#I won’t lie I’m a Lance fan

[formulanni]

Lance Stroll as the Nine of Cups:

An environment of luxury and emotional stability, where all available comforts await you. Indulging in all the joys that life has to offer you is signaled by this card, though at times there is a sense of smugness that comes from taking your situation for granted.

This card also symbolizes having your wish fulfilled. Achieving what you desire. Obtaining your goal. Getting what you think you want.

The nine of cups is directly related to the Hermit, card 9 of the Major Arcana. It therefore has an element of solitude about it. It's a card of emotional happiness and fulfilment which is enjoyed alone.

Tag list: @st-leclerc @rubywingsracing @saviour-of-lord @three-days-time @the-wall-is-my-goal @albonoooo @ch3rubd0lls

[my-mt-heart]

It’s understandable why most fans weren’t receptive to the fight in Find Me, but I actually think it’s important for Caryl to call each other out on their deepest insecurities. Carol runs because she thinks she’s broken. Daryl has a toxic hero complex, measuring his worth through what he can do for others, particularly who he can save. They’re both nuanced, not perfect, and that’s what makes their journey one to root for.

The only issue I take with this scene is it never really pays off. In theory, a major shakeup in Daryl’s and Carol’s longstanding relationship should resolve itself in a major way, changing them for the better. We can debate whether their last scene in the finale was their canon moment, or if canon happened offscreen during the time jump, or if they still have a ways to go. That in itself is ridiculous though. Caryl’s journey throughout the whole series asks the age old question: “will they or won’t they” and if we’re really honoring that trope, then there should be a definitive answer by the end, spinoff or no spinoff. 

To be fair, S11 did kind of show Daryl and Carol working through their insecurities, on their own and naturally through subtext. For example, Carol’s adventure with Lance in What’s Been Lost reassures her she isn’t going to lose Daryl. He’ll do whatever it takes to get back to her just like she’d do for him. 

And Daryl’s fun time with the Reapers helps him finally understand that he can’t save everyone and some people like Leah are not worth saving. Others like Connie, who I think parallels Rick in some ways, can save herself. The weight of the world is not on his shoulders. 

It’s good that Caryl work things out for themselves and they aren’t co-dependent. At the same time, their insecurities have always been a huge road block for them as a couple, so it stands to reason they have to work things out as a couple too. 

Daryl and Carol don’t need words. We know that. But to paraphrase Melissa, words between them are still nice. It would go a long way for the characters and the audience if Daryl openly tells Carol she’ll never lose him no matter what because he sees and loves all of her, the whole person that she is. Likewise if Carol tells Daryl he never needed to win her heart because he already had it. 

There were several strong jumping off points for Daryl and Carol to talk about things they’ve been holding back like Daryl wishing he could’ve saved Sophia for Carol, Carol confessing what happened at the grove, Daryl explaining why he ended up with Leah—all of which could’ve led into a deeper conversation about their feelings for each other, but alas. 

Time jump or not, without seeing the beats play out right in front of me, I’m left wondering if Daryl and Carol are still holding onto their trauma and I hate it. I can only hope this is somehow rectified if their story continues. But I’m not going to lie, it seems like a daunting task. 

[the-kittens-of-vol-tron]

It’s Just Pretend

Chapter 2: Adjusting

AO3!

Chapter 1

Word Count: 1,883

-----

POP! 

“Congratulations!” Hunk, Shay, Allura, and Romelle cheered as they poured Lance a glass of champagne. 

 Lance was beaming ear to ear as he grabbed his glass. “Thanks, guys, I was getting stressed. I won't lie.” 

 “How did you manage to snag one? The market is so competitive right now.” Shay asked, her head tilting with the question. Her hooped earrings shimmered under the light. 

 “Well,” Lance took a sip of his drink. He placed his glass down, holding it between his two hands as his fingers tapped a random beat on it. “Keith and I are fake engaged…?” 

 Everyone stared at him. Unblinking. Romelle broke the silence with a giggle of disbelief. “What?” 

 Lance shrugged, “we just are pretending to be engaged. Only for a week but it was just to help us get a place and it worked!” 

 “How did you even come up with that idea?” Allura questioned, glancing at her girlfriend. 

 “A bartender gave me the idea actually.” Lance glanced at his friends who still seemed confused. He sighed. “Look at you all! You all are engaged and found apartments no problem. Keith and I are single and as soon as we pretended to be a couple bam! We got a place that visit.” 

 Hunk shrugged, taking a sip of his drink. “As long as you two have a stable place that’s all that matters.” 

 Shay smiled, “I agree.” 

 “You said it’s just for a short while?” Romelle asked. 

 Lance nodded. “Yeah just for a week. Maybe two.” 

 Everyone smiled and Hunk poured another round for the table. 

—

“You agreed to what now?” Pidge narrowed their eyes at the tv screen, not even pausing the game they were playing with Keith.

 “It’s just for a week. And we found a place so it doesn’t matter.” Keith focused on his game, ignoring his brothers chuckles from behind them. 

 “Where did you even get this idea to fake being fake engaged?” 

 “My roommate. Just for a week.” 

 “A week huh?” Shiro said with a smile on his face. 

 Pidge opened their mouth to reply but the front door opened. “Hey everyone, I’m home.” 

 “Hey baby,” Shiro leaned his head back, looking at his husband. “Pizza?” 

 Adam held up two boxes, “of course.” 

—

Lance slammed the door to his car, dusting his hands on the side of his blue jeans. “That is the last of it.” 

 Keith downed a bottle of water, lifting the bottom of his shirt up to wipe the sweat from his brow. “Now we just have to drive to the place and unload it.” 

 Lance groaned, “noooooooooo” and ran his hands down his face. “I’m too tired.” 

 Keith chuckled, moving to get into the passenger seat. “Just drive.” 

 “Just drive,” Lance mocked back as he made his way to the driver's seat. He closed the door, letting the silence move around them. He glanced back at their dorm building. Their keys were already turned in, the cleaning was done. They were done. He released a low whistle. 

 Keith tilted his head, “everything okay?” 

 “Yeah,” He turned on his car and slid it into drive. “Just closing the book I guess.” The car slowly rolled forward. 

 Keith shrugged and rested his head against the window. “Just the start of a new chapter. Not the end.” 

 Lance smiled to himself and pulled out of the parking lot. “Yeah.” 

—

“That’s the last one,” Keith called out as he closed the door behind him; a box in his hands. 

 “Thank god,” Lance fell to the floor, his breathing rapid. “The AC is on right?” 

 “It’s at 73,” Keith sat down next to his roommate, fanning himself with his shirt. 

 Another groan escaped Lance's lips, “I’m done moving for the day. I’m sleeping right here.” 

 “On the floor?” 

 “Our furniture doesn’t get here until tomorrow so where else am I going to sleep?” 

 Keith clicked his tongue and the conversation ended. They kept to themselves for a bit. Moving in silence as Keith began to unpack the kitchen while Lance stayed laying on his back looking at the ceiling. A knock sounded on the door and Lance mumbled curse words under his breath as he stood up. He opened the door with a smile, and an elderly couple was standing on the other side. “Hello?” 

 The woman grinned, “Well, aren’t you just a handsome young man.” She nudged the man next to her. “Don’t you agree, darling?” 

 The man nodded. “Yes.” 

 Lance made a small gasp of flattery. “Well, aren’t you two the cutest.” 

 The three of them giggled, “I’m Marlene and this is my husband Joel.” Marlene nudged the man now known as Joel, again. Who held up a small tray covered in aluminum foil. “To welcome you into the complex I made some cookies. It's been a while since we have had new tenets, let alone someone so young and handsome.” 

 “Oh, you flatter me.”

 “Who’s at the door?” Keith came around the corner, seeming a bit suspicious of the new voices.

 The elderly couple gleamed in excitement as soon as their eyes landed on the raven-haired boy. “Oh my! Who is this young man?” 

 Keith opened and closed his mouth a couple of times. He was never good at meeting strangers, let alone meeting them without warning. Lance took the lead, as he always did in situations like this. “Oh, this is Keith. My fiance,” Lance wrapped his arm around Keith’s shoulder. Pulling him against his body. 

 Marlene narrowed her eyes, scanning the two boys. “I don’t see a ring.” 

 Lance and Keith both froze until Lance cleared his throat. “Mine’s in the jewelry shop, Mullet here got the wrong size. Isn’t that right babe?” 

 “Uh,” Keith ran his hands up and down his upper thighs. His eyes darted across the ground, “yeah.” 

 “You’ll have to forgive him, he’s not much of a people person. I don’t know how he tolerates me.” Lance planted a soft kiss on the side of Keith’s head. Silently reminding himself to apologize as soon as the door was closed as Keith stiffened more. 

 Marlene laughed. “Those are the best couples. Just like Joel and I.” They chatted back and forth for a couple of minutes before the cookies were placed in Lance’s hands and the door was locked. Keith moved to the kitchen as soon as they were alone and Lance followed. “Hey…sorry about the head kiss. I didn’t realize.” He paused, his brows scrunching up and he thought about what he was trying to say. “I shouldn’t have kissed your head. I wasn’t thinking and that really isn’t an excuse but I’m sorry.” 

 Kieth shrugged his shoulders, keeping his back to his roommate. “It’s fine. Just was…unexpected.” 

 Lance nodded, “I’m still sorry. I won’t do it again.” 

 Keith nodded, turning around to open another box labeled with black Sharpie as Cooking Stuff. “Thanks.” 

 “Did you need any help?” He made his way over to Keith. 

 “Uh…that would be great. Yeah.” 

—

One month. Keith and Lance had been living together for one month. What should have been a week lie max, had turned into one month. Something neither of them expected. 

 “I’ll get it!” Lance lunged toward the door, nearly knocking his chair over in the process. Keith silently watched, bringing another spoonful of dinner to his mouth. Lance swung the door open, his signature grin on his face. “Oh! Granny Sydney. What a pleasant surprise. Babe, Granny Sydney is here.” 

 Keith responded with a small grunt, the sound of his chair sliding against the floor filled the air. 

 Granny Sydney was an older woman. She lived alone with her three cats. Her hair was a mix of white and black, and she used a cane to walk. She was the second person to come visit them after Marleen and Joel. She had become their “grandma” in a way. Always bringing them treats and random baked goods she made. “Oh, how are you two?” She held out a tray covered in foil. 

 Lance quickly grabbed the tray, stepping aside as Keith joined him in the doorway. He sent her a nod and a small smile. “What did you bring us today granny?” Lance began to unwrap the foil, his eyes fixated on the task. 

 “Lance,” Keith cleared his throat. He was still adjusting to being romantic in front of others. “Baby, shouldn’t we do that in the kitchen?” 

 Lance paused, “where are my manners?!” He turned his attention towards their guest. “Do you want to come in for a cup of tea? Or coffee? Mama just sent me fresh beans from her coffee shop.” He sent the older woman a lopsided smile. 

 “Oh! That would be lovely,” she smiled at the two boys as Lance stepped to the side. Allowing her to enter. 

 “Keith, be a doll and pull the grinder and the coffee maker out.” Lance shoved the tray into his roommate's hand and offered his arm toward Granny Sydney. She took it with a beaming smile and they shuffled to the kitchen as Keith moved to grab the requested supplies. 

 Lance quickly, but efficiently grind the beans and made three cups of coffee. Placing them on the table as they all sat down. After a couple more moments of idle chatter, Granny placed her cup down, her eyes falling on the two boys. “I have to ask, where did you two meet?” 

 Lance reached over and placed his hand on Keith’s. Covering how Keith’s hand tensed with the contact. “College. Same major, right baby?” 

 Keith nodded, staring into the dark liquid in his cup. 

 “Oh? And what major is that?” Sydney rested her head in her left hand. Her right hand holding the cup. 

 “Astrophysics,” Keith mumbled as he brought the cup to his lips with his free hand. 

 “Oh my,” Sydney looked at both the boys. Her eyes blew wide, “what do you two do with a degree like that?” 

 Lance took over providing an answer. “We’re both astrophysics engineers. We design planes and make sure they work according to design.” 

 Sydney slumped back in her chair, “I take it you two fell in love while working on projects and studying for a test.” 

 Lance laughed, ignoring Keith’s disagreement under his breath. “Something like that. Mullet here was on the verge of strangling me every study session. Isn’t that right,” Lance leaned over and pressed his shoulder into Keith's. Ignoring how red his face became at the motion. 

 Keith put his cup on the table, taking a shaky breath to compose himself. He focused all his attention on the older woman. He was still adjusting to any form of physical contact. “Believe it or not, he has a hard time staying focused.” 

 Sydney laughed as if she had just heard the funniest joke in the world. “But you popped the question?” Her attention fell on the ring Lance was wearing. Something cheap, but fancy looking, they got at a pawn shop. Yet, her question was directed at the raven-haired boy. Keith refused to even entertain the thought when Lance originally asked. 

 “Yeah,” Keith brought the cup to his lips, “who wouldn’t want to spend their life with him?” Feeling bold he sent Lance and wink. 

 Lance felt his face grow red, his heart pounding in his chest.

-----

Thank you for reading <33333

[adrena-dine]

Australian GP 2022 : a summary

Daniel and Isaac were the cutest. So happy Daniel could finally race again at home 🥰

400,000 ppl attendance 🤯🤯🤯🤯

McLaren cropping only half of the Ferrari logo on Daniel baby pic

Theyre getting mad about jewellery and underwear too

So Pierre said that he is ready to show them everything even his pee pee 😬

Seb saying that Charles beat him « fair and square » 🥲

Idk what made Melbourne’s air so 💅🏼💅🏼but the atmosphere became SO GAY all in a sudden

Lewis and Max hate each other until they talk about showing each other nipple piercings. Never thought I’ll write that.

Lando and Daniel saying they’re touching each other asses when they cuddle. They cuddle ??? They touch their asses ??? Please what’s going on ???

Also a word about Yuki saying that Pierre feels like a boyfriend for him 😳

Shoutout to the « bush » incident 🥴

Checo said that he’s seen Max laying on the floor naked. I TOLD YOU IT WAS GAY

Charles said that he does not want to shower with Carlos…no one asked you to do that sir ? 🤨

George saying he’s a Daniel fan and asking who isn’t. He said no lie

Seb getting fined 5000€ for stealing a Marshall’s scooter and riding it on track. FIA is on crack.

Seb’s still iconic tho 💅🏼

The bounced are still there. Give those m boys some paracetamol for their headaches.

