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emelinstriker · 2 years ago

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Wukong ♡ Part Of The Family

I'm not dead whoop- Just lost motivation and also didn't really have time. I don't know if I'm now fully back, but here have this one-shot... And a Mink (Ink MK) X Reader is in the making as I'm publishing this one-shot. c:

And Wukong's got a thing for MK's mom in this one...

ⓘ Reader is USING SHE/HER PRONOUNS

♡ ~ Fluff ~ ♡

"Alright, I'll be heading home now."

"Make sure not to forget your backpack this time."

"Oh c'mon, I told you I was in a hurry yesterday, Pigsy! Anyway, see you tomorrow."

And with that, you put on your backpack and made your way over to the front door of the noodle shop. You were casually walking outside, humming a tune that's been stuck in your head the entire day... Until you noticed a little boy standing there, nude and covered in dirt, just staring at the noodle shop's bright light in awe. Confused and concerned, you glanced around the area in search for any possible parent looking for their runaway child. But there was no one even walking around the street. It was almost closing time for many people, after all.

When the boy still didn't move, you decided to take action. Slowly approaching the boy, you kneeled down to be more at his height. "Hey there, sweetie. How did you end up here like this? Are you lost? What's your name?" He looked at you, then back at the shop. Yet, he did not talk. Scratching your head in thought, you decided to approach the situation differently. "So, uh... Are you hungry? I'm sure I can let Pigsy take a bit off my paycheck for some noodles. I don't think he would turn down cooking for a kid in need."

Again, he just looked at you, then back at the shop. You sighed. This would be a fun problem to solve past closing hours. Extending your hand out towards the boy, you stood up. "C'mon, sweetie. Let me at least get you inside. I'd rather have you sit inside in the warmth than standing outside in the cold and dark once the sun is gone. I'm sure we can help find your parents."

This time, the boy looked at you, then at your hand. He hesitantly placed his tiny, kinda dirtied hand in yours and you began to slowly lead him inside the noodle shop's light.

Your boss was kind and helped you clean him up and gave him spare clothes, which looked a bit too big on the boy, then cooked up a meal for him. Sadly, you were unable to figure out what happened to him or where his parents were. You even looked outside the shop in the dark occasionally, trying to hear or see anyone who was looking for their child. But nothing came of it. Eventually, you found out the child's name and... It was really long. And since neither you or Pigsy could be bothered with saying it, you decided to nickname him MK. Your choice of the nickname was actually inspired by the legendary Monkey King, how he also had a really long name that got shortened for convenience as well.

A couple of days passed and there still was no parent looking for their child, nor was there any missing person report regarding a young boy with his descriptions...

You were basically taking care of MK during day and night, taking him home with you. At one point you suggested placing him in an orphanage, but MK only started to sob and cry, hugging your leg, not wanting to leave you. And being unable to say no, you accepted your fate. Hell, you even went the extra mile and became his legally adoptive parent with the paperwork you filled out, with Pigsy as uncle-figure of course.

As time went on, so did the years of development for your son. He moved out of your house and moved into the apartment Pigsy owned right above his shop, making him have a much easier time going to work. Meanwhile, you decided to travel through other towns all around the country, sending many little souvenir gifts and postcards over to Megapolis for MK to see, as well as keeping in touch with him through texts. And just a few years later, you heard news about various demons attacking your Megapolis, and how a boy called the Monkie Kid saved the city multiple times. Concerned, you started to travel back to the city, trying to get back as soon as you could to make sure your son and your former boss were alright.

To be honest, you arrived at a probably horrible time.

Looking at the city's skyline in the distance, you had to rub you eyes in confusion. Were you seeing this right? The city was partially covered in what seemed like giant ice shards... Did climate change really hit this area this bad the past years? It wasn't like it covered everything, but there certainly seemed to be a lot of icy remains. Shaking your head to regain focus, you proceeded with your self-proclaimed mission of checking on your son and your former boss. Cautiously making your way through Megapolis... the city seemed rather ruined. People were seemingly trying to get rid of any remaining ice as well as just generally trying to recover from whatever occurred. You were more confused if anything. What happened? Was this the aftermath of an attack of a demon you heard and read about in the news?

You then found your way back to Pigsy's Noodles. The noodle shop didn't seem to have changed at all. Upon entering, you immediately recognized some familiar and some unfamiliar faces. But the three you were most happy about to see were MK, Tang and Pigsy. You grinned, staying quiet as you leaned against the wall next to the entrance.

"MK! Order up!" Pigsy yelled out with a smile... It was certainly strange to see him smiling, but you weren't going to complain. Nice to know he was happier than when you left.

"On it, boss!" MK exclaimed as he swiftly grabbed the ordered bag. Though, as he turned to leave, his eyes spotted you... He froze, almost tripping over himself as he nearly let the noodle order fall in absolute shock. The boy simply looked at you with wide eyes... Before he started to tear up and seemingly hugged you at lightspeed. "MOM! YOU'RE BACK! I MISSED YOU! IT'S BEEN SO LONG!"

