#I will try to throw some ideas at a board over the weekend and see if something can stick

[fortune-maiden]

what i was thinking was that when swd made pei ming swear, he used some kind of binding artifact that forces pei ming to keep his promise. pm knew about it when the vow happened, but didn't care because he never thought anything would happen to shi wudu...and a year post-canon, pei ming's powers are fading and he doesn't realize why until he remembers the artifact. he confesses what happened to xl first, then they tell sqx together, and pei ming frames it as "sqx, thank you so much for doing this for my sake" and offers to house and feed her friends from the capital in return.

OH! MY! GOODNESS! I LOVE THIS A LOT!

This is going in a sad direction but in a very fun way! Pei Ming is someone who never wanted to get married in the first place but now has to or he'll die, and worse - he's effectively trapping SQX into the marriage. I can see him as stoically considering death before dragging SQX into this but SQX wouldn't be able to live with the guilt of someone else suffering because of her brother's protectiveness and questionable choices so - yeah, she does agree to it for Pei Ming's sake, and its deeply uncomfortable for both of them, especially because PM made this vow centuries ago and can't remember what the exact wording was

(But he insists - repeatedly - that he entered it willingly and knowingly and aside from a desire to smack SWD a few times, doesn't hold a grudge against him. And for his own sanity acts like his usual silly self)

But they're willing to make it work. At least temporarily while Hualian and Ling Wen find a way to free PM from the artifact's curse so SQX can be freed too.

And of course, as Pei Ming's legends go, any woman who enters into a relationship with him is guaranteed a good life so exactly as SWD would have wanted, SQX is set up with a good house for herself and her friends and both of them do their best to pretend that nothing has changed

(someone in heaven leaks the story to the mortal realm and SQX goes to watch plays of it when PM isn't around and feels very awkward and uncertain especially with how the story gets warped and embellished.)

(Meanwhile, something something lots of complicated SWD feelings because how could her brother do this to both her and his closest friend!)

[poguehearted77]

Wild Child

summary: after being sent away to boarding school for being a wild child you're finally back and celebrating your return in the only way you see fit.

smut: pool party, ragers, drug use (alcohol, vapes n weed), size kink, Rafe is cocky, mentions of old flings, manhandling, hot tubs, they do it on her parents' bed, rough sex, step-mom slander, reader is such a flirt n a tease, curvy reader, dom! rafe, bratty! reader, skinny dipping, mentions of body shots, choking, spanking (like once).

The morning sun was ascending high into the sky when you finally managed to get yourself out of your king-sized bed, fit for someone of your status and your parents' financial standing.

Your socked feet took padded steps towards your window where you overlooked the hills of figure eight. This was the first time you'd looked out your bedroom window in years. With a deep inhale a soft smile etched its way across your lips. You were finally home, and you had the house all to yourself. Or so you thought.

Your ears pick up on muffled indistinct chatter that managed to travel from the kitchen, down the halls up the elaborate staircase and into your room. Quickly, you headed for the source of the voices and were disappointed to see your dad and his wife plaything, Maria, conversing over coffee at the kitchen island.

"I thought you said the Jet leaves at dawn? What are you guys still doing here?" You try not to sound too curious, arms crossing naturally with your inquiry. With a clearing of his throat, your dad speaks up, "You only just came back two nights ago. Maria and I just don't think it's the right time to leave you alone for the weekend."

You scoff, "Why? You still don't trust me after what happened last time? Get over it, I'm twenty-one now, you can trust me." As you walked over to the fridge for a glass of water, you heard a muted exchange of ideas behind you.

"You can't expect us to forget about all the damage you caused. We still haven't found anyone to repair my crystal vases." You take a long sip, trying to swallow your toxic thoughts with the water.

She thinks she can just waltz up and down the house with that huge ring on her finger and think that her opinion carries any value to you.

You took a deep breath and plastered on a fake smile, pitching your voice to become as sweet as honey.

"I can never apologize enough for what I did back then, but how will I ever earn your trust if you don't give me the chance." Your doe eyes land on your father, specifically his weakened composure.

You're about to break him, you can see it.

He exhales, all the air escaping through his nostrils.

Broken.

He glances down at his watch, "Fine, but if you throw another party so help me god Y/n you'll never see grass again." You play it cool, thanking him with a simple hug and completely disregarding Maria before you make your way back upstairs.

It's as though a weight had been lifted off your chest. You needed them out of the house, you'd been planning this party since you got back and made sure all the guests knew to keep it on the down low, just until they were gone.

The hours fly by, and you hardly keep track of time as you and some of your long-time friends set up the house for the party that you shouldn't be hosting, but you're Y/n Sinclair. Parties are your thing.

"Macy, you let the people in, kay? I'm gonna go get changed." The sun was beginning to set and the music was already blasting, vibrating over the marble floors of the house. Every lyric was punctuated with a shaking of the speakers that could be felt even outside.

The neighbours hated to see you coming.

You know your dad's jet was en route to Fiji and he wouldn't be able to reach you until he landed which wasn't for another six hours at minimum but by then the damage will be long done and far too late to stop.

You make your way up the stairs, the bass thumping through the house and vibrating beneath your feet. As you step into your room, your reflection catches your eye, excitement sparking in your gaze.

With a quick flick of your wrist, you reach for the strappy black and red two-piece, slipping it on, the cool fabric hugging every curve just right. Each strap crisscrosses elegantly, bold yet balanced, making you smile at how perfectly it all came together.

Next, you grab the sheer cover-up, wrapping it loosely around your waist so it drapes with a hint of movement, a playful edge that sways with you. You run your fingers through your curls, scrunching them gently to bring out their bounce, each coil framing your face in soft waves. Reaching for your lip gloss, you swipe it carefully over your lips, catching the light with a glossy shine.

One last look, and you’re ready, your heart beating in rhythm with the music below. The speakers are already blaring, the energy practically calling you back down. You step out with a final tousle of your curls, ready to join the night.

The energy crackles through the backyard as you make your way to the top of the outdoor staircase. The sun has slipped beneath the horizon, casting a dusky glow over the massive pool below, illuminated by floating lights that shimmer across the water.

The bar is buzzing with people grabbing drinks, and in the corner, the foam pit is already filling up, laughter and splashes mixing with the heavy beat of the music.

A neon sign hangs across from the bar, glowing boldly against the evening sky: The Queen of Kildare is Back. You grin, amused at the sight of it knowing it was 100% Macy's doing, and take a step down. Conversations hush, replaced by the roaring blast of excitement as heads turn your way. Hundreds of people, from familiar faces to those you only vaguely recognize from your past in Figure Eight, pause and look up, anticipation brimming in their eyes.

As you descend, your cover-up billows behind you, revealing the bold lines of your black and red two-piece. The crowd’s reaction is instant, erupting into cheers, whistles, and applause that echo across the yard.

"Y/n! Y/n! Y/n" They chant and you laugh. Every step closer to the party, you feel the atmosphere thicken, charged with that infectious blend of excitement and admiration. By the time you reach the bottom, someone’s already handing you a drink, while friends rush over to pull you in for hugs and greetings, their voices nearly drowned out by the music and shouts.

"Y/n Sinclair, s'Been a while."

There's a voice all too familiar addressing you from behind, prompting you to pivot to come face to face with a much taller Rafe than your brain could recall.

"Rafe Cameron. Long time no see." He goes in for the hug, your arms reaching over his broadened shoulders while his longer ones wrap around your waist before pulling back. He not so subtly checked you out, his tongue darting out over his lips briefly as he took you in and you did the same.

The buzzed hair sharpens his features, you think. Making his eyes seem darker, more intense, as they focus on you. His open linen shirt falls loosely over his frame, giving glimpses of his toned chest and the subtle gleam of a thin chain resting against his skin.

The shirt flutters with the breeze, barely hanging on his shoulders, hinting at the strong lines of his arms and drawing your eyes down to his relaxed, dark swim trunks.

He’s saying something, leaning slightly toward you, and his voice cuts smoothly through the bass of the party. Your eyes wander back up to his face, catching the faint smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth as if he knows he’s caught your attention.

"You look good, too good. How long's it been?" It's hard for you to think with the heat of his gaze on you, but you don't falter, never surrendering to this never-ending game between the two of you.

"About 3 years." He hums, the way he looks at you, casual yet purposeful, makes your pulse quicken, and suddenly, every sound around you fades, leaving only the warmth of his presence and the way he looks right at you, but you remind yourself to focus.

Rafe looks around the scene, eyes lingering over the wet t-shirt contest and then the game of chicken being held in the pool while others lounged on the various floaties or indulged in ungodly amounts of alcohol at the bar. As he does so, the pungent scent of weed drafts across your nostrils.

"Your old man know you're hostin' tonight?" You had to laugh, "Oh please, like he would ever let me have any kind of fun while he's in town. He and the skank are in Fiji."

The slight smirk that etches over his perfect lips taunts you. "So the house is yours?" He leans in, a little closer, closing the gap between you. "Until he comes back and banishes me again," You place a confident hand against his chest, pushing him away, "But for now, I'm here to party, and you should be too."

With that said you walk away from him, letting your hips sway with seduction radiating with each step. Rafe lets his thumb and fingers stroke over his jaw, feeling the weight of the pressure you'd just applied.

God, it was good to have you back.

The party raged on, slowly approaching its peak, body shots were going on at the bar, girls were doing lines in the bathrooms and the guys had insisted on a drunk game of volleyball in the pool.

Rafe took a break from the events of the party and watched from the sidelines on the couch, taking another hit of the vape that someone had passed to him, he's not sure he can remember who, and it wasn't relevant anyway.

The only person he had his sights set on is you. Watching you have the time of your life with your friends on the platform in the middle of the pool. Your little group, clearly intoxicated danced carefree while you'd begun to put your hands on the ground and throw your ass in circles.

Rafe choked, sitting up, some smoke coming through his nostrils at the interrupted airflow. He leaves his shirt behind on the couch with the abandoned vape, just as he heads for the pool topped hands him a beer which Rafe accepts before he gets in.

Maintaining a straight face as his body acclimatizes to the cool water he's almost immediately swarmed and roped into a round of whatever the current pool game was.

His icy gaze looks up to the center of the pool where you once were but are now nowhere to be found. "Looking for someone?" Your voice was mocking and he was grinning before he even turned around.

"I am actually." With little ripples in the water, he steps towards you maintaining a respectful distance that was driving you insane. "I was looking for someone to join me at the bar," He puts on a convincing facade but you roll your eyes, feigning innocence.

"Let me know if you find her," He slowly steps towards you and step back, "Don't play dumb with me, Y/n." Your plush lips form a gut-wrenching pout, "What do you mean?" Another step forward, another one back. The cycle repeats itself until he has you backed up against the edge of the pool.

Rafe’s hands find your waist, and before you can react, he’s lifting you effortlessly, placing you on the edge of the pool. You're reeling at the slutty display of his sheer strength.

Your legs dangle, brushing against his chest, and he steps closer, slotting himself right between them. His hands rest on either side of you, his arms framing you in as he looks up with that sly grin, every bit as teasing as you are.

“Always out here playin' games, aren’t you?” he murmurs, his voice low, a quiet rasp just for you. “Gotta say, I respect it—always sticking it to your old man, doing your own thing.” He leans in, his gaze drifting down to your lips before meeting your eyes again. “Not many people around here have the guts for that.”

You scoff lightly, though your heart skips as his gaze lingers on you, intense and challenging. “Oh, please,” you tease, rolling your eyes. “Since when do you care about any of this?”

A quiet laugh slips from him as his fingers trace slow, deliberate circles along your thigh. “You think I haven’t been paying attention to you all these years?” he murmurs, leaning closer, his breath warm against your neck.

“You might’ve been gone a while, but don't think I forgot all those nights we had our fun.” His words hang heavy between you as he pulls back slightly. Now his hand rests on your waist, his voice dropping lower.

He tilts his head, studying you with that familiar glint of mischief. “Now that you're back, I think we should relive some of our traditions, for old time's sake,” he says, leaning in until his lips brush against your jaw, light and teasing, close enough to make your pulse race. He pauses, his thumb skimming your cheek, his lips hovering just above yours, waiting. “But don’t act like you don’t want this as much as I do.”

Before you can snap back, his mouth claims yours, the kiss charged with all the years of pent-up tension and that all-too-familiar heat. His hands slide up to cradle your face as you wrap your legs around him, pulling him even closer. The kiss deepens, and when he finally pulls back just enough to catch his breath, he watches you with a smug, knowing grin.

“There it is,” he murmurs, his voice a low rumble against your lips, his thumb tracing your jaw as if memorizing every inch. “That look you get right before we make a mess of things. I knew it—you missed this just as much as I did.”

If only someone could recount how the two of found yourselves stumbling up the stairs towards your room, your soaked sheer cover-up left forgotten somewhere in the house after Rafe pulled it off of your frame.

"Shit-- Rafe," your teeth dug into the flesh of your bottom lip as you reached to open your bedroom door, horrified to see two other people had monopolized it. They hadn't even noticed the door was opened so you quickly closed it.

"What the fuck, I thought everyone knew my room was off limits." With a quick scan, you noticed items were hanging off almost all the guest rooms in the hall letting others know the room was occupied.

"Shit, there's nowhere else to go in here?" You think quickly on your feet before rushing off to get something before returning with a key in your grip.

Rafe pulls you close with a smirk as you clutch the key to your father’s room, the gleam in your eyes daring him to follow. “Breaking all the rules tonight, aren’t we?” he murmurs, his voice low and thick with approval. His hand slips around your waist as you unlock the door, both of you glancing down the hall to be sure no one’s watching.

You twist the handle and push open the door, and his hand slides down to squeeze your hip, pulling you against him. “I knew there was a reason I liked you,” he whispers against your ear, his lips grazing your skin, sending a thrill down your spine.

Once inside, you barely have a chance to lock the door before he has you pressed up against it. His lips are on yours, urgent and fierce, his hands roaming over your body with possessive ease. “Do you have any idea what you do to me?” he breathes between kisses, his fingers tracing the bare skin of your waist as he lifts your top, letting it fall to the floor. “Thought I’d forgotten?” you tease.

Rafe just about growls, dipping down to kiss along your collarbone, his hands sliding lower as he backs you towards the bed. His fingers hook under the waistband of your bottoms, tugging them down with a smirk that sends heat rushing through you.

Your heart races as you feel the cool, forbidden sheets beneath you, the thrill of defying every rule and having Rafe look at you like you’re the only thing he’s ever wanted. His hands slide up your thighs, lips trailing down your neck as he leans over you. “You know,” he murmurs, voice heavy with desire as he takes in the sight of you sprawled out before him, “I always knew you were trouble. Guess that’s why I can’t stay away.”

With a smirk, he leans in, his lips brushing over yours as his hands explore, both of you savouring the thrill of being tangled up in each other once again.

"Look at these perfect fuckin' tits." He curses, big hands cupping your breasts, kneading them and rolling your nipples between his index and thumb. Your back arches slightly with a gasp, chest pressing up into him and he laughs.

"Still so sensitive here, angel? Some things never change." He reminisces and you roll your eyes, "Fuck off, Rafe." With the blink of an eye, his much larger frame was caging you in from above, his bulging biceps giving him an erotic juxtaposition in comparison to your head.

Balancing himself on one arm he slinks his palm around the expanse of your throat with a weighted pressure. "Been gone so long you forgot your manners? Mm? That's fine, I'll be sure to fuck some sense back into you."

Your eyes flutter shut at his filthy words as you feel his hand move and begin to work you between your legs. "Your pussy's fuckin' soaked--shit." He hisses, gaze hungry and his body acts on his thoughts faster than you can register.

A particularly loud moan slips from you as you feel his tongue skillfully lap over your folds, splitting you open as the warmth of his tongue protrudes into your core. "Yes, fuck! Please, don't stop Rafe." You moan, one hand reaching down to hold him by the hair and it hits you that he'd shaved it all off.

You let out a frustrated gruff, both hands fisting the sheets while you're forced to feel the vibrations of his sick laugh running through you at your dramatics. Even the tip of his nose had been covered in your slick, your juices running down his chin as he ate you out like a man starved.

He wouldn't be surprised if they could hear you from outside, but he knows everyone is far too high, too drunk or both to hear you. It wasn't long before your legs were beginning to shake and came with his name falling from your lips over and over like a prayer.

Taking deep breaths to recover from debatedly the best orgasm you've ever experienced, Rafe walked over to the far wall, out of sight, doing something you couldn't see before returning.

Without speaking he scoops you up into his arms, bridal style, another shameless display of his strength but it would be a lie to say it didn't drive you crazy. "What-what are you doing?" Your questions are ignored until he approaches the bubbling hot tub.