Lewis « it’s sir actually » Hamilton

I think Aston Martin’s mechanics and accountants are going to quit with all those crashes 💀

Mick checking on Seb after his crash

Oh yes he crashed but I’m not going to mention every AM’s crash of the weekend bc the summary won’t be one anymore 😐

Lance’s car didn’t even turn like it said « no. »

And then he yeeted Nicholas out of quali after one of the worst manoeuvre I’ve ever seen. We’re not in karting anymore boys 🙄

Fernando doing the lap of his life (no.) and then ending up on the wall. Too bad

Penalty party after quali 🥳🥳🥳🥳

Mclaren FINALLY had a good quali result

Carlos lost everything at the start 😢

And then definitely lost it in the gravels

Max and Charles battle, give me that every weekend please

Max’s car yeeted again. Oops.

Seb’s is going to pack his thing and leave it continues like that 🚶🏼

Why everyone is squeezing everyone ?

Alex not changing his tyres until almost the end of the race. What a lad 🥰

Lance going full Tokyo Drift mode during all weekend

SAFETY CAR SAFETY CAR

Mick almost wrecked himself after safety’s car end but manage to save it 👌🏼

Charles already had the fastest lap but decided that he wanted to do it AGAIN. With your results, do whatever you want hun ❤️

GEORGE SECOND PODIUM I WANT TO SCREAM IN POSH

Congrats to Checo also !!! Take what you can take bestie (do it. Steal it from the rich)

CHARLES GRANDE PILOTA ❤️❤️❤️

GOOD RESULTS FOR MCLAREN IMMA GONNA DIVE INTO A POOL (don’t have one. Need to find one. Will do.)

Lewis’ radio 🤠🤠🤠

Lando and Alex decided that f1 post race show was theirs and turned it into a late night show. It was amazing. @ f1 give them the show. Please.

Lando saying « good bye old man » to Fernando

Alpine were fast tho

[mrs-bartowski]

My dudes. My guys. My pals.

I’m about 10 seconds away from going feral.

So, I’m the kind of unfortunate chump whose brain requires continuity. Meaning, when I started thirst watching Supergirl during its mid-season-2 hiatus and came across the realization that it had crossovers with all the other arrowverse shows, my brain tasked me with watching them all. I won’t put you through a recount of this arduous feat, but it does leave me with the certain advantage of having immediate and full-contextual access to any parallels between supercorp and canon CW DCEU couples.

Normally, this is a good thing, because it’s just another crumb to obsess over. But I just finished watching Legends 6x02 and...I. AM. FUMING.

I literally don’t even know where to start, but know that if you’ve made it this far you’re in for a long ride because my entire being is in Scream mode right now and I’m not sure I’ll be able to stop typing until it passes.

OKAY. So.

Meet Sara Lance (lol jk y’all thirsty gays know who she is I mean look at this flawless human)

Next, meet her ******* Ava Sharpe (who is literally the definition of white European beauty standards-based perfection because she’s a clone from the future)

And finally, meet Gary Green. He’s...well, he’s Gary.

Sara started out on Arrow and is now the captain of the Legends. Ava was the director of the Time Bureau and Gary was an agent, and now they are also members of the Legends. Sara has been there (and been the show’s effective lead) since season 1. Ava and Gary both came in at the beginning of season 3. 

Gary is (as pictured) an absolute fool, but he is also kind of regarded as the one the Legends Must Protecc. The whole team is considered a family, and, while they are not necessarily labeled as best friends, Gary has been Ava’s longest and most loyal companion, and Sara has a way of adopting him because she’s the best equipped to keep him out of trouble.

So, why is all of this relevant to why I want to go feral? Because it sounds a bit familiar, yes? Member of the team that is somewhat a black sheep, doesn’t get included fully or all the time but often comes in with save-the day type shit (even though with Gary it’s more of a distraction than a save because he’s a mess of a man). Close friend to one of our two main heroes and, subsequently, that hero’s closest companion puts them at the top of their Protecc list. Has little faith in his relationships with the team so he is constantly going out of his way to help in whatever way he can to prove his usefulness. And so on and so forth.

Well, 6x01 marks exactly 3 years since Gary’s first appearance, and what did we find out in that episode? That Gary is an alien. And not just any alien - an alien who was sent (by the woman he was traded to) to get close to Sara because she has been labeled as one of the world’s most dangerous creatures. Not to mention, his species of alien feeds on humans (not him of course, he’s reformed, but nonetheless not a friendly species). And we find out all of this because he and his master abduct her.

Sara finds out in person while Ava and the rest of the Legends solve the mystery on their own. Now, I’ve drawn a lot of comparisons between Lena and Gary to make a point about the time frame and nature of their relationships, but let’s take a look at Sara, shall we? For starters, she’s been “dead” either literally or supposedly about...what, 15 times now? If you think that’s an exaggeration, here’s the link to her fan wiki which says she’s been presumed dead 10 times and actually dead 5. The sg writers tried to sell season 5 as “the fight for Lena’s soul” but Sara LITERALLY LOST HER SOUL when she got resurrected in the Lazarus pit. 90% of Sara’s character development has been based on her certainty that she is too close to death and evil and destruction (getting possessed by a demon, perhaps, had something to do with this?). She was an actual literal assassin and she has left civilization out of anger and pain to go back to that life once before.

She has always believed that she is too dangerous to have real love or relationships or friends. And now she has found and built and led this family through time and space and she’s done so with this goofball by her side that is endearingly attached to the love of her life. So, how does she react when she finds out Gary is an alien? Well, clearly, she goes down a dark path, right? She cries and screams and talks about betrayal because she’s had such a hard time with feeling like she only ever puts the people she loves in danger and now here she is finding out there’s been a human-eating alien in her family for three years that was tasked with observing her and keeping her in check because she is exactly that dangerous?

Yeah...try again. This is how Sara reacts:

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And then there's another scene that apparently no one even bothered to put on YouTube where you can see the pain in Sara's eyes when she asks him “why me?” You can see how hurt she is that after 3 years she’s just finding out that their friendships is based on lies and that she has trouble keeping her faith in it. But in both of these instances where are the “crocodile tears?” Where are the fearful, shaky confessions from Gary about his fear of losing the only people who have ever really loved or cared about him and desperate justifications about how he just wanted to protect them and keep them in the dark so his master didn’t come after them? Where is the outrage from Sara about how everything Gary has reassured her about over the past three years when she was scared to let the damaged-soul assassin inside of her out was a lie and he doesn’t get to tell her who or what she is again? Where is the determination from Ava to make Gary pay for not only lying for three years but for ABDUCTING THE LOVE OF HER LIFE TO HAND OVER TO A FLESH-EATING ALIEN??????

Nowhere. Those things...they’re nowhere. There’s anger. There’s pain. There’s doubt and heartbreak and fury. There’s betrayal and helplessness and desperation. But there is no scene with Sara standing on a balcony and Gary looking up at her longingly because he wants to talk to her about the secret and he knows it will change everything between them. There is no scene with Sara and Ava lamenting over what this means for Gary and the team and the world because he’s no longer the person they knew. There are no romantically-scored scenes of them looking teary-eyed at the pictures they took together or reassurances that the others’ intentions are good and trustworthy now that the truth is out in the open. There is nothing to imply that the last several years of friendship are now entirely suspect (damaged, frayed, clouded, maybe, but definitely not voided) because Gary kept this secret to protect them. And Gary isn’t made to feel obscenely guilty or shameful because his intentions were good and he only did what he felt he had to. But most of all, the world doesn’t feel like it’s going to end.

And I’m not talking about we’re now scared Gary will take his master’s side or Sara will suddenly decide that she never wants an alien to fool her or hurt her again so she’s going to make sure he doesn’t have the choice. I’m just talking about the way they address each other. There are no sobbing tears or laments over the biggest mistakes of their lives - even though it’s quite possible Gary could see this as his. There are no screaming matches over betrayal and mistrust and years of doubt and confusion. There will be no episode dedicated to going back and seeing what could have happened - what kind of danger they could have avoided from the alien(s) controlling Gary - had he told them the truth sooner because that’s the only way to save him and the world. There will be no episode where he has to single-handedly save them multiple times as some example of redemption. There will be no adamant looks and declarations about how the team knows his intentions were good and they forgive him. There won’t be any of that. Because Sara is not in love with Gary. And Ava is not in love with Gary. And Gary is not in love with either Sara or Ava. They’re just close friends. Family. Loved ones who mean a lot to each other but whose betrayal and seeds of doubt don’t bring on emotions whose force and ferocity could be acceptable for finding out the apocalypse is nigh.

I have many, many more feelings about this but right now I’m going to go write things that will make me feel better and not things that make me want to gather every writer from every CW show in a line and run down the line smacking them all in the face while the Legends writers watch and cheer. But I’m fuming. THIS is what it looks like when a years-long, heavily weighted lie is revealed between close friends/family. So, in conclusion, Supercorp endgame or die.

[birb-tangleblog]

Rise of Flynn Rider - THOUGHTS

THE PROMISED LONGER POST ON THE RISE OF FLYNN RIDER- spoiler warning!

Ok so first off, a very brief summary: the book centers on Eugene and Arnie (Lance), childhood best friends. The orphanage they've grown up in is financially struggling, under threat by a crooked tax collector, and they're both aging out of the system; the only clue Eugene has to his parents is a letter from the woman who left him there, which is signed with a ~mysterious symbol~. When a traveling circus run by the Baron (yes, that Baron) passes through town and Eugene learns of a possible lead on his past, the two boys reinvent themselves, join up, and eventually end up entangled in a scheme to steal from the King and Queen of Corona. 

I won't lie, I enjoyed this one a lot- it was a fun read, very cozy to curl up with, and even with some contradictions, it felt like a novel that was derivative of the series and set in that world. There are a lot of cameos and references, enough that I think most TTS fans will find something they like to nibble on.

Like I said in my earlier post abt the prologue and first few chapters, I'm so happy that Lance got a role alongside Eugene- he's definitely a secondary character to Eugene’s main, and he does get sidelined somewhat, but it's charming to see his friendship with Eugene and his growing passion for cooking. 

'I didn't expect anything, so I'm more delighted and pleasantly surprised than genuinely unhappy with the execution' is a running theme with this book for me and basically the tl;dr of this write-up.

There are soo many cameos and little treats- I get the impression Calonita didn't have the most complete knowledge of the series, but her chats with Chris and interest in the series’ writing definitely show. King Edmund, the Stabbingtons, all of the pub thugs, Weasel, Stalyan, and the Baron all make appearances, and we get cameos from Cap, Maximus, Pascal's mother, and even Cass gets a name drop. Several series-exclusive locations are also mentioned by name- Vardaros, the Spire, and the Forest of No Return.

I'm not immune to the fannish hit of 'hey! I understand that reference!' and I really enjoyed hunting for easter eggs, so even if the presence of the pub thugs in the Baron's crew, or the boys stumbling on Rapunzel's tower in one scene and making nothing of it (yea that happened) is a lil questionable, it made me smile and I can't be mad.

I would just describe this book as 'comfy'.

(That said, I'm a little unsure who all those references are for- I feel like if you hadn't seen the series, you'd lack context and some details would be meaningless, but if you had, I think you might long for more depth and exploration...)

Structure & Progression

Here's the part where I start criticizing the book aimed at middle and elementary schoolers lmao

It's a v short book, but the plot progression still feels a little scattered- it didn’t feel quite like a heist OR a mystery. The subplot that takes up a lot of focus is actually interpersonal conflict between Lance and Eugene- and they reconcile, but not after spending much of the book in a standoff due to a misunderstanding/'liar revealed' trope.

One of Eugene's motivations for joining the circus is spotting a man with a mark on his arm that matches the one from his letter working there, and believing he'll be able to learn more abt his parents from him. He doesn't disclose this to Lance right away, and when it comes out later on, he's upset that Eugene didn't tell him- he feels tricked, and like Eugene's prioritizing his biological family over their bond. I had a hard time with this, b/c I honestly think Eugene could've literally said to Lance, 'hey, joining this circus is a great opportunity to travel, make money, send some back to the orphanage, AND I found something about my parents, will you come with me?' and Lance still would've jumped on it. Later on, there's also another similar miscommunication that deepens the rift. 

It feels like manufactured drama, and I would've loved a book of the two of them just being buds, bouncing off each other, and trying to unravel the mysteries of the DK symbol and the Baron's ulterior motives together. Lance's fears of being left behind by his friend absolutely could've surfaced without the misunderstandings, especially the closer they got to the truth. (And I don't think that'd have been dissimilar to the unused 'Trial' episode concept and flashback.)

The pacing itself... meanders. After the boys complete an initiation mission to get a hold of a special key for the Baron, time passes (two weeks in-story) and there's some slice of life as they learn the ropes, get inducted into a lifestyle of thieving (it’s revealed the circus is a front for a crime ring), and get to know the Baron's crew.

I liked these parts and would've kept them in a longer book! But maybe there could've been some fine-tuning here so big events (Eugene stealing for the first time, the heist, the meeting with the mysterious Man with the Mark) weren’t so one-and-done. There are several points where nothing's really happening because the characters can't quite connect with each other, or they're waiting around for an opportunity passively, and that makes for a frustrating exp for me as a reader.

There were also lot of elements I thought were getting set up to come into play later, but not a lot of follow through? The folk hero Lance Archer is mentioned several times and has wanted posters, but we never meet him in the flesh. The Man with the Mark is revealed to be a former member of the Brotherhood(!) named Vedis(!!), but he isn't seen again after Eugene speaks with him... once. (More on this later this post is getting so long omg) 

The Baron’s plan is revealed to be stealing a reward offered for the lost princess when it’s on display to the public during a festival. Eugene and Lance balk b/c stealing doesn’t sit well with them, especially when it’s from what are ultimately a family trying to find their lost child- they decide to do the right thing by foiling the scheme/stealing it back and returning it to the royals. It goes a bit pear-shaped and they’re caught, but are forgiven and face no consequences after explaining, other than being ousted from the circus/crime ring and making enemies of the Baron. Eugene hasn’t given up on finding the DK, but he realizes he already has a family in Lance, and that’s the most important thing; the two resolve to travel the world and have adventures together.

I want to make another post on it, but at the least it feels like a foregone conclusion given we know ‘Flynn Rider’ goes on to become a renown thief who steals the crown of the lost princess- that’s literally the plot of the movie, and being a dashing rogue is Flynn’s defining trait- so even aside from questionable ideas about wealth, class, and morality, the novel’s ending doesn’t fit what’s firmly established about his character, and I think big fans of Eugene might have an even harder time with that then me. 

(I’m very suspicious that there might’ve been some executive meddling in an attempt to soften young Eugene’s character, and send a more palatable/upstanding message to children- it feels like Disney editing the old SW films to show Han didn’t shoot first.)

It’s def one of those novels where you can take some elements you like and leave others, but overall I’d still rly rec it for series fans! I’ve been buzzing and what-iffing about it for a few days, and I got some tasty tidbits on the characters and nods to the series, which is exactly what I wanted out of it.