You chuckled as you tightly hugged him back, slightly tearing up yourself. "I'm home, sweetie..."

Of course, due to MK still having to go on his delivery route, he didn't have time to catch up with you just yet. However, you asked if you could join him on his delivery to catch up while he drove around. And of course, he happily agreed. Though, it was interesting to see where he went for those deliveries... The way he so casually delivered those noodles to so many demons with you... However, he was inhumanly fast at it. You were actually intrigued... What happened to your son while you were gone? Why was he suddenly so fast? Sure, he was a pretty hyperactive kid at least since you and Tang told him about the legend of the Monkey King, but this speed was new to you.

However, it wasn't until the last delivery where you were really questioning things. He had to deliver to Sun Wukong, the legendary Monkey King. At first you were under the assumption that he was supposed to place the delivery as an offering at his temple... You did not expect your precious baby boy to crash into a rock solid wall, apparently revealing the Monkey King's home on the other side, and creating a hole in the wall from excitement... Yeah, you definitely were missing out on major context here for sure. And if that wasn't enough, the legendary Monkey King himself was actually standing behind said wall and casually greeted your son as if it were just another day... Was this real? Didn't Sun Wukong supposedly vanish since he sealed the Demon Bull King? Was this a fake? You were actually internally freaking out at the sight of the legend himself from the stories. Though, you tried to keep calm and not squeal like a fangirl. He looked too real to be a human in a costume...

"Hey, bud!" Monkey King greeted MK before noticing you. He blinked at you in confusion. "Oh- Who's your friend?"

But before you could introduce yourself, MK hugged you excitedly from the side. "Monkey King, this is my mom! Mom, meet Monkey King!"

You awkwardly wave with a nervous, not sure if you were even allowed to be here. "Uh... h-hey."

"My mom and Mr.Tang are the reason I became a fan of your stories in the first place! She's a huge fan of you too!" MK said excitedly, which made you blush in embarrassment as you pursed your lips, mentally wanting to shut your son up from talking about you and your interests.

Monkey King couldn't help but snort at the dynamic you and your son have. He didn't even need his powers to notice the clear embarrassment and awkwardness you felt at your son's words. "Well, I'm glad to be able to meet the mother of my successor." The ginger-furred simian held out his hand for you to shake. You smiled awkwardly and hesitantly shook his hand, internally screaming that you were literally shaking hands with the Sun Wukong...

But then his words hit you and you looked at him and MK in confusion. "Wait a minute... Successor? Of the Monkey King?" You gave MK a slight glare. "He didn't tell me anything about that..." Your son laughed sheepishly, to which the Monkey King grinned smugly at him.

"Whaaat? You didn't tell your mom about how you can wield my staff and powers? And how you did a bunch of hero stuff?" Monkey King teased the poor boy. MK really just wanted to disappear right about now in fear of your silent rage.

"MK, I'm not mad that you didn't tell me... Well, I kind of am. But I'm mainly just worried about you and your safety, sweetie." You stated as you kissed MK's forehead. The way you handled MK seemed to very slightly stir something deep inside the Monkey King... He didn't know what it was, but it made him feel a little funny. It was a rather pleasant feeling... Just the way you talked with MK and treated the boy who was somewhat of a son to him.. Wait.

Actually- Nevermind, he realized something.

MK whined a bit, "Mooom, but I'm grown up already! I can handle some bad guys, even the big ones!"

"And I'm supposed to believe it how? Sure I've seen you running extremely quickly, but I haven't seen you use any actual powers- Besides you breaking the wall-" You paused. Then you turned towards the Monkey King and bowed a little. "I'm terribly sorry that my son broke your wall! How much would it cost to fix it? I-I'm sure I can cover the cost somehow-"

"Psh, it's fine, don't worry about it, Miss (Y/N). No need to pay for it. We tend to destroy walls surprisingly often during training. I can just easily fix it later myself if necessary", Monkey King cut you off. He then got an idea of how to prove it all. He placed his hands on his hips and grinned. "Well, speaking of training... How about your son and I show you what he can do already? We haven't been training in a while anyway, so it could be a nice refresher after everything that happened with the Lady Bone Deeeuuuuhhhh... Forget that part, actually."

You give both a confused and somewhat suspicious look. Now it was Monkey King's turn to laugh nervously. "Aahahaaaanyway- Let's show her what you've learned so far, bud!" He then grabbed you and MK and lead you outside to the cliffside of his home, where him and MK would usually chill and train at. And to give credit where credit is due, it did seem like MK learned quite a bit from his mentor. He even performed some of Monkey King's 72 transformations to show off his skills. Of course you were proud and happy for your son, but you were still a little worried about him having to face actual threats as the legend's successor.