A wicked smirk curls across his lips as he eases you onto your feet in the warm water, his hands lingering on your waist, keeping you close. He gazes at you with that knowing glint, the steam rising around you both.

“Feels nice, doesn’t it?” he murmurs, his eyes trailing down your figure, unapologetic. His fingers skim over your sides, sending a shiver through you that’s from anything but the water.

“Are you really just gonna stand there?” you call, feeling the thrill of his attention but wanting to turn the tables, your voice laced with playful challenge.

“Oh, don’t worry,” he chuckles, unfastening his swim trunks and letting them fall to the side with a carefree grin. “I plan on joining you,” he says, slipping into the water and closing the distance between you two with smooth, unhurried steps. You take a hard swallow at his size, you don't remember him being this big.

He was going to destroy you.

You raise an eyebrow, matching his smirk. “Pretty bold of you, Rafe,” you say, your voice teasing as he wraps an arm around your waist, pulling you flush against him. “Just like old times, hmm?”

“Better than old times,” he murmurs, dipping his head so his lips graze your ear, his voice a low rumble. “Because now, nothing is stopping us.” He punctuates his sentence by pressing his body up against your back, elevating you a bit so your torso leans over the edge of the tub, granting him easy access to you.

"Fuck, can't believe your ass got even more fucking perfect since last time." His hand raises and comes back down with a loud spank that pulls a sinful moan from your throat. "Rafe, stop teasing." You whine, arching your back and pressing back against him.

His composure already weekend, he decided to let you get away with it this time before he lined up the swollen head of his thick cock with your entrance, "Better grab onto something." That's the last thing you hear before you're being impaled on his dick, your upper half immediately falls forward, and he stills, giving you a second.

You're breathless, it feels like his cock was taking up all the room in your lungs. Some water had splashed over the ledge but that was the least of your worries. Your mind was hazy and focused on Rafe's grunts that escaped him with every snap of his hips.

"Wish you could see how hot you look right now. The Sinclair wild child knows how to take big dick like a champ." His words run straight through you like electricity, fanning the flames of the burning heat that was beginning to form in your belly.

"Shit--This pussy was fuckin' made for me, y'know that?" You moan at his possessive statement. You can only nod, your body had gone limp long ago as he drilled into you. "R-rafe! I'm-" As if you weren't close enough, his fingers begin to rub over your clit aggressively and you jolt with a shriek.

"Oh- fuck, don't stop! Fuck! I'm gonna cum! Please, Rafe." You beg, over and over, arms hanging onto the edge of the tub for dear life as more water splashes around you.

"Wait for me, hold it until I say you can come." You're chewing your lip raw, desperately trying to hold yourself back as he wrecks you from the inside out, his moans getting more frequent, a little more airy and breathless as he tumbled toward his edge of pleasure.

"Cum with me, Angel." Your body spasms as you finish together and he leans his weight against your back, his laboured breathing fanning your ear as you come down from your high.

"Not bad, princess." You couldn't respond and Rafe took note of this, carefully holding you up with one final smug remark, "Hope I didn't wear out the queen of Kildare."

[misspygmypie]

Meet & Greet... and more? Pt. 6

Pairing: Lando Norris x reader Words: 2521 Click here for Part 5

Please do not repost, thank you, and leave some feedback :)

The next morning Y/N and Noah were packed and ready for their departure, with Lando loading everything into the car. He had insisted on bringing them and thankfully they were leaving from a private area of the airport, so he didn’t worry too much about crowds.

The drive was filled with light chatter and laughter, Lando making an effort to engage Noah in conversation. He pointed out various spots and shared a few facts he knew about the city, trying to make the journey as enjoyable as possible for the little boy.

As they neared the airport, Lando decided it was the right moment to bring up the topic that had been on his mind. He glanced over at Y/N who nodded in encouragement and with a deep breath Lando started talking to the boy in the backseat. “Hey Noah, I wanted to tell you something important before you two leave.”

The boy looked up from his toy car he was playing with. “Yes?”

“Well, you know how you and your mom have been so amazing to me?” Lando smiled warmly, trying to keep his tone casual and friendly. “I’ve really enjoyed spending time with you both this weekend and I want to tell you something.”

Noah tilted his head slightly, waiting for Lando to continue. “What’s that?”

Y/N took the driver’s hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze but she could see in Lando’s face that the Brit had no idea how to approach the topic. “Lando and I have been getting to know each other better and we’ve been having a lot of fun. He asked me if he could be more than just a friend to us and I said yes. So, he’s going to be mommy’s boyfriend now.”

“I know this might be new for you, but I want you to know that I’m really happy to be spending time with you and your mom. I’m looking forward to getting to know you even better and I hope we can have lots of fun together,” Lando directed at the boy, his expression nervous but hopeful. 

Noah’s eyes widened a bit as he processed the news. “Does this mean you’re going to be around more? And can we come visit you at more races?”

Lando’s face lit up with a broad smile. “Yes, I’d love for you and your mom to come visit me at more races, it would be fantastic to have you both there. I’ll make sure to have some fun stories and maybe even a few surprises for you.”

Y/N watched the exchange with a heart full of affection and relief. She could see that Noah was beginning to warm up to the idea, even though the 4-year-old probably didn’t fully understand what it all meant, and Lando’s genuine care was making this a positive conversation too.

When they arrived at the airport and Y/N went to get their boarding passes Lando and Noah found a quiet corner near the check-in area, away from other people. The young man crouched down to the boy's level, giving him his full attention.

“Noah,” Lando said gently, “I know this is a lot to take in. It’s okay to feel a bit unsure about things changing and not fully understanding it but I want you to know that I’m here because I really care about you and your mom. If you ever have any questions or just want to talk, I’m always here for you.”

“I’m not nervous. I think it’s going to be great and you really seem to like us.”

Lando chuckled softly, his eyes warm. “I like you two very much! And if you ever feel unsure, just let me know. We can always talk about it.”

The kid’s face suddenly brightened with an idea. “That means you could come to my next birthday! It’s not for a long while but it would be really cool if you could come!”

“Wow,” Lando’s eyes widened in surprise, he surely didn’t expect to get an invite to a birthday party already, “that sounds fantastic! I’d love to come to your party. I’ll check my schedule once we get closer to make sure I can make it. But if for some reason I can’t be there, I promise I’ll throw you a special party at the paddock. We’ll make it extra fun and I’ll make sure it’s something you’ll remember.”

Noah’s face lit up with excitement. “That sounds awesome! I hope you can come but I’d love the paddock party too.”

Y/N returned with the boarding passes, her face showing relief when she saw and overheard the supportive exchange between Lando and Noah. She joined them, giving Lando a grateful smile. “Thanks for being so understanding, Lando. I’m sure he will be thrilled whether you make it to his party or if we have to do the paddock celebration.”

“It’s going to be a lot of fun no matter what ,” Lando smiled back at her, “but I don’t want to have to wait that long to see you two again…”

After they finished up their goodbyes Lando watched as Y/N and Noah made their way to the gate. He felt excited about the future and the first thing he would do when he was on his next flight was to check his calendar for his days off.

_____

It was an ordinary Tuesday afternoon a few short months later and the Formula 1 world was buzzing with its usual pre-race speculation and excitement. The latest headlines were filled with updates about team strategies, driver performances and the occasional juicy rumor. 

At 2:00 PM the first hint of something significant emerged on social media. A tweet from a sports journalist read: "News coming out of the McLaren camp. Stay tuned!" The hashtag #LandoOffTheMarket began trending and at 2:30 PM, a series of paparazzi photos were released, showing Lando, Y/N and her four-year-old son, Noah, enjoying a casual day out. 

The images captured the trio in a heartfelt moment: Y/N holding Lando’s hand, his arm slung around her neck casually but tightly, while the toddler sat on the driver’s shoulders, Lando’s other hand securely holding on to the boy’s tiny leg to keep him in place and Noah’s little hands wrapped around the man’s neck while his head leaned softly onto the driver’s. A big smile adorned all of their faces.

The immediate reaction was a wave of shock, excitement and curiosity. Fans and media outlets scrambled to learn more about Y/N and her son, who had previously been unknown to the public. 

Social media platforms immediately were flooded with comments about the sweet new addition to Lando’s life. “Noah is the cutest!” and “Lando’s little family is absolutely adorable!” were among the most read comments. Photos of Noah, with his wide-eyed wonder and charming smile, quickly became a tiny sensation and fan pages dedicated to Lando began posting collages and edits featuring all three of them.

They praised Lando for his new role as a father figure and expressed their adoration for the young boy who had captured their hearts and many fans eagerly awaited any glimpses of Noah in future posts but also were quick to defend the family from invasive or negative comments.

For Lando, Y/N, and Noah the announcement marked a new chapter. What had started as a private romance was now thrust into the world, changing the dynamics of their lives in ways they had yet to fully comprehend. However, Lando and Y/N tried their best to handle their relationship as normal as possible.

With Lando being away for races their days were filled with text messages, Lando’s messages often included snapshots from his busy days at McLaren. He would send a photo of himself and his team, a behind-the-scenes glimpse of his gear or the track or a funny moment from the garage. 

Meanwhile Y/N would send images of her and her son, whether it was Noah’s latest art project, a day at the park or a cozy evening on the couch. Lando’s favorite ones though were Y/N sharing how she and Noah were watching one of Lando’s races together, cheering him on.

_____

A few weeks later it was Y/N and Noah’s first visit to a race since news of their relationship had hit the headlines. From the McLaren motorhome Lando spotted them making their way through the paddock and walked towards them, beaming brightly. Y/N was holding Noah’s hand, guiding him through the crowd. However, the photographers, drawn by the media frenzy over Lando and Y/N’s relationship, were relentless. Flashes from cameras and invasive questions quickly created an overwhelming atmosphere.

Noah soon became frightened by the flashing lights and the amount of people around him. His face turned pale and tears began streaming down his cheeks as he clung to Y/N’s leg, sobbing uncontrollably. 

Seeing Noah’s distress and Y/N’s struggle, Lando’s protective instincts kicked in. He pushed through the crowd, his voice rising above the noise. “Give them some space! Back off!” he shouted angrily. The photographers reluctantly stepped back, though they continued to snap photos from a distance. 

“Noah, buddy, it’s okay,” the driver said gently, kneeling down to Noah’s level. “We’re going to get you away from all these cameras.”

Noah, his face flushed and tear-streaked, looked up at Lando with fear. “I don’t like it… too many lights…”

Lando’s heart ached. Without hesitation he lifted him up into his arms, holding him close and trying to calm him down. “It’s alright, Noah. I’m here. We’ll find a quiet place.”

Y/N followed Lando as he carried Noah through the paddock. The tension and anger Lando felt were evident and everyone around them could sense his frustration. Reaching the McLaren hospitality area just a few short moments later Lando handed Noah a juice box, hoping to soothe him. “Here you go, buddy. This should help.”

Noah took the juice, his sobs gradually subsiding as he sipped. Lando, seeing that Noah was starting to calm down, turned to one of the team assistants. “Can you please take them to one of the offices? They could use a quieter spot to relax for a second.”

The assistant nodded and gently guided Y/N and Noah away, Lando watching them with anger boiling inside him. He then stormed into his and Oscar’s driver’s room section, slamming the door behind him. Oscar, who had witnessed the scene, followed him in.

“Everything okay?” Oscar asked as he entered the room.

Lando paced back and forth, his fists clenched. “Those photographers,” he began, his voice rising. “They were relentless! They had no regard for Noah, no sense of decency. It was like they were more interested in scaring him than taking decent photos.”

Oscar watched as Lando’s anger poured out. “It’s one thing for me having to deal with the media but to see them treating a child like that… It’s infuriating. I just wanted Y/N and Noah to have a nice day and they ruined it!”

Oscar nodded, understanding the depth of Lando’s frustration. “You did everything you could to get Noah out of there and make sure he was ok. Unfortunately sometimes that’s all you can do.”

“Yeah, I know,” Lando stopped pacing and took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. “I just hate feeling so powerless and unable to protect them from this.”

“They will be fine, mate. Let’s focus on the race and try to enjoy the time you have with them.”

Lando nodded, taking a moment to compose himself. He couldn’t shake the anger he felt but he was determined to channel it into a positive outcome. 

_____

As the race day wound down and the paddock was slowly emptying out Lando seemed detached. His usual bright demeanor was replaced with a contemplative silence that Y/N noticed immediately.

She watched him from across the paddock, his gaze distant as he stared at the now empty track. After making sure Noah was taken care of Y/N walked over to him, concern etched on her face. “Is everything okay?” she asked softly.

Lando turned to her and she could see the exhaustion and vulnerability on his face. “I just... I don’t know, Y/N. Today was supposed to be special and instead it felt like I failed in so many ways. I see how the media affected Noah and I can’t shake the feeling that maybe it’s not worth it, us being together, with everything that comes with it.”

Y/N’s heart ached at his words. She reached out and gently cupped his face, forcing him to look at her. “Lando, listen to me. I know things were a bit chaotic this morning and I know it’s hard sometimes with all the attention but that doesn’t change how I feel about you.”

“But what if this life isn’t fair to you and Noah? What if it’s too much?” Lando’s eyes met hers, searching for reassurance. 

Y/N took a deep breath, gathering her courage to say what she had wanted to say for a while now but was too shy yet to admit to both herself and him. “Lando, I love you,” she finally let him know, feeling relieved that the words were now out. “I love you so much that I’m willing to face the challenges that come with being with you. Noah loves you too. He was a bit scared today but he looks up to you. He thinks you’re the coolest person ever, you’re his idol.”

Tears glistened in Lando’s eyes, touched by her words. “I love you too, Y/N, so much, both of you,” he said softly, his voice trembling. “I’ve loved you for a long time and hearing you say that makes me the happiest I’ve ever been. You both mean the world to me. I just don’t want to be the reason you or Noah are unhappy.”

Y/N’s expression softened as she wiped a stray tear from his cheek. “We’re not unhappy, Lando. We’re just learning how to navigate this. What we have is worth it. Your love, it means everything to us and the challenges are just part of it.”

Lando pulled Y/N into a tight embrace, his heart swelling still hearing those three words over and over again in his head. 

Noah had been playing with an engineer who had taken a break from helping pack up the equipment to entertain him. His laughter filled the air as he enjoyed the playful distraction and when Lando’s gaze fell upon him, the toddler’s eyes sparkled with joy. He ran towards Lando who picked him up with one arm while still having the other one securely around Y/N, embracing them tightly. 

“I’m so lucky to have you both,” Lando murmured, his voice trembling slightly. “I promise to do everything I can to make sure you’re both happy and safe, always.”

Y/N leaned in and kissed Lando’s cheek. “And we’re lucky to have you. We’ll get through this together.”

_________

Click here for Part 7!

Tag: @barcelonaloverf1life @remmysthings @poppyflower-22 @vickykazuya @hadids-world @ririyulife @deafeningunknowntyrant @lexiecampos @littlegrapejuice @eloriis @yawn-zi @landossainz @taliya8346282844eliviahdgdajs @casuallyeating @destinyg237 @jaydensluv @hc-dutch @alana4610

[professorcalculusstanaccount]

“Robbie is gone! I’m still here! And I refuse to live in his shadow!”

Rastapopoulos himself may be out of the picture, but his ghost continues to haunt those who were caught in his web.

A collaboration with @aboardthescheherazade using her OC Marlene Katz - an actress Tintin tries to save in Cigars of the Pharaoh!

Five years later and Tintin is baffled to see Hollywood starlet Marlene Katz turn up at his doorstep asking for help. Formerly under the thumb of Cosmos Pictures, Marlene became an unsuspecting witness to Rastapopoulos’ criminal activity and now the mob is after her, seeking to tie up some loose ends. To top things off, she is due to make a public appearance at The Golden Palm, a prestigious film festival. After years of hiding, Marlene is determined to get her acting career back on track, and this film may be her big break.

Tintin is highly suspicious. Chang, on the other hand, is utterly star struck, and after noticing an uncanny resemblance between the two hatches a ridiculous scheme that may finally put an end to this particular problem. It might just work, but Marlene makes the last minute decision to also go undercover, feeling immense guilt over having Tintin and Chang risk their lives for her.

While Tintin is running around in heels and beating up mobsters Haddock is away on a weekend break with Ramo Nash. Before leaving he asked Chang to keep Tintin away from any incidents and to promise not to throw any house parties.

This was my first collab on this blog and I had a lot of fun bouncing ideas off with Vaye. Her blog was one of the first Tintin blogs I followed - definitely check it out, it’s an absolute treasure trove of resources and research! Below are a few notes of stuff we discussed while making this:

- After the Blue Lotus, Marlene breaks away from Rastapopoulos and pulls back from the film industry to lay low, teaching dance classes instead. He keeps trying to come back to her, leaving her exhausted and paranoid. Since Rastapopoulos always considered Marlene to be pretty stupid he never made much of an effort to properly hide his criminal activities from her, but Marlene was able to slowly piece things together...