And maybe it’s a funky take, but honestly I want to think of this book as the beginning of an alternate timeline where Lance and Eugene got out of crime earlier, Eugene got a clue abt his heritage by chance, and it changed his course. I think embracing the retcons and contradictions to canon makes for an interesting angle, and you’ll enjoy it more if you don’t take it too seriously. 

[raviposting]

Okay so I’ve seen a lot of conflicting responses to Buddie this episode, from it being clear to people that they’re getting together, to thinking the writers have unintentionally messed things up to thinking it’s purely queerbait.

And I get the different responses, I do - tbh I’m somehow in two camps, where I simultaneously believe it’s a slowburn but I also think it’s bait. And those are two very different opinions to have and it got me thinking about why we have these different responses as fans to the possibility of a queer ship (namely two men who would presumably be bi/pan) being canon. 

While people talk about how it’s just people wanting two characters to kiss or entitled fans - sure, that’s existent in every fandom, but I think there’s also a very real fear from queer fans who don’t want to get their hopes up and I d on’t love how the conversation has shifted to calling queer fans stupid for having hope, so I kind of wanted to break it down into 3 aspects that I’ve noticed: 

How writers portray bi characters and why that makes fans hesitant to have hope

What queerbait actually means as a concept

How much “slowburn” has changed in procedurals

1. How writers portray bi characters

Something I’ve thought about a lot are the bi characters I’ve seen on TV - Darryl (CEG), Sara Lance (Arrow), Lucifer (Lucifer), just to name a few. These are great characters imo and I think you’d have a fun time watching but a thing to note is that all these characters were established as bi within the first season of their respective shows and they all fairly quickly fell into a clear romantic ship as well (with the exception of Sara as she spanned multiple shows). It may have taken time for them to say the word bisexual, but it was still clear these characters were queer fairly quickly on. You could maybe argue that Lucifer was a slowburn, but then (while it does not take away from him being bi/pan so do not use this as an excuse to be shitty about him) it’s a m/f ship which is still not the point of my post, to find a m/m or f/f ship that has that same treatment.

Some writers have done it - like for Valencia in CEG, or Petra in JTV - when they saw that fans read them this way, but trying to find those characters were few and far between, and when I looked at popular queerbait ships (whether or not they actually are queerbait) it’s usually ships where the characters are largely viewed as bisexual. A lot of times this also comes with pushback from both straight and to be frank, other queer fans as well. Straight fans don’t always see the signs that queer fans do, so to them a queer character who hasn’t been explicitly clear from the start comes out of nowhere. And what I’ve seen from certain queer fans are concerns that people aren’t appreciating the canon queer characters in a show - and I think there is a conversation to be had about that, but I don’t think the response should also be about then demanding less representation for people either. 

If we go back to 911, people talk a lot about how it has canon queer characters, which it definitely does - Michael, Hen, Josh, Karen, and David are all canonically gay/lesbian and that’s awesome, and we absolutely should talk about fans (white fans in particular) ignoring these characters. It also does not change the fact that none of these characters are bisexual and that is the representation people are looking for. Both of these things are true - these characters are often under appreciated in canon AND people deserve bisexual representation. They don’t contradict each other and to act like one negates the other does a huge disservice.

And even if a character was made bisexual in the canon text we don’t get that slowburn. This may be true for things like Leverage, or LOK, but there’s also a real fact of censorship that affected these shows and the fact that general audiences may not understand the queer text tjat the writers intended. It doesn’t make the writing any less wonderful or the ships any less poignant or beautiful or important, and there’s ofc shows like She Ra that made this more obvious (or the.....mess that was Supernatural that made it. Half true?) but these are still real things that should be acknowledged on why people are so hesitant to call it slowburn - because it’s something most queer fans haven’t SEEN DONE, because m/f ships will get that care for slowburn when it’s done but it’s not done for m/m or f/f ships in that same capacity.

2. What queerbait is

This one’s fun because I don’t think many people understand what it is, but queerbait is very dependent on the intentions of the writers/creators/etc. - which tbh can be hard to gauge, because a genuine intention that ended up not happening or someone baiting fans or someone trying to support all ships and not be rude all have very different intentions but to a fan who only sees bits and pieces of this person on social media, it can be hard to gauge.

Honestly with how much the 4th wall gets broken because of social media now I’d personally say we’ve probably moved into a different definition of queerbait - unintentional vs intentional - because we’re at a point where a show knows what ships are popular and at what level of excitement fans are for it - but that being said, there’s still a clear spectrum of intent. And imo? I don’t think 911 has that intent of queerbait - whether it’s a slowburn or they have a different vision for buddie that I (probably) won’t agree with remains to be seen, but this show usually treats its storylines with care. Are they perfect at it? No, definitely not, I definitely think that they’ve dropped the ball a few times (especially with just how many characters they have lmao), but they also clearly do their storylines with earnest and with genuine care for these characters.

Is 911 getting them together? I want to say yes. I don’t think this was always the plan, just something that they decided along the way, but I also don’t think that changes anything about the ship. A lot of people point to Tim Minear being vague about the ship, or the actors and their interpretations, but 1. We have no idea what they’ve been told about Buddie moving forward and 2. No show runner is going to spoil their show that much. 911 may be keeping quiet because they have a different plan for buddie, sure, but also maybe because they’re still figuring out how exactly they want to do this and/or they want to make this slowburn and don’t want to give it away.

3. Slowburn in procedurals

I feel like this is something that procedurals have started shying away from, but slowburns used to be very common - Bones, Castle, their ships didn’t get together for literal years, but that’s just not something that many shows do nowadays, even for m/f ships. Even things like Deckerstar will have the characters get together after ~3 seasons and explore the relationship onwards, whereas a few years ago, y ou’d pr obably be watching a sh ow and it’d take them 7 seasons to get together. My assumption for this is that shows are afraid  of getting canceled, but there’s been a pretty big shift in getting a couple together after say, 6 seasons to now getting them together about halfway through the show. I don’t think either one is bad or good - in good writers’ hands, either can be amazing - but that shift has made it so that a lot of younger fans in particular, I think, don’t fully recognize slowburn when they see it.

911 as a show tends to run pretty fast - it kind of has to with its depth of characters they have - but when they do have slower running storylines they really do make use of that as well. Bobby’s addiction is something that’s always going to be present in his character, May’s suicide attempt was brought up again front and center after 3 seasons, even Chim’s dynamic with the Lees was brought up again and it was reinforced again that they’re his family. There are certain storylines that have to be continuous and aren’t a one and done type of thing, and that includes Buck and Eddie, especially if you want to establish them as queer to a general audience who doesn’t think about these things.

And honestly, despite my fears, I think they are laying groundwork there. We have Buck learning to be more confident in his relationships, we have Eddie ready to date and learning to follow his own heart, we have Buck and Eddie both establishing that Buck is family and will always be there for Christopher. These are pretty big steps to do for a ship and we’ll obviously have to see how the show goes forward but they’ve already insinuated Eddie and Ana are breaking up, I’m sure Taylor and Buck may last a season and be over, but we do have to see what this next season brings. Do I think they’d say this? No, definitely not.

tl;dr: 

911 is a show with good viewership, but there’s always a possibility they can’t continue with their season and then their promises would feel like a lie. Or they may still be hammering out the details as this season hasn’t been written. Or they may just simply not want to spoil their show,  or they don’t want people criticizing a story before it’s finished, all of these could be reasons. The showrunners, writers, actors, ultimately they owe nothing to us as a fandom to potentially spoil their series, or do something, change it or their schedule for it, and get accused of bait. 

But it also doesn’t change why fans are wary of this storyline either, and I wish people would have more nuance and compassion for fans who are worried about queerbait (whether they think it’s not queerbait and dislike people worrying about it or if they do and are calling people idiots for believing it). There’s a lot of reasons why fans are wary and don’t want to have hope, and it’s not necessarily about 911 specifically as it is a pattern of writing seen in other pieces that have fans worried. These things can all coexist and I wish we as fandom in general could acknowledge that, because pretending that they don’t and criticizing each other/people’s intentions or knowledge when they have certain expectations also doesn’t do much to help.

[shatterinseconds]

Camp Counselors 

(pjo au)

KL month day 26 

“LANCE MCCLAIN!” a familiar voice roars.

Entire body jumping at the sound, Lance sheepishly turns to his companions, saying a quick, “Gotta go, fellas,” and leaves Hunk and Pidge behind to run for his life. He hugs Keith’s sword close to his chest as he sprints across the camp grounds, weaving in and out of the gods’ cabins and straight through the strawberry fields, earning rude glares from a few satyrs. 

Lance just makes it to the beach when someone tackles him from behind--and luckily, he is with it enough to toss the sword away before he accidentally impales himself. They wrestle in the sand until Keith pins Lance’s arms to the ground and Lance has to lie there with Keith growling above him. It’s hotter than it probably should be. So Lance takes this more as a win than anything.

“What’s with the mad face, Keith?” Lance snickers.

Keith blows his bangs out of his face, but it really doesn’t do much. “It’s not funny.”

“Nah, you just have a bad sense of humor.”

“I’ll get a Hecate kid to curse you. Hot-pink hair might be a nice change of pace.”

“Ooo scary.” Lance grins. “I can rock any style, thank you very much, so I dare you to do it.”

Sighing, Keith releases his hold on Lance’s wrists and sits back on Lance’s stomach. Lance winces slightly at the new weight but relaxes soon enough. Hands now free, he rests them on Keith’s thighs and Keith covers them with his own hands, working his way into Lance’s grip to lock their fingers. “Next time you want to get my attention, just ask,” Keith says, squeezing their hands, “You don’t have to embarrass me in front of the younger campers.”

“But where’s the fun in that?” Lance innocently blinks up at him. “I do regret not sticking around to see your face.”

Ripping his hands away, Keith whacks Lance lightly on the chest, setting a frustrated glare on him. Lance pouts at the loss of contact. “If pink hair won’t scare you, maybe I’ll just tell Coran someone hasn’t been sleeping in their cabin for the last couple of months.”

Lance hooks his legs around Keith and forcefully twists his body until Keith is the one in the sand, completely caught off guard. With his long hair fanning out around him, Keith looks wonderfully disheveled, cheeks still red from the earlier wrestling and chest heaving from being manhandled. Lance leans down until he is inches away, a slight smirk on his lips. Keith only glares at him. “Since that’d be a punishment for you too, I’m gonna call your bluff, sweetheart.”

“Then what will it take.”

“A kiss, please.”

“You ask for too much,” Keith mumbles with a smile as he grabs Lance’s face to tug him forward into a kiss. Humming in appreciation, Lance grins again before diving deep into the kiss that would definitely earn them a talking to about PDA if someone caught them. Keith’s lips are slightly chapped today, but Lance welcomes it this time when they drag across his skin and he shivers. When Keith pulls back after a couple minutes, lips swollen in the best way, he says in a flat voice, “I’m still getting someone to curse you with pink hair.”

Lance laughs, nosing the crook of Keith’s neck as they begin to snuggle on the beach, placing soft kisses on his skin. “I’d expect nothing less.” 

[gingeeinthetardis]

Currently working my way through Sebastian Stan’s filmography… will reblog with updates as I go…

TFATWS

If I’m honest, watching this when it came out on Disney+ has made me fall in love with Seb again, cue me watching everything he’s ever done again. Bucky Barnes will always have my heart, ever since TFA, but I loved him so much in this.

Captain America: The First Avenger

I watched this for the hundredth time probably, still one of my favourite Marvel films, the Cap trilogy is THE BEST trilogy in Marvel so far.

Captain America The Winter Soldier

THE BEST MARVEL FILM. Don’t think I really need to say much else, from the minute I first watched it in the cinema, to the thousandth time around, I love it.

Captain America Civil War

The film Avengers: Age of Ultron should have been. And yes, I too would defy the world for Bucky Barnes.

Avengers Infinity War

A classic. A tear jerker. Can’t say anything bad about marvel films, I just love them.

Avengers Endgame

A sob-fest? One of the best films? Don’t really know how to describe it. I cry and cry and cry. Oh and in case you missed it, I cry. Cap and Bucky’s goodbye.. oh my 🥺🥺

The Bronze

I wasn’t much a fan of this film (won’t lie I did find bits of it boring😭) however that sex scene. OH MY GOD. It’s hilarious. Lance Tucker can tell me he’s the god of gymnastics any day 😏

I Tonya

I love this film. Like seriously, LOVE it. I’m a massive fan of Margot Robbie so had been wanting to watch it for a while, and oh my did it deliver. I love the “he said/she said” angle they went for, and the way it is filmed omg.

Political Animals

So I had to buy this on Apple tv as I couldn’t find it anywhere (and also I hate it if it’s not high quality/ it lags etc). I was impressed. Like seriously impressed. It’s now probably one of my favourite tv shows I’ve ever watched. I loved all of the characters, they were all fleshed out so well, and in recent political times it really struck a cord. T.J Hammond needs to be protected at all costs, he deserves the world.

Logan Lucky

I won’t lie, I watched this film for Seb. He wasn’t in it enough (barely in it at all really) and I didn’t really enjoy the film. Seeing the cast I was really surprised I didn’t like it, but I just found it a bit boring.

[howlingday]

About Jaune ships...

I have opinions. You may not agree, but they are mine. They may change in time, but not now.

LANCASTER ( RUBY X JAUNE )

The old tried and true. I mean, what's not to like? Cute girl falls for first guy she meets at Beacon? Classic romance trope, and after reading how much Ruby loves romance stories (I consider certain parts in the manga canon), it makes sense. In fact, after Arkos sank (A moment of silence, please . . . Thank you), many moved to Lancaster, which isn't bad. Happens all the time in fandoms. Sad thing, though, is far I think she'll last. If we're talking Volume 5 or earlier, then maybe. However, I feel if Ruby were to have an endgame in romance, it would be RoseGarden (I have opinions on that as well, but today isn't the day to discuss that), mostly because Oscar bumped Jaune's role from male lead to male side. Not to mention that while Jaune is becoming a beast in his own right, Ruby is a different creature altogether and evolving her character more rapidly and chaotically than anyone else (Must be all that screentime).

TLDR: I want it to be canon, but I might just be hoping.