That's when Monkey King started to act... strange, as MK would put it. He wanted to spar with the young boy, which was fine... But unlike their usual sparring sessions, this time his mentor was shirtless. MK immediately knew something was up because he has never seen him spar shirtless since there was no need. Monkey King never even break a single sweat during training. Nor did he ever overheat...

Meanwhile, you couldn't help but eye the ginger-furred monkey's physique. Despite being on the rather lean side, he did have refined muscles on him which were clearly visible due to the bright sunlight. Monkey King noticed your staring and only seemed to move more in a calculated way as he dodges MK's attacks. It was if he was showing off his body more, which made you faintly blush while he grinned... You thought he was grinning because of how easily he dodged MK's attacks with his staff.

However, Monkey King seemed so distracted and was holding back by showing off his body that he did not manage to block one attack from MK. The attack knocked the monkey to the ground due to him losing his balance in surprise. MK laughs victoriously at his mentor's defeat since the task was to land a hit. "Ha! I did it!"

Monkey King blushed a bit in embarrassment as he watched you hold back your laughter. He sheepishly smiled at his successor before using his tail to help himself off the ground. "Yeah, you sure did bud. Congrats."

Suddenly, your phone rang, capturing the attention of both of them. Looking at your phone, you noticed it was Pigsy calling. You sighed as you turned towards the other two. "I'll be right back, I got a call." You said before going a bit further away from them so you could be able to peacefully listen to what Pigsy wanted to talk to you about.

Meanwhile, MK just had to make sure of something. He raised an eyebrow at his mentor, grinning smugly. "Soooo... My mom...~?"

Monkey King blushed as he looked away, laughing nervously as he scratched his cheek. "Ahahaha! W-What are you talking about, kid? W-What about you mom ahaha-"

"You like her, don't you?" MK asks smugly. "You never take any clothes off during our sparring sessions, not even the smallest piece. Even when someone else is around... You even held back on your dodges to flex! This is the first time I see you trying to impress someone!"

If the ginger-furred simian had been drinking something, he would've either spat it out or choked on it as he tried to nervously laugh it off. "O-Of course not! Wha- W-What makes you say that? That doesn't prove anything! I just... felt like sparring like this today, okay? There's a first time for everything after all!" He tried to justify his actions. MK on the other hand just hummed, still grinning smugly. For anyone else trying to hook up with his mom, he would feel disgusted by it. However, the idea of the Sun Wukong, his mentor, legally becoming his father would be amazing. So, what else is there to do than for him to tease his probably and hopefully future dad? "...I don't like how you're looking at me right now." Wukong commented as MK simply continued to grin at him.

"Just admit it."

"...Admit what, bud?"

"That you like my mom."

"Oh- Ahahaha- Psh, I don't like her. I-I mean I like her, you know? She's nice, she's caring... But, I don't like-like her, y-you know? I-I, uh, just-" The ginger simian stammered nervously.

"Mhm. Sure..." MK's grin didn't fade.

After some awkward staring, Monkey King sighed in defeat. "...Okay fine, maybe... Just maybe I do like her just a tiny smidge more than I should for just meeting her today..."

MK chuckles as he leans against his staff. "So like, do you want me to play matchmaker and set you two up? I could get Mei and Sandy involved too in helping you get her to like you back."

The ginger-furred simian blinks at him in both surprise, confusion and embarrassment. He thought his successor would either just drop the topic or continue teasing him behind your back. Maybe he somewhat expected him to even resent him in a way for liking his mother... He just didn't expect him to willingly want to be a supportive matchmaker.

Monkey King nervously rubbed the back of his neck. "Um... How about without them- I just... don't want this to be a big thing since I just met her...?" That came out as more of a question than a statement. The young Monkie Kid happily looked at his mentor, seeing his answer as a clear-cut confirmation of the Great Sage Equal To Heaven asking him for help.

It didn't take long for a plan to be formed.

From then on, just to have both of you to get to know each other better, MK asked you continuously to come with him to Flower Fruit Mountain everytime him and Monkey King were training... And your son was an annoyingly persistent bean, so you usually were dragged away and over to the Monkey King's lair. Then, after every training session, his mentor would talk to you.

It started off simple, actually. You would usually ask about MK's progress as well as about what kind of trouble he's already gotten himself into while you were gone. Apparently the day you returned, MK and his friends had just defeated some ancient bone demon spirit and Megapolis was still recovering.

But then your topics became a lot more personal with each new conversation. While your conversations once were just about things regarding your son being the successor of the Monkey King, over the course of the next weeks, Monkey King would talk to you more about personal preferences. Soon, most of your conversations became rather personal between you two. And oddly enough, MK never once bothered you two. Which made you a little suspicious because MK would usually pester you about what you were talking about with someone else.