- This adventure takes place after St. Benezet’s Basement (the boarding school story) and before Call of the Songbird (Tintin Fucks Up and Steals A Whistle). Tintin is still in the grips of trauma from the canon stories. Chang is starting to settle in. Haddock and Nash’s relationship is in full swing, but they are keeping things quiet from everyone else. 

- In some sketchbook comics I did to flesh out ideas there’s hints of Tintin being gay and asexual, his complete lack of interest in Hollywood actresses and his mild irritation of people’s judgements being clouded by crushes! Chang’s attraction to Marlene however, foreshadows his feelings for Tintin later on down the line.

- There’s a role reversal theme going on here. Both Tintin and Marlene are victims of Rastapopoulos but in very different ways. By playing each others’ roles they both can get a clearer picture of how Rastapopoulos hurt people, and therefore a better understanding of their own traumas. Tintin is usually spontaneous and rarely makes himself known, but here he is playing a set character. Marlene as an actress, on the other hand, is used to receiving direction from others, but circumstance pushes her to improvise. I can imagine her using her skills as an actor to get into character as an ace reporter to fake some much needed bravery!

- Marlene’s disguise is literally just stuff she pulls from Tintin’s and Chang’s closets. She’s wearing Tintin’s trenchcoat, dress shirt and suspenders and Chang’s spectator shoes, trousers and scarf!

- Marlene is a very skittish person but will be compelled to do what she believes is the right thing. As Vaye put it, “Marlene’s bravery under fire is that she’s like the one person in a room who’s willing to get a spider outside...” Marlene is also older than Tintin and pretty much views him as a child, even though he’s in his early 20s at this point. She feels incredibly guilty about what Rastapopoulos did to him and the fact he’s risking his life for her. She feels some level of responsibility for him.

This all started because I thought it would be cool for Tintin to beat some guys up in drag

[chaosgremlinmunson]

April fools?...🫣😳

Minors dni, smutty funny content ahead, 18+ only please!

Eddie had a plan. He was sure it was going to either be hilarious or he was about to die by either Robin Buckley or Steve Harrington’s hand by the end of the day, but he had a plan. First thing was first though, he had to get Chrissy on board, and that, he was sure, was about to be a challenge. However, as luck would have it she also thought it was a great idea. Well, she thought he was hiding the eggs in the appropriate room, but hey, what she didn't know wouldn't hurt right? Right? Ok, so maybe his platonic soulmate might also kill him, but no one could ever say Eddie Munson didn't commit to the bit.

He strolled into melvads on Friday morning grabbing bags of cheap plastic eggs, and snickered when he saw glitter as well, thought why not and tossed it in his cart as well. When he approached the counter the teenage cashier just looked at him for a moment, rolled her eyes and rang him up. He bought a couple disposable cameras as well, and headed back to his van making his way to his and Chrissy's apartment. When he came in she was sitting in the armchair, near her leg was a couple bags from their favorite fetish shop out in Indy and she grinned at him.

“You think Robin will finally get the clue I'm into her after her Easter gift?” She twirled her hair around a finger, and reached into her own bag laying out a baby blue corset and pointed to his bag, “don't worry I got the things you wrote down for yours.”

Eddie laughed, coming to sit beside her kissing her temple, “I think if anything, she's definitely going to have some thoughts after this.”

((smut under the cut))

They made a night of it going full on fashion show, boudoir shoot. Eddie trusted Chrissy for the more exposed photos, he wrapped himself in nothing but a sunshine yellow ribbon, accentuating every curve, and giving a full view to the thick swollen present he wanted Steve to have most of all.

The photos were developed that weekend, a friend owing him a favor, asking no questions, and Eddie got set to stuff the eggs. Half with photos, the other half glitter bombs. He waited for Tuesday when they'd have their weekly movie night, the one night they all collectively had a scheduled day off and came to Steve's and while Steve showered he got busy hiding the eggs around the house. He had practiced acting innocent when he was anything but, so no one was any the wiser when they all gathered. Robin found the first egg as she and Chrissy went to sit on the loveseat.

Robin looked at the egg confused for a moment before opening it, falling sideways while screeching and throwing the egg at Eddie's head. Steve came rushing over, leaned down to pick up the egg and his face went crimson seeing Eddie in a leather harness and assless chaps. He gulped and looked up at Eddie, and walked back to the kitchen to grab their drinks and then screeched himself, finding another egg Eddie had hidden.

“I'm sorry, I'm sorry!” He said running out and handing the egg straight to Chrissy, refusing eye contact. She looked down to see the photo she's taken riding her toy in the corset, her face going red in embarrassment before standing up and tackling Eddie straight to the floor.

“Edward Nathaniel Kristof Munson! You said they would be hidden in their rooms and only Robin would see me, and that I would win my Birdy! You lied, you, dramatic, overgrown, wet cat! I'm burning your leather chaps, and your new yellow sparkle plug!” Chrissy had him pinned her hands gripping his hair not realizing the absolute bombshell she just dropped as Eddie yelped.

“Chris! Chrissy-bee, love of my life, queen of the world, most beautiful and wonderful best friend of mine, I did it for April fools! She still got to see! And at least this way you know she's going to see it!” He was wiggling under her trying to get away.

“I'm going to put bleach in your shampoo, I'm going to replace all your records with pop music! I'm going to tell Steve about the scrapbook!” She was screeching at him, her tiny frame hid how strong she really was and Eddie was starting to regret this idea. Then he realized, shit, they're still in the living room. All of this was said in front of both of their crushes. Dear God in heaven he did not think this through, at all. Chrissy seemed to come to a conclusion at the same time as Eddie did because they just made eye contact and both stared eyes wide before standing up slowly looking at the floorboards. Disaster gays, that's what they were. Jesus H Christ, Eddie just wanted to disappear and pretend this hadn't happened at all, but clearly now it was way too late. Steve grabbed his hand and his eyes went wide again as he led him into his room away from Robin and Chrissy, he pushed Eddie onto the bed and climbed into his lap pulling Eddie's chin up to look him in the eye.

“You couldn't just tell me the normal way huh? Had to be as dramatic as possible, had to be a little riot and get the blood pumping?” Steve emphasized the last bit by rolling hips down into Eddie's lap as he gasped, “I should make you wait for it. I should punish you for being such a bad boy and showing off. No one but me should have seen you that way.” He nipped Eddie's neck whispering into his skin, “As a matter of fact, I am. Robin is going to yours with Chris, and you Eddie, are going to go around this apartment and get every. Single. Egg. And you're going to open each one so that your photos end up only for my eyes, and Chrissy's will be set in Robin's room. Then you're going to clean my mess you make. And if you do a good enough job I might just let you have a treat.” He licked up the side of Eddie's face who shuddered and nodded, his hands gripping Steve's hips.

Steve slid off his lap and watched Eddie, an eyebrow raised in expectation before Eddie moved to start gathering everything. He opened every one over the trash, that way glitter didn't get anywhere and separated the photos like Steve asked. He rushed around cleaning the house, leaving everything as immaculate and clean as Steve typically had it and stood in the living room his hands clasped behind his back as Steve made his way through the house checking everything was done to his standard. When he came back to where Eddie stood he looked him over for a moment.

“On your knees.” He commanded and Eddie fell straight to his knees, thankful for the plush carpeting under his legs. His mouth was already watering as he looked up at Steve waiting for his next command, “open your mouth and stick out your tongue.”

Eddie rushed to comply and Steve placed his fingers into Eddie's mouth who immediately sucked them in as Steve inhaled shakily still keeping control, he reached other hand up to Eddie's mouth and brushed his fingers over his cheek.

“Was this what you needed? Something to shut you up, make you sink? Fall apart slowly?” He growled, he moved his hands up to Eddie's hair tugging at the strands before pulling him up to his feet and crashing their lips together. “Strip.”

Eddie hurriedly pulled his shirt off, he tripped over his pants but still rushed to get undressed and stood before Steve again who came up in front of him before making his way slowly around Eddie appraising him.

“You're doing so good for me. Such a good boy when you want to be, hmm?” He ran a hand up Eddie's thigh cupping his ass before smacking it once, “This what I need to do for you? Tell you what to do?” Eddie's eyes were fluttering and he was leaking down onto the carpet.

“I can be good for you, only for you. Please, Steve, please.” Eddie panted his hips quivering trying not to rut against the air.

“Do you think you've earned it?” He leaned into Eddie's space whispering in his ear tugging his hair again, “Do you think you deserve me to touch your pretty little cock yet?” Eddie whimpered, he knew he wasn't small but Steve being mean was making his skin light up in the most delicious ways.

“Please, I can earn it. I can be so good for you Stevie. Please, please, just tell me what to do.” Eddie whined.

“Bend over.” Eddie bent over the back of the couch where Steve had led him. “Use this, and open yourself up for me. Don't come until I say you've earned it. Be my good girl.”

Eddie keened high in his throat and got to work opening himself up in front of him, he arched his back and after a few moments was shaking, Steve pulled his hand away to look at his progress and put two of his own thicker longer fingers inside of him. Eddie screamed his name, his head whipping back and arching into the touch.

“So you can be good.” He said moving his fingers in and out quickly, just as he felt him clamping down close to release he stopped, all Eddie heard was the zipper of his light blue jeans and the schlick, schlick, noises of his pumping himself before he buried himself to the hilt bringing Eddie up against his chest, he placed a hand over his throat not squeezing, just resting and bite the junction just under his ear, “Ride me like a good girl Eds. Show me how badly you want it.”

Eddie groaned rolling his hips back against Steve as he felt him all around him, “fuck Stevie, I love you, fuck I love you.”

“I know Eds, I love you too. Now ride my cock like the whore you tried to be in your little photo shoot.” He squeezed his neck softly sucking his earlobe into his mouth rolling to meet his thrusts.

“Steve please, I'm so close, can I come please. Please, sir, please, please, please.” He begged, Steve growled and bit his neck, before slamming into him harder.

“Come on my cock, don't touch yourself.” He panted his rhythm getting sloppy but harder.

Eddie cried out clamping down hard on him, come painting across the back of the couch over the quilt Eddie had bought him for his birthday recently and Steve wasn't far behind.

As they came down Steve still holding Eddie in his arms as he softened he kissed over Eddie's neck, “You're still a little shit. But God, do I love you.” Steve breathed in between kisses, “I want you to be mine. Officially.” He said turning Eddie to face him.

“Stevie, I've been yours for longer than you've known.” He leaned and kissed his lips, “Happy Easter baby.”

[seaglassmelody]

I’m trying to turn my frustration with bad Veilguard takes into positivity. But man is it hard when I just wanna argue. But here’s an attempt.

Today I’m thinking about the romances and how they’re executed.

(Under the cut because this got way longer than I intended)

I’m going to couch this in the context of the fact that I am currently replaying the entire series. I just started Inquisition this weekend after playing DAO and DA2.

I cannot comment on the DAI romances because I’m still in Haven, but in my opinion the DAO and DA2 romances are incredibly heavy-handed. They often boil down to “I have trauma-dumped on you and you do not find me violently repulsive so I will shove my tongue down your throat now”.

ESPECIALLY Anders and Fenris. Zevran doesn’t even wait to trauma dump on you, though I understand the difference between having sex with him initially and building up the romance (after he’s trauma-dumped on you).

I’m not COMPLAINING about this fact- the games are shorter, older, and iterating on the roleplaying systems that get us to Veilguard. But you can see the age that these games have, and the change in cultural attitudes (honestly, the amount of “but I’m a man??” In the m/m romance with Zevran…)

Versus in Veilguard, I love that a lot of the “flirt” options come out as subtle, personal statements that aren’t coming on too strong and express a deeper interest in the person as an individual. It makes things build slower and more purposefully.

But I also love that there’s a range! Lace’s flirting is sweet and a little awkward. Davrin’s is more obvious but still more natural than Hawke and Fenris’s flat-out “you’re very hot” conversations. Lucanis’s flirting is very much rooted in showing him that you aren’t scared OF him but FOR him, which is important to him!

And the biggest thing- romance or not, I love that a lot of the companion quests are just “hey go to this place and hang out with me.” Rook actually gets to build friendships, see characters outside of crisis situations, and have some moments of peace in between saving the world. That breathing room between plot points is very valuable to me- it’s fertile ground for fanfic and character building! And you don’t have to find a way to cram it in between crises because the game shows you it exists.

I guess for some people this approach doesn’t work (I can’t really imagine why not, but maybe that’s the aroace talking) but for me it’s incredible. The team is a TEAM and the romances feel like actual adults navigating relationships.

For a more contentious point, I really cannot get on board with the idea that the romances are “lacking” compared to the older games. DAO is basically throwing gifts at companions, a romance confirming conversation, minimum one sex scene, and then some endgame dialogue. Even then, by the time I got to Zevran’s “uhoh I guess I love you” convo I did feel like it was earned. But you don’t get a lot of individual romance time and you REALLY gotta dig into those dialogue trees to get places. It’s not very natural-feeling.

Now DA2? It HAS to be nostalgia goggles. I LOVED Fenris’s romance when I first played the game (Fenris was the reason I started playing DA at all) and replaying it was honestly a letdown?? He’s so angry through the entire game It’s very difficult to make sense of why he would love Hawke so much if they’re a mage supporter. The scene where he leaves after they sleep together in Act 2 was sad, but it was impossible to react in the way I wanted (which was understanding sympathy, of course a personal relationship is overwhelming when you’re suddenly getting over amnesia!). Getting back together immediately after killing Danarius feels rushed.

At this point I’m just rambling but I can’t help but feel that people are using 10-15 years of fanfic and daydreams to fill in gaps for the older games and when they’ve only sat with 1 playthrough of Veilguard for 2 months and spent most of that time angry about it, I can’t help but feel they’re missing the beauty of the execution of natural-feeling adult relationships.

[dreamingon-forever]

Happy Birthday, Four-Eyes

OMG I'M SO LATE BUT I'M STILL ON TIME FOR HANGE'S BIRTHDAY, SO HERE IT IS! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO OUR DEAR HANGE, THE MOTHER FIGURE AND HEART OF THE SCOUTS!

At first I had another idea for the ending, but seeing Brave Order's Twitter post, it completely shifted the story. So hopefully you all enjoy it!

PS. Black Tea is Fine will be out by the weekend. I'm sorry for the delay, but I got irl things that distracted me and delayed my writing.

AO3 Link: 💜

"-substract from recreation budget?" Nanaba suggested in a hushed voice.

"No. We're already at a low with them and I don't think we can go lower unless we want troop morals to waver. It's not up for debate." Erwin's authoritive voice answered.

Muttering and disgruntted murmurs filled the usually empty room.

"I know! We can deduct from the cleaning budget! We'll make due with what we have for a while longer. We can stretch out the soaps a bit if we add water or-"

"No one is fucking touching my cleaning supplies." Levi interrupted as he made himself known to the room. A dozen frightened eyes turning to him from his unexpected appearance.

"Ouluo! You're bleeding!" Petra shrieked as she turned to her companion, who'd bitten his tongue out of fright after having his captain catch him suggesting the budget cuts on cleaning supplies.

Instead of answering or addressing the preposterous suggestion, he turned his attention to Erwin, who was sitting at the head of the table, a bemused smile on his lips.

"What's everyone up to at this hour? Don't you all have fucking things better to do than gossip or putting my cleaning supplies on the chopping board?" He grumbled, taking a seat on an empty chair next to Mike.

Having made sure that no one had followed after the newcomer, Nanaba closed the door behind her before settling back down in her seat. "We were discussing what to do for Hange's birthday. Our budget has been slashed more than usual so we don't have much to go on. So we're wondering where we can cut some spending for a small party."

"Tch. That's stupid. Why we putting money on a measly birthday above something that can actually help the corps?" Levi grumbled, to which everyone else in the room threw wary glances across each other in silence. It was not unexpected that Levi would come to this conclusion, which was why he wasn't originally invited to the conversation in the first place. It'd been two years since he'd joined the corps, and a year since Erwin had been elected as the new commander. Despite having been forced to work closely alongside the bespectacled brunette, he had made his distaste towards his fellow comrade quite obvious since the start. Despite Hange's many attempts at becoming close to him or getting to know him, he always brushed her off and complained about her annoying presence.

"Well... Hange's been putting more effort than most into trying to find a way to defeat the titans. Whether it's on field or off doing research, she's been tirelessly trying to find an answer for us. We just thought it'd be nice to show her some appreciation for what she's done so far." Erwin said carefully.