WHITE KNIGHT ( WEISS X JAUNE)

Doofus in tin foil meets princess who hates daddy (Am I in the romance section of the library? You know, the corner for adults only?) No, but I do like this ship. I'm always a sucker for the fantasy genre, and using a zero to hero male makes it relatable. I also kind of ship it because the same reason I ship NaruSaku in the Naruto fandom: he likes her and he's willing to go the distance. But enough about that; instead let's talk about canon. Will they hook up? It's a soft maybe for me, for two reasons. 1. Rosegarden is most likely to be endgame, and after Ruby and Pyrrha, I'd say Weiss is Jaune's next to be his love interest. 2. Weiss has warmed up to Jaune. Sure, not lover or crush level (Yet), but she's definitely changed her opinion on him. In Volume 1, Jaune was bugging her, like all the time, which I could see as him getting mixed signals on (Exhibit A: Tall, blonde, and scraggly). When Volume 5 came around, everyone jumped onboard because he saved her life (Don't lie, because I'll admit that I did it, too). Not the best reason, but still reason enough, I'd say. Then in Volume 7, she hangs out with him and Oscar to the movies (It was either that or awkward Bumbleby all night. I feel ya, sister). Nothing romantic happens, but it does show how much their relationship has developed. If Weiss is Jaune's endgame, then they have set the pieces up perfectly to do so.

TLDR: High likelihood to be canon and I'm a sucker for Knight/Princess ships.

KNIGHTSHADE ( BLAKE X JAUNE)

This is the part where I say definitely not. Not in a million years, but I'll explain why I like the ship, though. As for why it won't work, the answer is Bumbleby. They haven't kissed yet, but you know they're going to eventually (Because if they don't, the fans will attack like a swarm of hornets). But here's the question you might be asking now: why do I ship this? Well, it's part of the allure of "opposites attract" ('Cause I'm dressed like a cat!). Blake is an intelligent, outspoken, and agile ninja with a criminal history of terrorism who spends her free time reading novels. Jaune is a B at best on his tests, soft-hearted, and ground-based knight who's worst crime is fraud (Still a crime, but peanuts compared to literal terrorism) and spends his free time hanging out with his team. Day and night. But they also tried that with Sun for a season and a half and it didn't last (BECAUSE BEES).

TLDR: Not even a snowball's chance in the summer sun, but so much story potential if you do (Which I do)!

DRAGONSLAYER ( YANG X JAUNE )

This, I would say, is the opposite of Knightshade, where Jaune is the day and Blake is night, here Yang is the Sun and Jaune is the Moon (Like their crests! Remember those? Y'know, when they were relevant?) Will it work? Even less so than Knightshade. However, it does open up some interesting paths considering how... provocative Yang can be, and Jaune, compared to the other guys, is the nerdiest, geekiest dude at Beacon. It's like the cheerleader/nerd romance, except the cheerleader is the captain of every sports team... and rides a motorcycle. The Volume 8 preview introduced us to Yang and Jaune riding motorcycles and we went nuts over it. Yang was back in her element, roaring down the street, riding on walls, popping off tricks with Oscar riding- Back to what I was saying, people were asking, "How did he know how to ride a motorcycle?" and the elementary answer is "He didn't." He almost fell off his bike from a small box in the road. True, anyone would, but look at how he reacts: he stiffens, he refocuses on the road. This kid literally started riding at breakfast, and I DARE you to prove me wrong. But hey, great fic material right there, though, eh?

TLDR: Never gonna happen, but I don't care. All I care about is writing that they love each other. And they also fu-!

ARKOS ( PYRRHA X JAUNE )

I'm sorry, I need a moment. . . . Alright. Do it for her. This ship... was perfect. Probably the best ship out them all. I legit almost cry every time I think about Volume 3. Pyrrha was everyone's favorite. Her background, her interactions, her choreography, everything! But, of course, like everything in our lives, she was too good to be true. But let's honor her memory by talking about her ship, Arkos. Pyrrha was the champion of the world, the Brothers' and Oums' gift to Remnant. She could do no wrong and she HATED it. Her plight was with how she was seen. Everybody knew her! Everybody, except Jaune. And he only figured out she was "a big deal" was because Weiss had to spell it out for him! As time went on, they became the best of friends, two peas in a pod, the perfect odd couple! They worked together and trusted each other, they cared for and supported each other, they lo- No. No, I can't say it. It's been years, and it still hurts. So, I'll explain something else: the reason why Jaune SHOULD NOT be shipped right now. That reason is Pyrrha. Jaune was helpless to save her. He's suffering from survivor's guilt and he's still grieving. In Volume 4, he would sneak away and train until late at night to scroll recording of her. In Volume 5, he confronted Cinder and got Weiss almost killed because he let his grief for Pyrrha take control of him and let his emotions run wild. In Volume 6, he finds the Pyrrha statue and he... I don't know how to say this, but he let's go. He accepts that Pyrrha is gone and he's starting the healing process. He's finally ready to move forward.

TLDR: T.T I never felt that it was wise to wish too much~

MARTIAL ARCS ( REN X JAUNE)

I'll be honest, I don't really ship it. Yeah, it's cute, and it falls perfectly into the "if I had to pick a guy" part of me, but to be honest, I don't ship it. 10% because Renora and 90% it just doesn't click with me. They both just seem too soft, too quiet, too introverted. Best friends? Yes, definitely! But lovers? Eeeeeh, not really.

TLDR: I will only ship as neccessary.

NORA'S ARC ( NORA X JAUNE )

I've only just got in this deep with the fandom only recently, so I don't know if a lot of you know me. Heck, I'm probably just some RWBY fan you happen to spot as you move through your dash. However, old or new, I want to be made absolutely positively clear on this. Of all the ships here, this has got to be my-

O T FUDGIN' P

Wow! Never thought I'd feel so strongly about a crack ship like this. And yes, as sad it is to say, this is a crack ship. Renora was planned from day one, so it can't be helped. At least it didn't blast me in the face all of the sudden (OH NO, NOT THE BEES! AAAAARGH! THEY'RE IN MY EYES!). But why this ship? Well, for one thing, it's that whole opposites attract thing with Nora as the bubbly, outspoken, airhead powerhouse and Jaune as the soft spoken, introverted, nerd tactician. But wait, there's more to this trope, because it can go deeper: Order VS Chaos! Who makes all the messes? Who cleans up those messes? Who follows all the rules? Who makes their own doors? It's just. So. Damn! GOOD! One sad thing about this ship though is that it's not only not canon because of Renora, it's anti-canon because Renora. Every fan fic of Nora's Arc requires an explanation for Ren and Nora to not be together-together, like you have to write a formal apology to the FNDM for liking something that's different from what is canon or commonly accepted. If that's the case, then I'll be the anarchist here!

TLDR: I LOVE IT! What's that? Not canon? Who gives a damn?! I just explained why Jaune won't be shipped anyways! Now, if you'll excuse, I have some fan fics to find.

ARCFALL ( CINDER X JAUNE )

Oh, here it goes! Now, if we're talking ships that'll never happen, this is where we find better reasons than "it's not canon" and "character development". No, this... This is a declaration of war. Allow me to explain. Cinder Fall is evil. Like, down to her core. She wants power and she'll cut through anyone to get to it. Including Pyrrha. This woman sank Arkos by means other than "X and Y kissed, so..." She killed X, leaving Y alone. And her interactions with Jaune tell me she wouldn't even be worth a hate-bang. But, as Momma always, there's a thin line between love and hate. This is where the appeal comes in. Cinder is evil with no past, which leaves the previous chapter's of her life story blank to be filled in. Jaune is good with a troublesome, albeit easy past, but untapped potential for more. It's another opposites attract, but different from INTRO VS EXTRO and CHAOS VS ORDER; this is GOOD VS EVIL. Who will win this battle of wills; will our hero purify the tainted heart, or will he slip deeper into darkness, never to return to the light?

TLDR: Should be a NOTP, and yet the allure pulls me in.

What do y'all think? Do you agree? Let me know!

[cxplqnce]

Lance Hunter - Should’ve Said It ft. Grant Ward

Based off Should’ve Said It by Camila Cabello

Word Count: 2,656

Show up at my door, but I don't live there anymore

Sendin' me your songs, but they don't really sound like before

I was crazy for you, all caught up and confused

Love was broken for me, now it's broken for you

Grant Ward. That was the name of the back-stabbing, hydra kiss-up dickhead that you once loved. But he betrayed you, all of you and you spent months getting over him and what he did to you. You had to learn how to love again, how to trust again and it wasn’t easy. Fortunately, you had help, Lance Hunter - a dashing mercenary sharp shooter with a quick wit who you fell for very quickly.

You’d met him when he joined SHIELD after his friend was killed. You’d been drowning your sorrows about Ward when he walked past. You offered for him to join you and he couldn’t refuse – this event created a bond of friendship that grew stronger every day. A few weeks after you’d met you slept together. You didn’t exactly mean for it to happen but once it did, you were both happier – it forced you both to admit your feelings for each other and you’d been in a steady relationship ever since.

He’d been teaching you how to love again.

Isn't it something? That I get more when I'm giving you nothing? Huh

Isn't it magic? That when you stop lookin' for it, it happens?

Baby, he fell from grace, landed right in your place

Kissed me so many times that I forgot your taste

Lance had been so careful and gentle with you once you’d told him about Ward. Lance definitely wasn’t his biggest fan but he hated him even more when he found out how much he had hurt you. You’d also had trouble controlling your inhuman power – luck. You could change the luck of yourself and others at will, and you had full control except when you felt off which happened a lot after Ward’s betrayal. There’d been numerous accidents around you – people dropping things and falling over. Lance had helped you control it even when you felt off, he even called you his Lucky Lady.

You’d taken your relationship slowly and you were so happy with Lance, happy enough to forget Ward’s name – however, Coulson didn’t seem to get this particular memo.

“We're making a deal... with Ward.” He said, while you sat with Hunter and Fitz on a quinjet. As soon as the name left his lips, you felt your heartbeat quicken and fear filled your head. You instinctively reached for Lance’s hand.

“I’m sorry, what did you just say.” Lance asked, anger and disbelief rising in his words.

Coulson deactivated the black box, “As I said, desperate times, desperate measures.”

------------

A while later, Coulson was talking to Ward (accompanied by Mike Peterson) while you, Hunter and Fitz stayed at the quinjet. Hunter was trying his best to keep his cool and reassure Fitz while you sat alone, listening to Coulson and Ward’s conversation through coms.

“You doing okay, gorgeous?” Lance asked, sitting down next to you and resting his hand on yours.

You nodded your head, even though it was a lie. Coulson was bringing Ward back to the quinjet and you weren’t sure you were ready to see him. You hadn’t seen him since he broke your heart; you hadn’t visited him while he was living under the base.

Lance cleared his throat, gaining your full attention, “I know you’re lying, you’re terrified.” He said, putting his arm around you and pulling you into his chest. You rested your head down and took some deep breaths – trying to control your power and your brain all at once. “It’s okay to be scared, but I’m going to be here the whole time. I won’t leave your side.”

“Thank you.”

I wish that you could turn back the time

You hold me closer, instead of your pride

I knew it was you from the very first night

And it took you two years to make up your mind

You sat in the cockpit of the quinjet when you heard the car approaching. You knew that you were about to see him again and you didn’t know what to do with yourself. He had been the source of your trauma, your problems and you knew that Fitz felt exactly the same. He was sat next to you in the cockpit with Lance standing behind you watching the door.

You heard footsteps and moved out of your seat, coming face to face with Grant Ward. He smirked at you, “Hello, Y/N. It’s been a while. I’ve missed you.”

You couldn’t control what you did next. You took a deep breath out and launched at him, punching him square in the jaw. Lance pulled you away and wrapped you in his arms, whispering ‘I love you’ and ‘It’s okay’ in your ear over and over. Coulson directed Ward, Agent 33 and Bakshi, who they’d brought with them, to sit down as you did too. Fitz opted to sit in the cockpit with Mike, but you had the pleasure of sitting across from Ward.

You pulled your gun out of your pocket and loaded it, turning the safety off and pointing it right at Ward, “If you even blink, I will not hesitate to pull this trigger.”

“You’ve gotten stronger, more resilient. I’d like to think I had something to do with that, Y/N.” He smirked, trying to get to you.

You smirked back, “Yeah, actually, you made me realise that there are so many jackasses like you in the world, and I need to be my own superhero sometimes.” Ward was taken aback by your sudden confidence but Lance seemed very impressed.

Coulson explained the mission and soon enough you landed and the mission was a go. You helped Fitz get into Mike’s eye feed and stood by Lance to watch. Lance immediately held your hand, making sure you were as far away from Ward as possible. The meet went as it should up until Bakshi started to mention something about selling Mike and everyone turned against each other. Guns flew up and knives came out.

You held your gun up to Ward and closed your eyes; soon enough, Ward took a step forward and clumsily tripped on air, falling to the ground. You and Coulson held your guns to him while Lance held his gun to Agent 33’s head – ordering her to release Fitz or he’d shoot, which she did. Fitz disarmed Mike, who was about to shoot everyone in the room and everyone put their weapons down.

“You pull anything like that again; I'll throw your ass off this quinjet at 20,000 feet.” Coulson threatened.

You smiled, “And I’ll be the one opening the door.”

So you want me now? That's funny

'Cause you didn't give a, back then

Comin' back around, so sorry

'Cause there's no room in my bed and I'm all good now

Someone else is gettin' all of me

If you wanted me so desperately

You should've said it

The quinjet dropped down and Fitz pointed out Skye. You followed Hunter and Coulson holding your gun in one hand and stuffing a knife into your side pocket. Once you were in the building you were swarmed by guards. You stood behind Lance, closing your eyes and picturing the probability of the guards shooting each other, falling over and knocking each other out and you made it skyrocket. Once you opened your eyes, the seven guards who were attacking you were out cold.

Coulson gave an order and went to find Skye, Ward sneaking away to follow him. Unfortunately, you and Lance were too preoccupied with Ward’s actions to notice the guy behind you who shot before either of you could do anything. The bullet landed in Lance’s side and after assuring you that he was fine, he urged to you go and find Ward and stop him from doing more harm than good.

You caught up to them and were able to get the two guards they were fighting to knock each other out, before you grabbed your gun and whacked Ward in the face, causing a deep red cut to appear on his left cheek. “Hey!” He yelled, “I am trying to help you!”

“Yeah, like you did when you almost killed FitzSimmons, or when you hung me out to dry with Hydra! You are a lying jackass, who I never should’ve trusted!” You shouted, feeling better after getting your anger out.

“Skye!” Coulson called, pulling you out of your argument. Unfortunately, before you could run to hug her, two guys came out of nowhere and they teleported away.

“I had her, damn it, I had her.” Coulson muttered to himself, while you stood next to him.

Suddenly you heard a noise and turned around to be faced with the barrel of a gun but Ward shot the guy before he could hurt you. “If you’re looking for thanks, you’re not getting it.”

Lance and Agent 33 appeared and you immediately ran to him, “I shouldn’t have left you, I’m sorry.” You whispered, resting your hands on his cheeks.

“I was the one who insisted, and I’m fine.” He croaked, his wound was bleeding profusely and causing him to look more tired.

