this new step you’re taking together.

—

You should have listened to that Kondo lady when she was all the rage. Your house is full of crap, and none of it brings joy. Only dust and boxes that get in the way of packing.

Good news, it’s gonna be an easy move. All you have are clothes, books, some records and pictures.

“Are you sure you wanna throw this stuff?” Wanda says, holding a couple of trophies from Science Fairs and other stuff.

“Yes, baby” you nod, handing over a box. “I don’t think that has any value to my career as a surgeon”

“I think they’re cute. You were a nerd”

“Yeah, that I was” you smile. You keep digging through old boxes, until you get to one you hadn’t seen in a long time.

“What is this?” Wanda kneels next to you. She sees the picture you’re holding. “Is that your dad? Oh my God, you look exactly like him”

“Yeah, two peas in a pod” you laugh, admiring your matching Halloween outfits. Ghostbusters, obviously. You flip through the album, grateful that you had the sense to take it with you after you left for college. You know your mother would have thrown it in the trash.

“Why isn’t this in a frame?” Wanda takes a lose photo of you two during Christmas.

“I guess I never got around to doing it” you shrug your shoulders. There’s a tin box, and you kinda wished you hadn’t opened it. A broken wrist watch is the only thing inside it. “He loved this watch. Was wearing it on the day of the accident” you mutter, suddenly feeling small.

Wanda let’s you sit in silence for a few minutes and then places her hand on your shoulder.

“We can take a break from all the packing, yes?”

“Yeah, ok” you nod, standing up. Wanda takes your hand and leads you back to her -and now your- place. There are already several boxes in the living room of your new home.

Home, that word fits so well with how you feel here.

The only other time where you felt like you belonged was in college, in the dorm you shared with Darcy and then at the hospital, which wasn’t strictly a home.

Without saying anything, Wanda pulls you to the couch, and you let her rest her head against your chest as you watch “Golden Girls”. She had you to thank for introducing her to a whole new obsession.

“Shouldn’t we go pick up the kids now?” you say after a while, looking at the hour.

“Sharon is driving them here”

“Now she’s your best friend”

“I’m sure she only offered to see you again and annoy me” Wanda chuckles, looking up at you. “Unfortunately for her, I don’t share”

“Mmhm” you smile against her lips, enjoying her possesiveness.

By the time Sharon drops off the kids, Wanda’s shown you how she really feels about sharing, making sure there’s a visible mark on your neck as you walk out of the house to greet Tommy and Billy.

“Hey, Y/N” Sharon says, playing with her sunglasses.

“H-hi, Sharon. How are you doing?”

“Oh, you know. Enjoying the cold days, wishing I had someone to warm me up”

“Yeah, it’s cold. Outside, and inside too if you don’t have any heating” you mumble, trying to end the conversation. “Stay hot. I mean, warm. And thanks for dropping off the kids”

“My pleasure”

Sprinting back home, you lock the door and lean against it, hoping you won’t have to talk to the woman in a very long time.

“I see that little mark on your collarbone wasn’t enough. Maybe I should leave more on your neck” Wanda taunts.

“Baby, I could tattoo your name across my forehead and that woman would still try to get in my pants” you sigh, hands resting on Wanda’s hips. “Are we telling the kids about me moving in?”

“Yeah, come on”

Billy and Tommy are in the backyard, throwing a ball that Sparky chases around. They both approach you as Wanda calls for them, and she kneels to be at eye level with them.

“Boys, we have news. Y/N is moving”

“What? Where? You’re not gonna have your house across the street?”

“Mama, we should all live together” Tommy says, pleading to his mother.

“Oh, my darling boys, Y/N is gonna move with us! We’ll all live here. What do you think about it?”

“Yaaay” they run towards you, talking as fast as they can.

“I’ll make room in my drawers for you!”

“You can take one of my shelves”

Each kid takes turns on ideas to make room for you, and you hug them closer.

“I’m sure we’ll find a place for all my stuff. Don’t worry about it, I’m just happy you want me to live here”

“We do” Billy says, and then he turns to his mother. “Can we please get pizza to celebrate, pleaaase?”

“Yes, can we?” you join, pouting.

Wanda rolls her eyes, laughing.

“I can’t believe I set myself up. Now it’s three children against one of me”

“You love us” you say, standing up and pulling her in for a kiss.

Wanda smiles against your lips.

“I do”

—

You’re buzzing with excitement to tell everyone the news, but you want Darcy to be the first to know.

While you sit in the cafeteria, the perfect oportunity presents itself.

“Ugh, one of your presents will arrive too late for me to wrap it up. I’ll send it but you have to promise you won’t open it”

“Yeah, yeah. Just send it home”

“No. I’ll send it to Wanda instead. She’ll keep it away from you”

“Same thing. Home for me, her. But I won’t open it” you smile as you take a bite of your sandwich, waiting for Darcy to understand what you mean.

“You? And her? Moving in together?” this is the first time that you see Darcy so excited over your relationship, and she hugs you. “You’re not gonna die alone”

“Oh, shut it”

“What are we celebrating?” Carol says, taking a seat next to you.

“Y/N and Wanda are moving in together” Darcy says, practically singing. “And now I have to rethink my second present”

“Why do you give her two Christmas presents?” Carol looks between you two and Darcy gasps.

“She saw you naked but didn’t tell her about your birthday?”

“Eh, what can I say? I have intimacy issues” you shrug your shoulders, laughing as Carol catches up with everything.

“Your birthday is on Christmas Eve”

“That’s correct” you nod. Eager to change the subject, you ask about the wedding. Lunch is cut short as they’re both paged and you walk back to the front desk, dropping off some paperwork about discharges and patient forms.

You’ve been talking for a bit with the nurses when you feel someone stand behind you.

A beautiful redhead with striking green eyes smiles at you, and it takes you a moment to notice you’re staring.

“Hi. How can we help you?” you say, pulling the charts close to your chest, pretending to be casual.

“I’m looking for an old friend”

“Sure thing, do you know his room number?”

“I know his name. Nick Fury” she says with a smirk and you laugh.

“Oh, the Chief. He should be in his office reviewing schedules right about now. Just go upstairs and turn rigt” you point behind her.

“Thank you, Doctor…” she leans forward to read the name on your badge. “Y/L/N”

You’re about to ask her name when you’re paged.

911.

“My pleasure. Enjoy your reunion with the Chief” you excuse yourself, going back to the ER.

As a group of people involved in a car crash arrive, everything that just happened becomes irrelevant.

You have no idea how crazy your day is about to get.

—

“Let me see if I understand” Fury says, the tips of his fingers aligning as Natasha looks from the other side of her desk, impassive.

She’s got a poker face that no one can break, not even someone as respected as Nicholas Fury.

“You want to teach us the new surgical method your mother invented"

Natasha nods.

“Why the sudden interest in sharing with us?”

“You’re a teaching hospital. Stark is on this quest to make everything accessible for everyone. It gives us good press, and will draw attention to your program”

“No ulterior motive?”

“The world is getting more complicated. The Starks and Romanoffs are the families with the greater research capabilities, I think it’s time to stop competing with each other and work together” Natasha says.

“Just like that?”

“Well…”

Natasha doesn’t get to complete her sentence, as Tony walks in the room without knocking.

“Chief” he says, a bit distressed. It takes him a minute to process the other presence in the room. “Romanoff?”

“Hey, Tony”

“What are you…? Ok, that’s for later. There was an avalanche in Silverton Mountain, several people are trapped and injured. They’re requesting aid”

“Let’s page Y/N and prepare the ER to receive them”

“Sorry for cutting your meeting short, I’m sure it wasn’t important” Tony winks at Natasha.

“I’ll be back later” she says. “Don’t be such a sore loser, Tony, not everyone can have a Nobel Prize”

“Your mother won that, not you” he says, trying to keep his cool.

“Well, let’s see if another Romanoff can beat you to it again” the woman says, smiling while Fury stands up.

“Children, not now. Call me tomorrow, Romanoff”

The two men leave his office, walking to the ER to find the head of Trauma.

“Is it a good idea to leave her alone there?”

“She’s not a spy, Stark”

“Her mother sent her for some nefarious purpose, I’m sure”

“That’s a talk for later. Y/L/N” Fury finally spots you.

“Chief, what’s up?”

“Avalanche in Silverton Mountain. I’m sending the chopper with you, Barton and another doctor of your choice”

“We’re only transporting critically injured patients, the rest will be taken by ambulance to local hospitals” Tony adds, while you walk back to prepare.

“Ok, I’m taking Bishop with me. Anything else I should know about?”

“Expect a long day” Tony pats your shoulder and you sigh.

Looking for the storage room, you find a three layered rescue suit, preparing for the cold and relentless weather of the mountains. Next are medical supplies, rope, thermic blankets, comms and avalanche probes.

Once you check everything’s set up, you change your sneakers for hiking boots and carry everything in a waterproof backpack. Just as you’re about to leave, Kate comes in. You show her the clothes she should change into, and what to put in her own backpack.

“I’ll meet you at the rooftop”

Wanda doesn’t pick up the phone when you call her, so you leave a voicemail explaining you won’t be reachable for a couple of hours.

As you walk to the elevator, you meet the mysterious woman again.

“Up or down?” you ask as you both reach for the button.

“Down. You?”

“All the way up”

“Going somewhere?” she teases.

“Just a helicopter ride. Care to join me?” you say, not knowing what makes you joke with a stranger.

“Perhaps next time. Take this one. I’ll wait for the other elevator” the woman says when the doors open. You nod your thanks and your eyes meet as you press the button. “I do hope we’ll see each other again, Y/N��

“I didn’t get your name”

“Natasha” the woman smiles, doors closing. The last thing you see is that cryptic smile as the elevator starts to go up.

The cold wind hits your face as soon as the doors open, Stark’s helicopter ready for the 15 minute flight to Silverton.

“Hey, Barton. Wilson?” you say, surprised. “Didn’t know you could fly these things”

“Hell, yeah. This is Redwing” he says, pointing at the helicopter.

“Stop calling it that” Stark grumbles.

Clint and you check for everything to be in its place and you nod as Kate joins you.

“I’m having everyone on standby, we’ll start preparing as soon as you call with more information on number of patients and status” Fury says. Then he turns to look at everyone else. “Stay safe and good luck”

The building becomes smaller as you fly away, and Barton chats with Sam for a bit about the weather and the rescue plan. You follow the conversation here and there, but instead look out the window and then to Kate, who seems to be deep in thought.

“Everything ok?”

“Yeah, just nervous” she admits and you nudge her knee with your hand.

“It’ll be fine, you’re gonna fly back with patients that need to be at Stark hospital. I’ll show you what to do”

“Ok”

As soon as you land on the area, a group of first responders run to greet you.

“Lee Jones” the team leader introduces himself. “There are six people still missing, we secured the area and will be starting a second round of search” he says, pointing at a nearby hill.

“Doctor Bishop, head to where the rescued people are to evaluate them” you say, and she walks back to an operations center with several stretchers. “Do we have a list of the people missing?”

“Here”

You take the paper, inspecting it. Two women, one children, four men. Your stomach drops as you get to the last name.

“Barton” you pull him to get his attention. He reads over your shoulder, alarmed as well.

“Is this accurate? Have you doble checked these people are not back in their hotel?” he says, knowing that information could get lost during rescue.

“Yes, sir”

“Crap” he says, looking at the hill.

The name at the bottom of the list is Pietro Maximoff.

“Come on, no time to waste” you say, sprinting. A couple of people follow you, and you have to remember the training you got.

The first 15 minutes are crucial. And now, the people who didn’t die instantly, will pass from asphyxia, hypothermia or critical injuries.

Except Pietro. He knows what to do to stay alive. You just gotta find him.

“We gotta let Wanda know” Clint shouts next to you, the cold wind hitting you straight in the face.

“There is nothing to tell her now”

“Y/N”

“Go back and call her if you want. I can’t waste time right now, Clint”

It looks like there’s a storm forming. If you’re lucky, you’ll get an hour of not so bad weather and then, it will be too risky for them to continue.

Not you, though. You’re not leaving until you find Pietro.

“Here!” two people shout at the same time. You turn to run where they are. One of the rescuers is digging through the snow, and a woman’s face is visible. You want to keep looking for Pietro, but you came here to help everyone.

“I’ll keep searching” Clint nods your way.

The second person they find is the woman’s child.

“Hypothermic, hard to say if they have other injuries. I’d recommend you take them back to Stark Hospital, call and ask for doctor Lewis and Rambeau. Wilson will fly them there” you instruct the rescuers.

“I found one, he’s dead” you hear through the radio and your heart drops. You race to where the rescuer is, praying that it’s not Pietro. “Male, approximately 50”

You take a minute, holding your side as the cold air makes it hard to breathe.

“Mark the spot so we can recover the body and alert his family” Lee instructs.

They keep using the avalanche probes, to no avail.

“You’re walking too far away and the wind is getting worse” Clint warns you, but you ignore him. Pietro has to be here.

“Come on, come on” you walk faster, the wind almost knocking you down.

“Y/L/N, come back” Clint says, this time through the radio so everyone can hear him. “Now”

You ignore him, looking around. Everything is white… except.

A spot of color. Bright yellow and green. Just like the gloves you gave Pietro.

“Pietro” you run towards it, heart beating out of your chest. There he is, you can see his face, and part of his hands, as he managed to dig through the snow to be able to breathe. “Clint, I found him”

Pietro’s vitals are weak, but he whines when you call his name. Everyone comes running to help you, digging him out.

“Can you hear me? Frosty, come on” you insist, inspecting every inch of his body. “He’s going back to Stark Hospital with us, now”

“As soon as Wilson comes back”

You nod, stabilizing his neck as the men carry him to the operation center. You hear through the comms that they found the last man, unfortunately deceased as well.

“It’s a miracle we found him alive” Clint comments.

You stay quiet, going over statistics and the list of injuries that could be life threatening and you won’t know about until you do imaging.

“I’m calling Laura, so Wanda’s not alone” Clint says. You should have brought your phone. He greets his wife, and a moment later his face falls. “Wanda’s there with you? Can you put her on the phone?”

Now it’s your turn to feel dread, taking the phone with shaky hands.

“Sweetheart” you say, feeling awful when you hear Wanda’s voice, knowing what you’re about to say will destroy her. “You might want to sit down”

—

“Male with helmet and airbag, was conscious during rescue and prior to boarding the helicopter. Heart rate weak, slow, irregular due to hypothermia; passive warming techniques started on the way to the hospital. No visible trauma, do a complete body scan” you say as soon as you land, Carol and Stark the first to greet you at the rooftop.