Rolling his eyes, Levi scoffed. "All that effort to simply throw our men to their graves. All her bullshit about titans have caused our men to die for nothing. We haven't gotten anything out of her shitty obsession other than making headquarters stink of decay and unidentified corps."

A heavy silence fell over the room at his words. While it wasn't entirely wrong that Hange's overly enthusiastic views towards titans had caused some deaths along the way, it wasn't as if Hange wanted that outcome either.

"You're wrong, sir. Section leader Hange Zoe is very much self aware of the dangers and consequences of her actions. She plans out everything thoroughly and is by far the most caring person I've met. The time she puts into her revisions and plans is beyond anything we've done outside the walls, and if there's a reason we might win against the titans, it's because of section commander Hange Zoe." A young man said, standing out of his seat. His face red in embarrassment over the attention, but his eyes piercingly dark as he spoke of his team leader.

"Moblit... please calm down..." A young girl with red hair pleaded from his right, gently pulling at his sleeve to come back down next to her. But he refused, continuing to stare down at Levi.

"And you might be the new second in command in the Hange team?" Levi guessed. "You know her last one lost his life after she went chasing after a titan instead of following protocol like she should've, right? If you're willing to blindly follow that shit-head then maybe you deserve his same fate."

"Levi, that's enough." Erwin's voice boomed, his face one of displeasure. "We're here to celebrate Hange, and whether you personally like her or not, it doesn't stop the fact that everyone else in this room feels like they want to do something nice for her. A birthday is meant to be to celebrate and thank an individual for making it another year- for being with us for another year. And we all here are thankful that Hange is still with us, helping humanity out for the most part. So if you don't want to be part of it, or have nothing nice to say about it, then I have to ask you to please leave the room immediately."

With a tch, the man got up and left the room.

The aftermath and loss of that day's expedition was probably the worst one Levi's experienced. Only a third of the troops that set out made it back, with most of the survivors being badly injured and/or missing limbs that probably meant they'd no longer be able to serve the corps. No one talked, no one looked at each other, and no one dared to look behind them. To where they'd left their fallen friends and soldiers, their lifeless bodies unable to be retrieved. Even the commander fell silent as he led them through the silent crowd.

That evening the castle was silent. And even the dining hall usually full of life and laughter was void of activity. And Levi, out of habit, decided he was better off cleaning the halls to distract himself from thoughts on the heavy loss they went through.

He was just on the landing of the west side of the third floor when a horrendous stench composed of something like a mixture of decay and dried blood seeped through the walls. Pulling the cloth tighter around his nose, he followed the smell until he was standing in front of a door. A particular door he tried his best in avoiding on purpose.

Of fucking course.

"Oi, Shitty-glasses." He barged into the room, not giving the resident even a heads up about his intrusion. "Why the fuck is your room stinking up the fucking place?"

But instead of the hyper and loud version of the fourth section leader he expected to come into, he was met with complete silence. Her messy ponytail facing him unmoving as she continued staring at something in front of her. Her silence and lack of enthusiasm so unnatural it starting causing Levi to worry about whether she was alive or not.

"Am I a bad person, Levi?" She finally asked. Her tone hushed and void of streght.

"Huh? What bullshit did you fall upon this time?" Levi grumbled, throwing a disgruntled look at the mess of papers on the floor beneath him. It started to seem like his plans on just cleaning the interior halls would no longer be the case.

Just as he started picking up some of the discarded paper, Hange spoke up again. "Did I lead everyone to their deaths? Erwin entrusted me with planning out today's expedition and... Maybe you're right... maybe my experiments are useless... Maybe that's why Erwin always disapproves of them despite being nice to me about it. But I kept pushing and pushing to capture a titan and do some experiments on them... I deviated from the plan... and I... all those innocent lives...." She fell silent. And if he strained his hearing enough, he was sure he could hear her silently sniffling.

Levi carefully threw a look towards the brunette, unsure of how to respond to her sudden emotional outburst. Despite his distaste towards her, it seemed the expedition did a number on her too. And the guilt she seemed to be feeling seemed like something he couldn't ignore. "Erwin trusts you." Was all he said.

A snort met his words. "Hah! Wrong judgement on that... I know everyone questions my methods, I know the way people talk behind my back about me. But I never paid mind, thinking I would prove them wrong someday. I thought Erwin would come to see my brilliance one day too. But I think instead I just proved how wrong I was all along. And maybe... maybe you were the only one who saw through all of that. You were always the one to advise Erwin and everyone against my ideas... I was stupid... If only I'd listened to you."

He stayed silent. A strange feeling of shame filling him from hearing the brunette's confession. Sure, he'd brashly spoken multiple times about how bad her ideas seemed to be. And he had indeed badmouthed her for being a lose canon ready to explode and destroy everything in her path just for the sake of needing to quench her curiousity. But he wasn't aware his words had hurt her in any way before.

The usual vibrant individual that had a hard time staying still and silent for longer than two seconds was suddenly the complete opposite. And it was throwing him off. It made him feel guilty somehow.

"You stink. Clearly you haven't washed since our expedition. Go take a bath." Levi responded in the only way he knew how to answer. "I'll set up the tub for you."

Hange stayed silent, eyes still downcast to whatever had been occupying her attention the whole time he'd been there.

When Levi came back, he was surprised at seeing the woman slouching over the table. Seemingly worn out from the day's events she had finally succumbed to her fatigue.

"Tch... fucking Four-Eyes..." He grumbled. But seeing as there was no other way around it, he took his jacket off, carefully placing it on the bed so it wouldn't get soiled before going around and picking the sleeping form up. Hange whimpered a few times, but otherwise didn't stir much. As he carried her to the tub, he couldn't help but take a peek at her face. And his heart stopped for a moment when he came to notice the trail of tears that made their way down her cheek. In his state of shock, not having paid mind to his surroundings, he ended up knocking a bottle of ink down, covering her desk in black.

"Shit." He swore, snapping out of his stupor as he continued carrying Hange towards the bathtub.

"Oi, Shitty-glasses. You going to undress yourself or you're going to make me do it?" But her lack of response combined with the silent tear still hanging on her lash was enough for an answer. Carefully and with the most respect, he stripped her off her clothes, peeling each soiled layer one by one until she was completely bare in the tub of warm water. Having thoroughly washed her hair and face, slowly her eyes fluttered open as he started scrubbing at her legs. A surprised look on her face as she noted the state they were in.

"Ah, you're up. Continue scrubbing yourself. I got to clean the mess you created." He grumbled as he handed her the sponge. "And make sure to scrub well. I will throw you back in if I see as much as a speck of dirt on you."

Closing the door behind him, Levi let out a tired sigh. Why was he suddenly feeling sympathy towards her? She knew what she got them all into. She understood her nonsense brought death to their comrades which she never seemed to show a care or remorse towards. So why did he suddenly feel like he was in the wrong? That he had this need to care for her? Shaking his head, he went onto cleaning the ink off the table. Luckily the pot seemed to have been almost empty, so except for a few splotches here and there, everything seemed to be clear of ink. Moving a few of the clutter away, his gaze suddenly landed on an open book. Curiousity getting the best of him, he let his eyes wander through the lines of writing, only to feel his face contorting into one of confusion.

Anabelle Haste, 21. Killed trying to save Lauren Bell, 19, who died by being eaten by a ten feet titan.

Edward Crown, 18, Ethan Bret, 18, Emma Krist, 16, all killed together by being caught off guard at the rear of formation.

Thomas Heist, 17, Morgan Heist, 17, twins. Both died together trying to help carry the corpse of their older brother Peter, 18, back.

The names of their past comrades and their deaths continued flowing throughout the whole book. Each line detailing their ages and the people they were closest to. Followed by where they lived and small trinkets Hange had been able to scrape from their personal belongings if possible.

And then his heart dropped as he went back to the beginning of the book. The first two names imprinted on the page being of his two best friends.

Isabel Magnolia, 17. Died alongside Furlan Church, 18, during their first expedition outside the walls. Both were from the Underground, but were very promising in their abilities using the ODM gear. Isabel loved the yellow dandelions we had growing around the pond near HQ, this one was found in one of the books she was reading. Furlan dreamt of owning a tea shop with his best friend Levi. I found this coin on his desk.

Feeling his eyes sting from unshed tears he hadn't realized were forming until then, he quickly wiped them away as he heard the door open behind him.

"Thanks for the bath, I didn't realize how much I needed it unti-" Hange stopped as she came into view of Levi holding her familiar book in his hands.

"Oh..."

"What the fuck is this, Shitty-glasses?" Levi questioned, pointing to the leather bound book. His face contorting to one of anger and confusion.

Seeing as there was no way out of it, Hange sighed, flopping onto her bed in defeat. "Where I keep names of our fallen comrades."

"I can fucking see that much. But why do you have it?"

"Because... It's sad just forgetting them. They all had dreams before them but gave up their lives for our cause. We all dedicated our lives to fight off the titans, and letting their memories go as if each of them were disposable is not something that I can bring myself to do."

Levi stared at the woman. "And you wrote down each of their names?"

Slowly Hange nodded. "Yes... I try tracking down those close to them, try to figure out their age and how they died. We can't afford to send each of them off in a lavish manner, but at least keeping their name and sacrifice alive is something doable on paper. I'm hoping someday when we can all defeat the titans, we can use this record to build a proper memorial for all our comrades."

Silence fell over them as Levi continued staring at Hange's deflated figure.

"I... I was doing the same for the comrades that we lost today but... There's so many of them, Levi. So many lost and so many I can't name or put something personal about them because they all died along their friends. There's no one to retell their story, or nothing to showcase what they loved or even that they existed. I'm just... so tired. And to think this is all because of me and my decision to go after some stupid tit-"

"It's not your fault." Levi interjected. His voice ringing against the silence of the night. "They flanked us. We weren't aware they had huddled near the east side because some meddlesome treasure seekers sneaked out to get some valuable off the corps of our comrades... None of today's loss were because of you. So don't take blame over something other fucktards did, Shitty-glasses. Our comrades died on their conscience, not yours."

At his words, Hange's eyes widened. Her brown eyes staring right at him as her mouth hung agape.

"Fucking close your mouth, you look like a fucking fish." Levi threw at her, turning to the book at hand to avoid her piercing gaze. A few minutes of silence passed as Levi continued flipping through the pages, small recollections of certain comrades coming to mind after glossing over their names.

"Chase Piercer, 21. He died after hearing the cries of the treasure seekers. He was the first at the scene and flared us to get help. He died along with Nathan Feekle, his boyfriend, 20." Levi said, opening the book to the most recent page, where half the slots were empty. Confusion clouded Hange's brown orbs as she glanced up at him, not sure what he was getting to. It wasn't until Levi took the ink pot and a feather pen to her that she realized what he'd meant. Excitement and curiosity flared in her chest at the information her companion had just given her, a newborn sense of purpose filling her once again.

Having watched the woman scribble down their names in her most neat handwriting, he pulled out something from out of his jacket pocket. "And these... these were their wings of freedom. They each have their names at the back of them. Add them next to their names."

And with a brilliant smile, Hange threw herself at Levi, enveloping him in the warmest embrace he'd ever gotten. "Thank you, Levi... Thank you so much."

A birthday is meant to be to celebrate and thank an individual for making it another year- for being with us for another year. Erwin's words rung back at him.

"Happy birthday, Hange!" The room exploded with activity as the brunette entered the once darkened commander's office. Candlelight immediately illuminating the table full of delicacies usually unattainable with their budget, while her friends and closest companions threw themselves at her.

"What is all this?! When did you all get the time for this?" Hange laughed as she spotted what could only be Moblit's drawing of Hange smiling next to a titan on the wall behind Erwin.

"We thought you needed a little break. As well as a thank you from all of us for the efforts you've put into helping us defeat the giants. No one does it like you, Hans." Nanaba said, wrapping her best friend in a tight hug.

"Right. We also needed an excuse to get something more palatable than charred carrots." Mike commented, earning a slap on the head from Erwin.

Throwing her head back in laugher, Hange smiled. "I appreciate all of this... Thank you. I too have grown tired of charred carrots. That's probably why i don't have much of an appetite lately."

"Tch... that's probably also why your eyesight is so shitty, Four-Eyes." An unexpected voice commented, causing her to swiftly turn to the corner of the room, where Levi stood in solitary, avoiding the center stage of the celebration.

"Levi! You're here too!" She cheered happily, quickly letting go of the blonde as she made her way to the unexpected guest.

"You're the last person I'd expect to be at my birthday celebration." Hange teased, to which Levi rolled his eyes at.

"I was forced to attend. Besides, I need to keep an eye out and make sure you guys don't get the place too dirty." Hange let out a snort. "Of course, that's the reason." She said with a peek of her tongue at him. But they didn't get to talk much more as Nifa immediately grabbed onto her section leader's hand, leading her to the desserts which she and Petra had spent all night making.

"Petra decorated this one so prettily! I tried to do it too, but seems I'm only good at baking, so I left the decorating to her."

The rest of the evening went by without a hitch. Funny stories being told, with the members becoming more and more lively as the night went on from the alcohol consumed. Even Levi, who usually detested and flat out refused to drink anything other than tea, decided to join in for the night.

"I'm just sorry we couldn't get you anything nice, Hans. We tried scrapping up some money but could only really afford to get you a few nice stationary." Nanaba lamented as Hange opened her gift.

Hange shook her head, smiling from ear to ear. "No, I'm already thankful enough having you all here with me. I love it, thank you."

But Erwin interrupted, gently coughing to get everyone's attention. "Actually, I think we all missed a present. There's one under the table we all seemed to have glossed over."

Confusion engulfed the room as everyone exchanged confused glances with each other. Although the brunette's excitement blinded her to the mayhem behind her, causing her not to notice her companions' confusion.

The gift was neatly wrapped, perfectly pressed with nothing out of line in a bright yellow colour. As Hange opened it in anticipation, a particular individual watched her closely in silence. His heart beating out of his chest as he watched the birthday girl's expression.

Hange's eyes narrowed as her brows furrowed in confusion. Her silence causing everyone in the room to fall into expectant anticipation as well. "I... I don't know what to say." She whispered just above a whisper.

And for a second, Levi's heart dropped. Did she not like the gift? Did he guess wrong? Had he ruined the mood? It was his first time gifting someone, and he didn't know whether he'd done the right thing or not.

But his doubts were quickly eased when Hange's excited shout filled the room.

"A MICROSCOPE! HOW THE HELL DID YOU GUYS GET A MICROSCOPE FROM?! IMAGINE ALL THE TESTING I CAN DO WITH THIS! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!" She shouted in glee, hugging the metal contraption to her chest.

While the others looked on in confusion, Erwin threw a knowing smile to Levi. Causing his face to pink from embarrassment. "Shut it. Unless you want the rest of the night to go to waste." He grumbled. And luckily for him, the older man didn't test him as he chuckled and headed back to join his friends.

The night winded down later than expected. And by that time, half their friends had already passed out, while the other were dealing with a terrible hangover. Hange told everyone she would stay behind and clean up, and Levi being Levi, was already going to do so, so they both ended up cleaning up the mess.

For the most part they were silent, focusing on their tidying duties as the aftermath of the party started leaving their systems. Until...

Splat.

A wet substance of mass hit him on the face. His surprise only lasted a second as Hange's laugher followed. "Your face! I've never seen you so defenseless before!"

"Oi... you're really asking for it now." Levi grunted as he started chasing the brunette around the room, a broom in one hand, the other with a rag. By the time Levi chased her down, it was already daybreak. Tired and out of breath, the two laid on their backs to the wooden floor as they stared up at the ceiling above them.

"Thank you, Levi." She softly spoke up after an elongated silence.

"Huh? What for? Chasing you around with a rag?"

A snort followed his words. "No... For celebrating with me. For giving me the names of those missing soldiers. For comforting me when I felt lost. For being my friend... and for the microscope." She said.

He froze, unsure of how to answer.

Sensing his predicament, she slowly turned on her side so she was looking at him. "Don't deny it. You're the only one that would actually go out of your way to get me one. You're the one who's always getting sponsorships and gifts from the public... it's not out of the realm of possibility for you to reach out to someone to make one."

Throwing a glance at the woman next to him, he sighed. closing his eyes. "Fine. It was me. But it's so that you owe me from now on." He answered. And as expected, Hange giggled at his response.

"I already owe you a lot. Just add it to the list of favours you can get out of me for the next ten years."

This time, Levi turned fully to her, his eyes catching her curious brown ones. "It's not just me you're helping with the microscope, Four-eyes. You're using it to help everyone as you study titans and their origins. Thanks to your experiments, we can become stronger. I will ask for your continued support." He said.

With a smile, Hange nodded. "To defeat the titans... let's work together to get rid of them."