“You just need to stay awake, okay, babe? Stay awake.” You mumbled.

You're only lonely, now you ain't the one that hold me

Only lonely now, now

You sat next to Lance, pressing a cloth to his wound; he hissed every now and then at the contact but you would always fire back with a small quip to shut him up. Little did you know that Ward was watching you from the cockpit. He told himself that he loved Kara but that wasn’t true, he loved you. He missed you and he knew that he’d do anything to make you his – even killing Hunter.

“I don’t know how you can even be in the same room with him, much less work with him after what he did,” Lance said to you, as you dressed his wound.

You chuckled, “Well, I’ve already hit him twice; I plan on increasing that number.” You joked, finishing the dressing before looking up at him, “Plus, I’ve got you. You make everything easier.”

“Good, I love you.” He whispered.

“I love you too,” You whispered back before leaning in to kiss him.

Ward watched as you kissed Hunter like he was your everything, which he was. Ward began to feel extremely jealous; he was who you should be kissing. Him not Hunter. You should be with him. He convinced Kara to leave the cockpit and she went and sat by the computer screen.

“Y/N, can you come here a minute?” Ward called, interrupting your conversation with your boyfriend.

You sighed, “What do you need, asswipe?”

Ward chuckled at your blatant hatred and dropped his head slightly, “Can’t I just want to chat, clear some things up?”

Lance looked at you, “You don’t have to.”

“It’s okay,” You replied, “Fine.” You said, standing up and going to sit in the cockpit. You sighed deeply when you took in the view from the window, you’d never get used to it, the beauty of the sky. “What did you want to talk about?”

“You like the view? Because it’s too bad I never got to teach you how to fly like I said I would.” He said, so casually it was as if he forgot the last six months.

You kept your straight face, looking over at the controls and flicking one of the buttons, taking the stick from him and flying seamlessly, “May taught me. I guess I never needed you.”

“You’ve gotten more control over your powers; they’ve gotten stronger since I last saw you. You can control when you use them on other people now, back then you couldn’t even affect other people’s luck.” He explained, looking at you as you flew the jet.

“No thanks to you. Although, what you said earlier, that I’m stronger because of you – you aren’t wrong. All the trauma and pain, pushed me to work harder, get better so that one day I could wipe that stupid smirk off your face.” You threatened.

He chuckled, “And how could you do that? All you do is control luck.”

“Luck is a game of probabilities.” You started, turning to face him, looking him right in the eye, “And I hold all the cards.” You said through gritted teeth before you turned your attention back to the view.

“We could’ve been great together, Y/N. You just had to leave and start dating that guy.” He said disgust in his voice when he mentioned Hunter.

“That guy, is more of a man than you’ll ever be and I love him more than I ever loved you, so you can forget us ever being an us again. I’m way too good for you.” You spat, before moving back into a seat by Lance.

So you want me now? That's funny

'Cause you didn't give a, back then

Comin' back around, so sorry (hey)

'Cause there's no room in my bed and I'm all good now

Someone else is gettin' all of me

If you wanted me so desperately

You should've said it; you should've said it, love

The team had gotten back to the base, with Ward and Agent 33 and Lance had gone to medical to get checked out by Simmons who very quickly gave him the all clear with orders to rest. You had brought him back to your room and cuddled on the couch while watching some tv.

“I’m sorry Coulson brought Ward on the mission, if I knew he was going to do that I never would’ve suggested that you come.” Lance apologised, rubbing your arm with his thumb.

You smiled, “It’s okay, I’m sorry that you got shot because I was too distracted by my demons to focus on you and the mission.” You apologised back.

“It’s all good, but if you want to repay me for getting shot, could you get me a beer or two – to take the pain away?” He asked, sweetly. You smiled, nodding and told him you’d be back soon.

You headed towards the kitchens before coming face to face with Ward, you tried to turn around before he noticed you but he did. “Y/N, how’s your little boyfriend?” He asked, menacingly.

“Better, just grabbing him a beer and then I’ll be heading back, if you’ll excuse me.” You said, moving to get around him but he blocked your exit, “Come on, Ward.”

“I’m about to go on a very important mission and I think I need a little love to get me psyched up.” He manipulated.

You chuckled, “Not happening. Move.”

“Come on, princess.” He said, using a nickname you’d rather forget. “You know you miss me, just tell me those three little words.”

“Go fuck yourself.” You spat, moving to leave but he grabbed your arm. “Get off of me.”

“You don’t understand, baby…”

You cut off his words by kneeing him in the balls and punching him in the face, “No, you don’t understand, I hate you, with every cell in my body because you are a lying jackass who I wish I never met. I am in love with Lance Hunter, one of the best men I know and I would never do anything to sabotage that relationship – not like you did. And I know that it hurts you that someone else makes me happy, someone else gets to love me, and I’m happy that you feel that pain. So, leave me the hell alone because if I ever see your face again, I will make you beg for death.” You threatened before walking back to your boyfriend.

That was the last time you ever saw Grant Ward’s face.

A/N: Hope you enjoy! Follow my instagram @ cxplqnce and I take requests if you have any!

[not-your-damsel]

I Gotta Let it Out, Please Forgive Me Guys

I got a random message on Facebook messenger from my bestest friend from the tail end of middle school until onwards… or so I thought.

*Names have been changed for this… mess? I’m so sorry guys, I’m all over the place 😑 and this is kinda long so, head’s up

She was like a sister to me, we told each other any and everything. We wrote fan fics for *N’Sync before fan fics were even a goddamn thing, before there was a place to even post them! She made the life move from New Jersey to Pennsylvania bearable and then livable after having my whole life uprooted once again. My Mom and I always moved a lot when I was a child so I was always bouncing from school to school once I thought I was finally settled and was steadily making friends only to up and move again. That coupled with constantly having to go to the hospital because of my illness didn’t bode well for my learning abilities. I’m great at everything else now as an adult but don’t even come to me about math or I’ll spit on you, I don’t make the rules 🤷🏽‍♀️

However, once my Mom met my Sister’s father, our living situation somehow downgraded from living in a beautiful brownstone house to then living in a trailer in a trailer park. Please don’t take that as me shitting on trailer parks or folks who live in them. I just despise them because they immediately remind me of the verbal, mental abuse/gaslighting I endured when we lived there which continued into PA and the house we moved to there is all. My stomach churns when I pass by one as I immediately feel like I’m 10 again and about to be in trouble and grounded for the next tiniest thing he deemed wrong of me.

Anywho, we moved to PA when I was 12, my little sister having been born in NJ just before we left it to come here and I was livid. Leaving all my friends behind after finally having a taste of actually settling in and making friends and not moving away right after the fact only to pull the rug from under me and do it again. As an adult now, I get it. It’s safer here than where we’d been and the taxes rock, no tax on food or clothing or pharmaceuticals and also utilities for heat and shit and not to mention, a better school system.

And school is where I met my immediate bestie, around the second or third day being there, we had to swim for gym and since I didn’t know I had to sit out for the period where the other girls and I started talking about *N’Sync and she asked me who my face was, which was Lance and then she said hers was Justin Timberlake and that she fantasizes about him. Anyone who can tell me that right off the bat with the same energy as telling me what their favorite color or animal is has immediately won my friendship. Immediately.

That’s how we met, that’s how we rolled and we stayed joined at the hip throughout the rest of our school years together. We’d been through it all, crushes, familial loss, pet loss, watching mutual friends come and go or fuck each other over, and yet her and I remained as though we were born sisters. I never needed a whole entourage of people to call my friends. Whoever’s gonna hang with me, I love and appreciate and protect dearly and those who won’t that’s fine as well. But she was a constant in my life, we both were constantly in each other’s lives.

She provided an escape and safe haven away from my home when it got to be too suffocating to be within my own home because of my overbearing stepfather and I taught her how to appreciate and accept and play video games, specifically of the survival horror genre and we’d get together for a sleepover when a new release would come out and we wanted to get lost in stories and scream for dear life at perfectly crafted jump scares. She turned me on to being a drama kid since her and I were in chorus together being Soprano 1’s, and it turned out to be one of the most fun things I did in high school.

But time passes and we graduated. Sad as I was to be parting from everyone, we all began to scatter, coming together during breaks to party and catch up. After moved to Queens NY to be with my fiancé at the time and she was doing her own thing. Over time, life got in the way. There was no grand fight to speak of, no secretly harbored feelings of ill will or hatred, nothing of the sort. Which is why I’m left feeling so baffled over how what was meant to be a great reaching out and reconnecting moment ended up turning into me feeling angry, dejected and feeling as though maybe there were some things she never spoke to me about when she should’ve.

It started out great, happy to hear from her especially out of the blue since the times I tried to reach her would always fall through. We caught up with one another, as you do, and then the conversation turned from catching up to suddenly me being questioned about why I never contacted her. I explained everything that happened, how I tried several times apart from the yearly birthday wishes and such, and how I never got a reply back, that I assumed it meant she had a different phone number. How as the years passed more and more, my insecurities of no longer being wanted by her ran rampant and that maybe she had better people in her life. I apologized for that, seeing now that I was blinded by that insecurity and that was something for me to sort out. That and that life literally got in the way.

I told her everything as honest and truthful to the best of my ability because I’d never lie to her, never had and never would/will want to. I admitted to her that I’m definitely different from the last time she’s seen me and that I’m now utter shit with the phone. I personally think it’s a mix of my Major Depressive Disorder mixed with my anxiety that I prefer messaging over actually talking on the phone. But that’s not for my lack of trying to reach her over the years.

However, that wasn’t good enough for her though apparently. She kept pressing me and questioning if “I ignored her” because of scenario A, B or C. She said that. She literally said, “Did you ignore me because of…”. She started labeling despite me telling her what happened, putting words in my mouth. It got to the point that I was just repeating myself over and over because she kept interrogating me on the issue, bringing up weak reasons as though she just knew that was the “reason I dipped and left her in the wind” when meanwhile, when you look at which of us two was the last to try to contact the other through Facebook messenger, it shows it as me and before that all my attempts to reach her through something I knew she’d see my shit to her through and yet I was never answered.

I ended up saying to her, “Look, I don’t know what it is you’re wanting me to say here. I feel like you’re trying to get me to admit to something to please you but I’m not gonna do that because if I did, then I’d be lying to you and I’m not here for that. I told you everything on my end here, what has happened and that’s exactly what it is. Nothing more, nothing less. I don’t secretly hate you, I could never hate you. It wasn’t your fault about what happened with my ex and I at your party, I’ve never held you responsible for his cheating actions. He cheated on me with Stan, not you, so don’t think that has anything to do with you when you stuck up for me when we all found out the next morning. Please stop fishing for a conflict that’s not there.”

I don’t hear from her after a long while and I explicitly tell her that I want to talk about this more the next day because this isn’t right and I want to clear up whatever it is that she thinks is wrong, that I love her and to have a good night as it’s past 2am at that point. She proceeds to bring up past scenarios hours later while I’m well asleep and she knows this, guilt tripping me about how she was there for me whenever I needed to be in the hospital but that maybe I had forgotten what it meant to be best friends with her and she then blocks me on all socials knowing I can’t even fight for myself because I’m asleep. All socials save for one and that’s Insta.

I call her out on that shady bullshit and tell her that it’s absolutely unfair that I sat there and I was being an adult and admitting to my mistakes and apologizing for them only for her to push all the blame on me for not contacting her which we established that I had many times and not been acknowledged. I said, “The phone works 2 ways, Sadie, 2 ways. Do not sit there and act like you’re not to blame as well, especially when I’m here admitting fault and apologizing for it and you haven’t even bothered to claim some of that faulted responsibility. That’s fucked because if it were me having come to you, yet again, and this time you answered, I would’ve taken my part of the blame and admitted to my faults here as well, I wouldn’t’ve piled it all on you the way you did to me. I was honest with you and it seems that’s not what mattered to you, what mattered to you was putting untruths into my mouth to fit your narrative that “I hate you”, “that you never mattered to me” and so on. Again, not cool. Will it hurt to lose you? Absolutely, it’ll kill me to lose you permanently, but not at the expense of a lie you want so badly to be true.”

Not only that, but several times throughout this conversation, she would bring up something factual that happened, that she knew happened, only to turn around and say something snarky like, “I wouldn’t know what happened or I wouldn’t know about that because you never told me about it.” I sat there for a good moment afterwards, seriously questioning if she was drunk or high or a combo of the two and just crossfaded because it made no damned sense!!!

I’m not gonna lie, I’m truly hurt by all this. I cried happy tears when we first started talking because it had been so long, and then by the end of it, I was left baffled, hurt, confused, and feeling like I didn’t even know this person anymore and crying in a panic that this was all actually happening. That I somehow unknowingly became a villain to my own best friend, my sister. It still feels unreal, the whole thing was so all over the place, it gave me whiplash. I don’t know what to do and I apologize for putting a portion of me and my troubles on here, I just needed a safe space to vent and let loose because I’m warring with myself of if this is even still worth it with her because this feels so… icky. Like in my gut I can feel that this isn’t the same person I once knew and I’m only gonna find more upset, hurts and disappointment and that feeling causes even more hurt.

Idk guys, I’m tired and worn out. I cried a lot so that’s gonna and made me even more tired only with puffy, splotchy pinky/red rings around my eyes that now are sensitive to the touch from wiping them so much. But thank you for letting me do what I felt I needed to do and just let this mess out. I know it’s all over the place but I can’t even bring myself to fix anything if there’s errors and shit. Love y’all.

[dammitadolfnomorecake]

Once Bitten, Twice Stupid 192

192

    Holding Keith’s hand in public felt nice. Walking from the hotel to the restaurant, Lance found himself watching families of all types as they walked. He couldn’t help it. A smile coming to his lips as he watched kids nag their parents, or listened to them as they played. His hand sitting on his stomach while his mind substituted the kids for their twins, and the parents as Keith. Keith would be such a good dad. He absolutely knew that for certain. He’d worried when Keith had spent most of the night sleepless, the walk seeming to invigorate him as it wore away Keith’s energy. Keith needed his coffee pronto, lest a server cop his boyfriend’s uncaffeinated anger loaf rage.

  Leading Keith into the restaurant, it had a kind of rustic charm. Heavy oak logs made the walls, with all kinds of memorabilia stuck to the walls, including a giant stuffed fish with a plaque that red “Billy Bass”. It appealed to his tacky side in all the right ways. Sending Keith to find a seat, his boyfriend slouched off to throw himself into the only available booth. Lance giving a shake of his head affectionately. He really loved that cranky werewolf. Waddling over to the counter, he forced himself to remember to look and act like a girl. Keith didn’t know he was terrified of the same kind of comments made at the petting zoo being repeated. This trip had to go as well and as smoothly as it could. Picking up the menu, he knew instantly he wanted more than pancakes. Everything smelt vaguely appealing, and Keith would eat like there was no tomorrow.