You actually became quite good friends with your son's mentor. And after some more time, Sun Wukong, the legendary Monkey King, the Great Sage Equal To Heaven, asked you out for dinner on Flower Fruit Mountain. You, a mere mortal human, of course were stunned. But also excited to basically go on a date with Sun Wukong himself. Though, it didn't take long for you to figure out that MK was helping out his mentor in hooking you up with him... Just the fact that he was not so secretly asking Wukong about his type right in front of you, to which the Monkey King was responding in a way that was describing you, was evidence enough. It was cute and amusing to see the legendary Monkey King so awkward and flustered that he needed the help of his successor though.

But, your first date was great. You could've sworn MK and Wukong's monkeys were helping him behind the scenes, but they never directly interfered or showed up. Either way, your second date was definitely something Wukong himself set up without MK's or the other monkey's influence, which you appreciated a lot.

However, your monkey boyfriend became a lot more bold in your relationship over time. He turned from awkward and nervous to the horny equivalent of his lip bite meme pictures... Beware of his bad pick-up lines and other advances, because those were the only things that really made MK regret helping him...

"Hey there, beautiful. Are you a peach? Because I want to get a taste of you-"

"Oh my god, Wukong."

"Whaaaat? I just love and a-peach-iate you, babe-"

> Masterlist <

#lmk x reader #sun wukong x reader #lego monkie kid x reader #lmk sun wukong x reader #lego monkie kid #monkey king x reader #lmk sun wukong #wukong x reader #i need sleep gn8 #will add to masterlist tmrw #lmk mk #fluff

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keelt9 · 8 months ago

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Chapter 3

Masterlist

“It was worth it, right?” Lewis looked right to my eyes, a soft smile on his lips.

“The best.” I mumble while taking the last bite of profiterole.

His urgency was because one of the guys on his team bought a freshly baked profiterole, one of my favorite desserts of the world.

Lewis smiles and tosses my hair. “Keep enjoying, I must prepare for the race.”

I nod watching him go down stairs with Rosa by his side, not before taking another one, wink her eye at me.

After all the protocol ceremony I go to the garage to see Lewis getting in the car and like a manntra ask him please drive safe. As I walk inside I keep greeting the members of the team who are fully focused on their task but smile at me as I walk to the zone where you can stay until the car comes out of the garage.

I see my brother get into the car and receive the last indications from his team, the strong sound of the car announcing he’s ready to take position, he raises his hands, thumbs up. He knows I’m right there.

“Be safe.” I whisper to myself watching him go behind George.

The 4th place is still far from his goal but for the way he enters the garage he’s more satisfied with his performance this time; he remains talking with his team for a couple of moments more than usual, coming out with a smile on his face along with Bono.

“Are you ok?” I ask as he hugs me, Bono nods still I wait for my brother's answer.

With a deep breath he just said. “I’m getting better, slowly but better.”

By the end of the day, he looks relaxed as he keeps talking with Bottas at the beginning of the hospital area.

“What do you say kid?” Bottas asked; they already set plans about going out for drinks, bringing me flashbacks, putting a smile on my face.

“Oh, I love to, but I’m afraid I'm too young to talk about my physical discomfort for my age.” They laughs even Lewis push me a little bit. “Go, have fun, you deserve it.”

“Y/N, found friends in Italy.” Lewis interprets the excitement of Bottas and makes himself more clear. “No, any of the grid, she found an old friend from the collage here.”

I wave my hand to Yuki who is already leaving the paddock with his team. “I thought you were closer to the young people around here.” Bottas smirk as we walk to the exit.

“A few, just a few.” My eyes stop in a beautiful tiny dog, who is carried by Alexandra “Hi, young…?” I start to pet his head.

“Boy. Leo, his name is Leo.” She and Charles seem ready to go, too.

“Very charming, I must say.” Leo moves his tail as I rub his head. “Have you met Roscoe?”

Charles sigh. “We tried but until he came to his first race we didn’t even know Roscoe doesn’t travel that far.”

“Oh, he will be in Monaco, we can introduce them, right?” I turn around to see my brother who nods softly.

“You’re his manager, I’m at your orders.” Everyone giggles as I click my tongue.

“We'll leave you, have a good night.” They say goodbye before I look down.

“Young boy, it's a pleasure.” The couple laughed and walked away carrying him.

As Lewis and Bottas were about to walk to one car, Lewis let me take the car which drove him to the paddock for take me to restaurant where I’m meet my friend Donna, our eyes crossed in the Red Bull crew walking with long and heavy steps immerse in a serious talk for the poker face of each one of them.

“The stewarts?” Bottas drops the question to the air, as I look at him.

Lewis opens the door for me to get inside. “I heard about a penalty.”

“Mad max back for the night?” Lewis giggles before kissing my cheek and saying goodbye to me. “Have fun kid.” Bottas said, waving his hand.

I read and knew about the nickname Max wins in his early years on the F1, but I thought it was a rumor, but maybe it’s not.