Wanda’s not here yet and you’re not ready to face her, especially since you have no idea on the extent of his internal injuries.

“Are you ok? You’re shivering” Darcy comments when you change into your scrubs, and all you can do is nod.

“Fine”

Thoracic spine fracture, comminuted knee fracture and intracranial hemorrhage. The room is silent as you look at the images, knowing it’s gonna be a long and challenging intervention.

“Wanda’s here” Kate says as soon as you take the elevator to the OR.

“Not now, Kate. Tell her we’ll keep her updated and then scrub in”

Carol gives you a curious glance, but keeps her comments to herself.

There’s silence in the OR as you work with Carol and Kate, while Stark and Parker deal with the hemorrhage.

“Doctor Y/L/N” Fury steps in.

“Not now”

“Miss Maximoff would like an update”

“I don’t have one for her” you let out an exasperated sigh when Fury insists, turning to look at Stark. “Do you have an update? How about you, Danvers? Alright then, when we know something other than his body is all kinds of fucked, we will give Miss Maximoff an update”

“You’re too close to this”

“No, I’m stabilizing his spine so he can teach his nephews how to ride a fucking bike and all you are is a distraction. Leave my OR, now”

You can feel Fury’s angry stare in the back of your head, but ignore it and keep working.

Stark is the first to break the silence, if only to ask for more suction.

“I’m done with the knee. If you want to update her” Carol says after a while.

“You heard her, Bishop”

“You should go. I’m sure Wanda will want to hear it from you”

“No” is all you say, voice shaking.

No, you can’t face Wanda now. You don’t know if Pietro is gonna make it and you won’t lie to her.

Beyond that, you can’t imagine what she’ll say to you if you can’t save him.

Why didn’t you find him faster? Why didn’t you help him?

This is your fault.

“BP’s dropping” the nurse alerts you.

“One minute” Tony says, eyes glued to his work.

“Stark, he’s crashing” you insist. He ignores you and you’re about to throw your scalpel and start CPR when Pietro’s vitals stabilize.

“You gotta let me work too” Tony says. “Peter, close here. Let’s see that spine now”

After three more hours of work, there’s nothing left to do but wait. While Pietro’s transferred to the ICU, you stay back, removing your facemask and surgical cap.

Carol stands next to you, without saying a word.

“If he doesn’t make it, Wanda’s never going to forgive me” you say, looking at the ground.

“You don’t believe that” Carol says.

“I don’t know. But I guess I’ll find out”

“It’s gonna be fine” she says, giving your arm a squeeze and you nod, leaving the scrub room.

Your hands shake as you press the elevator button that will take you to Wanda. The adrenaline is slowly leaving your body, but your muscles can’t relax, still waiting for an even bigger disaster to come.

Forcing yourself to step into the hallway, your eyes meet Wanda’s across the room. They are reddened by the tears, her hair a bit disheveled and all over the place.

Whatever you were about to say dies in your throat. She stands up, walking towards you, and you brace yourself for a myriad of insults and bitter words.

Instead, she throws herself in your arms, crying.

“You’re ok” she keeps saying. “I was so scared. I’m so sorry”

“It’s fine. I’m here” you hold her closer, kissing her head and shedding a couple of tears. “We did everything we could, Wanda, please believe me. Now we have to wait for him to recover. Please, please don’t hate me”

“You saved him. He’s alive because of you” she says, her arms still on your back. “I don’t know what I’d do without you”

“I’m here” you sigh against her temple. “It’s all going to be fine”

But you don’t know if that’s true.

—

Natasha answers the call as soon as she’s in her suite, knowing her mother only had a few minutes to chat.

“Hello, dear. How did it go?”

“It was cut short. An emergency” the redhead sighs, sitting in the bed and taking off her heels. “They used Tony’s helicopter and everything”

“The Stark boy, always wanting to be the center of attention” Melina tsks. “Did you get to see their ER?”

“Not yet. I did meet their Head of Trauma”

Natasha’s mind goes back to you. She was honestly surprised when she saw you waiting for the elevator in the rescue gear. You weren’t like any other of the Trauma surgeons she had met before.

“What did you think of them?”

“Very heroic. Jumped straight into the danger, no questions asked. And she yelled at Fury when he tried to keep her out of the OR”

Another pleasant surprise. It was hard to tell you had that fire in you, with those kind eyes and gentle smile.

“Do you want to hire her or date her?” Melina picks up on her daughter’s tone.

“Can’t I do both?”

“My darling girl, of course you can. When was the last time you didn’t get what you wanted?”

—

It’s cold and you can’t reach for whatever it is you’re looking for.

What were you trying to find in the middle of nowhere?

It’s dark, except for a circle around you, and there’s no way to tell up from down.

Except when you see something next to your feet, and you kneel down. As you pull from it, the snow moves and you can see Pietro’s face. You dig deeper, and then you see Wanda. Every time you remove snow, there’s another face, until you find your father, staring at you.

You try to reach for him, but the watch on your wrist reaches zero on its countdown, the beeping sound mocking you as you run out of time.

“Wait” you jump up, looking around.

On call room. You’re in the hospital. There’s solid ground beneath you, not layers and layers of snow.

The sound comes from your pager.

911.

Everything feels like an emergency these days. You’ve lost track of time, alternating between your shifts and the ICU, where Pietro is still recovering.

It’s been four days and he hasn’t woken up yet.

“What do we have?” you ask Kate, who begins to give you the overview.

It’s not something that requires surgery, which makes you sigh with relief. This is the end of your shift and you need to eat something before heading back to the ICU.

“When was the last time you left the hospital?” Darcy says and you shrug your shoulders, eating your sandwich and feeling ill the second you swallow.

You have to force yourself to eat lately.

“I don’t know”

“The day of the accident. Five days ago. You can’t keep going like this” your friend says, but you avoid her stare.

“Wanda is not allowed in the ICU and Pietro shouldn’t be alone in there”

“Pietro is unconscious. Wanda is the one that’s at home, alone and scared. I think her brother would appreciate you keeping her company” Darcy reasons with you.

You rub your temples, trying to not throw up.

Truth is, you’re scared that the other shoe will drop. That things between you and Wanda could turn sour if her brother doesn’t show any signs of improvement.

“You are carrying an immense responsibility and burden, that it’s not yours. Nor anyone’s. It was an accident. It’s life” your friend insists, knowing very well the meaning behind your silence.

You keep looking down, chin resting on your hand as a couple of tears run down your cheeks.

Darcy’s expression softens at that.

“I’ll stay with Pietro for a bit. Wanda is in the foyer, ready to take you home. Please, go with her”

You try to say something, but the words get stuck in your throat. It’s been like this for days. When it comes to work, you function even better than usual, accostumed to chaos and uncertainty. The minute the conversation pivots, your throat closes, making it hard to utter a single word.

In the end, you nod, throwing away your barely touched food to go meet your girlfriend.

Guilt overwhelms you as you notice the bags under Wanda’s eyes. It’s impossible to be everywhere and be everything to all the people that matter to you, but you still feel like a failure.

“He…” you prepare the update, but Wanda kisses you, stopping the words from leaving your mouth.

“I’m here to take care of you. I already know everything there is to know. Let’s go home”

Taking a breath, you nod and walk behind her towards the exit. The light hurts your eyes, and you have to look down, frowning. Wanda’s hand is on yours, leading you to the car.

The ride home is silent. There are still some boxes in the living room, pushed to the wall to make room for walking. It gives an eerie vibe, another reminder that your entire world stopped almost a week ago.

“Are you hungry?”

“Just tired” you say in a low voice. “I smell like hospital”

Wanda nods, closing the door and walking you upstairs. All you’ve done for the past days is take quick showers, with cheap shampoo that is in the hospital and leaves your hair dry.

For the first time, you don’t have to hurry and jump into a spray of cold water, rinsing as fast as you can. The warm temperature  and pressure on your muscles feels like a luxury.

“Feels good?” Wanda whispers against your ear and you nod. She places a kiss on your shoulder’s scar. You step back, trying to chase after her touch, and she laughs.

That sound is enough to make you feel ten times lighter.

As you step out of the shower, you admire the way Wanda places a towel around her, and without thinking you meet her in a slow and tender kiss.

“Missed you” you say against her lips.

“I missed you too, sweetheart”

There’s no rush as you change into comfortable clothes, and rest your head on Wanda’s lap while she reads a draft for Laura to review.

“How’s the book coming along?”

“Good, very fast thanks to your help”

“So, do I get credited on the cover or something?” you joke, looking up.

“I can pay you in other ways for your very valuable contribution”

“I’ll hold you to that” you joke, feeling sleepy as Wanda runs her hand through your hair. 

The next time you open your eyes, it’s past noon. You turn in bed, Wanda looking at you.

“Were you watching me sleep?”

“No” she answers way too fast. “Maybe. I… you looked upset. Like you were having a nightmare. I just wanted to make sure you were ok, that’s all”

“I’m ok” you promise, pulling her so she’s resting against your chest. “How are Billy and Tommy?”

“Quiet. I know they’re worried and they’ve been missing you too”

“We could go out to the movies today” you suggest.

“Actually, they have a surprise for you” she looks up and you smile.

“Oh?”

“Yeah. And I promised them you are wearing an ugly Christmas sweater”

“Is that so?” you turn her in your arms, tickling her sides. “I don’t have any”

“I got you one” Wanda says between giggles and you pull her closer as she tries to get away from you. “Stop, please”

“Not until you show me that ugly sweater”

“Nu-uh, you’ll find a way to get rid of it”

“Then, you shall pay the consequences” you declare, laughing as she distracts you with a kiss.

—

“Is this absolutely necessary?” you say, walking towards the school auditorium. The sweater is not exactly ugly, it only has some paper figures hanging along the arms, which makes it uncomfortable to move around.

The biggest issue is that Wanda and everyone else is wearing normal clothes, which earns you a couple of funny looks.

“Babe, let me get changed, I have some scrubs in the car” you turn around, but Wanda catches you and pulls you back.

“I promise you, I’ll make it worth it” she says in a low voice against your ear. The little kiss Wanda gives behind your ear seals the deal.

“Are you gonna wear something slutty?” you whisper against her temple and she laughs.

“You’ll have to find out, detka”

“Detka?” you repeat, your pronunciation awful. “What does that mean?”

“I’ll tell you later. It’s part of your Christmas present” your girlfriend says, biting her lip.

She’s such a tease.

“Show’s starting, come on”

“Show?” you say, following her all the way to the front row. The lights go out but to your horror, your sweater glows in the dark. You struggle to take it off, but Wanda takes you by the wrists, laughing while you look around, embarrassed.

The first number is of really small children, who try to follow their teacher as they sing and dance, but looking adorably confused is enough to have all the parents clapping and cheering. After two or three more songs, you finally know why you’re there. Billy and Tommy are in the front of their class, singing Holly Jolly Christmas.

“Those are our boys!” you shout excitedly, looking around so everyone knows they’re your kids.

“Baby, I think they got it” Wanda smiles lovingly as you take out your phone and record, zooming in on the twins.

Once the song ends, you give them a standing ovation, and the only thing most people can see is a floating figure that glows in the dark.

The show goes on for another forty minutes, but you’re the first to go find the kids backstage. As soon as they see you, they jump into your arms.

“You were amazing! Next stop, Broadway!”

“Did you like the sweater we picked out for you?”

“Yes, it’s so original!” you say, hearing Wanda laugh behind you. “Come on, let’s get some pizza. Or burgers and milkshakes, whatever you want”

“Can we go to Burger Galaxy?" Billy says and you nod.

"Sure, let me check if it's open" you say, pulling out your phone. You frown at the missed calls from Darcy. She's still at the hospital and there's only one reason why she'd call. "Give me a second"

Walking away, you dial her number.

"He's awake"

"How is he...?"

"Just come to the hospital" she insists. Wanda is talking to the boys as you return, her face dropping when you lock eyes.

"We need to go to the hospital"

You take the keys from her shaking hands, smiling as she tries to control her breathing. The ride feels like an eternity, but it's only ten minutes. You're about to head to the ICU, when Darcy sees you.

"Over here"

"How is he...?" you catch up, aware that Wanda and the kids are right behind you.

"Awake and annoying. A bit confused as well, but all things considered, he'll be fine. Congrats, pal. You worked a Christmas miracle"

You stand by the door as Wanda walks past you, speaking in Sokovian and holding her brother's face between her hands. Tommy and Billy stand next to his bed, waiting for a chance to greet their uncle. Between all the fuss, Pietro looks at you, mouthing a thank you.

You can't help the tears from clouding your vision. After taking a breath to calm yourself, you wipe the corner of your eyes and smile at him.

"Welcome back, Frosty"

[pinkyqily]

Could you writr smt with Vicky and maybe reader bit older than her trying to teach her to drive and pass the test and it being absolutely chaos for them two? Maybe like as chaos that they need try get Irene or Marta to help (Basicly anyone of the elder but not Alexia thanks)

𝙁𝘼𝙎𝙏 𝘼𝙉𝘿 𝘾𝙃𝘼𝙊𝙎 - platonic vicky Lopez x reader x Irene Paredes

Summary: You and vicky cause havoc when you had to get your drivers license, but else to stop both of other than the mother of the group Irene.

Contains: cursing, funny banter, going back and forth in English and Spainsh, hate comments, also pictures used in the instagram acc doesn't not represent readers only there for aesthetic reasons so feel free to use your own description. 2y age gap as vicky is 18 and reader 20, if the age gap makes anyone uncomfortable plz let me know and I'll change it

A/n: apologizes that it took me a long time to reply and get this done but here it's and I hope that you enjoyed reading this cause it was a lot of fun writing this 💕 and I found it funny how you didn't want a alexia mention 😭 there's only a small mention of her in the social media part. There's also going to be 2 more parts cause who doesn't want there love to continue.

Anyways don't forget to like,reblog and comments as they help my page and motivate me 🫶🏿

It was during an away game where you had overheard vicky talking about how she was getting ready for her driving license.

and she was talking about how she needed someone who already knew how to drive to teach her, so she doesn't look like a fool whe she get to the center for her practices.

You being the experienced driver yourself and had recently gotten yours. decided to offer your help to her in which you received a laughing vicky in your face.

"Usted es un conductor experimentado, ¿en qué ciudad?" She said while laughing

"This one belive it or not my driving is exceptional". You tried convincing her.

"Si eres excepcional, no me gustaría saber cuáles son las habilidades de conducción de Salma".