And at seeing the bright morning light illuminated in her irises, he couldn't help but smile as well. "I'll hold you to that. Happy birthday, Four-Eyes."

[bagopucks]

Puck Control

2.3k

——————————————————

“I just don’t see how this was the best option for our kid.”

“Seriously? I wasn’t going to let him play football under that asshole for two more years.”

“Two years where we could have done therapy for cheaper than what his college is going to cost.”

“I’d rather him be not depressed than getting a full ride to some college we can already afford.”

A sigh parted his lips. His parents had been fighting all night. Auston wasn’t happy when Mitch told him that he had to drop out of the football team. The look on his face when Mitch walked into the locker room to return his uniform, was a look of pure betrayal. Babs hadn’t been happy either. He was the reason why Mitch’s mom made him quit football though. Despite the boy’s attempts to ignore the harsh words, they stung when he left the locker room, and they stung even in bed. Listening to his parents argue.

“You’re a fucking useless child.”

He liked to call Mitch useless. He was good at making the kid feel useless.

He was supposed to be angry with his parents, but overall he simply felt numb. He didn’t know what to do. Or where to go. Or if he even had friends any more.

“Look, I gave the hockey coach a call-“

“Hockey? You think our kid is playing hockey? Jesus, Bonnie he’s a football player! Grass and cleats! He’s never used a pair of skates in his life.”

“He did at that one girl’s birthday party when he was five.”

“And do you remember how hard he busted his ass? He had a bruise the size of a baseball on his cheek.” Mitch could hear the floor creak beneath his mother’s pacing feet. His father was a stationary person when stressed. Bonnie was not.

“Paul, he’s older now. I think we should give it a shot.”

“Drag him out of football and throw him into hockey. That’s your idea?”

“I’ve heard good things about the hockey coaches. I think they could help.” His mother was desperate.

They thought there was something wrong with Mitch. There probably was. He hated himself. He hated himself and had an ego at the same time. Mitch felt guilty relaxing, and he never felt that he measured up when he was working. He would string himself thin and burn himself out to the point that he wouldn’t get out of bed on most weekends. Other than for food or the bathroom. He was always hyper focused on football. Now he had nothing to focus on. He felt useless.

Fucking useless child.

“Or a psychiatrist would help. Somebody who actually studies behavior.” His father was logical.

“He just needs better influences.” Bonnie was wrong. Mitch’s team and friends hadn’t been the issue. At least he didn’t think so.

“His last influence was fine!”

“Auston? The kid partied every night!”

He was going to hate Mitch. Auston was his best friend.

“So who’s on this hockey team that probably isn’t smoking weed and drinking on the weekends?”

“The Hughes boys are nice.”

Mitch and Quinn didn’t get along.

“Have you seen the thoughtless stares on those boys’ faces?”

“It’s genetics!” Bonnie was trying.

“It’s marijuana.” His dad was probably right.

Mitch never bothered with smoking. He had scholarships he had to look after. There was no time for throwing away any sports career over drinking and drugs.

“Paul.” Silence followed the angry snap in Mitch’s mother’s tone. He shifted onto his side and stared at the box of trophies on his floor. “Let’s give it a chance. The last thing our kid needs is a shit load of time with his thoughts.”

Mitch twisted the deep blue blanket beneath his body, between his fingers. Hockey? He’d suck at hockey. What if he couldn’t learn? Couldn’t keep up? Coach Babs would laugh himself to death over his failure.

The boy strained to hear in the silence, his eyes wandering up the wall as he awaited the next words from his father’s mouth.

“Fine. Theoretically, I’m on board. You said you called the coach?”

“Yes, and he said he’d love to have Mitch. They have conditioning that starts at the end of this week.”

“A month and a half out from the season?”

“I don’t know how hockey works, that’s just what he said.”

“What about Mitch not being able to skate?”

“He said he could handle that too. He just needed a physical and he said he wanted to meet our son.”

Mitch had heard of the hockey coach. Hockey was the school’s biggest sport. Football was a close second. Everybody knew the hockey players, the coaches, the booster club and the hockey club staff. It was like a religion. Everybody knew the coach’s daughter too.

Pretty. Loud. Aggressive and competitive. Headstrong and kind. Guys would line up at her doorstep just to try their luck at asking her out.

She remained single for so long that people began to spread rumors of her having a secret relationship with the eldest Hughes. They were best friends since middle school. Around the same time Auston and Mitch met.

“Oh! And that he needs gear. Like- a lot of it.”

“How much is that going to cost us?”

“We can make it work.”

Mitch would have to clear a space in his closet for the old trophies. He’d need something to fill in all the empty spaces where football momentous once resided.

“Paul, please. It’s for Mitch.”

Silence.

Maybe he could decorate with model posters. He hadn’t tried that before. His mother got enough swimsuit magazines monthly to barely notice if one was missing.

“We’ll give it a shot. But any time he wants to pull out, that’s it. We’re not forcing him.”

“Fine.”

Mitch decided he’d pull out after day one. He could almost guarantee it.

——————

“I swear, they never shoot that damn puck.” Maeve glanced up at her father, leaned forward in the arm chair, a tablet in his lap and his brow furrowed. The same way it always was when he was focused on anything sports related.

“Quinn passes to his younger brother too much.” She glanced back at her phone as she spoke.

“He’s supportive.” He corrected.

“He’s too family oriented.”

“Now what does that mean?”

Maeve peeked up from her phone, and looked toward the tv where her father had been watching film from the last season.

“Jack relies on his brother because Quinn makes him feel safe. Quinn is such a good older brother, that all he wants to do is make Jack feel safe. You need to separate them.”

“Quinn is a defenseman, they don’t play on the same line.”

“I wouldn’t put Quinn on at the same time Jack is playing then.”

They broke eye contact to look back at their respective screens.

“Maybe I’ll switch Jack’s line up then. But Nico’s out for the year because of that knee surgery. And I’ve got a new kid coming in. I’d like to find him a spot first before I start moving other guys.”

“A new kid this late?”

“Yeah. One of the football boys decided to switch over.”

“Seriously?” Maeve peeked over at her father. He pursed his lips and nodded, eyes focused on the notebook where he began writing.

“Yeah. I’ll probably put him on the fourth line. I don’t see him doing too much damage there.”

“What’s his name?”

“Mitchell Marner. His mom said he just likes being called Mitch.”

Her eyes went wide.

“You’re kidding?”

“Nope. He’s gonna need some help though. His mom also said he’s never played hockey before.”

“Then why’d you say yes?”

“Because it’s an equal opportunity team. He’ll learn.” The girl’s father paused. “And I’ve seen some of the fights that kid has started on the football field. He’s got the heart of a hockey player.”

“Yeah. I’m sure you’ve seen how shitty his friends are too.”

“But is he?” The man looked up at Maeve, and for a moment she didn’t know how to answer. Mitch wasn’t kind, but he wasn’t cruel. He simply laughed when his friends did, and watched chaos ensue when his buddies decided to start it.

“Not necessarily, but you’re guilty by association.”

Wayne merely smirked and shrugged.

“He’ll learn.”

“And if he doesn’t?”

“He will.” Her father stood up, “because I’m gonna be the one to teach him.” Maeve watched him toss his notebook down on the chair.

“Why?”

“Cause that kid’s been playing on a team where the only way you keep your spot is if you’re good and you bring in results. Those guys are constantly in competition with each other. I need him to understand my team is a family. Not a hierarchy.”

“They’re gonna hate him.”

“They’ll have to suck it up.”

“I’m gonna hate him.”

“It’s a good thing you’re on the women’s team then, huh?” She grimaced at the feeling of his hand ruffling her hair as he walked by and out of the living room.

Mitch and Maeve didn’t have many encounters, but she knew he and his friends didn’t get along with the boys hockey team. They always had something to fight over. She thought their quarrels were often meaningless, but teenage boys were always fighting to be on the top of an imaginary totem poll. At least that’s what her dad liked to say.

“Did you and your girl friends pick a day to go dress shopping?”

Maeve quickly stood up to follow the sound of her father’s voice. Into the kitchen.

“No. It’s a little early for the winter formal, and the dresses right now are all still fall themed.”

“You thinking about doing blue this year?” She leaned against the kitchen counter as her father pulled a water bottle from the fridge.

“I was thinking white and silver.”

“Got a date?”

“Dad!”

“I’m just asking.” He held his hands up in surrender.

“Trevor did ask me if I’d go with him. He said Jack already had somebody.”

“That Jorja girl? The one that comes around every so often?”

“Yeah. They’ve been doing that awkward teenage puppy eyes thing for a while.”

“She seems nice though.”

“Oh she’s the best. I’m happy for her.”

“So you and Trevor?”

“Unless Quinn asks me to go, I’ll go with Z.”

“I’m surprised Quinn hasn’t asked yet. You guys have gone to every dance together since the seventh grade.”

“Well Jack told Luke, and Luke told me, that Jack thinks Quinn has his eyes on Kayleigh Jacobs.”

“She’s on the track team?”

“Jack says Quinn likes her legs,” Maeve spoke in a playfully dreamy tone. Her father chuckled and shook his head in disbelief.

“Well it’ll be nice for you to go with Trevor. Poor kid can’t seem to find a girl.”

“Yeah, because he scares them all off talking about his lizard.”

“He talks about his lizard?” An incredulous laugh fell from his lips.

“Yes! Somehow he thinks that’s gonna get a girl interested.” They both tried not to laugh, but at the end of the day, it was an amusing subject.

“I tried to tell him it’s not attractive, but he always argues with me.”

“He needs some major dating advice.”

“It’s bad enough kids know him as Wheezy, soon it’s gonna be lizard king.” Trevor certainly got the bad wrap in school for nicknames. With asthma in elementary school, and a laugh that forever reminded kids how his breathing used to be, he never outgrew the nickname, “wheezy.” His friends didn’t use it often, if at all, but other kids did.

“That’s rough.” Maeve’s father shook his head. “I’ll put a new nickname for Z on my list of things to do this season.”

“Put dating advice on there too while you’re at it.” She joked.

Wayne cracked the seal of his water bottle before twisting the cap off. He took a sip, his brow furrowing and face twisting into that thoughtful look again before he spoke.

“You think you’d wanna help me teach this Mitch kid?”

“Absolutely not.”

“How’s come?”

“Because you’ll have your hands full, and I’m not a teacher.”

“A kid his age helping out might be nice. And when was the last time we played hockey together?”

“Last night in the driveway? You said you wanted to work on my puck control.”

“I meant on real ice.”

She pursed her lips and tapped her fingers against the counter. Maeve knew it had been a while.

“I’ll skate with you any time, dad. Just not with Mitch.”

“You might change your mind.” His smirk made the girl roll her eyes.

“The faith you have in this kid is going to crumble the second you see him!” Maeve turned around to walk out of the kitchen.

“You should be more optimistic!” Her father called after her.

“When it comes to Mitch Marner, you should be pessimistic!” Maeve slipped into the living room to grab her phone before she walked toward the steps. Wayne quickly slipped into the hall to stop her.

“You going to bed?”

“Yeah. I’ll see ya tomorrow.”

“Don’t be late.”

“I never am.”

Sometimes she was, but time management was not something she wasn’t worried about working on.

“Goodnight, hun.”

“Night!” Maeve slipped up the steps and opened Quinn’s contact.

Her father never told her that this news of a new player was supposed to be a secret.

[loadednachosao3]

I wrote the first bit of what will hopefully turn into a full-fledged tailor au story and I want you guys to see it

let me know what you think!!

“Naaaachiiiiiitoooooo!”

Nacho bites back a sigh and longs for the days when Lalo would call him “Señor Varga.” He holds the phone a little bit away from his ear; Lalo gets loud when he’s excited.

“I thought I told you I’m with family this weekend,” Nacho says. “And not to call unless it’s an emerg—”

“It is an emergency!” comes Lalo’s whiny voice on the other end of the line. “They moved the date of the gala up, and I need you to make me something new!”

Nacho pinches the bridge of his nose while his father and aunt glance over at him through the doorway. “What’s wrong with what I’ve been working on?”

“Get. This,” Lalo says in the most serious tone possible for him. “Fring’s gonna be there — personally!”

“I don’t see what that has to do with—”

“He’s been rubbing elbows with Eladio for the past year and some change,” Lalo says, gossipy as usual. “If I can really impress the cabrón, he might throw some money our way, some connections. You know, bigger magazines and brand deals and — I bet he can get me on the cover of Vogue!”

Nacho bites his lip and lowers his voice, trying to hide the irritation in his tone. His little cousins shriek and bolt past his knees, firing cap guns at each other.

“And what’s wrong with what I’m making you already?”

“I mean, it’s fine, it’s good, but—” Lalo sighs. “Fring’s tastes are… You know how they are, right? Simpler. You know… Crispado, liso. I’m just worried the outfit we’ve got going on now is…”

“Demasiado colorido,” Nacho mutters.

Just like you, he thinks.

He hears Lalo snap his fingers. “Yeah! You get it. We need to go back to the drawing board on this one. Can you talk to Jane?”

Nacho really does sigh this time. “When’s the gala?”

“In two weeks! That’s why we need to move!”

“Two—?!” Nacho sees his family’s heads swivel toward him, so he lowers his voice to a harsh whisper. “Lalo, that’s insane. I have other clients, and you know how long it takes to—”

“Can’t you just, I dunno, push everything else back? Work on mine? This is a real emergency, Ignacio!”

The nerve of him. Nacho can’t believe he’s asking for something that’s borderline impossible.

“Just wear what I’m already—”

“I’ll pay you triple! No — quadruple!”

Nacho pauses. Four times his usual rate is nearly ten grand. He knew Lalo was well off, but… How can he be so desperate to impress someone he doesn’t even like?

“Eyyy, there’s my Nachito,” Lalo purrs, and Nacho can hear the Cheshire Cat’s grin spread over his face. “How’s that sound? Good?”

Nacho puts a hand on his hip and breathes out slowly, head tilted back, wondering what his life would be like if he could get some peace for one single weekend.

“...I’ll have to talk to Jane,” he finally says. “If, if she can get a design done by Monday, then—”

“Eres el mejor! I knew I could count on you!” Lalo says.

“Okay, but if she ca—”

“I’ll text you my ideas! Me has ayudado mucho, Ignacio. Gracias!”

Click.

Nacho sighs, longer, louder, more exasperated than before.

His father calls from the next room, “Is everything okay, mijo?”

“Yeah,” he calls back. “Yeah. Just great.”

[natasha-in-space]

HELLO!! I wanna request something yay. I dont really have anything concrete in mind tho lol just that I want something with Zen.

Whenever I think about Zen usually domestic fluff (or angst) comes into mind so maybe something with that? Or if you wanna just completely throw me off that's totally welcome too

I'm being really vague here so I'd get if you didn't wanna write something, no pressure, totally up to you lol

~ <3

Zen might be a beginner at computer games, but he's definitely no stranger to board games... And, he's a way better strategist than you'd think at first glance! Too bad you got too cocky for your own good and ended up completely bankrupt in your weekend session of monopoly. Granted, you really shouldn't have underestimated a man who had to get by practically on his own since he was a teenager. Zen knew planning, and Zen knew finances.

And so, one last horrified gasp was all that accompanied your eminent defeat, as you stared, utterly appalled, at the amount of debt that was steadily increasing, until you had no choice but to accept, that it was way more than you could ever pay off, however lucky your next hand could have been.

Who could possibly know that a relaxing session of some good old monopoly with your handsome boyfriend might turn so competitive and heated in just a few hours of playing? Maybe you shouldn't have boasted about your long-running winning streak as much as you did. To say that your pride was mercilessly destroyed and smashed into pieces would be the understatement of the century, that's for sure. You couldn't really blame Zen for bursting out laughing at your utterly dumbfounded reaction, especially considering all the cocky teasing you put him through just a few minutes prior.

Cruel is karma.

"My, what a thrilling turn of events! And I didn't even have to charm my way to victory. Or maybe my beauty is just so blinding to my adorably smug opponent?" Zen chuckled, mischievous twinkles slowly creeping its way to his beautiful ruby eyes as he watched you gawk, his chin prepped up comfortably onto his palm. He was clearly enjoying this way too much for his own good, which only made you feel more embarrassed by the stupidity of it all.

Finding your mind completely blank for any believable excuse that would save you face from the inevitable session of some well-deserved teasing that was coming your way hard and fast, you found nothing better to do but to grab the nearest pillow to you and hide your burning face in it, crawling back further into the couch you were sitting in. Maybe if you hid yourself from his piercing gaze well enough, your dignity will somehow make it out of this alive. Albeit barely "I just- Got distracted! That's all. Don't be so proud of it."

Yeah, right.