“Miss. Hamilton, do you learn something new?” John, Lewis driver asked as I took my coat and laid back in the seat.

I fake a shiver. “We could say so.” He saw me through the rearview mirror. “Drivers could be such a problem, huh?”

John chuckled and said. “Only if you choose wrong.” He stops at a red light. “If you share your time with nice people, no, they have such a good heart. On the other hand, spending your time with controversial…boys, yes, it will be a dangerous move.”

Such deep words for a 4 pm talk. I take a deep breath as I see the text of my phone, Donna is already in the restaurant. When we arrived I thanked him but he choked his head.

"For the advice.” He smiles and nods with courtesy.

“Have a good day, Miss Hamilton.”

Around 5 am I arrived at the hotel, falling asleep on the couch. An early morning text for Lewis wakes me up, he waits for me in the buffet of the hotel, for siblings day.

As soon as I got inside of the buffet, I knew. First thing first, I need a juice like every morning. A few people on the juice station decide which one should be drinking, even Max seems to have a difficult time seeing the different colors, but I have my favorite.

I grabbed a glass, with the firm intention of just saying hi, if it's absolutely needed, I poured a mixture between orange and beetroot, the last one at the other side of the table.

“It seems orange juice is the favorite one.” Max said as I turned at my side trying to figure out if that clumsy comment it’s for someone else, the boy who remained there left a few seconds before.

I guess it’s for me. “I like the classics.”

“Hi Max, trying to recover your energy early in the morning?” Lewis appears next me kissing the top of my head and smirk on his face.

“I need to be in my best shape.” I look at Lewis trying to figure out if the answer only gives me chills, but he is already looking out of the corner of his eye.

“Righ, right, amm, you seem a little bit nervous, you need…” Max scoffs but he clears his throat.

“Nervous? No, no at all.” Even though he tried, it's clear he felt uncomfortable with us.

“Why is he nervous?” My question makes Lewis smile, only getting me more confused every second.

He grabs a glass too pouting orange juice. “Oh it’s nothing little H. It’s just that I don't used to seeing Max shutter about juice. He looks a little bit out of balance.”

Max chuckled and still kept answering him back. “I’m not that specialist on juices, out of my comfort zone.”

“Don’t worry man. It’s juice and… unexpected company, early morning.” Lewis put his hand around my shoulders.

“Don’t worry Max, it’s only juice and my brother being a pain in the ass.” I jostle Lewis, making him laugh. “I’ll go for pancakes, see you around.”

Lewis said goodbye following me with that smile and head down, going to pick his breakfast. We decided to sit outside enjoying the morning sun.

“It isn’t only juice.” Lewis said, taking out his sunglasses and taking a sip of his coffee.

“Oh come on Lew, it’s so cute!” Lewis and I entered the hotel late that day, ready to pack our bags to go to London.

Lewis kept observing the harness I bought for Roscoe, yellow with tiny watermelons all over it, of course the LH at one side and his name at the other.

“He will look…” I covered his mouth before he said anything else.

“Like a rockstar.” We see each other and laugh. The image of Roscoe wearing that as eats a watermelon, his favorite food, it’s hilarious.

“It's been a long time since I didn't see this picture.” Bono is walking to us with a bag in his hands, ready to go home.

“Going home?” I ask him, knowing he has to do a quick stop in Brixworth.

He bluff. “I wish. I guess I will see you in two weeks and our good-luck charm, right?”

Lewis nods. “An urgent backup.” Bono shakes his head with a smile on his face before saying goodbye.

Our parents received us like when we were kids, a big hug at the door and something sweet to eat; now two dogs running to us barking and running around us.

Lewis will leave in two days; being a driver and fashion icon it's hard work, on the other hand I leave Thursday morning with Roscoe to Monaco, spending a few days there and doing a purification of my things.

“This is nice, darling.” Dad pointed to the jacket Lewis bought me in Italy. “A new type of style but you look great.”

“See? I have the finest eye.” Lewis appears with a ball in his hand and a happy Roscoe looking for a snack.

I put it in the bag one more time, giving Roscoe a piece of radish. “Where is Jewel?”

“She gets tired after 10 minutes and runs with mom for his night walk.” Lewis points out mom and Jewel walking around the garden, a peaceful walk.

“Are you coming to Monaco, dad?” Lewis asks but my father looks at him rolling his eyes, like if Lewis asked the most obvious thing in the world, making us laugh. “Just to be sure.”

It’s my second day of an exhaustive purification of my things, what a few months ago were 5 boxes now, slowly it’s turning in 3, and any extra suitcase.

The sound of Roscoe scratching a box distracts me from washing the dishes of the dinner.

I walk where he is. “What did you find, baby?” I opened the box to see inside a few of his toys which I didn’t buy for him. “I wasn’t that good at packing.”