  “What can I do you for, darling?”

Jumping at being unexpectedly talked to, the woman behind the counter cackled at him

“Sorry, love! I didn’t think you’d be lost in thought over a menu”

Lance flashed a smile, careful of his teeth. He kind of wished he’d worn a set of glasses. The more he stood in the restaurant, the more he heard and the bigger the world suddenly seemed to be

“Sorry, everything sounds so good I’m not sure where to begin”

The woman chuckled

“I remember those feelings. How many you got in there?”

“Two. I guess I do look pretty big”

“And carrying low, you’ll be in labour no time, love. Now. What do think?”

No. Nope. No labour for him. Not unless he was comfortably set up at VOLTRON... he’d hold his legs together for as long as possible if their twins dared to think of coming this soon

“I think I’m famished. Can I please order two sets of pancakes and two sets of the bacon breakfasts? Ooooh, and I’ll grab a fruit salad, two of the largest coffees you have, aaaand... I think I’ll have a green tea latte... and a fruit salad. Yeah, that’s all, thank you... oh! Do you guys have soy milk? I don’t want to gas my boyfriend”

  The woman behind the counter ogled him fo a moment, shaking her head and laughing again

“I don’t know where you’re going to fit all that... We have soy, almond, and regular. None of that skin stuff”

Lance blushed. He couldn’t help that he didn’t exactly know what he felt like, but food seemed like an amazing idea

“It’s for me and my partner. Soy will be fine, thanks”

The woman slapped his arm gently with the back of her hand

“I know that, love. Just an old woman teasing”

“You don’t look that old”

She looked about the age he should look... her name tag reading “Dae”, the white tag almost lost in the red of her bright red shirt

“That’s the best thing I’ve heard all day. Now, darling, cash or card?”

“Card please”

  The woman rang up there largish breakfast bill. Lance paying as he was trapped into small talk

“So, love. Are you here for our Easter markets? Or you one of those passing through?”

“Oh, my boyfriend and I are spending a few days here. We’re meeting up with some friends”

The woman printed him a receipt without him asking

“I’m sure you’ll find this quite boring compared with the cities around here, but we have own charm. Now, can I get a name for this order?”

He’d been prepared for that. He’d made kind of a mental story for himself. He and his photographer boyfriend were driving up, stopping in small towns as Keith built up a portfolio in the hopes of turning to selling prints online

“Lancella... my, uh, parents were hoping for a boy”

“I’m sure they love you at any rate. We can’t help our names. You go take a load off and I’ll bring your coffee over. Take my advice, love, take a look at the markets while you’re here. They really are something else”

“Awesome. We might just take your advice. Thank you”

    Siding, barely, into the booth opposite Keith, Keith was glaring at the menu in his hands. Tugging it free, his boyfriend huffed as Lance set the menu back into its holder

“Your coffee’s coming”

“Good”

Keith should have perked up at the thought of coffee. The scent was strong enough that Lance’s stomach was threatening to turn traitor right there at the booth

“Babe?”

“It’s nothing. You looked like you were having a good conversation, Lancella”

Lance rolled his eyes at the name

“I’m a simple man. The best lies have a kernel of truth in them”

“It pisses me off that you have to lie. You’re you. If people don’t like that, they can go play in traffic”

  There was his grumpy little anger loaf. He’d also realised something that was likely to make Keith grumpier

“You can’t just put them in traffic. You know, we’re going to be in trouble”

Keith sighed deeply

“What for now?”

“I’m starving... and all that food has to come back up. Plus, apparently I’m going to pop soon”

Scowling at him, Keith sat back and crossed his arms. His voice firm and joke free

“There’s no way you’re allowed to even think about giving birth in this crappy town. Don’t even think about going into labour”

Sometimes it was scary how in tune they were. He didn’t want to give birth here, yet he couldn’t hate this town

“I don’t know. This town isn’t that crappy. This is the town you were born in and you’re not crappy. Maybe crabby... but not crappy”

“You’re fucking hilarious”

Lance shot his boyfriend double finger guns

“I try. But seriously, I’m starving...”

  He’d also forgotten to do his shots before leaving the hotel room. Keith coming out with the bath mat around his waist had driven away the thought. His boyfriend hadn’t questioned why he’d packed heavier than usual. There was a whole suitcase of towels and bedding, waiting to be unpacked. His new plan was that after breakfast they’d unpack a little more, and he’d look up the directions to the cemetery where Keith’s dad was buried. The vampire knew his own pain from having now lost both his parents, yet that was nothing compared to Keith losing his dad at such a young age. Making the comparison seemed really shitty and like it lorded the fact Lance had had his parents for so long, that’s why he’d never say it out loud.

  Their conversation was interrupted by the arrival of the coffee and the latte. Keith sliding both mugs towards him as Lance thanked “Dae”. Wrapping his hands around his cold drink, there was kind of a happy peacefulness as Keith took his first sip of coffee. This was nice. Them having no real schedule. Not rushing around. Kind of on a date, but not at the same time...

“Stop staring”

Chuckling, Lance moved his hand up to take the straw between his fingers, stirring his latte as continued to stare

“What are you going to do if I don’t?”

Kicking him under the table, that was Keith’s great comeback

“Really, babe?”

“Fuck you. Fight me”

  It’d be soon long since he’d heard that one. The second they found out he was carrying, he had to behave himself and training went out the window

“I could beat you, but we both know you’d liked it”

Delivering the words slowly and purposely, Lance succeeded in making Keith choke on his coffee. Placing the mug down, his boyfriend coughed into his hand

“Fuuuuck...”

“Still want to fight me?”

“Keep this up and I’ll beat your arse so hard you won’t be able to walk for a month”

“Do you promise?”

On the back of choking on his coffee, Keith choked on air. His hand fanning his face as he shook his head

“You deserve to be punched in the dick for that”

“Nah. You love me too much for that”

“God. I fucked that one up”

  Lance knew Keith was teasing, yet he felt himself automatically tear up. Apparently he could dish it, but his ego was too much of a diva to take it. Dropping his gaze to his drink, he felt awful for how he’d reacted

“Babe?”

“It’s nothing”

“You know I love you, don’t you?”

“Yeah. Sorry. I guess my hormones are being silly. It’s ridiculous”

Keith wisely decided not to agree with him, changing the topic

“What did you order?”

Raising his head again, Lance shot him that fake smile that hadn’t come out in so long that he wasn’t sure he was doing it right

“Pancakes. Eggs, tomatoes, bacon, sausages, and fried onion. Coffee for you. Tea for me, and fruit salad”

“You think that’s enough?��

Now he was feeling self conscious over how much he wanted to scarf down his food

“I figured you’d eat what I didn’t...”

Keith playfully kicked him under the table again

“Great. Now I’m the garbage disposal unit”

  Shit. Why had his mood plummeted so much? Now it had, his ego was getting riled up. He was starting to feel vulnerable over being pregnant and into a strange place, where people he didn’t know could easily target him, or Keith. He couldn’t scent anyone like them in the place, yet he’d been so care free when they’d come in, he hadn’t thought to. The sudden shift to extreme vulnerability by his ego threw him off. They were a goddamn vampire. Had he been so inclined, he could easily take every single human on in the restaurant... Why was he suddenly so spineless? And why was his ego not propping his mood up with its usual douche attitude.

  “Babe, you’ve gone pale. And you’re shaking. What’s wrong?”

He was shaking? He hadn’t noticed...

“Sorry. My ego... just went funny...”

Keith stared at him in confusion

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know...”

He didn’t know. Was it not sure keith could protect them? No. Keith could and would go beyond them. Then why did it want him to run? All he wanted was a nice breakfast with Keith, so Keith wouldn’t be so stressed about what was to come...

  Leaning across the table, Keith’s confusion grew. Cocking his head, he drew back slowly

“You feel like... you’re pushing everything away. If there’s something wrong...”

“I don’t know what’s wrong. I’m sorry”

Trying to let his ego flare a little, the instinct to run grew with it. Lance quick to force it back down. Maybe he’d been too focused on being home of late? No one had made any kind of threat towards him

“If you’re not feeling well, we can go back to the room”

“That’s not it. All of a sudden I got a spike of fear and I’m not sure why”

  Keith pursed his lips, shook his head, then suddenly decided to move to sit next to Lance, a little too fast for Lance’s liking. Taking his hand in his, his boyfriend squeezed softly

“You don’t need to be scared”

Having Keith close should have calmed him, yet the spike of fear had spiked his anxiety over not knowing why he was kind of internally freaking out  

“I know. All I wanted was a nice breakfast”

“We can still have a nice breakfast...”

“I’m so sorry. I know you’re stressing badly. This has to be so much all at once”

The restaurant was loud, despite it being breakfast time. Too many people seemed way too awake

“The glasses help. Do you want them?”

  Yes. And ear plugs. Someone dropped something in the kitchen, Lance flinching at the sound as he shook his head

“No. No... it’s okay. I’ve been doing this longer than you have”

“Are you sure?”

“Babe, I’ll be okay. It’s just weird... I don’t smell anything... bad. Maybe I’ve spent too much time hermitting”

“Or maybe people just suck?”

“Careful, babe. Your grump’s showing”

Keith huffed with a pout

“I’m not being grumpy”

“Fine, your lack of people love is showing. I hope breakfast doesn’t take too long”

“You need to eat more. You’re all skin and bones”

Lance’s ego chose to take the wrong way. He ate. Keith knew he ate. He couldn’t bring Keith’s mood down any further

“I’m going to. Your babies are demanding it”

  Bring their hands to Lance’s stomach, Keith rested them there

“Already causing so much trouble. You two better give your dad a break”

“That’d be nice. I think the first thing they’re getting when they’re old enough is a trampoline”

“Why do I feel like you’re the one who’s going to be spending more time on it than them?”

“Because it’s nice to lay out under the stars?”

They hadn’t done that in so long... Maybe they’d get a chance while they were here?

“I wonder what sex would be like?”

And there Keith went stating the real reason he supported getting their kids a trampoline

“I’m not conceiving any future siblings on a trampoline”

Keith bumped his shoulder lightly

“There goes that idea...”

“I’m going to put you in a time out if you don’t get your mind out of the gutter”

“But without the gutter, my mind would be homeless”

  Without missing a beat, the werewolf had him groaning

“Who taught you that one? They need to be shot”

Keith grinned, Lance kind of envious that no matter how upset Keith was internally, he was keeping his ego well under control. He should be proud. No. He was proud. He just wished his would perk back up

“Pretty sure I learned that from you”

Great. He couldn’t exactly shoot himself... though he’d definitely shot himself in the foot in the metaphoric sense

“You don’t want to listen to me. I’m going crazy in my old age”

“You’re not even that old”

“Older than you”

  Keith put on that bad southern drawl that never failed to work on him

“And twice as pretty. A pretty little thing like you should be careful. A big bad wolf might just gobble you up”

“Nah, my boyfriend takes care of all the scary things out there”

“I could take him. They don’t call me the Mullet for nothin’”

Oh lord. That was terrible. That was terrible and Keith knew it was terrible

“Is it because you’re kinda fishy? A bit limp all dead eyed?”

“Why, miss. I’ve been told I’ve got the perdiest eyes around”

Lance let out a long groan of defeat. He didn’t feel safe, and as much as he didn’t want to feel amused, Keith’s stupidity was kind of turning his frown upside down

“Alright. No more. I get it”

“Do you feel any better?”

No...

“Yeah. I’m still staving, though”

“It won’t be too much longer... hopefully”

   *

Keith kept a careful eye on Lance once their breakfast finally arrived. Lance noticing, and responding by eating despite the lack of interest in the pancakes he’d wanted. It was hard to pretend to be happy. Everything felt too much for him, and having it all feel too much for Lance threw him.

  Holding it together, the walk back to the hotel was brisk. Lance tried to shake him off to go to the bathroom alone, but Keith wasn’t having it. As Lance “threw” himself down to vomit, he slipped behind him, tugging off the annoying wig so he could rest his chin on Lance’s shoulder. His boyfriend was shaking, his skin felt a little colder than its above barely warm natural state. Having played breakfast over in his mind, he still didn’t know why Lance had spooked, or why his ego had drawn in. The only thing he could think of was that that woman’s words brought up Lance’s fear of giving birth soon. No one had said anything to his precious mate. No one had barely looked their way. No. Everyone else was too busy fucking chewing like a herd of cows. The noise infuriating now he’d noticed.

  Staying with Lance until his stomach settled, his boyfriend wobbled on his feet as he stood. Keith had spent the time giving Lance belly rubs and trying smother him in his scent to calm him down. His own ego was rattled by their mates strange actions, making it almost mad at a situation where no one was to blame. Rinsing his mouth out, Lance stared at him in the mirror. He looked exhausted

“I’m sorry”

No. Lance had nothing to be sorry for

“Babe. Hey, it happens”

“I’m supposed to be the one in control here... and I freaked out for no real reason”

“It’s okay”

  Lance didn’t know he was semi echoing Keith’s earlier movement as he kicked the basin cabinet lightly

“No. No it’s not. You’re stressed. You’re in a new environment. You’re being forced to go out with me when I look like this. And I couldn’t even keep my shit together long enough to enjoy being out to breakfast with you. It’s fucking pathetic. I should be past all this shit”

“You’re overthinking things again”

Sighing deeply, Lance went to grab his toothbrush out the toilet bag, only to knock the contents out. Sensing the impending tears, he turned his boyfriend towards him, gathering him against him

“Babe. Hey. It’s okay. I’m not mad and you haven’t done anything wrong”

Lance shook his head again

“I’m sorry... God. I feel so fucking incompetent”

  Lance wasn’t incompetent. Keith ego saddened to hear their mate talk about himself like that. He wanted to make Lance smile again

“You’re not. Didn’t Dae say something about a fair?”

Again, Lance shook his head

“Sorry... I think I want to lay down for a bit... and I really need to pee. Can... can you get the blankets out the suitcase? They’re in the black one”

“And you’ll be okay?”

“I’m going to pee, then I’ll be out”

Kissing Lance’s hair, Keith found himself more anxious over Lance than the thought of seeing his father’s grave. Maybe Lance was more tired from the day before than he was letting on

“Alright. I’ll be waiting”

   When Lance came shuffling out the bathroom, he made straight for Keith. Keith having covered the top of the hotel bed with their three blankets, the bottom one acting as the sheet between them and the crappy bedding below. Lifting the corner back, his boyfriend climbed in beside him. Shoes and all. Lance had to be dead tired to not fight him over his shoes, which had kind of become part of Keith’s daily job. Laying himself against him, Lance rested his head on Keith’s chest, arm snaking around him. Somehow the feeling that came to mind was akin to missing that bottom step and terror flooring you for a moment as your stomach dropped. When Lance started crying, Keith could only let him cry it out. He’d gotten used to Lance having more emotions than he thought possible for a vampire. Lance’s motto seemed to be “sometimes you just need to cry it out”. Still. It sucked. They were so far from their friends. So far from home... and the hard bit was yet to come.