"Salma?who can barely drive herself outside of her own parking lot is who you're comparing me too I fear you've lost it."

"Por favor Salma, conducir es como una brisa".

"brisa sure a one way tickets to a real madrid game in which you guys crash before you get there". You said to her.

By now both of you where going back and forth on which one of you had bad driving.

"Está bien, dejaré que me enseñes porque nadie más se ofreció".

"Meet me after our game on Friday."

Friday came around pretty quickly, and you found yourself in a free area to help vicky practice. The first few days went pretty calmly as she already knew the basics.

It was around your one week mark of teaching her that things to a turn for worse.

you had decided that you both would take turns driving out. distance being from your place to a near by cafe, going and returning.

Vicky had done perfectly fine, fine being hitting a few stuff but she got her act right. It finally was your turn until one asshole decided to pass your light speeding and almost hitting your car as you we're in front.

But you weren't one of those drivers who would let it slide.

You rolled down your cars windows and started cursing out the guy in your broken spanish as your blood was boiling when you saw his car infront of you. The audacity of reckless drivers now are days.

"¿Tu cerebro está tan dañado que necesitabas chocar mi auto?." You yelled out from your window

"Estás jodidamente atónito de que no puedas hablar. Pensé que estábamos conduciendo y no teníamos como objetivo quitar vidas". You said to the driver who stil hasn't responded by now a few people where coming out to see what was going on.

The driver was at least 5'0 when he came outside of his car coming your way. Seeing him from your rare light you also decided to get out because there was no way he was going to intimate your ass.

"Vicky just stay here and keep the door closed this Canadian driver is about to go bonkers".

"¿Seguro que quieres salir allí?" She asked you

"The last thing I'm having is that guy thinking he can hit my car and think he can get out of it". You said to her.

"Aye don't be worry I'll just go out there take a picture the damage and his drivers plates so I can get it insured". grabbing her hands as you could tell she was getting worried.

"solo que nada mas". She said

"Can't promise you no trouble though". You told her as you got out of the car. Thank God for athleticism because the moment the guys saw a tall women coming out the car he had change directions of where he was going.

Who was intimidating who now?. You did what you told vicky taking pictures of the damages and drivers plates. All of a sudden your felt someone tap your shoulders but you where quick to catch there hands due to fast reflase.

Looking up and seeing your Barcelona teammates and mother figure Irene starring at you.

"¿Qué está pasando?" preguntó ella".

"Some asshole started It and aye being tall has it privileges". You told her half joking.

"Por favor dime que Vicky no está en tu auto".

"Well she is cause I was teaching her how to drive until this mess". You said pointing to your car and the dumb driver.

"Bueno, ustedes necesitarían un auto nuevo porque el suyo necesita una reparación total." She said to you instead of whatever speech you thought she'll had given you on.

"I'll have to rent one ugh speaking of renting one this one isn't even mine to being with". You told her now remember this was a car the club had gotten you so your transportation could be easier.

"No te preocupes, ellos lo entenderán, además, claramente no es tu culpa". She said

From then on she came to every single practice she could make it to so that she could monitor your teaching and Vicky's driving.

Thankfully the club was able to understand the situation and you got a new one.

The day of Vicky's finally test came pleased to say she passed with flying marks and now has her drivers license. As she told you over the phone the moment she found out

"Told you I was an expectation all driver and teacher". You said to her playfully hitting her arm

"No eras tan malo como pensaba". She told you

"So your accepting the fact that I'm a great driver".you told her

Bueno, no genial, no te adelantes". She said but this time around her tone was very much different to the teasing one she normally use on a close friends.

After your call with vicky you had decided to drive to her place.

she did deserve a celebration for passing her test wasn't everyday people pass it, so you told yourself, but it was more of a excuse for you to just see her.

She was quite flustered to see at her place considering both of your just off the phone. You took her out to her favorite snack shop and told her she could pick as much stuff she wanted that it was all on you.

She brought some ice cream and a bag if snack filled with both your favorites for away games.

You found yourself starring at vicky in a i wanna be more than friends way, the way her lips would touch on the ice cream leaving a traces of it on her cheeks, the chil wind slowly blowing through her bouncing curlys.

You felt like grabbing a pices of her curlys but held yourself back

YourInstagram&vickylopez

Victories are meant to be celebrated @vickylopez

Comments

@Woso_fan are they dating?

@Ona.batlle what are we celebrating that the whole gang isn't there

》yourreplied vicky passing her drivers test thanks to my amazing teaching

》vickylopezreplied Estábamos de acuerdo en que bueno ¿de dónde salió lo asombroso?

@Salmaparalluelo ese beso parece un poco antipático mantén tus gérmenes lejos de mi hermana pequeña

《Youreplied calm down I haven't taken your sister from you yet

》comments has been deleted

《You replied calm down we're just having fun

@cattta.coll feeling a little disappointed on not being invited

@Claudiapina La primera foto es romántica creo @vickylopez @yourusernamee

《Youreplied worry about fans suspecting you and @patriguijarro being together

《@Claudiapina sí, solo somos mejores amigas

《Youreplied Bestfriend who spend the whole summer together

@viickylopez the best teacher 😄

《Liked by creator

@vickyandyournamesupremacy I knew something was going on with them after that el classico

《@Wosoloveseveryone replied don't spread misinformation like vicky would date a thing like that

《@allaboutwoso replied wait what

《@wosoloveseveryone replied you can check my page I've posted the moments between these and it quite obvious they're more than friends or want to be more than friends

@alexiaputellass ¿qué es esto?

《Comment has been deleted

Translations

"You are an experienced driver, in which city?" - "Usted es un conductor experimentado, ¿en qué ciudad?"

"If you are exceptional, I wouldn't like to know what Salma's driving skills are - "Si eres excepcional, no me gustaría saber cuáles son las habilidades de conducción de Salma".

"Please Salma, driving is like a breeze." - "Por favor Salma, conducir es como una brisa".

"Okay, I'll let you teach me since no one else volunteered." - "Está bien, dejaré que me enseñes porque nadie más se ofreció".

"What's going on?" - "¿Qué está pasando?"

"Is your brain so damaged that you needed to crash my car?" - "¿Tu cerebro está tan dañado que necesitabas chocar mi auto?."

"You're fucking stunned that you can't talk. I thought we were driving and not aiming to take lives."- "Estás jodidamente atónito de que no puedas hablar. Pensé que estábamos conduciendo y no teníamos como objetivo quitar vidas".

"Are you sure you want to go out there?" - "¿Seguro que quieres salir allí?"

"just nothing more." - "solo que nada mas".

"Please tell me Vicky isn't in your car." - "Por favor dime que Vicky no está en tu auto".

"Well, you'd need a new car because yours needs a complete repairing." - "Bueno, ustedes necesitarían un auto nuevo porque el suyo necesita una reparación total."

"Don't worry, they'll understand, besides, it's clearly not your fault."- "No te preocupes, ellos lo entenderán, además, claramente no es tu culpa".

"You weren't as bad as I thought."- "No eras tan malo como pensaba".

[thepringlesofblood]

chungled

so. on dropout.tv there is one (1) episode of a show called "Dimension 20: Foundry", filmed over zoom during the pandemic, that never got past this pilot episode as far as I can tell. the idea is that brennan lee mulligan and [guest] will stat out a character together. the guest in this episode is lou wilson.

they create a full character sheet for Chungledown Bim*. as a 20th level warlock (Pact of the Chain).

now, it's possible that "Dimension 20: Foundry" just never took off, or got pushed to the side, but I personally believe that brennan lee mulligan made up this show specifically to trick lou wilson into creating his archnemesis.

the d20 wiki page for Chungledown Bim has the basic stats and some of the feats, but nowhere near the level of detail as a full character sheet (understandable). also completely understandably, the d20 transcription fan community has not come out with a transcript for this one extremely obscure video. I bring this up because I went through and did my best to accurately transcribe the character sheet, because it's fucking bonkers.

I also included some direct quotes from the episode in the often-ignored 2rd page of the character sheet where you list your backstory and what you look like and "allies and organizations" and general stuff that's significant but has no mechanical properties.

so. TLDR: i re-created Chungledown Bim's character sheet from the video where brennan and lou create one for him. god help us all.

*lou states in the video that 'Chungledown' has no hyphen.

bc the image IDs are going to be so so long, I'm putting em below the images instead of in alt text.

sorry the resolution's shit, I don't know why it did that.

note: I will not be noting areas I left blank in the image id. you can assume it's a basic dnd 5e charsheet template. i did the dark mode one bc i have sensitive eyes and wrote in comic sans for dyslexia reasons but otherwise that's how its organized, idk how to explain it in an image id other than just listing the information contained within.

[image id:

image 1:

Character Name: Chungledown Bim Class & Level: Warlock Lvl 20 Background: Pirate Race: Rock Gnome Alignment: Chaotic Evil

Strength: 14 (+2) Dexterity: 16 (+3) Constitution: 20 (+5) Intelligence: 18 (+4) Wisdom: 16 (+3) Charisma: 20 (+5)

Proficiency Bonus: +6

Armor Class: 14 Initiative: +3 Speed: 30 Hit Point Maximum: 206 Hit Dice: 20d8

Saving Throws Strength: +2 Dexterity: +3 Constitution: +5 Intelligence: +4 Wisdom: +9 (proficient) Charisma: +11 (proficient)

Skills

Acrobatics (Dex): +8 (proficient) Animal Handling (Wis): +3 Arcana (Int): +4 Athletics (Str): +14 (expertise) Deception (Cha): +11 (proficient) History (Int): +4 Insight (Wis): +3 Intimidation (Cha): +11 (proficient) Investigation (Int): +4 Medicine (Wis): +3 Nature (Int): +4 Perception (Wis): +9 (proficient) Performance (Cha): +5 Persuasion (Cha): +5 Religion (Int): +4 Sleight of Hand (Dex): +3 Stealth (Dex): +3 Survival (Wis): +3

Passive Wisdom (Perception): 19

Attacks & Spellcasting Name: Eldritch Blast ATK Bonus: +11 Damage: 4d10+5 force

Other Proficiencies & Languages

Languages:

Gnomish

Solisian

Proficiencies:

Navigator’s Tools

Vehicles (Water)

Light Armor

Simple Weapons

Equipment

10 GP

A belaying pin

50 ft of silk rope

Pirate Clothes

Seagull’s Beak

Leather Armor

2 Daggers

Blackjack

Flintlock (Arcane Focus)

Scholar’s pack

Brass Knuckles

Personality Traits: Crazy, Committed, Goal-Driven, Voracious Eater, Efficient, Frugal

Ideals: Vengeance, Revenge, Payback, Getting Even, Muttering, shitting in Fabian’s mouth - Mythologically Infinite Retribution

Bonds: Bill Seacaster, Upchungle, Fabian (Dark Reflection)

Flaws: IBS, Emotionally Closed-Off, Myopic, (Distant from Family, losing Cooking skills, combating ennui through obsession = non-sustainable)

Features & Traits: Darkvision Gnome Cunning

-ADV on INT, WIS, CHA saves vs. magic Artificer’s Lore Tinker Bad Reputation ——— Patron: Bill Seacaster (fiend) Dark One’s Blessing Pact of the Chain: Upchungle (a disgusting seagull) Dark One’s Own Luck Fiendish Resilience Hurl Through Hell Eldritch Master

Invocations

Cloak of Flies

Chains of Carceri

Investment of the Chainmaster -Mask of Many Faces

Otherworldly Leap

Repelling Blast

Eldritch Spear

Agonizing Blast

Feats

Grappler

Squat Nimbleness

image 2:

Character name: Chungledown Bim

Age: 65 Height: 3’8” Weight: 220lb Eyes: Yellow Skin: Sunburnt Hair: Matted

Character Appearance: Filthy Beard of mustaches unique teeth (different materials) Bloodshot eyes “he is elementally tied to the concept of filth” - Brennan Lee Mulligan huge overcoat with pockets full of pasta

Allies & Organizations: Upchungle (familiar) “as fucked up as he [chungledown] is” “always greasy” “Chungledown has a real intimate relationship with this fucked up bird” doesn’t need to breathe, can be summoned in a flock of up to 6 Upchungles

Cult of Bill Seacaster Bill Seacaster is a fiendish patron, who sponsors Chungledown because he wants his son to have the best nemesis possible (see quotes below)

Additional Features & Traits

“…especially with how he’s [Bill] gone full chaotic, the idea that like, ‘cause he loves me and wants the best for me and I think he knows I need a nemesis. you know, he had James, I have this crazed gnome who wants to shit in my mouth, and so I think there’s part of me that’s like, my dad is like, what’s up? Like you want to, I love you son but this is something you need to face and I’m going to help make it as powerful as it can be so that when you overcome it, you know true victory.” - Lou Wilson

“There’s honestly part of me that thinks that Chungledown Bin tried to switch out patrons and my dad just murdered ‘em. Like murdered whoever he was going to and was like nope, you’re sticking with me, because I want you to have the best. I want you to have the best when you come for my son” - Lou Wilson

Character Backstory:

“There was a man, Chungledown Bim, but like the character, the fullness of Chungedown Bim starts the day I turned my back on him, and that’s the day he begins the work to become the man we [he and Brennan] are creating today, and that man is 20 levels of warlock” - Lou Wilson

“like an arcane John Wick of taking a shit in your mouth” - Brennan Lee Mulligan

Treasure:

his trinket, the Seagull’s Beak is the literal, dirty, grungy beak of a dead seagull. he gets “surprisingly emotional” when he can’t find it, and sleeps clutching it.

image 3:

Spellcasting Class: Warlock (Pact of the Chain)

Spellcasting Ability: CHA Spell Save DC: 19 Spell Attack Bonus: +11

Cantrips:

Eldritch Blast Poison Spray Infestation Create Bonfire

Spell level: 1 Slots total: 0

Find Familiar

Command

Spell level: 2 Slots total: 0

Spider Climb

Flock of Familiars

Spell level: 3 Slots total: 0

Stinking Cloud

Tongues

Incite Greed

Counterspell

Spell level: 4 Slots total: 0

Blight

Wall of Fire

Sickening Radiance

Spell level: 5 Slots total: 4

Negative Energy Flood

Scrying

Far Step

Contact Other Plane

Dream

Mystic Arcanum (once per long rest) -Investiture of Stone

Mystic Arcanum (once per long rest) -Etherealness

Mystic Arcanum (once per long rest) -Power Word Stun

Mystic Arcanum (once per long rest) -Imprisonment

/end id]

[burloire]

I always leave my backgrounds light for the most part so I was like This time it be dark and then I went bonkers with the light. Kinda love it though lol.