Roscoe sits next to me waiting to take out a toy and give it to him. I take one, a rabbit who Caleb, my ex-fiance knew will love it; but immediately put it inside and close the lids of the box.

“Lets this be for the refuge all right? I’ll buy you new ones tomorrow.” I grab his face and give him a peck on the top of bit. “I promise.”

I grab the box and put it inside of the wardrobe of the room Lewis chose for me, away from my view, where the memories are far away.

Next morning as I promise; after breakfast Roscoe and I go for new toys. He carefully smells and touches everyone who calls for his attention. After going down to the store, he chooses 3, a ball, a frisbee and a fluffy toy that looks like a lion.

We take a break in the park as we watch people come and go; he even plays with some dogs who come closer to us but refuse to go more than 1 meter away from me.

“Let’s go boy, time to go home.” I put his leash on one more time.

After 10 minutes of walking he decided it’s time to take another break because he sat in the middle of the pavement and refused to move.

“Come on boy! It’s just 3 more blocks.” But Roscoe pretends don’t hear me, putting a smile on my face. “Ok, at least can we sit on that bench.”

Roscoe sees my finger pointing to the bench and walks there pulling me, he waits for me to sit and I carry him to put him at my side.

“Good boy.” He raised his eyes and sniffed my hand. “Definitely that harness is my best purchase in years.”

I smile as he puts his head on my lap closing his eyes, yes, he needs a nap. I take out my phone for work a little bit.

Pass around 20 minutes when someone calls him. “Roscoe?” Well, not someone, Max called him.

He was in casual clothes and a small paper bag in his hand coming closer to us.

“Hi.” He pets Roscoe head smiling, Roscoe turns a little bit his head, sniffing his hand. “Yeah, I don’t think they let you eat this.”

I raise my eyebrow. “Oh, it’s chocolate.” The sunglasses didn't help today.

“No, he doesn't.” Roscoe lay one more time on his head. It’s weird, Roscoe has seen Max many, many times but he ignores him like he is a stranger.

“Yeah, I’m not his favorite too.” He makes me smile, I get what he means.

Roscoe licks his nose and sits, he’s ready to walk, I carefully put him in the ground giving me time to erase the smile on my face.

“Hey, am, I want to apologize for the other night.” Max takes his cap and scratches his head. “I…I… I wasn't thinking right.”

“Well, you were drunk, that doesn’t help at all.” Max cheeks turn in a soft pink. “It’s all fine, no worries.”

Roscoe starts to walk, pulling me softly, now he wants to leave. “See you Max.”

“You want to go for an ice cream?” His invitation left me cold, and fixed on my spot. “I don’t want the first impression to keep being that…that awful.”

I turn around to find him with hand in his pockets. “It’s ok Max, I believe the juice station is taking the lead. Besides, Roscoe needs to rest properly, but I appreciate the invitation.”

Roscoe pulls one more time, helping me to leave this awkward moment, Max giggles and nods. “Yeah, I… yeah, see you later, I guess.”

That night after giving the last touches to my monthly report I lay down on the settee, I saw the text of Lewis, he will arrive with our parents the day after tomorrow.

I see Roscoe who is peacefully snoring in his bed, living the life; along his lion.

“Maybe you could make a space for you.” I whisper to the fluffy toy.

Monaco Grand Prix, it’s one of their favorite circuits for a lot of pilots, Lewis isn’t the exception. My parents went with him from the first day I chose with Rosco to wait until race day, the best for the end.

As always, Lewis arrived with Roscoe stealing glances, gasps and hearts of every person who crossed in his way.

We arrived 30 minutes before when all the drivers were already in the paddock getting ready.

Three hundredth behind Max, put Lewis in the second place of Monaco. It’s definitely a good race from him and all in the team knows it for the way they hug him and congratulate, our parents weren't the exception.

After the interview and ceremony finally the so expected encounter happened, Roscoe met Leo, full of energy and running one side to the other as Roscoe tried to follow his rhythm, pushing his ball to invite him to play.

The last photos set the end of the meeting. We split forLewis do what has to do and go to dinner with our parents.

“Honey.” Dad grabs my arm. “Roscoe needs to go out.” He’s walking side to side sniffing. He needs to pee.

“Oh, don’t worry, I’ll take him. I reached you in the car.” Dad nods as I call for him to go outside.

As soon as he finished his task, Roscoe took his time to go back as walking around the green grass until we found Max, still race suit on, but he looked awfully tired, not the face of a winner.

I heard about the rumors about a few reporters misunderstanding, probably on purpose a few of Max's answers but I never imagined that kind of things affecting him.

Roscoe reads my mind as we walk closer to him and just sit next to him, not saying anything.

“A chocolate?” I extend a bar of chocolate I take from the hospitality.

Max doubts and rejects it just turning away. “Are you mad or something?”

He didn't answer, feeling Roscoe eyes on me I shake my head, signs that I tried but Max is definitely hard to read. I stand up reading to walk away, telling myself I never learn.