You knew you were acting sort of childish right now, but admitting your own defeat was not something you ever did easily. Especially not in monopoly, a game that you've, supposedly, always been a master at. Well, at least that's a good and valuable lesson about pride you just got served hot and ready right on your plate. Your own competitiveness has led you to your demise. Oh, the the poetic irony.

"Oh, babe~" Zen practically purred out the nickname you knew so well, slowly but surely crawling over your way, until you could feel his rich cologne surrounding you in its enticing presence. Now your face was burning up for a completely different reason than before, only making you burry yourself further into your protective shield in the form of the fluffy pillow. Though, try as you might, you could do nothing to stiffle back a choked gasp as your boyfriend placed one single heated kiss right underneath your ear, making you shiver with delight as the sensitive skin of your neck tingled with a rush of warmth. "Do you have any idea how adorable you look right now? You're only making me want to beat you at other board games as well, just to see you pouting and trembling like that. Are you doing it on purpose?"

You gulped, finding your heart beating wildly right in your throat at such a bold proposition. You thought you'd surely get mad at him for suggesting putting you in such an embarrassing situation ever again, but, instead, you only felt a small rush of anticipation trickling down your neck and settling somewhere deep in the pit of your stomach. Loosing was always something you hated, but...

For Zen, you just might make an exception.

[owlixx]

Wiikend Thoughts

I played a bunch of Wii games with my partner over the weekend. I wanted to record my thoughts on them.

Dead space extraction

This one was pretty fun!

We did just the first chapter

I predicted there would be a level 1 plot twist but it was still pretty cool

I was really impressed by the production quality on this spin-off light gun game

Made me happy as a dead space fan

Might play more, might have to play more alone but this is a fantastic coop title

Really enjoyed the coop hacking mini game

Boom blox

Lives up to the hype!

It is indeed a cute, fun little party game

I was expecting much less gameplay variety

Will definitely have to play more together

Sonic colors

I had beaten before on PC but not tried on original hardware

Frame rate is a little low but you get used to it

Biggest beef here is that shaking the Wii remote for wisps is really awkward

I kept firing the laser wisp prematurely because of that

I found the classic controller to be the most comfortable style for me

The short levels make this game great for taking turns on

Maybe later we will do the game land levels

Elebits

This game has a hilariously long tutorial that basically just explains how to even use a Wii remote at all

Partner found it a bit cumbersome

This was my first wii game so I had a super fun time playing my level

VERY katamari damacy

Satisfying to throw objects around

Does feel like a cross between a game and a toy kind of

Didn’t try multiplayer, not likely to

I find the idea of a DS RPG sequel hilarious

Warioware smooth moves

Kind of disappointing that you have to beat single player to unlock multiplayer, especially here where that would give one player a huge advantage

However, this game is classic, amazing Warioware and even taking turns was a ton of fun

These micro games were all new to me and generally impressed

Just a couple micro games had me utterly confused about what kind of motion they wanted

Wii party

I had played Wii Party U, so this wasn’t a huge surprise

The host is oddly similar to Sebastian Tute from wii music

It was fun to play the ship balance game after seeing it on Nintendo Week (which I recently binged)

We completely failed the friendship compatibility test, literally failed all five questions.

It can be pretty funny to see all your miis constantly featured in the backgrounds of mini games

Wii sports resort

I am just god awful at this game

Wakeboarding, dogfighting, basketball, frisbee, biking, all complete failures for me

I’m okay at archery

Based on how bad I am at skyward sword, I think I am just bad at Wii motion plus

Wii music

I was kind of jamming along, but my partner was not having it

Admittedly, this doesn’t even feel like a retail game release

We also watched the awkward E3 showcase of this game

Wii play

This was the main game my partner requested

I narrowly lost the overall competition

Definitely some fun to be had here but not a strong candidate for replay

I really struggled with the pointer controls on air hockey

Klonoa

Yep, it’s Klonoa!

Pretty neat that this exists at all

Ironically, I think I’d prefer a 3D remake of the GBA games because of their tighter level design

The 2.5D wrapping around feels very modern

Sonic riders zero gravity

Precisely one match was enough for us

Opening cutscene is hilariously long

I may have to come back and play alone since I grew up with this game

Did not understand controls

Goldeneye 007

I had fun, partner did not

This game sure isn’t Goldeneye 64 though, for better or worse

Kind of a baffling Frankenstein game really

Mario Party DS

Played on a DS and 3DS

Cannot believe the multiplayer match survived a car ride with no hitches inbetween rounds

Fun minigames, fun board

Surprisingly legitimate Mario party experience

[ryanmillerprocess]

Visual Presents

October 14. 2023.

Today was spent working on the creative brief and mood board for this new assignment.

October 16. 2023.

Today was spent thinking of how to create an informational package on Rooster Teeth that would align with their ideals and style. A video is really the only thing that makes sense for a video production company.

The plan is to create a video filled with references to the company while providing information on the company.

October 18. 2023.

I am struggling with coming up with a way to make this work that I'll be happy with. I don't know how to work the videos into the narrative I'm trying to write.

I've been looking through old videos to help remind me of the older videos I used to watch, and that is helping, but I still don't know how to make it work. Just have to keep at it I guess.

October 23. 2023.

After thinking it over all weekend and scrolling through 13 years of YouTube content, I am finally starting to see a clearer picture of what I could do to produce something I can be happy with.

I picked out a few videos that I can replicate that were moments from the history of the company that stood out in my mind. I've been trying to write a script to help layout how I'm going to use these videos, but 3 rough drafts later and it's starting to get frustrating. This writing stuff is hard. I'll keep with it, but I'm running out of time and I need to start shooting so I'll have something to work with.

October 25. 2023.

Finally started shooting for this project. I spent a couple hours setting up and shooting short videos for the compilation I'm making. I always forget how fun it is to just experiment with setups and throwing something together to make it work. I feel much better about the project, and I'm looking forward to doing the rest of it.

I have a rough schedule for the rest of my shots, and locations to take them in. I still have a lot to do, but it's getting closer to something I can be happy with.

October 30. 2023.

Spent the weekend shooting for the project. Got shot by some paintballs, got some regular balls thrown at me. productive weekend.

Today we played Jeopardy instead of having a quiz, so that was fun. Our team won and earned a 48 hour extension on a project of our choice. Hopefully won't be needing that.

November 1. 2023.

Last night I tried rewriting the script and couldn't do it, so I went back to watching videos for inspiration. I think I have a way better idea, which unfortunately means I am going to have to re shoot a few things and completely start over on the video editing. I'm glad I like doing this stuff otherwise I'd be panicking right now. Probably going to need that extension though.

The idea is to recreate the intro of the first episode of immersion and then go straight into the videos I've shot. I recorded the originals without considering the audio because I was going to voice over them while talking about the history of the company and my introduction to them. Now that I've scrapped that idea, I have videos that might not work with the new idea. I'll see if I can make it, but hopes are low, maybe that'll let me surprise myself.

November 3. 2023.

The project is due today. I have made a lot of progress and I'm feeling very good about this project. It's still not what I want, but it's better than before. I also thought of remaking the original case of the season 1 DVD for RVB. Just more work for myself, but it's more authentic and fun. Feeling grateful for that extension right now.

November 4. 2023.

The last stretch of the project is always the most stressful. I need to get better at gathering all my pictures and information in the same place throughout the whole process of the project.

Progress Pictures

[purplesurveys]

1730

How long has it been since you moved out of the house you grew up in? I haven't moved out yet, but it has been 15 years since we moved out of my childhood house – a duplex that my immediate family, my mom's brother's family, and my grandparents shared.

What color shirt are you wearing? Chestnut.

The last time you ate leftovers, what was it that you were eating? I can't even remember when that was anymore... it may have been spaghetti from Jollibee? My mom had ordered a massive tray of it so it lasted well into the following day.

What was the last flavor of ice cream you ate? Shoyu caramel.

Do you regret anything you've done in the last 24 hours, and if so, what? Yes, everything that happened that led to us getting lost on our way to Nasugbu yesterday and somehow ending up back in Taguig after already making it to SLEX and wasting 1.5 hrs worth of time and gas. It's too complicated to explain and no one here will get the directions anyway so I won't bother to explain, but that has been the worst part of this weekend and is another reason why I hate the south and driving in it.

What is your favorite type of soup? Mushroom soup and miso soup :)

When was the last time you saw a beautiful sunset? Two months ago when we joined this dinner cruise thing in Thailand.

What is your favorite song at the moment? Dust by Seventeen is beautiful.

What are 5-10 things you love about being you? - I always have a stubborn determination to be good/do better at things I want to be good at; - I look out for other people first before ever considering myself; - I love animals; - I take no issue being on my own and doing fun things on my own; - Mistakes no longer bother me as much as they used to.

What is your favorite board that you've made on Pinterest? I don't spend enough time on there to be making boards.

Do you get on Facebook or Instagram more? These days, probably Instagram.

What color is your favorite sweater? I don't have one.

What are three things people would never guess about you just by looking at the photos you post on social media? - I'm into punk rock and had a phase in my life when that was all I listened to; - My dad works abroad so I've seen him infrequently my whole life; - For a long time my mental health was on a continuous decline.

What is one thing you have too much of? Receipts that I need to throw out.

What was the last thing you ate or drank that was blue raspberry-flavored? Maybe some candy. Idk. I rarely have anything in blueberry.

What are three of your favorite scents? Vanilla, coffee, anything ocean-y.

What was the last flavor of tea you drank? Lemon iced tea.

When was the last time you wore your hair in a fishtail braid? I don't think that's ever been done to my hair.

What is one annoying thing your computer does? There's nothing I don't like about my laptop, as old and slow as it's gotten over the years. This is my baby to the very end and I'll only ever replace it once it decides to sign off for good.

What type of fruit do you eat the most? Avocado, if I eat any fruit at all. I generally try to avoid them.

How often do you go out to eat? Once a week on average, typically on Sundays with family.

What would your dream wedding dress look like? No idea, but a peg I'm likely to use is Audrey Hepburn's 1954 Oscars dress. Only things I'd tweak are the length and the floral design.

Which fall flavor do you prefer: pumpkin spice or apple cinnamon? Neither are flavors I see myself leaning into, but I mean I guess I'll go with apple cinnamon only because I have no clue what pumpkin spice tastes like? I won't be having a good time though lmao.

What is the most annoying thing about your life right now? This upcoming work event that we can't seem to pin a date on. I just want to get this shit over with as I've recently discovered I have much bigger life things to tackle now.

Which holiday treat do you like better: candy corn or conversation hearts? Candy corn because at least I wouldn't find them cheesy.

What is your favorite apple-flavored treat? Does it count if I say apple pie only because I like the pie crust?

What are you counting down the days to right now, if anything? My hypothetical new job. I don't think that'll stay a concept much longer anymore.

What was the last book you read about? It was BTS' memoir so I'll let that explain itself.

Have you been daydreaming a lot lately about a scenario you wish would happen? I can say that about the last two days, yes.

What are three of your favorite things about camping? I've never gone camping before.

If you could choose what month to be born in, what month would you have chosen as your birth month, and why? I'm not sure I have a preferred birth month. Any would have worked lol.

...and what is your actual birth month? It's in April.

What are three of your favorite things to do on a rainy day? Turn on my BTS-on-a-rainy-day playlist, fix a cup of coffee, stare at the rain.

Would you rather eat strawberries or watermelon? I'd try watermelon. I've never tasted it.

Do you prefer smoothies or milkshakes? Milkshakes.

Do you prefer hamburgers or hot dogs? Hamburgers.

When was the last time you felt nauseous? Last night.

What was the last thing you ate that made you feel nauseous? I don't really get sick from food.

Do you enjoy going to your local county fair? Idk I've never been to any, we don't even have 'counties' here.

How far away do you live from the place where you were born? About an hour or so away.

Do you prefer zebra print or cheetah print? Cheetah, if anything. Generally not a fan of animal print though.

[tipsycad147]

Daily Magic Rituals ( In under 10 Minutes)

5 daily magic rituals you can do in under 10 minutes.

I’ve been practicing for over a decade at this point in my life. But there are times where I don’t touch my tools or my cards for months at a time. Right before I started Greenman Meadow’s blog, I started trying to set time aside each day for a daily magic ritual or two. And it actually started to help. I felt calmer and more in focus and I’ve been familiarizing myself with a new deck of tarot card.

With The Farm, and Munchkin, I can’t set aside huge chunks of time for meditating or spells. Hell, it’s hard enough to get all my social media and blog work done some days. I don’t like getting up early and normally even though I’m up early for the farm, my blog work doesn’t start until later in the morning. So I started simplifying what I wanted to do. Small rituals that help fuel the day or rituals to wind down and review in the evenings.

Being a Witch in a Modern World

The nice part about modern paganism and witchcraft is we’ve realized that there is magic in most things we do. That first sip of coffee, our morning shower, rolling the windows down in the car on the way to work. All of these things influence the elements and with a little push, can be used to turn a mundane day into a magical one.

There are tons and tons of daily rituals all over the internet. Morning, Evening, Shower,Green Witch,Kitchen Witch, you name it and there’s a list of “10 things you can do everyday for your magic.”

And that’s totally cool! The upside is you know yourself and your magic best, so feel free to pick and choose what works best with your schedule or your intentions that day.

I’ve gathered a generalized list of 5 things you can do in 10 minutes or less on a daily basis to fuel your day and your magic.But feel free to add to it if you need it. I’ll list some resources to other blogs at the end as well as on our Pinterest board for you to look up some other cool ideas and inspirations.

5 Ways to Practice your Magic Everyday!

Meditate

Yes I know this is so cliche, but I’m not talking about climbing a mountaintop with the sunrise and isolating for years.( if you decide to become a monk and do this good for you though! )

What I’m talking about is taking 5-10 minutes to sit in total silence, feet flat on the ground and just breathe.

Let the thoughts in your head pop up but don’t focus on them. One analogy I use is your thoughts are a breeze around a mountain(you).They surface but move on while you stay steadfast.

Try Guided Meditations for something different.

If you are new to meditating or can’t sit in total silence, check out guided meditations.

When I was in massage school, we would take breaks about once a week to lay on the lab floor and just listen.Our TA had the best meditation voice ever.

My Favorite Guided Meditation

My favorite meditation is visualizing a fireplace, a comfy chair and rain outside. I am horrible at drawing up actual pictures in my head, I mostly see in colors and simple shapes, and I could literally feel the flames warming my skin it was that good.

Taking just 10 minutes to sit quietly before starting your day doesn’t seem like it does much. I didn’t think about it myself when I started as I was only using it to clear my mind before doing a daily magic tarot draw. But boy can I tell on the weekends when Mr. Moose is home and the house is loud, that I didn’t get my quiet time with my coffee and cards.

If you have extra time or need to focus on a particular issue once you’ve grounded and cleared your mind, do it! There are a lot of times where I have to remind myself to let go of my thoughts and just breathe because I think of a chore or an issue that pops up. If I follow down that rabbit hole, it throws everything off and I forget why I’m sitting there.

Use the 4-8-4 Breath

I find counting helps to block everything else in your mind. I focus on counting my breaths in, holding and exhaling. It’s repetitive, helps to make sure I’m breathing deep enough and keeps me from thinking about random things.

Feel free to use your meditation time to pray, talk to your deity or send energy to a friend or loved one.

How to use meditation in daily life

Try to set aside some time everyday to meditate and see how much calmer and put together you feel. And it doesn’t have to be in the mornings either!

Try before bed to release the energies from the day. Use a lunch break if you are in school or at work to raise your alertness and productivity.(If you can get outside or by a window to get some outdoor energy too!)

And if you’re home with little ones like me well, you know you need all the quiet time you can spare. Those chores can wait 10 more minutes, they’ll still be there when you’re done, I promise.(Unfortunately.)

Daily Magic: Drawing Positivity and Banishing Negativity

If you can tie this in with your meditation great! If not, no worries, I know not everyone has extra time in the mornings.( Mr Moose is chronically late waking up.Thank the goddess he’s not a girl who does hair and makeup, he’d be even worse.)

The best way I know to set the intent for the day is using your morning drink. Coffee, tea, protein shake, lemon water, whatever.

Widdershins!

One of the things as a beginner witch you can learn is clockwise/ counterclockwise and what they do for your casting. So simply think of something you’d like to draw into your life( like a good test score, a bonus on your paycheck or just a sunny day) and stir clockwise.

Or on the opposite side of the coin(or spoon) think of something you’d like to remove from your life( anxiety, an annoying ex,lack of self esteem, frizzy hair) and stir counterclockwise. Super simple!

Daily Magic: Divination

The third tie-in on MY morning routine is to read my tarot cards with the focus on what my lesson is for the day.