    *

Falling asleep Keith, Lance carefully pried himself off his boyfriend. He felt safer for being in the hotel room, and disoriented from how hard he’d seemed to nap. Creeping to the bathroom, then back into their room, Lance mentally sighed to himself over his emotions. He was being so dumb. Keith needed him... None of this... he couldn’t break down now. Taking his phone off the bedside table, the vampire crept back into the bathroom. He’d already talked to Keith, explaining that he didn’t get what was going on at all... Yet he wasn’t sure that Keith believed him. His people hating boyfriend had offered to take him to the markets on for Easter. That wasn’t Keith’s thing. That was Keith grasping at straws and trying to find a way to make him happy again.

  The call took a long time to answer, Krolia’s voice happy as Lance wondered if he was annoying her

“Hey, Lance! How are you?! Did you and Keith arrive safely, I swear that boy never thinks to let me know he’s okay”

They’d sent a message to group chat, and that was about it. With some small unpacking, they’d both been too tired for phone calls and any form of in-depth conversation

“Sorry, Krolia. Yeah, we got here okay. If this is a bad time, I can call back”

“No. Not at all. Is everything okay? I mean, I’m thrilled you called, but I’m confused as to why”

  That stung a little. He hadn’t spoken to Krolia all that much since Keith turned...

“I won’t keep you long. I have a question, and I think you’re about the only one who understands what it’s like to be pregnant”

He would have turned straight to Mami if she’d been alive. He felt like he really needed that maternal support right now. Hearing her voice would have driven home she was safe and she would have teased him for being hopeless

“Shoot away! Are my two grandbabies giving you grief already? I can have a stern talking to them, if they are”

   He wanted to reach through the phone and hug Krolia. Keith was absolutely amazing with him, yet he couldn’t fall pregnant. A small snort escaped without him meaning for it to

“They’re fine. Using my bladder as a trampoline and wriggling around in there. I... uh... I was wondering if when you were pregnant with Keith, if you ever felt... scared for no reason”

There was a pause. Lance grateful Krolia was taking the time to think about it

“Sometimes, yes. Especially in the line of work I do... Did something happen?”

So Krolia has only experienced fear when thinking of vampires and werewolves...

“We we’re having breakfast and all of a sudden I got scared. There was nothing there to be scared of. No one else who wasn’t human... but... I feel like I was too care free lately. I didn’t guard my scent. I didn’t think about what would happen had someone caught it. I didn’t think about bringing Keith here and what if there was someone like us here... I didn’t think about it... and I feel... like me not thinking about it is the same as me thinking Keith... is... something less than he was”

  Starting to cry, he felt really very stupid for his tears. He treasured Keith. But he’d been running around trailing his scent after him without a thought of the impact. All he’d wanted was to get things done and settle his ego

“Lance, you love that idiot son of mine. I’m sure at the first hint of danger you would have reacted. Is Keith there with you?”

“He’s asleep... I’m sorry for calling... I would have turned to Mami, but...”

“No. No. I’m glad you called. I want to be there for the both of you. Yes, I was scared. But nothing like Keith’s father. The slightest thing and he wanted to rush me off to the emergency department. You’re under a lot of stress. Have you been...?”

Lance shook his head, then remember Krolia couldn’t see him shaking his head

“Not yet. I freaked out and Keith had to take care of me...”

“You’re nearing the end of the pregnancy. Fears happen. I know that all too well. Especially how the insomnia can play on your mind. You’ve both been through so much, and I heard from Curtis that you were looking forward to some alone time with Keith. My opinion is that you let Keith take care of you. He’s strong”

“He’s not that strong when it comes to his dad”

“No, but keeping it in will only make him worry more. He loves you. If anything were to happen to you... well, I feel sorry for whoever crosses you. I believe both of you would sense actual danger”

“How am I supposed to know the difference?!”

“You’ll know. Take these feeling of fear and ignore them. Push them aside. They’re useless. Focus on you and my grand babies. You should be safe there. Coran didn’t mention anything about anyone living there that you should be wary about”

Lance sniffled. Krolia hadn’t given him much of anything useful and it sucked... but she tried in her own way

“Thanks, Krolia. I’m going to go back to Keith now”

“No worries. Let me know how everything goes. You can call me. Anything you two need...”

“Yeah. I will. I... thanks for talking to me...”

“Anytime. I’m your mother too. You can come to me”

  Coming out the bathroom, Keith was awake, meaning he’d heard some, if not all, Lance’s side of the phone call. Stopping a few steps into the room, he expected Keith to be angry at him for admitting he hadn’t thought of his precious boyfriend’s safety. He hadn’t thought of anything much when it came to the more important things he should have been almost paranoid about

“Babe... come here”

Holding his arm out, Lance caved instantly as he moved to climb into bed with Keith, his emotions getting the better of him as he started crying again. Krolia wasn’t Mami. She didn’t give advice like Mami did. The vampire craving that maternal touch, that Krolia had only taken the point off of

“That’s it. I’m here... I’m here, let it all out”

“I’m sorry”

Keith gentle ran his fingers through Lance’s hair, hushing him softly

“Shhhh... I’ve got you. I’m okay and you’re okay. It’s okay”

“I miss Mami”

“I know you do, babe. I know. Let it out... let it all out”

  He was such a selfish boyfriend, yet Keith loved him anyway. He didn’t deserve the love he felt from Keith, but he did notice that together like this, the fear had mostly gone away. There really was no substitute for cuddles with Keith.

[nocturnalf1]

Lance Stroll x reader

I am going to write these so you can have them look normal with interactive fics. Nothing will be in ()

I also tried my best to research the names of everyone like Race Engineers and such. It can be kinda hard with some teams so if they are wrong or outdated, SORRY!

Language Warning! Its fluffy but theirs a fight. Hope you all like it!

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

“Are you okay Y/N” she hear her race engineer, Mattia Spini ask.

“FUUUCCCCKKKKK! I’m sorry guys.” Is all she can say as she pushes the visor from her helmet up.

“Not your fault Y/N, P1, P1″ Their was a pause as she does what he said before being told to switch the car off and get out. Marshals checked on her as she stands up and puts the steering wheel back in the car. 

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

“Lance, the track is red flagged, Box Box” Lance hears Brad tell him. Did someone crash?

“What happened?” Lance asks as he turns into Catalunya’s pit lane.

“Uhhh, Stand by, it’s a Renault and a AlphaTauri. I’ll keep you updated when you get out of the car” Brad responds. Lance didn’t know how to feel about the situation. You never like to hear about a crash, even more when they aren’t sure about what happened.

Getting out of his car once the team put him in the garage, he puts his steering wheel down and heading over to his dad and Racing Point Team Principal, Otmar.

“Whats the Red? Who crashed?” Lance asks and Otmar looks up from the screen. “They say it was Ocon and L/N. Both drivers fine but L/N seems upset. Car might not make it to qualifying” He says and Lance relaxes a bit. He and Y/N had been dating for 5 months on the down low. Lawrence knew of course as did his mother but other than that, nobody really knew.

The TV cut to Y/N who was storming down the pit lane. Passing her Garage and past McLaren’s, she makes it to Renaults. Lance jogged out to pull her away from Ocon because obviously things were about to get heated. Daniel was talking to his strategist as he watched her go by and he stepped away to check on his friend. (Lets be honest. Daniel would see the reader as his sister even if he just met them)

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

“You are unbelievable! You would think that after years of us Karting together that you’d know not to hit me anymore” Y/N argues at Ocon as he turns to her. The two french drivers never got along. Even in karting as children, Pierre and Charles always pulled the two away from arguments and near fights many times before.

“You can’t just slow down and let me passed and then speed up again. That was your fault” Ocon nonchalantly replied with a shrug. Y/N was steaming.

“I was told you were on a timed lap so I got off the racing line! You had no reason to try to cut in front of me!” She yells back and Ocon gets in her face. “Y/N, you have to stop blaming crashes on me. Its getting old” He taunts. Ocon never could understand that some things were his fault especially when it comes to them meeting on the track.

“You will never learn, will you! Get the fuck out of my face!” She yells and shoves Ocon. Ocon went to get in her face again when they were both grabbed.

Daniel was in front of Ocon, preventing him from walking forward while Lance grabbed Y/N from behind. He wrapped his arms around her and she almost hit him before she turned around and realized it was him.

“Let’s go N/N. Let’s go get you cooled off” Lance says as he places his arm over her shoulders as she wraps her arms around him, hugging him as they walk. The walk to his motor home was short but it felt like it had taken forever. The stress of the entire weekend was weighing down on them both, and red flagging the first practice isn’t how Y/N wanted the weekend.

“Just breathe beautiful. All we can hope is that your car gets sorted and Ocon gets a penalty” Lance says opening the door to his motor home and holding her hand, helping her up the stairs.

“It’s just so stressful Lance. My whole team just worked so hard to give me a good car and there’s a 99% chance that I won’t even be able to race this weekend. It’s not even my fault either” She rants. He understood her pain, the worry of crashing in practice and not making it to the race.

“Just relax. Come sit and relax. You can stick with me this weekend if you aren’t able to drive. Just don’t stress, there’s more races and Ocon WILL get a penalty” Lance reassures as he hands her a water and sits down. She sits down next to him and wraps her arms around him.

Lance grabs her legs and places them over his encouraging her to get more comfortable on him lap which she does.

“Are your sure your dad won’t mind me being here” she asks and she rests her head on his chest. Lance just rubs his hand on her back.

“Y/N, I won’t lie, I don’t quite care what he thinks right now. You’re my main priority right now, I’ll take whatever shit the team wants to give me later” He says making her feel a little better about his statement. She didn’t think he would get in trouble but she did feel the need to ask.

It wasn’t long before Y/N was asleep. Lance took this opportunity to turn on the tv and watch free practice. He never actually saw the incident and decided now would be a good time while she napped.

With only 5 minutes left in FP1, the screen cuts to a replay of the incident. Y/N moves out of the way and Ocon passes before she goes to re-enter the racing line before Ocon goes to cut in front of her and crashes her. Why would Ocon come off the racing line?

Lance looks down to the sleeping girl on his lap before returning his attention back to the tv. It was Ocon and L/N arguing. It showed everything. Y/N pushing him, Ocon trying to push her back, along with Daniel and himself coming between them.

He turned the tv off and decided to just take a nap to get his mind off things before FP2 that afternoon.

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

“Lance? Are you in here?” Lawrence said as he walked into his sons motor home. He saw the fight but after pulling Y/N away, he disappeared. Upon making it inside, he see’s the Racing Point and AlphaTauri drivers on the couch together. He smiled at his son. Formula 1 was rough on him, especially with fans coming to dislike him.

He felt bad waking his son but he doubted that Lance would want to miss practice and so he sucked it up and woke him up.

“Hmmm. Oh hey, is it time for practice?” Lance asked his dad to which he got a nod in reply. Lance rubbed Y/N’s back in an attempt to wake her up which worked. She gets up and stretched before following Lance and Lawrence out of the motor home.

As they walked back to the garages, Lance held her hand. It kinda shocked her. Lance didn’t want many people to know since he gets so much hate, but now, she realized that they both just needed to support each other in this stressful weekend as they walked.

Cameras followed as they made their way down the paddock and all they could do was smile. Y/N might not have made it to the race, but she got did get to support her boyfriend from the sidelines and celebrate a point finish.

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

Hope you all liked it. I have plenty of driver reader ideas so lmk what you guys thought of this. Anyways, I have school tomorrow so I better get to bed. Much love!

[loveafterthefact]

Love After the Fact Chapter 72: Care

As it turns out, week-long sex marathons dictated by one's biology rather than their desires are not as fun as might be assumed. HOWEVER Cuddles fucking rule. So there's that :D

Alternative summary: Watch an asexual skirt around smut the same way she would skirt around a puddle of vomit XD

First  Previous  Next

“How’s your ass?” Keith asks, after some vargas of droning silence. The only things to do for entertainment right now are to admire the landscape and badger his mate.

“My ass is perfectly fine, thank you.” A moment’s silence. “So’s your dick-”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake!” Keith snaps his head around to glare at his incredibly smug mate. Scowling, knowing he’s already lost before he’s even begun, he mutters, “I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

“And I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

“I only agreed because Thace told me to.”

“The first time. What about the second time? Or the third-”

“You’ve made your point!” Keith slows his elk down, next to his mate, glaring at him.

The Altean frowns, surprised at how quickly the teasing soured into irritation. “Are you alright, beloved?”

They’d left early that morning, even earlier than they’d planned. It had always been their intention to leave this quintant, but now Keith’s feeling restless. He has a sense of urgency, but he’s not sure what about. He suspects it’s his season.

Scratch that. He knows it’s his season.

“Fine. Just- Stressed. I feel weird, but I don’t know how! It’s so irritating!”

Keith’s as much scared as he is uncomfortable. He’s well aware of what’s about to happen to him, that loss of control a terrifying prospect. That and...

“Hey, can we stop for a bit?” It’s out of his mouth before he even realizes it. “I- I know we’re almost there, but… Please?”

“Yes, of course.” Lance stops his elk, dismounts, helps Keith down from his.

Keith immediately embraces him, settling against the smaller man’s gentle warmth. He sighs, Lance’s particular scent invading his nose, his familiar presence a balm on his nerves.

“You okay, beloved?”

“I think so? I just really missed you all of a sudden.”

“Okay.” Lance shapeshifts, a little taller, a little broader, a more reassuring frame for Keith to lean against. “The first thing I want to do when we get you back to the village is get you something to eat. Then I'll braid your hair so it doesn’t get all tangled. I asked for extra blankets for you too, to help your fever. I thought it might save your body some effort.”

Keith sighs, settling further. “My good man, thank you.”

“I know this is going to be hard, but I won’t make it any harder than necessary. I can- I will- learn how to be a good mate for you. I just need a little guidance sometimes, that’s all.”

“Thace says that- He says the more satisfied I am, the more lucid I’ll be. I think I can trust you with that much.” Keith smiles, the physical contact grounding him, some of the irritation and discomfort. “Just… Make sure I drink. Eat. And please don’t leave... I'm always needing you. It's so frustrating sometimes. I want to be able to stand up on my own, but there's always something in my way.”