“It's supposed to be easier, nothing changes, new year, but it's the same how people twisted my words, I mean I expect that but, sometimes big races are covered for a stupid comments.” Max says out of the blue, still he isn't looking at me, he is just starting at the grass. “From time to time I feel tired, that's all. I can't have everything under control even if I try hard.”

“You can’t.” I take a deep breath. “I’m not trying to give you advice or anything like that, just…” One more time I sat next to him. “I know what it feels like a big day turns into shit. But you can control some things.”

He bluffs but let me keep speaking. “You, how you react, what do you say and bloody hell, how you give a shit and enjoy your victories.”

I turn around and for the first time I see right to his eyes, a dazzling blue color with a soft touch of gray.

“So, go, have fun, let the people keep speaking, it’s the best thing they ever do, but don’t let that screw your day, you don’t deserve that.” Max laugh softly. “You’re in your home after all, if you “don't get drunk”, I bet there are so many people here that need to be protected.” His face turns red and I smile at him, even Roscoe sits in front of him, looking for a pet in his head, which Max softly scratches a little bit.

My phone buzzes on my hand as I see the name and photo of Lewis on the screen, they probably are on their way to the car.

“What?” Lewis scoffs but I know he’s smiling.

“Bring my boy here, we’re leaving.” An expression of pain comes from him too, the sign of mom probably pinch him slightly.

“On my way boss.” I hung out and didn't even give him a chance to replay.

I stand shaking all the grass could be stuck to my jeans. “Let’s go boy, we need to go.”

Roscoe stands and waits for me to put his leash on, Max stands too. “Thanks.”

I shake my head, it’s not a big deal, but I smile at him as we walk away but my conscience about, I know, maybe, just maybe I’ve been rude with him makes me wait.

“Am, hey Max, I don’t like ice cream but if you find something else, I gladly accept your invitation.” Max opened his mouth but nothing came out of it, making me giggle before finally going.

Roscoe and I found Rosa chatting with a few people from the Mercedes crew, she asked them for a minute and walked to us to say goodbye.

“I’ll see you, until the race right?” Barcelona is next but I have a few things to do in London and Newport.

“Yes, you do.” She pets the head of Roscoe and kisses my cheek before leaving.

As we cross the exit the few people who stay there unconnected to the teams start to leave too, Monaco GP is officially over.

“Y/N!” Max running to the entrances makes Roscoe barks. “Do you mean it?”

I choke my head and bluff, of course I talk seriously in my speech. “The invitation, do you mean it?”

#f1 #f1 imagine #formula 1 #max verstappen #max verstappen x reader #f1 x reader #f1 fanfic #f1 x female reader #max verstappen imagine #lewis hamilton #mercedes #sir lewis hamilton

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queenjunothegreat · 4 months ago

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Hihihihi!!!!! Hello everyone!! I'm back, and I'm back with a Valgrace fic for @itspercyintime as a (late) entry for the @pjo-equinox-solstice-exchange! I'm super duper sorry about the delay! I've never actually done any traveling over holidays before and I had NO idea how much time it took up! (｡•́︿•̀｡) Anyway, I hope you enjoy this fic!

Leo set his creation down on the counter with pride, and pushed it over towards its owner. “One freakishly caffeinated vanilla latté for Blondie.” “Blondie?” the guy asked, taking his drink. Leo couldn’t help but notice how his eyes sparkled when he smiled, and it made his heart thump a bit faster in his chest. “I mean, what else was I supposed to do? You never told me your name.” “And you never asked,” he countered playfully. *** Leo works the late night shift at a 24 hour café, despite his own personal distaste for every type of coffee under the sun. Usually, he spends his nights working on his homework alone in the empty shop until he finds himself with a regular whose awkward charm and earnest smile steals his breath away. Now, if only Leo could learn his name

For all its ups and downs, Leo really liked his job. Coffee Heaven Brewers was a tiny local coffee shop that was close enough to his apartment for him to walk there and back with no issues; he liked his coworkers and the managers, Percy and Annabeth, were cool in their own different ways; the place was open 24 hours a day, which meant that they were more than happy to just let him have that late night shift no one else wanted; and, most importantly, the pay was good enough to keep him on top of his monthly student loan payments while also letting him have a little money left over for fun stuff.

The one problem? He hated coffee.

He absolutely couldn't stand the stuff. The caffeine made him jittery in a way he didn't like, and the taste churned his stomach and made his face pucker up in disgust. Even just the smell made his eyes water when Annabeth was grinding it up fresh after roasting. He hated coffee, but everything else about his job was fantastic, so he figured he could put up with it. Besides, hardly anyone came in on his shift, so it wasn't even that huge of a problem anyway.

Until, one day, it was.

“Um, excuse me? Is anyone working here?”