I used an oil painting brush that I love but oh man if only I could post the whole like 5000 x 6000 zoom in, I was so proud XD

you can see it real, real big here

[lillaydee]

Shhh!!!

Celebrity!Joel Miller / F Reader

A reluctant celebrity contractor who has closed his heart for love meets a celebrity-hating Cafe on Wheels owner...

She HATES him. Thing is, he couldn't get enough of the coffee she makes...

Tag List:

@kirsteng42 @peelieblue @harriedandharassed @joelalorian @vickie5446 @inept-the-magnificent @maried01 @brittmb115 @peedrow

Let me know if you would like to be added/removed from the tag list.

Dividers by the awesome @saradika

WARNINGS: Grumpy Joel (The Last of Us), Protective Joel (The Last of Us), Good Parent Joel (The Last of Us), Joel is Bad at Feelings (The Last of Us), Alternate Universe - No Cordyceps Outbreak (The Last of Us), Joel Needs a Hug (The Last of Us), Celebrity Joel Miller, Fluff and Angst, Eventual Smut, I'm Bad At Tagging, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Tags May Change, Hurt Joel (The Last of Us), Jealousy.

SERIES MASTER LIST

“Come on Joel! It’s not that big a deal! I’m not a little girl anymore. I’m 16!”

“No!”

“Why not? It’s not like I’m asking to get married or anything like that… Ew… even the thought makes me want to puke.”

“You’re still in school. I don’t want you to lose focus. You don’t need a job.”

“I just want to get some experience. And I wanna save up for a car.”

“I’ll buy you a car.”

“Yeah, good luck with that. What did Sarah do when you bought her one instead of letting her work for one?”

Joel sighed. He downed the rest of his coffee. Grimaced at the now cold coffee and went to get a refill – but the pot was cold now, too. “Damn it,” he grumbled. The fucking coffee maker was broken. Again.

“You know, you might be the richest man I know who still drinks coffee from a 20 year old machine you got as a birthday present. You know you can buy a new one for less than 100 bucks? You give me more weekly.”

Joel rolled his eyes. “It’s fine. I’ll just rewire it. Again.”

Ellie banged her head on the breakfast counter. “Quit being such a cheapskate, old man. How are you okay to buy me a car if you won’t spend less than 100 bucks on yourself?”

Ellie regretted her words before she could draw breath after that. She knew he was not a cheapskate, exactly. It wasn’t about the money. It was the coffee maker. What it symbolized.

His late wife had given it to him as a birthday present when Sarah was about one. She died in a car crash a week later. He was suddenly a widowed single father at 22.

He refused to replace that coffee maker, even though the coffee now came out burnt and ridiculously bitter. It had been rewired and fixed so many times neither Ellie nor Sarah wanted to touch the damned thing, worried they’d get shocked by it. Ellie swore she saw the lights flicker when Joel turned it on that morning.

But he didn’t react, just rolled his eyes at her, again, before picking up his keys and pushing her out the door, nowhere near fulfilled, coffee-wise.

Ellie wanted to shake the man who had been taking care of her since she turned 12. She had been Sarah’s mentee at the rec centre, and when her mother disappeared, Joel took her in, no questions asked. Her life took a 180 that day. He made sure she had everything she needed, got her into school, took interest in her progress, listened to her when she needed advice, even listened to her rants, albeit with a grumpy face.

She felt bad for him, he worked ‘til midnight yesterday. Shoot ran long. Ellie was sure he didn’t get home ‘til 2am. And now he’s already up to drive her to her summer art programme. She didn’t want to tell him about the programme at first, knowing it would take time out of his day to drive her back and forth. His schedule was bonkers to begin with. He’d done enough. So she got the bright idea of having a summer job. If she could buy a car, she could drive herself. There would be no need to trouble Joel anymore. Sarah drove her sometimes, but she wouldn’t be back from school for a couple more weeks.

Ellie and Sarah would talk sometimes, worried about Joel. He worked too hard. No social life to speak of, at least, not that they knew about. His life was the two of them, his brother Tommy and his work. They asked each other the last time they remembered him going out on a date, or even a vacation, for that matter, and neither could recall for sure. For a while, they thought he and Angela, his manager slash agent was a thing. But Tommy vehemently denied it, saying they were just business acquaintances. He changed the day his wife died, Tommy said. He became hardened. Stoic. Grumpy. To everyone save for Sarah, and now, Ellie. Not to worry, Tommy had told them, your father had people he could call if he felt… lonely, he said. Neither girls wanted to ask Tommy about their father’s social life, or lack thereof again after that.

Not that they were denying what Tommy suggested. It wasn’t as if he was short of interested parties. Being on a show as big as his and Tommy’s, he didn’t want for screaming ladies, something he was never interested in. He and Tommy started as contractors, renovating houses, their small company doing okay to support their small family, even in an expensive town like LA. They renovated a producer’s kitchen one day, and he offered them a contract as set builders for a show he was producing, and then the next, and then the next, and before they knew it, they had a show of their own, beginning with basic DIY stuff for a morning show, expanding to full on house renovations and builds. Tommy was the handsome, friendly, bubbly face of the show, and Joel the grumpy, reluctant contractor in the background. ‘Build with the Millers’ was a huge hit, and Joel Miller was the grumpy contractor that ladies and men alike swooned over.

Why exactly, neither Ellie nor Sarah understood. He was the same, scruffy man in his 40s that he was at home, just as he was on TV. No make up or overly styled hair for him. Apparently, after an incident involving a broken, aforementioned coffee machine and a late night taking care of a feverish Sarah, no make-up artist on set wanted to go near him again, lest they lose a few fingers trying. So he was on TV, face oily, scruff unkempt, hair unruly and all, dressed in whatever comfy shirt or flannel he managed to grab from his dresser that morning, and still the ladies swooned over him.

Fans approached him all the time, asking for pictures, often ignored. It became a thing at one point, people posting about their disappointing encounters with Joel Miller. He just walked past, hands around Sarah, shielding her face in case people took photos of her. He had relaxed a bit nowadays, but still wouldn’t entertain requests for photos, and still kept his arms around his girls when he noticed people whipping their phones out to take a picture. He left the glamourous part of the job to Tommy, much to Angela’s chagrin. He could make so much more, she had coaxed at one point. He didn’t need any more money than he already had, he said. So he left all the money making dalliances to Tommy.

Sarah once told Ellie that they lived in their old house for quite a while after the show took off, Joel only investing in a bigger place with a yard, only so that he could make sure Sarah’s privacy and safety was under control. He had woken up to a strange woman in his kitchen making breakfast for him and Sarah once and had to get a restraining order against her. He contacted a real estate agent that very day, and he slept better at night knowing that his daughters were safer behind the tall fences and a top notch security system.

Even though he himself was a simple man, he made sure his daughters want for nothing, as long as they remained humble. No designer anything for them. He still drove his beat up truck, so no Ferraris for the girls. He himself didn’t have the opportunity to go to college, so his girls were going, no matter what. That was why he was so against them having a job, he wanted them to focus. But what he didn’t realize was the girls looked up to him and lived by his example, wanting to work hard to enjoy their earnings more. When he bought Sarah a car instead of letting her get a job, she sold the brand new Prius he got her and gave the money to the rec centre she volunteered at, where she met Ellie. She got a job and got a second hand Mini instead.

And Ellie was determined to do the same.

She took out her phone and texted someone, glancing at her yawning adopted father as she did so. “So, can I get a job or not?”

“No.”

“Come on!!! Just for the summer. Not like I have school.”

“You have this class. This art thing. You begged me to get this tutor to teach you for the summer. Focus on that. I thought you wanted to go to art school.”

“Yeah, but we finish at noon. And they are prioritizing those going to colleges for volunteer work right now, so that’s out. What the hell am I supposed to do ‘til the next day? And I have to wait around for you to pick me up and you are not always on time, and you wouldn’t let me take an Uber.”

“So let me buy you a car.”

Ellie gave him the typical Miller girls’ combo of a side-eye and eye roll. “I guess the rec centre could use the money I will get from selling it.”

Joel stopped the truck at the rec centre, taking a deep, deep breath of frustration. He wanted to persist, but he could see he was fighting a losing battle. “Where exactly is this job you’re planning to get?”

Her face lit up, opening the door and jumping out, yelling at him to wait. She disappeared around the corner to the side of the building, coming back out not five minutes later, a massive cup of coffee in her hands. She presented it to him with both hands, complete with a curtsey, head bowed. “Coffee from my new work place, Your Majesty,” she said.

Joel rolled his eyes. If there was one thing he hated more than anything else in the world, it was pretentious fancy coffee, robbing people of their money. He didn’t take it.

“Come on, old man. You know you need this. Go on, I promise you it will be better than the ones you burn every morning.”

“How would you know that? You don’t even like coffee.”

“There’s a long line every day. Must be good. Plus, I need to help my new boss sell coffee now, don’t I?” she smirked.

Joel took yet another deep, impatient breath, took the coffee and had a sip.

Ellie watched as for a split second, his entire body relaxed, eyes closed, and breathing calmed. Just as quickly, though, he opened his eyes and sulked, placed the coffee in his cup holder and passed Ellie her back pack. “Pick you up around the usual time.” Ellie stepped back and waved Joel goodbye.

Huh. The man who swore coffee that didn’t come from his ancient coffee machine or the craft service of his show was crap just had a good reaction to that cup of coffee. Coffee that he would classify as ‘a modern fucking robbery’ just because they took some time to craft and cost more than a dollar. She walked back to the truck she had gotten the coffee from, taking the slotted tray with another cup of coffee and an iced tea placed on the sill.

“I guess I’ll see you after class then, Boss!” she semi shouted.

You dipped your head low to see her from your perch, winking at her, “Counting on it!” you called back, handing your next customer her usual cappuccino.

That first day, you made Ellie watch for an hour. She would mainly be taking the orders for you, handling the payments and cleaning the small fold out tables outside. You made sure she flipped through the booklet to make the teas and other drinks, the easier stuff. When she could stand to stay in the truck for longer than an hour without getting a headache from the smell of coffee, then maybe, just maybe, she could help you clean the machine.

You had taken over the truck from your stepmom Jenny, the woman you called Mom a couple of years before that. The woman had had enough of the glamorous city and decided to leave for her hometown, longing for a quieter life. The two of you started the moving café after your father passed a few years back, moving from one spot to another, going wherever the customers might be. Your father had owned a chain of cafés and sold them all when he decided to retire. You respected his wish to sell, but part of the reason you decided to open a moving café with Jenny was to have a connection with him. You worked for him most of your life, and making coffee made you feel closer to him. Apparently, he gave you a hollow ball with coffee beans inside as a rattle. His nickname for you was coffee related. This was what you loved doing.

Jenny did invite you to move with her, maybe start a business with her there, but you were in love then. So you stayed. Of course, the man you were so besotted with, the one who begged you to stay in LA with him rather than move with the woman who raised you decided that an opportunity to be with his dream actress was too good to pass up. He broke up with you over voicemail when she approached him at a party, drunk off his ass, all excited that she would even look at him. Last you heard, he lost his job as the manager at one of your Dad's old cafes for missing too much work to be with her on set and had become her personal assistant instead.

You went about your life, driving your little café around before deciding you couldn’t be bothered to do that anymore, and paid for a spot at the rec centre food truck centre. On your very first day there, two girls came running to your truck, the older one, Sarah, ordering the biggest iced latte you could offer, the younger one, Ellie, an iced tea, nose all scrunched up from the smell of coffee, which she apparently hated. And now she’s decided she was going to work for you. Go figure.

You didn’t really know much about her per se. You knew that Sarah’s father had adopted her, that he was a contractor, that she spent her evenings after school volunteering at the rec centre, just as Sarah did, and that she was taking personal tutoring from one of the art professors who volunteered at the centre during the summer. She spent her evenings at your truck while waiting for her dad, whom she only ever referred to as the old man to pick her up, yammering in your ears as you cleaned for the day, often running off with a quick see you tomorrow Lil over her shoulder when he called to let her know he had arrived.

You loved her company. To be frank, after Dave dumped you, your life consisted of work and sleeping, having to wake up super early to get the truck ready for business. You even open on the weekends, only taking every other Sundays off to spend some time with your Uncle Bill, Jenny’s only brother. That was it. You open and close at six every day, clean up, wash your truck on your way home, have a quick dinner, do some chores, read, and sleep. You tried to watch some TV at one point after Dave left, but his girlfriend Cleo’s face graced the homepage of your Netflix account, so you cancelled your subscription. You stopped your social media involvement, with the exception of the Insta page for your truck. Everything else would put you at risk seeing your ex with his glamourous sweetheart.

Ellie provided you entertainment, so to speak. She told you about the books she read, the movies she watched, the classes she took, and you found her excitement infectious, even if you had read and watched the movies she was talking about. She had a hard life before, not having the opportunity to enjoy the books and movies most people have at home, so her excitement in learning all these new things was something to celebrate. She started complaining about wanting a car, that her old man had offered to buy her one. But she wanted to get one on her own, just like her big sister. You suggested she get a job, just like you did back when you wanted one for yourself. Yeah, she had groaned, her old man wouldn’t let her get one. But she was going to talk at him until he gave in.

And gave in he did, apparently.

She was a hard worker, very friendly with the customers, cleaning as she went. But at the end of the day, she was exhausted, telling you she was going to sleep well that night. She helped you clean up before running off to use the bathroom.

Her phone started buzzing. ‘Old Man’ blinking on the screen. It went dark. And then buzzed again. After a few missed calls, a tired looking man in flannels came storming around the corner, panic written all over his face, eyes searching for someone amongst the parked trucks and the buzz of the people cleaning the area before dialling and placing the phone on his ear. Ellie’s phone buzzed again. It went dark as soon as the man took his phone away from his ears, dialling one more time.

Okay, it’s possible this was Ellie’s old man.

You walked up to him, the man walking in circles frantically looking for someone. You tapped him on his shoulder.

“Excuse me, sir, are you…”

He turned to look at you, an exasperated look on his face, “Look, lady, I’m in the middle of something, I don’t have time to take pictures right now, okay?”

Huh?

He saw your confusion, took a deep breath, “I’m looking for someone, so no, now is not a good time for pictures, okay?”

You stood there, still confused. The fuck was he talking about? What pictures?

“What?” he barked at you, annoyed that you couldn’t understand a few simple sentences.