I personally draw 3 cards because I like to know more but most people use a single card draw. There’s tons of layouts on Pinterest for daily spreads, Sabbats, and specific questions.( Also Biddy Tarot and Emerald Lotus Tarot have some good info on spreads and meanings.)

It’s also extremely helpful when you are earning a new deck. This is the first time I’ve used a Rider-Waite deck so learning the Major/ Minor court is all new to me. I’m definitely more comfortable with my interpretations now than I was 2 months ago.

Is Divination your cup of Tea?

And as with every witch’s path, it doesn’t have to be just tarot cards either. You can scry with a crystal, a mirror or your cup of coffee.( If you read tea leaves, this is a great time to do it.) You can cast runes or I-Ching coins. Or if you have a specific question you can use a pendulum.

In my years of being a witch, I’ve accumulated each of these items, but some (like the I-ching) I’m still learning and familiarizing myself with them.

If you aren’t interested in divination that’s cool too!

My parent’s ( who introduced me on my path) both own oracle cards but don’t typically use them.

I’ve always been drawn to divination and learning so I like seeing what they tell me. (And I’ve been told off quite a few times by those same cards for being stubborn and pig headed let me tell you!)

If you aren’t really into divination, use this time to do a simple ritual instead. Light a candle or some incense, pray, make an offering to your pixie so he doesn’t steal your homework again.

Kitchen Witches are a good Example of Daily Magic

One of the daily rituals for a kitchen witch is to light a red candle in the kitchen and leave an offering on the kitchen altar for your ancestors and your deities. Or spray your favorite perfume in the bathroom while you get ready to inspire your inner goddess.

There’s countless ways to bring your own personal touches to your magic and how you want to use it.

Daily Magic: Decorate your Altar and leave offerings.

Tying in on the kitchen witch’s altar thing. One of the best ways to attend to your magic, is to attend to your magic space. A clean space draws positive energy better than cluttered one. And a decorated altar makes a witch happier than an empty shelf.

Depending on if you are in the broom closet still, or if you have domain over your entire house, can change up how you decorate. There are plenty of Non-Wiccan/ Pagan ways to decorate your altar, or you can make a pocket altar and keep it in an Altoids tin.

Right now we are still finishing up from our move-in 2 year ago, but I have to adjust what’s within Munchkin’s reach. So shiny crystals, hot candles and lighters and sharp pointy knives all go up where a 14 month old can’t reach(yet).

Our Altar Setup

I’m slowly starting to set up a dedicated area in each room that has an incense burner, a candle and whatever crystals, tools, etc, I think go well there.

Our living room altar is on top of our movie shelf and it has a fairy burner, a Gothic dragon statue and a red stone statue of Buddha. As well as an antique white and pink teacup and some rune stones I made. I leave feathers and leaves I find in the mornings up there. And once in a while, I’ll gather wildflowers and stems to put on the shelf as well.

I’ll be working on a kitchen altar soon but our kitchen isn’t very big.So right now I’m happy with a windowsill full of plants and my oils that are infusing. My BFF also gave me some wooden spoons and kitchen decorations that have Wiccan symbols on them that I use frequently.

If you are in a space you share with others who do not know or don’t approve, try just setting up decorative candles. Or put a symbol for each element in the corners of your room( feather for air, candle for fire, plant for earth and a seashell for water.) These are all inconspicuous enough that they’ll never be noticed. Even a pretty picture that you feel a connection to works well.

Leaving Offerings

As for leaving offerings, A small bottle cap set up out of little pet or children’s reach works well. Depending on if you are working with ancestors or deities decides what and if you leave anything.

Some like to share the first sip of your coffee or tea. Others prefer a slosh of whiskey or wine. Set aside an extra cookie or your favorite candy. Maybe your Great Aunt Pearl used to steal sweet’n low everywhere she went and you need to talk to her. Obviously the best way to draw her is to leave a packet or two out!

Outdoor Offerings

We try to leave outside offerings as well. Milk, honey, bits of pretty ribbon, are all appreciated by the Fae and woodland spirits here. During the Sabbats and the Esbats, you can pour your offerings to the gods outside when you are finished. We also leave offerings when we gather from trees or other living plants.( I learned the hard way to make sure you ask the tree before hand, don’t hurt it more than necessary and you damn well better have a gift in return… I was bloody and covered in scratches for a week.)

Attending to your magical space doesn’t have to be a huge ordeal( the whole point of this post is to stay under 10 minutes after all). But dusting your shelf, lighting a fresh incense stick or leaving an offering are great ways to take care of your space. As well as have a greater bond to your magic.

Daily Magic: Sigils

Now I saved this one for last because I know it can get pretty in depth as to all the things you can use sigils for and where you can put them. I’ll try not to get carried away and keep it simple for you guys.

Sigils are drawn or painted symbols used to achieve a specific effect. If you know about being Wiccan, you know the pentacle,triquetra and triskele all have powers of protection. Now if you were to draw one on say, your keys before a trip, now it’s a sigil.

Premade sigils exist all over the internet. I use them myself quite often, especially for healing and anxiety.

There are sigils for luck on a job interview or test, to increase beauty, get the house you want or to up your magical abilities. You can also use sigil generators to create your own.

An example of how to create a sigil is to first write a sentence of what you want to achieve.

Sigil Creation Example

We’ll use ” Remove anxiety and procrastination” as an example.

The first thing you do is remove all vowels. So that leaves us with “rmvnxtynprcrstntn“.

Now we remove all repeating letters(leave just the first of that letter and remove the rest.) That gives us “rmvnxtypcs“.

Now you enter those letters into a generator or create your own and then you have a sigil. ( Most generators are circular and have letters circling the outside in random order. You start at the first letter and trace a line going from each letter in your sentence in order until you have your sigil shape)

What you decide to do with the sigil afterwords is up to you.( Knowing about color correspondences comes in handy with sigils as well. Green for money, brown for animals, pink for love etc.)

Sigils are Adaptive

Honestly the most awesome thing about being in part of what’s now known as ” modern witchcraft” is our adaptability and versatility. Sigils are a large part of that.

You can be as discreet or up in your face as you want with how and where you put them. Draw a sigil with your foundation for beauty and grace. Put a slip of paper to increase money in your wallet or protection and safety under your phone-case. Draw it on your skin, a label on your shirt, sketch it out in the air with your finger.

As far as I know there’s no limit to how many you can use at the same time!

The are infinite options and solutions you can come up with and use.( Fair warning if you use the “invisibility” sigil to keep something hidden from somebody, you yourself will lose it a few times even if you don’t move it from its spot, ask me how I know…lol)

I personally use sigils on bottles of medicinal oils and salves to up their potency. On myself for anxiety or pain relief(drawn on my receptive hand/arm to pull the energy into my body) or on charms for customers and friends. Now if only they made a sigil that works on toddler tantrums.

5 Simple daily magic rituals anyone can do

So there you have it! These are the best daily magic things I think everyone should try to do or use. Feel free to change it to your style and schedule as needed. And don’t feel pressured to do all of them everyday either.

Are there any things you have questions about? Or something you look forward to adding to your routine? I’d love to know, so feel free to tell me in the comments below!

If you have any concerns about your magic or just need someone to talk to about being in the broom closet, feel free to email me or reach out on messenger if you can, I’m here to help out how I can.

See you soon! xoxo -A

Resource Links-some links if you have more question or need more ideas

Emerald Lotus Tarot– Tarot Spreads

Biddy Tarot– Card descriptions and meanings

Witch of Lupine Hollow– Daily Ritual Ideas

Mumbles and Things- Daily Ritual Ideas

Cauldron and Brew-Sigils

Dwell in Magic-Self care rituals

Otherworldly Oracle-Daily Pagan Practices

[shurisneakers]

harmless (viii)

Summary: Bucky volunteers to go stop a small time villain, but nothing can prepare him for what exactly he has to deal with. (Bucky x villain!reader, drabble series)

Warnings: cursing, protesting, frustrated bucky, dramatic reader, gamer (derogatory), smidge of angst

Word count: 3.5k

A/N: listen idk what goes on at construction site and im too sexy to research so we’re going with my version of the world. hello. how are we all doing?

here’s my ko-fi if you’d like to support my writing <333

Previous Part || Series Masterlist

He doesn’t expect to see you on TV. 

In jail maybe, for something scandalous and completely unnecessary, but not TV.

But there you are, a sign board waving around furiously in your hand, voice in protest against the demolition of the community centre. You’re flipping the board back and forth to alternate between the messages you’ve scrawled on the cardboard.

You were among a few protesting, but clearly the loudest. 

He thinks that maybe he has the weekend off if you’re too busy fighting big corporations. He’d send his support even.

Until he zeroes in on the sign when it flips over, finally reading what it says.

You better get your ass here, sarge

And so he does.

Half the crowd had dipped by the time he arrived. You were there, still the loudest, but he couldn’t help but notice the lack of people as compared to an hour or two ago on TV. He supposed that justice could wait as long as it took to get lunch from the nearest café.

“I can’t stop you from protesting, y’know.” He’s a little wary of approaching your raging self. 

“Oh, hey Barnes. You got my message.” You break away for a second to scream a bunch of obscenities at the gigantic glass building before turning to him. “You wouldn’t be able to.”

“What’s your dumb plan then?” 

“First of all, it’s not dumb. It’s stupid. Put some respect on my technological genius.” You held up a finger. “Second of all, it’s not here.”

“Where is it?” 

“At the construction site.” You point down the road. “Come on.”

Right along the way you stop to chant another slogan. He waves his arm around meekly in support. He did, after all, have to stand up for what was right, but if his publicist saw him here she’d have an aneurysm. 

The construction site isn’t very far off. It’s adjacent to the community centre, which he assumes they’re going to tear down to make more space for whatever shitty commercial building was going to take its place.

There are already a few excavators and dozers there but no one to man them since it was lunch time. What garners his attention is the small silver plate that’s on the floor a few feet ahead in the direction you’re walking towards.

“Here.” You stop once it nears. “The plan.”

“Am I supposed to know what this is?” He lightly kicked at it, earning a smack on the arm from you.

“Stop that,” you scolded, “and look at it. It’s not hard to figure out.”

He narrows his eyes. There’s a small u-shaped piece of metal in the middle of the plate. “That’s a magnet.”

“Exactly.” You clapped your hands together in excitement. “The world’s strongest electromagnet.”

He looks around. The only possibly magnetic things are the cranes and excavators around him.

“You’re going to... stop the machines from moving ahead?” he hesitates in his deduction. 

“Yep. Can’t tear anything down if they can’t get to it first.” 

Bucky looks down.

“Does this thing even work?” He toes at it again. “It’s kinda small.”

“It works beautifully, stop kicking at it, you demon-”

“What happens if I step on it, huh?” He knows this would get on your nerves wonderfully. He raises his leg. “Do I get to go home for the day?”

“You’re such a little shit,” you whine, reaching for your back pocket. “Stop bullying my invention.”

“’m gonna squish it like a bug.” He’s only half kidding about that part. “I’m gonna-”

Before he can finish his sentence something yanks him down hard. His head nearly hits the ground before his right arm shoots out to break his fall.

"Woah there, don't go falling for me as yet.” 

“What the fu-” he begins, eyes locking on his metal arm that was pressed flat against the earth.

“I told you it works,” you say smugly. “Try crushing it now, Barnes. If you can even get off the floor.”

He tugs his hand but it’s firmly attached to the thing. No matter how or where he’s applying the effort, his limb refuses to move. He’s stuck.

“Turn it off,” he sighs. “You made your point.”

“No. Stay there.”

“Y/N, shut up and turn this off,” he groans, trying to find a better position rather than chin down on the ground.

“Lay there and rot. You deserve it for underestimating me.” You huff.

“I wasn’t underestimating you, Jesus Christ.” He really was planning to just step on it, but he had complete faith that it worked. 

When he doesn’t receive a reply, his gaze follows yours. Suddenly the crane looks a lot closer than it initially did. Awesome. 

“Those are moving towards me.” He picks up on the low groan and creak of metal.

“Yeah, they are.” You nod, one hand on your hip, watching them.

He didn’t think that getting crushed under construction equipment would be how his day went. 

“Not my problem,” you decide finally after a bout of silence. 

Now that simply wouldn’t do. 

Death was definitely a problem, but what was more important was that he was going to get a dust allergy from the mud. He could already feel the blocked nose and temperature incoming.

“Are you really going to waste this on me? Don’t you have a demolition to stop?” He manages to twist his body so that he’s lying on his back.

“Good point,” you squint into the distance at the whirring of the heavy machinery. Their owners wouldn’t be happy to find them missing from their original spot. “But I still can’t help you out.”

“You’re willing to sacrifice your-”

“I can’t help you out because I don’t have an off switch. Yet,” you add the last part in a hurry.

“Then when the fuck were you planning to build one?” He sits up, leaning on his elbow. The cranes weren’t a mini object on the horizon now; the closer they got, the faster they were starting to move towards him. 

“I don’t know, after they agreed not to take down the building?”

He could just detach his arm and come back for it later he but had no guarantee that you would stop here for the day or that the vibranium could withstand all that pressure. 

“You better make a switch right now and get me out of this, I don’t care how.”

“Yeah, yeah,” you grumbled, bending to assess how badly he was stuck. “You know, this thing runs really deep into the earth. It’d take forever to dig back up and then get you back to my lab and then build a switch.”

“How long?” He didn’t have a lot of time, clearly, but even generally he didn’t have the whole day to waste. He had a mission the next day. He had to put the fear of death into some Russians and bring some pirozhki back for Nat. 

“I don’t know,” you furrowed your eyebrows. “Too long for my schedule anyway, I have class prep to do.”

“Motherfucke- that thing’s like twenty feet away.” He’s worried about how you don’t look fazed at all when he points at the stupid machine.

He’s about to volunteer to detach his arm when he realises it’s definitely less than twenty feet now. He had a backup just in case. It didn’t move as smoothly, but who could tell the difference when a couple of tons of pressure was aiming for your face, and hell, if he explained his circumstances of the destruction of his arm to T’Challa-

“Okay, fine.” You reach into your backpack to grab something that looked like a wrist watch. It matched the one already around your hand. 

You reach over and clasp it around his hand before turning a dial on the side.

“You ready?” you ask, ignoring the large crane that was starting to charge towards you. 

“For what?” he replies, looking down at it. He can barely hear you over the sound of the whining of machinery.  

“Teleportation, baby.” You send him a big grin before slamming down on his watch.

“Huh-” His voice cuts off immediately. 

If there’s anything that can be said about teleportation, it’s that he feels like every atom in his entire body violently splits to float around briefly before suddenly rejoining again.  

The ground beneath him feels different, and it takes him a second to realise that he was on the floor of your lair. 

“What the fu-”

“Hello,” your voice comes from above him. 

“You can teleport.” It’s not difficult for him to look at you now without the sun in his face. His arm is still stuck to the magnet but since the giant rod it was attached to was no longer deep in the ground, he could lift the entire apparatus up relatively easily.

“What, like it’s hard?” You discarded your bag on the floor. “You good? Takes a while to get used to.”

He gives you a grunt in acknowledgement, shaking his arm to see if he had any luck. It didn’t budge.

“Come on, take a seat.” You gesture to a lab chair you’ve pulled up for him on the raised platform at the front of the room. He realises that this is the first time he’s properly seen what’s actually inside your lair.

There are various buttons that do God knows what, drawers and cabinets painted black, several computer screens and gigantic pillars of glass on either side of the set up that encapsulate some green bubbling liquid. There’s a giant television set up against the wall, divided into several screens.

“Whaddya think?” You do a small swoop of your arm to show off the place.

“Gamer,” he says simply, testing his luck.

“What did you just say to me?” you recoil instantly, disgust on your face.

“It’s a gamer set up.” He points a finger at the TV screen. He was told by Shuri to use it as an insult, but he wasn’t exactly sure why. It just felt appropriate. 

“Take that back right now.” You raise a finger accusatorially at him.

“No.” He was sticking with it even though he had no idea what exactly the context was.

“Fuck your arm,” you announce, throwing your hands up in surrender.

“Fuck your demolition then,” he replies simply, getting up from his place on the chair to leave with the thing still attached to him. 

He takes one step ahead before your voice rings out.

“Sit down, drama queen,” your voice calls from behind him. “God, you’re annoying.”

“You’re infuriating.”

“I’m the best part of your week,” you fire back, ”and also your only way out of this. Now sit down.”

He didn’t even need the second warning, he was already on the chair the first time around.

“I’m not going to build a switch to turn this off. It’d take too long,” you examine the piece of equipment with more gentleness than he was expecting, “I’m going to remove it instead. It’s gonna take a while, so you better get comfortable.”

“I’m not.”

“That’s so sad,” you say without any indication of wanting to help. 

He rolls his eyes.