“Not for an instant. I promise.” Lance rubs his back, quintessence sinking beneath his skin like a gentle balm. "And you've got plenty of time for that. You're only just now grown up, and we've always known you'd need me for this, right? Whether that means sex or just someone to make sure you're okay."

"Yeah..." Keith hums, feeling his body loosen, some of the irritability ebbing away. “And maybe do that. It feels nice. ‘M so loved…”

“Aw… Beloved. You absolutely are. So loved.” Lance presses a kiss to the base of one of his ears, more than happy to let Keith have his moment. “I’m happy to hold you as long as you like, but sooner or later, we do need to get you home.”

“I know. And sooner, not later.” Keith pushing his head up under Lance’s chin. “I think I’ll be okay.”

“You can ride behind me if you want, and I can lead Calik while we walk.”

“On one condition.”

“Hm?”

“Stop. Naming. Animals. We can’t keep them all.”

“Shhhhhh. We’ll talk about it. Come on.” Lance takes Calik’s reins, unlatching one end from his bridle on the far side of his mouth to give him a bit more room to walk. He figures the bull will follow them whether Lance leads him or not, but he’ll go ahead just in case. BleepBloop climbs out of Keith's saddlebag, fingers in Calik's fur as he finds a new perch atop the bull's head.

Lance vaults back onto Bruna's back, taking Keith’s hand to help him up behind. The Galra wraps his arms around his waist, pressing up close to him. “This is better. I think I’ve been missing you.”

“We’ll be back at the village soon enough,” Lance promises, squeezing Bruna’s sides with his legs. The doe starts forward again, large antlers like coral fans on either side of her head, red hue blending in with the rocky terrain.

They’re back a couple vargas later, sun already hanging low in the sky, chill starting to creep in. Lance feels Keith start to shiver against him. “Go take a bath. I’ll find you something to eat.”

He can feel the eyes of their neighbors upon them. They know exactly what’s happening. He can also sense their displeasure when Keith goes inside alone, and Lance continues on through the village. There’s some strange unease rippling through them...

The scales on his cheekbones start glittering red at the edge of his vision, instincts on high alert. It’s probably making the locals nervous. They can probably sense how on edge he is, and remember the unpredictability red-based Alteans are known for. Fear runs deep, Lance realizes. He can't blame them. There are far fewer Alteans than there are Galra; this is nothing new. And yet, it took an alliance to end what should have been an easy fight. If he were an outsider, he'd be afraid too.

Pulling to a stop outside Krolia’s den, he drops the reins, stroking Bruna’s neck for a moment, a gentle thanks for her work in getting them here.

Krolia’s inside, kneading some bread.

“Chills set in?” she asks, pointedly not looking at him.

“Yes. Just as we were coming in, actually.”

“It’ll probably be a while before his temperature rises enough.”

“Why does he need a fever anyway?” Lance asks, helping the woman wrap food in leaves. “It seems like it would be detrimental, since it’s so taxing.”

“Put these in the cellar so they won’t spoil. They’re mostly shelf-stable, but still, it’ll keep them fresher.” Krolia accepts a cloth bag from Lance, filling it with food. “Fever kills sperm, and the resulting skew in his fertility encourages his body to become receptive.”

“Makes sense?” It doesn’t really, but what does he know? Krolia hums, hands him the heavy bag. “Thank you. I’ll take good care of him, I promise.”

“It doesn’t really matter, does it? Either way, he’s already yours.”

“Isn’t that why it matters?” Lance shakes his head. “I don’t have time to argue this right now. Thank you for the food. We appreciate it.”

He pauses in the entryway. “You should come visit once his season’s over. He’d be happy to have you. We can’t stay past the end of the phoeb, so if you want to see him, you’d best do it soon.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” the Galra woman murmurs, staring at him. “Leave your elk here. I’ll take care of them. And BleepBloop.”

“Thank you.”

Back outside, under watch of the villagers, Lance pulls what he needs from the elks’ saddlebags, leaves the rest on the ground before tying them to a post by a water trough. He pets BleepBloop's head, amused he the little primate removes his hand so he can pet him back. “See you soon, guys. Be good for us.”

Wolfing down some food, Lance hurries back to the den, finding a wet-furred Keith sitting on the bed, chirping softly. “Hey, beloved. You okay?”

The Galra nods, having perked up the moment he arrived. Lance hands him some food, stores the rest away. Then he takes up the towel, ruffling Keith’s fur as he dries him off, finishing by squeezing a fresh one through his long hair.

“I feel cold.”

“I promise you’re not.” The air around Keith feels warmer than usual, the trembling of his body making Lance’s work a little more difficult as he parts Keith’s hair. “I’m going to make three braids, and then braid those together. It should keep your hair from falling out and getting tangled.”

Dropping a kiss to Keith’s shoulder, Lance waits for his husband’s nod before he continues. “Everything’s gonna be okay, beloved. I’m right here. Everything will be fine.”

“I- I know. I just-” He shivers again, teeth chattering.

“Shhh… Just eat. Drink some water. I’ll take care of the rest.” Lance finishes braiding Keith’s braids, long, clever fingers making quick work of the thick locks.

While Keith eats, Lance goes and ties down the entryway cloth, gazing out at the sky to see that the typically fluffy, white or gray clouds are thick and dark, blanketing the sky as far as he can see.

He covers the windows, too. The air might get a little stale, but he’s been told it’s customary. Some guise of privacy, it keeps the den dark, makes bearers feel more secure during their seasons. It should keep the rain out, too.

He throws more wood in the inside firepit, hoping to raise the temperature some more as he coaxes flames into a clump of leaves and twigs. The less effort Keith has to put into this, the better off he’ll be. He gets water, brings it to the bedroom. Keith’s staring, amethyst eyes luminous in the dark, large, anxious, pleading.

“I’m here, sweetheart, I’m here.” Lance settles in beside him. “Would you like some more blankets?”

Keith nods, snuggles up to him, rubbing his cheeks into Lance’s shirt, marking him with his scent as his fingers slip beneath the fabric.

“Okay, okay. Give me a tick.” Lance yanks his shirt over his head, lets a purring Keith burrow into his warmth. He lays on his back, pulling extra blankets with him, puts his arm around Keith's waist. He can feel every tremor racking his husband’s frame. “There we go, there we go. That’s it.”

They lie there together in silence, Keith’s purring, the wind whistling around their den the only noises. Another strong tremor wracks his husband’s frame, adding the chatter of teeth to the ambience.

A low, deep rumbling rattles the air around them, followed by a roars as the rain starts coming down in a torrent. Lance tenses. “What was that?”

“A thunderstorm.”

“Oh. That’s what thunder sounds like?” Lance trails fingers through the mane of fur down Keith’s spine, feeling his body continue to heat up. “It’s louder than I imagined.”

“It’s louder when it’s close.” Another violent shiver has Keith curling closer to him. He feels like he’s on fire. “Lance…”

“I know… I know. You’ll be alright.”

As it turns out, Lance didn’t know at all.

Contrary to his very immature expectations, seasons aren’t really fun or sexy. At least, not for him.

Seasons are for reproduction, pure and simple. Which means Keith’s just… there, passively responding to his ministrations. And when he’s not, he’s asleep, or just uncomfortable and miserable. The fever makes him lethargic, sapping him of energy, but also of appetite. What little he can eat makes him nauseous, and he mumbles once that he wishes he’d just throw up.

Lance does his best, even if his best doesn’t feel good enough. The truth is, he hates it, and he misses his husband the entire movement he’s in season, though he never leaves his side.

Keith doesn’t really enjoy himself either. He just feels ill, horny, and generally uncomfortable. The only thing that actually helps is Lance’s ‘presence’, and his quintessence, both of which the man gives him freely. It soothes some of his distress, makes him better able to eat and drink, helps him find the energy for his fever. He has Lance check his temperature more than once, just to make sure he’s holding steady. He is, mostly, within a margin of one or two degrees. He only dips low once, near the end, and he distinctly remembers Lance scooping him up and setting him in a piping hot bath.

He doesn’t really remember much else. It all kind of blended together in the end.

What he does remember is afterward, waking up with his head on Lance’s chest, a hand running up and down his back, curled fingers coursing through his thick mane.

“Hey, Beloved.” A tug on his braid. “Good morning.”

“Mmf.” Keith’s entire body aches. “Is it, though?”

“I’m here. You’re here. Seems a good morning to me.”

“Mnh. I suppose.” Keith gently runs a hand up and down Lance’s scales and skin. “You okay?”

“Am I okay? Are you okay?”

Sore. Tired. Cranky.” Another deep sigh. “A little nauseous. How long has it been since I’ve eaten?”

“A while.” Lance rubs his back. His own voice sounds hoarse. He sleeps when Keith sleeps. “I was going to get you to eat something, but then your fever started to break.”

“Ugh... I don’t feel good.”

“I’m not surprised. You really put us through it, Beloved.” There’s a hum of warmth beneath Keith’s skin as Lance tries to soothe his aching muscles. “You wanna eat, or sleep some more?”

Too tired to say any more, Keith nods, nuzzling against Lance’s throat as a gentle purr thrums low in his throat. A little amused, Lance pulls him closer, rubs behind his ear. He’d sleep too -he’s quite tired himself- but he’s worried. He hadn’t expected this to be so taxing for Keith.

He’d been told multiple times, but he still felt unprepared.

“Please be okay, beloved.”

“Hm… My good man. Nithi’i oma anithi’i.”

Lance smiles. “Se sart-he losi sart-ha.”

You are my person.

[summernightskyy]

My Top 5 The 100 Women

Got tagged by @nomattertheoceans​ to do this! Thanks so much Lisa!! This took me forever to finally finish. (Can I just mention how hard this was for me though?!? I almost feel like it would have been easier for me to do my top 5 The 100 men - there’s so many amazing women on this show, but I also have had conflicting feelings for most of them at certain times lmao)

1. Clarke Griffin

Why was it so hard to find a gif of Clarke w/o Bellamy or Lexa, let Clarke shine on her own D:

I honestly really struggled over whether to put Clarke or Raven in my number one spot, but I ended up going with Clarke for a couple reasons. One of the things I’ve always loved about Clarke from the start is her tenacity - the girl literally never stops fighting. And yes, literally every single woman on this list is a fighter, but not all of them have had to make the tough calls that Clarke has with the consistency in which she’s been forced to make them. Does she always make the right choice? No, but I do believe that the choices she’s made have almost always been with good intentions. Even when she ended up making ruthless decisions that ended in many people’s deaths, I can’t think of a time where she didn’t try another more peaceful way first. She’s been willing to sacrifice her own happiness and mental well-being for the good of her people time and time again, and I see in her a mental fortitude that’s almost unparalleled. The other reason I ended up placing Clarke in my top spot is because of the representation she brings to the show, and that representation ended up meaning a lot to me. Finding a show with a Bi lead is hard enough even today, but in 2015? It was groundbreaking. While I’m still coming to terms with my sexuality, I think the teenage girl that I was watching The 100 back then needed to see that kind of representation; I genuinely believe that Clarke definitely helped me subconsciously start processing the fact that I might not be straight. She’s far from perfect, but I do think she’s a good person. I honestly think she deserves a lot more love than she gets from the fandom. That’s why Clarke Griffin is not only the first Bisexual lead on network television, sorry Sara Lance, Clarke did it first XD but also the first on this list.

(Also yes, I chose this gif of Clarke for a reason; the bi flag has the best colors, tell me I’m wrong ;)

2. Raven Reyes

I’ve loved Raven from the first second she appeared on my TV screen. How could you not? She’s smart as a whip, confident, and a literal rocket scientist. Raven Reyes is quite literally exactly who I would’ve liked to have grown up to be like in another world. She can fix almost anything. She’s a genius. She’s pretty much an astronaut. She’s spacewalked - that’s the stuff of dreams for me. Yes, there have been times over the course of the series where she’s annoyed me, but there’s always been more to like about her than not. She’s up there with Clarke when it comes to mental fortitude and determination - not even leg injuries and seizures can stop her. She’s always been a super intriguing character, and I’m honestly not sure where this show would be without her. And the cherry on top of all that is that she’s beautiful, and amazing representation as well. 

3. Octavia Blake

At one point, Octavia would have definitely been my number one spot. At other points, she wouldn’t have been on this list at all, but I’m learning to appreciate her character again - and there’s a lot to appreciate. At the start of the show, Octavia was my favorite character. I loved getting to see her actually get to experience the world around her for the first time. She was headstrong, bold, beautiful, open-minded and kind. My journey with Octavia has hit some bumps along the way, I won’t lie. Her brother quickly ended up displacing her as my favorite character on the show, and while their relationship was unhealthy on both ends (through no fault of either of them - looking at you, Aurora), I wasn’t a fan of her taking Lincoln’s death out on him and the way she began to mistreat other people as well. I was afraid none of that would ever be addressed, and while I was beginning to enjoy her character a lot more already, I can enjoy it even more so now that it has. It was so fun watching her develop into the amazing, badass warrior she is now. 

4. Emori Kom Spacekru

Honestly, if Emori had gotten more screen time over the course of the series, I’m almost certain she would be higher up on this list. My heart really bleeds for her, being cast out by her family like she was for something as trivial as a birth defect. I love how she worked so hard to get the Children of Gabriel reunited with their families, even if it didn’t turn out as well as she intended it to. I love the way she consistently stepped into danger and exerted influence as Kaylee Prime to try and help attain peace. One thing that I also really admire about Emori is the way she threw herself into learning from Raven during her time on the Ring. She’s such a boss and I was so happy when she successfully got Spacekru back down to earth in season 5! I’ve been super stressed over her well being, and I really want to see her (and everyone else on this list - but I’m most worried about her and Indra) make it to the end of the series alive.

5. Indra Kom Trikru

So, fifth place was insanely difficult for me to decide on, not gonna lie. I considered putting Lexa, Charmaine Diyoza, and even Callie and Hope (ultimately decided I haven’t seen enough of either character to justifiably put either of them up here over Indra). Honestly, if I had published this a couple weeks ago, Lexa probably would be in fifth place on this list. But after seeing 7x10, I ultimately decided to put Indra. I could be wrong, but I’m pretty sure Indra mentioned to Sheidheda earlier in the season that she thought the fact that her mother was weak for having kneeled to him (even though it was to protect her). She’s very much a tough love and even somewhat cold person. That being said, I was amazed to see her do just what her mother did to protect Madi, even though I’m sure she would have fought to the death if Madi’s life wasn’t endangered. She has a very harsh exterior, but when she cares for someone - she cares for them. I really hope that before the end of this series we get to see her interact with Gaia and Octavia again. (Speaking of, where the heck is Gaia?!?)

I don’t really know if anyone I know on here that’s still active watches the 100, but if you see this and end up doing your own, please tag me! I’d love to see other people’s lists.