Okay, you’re angry now.

“Well?”

“I was just going to ask, sir, if you are looking for Ellie,” you spat out. Slowly. Deliberately.

His expression changed. His stance shifted, his body language got softer. “Uh, yeah.”

“She’s in the bathroom,” you snarked, going to your truck to get her backpack and phone, shoving them both into his chest.

He finally saw the name on the truck. Wheely Coffee. That name was on his cup this morning. He closed his eyes, regret clear across his features. “Look, I’m sor…”

You slammed the door of your truck in his face, the door actually hitting his shoulder so hard he staggered backwards. You got in the driver’s seat and drove off, leaving him standing in the street, Ellie running out to meet him, confused as to what had just happened.

He looked at her, snapped out of his shock, handing her the back pack and phone.

Ellie didn’t take them, her arms crossed on her chest, staring at him with laser eyes.

“What the fuck did you do, Joel? What the fuck did you say to my boss?”

Part 2

[magia-nera]

just dying to be her

── ryan ross x fem!reader

summary: you felt like your crush on ryan went completely unnoticed by him, to the point you see him actively flirting with other girls. this becomes too much, making you feel the need to get away from the situation unfolding, only to get stuck in the worst possibile place in the entire world.

warning: alcohol and drug use (weed), vulgar words, suggestive themes but it’s mostly fluff and comedy, highkey insane plot

word count: 2.5k

a/n: posting this at 4 am cause i really wanted to publish something, it’s not proofread! this was honestly fun to write, the premise is pretty bonkers but it came to me while listening to "sugar we're going down" (“don't mind me, i'm watching you two from the closet wishing to be the friction in your jeans. isn't it messed up how I'm just dying to be him?”), hope yall enjoy!

୧‿̩͙ ˖︵ ꕀ⠀ ♱⠀ ꕀ ︵˖ ‿̩͙୨

“Damn,” you sighed, sinking even more into the soft couch, “this party fucking sucks.”

Brendon looked at you, quickly shifting his gaze towards where you were staring.

Ryan was standing against the opposite wall, chatting with a blonde girl in a way that anyone would definitely describe as flirty, his intentions clearly written on his face.

And you were sure that the girl reciprocated. After all, who wouldn’t want to get Ryan Ross in their own bed? He was hot, charming, pretty and, on top of all that, he had a way with words that would get anyone wrapped around his finger.

“I think I’ll have a smoke,” you blurted out, not even trying to hide the annoyance in your tone. Practically everyone knew of your crush on Ryan, except for the man himself, he seemed completely oblivious all these years. Brendon looked at you, quizzically. He looked like he was about to ask if you wanted company, but seeing the scowl on your face, he got the hint you wanted to be left alone.

Patting your jeans pockets to make sure the little plastic bag containing the goods was still there, you grabbed your bag and stood up, glancing one last time towards Ryan’s direction, but he didn’t seem to notice. Obviously. You knew that there was really no reason to be mad at him, after all you could blame yourself for not confessing after years of these feelings, but a small part of you couldn’t help but get jealous whenever you saw him with another girl. It just didn’t make sense to you how he could never notice the blush on your cheeks or the joyous smile you reserved for him only; everything was made worse by the fact that he didn’t seem to reciprocate.

You started making your way through the corridors, looking for an empty room where you could light up a joint in peace and finally, maybe, enjoy this awful party.

Squishing through sweaty bodies, you finally got to a random bedroom, immediately closing the door behind you and sighing. The music was muffled but you could still hear it, it was admittedly pretty nice like that. It would make for some cool background noise for the blissful smoke session you were about to have by yourself.

You sat on the floor, back slouched against the mattress and your bag placed in your lap. You started to grab the tools needed to prepare the joint, when thoughts started running wild through your mind. You’d usually smoke with Ryan, sitting on the most isolated bench in the park close to his house, and you'd pretty much always crash at his to snack when you got the munchies and you often spent the night, when you were too blazed to make it back to your house. This wasn’t your first time smoking alone, but it was probably the first time you were smoking to get your mind off the jealousy you were feeling. It was undeniable and you had come to peace with the fact that you liked Ryan, but he didn’t like you back. What a cliché, liking your best friend.

Snickering, you finished rolling up and quickly grabbed your lighter. Taking a long drag, your body started to relax, thanks partly to the shots you’d done with Brendon not too long ago. Your body welcomed the warm fuzzy feeling, making you giggle at the thoughts you were previously furrowing your brows at, “Ahh, stupid, stupid Ryan, fuck off”.

Not even a couple of drags in, you felt the hairs on your nape stand up. Damn fuck, now you couldn’t even enjoy some God forsaken weed? Your guts felt all twisted in anxiety.

But it wasn’t the joint’s fault. When you heard footsteps approaching the room you were in, you panicked and stood up to your feet, “Oh God, what the fuck do I do?”. The logical answer would have been to leave when they’d come in, it’s not like you were doing anything weird anyway. Illegal, yes, but it wasn’t weird for sure. But in your agitated state, you ran towards the closest safe haven you could spot: the closet.

If only you knew that it was far from safe.

Quickly shutting the closet door behind you, you muffled your breath by covering your mouth, not wanting to be found out, but also you were admittedly quite curious as to who walked in and disturbed your peace.

You tried your best to figure out whose voice it was, but all you could hear was moans, “Ugh, gross” you thought to yourself.

You definitely could not recognize the girl’s voice, but when the guy spoke you swore you could feel your stomach and your insides twist and contort.

It was Ryan. Out of all people, you had to be locked inside a fucking closet in the same room Ryan Ross was about to bang a girl in?

Just. Your. Luck.

You couldn’t even decide if you were more grossed out, angry or sad. Maybe a mix of everything, with just the right amount of envy for that girl, what did she have that you didn’t? The whole situation made your blood boil with a jealousy you had never felt before.

Despite your wish to be engulfed by the floor and disappear forever, you kept listening in to your crush smooching some other girl, until they stopped

“Aw, come on, what the fuck Ryan?”

“I-I’m sorry, listen,” you couldn’t decipher his tone.

“No, shut up. Fuck off really, I thought you liked me!”

“Yeah, I mean, it’s not you…” she didn’t let him finish.

“Yeah yeah sure, ‘it’s not you it’s me’, and I fucking bet, why’d you even bring me here if you can’t even get hard?” the door slammed so hard you swore it would fly off the hinges.

You heard Ryan exhale a long, pained sigh.

Was this even really happening? What the fuck were you supposed to do? If you were nervous before, at this point you were about to have a full on breakdown.

The bed creaked a little. Would Ryan hate you if you came out of your hiding spot-turned prison?

The mix of alcohol and weed made all your rationality go down the drain, or rather out the door with the girl who left, but the fear of what might wait you on the other side prevailed.

Trying to stay put, you felt your legs start to cramp, from how tight the closet was. You tried shifting on your spot, to relieve some of the discomfort, but it was of no help at all. It was so cramped in there, every single movement could become your demise.

And that’s exactly what happened. You were getting more and more uncomfortable, no change of position was helping, until you accidentally hit the wall, pretty hard too. You immediately froze in fear.

“What was that?”, at least Ryan sounded as scared as you. You could clearly hear footsteps pacing around the room. Maybe getting out was the best possible choice: you pushed the door open just enough to take a precautionary peek, before quickly slipping out, facing your best friend.

Ryan’s head shot up immediately when he noticed your frame standing in front of the closet, “What the- where’d you come from?”, he looked completely bewildered.

Fidgeting in your spot, you figured that telling him the truth was the best option, “Uhm well, it’s gonna sound insane but I was inside the closet. Like literally. I was here before you guys arrived and I panicked and hid in there”.

“Oh, so you heard everything?”, you nodded, “great, amazing even. Fuck,” he exhaled through gritted teeth, throwing himself on the bed.

“I-I’m sorry Ryan. I can leave if that’s what you want,” what were you even saying now, you felt your face burning from the embarrassment of the whole ordeal. Maybe, deep down, you were hoping that Ryan would forgive you and let you stay, to keep him company. And just maybe, open up about what happened, you were best friends after all.

“Nah, it’s okay, you can stay. That’d be probably better,” he sighed, sitting upright and patting the spot next to him, signaling you to come closer, “why were you even here to begin with?”

“Oh, uhm, I just wanted to have a smoke, and I couldn’t find you, so I figured I’d find somewhere to be alone,” a white lie wouldn’t hurt. It wasn’t even fully a lie, but you couldn’t bring yourself to spill the whole truth right now.

“Oh yeah? D’ya still have the weed?”, he looked a bit relieved.

“Sure, let me get it,” you retrieved the half smoked joint and your bag from the closet, putting the cig between your lips while sitting down. Ryan stole the lighter from your hands, smiling smugly. You gave him a confused stare, earning a satisfied gigglefrom him before he lit up the joint. You could smell the alcohol on him, and some faint perfume that almost made you gag.

“You can have the rest,” you passed him the joint, “I smoked this earlier”.

“It’s basically an offer I can’t refuse,” he chirped.

You watched him take a few drags, it was unfair how pretty he was, even now, with tousled hair, soft brown locks framing his handsome face, eyes glossed over but still shining like marbles. He always reminded you of the soft spring sun, warm and delicate, but still prone to silly jokes like sudden rainstorms. When his gleaming and mellow eyes met yours, you had to pull yourself out of the stupor you were falling in.

“Why are you staring?”, he inquired, in the same old cocky tone. You had to admit he was good at hiding awkwardness.

“Just wondering what happened earlier, like, did I hear things correctly or…”, you hoped he would believe you were mocking him and that he wouldn’t perceive the sadness hiding behind your pungent remark, “the Ryan Ross couldn’t get with a girl? Are my ears playing tricks on me?”

Violent, crimson blush painted his cheeks, “honestly, I really have no excuse, yeah, you heard correctly,” he sighed dramatically, but the jokey attitude wasn’t fooling you.

“Ryan, you can talk to me if there’s anything troubling you. Swear to God I will not make fun of you. Maybe,” you smiled softly.

“You better,” he playfully shoved you, lightly, “Uh, I just- I didn’t really like her.”

“Then why’d you flirt with her?”, you bit your tongue immediately after speaking, hoping Ryan wouldn’t notice the little detail you let slip out.

“I don’t even know, I think I wanted to get off, but… There might be a person I would have liked to do this with, but I can’t tell how she feels. I guess my body just decided to play me this sick, stupid joke today,” he forced a chuckle, “sorry, didn’t mean to ramble so much.”

A string of ‘fuck fuck fuck’s was all that was going through your mind. So Ryan liked someone, uh? ‘This day couldn't get any worse’. Worst of all, you were supposed to help him, console him, like the good, nice friend you were.

“Why don’t you just tell her? How could she not like you, have you seen yourself? Do you know how many girls would literally kill to get even just a single date with you?”

“Ahh, it’s just, let’s say, complicated”.

You gave him a blank, deadpan stare. He always did this, worrying over nothing, “I’m sure you can definitely work it out. Just tell her, c’mon”.

He chuckled, “okay, will do. After I'm done with this, though.”

You smiled at his willing attitude, but inside you felt like your whole world was falling apart. You wouldn’t be able to handle seeing the man you had liked for so many years with another girl. If this made you selfish, then you would embrace the label, because it was no use denying how jealous you were feeling.

He stubbed out the joint on the ashtray and inhaled deeply, “okay, so, I’m gonna do it now.”

“Yeah, good luck!”, you cheered him on. But he didn’t stand up. Instead, he faced towards you, adjusting his posture and clearing his throat.

“So, here goes nothing. I like you. Like a lot, and for a long time now,” he stared at you straight in the eyes, warm pools of chocolate engulfing you in their mesmerising hold.

“What?”, that’s all you could muster up. And there goes your romantic moment. You probably looked like a dead fish, with your eyes wide open in disbelief, while your crush of a lifetime confessed to you, “Ryan stop joking.”

“I’m not, I do really like you,” his tone was dead serious, his unreadable expression made you shiver. Was this real?

“Ryan, I swear, if you’re playing me you’re dead. Do you have any idea how long I’ve been in love with you?”, you tried to calm down, “all this time I was painfully watching you flirt with any girl you’d see, for what fucking reason if the one you liked was me all along? You were the only oblivious one to my feelings.”

“I-I just thought… a girl like you, why would you even want me? I tried my best to get over you, didn’t wanna ruin our friendship too, but nothing worked. And as you can see, today I failed miserably. It’s not even the first time…” you felt yourself melt under his words, as if they were a magic spell. The last sentence made you chuckle a bit.

“Serves you right, Ross,” you started feeling more at ease, “well, I like you too. So what now?”

You tried to regain some composure, glancing up at him occasionally: Ryan also looked happier now, the awkwardness long gone, except the sheepish smile still adorning his lips, which soon found yours, the warmness of his skin contrasting with the chills decorating every inch of your skin.

Chaste, dainty pecks soon turned into a fervid make out session, his hands roamed everywhere, eager to explore what he sought for so long. Your hands settled in his locks, soft like the nicest pillow and smooth like the most heavenly silk.

His lips travelled up and down your neck, your collarbones, your earlobes, he couldn’t get enough. And when you tumbled over on the bed, he hug you tightly, his arms snaking around your waist to hold you close to him, chest to chest. His breath crashed against your cheeks when your lips parted, “better than I ever dreamed,” he smiled, while he planted kisses on your whole face.

“Oh, so you even dreamed of this. But you didn’t have the balls to confess earlier?”, you teased him playfully.

“Mhm. How could I even imagine such an angel like you would like me back?”

“You sure do have a way with words, uh. Wait, wha-”, you shifted slightly on the mattress.

“Ryan, did you just get hard?”

୧‿̩͙ ˖︵ ꕀ⠀ ♱⠀ ꕀ ︵˖ ‿̩͙୨

can’t write smut so I’ll leave it up to your imagination! ;)

[caldella]

Yet another HB fan theory that may never get confirmed/answered.

Sooo this turned into a 200 word mini essay. Sorry. 😭 I've been sitting on this for a while, thinking about a very popular question among us Stolitz shippers:

What got Blitzø to start falling for Stolas so hard?

AKA "Stolas' detachment from realistic expectations was actually crucial as much as it messed things up."

We know pretty well what Stolas sees in Blitzø - his 'take charge' personality, his ambition, how Blitzø is always full of ideas and determined to go through with them. But what about Blitzø getting so attached to Stolas? How did this emotionally repressed cat lizard get so tied to this socially inept owl? I've discussed reasons in other posts, but I feel like there's one detail I haven't brought up RE when they first reconnected as adults:

Stolas was the first person from Blitzø's youth who met him as an adult and not only didn't reject him, but still believed in him and who he wanted to be. Potentially more than his own friends/employees in some ways.