You pull up next to him, welding glasses covering your face and the tool in your hand. 

He turns away when you start, making sure his face is not directly within its trajectory. 

He makes himself busy by looking around some more. There are details you’ve put into the place, materials that are non-flammable made up most of the architecture. It’s dramatic, sure, but somehow the designs and colours seemed to go together. It did look sinister, he’d give you props for that.

The space was quite big. It occurs to him only then that that’s how you manage to sneak up on him so often in the past. Everything clicked. Fucking teleportation.

“So,” your voice was raised to speak over the noise. “How’s it going?”

He decidedly doesn’t answer. His position is more than enough.

“Right.” You clear your throat. 

He takes to counting the tiles on the floor, figuring out how many were there from the raised platform to the wall of the entrance. 

“Not how you imagined your day to go, huh?” you continued despite his lack of response. “But some might say it’s a privilege to be spending the day with a cool, mad scie-”

“Are you going to keep talking?” he interrupts, losing his count on the floor.

“Yeah, duh,” you say like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. “You got anything better to do?”

He didn’t. 

“What’s it like living with a bunch of superheroes?” You change course. He’s not sure if he’s really allowed to disclose top secret information. “I assume there’s a lot of protein shakes, talcum powder for the chafing-”

Then again, how much damage could you do by knowing that Steve preferred pancakes over waffles?

“It’s quiet,” he says. “Most of the time.”

“Save all your smart talking for the battlefield, huh?” 

He doesn’t reply. It’s quiet around the Tower. A lot of their energy goes towards missions and recuperating once they’re back. 

“You go on missions a lot?” 

“I can’t tell you that.”

“Boo, you whore,” you say with mock disappointment.

He got that reference.

“What’s your favourite food then?”

He scrunches his eyebrows.

“What?” The welding stops for a second while you look at him. “Don’t tell me that’s classified too.”

It’s not, he’s just never thought about it. 

“I don’t know,” he murmurs, “Pasta?”

“Vague, but I’ll take it.”

He used to boil a lot of pasta, from what he could remember of his days in hiding. Cheap and bought in bulk before he saved up enough to buy things like fruits. A lot of the times the amount of sauce he had access to was enough for maybe seasoning, not a whole component on its own. 

It’s one of the perks of being a free man in the 21st century he thinks, a steaming bowl of fettuccini drenched in sauce and garlic bread on the side. 

“What do you do in your downtime?”

“Nothing.” Well, he considers it to be a pass time and doing nothing is a full time gig. It takes effort to do nothing. He even has days dedicated to doing nothing, as suggested to him by his therapist.

“Really?” You sound a little surprised, although it’s hard to make out when you’re already speaking a lot louder than usual. “No shining your penny collection? No software update for this thing?” You tap at his arm. 

There really isn’t anything. Truth be told, he thinks he’s the most boring guy in the Tower. He sticks to himself, has a few succulents that he adores and occasionally watches trashy television. So then why are you so interested in him?

“You’re obsessed with me,” he says pointedly. “Why?”

You give a short laugh. “I think it’s the blue eyes, sarge, they’re really popping today. Gotta say, I’m loving this colour on you. Is it different from the black you wore last week? And from the one from the week before that?”

He looks down at his dark t-shirt and utility pants. He had other clothes but those were reserved for things that were not this.

“Or maybe it’s the grumpiness, I don’t know. I love it when someone shows absolutely no interest in me. Very sexy of you.” Oh jeez, you were going to continue. “Hell, maybe it’s the thighs-”

“Okay,” he interjects, feeling the need to count the tiles more than ever. He equates the heat in his neck from the welding going on beside him. 

The loudness of your laughter is clearer than the sound of metal on metal when you tug a large piece of the invention off. Things were moving fast. He could get back home to his Star Trek marathon and forget this day ever happened.

“You know, you’re more interesting than you think,” you pipe up casually. 

He doesn’t expect this and therefore he supposes he can’t stop the curiosity from enveloping his face. He hasn’t told you anything about himself, so then the inference you reached came out of nowhere.

Apparently, you take notice of the confusion on his face, even though he can’t see through the giant welding mask, because you let out a chuckle. 

“Oh, come on, really? You have no idea?” you ask lightly, pausing to see if he offers anything other than silence. “You’ve come back almost every week even though you know it’s a waste of your time, you always keep your promises and I know for a fact that if you wanted to stop me once and for all, you could have. But you’re not.”

He doesn’t realise you’ve stopped welding until you start again. Good, it gives him an excuse not to have to look at you after that. 

Frankly, he’s a little stunned.

You’re not looking at him, he can tell from his peripheral vision. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you have a small crush on me.”

At that, he’s forced to roll his eyes out of instinct. Thankfully you do know better.

A few screws out later, another piece comes out. You inform him that’s it’s going to get trickier from there since the circuit was a little more intricate, a lot more time than the original few pieces. He can see his Star Trek marathon fade away in the distance.

You ask him a few more questions. Some he answers with silence, others maybe a tidbit here and there. 

“How’s dating now compared to the forties?”

“Strange.” He purses his lips in thought. “One guy asked for a gym date. Didn’t know that was a thing.”

“How’d that turn out?” you laugh.

“He didn’t ask for a second one.” His Bumble matches with girls somehow had gone down since he cut his hair, but he’s not too bothered. Not like there was a huge shortage. 

He likes cats, thinks the worst merchandise that they make is the stupid baseball card with his face on it, and doesn’t have social media for the sake of his sanity. He’s seen the thirst tweets. 

Clearly, he’s revealed his deepest, darkest secrets. Utterly classified material. But he doesn’t know anything about you other than your name, number, address, where you teach, what your hobby is-

“You, uh-” he hesitates, “You got a favourite food?”

Your hands hold still to hover above what they’re working on. You fight back a smile. “Sure do.”

He asks a few more questions. Shuts up when he feels his social battery drain. That’s enough for the next month, he thinks.

The sun’s dipped down beyond the horizon by the time majority of the work is completed. Both of you have taken a few breaks to fight the feeling of stiffness that was creeping into your joints. 

You scoff and tell him you’re not planning to poison him when he denies the offer of a soda. He doesn’t deter in his decision.

“How much to go?” He has a mission tomorrow that he’d really like to get some sleep in before. Waking up at 3am to get ready was the worst part of the job. 

“Basically done.” You roll your chair back, rotating your shoulder and stretching your fingers. “There’s just this little part that I can’t access from this angle. How good are you at hanging upside down like a bat?”

Fuck it, he sighs to himself, it was almost finished anyway.

Bucky stands up, tilting his neck to the side slightly before pulling at a small latch under his arm, one so tiny that you’d never make out was even there unless you knew it existed. The arm releases from his shoulder with a small click.

He offers it to you, a piece of your magnet still attached to it.

Your eyes are slightly wide. He raises his eyebrows.

You don’t say anything, just accept it and flip it to a position you were comfortable with. It takes only a minute or two for the sound of the last piece hitting the floor to reverberate through the hall.

You give a small cheer. He lets out a tiny exhale in equal parts fatigue and relief.

“So,” you drawl, handing his arm back to him, “you could have just done that the whole time.”

He doesn’t reply, just slides it back onto his shoulder. 

“You had the option of leaving your arm here and coming back later to get it.” 

He gives it a few shakes, opens and clenches his fist shut a few times to make sure everything is working.

“You wanted to talk to me.”

He gives you a deadpan look. “I was distracting you.”

“Bullshit,” you laugh.

“Believe what you must.” He shrugs, turning around. “My job here is done regardless.”

“Oh, I believe alright,” you call out from behind him as he walks towards the entrance of your lair. “I believe you’re a sneaky bastard, Bucky Barnes.”

He doesn’t stop himself from smiling at the overdramatic gasp you give when he flips you a middle finger. From the metal arm, too. 

Next part

[miekasa]

okay but what about airport!levi? he gives quiet businessman vibes sitting in his slacks and turtleneck

IN HIS TURTLENECK 😭😭 He would also be quiet and to himself, but not in the emo way. You got me thinking about all of them now, so here are my other thoughts about the boys at the airport.

Levi

He thinks the idea of separating classes on an airplane is beyond stupid, but if the flight is particularly long, or particularly packed, he’s not above paying for business class for a little extra personal space for the two of you.

When he doesn’t do that, tho, he never picks your guys’ seats ahead of time, so sometimes you’ll be separated. Good thing he’s also not above lying at the check-in desk, “I’m in Zone 1, could my wife be seated next to me so that we can board together?”

They respond with an “of course,” and move your seats together, and Levi walks back with a content nod of appreciation. You are not married, and marriage sucks about as much as class separation on a 30 foot long plane, but it has its benefits.

Masks on, regardless. No debates. Pandemic or not, the mask stays on. Do not perceive him, keep the pressurized air sharing to a minimum.

Doesn’t wander much in the airport. There’s nothing in there that he hasn’t seen already, except for the marked up prices on touristy t-shirts.

And if you wander, he’ll usually just sit in the waiting area to watch your bags while you window shop and do your thing. If you’re gone for more than 30 mins, he might call, under the pretenses of, “Making sure you didn’t get lost. You know that Starbucks was near gate 41 to the left, not the right, right?” Like he’s a comedian or something 🙄

He does encourage you to get snacks before you board, tho. Airplane food is gross, and he would much rather pay for a $13 sandwich that you can snack on later, than for you to have to eat mush.

He’s got a little portable mug he takes with him for when he’s wants to buy a hot drink before getting on his flight. It’s cute.

Doesn’t fall asleep on the plane ever. No matter how long the flight is—at most, he’ll take a quick power nap somewhere in the middle if it’s over 9 hours, but other than that, he’s good to go.

Doesn’t mind if you fall asleep, and he always adjusts your neck pillow to make sure you don’t get cramps.

Jean

Travel champion. This man loves being in the airport even though he’s convinced it’s a time capsule, he fucking loves it.

King of “your airport fashion matters, babe.” Not necessarily wearing a whole three piece suit, but he does put in a little effort; it’s not just the first pair of sweats he has laying around.

Swears coffee tastes better in the airport. It does not. That does not stop him from buying it. He should learn to quit tho, especially for someone who hates airplane bathrooms as much as he does.

Charming with all the security personnel and desk assistants. You could be checking in for a flight at 4am, and Jean’s got people smiling and cheery for their shifts.

Bitches about the selection of movies on the flight, and learns to just download his own ahead of time. Gets really startled when he’s watching something and the flight attendants try to grab his attention for food or drinks—the very loud, classic, Jean Kirstein “HUH?”

On that note, he also gets startled by the loudspeaker announcements in the airport. He doesn’t know why he has to hear about American Airlines flight 2170 to Cancun, when he is not on American Airlines flight 2170 to Cancun.

Not opposed to paying extra for better airplane food or drinks on the plane if it’s the right time of day. He always finds something to toast to, plus he likes to treat you whenever and wherever he can.

Takes care of your overhead luggage and helps out the people around him if he sees they’re struggling. Gets shy when you call him a gentleman for it, and he rubs his neck, grumbling, “I was just helping the line move a little faster.”

Great timing, generous, will pick up your checked bags for you, and already rented a car a week in advance: 10/10 travel buddy.

Porco

He doesn’t like planes and there’s no solid reason why—nothing bad happened to him as a kid, and it’s not even that rare unfortunate incidents freak him out or anything—something flying just makes him a bit uneasy.

He won’t say it though, and he tries to keep it together when you’re checking in, but you can tell he’s anxious once you’re sitting and waiting for your flight to board.

He’ll ask to switch seats if you have the window seat, because somehow the feeling of being boxed in between the plane wall/window and another person makes it feel more like a car than a plane and he’s okay with that.

Going to the airport is one of the few times he hair won’t be styled, and falls in his face a bit. He usually throws on a beanie to cover it up, but you think he looks pretty cute either way.

Can’t usually fall asleep and he hates it because he just sits there thinking about the worst for the entire duration of the flight. But when you travel with him for the first time and coax him into taking a nap it’s so much better.

It’s about the only time he’ll let himself be publicly babied by you; but it makes everything so much easier that he doesn’t even mind.

So now, whenever you get on flights, he just puts his hood up, lays his head on your shoulder and waits for the magic to happen.

Bonus: you’re traveling with his friends, and Pieck and Marcel past to your seats, surprised to see Porco fast asleep on your shoulder. Pieck squeals, going on about how you must be a wizard to have gotten him to nap, to which Marcel just shakes his head, “Nah, he’s just really in love with her. Look at his face, that’s the calmest he’s been since he was five.”

Connie

Loves the airport. Not an ounce of organization in his soul though. By that I mean, yeah, he’s probably forgotten his passport at home, or forgotten that a full size bottle of body wash cannot go into his carry-on luggage.

Forgets to wear shoes that easy to take off and is fumbling over himself after the security check trying to lace them back up or put them back on.

Likes for you guys to have coordinating sweatsuits, and even though you don’t travel super often, Connie’s got at least 3 pairs of them lined up for you guys.

Sweet enough to drop plans or rearrange his schedule to travel with you if you were originally gonna be alone. He knows you can handle yourself, but he doesn’t want for you to travel alone if you don’t have to, especially if you’re going someplace far and/or for an extended period of time.

He always finds breakfast food to eat before he gets on his flight (if you two even have time to spare for food that is). It could be 9pm, but Connie’s asking for a breakfast wrap.

Hates waiting in the little pre-flight area. Claims it’s boring as hell and that’s why there’s no reason to get there 3 hours early 🙄🙄

He always spends at least 30 minutes browsing all the movie and TV show options available on-board, loudly exclaiming in excitement when they have something cool to watch—only to fucking fall asleep 10 minutes later. Right on top of you when he was oh-so-excited to watch Madagascar 2.

Always steals the aisle seat, even if it’s yours. It’s probably for the best though, because he has to get up to pee at least twice, no matter how short your flight is.

Makes some cheeky remark about you meeting him in the bathroom. He doesn’t mean it... unless he does. Unfortunately, you’ve never... successfully been able to do that out of fear of being caught by the flight attendants, but there have been a few quickies in the “family” (“It’s ethical, because technically we’re participating in the act of making a family, babe”) bathroom before you boarded. It’s his fault, not yours.

Armin

He really likes planes, and traveling in general. I think trains would be his favorite mode of transportation, but airplanes are good too.

I hate to say it but he claps when the plane lands. I will not elaborate or defend my stance on this.

Prefers the window seat because he likes to look out at the clouds as he’s in the sky.

He took his passport photo a little before he cut his hair, so the security personnel always hold it up and flicker between his ID photo and his current appearance a few times before stamping it. It makes him a little embarrassed because he can’t tell if they think he looks better or worse and sometimes he’s really fighting for his life convincing them that that’s him in the picture 😭

Listens to music rather than downloading a movie or watching a show, and always brings wire headphones to the airport so that it’s easier to share and listen with you.

If you fall asleep on him first, he’ll likely fall asleep on you shortly after. If he’s tired enough, he’ll fall asleep first, though he’s somewhat embarrassed and disappointed because he wanted to see the descent and skyline outside.

When he’s not asleep or window-watching, he’s somewhat fidgety out of excitement, rather than nervousness. He’s excited to be traveling and looks forward to wherever you’re going, even if it is just a weekend long work trip.

Hates traveling alone, though. It just feels particularly lonely to him to be going someplace foreign without company by his side. So, he’ll call you at every checkpoint and send you updates.

He only ever buys two things in duty free: shot glasses with the name of the city/country you’re traveling to, and whatever variety of button down short-sleeves are available to him.

Erwin

You knew this was coming, but this man is absolutely at the airport 18 hours before your flight takes off, and he’s driving like a manic getting there, like you don’t have all the time in the world.

Fascinated by anything and everything in duty free. Definitely spends more money than necessary on your return flight on the grounds that he was getting a good deal.

Exchanges money in the airport and keeps cash in his fanny pack. There’s no traveling without the fanny pack.

Plays crossword puzzles on his phone on the plane, and it’s just about one of the only games he has. That and Candy Crush—I get the feeling he’d be on level 500+ of that game and he always knocks out at least 10 levels on a flight.

Always a little surprised when he feels his your head on his shoulder, but he says nothing, and acts like he didn’t even notice, but there’s a telling little smile on his face.

Takes the most foul selfies of him and your sleeping self. In his defense, he had the best intentions; but that angle was flattering nobody. It’s too bad he’d already paid for the in-flight wifi and sent it to Hange because now you’ll never live them down.

You could probably get him to put on a (skincare) face mask during your flight. He forgets to take it off tho, and if you don’t tell him, he’d fully walk through customs with it on his face.

Accidentally gets drunk because he doesn’t understand that just because he can handle several glasses of whiskey in his favorite bar on a Friday night, does not mean it will translate on a plane.