Blitzø lost every close childhood connection after the fire and basically changed his entire self to create distance from who he was, even altering his name. When the show started, everyone who had known the old him (his dad, Fizz, Barbie) hated him. The Blitzø before Full Moon didn't value himself. He put on a cocky facade and tried not to think about the implications of his behavior.

And this was his mindset when he went to steal the grimoire. We're not sure if the IMP crew knew he was trying to obtain it. Personal guess? He told them he had an idea to improve their business and didn't elaborate. He knew how easy it had been to steal from Stolas as a kid and convinced himself it would work this time, too. Blitzø didn't let himself think too hard about the risks, or if Stolas didn't deserve to be stolen from a second time. Sure, he seemed to think Stolas was decent by the end of their time as kids. But that was 25 years ago. Blitzø was shitty now, life was shitty, everyone was shitty, surely Stolas was shitty now too, and everyone hated Blitzø anyway, so what did it matter if what he was doing was unethical?

But Stolas didn't see him as shitty. It would've been completely acceptable for a prince to have the imp who broke into his home obliterated. He didn't do that, or have him arrested, or even question him besides some teasing remarks. Stolas saw the grownup version of the kid he once admired and sat him down for conversation.

And that same vulnerability/callback to their child selves was also what snapped Blitzø out of his decision to just take the book and go. And his 'real fast' didn't end up being that.

And here's where my fan theory comes in.

This was Stolas' first situation where he felt wanted, where he had a crack of light in his very dark life that made him believe he could make choices for himself. But what about Blitzø? This dude got down bad, too. What happened that might've started the cracks in his own emotional walls?

Based on S1E1, Stolas allowed him to take the grimoire instead of Blitzø stealing it, and he knew Blitzø intended to use it for his work. Which meant at some point in this "real fast" night, Blitzø must have explained what he wanted it for.

This IMP concept was, from the start, an anomaly. Imps don't own their own business, especially in the Pride Ring despite this literally being Imp City. They don't have their own office. And Blitzø hadn't told the rest of his crew about the office before leasing it. When we got the flashback to Blitzø first renting it, his best friend, the person who believes he can do anything, thought he was reaching higher than she and the crew could handle.

But you know who would never doubt this goal of Blitzø's at all? Who would've completely supported this bonkers idea and boosted Blitzø's confidence that he could do it?

Who was disconnected enough from working class reality that he wouldn't realize how out-of-touch this dream potentially was?

Stolas.

If Blitzø mentioned any of this - the IMP business, the goal of having Sinner clients, renting their own office - Stolas didn't see an imp trying to aim too high. He saw the same ambitious kid he used to know, working toward the dream he always had - even if the nature of the business changed. And he very well might have mentioned that, too. I think this childhood dream was something Blitzø had buried in the back of his head. But he'd spent 15 years losing or separating himself from who he was since the fire. He might not have made the connection that this dream of IMP was, essentially, who he always has been.

Stolas was the first person in Blitzø's life who knew him as a kid and still validated him as an adult. Who never treated any of his goals as out of reach. Who started making Blitzø confront that, under his new persona, and despite all the shit he'd been through, the Blitzø he had been as a kid was still there. (Edit - I'm actually wondering if that's part of why, when we see flashbacks of their interactions from Blitzø's POV, Stolas always looks rounder/softer and more like his kid self.) Stolas made a link between young Blitzø's and adult Blitzø's dreams and wanted to see them succeed, even if the methods used were illegal and could carry significant consequences.

And then we had Blitzø, who grew up in a circus where coworkers/family were one and the same, using Stolas' grimoire for his own business. He tried to convince himself that Stolas' affections were fake. But as others have pointed out, he never tried alternate methods to access the living world when he could have. In my personal fan opinion, Blitzø started to tie Stolas into IMP's success the moment Stolas believed in Blitzø's goal and decided to support it, even if he didn't realize it. Blitzø does not want to do things alone. Even if this faith in him was fake - it had to be fake! Everyone hates him! - it was constant, and he didn't want to lose it. There was not IMP without Stolas' support, literally at first and eventually because Blitzø didn't want there to be.

And Stolas, for his part, never rescinded that support. Even when IMP was captured by humans. Even when the grimoire was easily stolen out of Blitzø's own office. Even when things started breaking down between them, Stolas tried to reassure Blitzø that his work wasn't in jeopardy. Because he knew this office, this business, was Blitzø's dream. It was more than a job - it was part of Blitzø's identity, who he was.

Stolas fumbled over this in Full Moon at first, when asking for the book back, but he made it very clear right after that he did not want to make any decisions that would prevent Blitzø from being himself. Even as he felt he was losing Blitzø, he believed in him.

We've realized over S2 how much Blitzø did for his IMP team, and also Stolas. But I think this is an important connection, and I hope it gets touched on in S3, even if just in a brief conversation. Yes, Stolas was guilty of putting Blitzø on a pedestal many, many times. But I think that unfaltering belief was part of what made Blitzø get so attached to him. And why part of his breakdown in Ghostfuckers included letting the IMP business falter and nearly crash. The Full Moon not-a-breakup caused a spiral in his self-loathing, and his self-destructive fear that he would push everyone away. But additionally, IMP it currently was - the office, the clientele, etc. - only got off the ground because Stolas unequivocally believed in Blitzø. He had been an unseen force/support behind IMP and Blitzø ever since S1.

And if the person who most believed in Blitzø's success was gone, what was the point of having it?

[choisanboobenthusiast]

The Ring

Pairing: Sub!Hwa x fem reader

Genre: smut MDNI

Word count: 6k

Summary: Seonghwa comes home after a day of schedules in that YSL shirt. After thinking about him all day you finally get to play with him and he wants nothing more than to let you.

If you want a nice audio to go along with this story @sugarnspice630 posted this one and it just fits sooo perfectly I couldn’t resist adding it.

Warnings: extremely sub Hwa, so much nipple play (duh he’s wearing that shirt), oral/fingering (f receiving), toys, ass play (m receiving, the bulk of this fic is ass play, if that’s not your thing don’t read this), overstimulation, dacryphilia, cum eating, slight choking, name calling, praise, slight degradation, begging. If I missed anything please let me know!

a/n: hiiii, it’s been a while! I’ve been working on this for ages 😭 I just didn’t have motivation to write anything for a long while. However, this shirt on Seonghwa made me go absolutely bonkers like I just wanna play with his nips y’know? I hope you guys enjoy! Thank you to @shinestarhwaa for requesting subhwa 🫶🏻 Feedback and reblogs are super appreciated :) (and yes I chose The Ring as the title to be funny bc well… you’ll see)

masterlist

You had been hanging around the house all day by yourself, trying to keep yourself busy with random tasks, watching your favorite show, playing videos games, even cleaning. You'd gone as far as getting yourself off three separate times but no matter what you did you couldn't distract yourself from all the dirty thoughts you were having about your boyfriend.

You had woken up early with him when his alarm went off even though you had the day off of work. You always liked waking up with him, even if it was at the ass crack of dawn sometimes. It meant you'd get a few snuggles in with him before he had to leave, which you appreciated since he would often be gone literally all day. Today wasn't any different except you cuddled too long, causing him to be a bit behind on getting ready. He showered faster than you'd ever seen him do. Seonghwa was usually the type to take his time as he took his hygiene and self care routine very seriously. But today he just didn't have the time, he had a photoshoot and various other schedules to get to.

It had all started when he came busting out of the bathroom back into your room, clad in nothing but the small beads of water he had failed to dry off of himself. They sparkled against his tan skin under the dim light of your bedside lamp and his wet hair hung messily around his face. It's not like you hadn't seen Seonghwa naked before, of course you had, plenty of times but there was just something about the way he looked in that moment, naked and wet, that made you instantly want him. You couldn't help this was yours bodies response and Seonghwa couldn't help that he didn't have time to do anything about it. No matter how much you whined about it.

You had eyed him up and down as he walked over to the dresser, definitely not staring at his cock as it hung soft in between his legs and certainly not thinking of making him late by putting it in your mouth. Your lingering gaze didn't go unnoticed by Seonghwa as he chuckled, facing away from you while he grabbed his clothing out of the dresser, his cute little ass on display for you. Your panties suddenly soaked at the mere thought of bending him over the dresser so you could play with him. You weren't sure what had come over you so early in the morning, the sun not even up yet, but you were never one to ignore your desires and Seonghwa was never one to deny them.

"Seonghwaaaa." You whined as you crawled to the end of the bed, grabbing his ass playfully as you stood next to him and began to pepper his shoulder with kisses, your other hand playing across his stomach.

"Yesss." He giggled at your actions.

"You can be late can't you?" The hand you'd placed on his stomach flitted up to his chest, your thumb just barely catching one his nipples as your other hand massaged his ass.

"Ughh." He groaned in frustration, his head tilting back slightly. "This is really important, I can't be late today and I'm already running behind- ah!" You had let your hand wander further south to stroke at his slowing hardening cock. He breathed in deeply before catching your wrist in his hand and removing it, apprehensively, from his appendage. "I'm sorry, baby, I really can't."

You groaned but accepted your defeat, telling him it was alright to which he kissed you sweetly on the forehead and promised to make it up to you later when he got home. And it was that promise that had you on the edge of your seat all day.

Finally, after what had felt like an eternity, you heard the front door unlock. You nearly ran from your spot on the couch to meet him, stopping dead in your tracks when you saw him. He had been styled to all hell, but in the best way possible. He wore a pair of dark slacks, his hair straightened and framing his face perfectly. On top he had a blazer that matched the pants, underneath he appeared to be wearing something very sheer, it piqued your interest.

"Wow." You gawked as you strolled closer to him. "What's all this?"

"Got to keep the outfit today." He beamed.

"It's nice." You fiddled with the front of his jacket, trying to take a peak inside as unobviously as possible but he caught on quickly.

"You wanna see the shirt?" He cocked an eyebrow at you. You only nodded, a devious smirk playing on your lips. He laughed lowly, removing his jacket to reveal a long sleeve blouse, completely sheer and extremely see through. Your heart jumped at the sight of him, gosh he really was so beautiful. "Like it?" As if he even needed to ask, you were practically drooling as you eyed his toned torso throughout the fabric, paying close attention to the way it brushed over his nipples whenever he moved.

"Love it." You answered, placing your hands gingerly on his hips before leaning in to kiss him. "You look sexy, baby."

He didn't bother responding, instead lifting his hands to snake them through your hair as he kissed you back. You groaned into his mouth as you pulled your bodies together, your hands finding their way quickly under his shirt to roam over the soft skin of his back. You stayed like this for a little bit, just kissing, hands roaming, tongues sliding together, breath quickening. His pants did nothing to hide his growing erection, every passing second you could feel him growing harder, pressing into you. You had been waiting all day to touch him, to feel him up against you, to play with him how you knew he liked. Now that you finally had him you were becoming restless more quickly than normal.

Still standing in the entryway, you suggested moving things to your bedroom, he was quick to agree. You could hardly keep your hands off each other as you made your way there, stopping every couple of steps just to kiss and touch.

"Been thinking about you all day, Hwa." You said, your hands chasing after his hips as he backed into your bedroom.

"Oh yeah?" He pulled you flush to him, fingers tickling at your collarbones.

"Mhm." You smirked and dipped your hands down to grab at his belt buckle. "You gonna be a good boy for me?" He nodded as you began to undo his pants, smirking at the effect these simple words had on him. "Yeah?" You unzipped his slacks and pushed your hand into them, feeling his hard cock through his underwear. "Gonna let me play with you until I'm satisfied?"

He groaned at the contact. "God, yes." His normally sweet and innocent eyes had turned lustful in an instant, staring down at you with need.

"So hard already, baby." You continued to palm him through his boxers.

"Been thinking about you all day, too." His fingers dug into the skin of your shoulders as his eyes closed. His mouth fell open slightly as you snaked your hand inside his underpants. You grabbed him gently, stroking his length slowly and running your thumb over his leaking tip. "Can I touch you too? Please."

Without a word you retracted your hand and rid yourself of your top, leaving your chest completely bare for him. "You can touch me up here but not anywhere else yet. Got it?"

"Mhmm." He wasted no time, his hands flying to your tits as soon as you gave him permission. He pinched at your nipples, rolling the hardening buds between his fingers while he kissed down your jaw, relishing in the tiny noises he drew from your lips. "So pretty." He mumbled, his lips making their way to your neck.

He continued to massage your breasts as you returned your hand to it's previous position, allowing the other to explore underneath his top. He loved the way you touched him. Loved how your hands felt as they grazed his stomach and flitted up to caress his chest. He was always so sensitive to your touch, his body jolting at the feeling of your fingers on one of his nipples, a tiny whine escaping him. You let your thumb rub slow circles over the bud as he grabbed your face in both his hands, kissing you hard. You kept your ministrations up as his tongue entered your mouth with ease, tasting you like it was his first time.

Still slowly stroking his cock you pinched and pulled at his nipple, earning yourself a string of whines and groans as his head tilted backward. There was nothing prettier than the sounds he made and you couldn't wait to pull more out of him. "Take you clothes off and get on the bed." You instructed, pulling your hands from him. "But leave this pretty little thing on." You fingered the hem of his shirt.

He followed your instructions immediately, taking his pants and underwear off hurriedly before getting on the bed on his back, propping himself up slightly on the pillows. His cock twitched against his stomach, leaking beads of precum onto his skin and shirt as he waited for you to come touch him. He stared at you hungrily, anticipating your next move, the mystery of what you might do sending excitement through him.

Today you weren't going to make him wait, mostly because you were so worked up already yourself. Usually, you'd tease him until he was begging and squirming, which admittedly didn't take all that long. But today you wanted to please him and then make him get you off afterwards, although you knew it wouldn't take anything to convince him. So before joining him on the bed you sauntered over to the closet, grabbing a box from the top shelf. Inside the box was every toy you and Seonghwa owned, save for some things like restraints and lingerie, neither of which were in your plans for the evening. Typically you'd just pick a toy and surprise him but you were feeling generous and wanted to let him choose.

"What do you want today, Hwa?" You asked, peeling the lid from the box and coming to sit beside him.

He looked at you wide eyed, surprised you were asking. "Whatever you want." He answered.

You set the box on the nightstand and touched his thigh gently. "I want you to choose, baby." You smiled, stroking his skin lightly. "Just pick what you want and set it on the bed." You turned your head away, wanting to be surprised.

You felt the bed shift a little underneath you and then heard him sifting through the box before he whispered out a meek "okay."

When you turned back to face him you were surprised to see three toys laid out next to him as opposed to one, which you were expecting. "Aren't we being a little greedy here?" You teased, taking note of the fact that they were all his and none were yours. "These are all for you, what about me?"

He was apologetic immediately. "I-I can put one back or swap one out-"

"Well, we're definitely not doing that." You nearly laughed, closing up the box and placing it on the floor before putting his chosen toys in it's place on the bedside table. "You chose these three things, we're gonna use all three. I guess you'll just have to work extra hard to get me off yourself then, huh?"

"I'll be good, I promise." He sat up, leaning into you, caressing your sides and kissing your shoulder. "Wanna make you cum." His fingers flitted back up to your chest, toying with your nipples once again as you sighed and turned to kiss him.

Before you knew it you were lying on your back, head pressed into the pillows with Seonghwa in between your legs, knuckle deep in your pussy. He had already made you cum once from just his fingers and was now determined to get you off again with his mouth. He loved how you writhed beneath him when he sucked on your clit and pulled at his hair when he curled his fingers inside you just right. You were a wet, sticky mess beneath him, gasping and moaning as your cunt clenched around him repeatedly.

There were few moments were Seonghwa got dominant but with his face pressed in between your thighs he leaned into it quite a bit more, which you never complained about. He'd edge you and overstimulate you until you switched roles again. You'd get this tone in your voice that let him know it was time to stop or give you what you want. And being the good boy that he was, he'd always listen.

"Fuuck." He groaned out, eyes darting upward to look at you, lips still attached to your leaking core. "Taste s'good." You couldn't find it in you to respond, at least not with words. Instead, gripping his hair tighter while grinding against him. While he played the dom part in this position, it was really you who was in control. He knew it, and loved it, wanting nothing more than to be controlled by you. "Fuck yes, baby, fuck my fingers." He was relentlessly pushing his digits in and out of you, an obscene squelching sound filling the air as he licked and sucked on your clit. He felt your walls clenching down on his fingers, watching your eyes roll back. "Gonna cum?"

"Mmm!" You whined, still unable to form a single coherent thought. The only thing on your mind the feeling of Seonghwa's long tongue dipping into your entrance with his fingers, your clit catching on his nose, your whole body seeming to light on fire at the sensation. Seonghwa loved it when you rode his face, wanted to be covered in your slick by the time you were done. You, of course, would grant his wish every time.

As you ground onto him with a tight hold on his hair he groaned lowly into you, the vibration of his voice sending you over the edge. Your body trembled and shook as you came undone, your legs snapping closed around your lover's head as he worked you through your high. As your body went slack he slowed his movements, massaging your thigh with his free hand and peppering kisses along your skin gently. He removed his fingers slowly, rubbing them through your soaked folds a few more times before you gave his hair a harsh tug. He got the message, retracting from your sensitive core completely and lifting his face to stare at you.

With your bare chest heaving, you looked down at him, and what a sight he was. His face glistened with your wetness, smeared across his nose and cheeks, dripped down his chin and with a wide smile and sparkling eyes he licked you off his lips. He sighed out, resting his cheek on your inner thigh, both his arms still hooked around you as he stroked your skin lovingly.

"I did good for you?" He asked.

"So good." You mused, sitting up a bit, your hand still tangled in his dark locks, you pulled him backward. He didn't resist, allowing you to do what you wanted. "Now it's your turn baby boy."

Seonghwa had grabbed three toys, a vibrating cock ring which you planned to put on him right away, and a butt plug and vibrator which you planned to tease him with until he was crying. You made him lie on his back first, sliding the cock ring onto his shaft and placing it just below the head, the vibrating part on the underside where you knew he liked it. He fisted the sheets while you stroked him lazily, not yet turning on the vibrations. His lips trembled as he watched you rub your palm over the head and pump him slowly, little gasps and groans escaping him.

"Feels good?" You questioned, although you already knew the answer.

"Fuck, feels so good." He answered.

"Ready for more?"

"Please." He nodded eagerly.

"Flip over, hands and knees."

He did as you said, switching positions to get on his hands and knees. He knew what was coming of course and his body shook with anticipation. You trailed your hands over his back, massaging him lightly, squeezing his shoulders and neck gently, raking your fingers through his hair. He still wore the shirt he'd come home in, it hung loosely around his shoulders as the hem brushed across the mattress. You let your hands travel down his sides and over his hips before squeezing his plump ass in both your hands, being sure to massage the flesh there too. As you did so he fell forward slightly, now supporting himself on his elbows as his breath quickened.

You grabbed a bottle of lube, dripping some in between his cheeks before coating your index and middle finger in the substance. You carefully rubbed your fingers over his hole, his breath hitching at the contact. You kept a slow pace, prodding your middle finger into his entrance just slightly before removing it to rub over him again. Simultaneously your free hand wandered over his soft skin, squeezing his cock and pinching his nipples, drawing out little whines from him. Any minute now he would start begging you to fill him and fuck him and let him cum. You sunk your middle finger into him completely and he groaned out into the sheets, his fists clenching at the feeling of you moving in and out of him slowly.

"Please, more." There it was. He lifted his head from the pillow it had been shoved into and peered back at you, his big brown eyes pleading as he whimpered for more. "Please, baby."

"Want another finger?" You asked.

"Yes, please." He nodded.

"Since you're being such a good boy."

You complied with his request, slotting your pointer finger in slowly next to your middle finger. He watched you still, mouth agape as you stretched him out, nearly drooling as you pumped you fingers a little faster. He groaned and closed his eyes, giving himself over to the pleasure and burying his face back in the pillows. Eventually your fingers moved quickly in and out of him, your other hand nonstop toying with his nipples. His body was shaking with every thrust of your fingers, moans and whimpers escaping him as you pinched and pulled at his sensitive buds which were now red from being played with. You purposely avoided touching his leaking cock all that much, wanting him as desperate as possible.

"P-please, fuck me." He whined into the pillow, his hips moving involuntarily with the motions of your hand. "Fuck, pleeease."

"You want your toy now, baby?" You slowed your movements, finally dropping your hand down from his chest to stroke at his cock, red and leaking all over the sheets.

"Yes, y-yes, want you to fuck me." He pleaded, voice shaking, taking on a high pitched tone. "P-please, please, I've been so good. Been a good boy. Wanna cum." He babbled on.

"You have been a good boy." You agreed, carefully removing your fingers from him. "My good boy." You grabbed his vibrator from the nightstand, lubing it up generously. It was certainly larger than your two fingers, but you knew he could take it. You rubbed the toy over his hole, prodding his entrance with the tip of it. "You're such a little slut, Seonghwa," He groaned. "Asking me to fuck you with three different toys. Begging me to fill you up."

"Yes, please, f-fill me, please." He was grinding his hips back onto the toy, desperate for it to enter him.

"You love it when I stretch you out? Fuck your tight little hole until you're crying?" You started to push the toy into him at an extremely slow pace.

"Please please please." He begged. "Please, more. Want m- unghh." He moaned as you turned on the vibrations, pushing it in further.

"I love it when you beg me, baby." You reached for his cock again, this time flicking on the cock ring. His whole body shuddered as you did so, causing the toy to slip in further and the most obscene sounds to fall from his lips. You began to slowly move the toy in and out of him, pushing it deeper with each thrust as you pumped his cock in unison. "Doing such a good job." You praised. "Taking it so well, Hwa. Does it feel good?"

"Yes!" He nearly shouted. "F-fuck, it feels so good. Love when you fuck me."

You continued like this for a little while, fucking him harder and faster but not yet letting the toy sink all the way in. You were honestly surprised he hadn't cum yet with the way he was mewling and gasping for air. At the very least you knew he must be close.

"D-deeper." He whimpered. "Need it deeper."

"Oh yeah? My baby boy wants the whole thing?" He nodded eagerly and whined when you gave him what he wanted. With the entire length of the vibrator sheathed inside him you released his cock from your hold and brought your fingers up to curl harshly into his hair. You pulled his face up from where it was in the pillow, his eyes wide as he looked back at you, face flushed, a bit of drool dribbling down his chin. You were no longer moving the toy in and out of him, instead just letting it sit inside him as it buzzed. Nearly every breath he exhaled was accompanied by a broken whimper, his mouth agape as he stared at you with all the admiration in the world. Without warning him you turned the vibrations up, hitting the button twice to put it at it's highest setting.

"Ah!" His breath hitched violently, the muscles in his back and arms tensing. His tanned skin now glistening with a sheen of sweat. "Please keep f-fucking me. Wanna cum. Let me cum please."

"Seonghwa, you can cum whenever you want, my prince."

"Mm-mm." He shook his head. "Don't wanna cum unless you- unless you're fucking me. Need you to fuck me." His voice trembled as he spoke and the way his fingers dug into the pillow told you he was holding back on purpose.

"Fuck, Seonghwa." You groaned at the sight of him, the throbbing in your pussy growing greater by the second. "Just need to have your ass fucked, huh?" You began to do as he asked, moving the toy in and out of him again, your other hand still gripping his hair. "Can't cum unless I play with your little ass? Fuck, look how good you're taking it." You released his hair, smacking his ass hard. He let out a high pitched strangled moan.

"Harder, please." He whined and you complied. Though you weren't sure if he meant fuck him harder or smack his ass harder, you opted to just do both. Going as fast and hard as your tired wrist would allow you to with the toy you slapped his cheeks a few more times, red marks beginning to form immediately. He was shaking now, a near constant stream of whimpers escaping his throat.

"Wanna cum?" You asked, obviously already knowing the answer.

"Yes, yes, yes." He cried.

"Play with your cock then." You demanded.

He did as you said, snaking a hand underneath his torso to stroke himself needily. "Ahhh, I'm g-gonna cum, gonna cum for you."

"Dirty boy. Gonna cum from getting your ass fucked?"

"Yes! Fuuuuck." He was pumping his cock quickly, hips stuttering as he tried to simultaneously fuck into his fist and move his ass back on the toy. "Right there, oh fuck, don't stop!"

"When you cum you're gonna catch it all in your hand, understood?"

"Mmmmf!" He nodded.

"That's my good boy."

With your praise he fell apart, his other hand coming down to catch his release as his entire body shook. His voice cracked as he moaned, his eyes squeezed shut and mouth agape as he rode out his high.

"Good fucking boy, cumming so much for me." You continued to praise him as he shot his load into his hand. "Make sure you don't drop any or you'll be in trouble."

Once the trembling in his his legs died down you removed the vibrator carefully, setting it aside before turning off his cock ring. Seonghwa stayed in his position, face down, ass up, chest heaving, tiny sounds still managing to be heard from him.

"On your back now." You helped him turn over, gazing at his fucked out face. Strands of his hair stuck to his forehead, his cheeks flushed red and he glistened with sweat everywhere. "Use your cum as lube, I'm gonna ride you." You instructed, grabbing his butt plug off the nightstand. "And get this nice and wet for me." You presented it to him and he followed your directions, lubing himself up with his own release, gasping and whining at the feeling of overstimulating his softening cock. He then reached his hand out to rub it around the butt plug and without having to be asked shifted the cock ring to rest at the base of his shaft instead of the head. "You're being so good for me, baby." You cooed, rubbing the flesh of his thighs gently. "Now show me your little ass. You want it plugged up don't you?"

He nodded fervently. Hooking his hands behind his knees, not seeming to care one bit that one of them was fully covered in his arousal, he pulled them towards his chest, displaying himself for you just as you'd asked. His cock twitched against his stomach as he stared down at you In between his legs, rubbing the plug over his abused hole. He was fully hard again almost immediately, throwing his head back with his eyebrows threaded together as you pushed the plug past his rim. He squeaked when the plug settled fully in his asshole and you ran your hands along his legs, admiring him spread out before you.

"So pretty, Hwa." You complimented, pulling his legs back down onto the mattress and straddling him. "My gorgeous boy." You slotted your wet pussy right over his dick, grinding yourself over him, leaning forward to kiss him. His hands grabbed at your ass, encouraging you to continue to move. A bit of the cum that was still left on his hand now transferred to your skin but you didn't care, you'd both need a shower after this anyways. "This shirt looks so good on you, baby." You sat up a bit to trace his collarbones and shoulders through the sheer material before bringing your fingers down to his nipples, circling your thumbs over them gently. His breath caught in his throat, his body jumping slightly. "Awe, my baby's so sensitive." You pushed his shirt up, bending down to attach your mouth to one of his nipples, circling your tongue around it and nipping at it carefully with your teeth as you continued to pinch and pull at the other. This earned you a series of whines and his hands in your hair.

"Fuck. Please, wanna be inside you." He breathed.

"Oh yeah?" You pulled away from his chest and his own hands found their way to your breasts, giving you the same treatment he'd just received. You sighed out and closed your eyes. "Want you inside me too, Hwa."

You reached down and turned the vibrations back on his cock ring, causing him to jolt at the sensation. You pumped his hard cock a few times, sliding the tip through your folds and over your clit, both of you moaning. You lined him up with your entrance, slowly sinking down onto his length, the cock ring coming in contact with your clit as he bottomed out. You planted your hands on his chest as he grabbed at your hips, looking up at you with stars in his eyes, eyebrows pinching, mouth agape.

"Fuck baby, your pussy feels so good." His fingers dug into your flesh as you began to move.

Before long you were riding him like your life depended on it, bouncing on his cock quickly. The sound of your wet skin slapping together filled the room, as did both of your obscene moans. You were close to cumming already, the feeling of his fat cock filling you over and over mixed with the vibrations of the cock ring hitting your clit every time you came down on him causing you immense pleasure. Seonghwa didn't look like he was going to last long either, his fucked out expression only worsening with time, tears forming in his eyes, a few escaping. His overly sensitive cock just taking what you gave him. Eventually you collapsed onto his chest, grinding your clit over the cock ring while kissing his neck fervently, nibbling at his earlobe, making sure to whine right in his ear.

"Fuck, you're gonna cum aren't you?" He asked, voice cracking, slapping your ass harshly as you nodded into his shoulder. "Fuck yes, baby, cum on my cock." He encouraged, smacking your ass again. "Gonna cum with you. Gonna fill up your pussy. Can I? Fill up your slutty little cunt?"

“Fuck yes, Seonghwa.” You gripped his hair, feeling the coil within you getting dangerously close to snapping with his words. “Be a good boy, cum inside me. Fuuuck, I love your cock.”

“Please! Please cum!” He shouted suddenly. “S’too much, I can’t.” He let the tears flow freely now, it appeared he had been holding them in. With his arms wrapped around your torso he held your body tightly to his, with his eyes squeezed shut and his little sobs falling right into your ear. “Please, need you to cum. Ican’tIcan’tIcan’t.”

You felt his fingers digging into your back, his body shaking beneath you as he cried. You knew if he truly didn’t want to continue he’d use your safe word. Seonghwa took pleasure in the immense overstimulation and enjoyed crying for you because he knew you liked it when he did. “Yes, you c-can, Seonghwa. Doing so good, baby, just a little more- ohh shit.” You felt your orgasm approaching quickly, the heat in your core building. You wrapped your fingers around his neck, applying some pressure. “Cumming, Hwa, m’cumming! Fill up my pussy, baby.”

Didn’t have to tell him twice, he came immediately as your cunt clenched around him, both of your bodies shaking as you climaxed together. He let a loud, broken sob as he released deep into you. You both rode out your orgasms, panting and whining, Seonghwa still crying. After a minute, both your highs died down and you lied on top of him, sticky skin sticking to his as you released your heavy grip on his throat. He tapped at your back quickly.

“P-please, t-turn it off.” You had almost forgotten about the cock ring buzzing around his length. He sniffled as he spoke, his voice sounding pained. “Please! Turn if off, t-turn it off!”

You almost didn’t, considering keeping it on and fucking him again. But with the way he was crying and shaking you thought he might not be able to handle anymore. So you complied with his request, sitting up just enough to reach in between your sweat covered bodies and turn off the toy.

“There you go, baby.” You cooed, petting his face sweetly. He let out a sigh of relief, a jumble of quiet and tired “thank you’s” falling from his swollen lips. His head slumped to the side as his body calmed down a bit. “My prince looks so pretty when he cries.”

You kissed his jaw gently, swiping some of his tears away. You stayed like that for a little while longer, his cock softening inside you as you continued to stroke his skin softly and pepper him with gentle kisses. You couldn’t bring yourself to part from him yet, wanting to be connected to him forever. His breathing eventually slowed, his crying nearly subsided and he began to run his own fingers along your back. You felt his cum dripping out of you, spilling out down the sides of his shaft. You reached your hand in between your bodies once again, this time to collect some of the sticky substance that was dribbling out of you. You swiped your fingers around his dick and through your folds before bringing them up to his face.

“Open up.” You said softly. “Look at me.”

He obeyed. Opening his mouth and jutting his tongue out slightly while simultaneously opening his watery eyes to look at you. You slid your three fingers along his tongue and he closed his lips around them as you pushed them back into his mouth.

“Mmm.” He groaned around your digits.

“That’s my good boy.” You praised. “Do you taste good?”

He nodded and continued sucking on your fingers, swirling his tongue around them and swallowing down the mixture of both your juices. When you removed your fingers he opened his mouth wide, sticking his tongue out to show you he had swallowed it all. When he closed his mouth he puckered his lips cutely, silently asking you for a kiss. You obliged, pressing your lips sweetly onto his, parting his lips with your tongue. The salty taste of his own cum lingered and you could faintly taste it as you lazily made out. Before long you could feel him hardening inside you once again.

“Getting hard again, Hwa.” You whispered into his ear, placing chaste kisses along his jaw.

“Can’t help it.” He said quietly. “Pussy’s so warm around me.”

“You wanna go again?” You asked, very gently rocking your hips once. He immediately dug his fingers into your side, holding your firmly in place and shaking his head.

“No, can’t.” He almost sounded like he was going to cry again. “Please, can’t go again.”

“Shh, okay, it’s okay.” You pet his hair and carefully lifted yourself off of him. “No more tonight, baby, you did so good for me.” You continued talking to him as you sat beside him and reached down to remove the cock ring, trying your best to distract him from the feeling. “You wanna take a bath?” You began to pull the ring up his shaft slowly and his hands fisted into the sheets. He nodded, squeezing his eyes closed. “Okay, good. We’ll get you all cleaned up.” You wiggled the ring over the head of his cock, which was now bright red and overly sensitive. He sucked in sharply, a tiny squeak leaving the back of his throat as you the ring brushed over his sensitive tip. “Good job, honey.” You set the cock ring to the side and rubbed his arms lovingly. “You okay?”

He released the sheets from his tight grip and placed both his hands on your thighs, a tired smile spreading across his lips as he stared up at you. “I’m okay, my love. You take such good care of me.”

You placed a hand on his cheek and he nuzzled his face into your palm, giving you a kiss there. “Let’s get you into that bath then.” You leant down and kissed him. “Wanna cuddle.”

[ktarology]

kiss ♡︎ bokuto x gn!reader

bokuto doesn’t like to stare, he knows it’s considered rude and he hates the awkward air afterwards when he’s caught. but he just can’t help himself from staring at the pink sheen glazed across your lips.

he should be focusing on the words coming out of your mouth and he has a little bit of shame for thinking about if your lip oil has a flavor (and how many kisses it would take for him to guess it).

but how was he supposed to know you’d be this enticing while simply giving him the rundown of your work day? bokuto desperately wants to shut you up. not that he’s uninterested, he just really would rather feel them move against his.

he doesn’t know what to do. he’s done the triangle method four times , look into your eyes, down to your mouth, and back up to your eyes again and he’s not sure if he’s doing it right or if you’re just not picking up what he’s putting down.cheeks heating up as he’s thinking about another way to get the green light from you to make a move. and then he feels it.

bokuto almost believed he was having phantom pressure on top of his lips. yours are soft, the lip oil you use definitely works. and he feels himself melting with each movement against yours and thanking whichever deity above for you finally getting the hint.

his hands found their home holding your cheeks as yours played with the smalls hairs across his neck. and he wants to stay like this forever and wishes the deity granted you both the ability to not have to come up for air. but he’s not that lucky.

strawberry is his new favorite flavor.

a/n its currently 2:40am and i haven’t written anything in two years but i was listening to kiss by dojaejung and my brain went bonkers

[peakyrain]

consciousness, water & shifting: related how?

inspired by sanela.estrella on tiktok :)

fyi: long post ahead!

-

in light of recent studies, we're starting to learn that our consciousness being stored in the brain might not be the case, as supposed.

years ago, there was a french man experiencing weakness in his leg. he went to the doctor only to find out that 90% of his brain was missing.

mind you, he went to the doctor regarding his leg pain, completely unrelated to his brain.

this man was shown to have no cognitive impairment and was living a typical normal life as a married man, with two kids.

cognitive psychologist cleeremans describes the man as: "(..) perfectly, socially apt". the man's skull was found to be full of liquid, with just a thin layer of brain tissue left. he was completely unaware of the fact that he only had 10% of his brain.

the picture below shows the actual scans of his head.

source!

this is one of the cases that's raised the question of where the hell our consciousness is stored in the body. we're aware now, based on this case (as well as others), that it might very well not be the brain, as assumed.

-

you might now think that i'm going off topic, but bear w/ me!

i'm now going to discuss water and its relation to the topic of consciousness (whoaaa). water is as we know, crucial for all life forms, w/o water we literally can't exist. yesterday i came across this (->) article about water being a conscious and an intelligent being.

japanese author masaru emoto studied the molecular structure of water and how words and energy from human consciousness affects the crystalline structure of ice. emoto has said that words of love and gratitude have been used to create the most beautiful crystals, while water exposed to hateful energy, has resulted in chaotic and unpleasant structures.

though emoto's work has faced skepticism in the scientific community, his findings do resonate with those exploring the connection between energy and intention

the article continues on to mention how humans exist on a lower level of consciousness than water and that it has also shown to hold memories. the fact that water is intelligent and conscious changes and challenges our view of reality.

water picks up information and then distributes it to plants and animals (obvs including us) that consume it. which is also why you can literally speak your desires into your water before drinking it, which'll manifest it into reality. (made me realize that people on early shifttok weren't completely bonkers when they said to drink lots of water)

countless people use water to manifest their desires, whether it's by speaking them into the water before drinking it or while showering, and it's been shown to be effective based on numerous successful stories.

religious groups (such as muslims) also believe in praying and asking God for their desires as it rains because their prayers are believed to be answered during that divine time.

-

veda austin, a water researcher, has dedicated 10 years of her life observing and photographing the life of water

one of the experiments austin has done is politely asking her water to replicate an image - a picture of her friend.

after she froze the water, it drew her an identical portrait of her friend.

she has also done another experiment where she put her thumb in a bowl. the water then replicated her thumb w/ a suspicious crack on her nail. three hours later, veda cracked her nail in the exact same spot as shown or predicted by the water (image below).

veda’s crystallography proves that water can store information and share it as it freezes. veda austin believes that water is an intelligent being that observes itself through every living organism on the planet and in the universe.

-

as mentioned earlier we know water is the unifying factor in all living being. so, what if - a big what if - water is what holds our consciousness?

we've discovered that the brain, or our body in general isn't what holds our consciousness, then there's a possibility that it might be water, since we are in fact made up of about 60% water.

our brains and hearts are composed of 73% water, and the lungs are about 83% water. this seriously cannot be a coincidence, let's be so fr ladies.

upon doing some research as i'm writing this, i also found that severe dehydration causes weakness, confusion and in extreme cases kidney/brain damage and it can even lead to death.

so the idea of water being the intelligence that holds our consciousness, shouldn't be that crazy, imo, right?

⭒ but finally how can we tie this into reality shifting?

reality shifting is the act of moving your awareness to another reality - or as some might describe it: tuning into another frequency of the version of yourself that you desire.

and so, if consciousness isn’t stored in the brain (like my post suggests), then it must be stored in something else - something fluid, changeable, maybe even programmable as water.

as mentioned, water is:

-a conductor of energy

-capable of holding memory

-present in every part of our bodies, especially organs tied to consciousness (brain, heart and nervous system)

-responsive to intention, frequency and emotion

if water stores memory and responds to thought - then it’s not just a passive element in our bodies - it’s an intelligent system that mirrors our consciousness.

this means: every time you visualize, script, affirm, or feel deep emotion toward another reality, you’re not just thinking - you're reprogramming the water inside you to vibrate at the frequency of that reality.

what if the reason shifting works at all is because water allows it?

not the brain. not some abstract metaphysical portal. but the literal water inside you. water holds your memories, your intentions, your beliefs. and when you train it, program it, you unlock the ability to move your awareness between realities.

what if water isn’t just part of us - it is us? and what if that’s why shifting works, by recalibrating the water within it?

-

[gogobluedynamite]

I wanna do a short character study of sorts about Kinger and his insanity/lucidity and...I guess his overall behavior and psychology...so this may not be short at all (spoiler alert: its not)

A small conversation I had with @lazuli-starlight made me realize that Kinger isn't as bonkers as I thought he was. Yes, he is very much loony, there is no doubt about that. But...his insanity seems a lot more subdued than I figured.

First off, he's strikingly chill during times he could've been in great distress. Like during the bandit chase, he didn't seem too concerned over the knives stuck to his head. Then comes Ep3 with the gaping maw that is the Really Scary Door that Kinger didn't bat an eye to jump into to get Gangle's mask.

This is, of course, him being very used to the adventures at this point. He knows in some way that he isn't in danger.

The way I think it is that his thought process is a bit more...linear.

Insane Kinger doesn't seem to have second thoughts and he solely focuses on one thing at a time.

Also, I feel the only time he seems very erratic is when his fight or flight response goes up. (The one moment in the fansong Happy Place came to mind. He was with Ragatha in a setting that reminded me of Lethal Company)

In Ep2, I like to imagine Kinger's thought process when he was trying to save Pomni. He first sees the life preserver and thought 'Oh! This can help her!' and throws it at her. In the next scene, he was back to seating calmly while Jax was blackmailing Gangle. Next, he was shown throwing a flippin' anchor at Pomni! It was like there was a moment before where Kinger was like 'Oh! Pomni's still stuck on the bandit's truck! I see an anchor! I'll use that to help her!'

His scattered brain doesn't let him realize that a life preserver and an anchor wasn't going to help, at least not in the conventional sense. Lucid Kinger would've probably given himself a moment to think of a better strategy... and question why a syrup tanker had a life preserver and an anchor on board.

Then in Ep3, when his first focus was on helping Pomni get her eyes back in her head, it instantly changed to getting Gangle's mask when he noticed how upset Gangle was.

Both times, he's helping someone. His 'fight' response. (actually not correct in this case, as the fight or flight response involves self preservation. In this case, it's more like tend-and-befriend.)

As for his flight response (or whatever equivalent like tend-and-befriend):

Ep1 (Pilot), he only started to panic in the presence of Abstracted Kaufmo before learning about the escalator.

Ep3, he starts panicking when he realizes that the dumbwaiter was going down. I think what happened here was him realizing to some level that the Angel head had an effect on him and saw it as something dangerous and needed to get away from it. Before, he wasn't concerned once he saw the head and the initial surprise of its appearance went away.

He...definitely seems like he's running on instinct and just coasts along with whatever train of thought is present.

To me, how he acted throughout Ep3 is how he usually acts. Even when he was exposed to little light...with some exceptions.

You know, I'm starting to think. I thiiink--

This is the sign that he is transitioning from insanity to lucidity. His brain is finally given time to properly process information, though he is still very loony up until the cellar.

You know, I've been thinking about--

Now, that isn't to say that Kinger doesn't process information.

Such as his advice to Pomni at the beginning of Ep3.

Try not thinking about it!

Which is used again later in the Hall of the Damned.

Well, how about we try not thinking about it?

At first, Pomni and the others (and us) thought Kinger was giving useless advice. Come later in Hell, it was more genuine than what Pomni (and we) realized.

I guess a way to look at it is that Insane Kinger processes the information at the moment and says whatever comes to mind while Lucid Kinger gives himself time to think it through.

Thanks to @galactic-knightmare, I do think that if there is something truly significant that Kinger would give a lot of focus on, he can appear lucid in the light. I feel a good example of this is the brief moment before Kaufmo's funeral.

It's the least we could do to honor their memory.

He was weirdly lucid here and I'm not sure if he had enough time in the dark (either by his fort or just closing his eyes) for this to happen.

I...have no idea if any of this made sense lol. It was just something I was thinking about and wanted to write it out.

Clearly, I have a huge love for Kinger and psychology was one of my favorite subjects (even had it as a minor for college), so this was fun to write.

Tell me what you guys think about Kinger's thought process.