Leo’s head whipped up from his laptop, eyes wide. He’d been working on his homework at one of the dining area tables, like he always did when the shop got dead in the wee hours of the morning. Unfortunately, he’d gotten really focused and completely missed the little bell that signified the entrance of a customer, and now some blond dude was standing at the counter, trying to peer around to see if maybe there was a barista hiding behind the espresso machine.

“Shit! Sorry, man!” Leo yelped, hopping to his feet and scrambling over to the register. “I totally didn’t see you come in.”

The blond guy looked at him, puzzled, and cocked his head to the side. “Do you work here?”

Leo glanced down at the apron he was wearing, emblazoned with the café’s logo, and then around at the shop that was deserted, other than the two of them, and then finally back to the customer. “Uh, yeah?”

“Oh.”

The guy continued to just stare at Leo, until Leo cleared his throat. “Do you, um, want to order something?”

The guy just kept on blinking like a very confused owl until his eyes went wide and his cheeks went pink. “Oh! Yes! Sorry. I’m, uh, tired I guess.”

“Considering it’s like three in the morning, I totally get that,” Leo grinned. “I’m guessing you need caffeine and a lot of it.”

The guy sheepishly scratched the back of his neck and gave Leo an eye-crinkling smile. “Yeah. Can I just get a large vanilla latté with, like, six shots of espresso?”

Leo’s eyes widened, but he dutifully typed in the order. “Sure, dude. Your funeral though. That will be $10.95.”

The guy fished out his wallet and swiped his card before stuffing a few bills in the empty tip jar next to the register. He gave Leo another brilliant smile. “Thanks.”

“No problem!” Leo beamed back at him. “I’ll have it out in just a sec, okay? Just wait over there.”

With that, he turned his back on the guy and got to work. As always, he couldn’t help but wrinkle his nose at the smell of the brewing espresso shots, and the milk steamer made its usual awful noise, and he had to double check the book for how many pumps of syrup went in a large latté, but eventually he had a piping hot cup of coffee in his hand. He’d even been kind enough to add a couple extra pumps of syrup to counteract all the bitter coffee, free of charge. At least, he hoped the syrup would help. Honestly, he wasn’t sure if there was anything that could save that particular drink.

He set his creation down on the counter with pride, and pushed it over towards its owner. “One freakishly caffeinated vanilla latté for Blondie.”

“Blondie?” the guy asked, taking his drink.

Leo couldn’t help but notice how his eyes sparkled when he smiled, and it made his heart thump a bit faster in his chest. “I mean, what else was I supposed to do? You never told me your name.”

“And you never asked,” he countered playfully. Then he took a sip of his drink and his eyes widened. He pursed his lips and stared at the cup with something akin to confusion, and Leo felt his heart sink a bit.

“Do you, uh, like it?” Leo asked hesitantly. “I can redo it if you don’t.”

“No!” the guys said instantly. He shook his head as if to clear his thoughts. “Sorry. Yeah, no, this is, uh, it’s fine. I’ve just, uh, never had one quite like it before.”

“That’s the Leo Special Touch,” Leo grinned, confidence bolstered. “That or the extra syrup I put in there.”

“The Leo Special Touch, huh?” the guy asked, arching his eyebrows. “And you’re Leo?”

“The one and only!” Leo bit his lower lip then, as casually as possible, asked, “And you? You got my name, do I get yours?”

“Maybe next time.” Half of the guy’s face twitched in what was probably the most endearing failure of a wink Leo had ever seen before he turned and started out the door. “See you around, Leo!”

“See you, Blondie!”

Once he was gone, Leo wiped down all of his equipment, then sat himself back down at his table. Unfortunately, not much homework got done that night, his thoughts too busy drifting back to fluffy blond hair and pretty blue eyes that crinkled up over a blinding smile. He didn’t think he minded all that much.

*-*-*-*

Leo didn't see Blondie for almost two weeks, which was definitely a bummer in some ways. He'd spent the first few days after their fateful encounter furtively glancing at the door every few minutes during his shifts, and letting out deep, forlorn sighs every time he saw that the café was still empty, other than him. After that, he had a structural analysis test that he wasn’t even remotely ready for and pretty much forgot everyone who wasn't his professors or Esteban, the recurring character in his textbook's examples and word problems.

But now, after countless hours of suffering, he was free. The exam was done, his grade was returned, and Leo was still passing all of his classes, so he was actually paying attention for once when the bell above the door chimed.

“Welcome to Coffee Heaven Brewers,” Leo drawled lazily. “This week's specials are— Oh, it's you!”

Blondie reared back and looked around like he actually thought that Leo was talking to someone else in the empty coffee shop. Then he gave Leo a sheepish smile and a wave as he walked up to the register. “Yeah, it’s me again. I’ll be honest, I’m surprised you even remember me.”

“I’ll be honest, me too,” Leo grinned. “So, you want that same caffeine abomination you got last time?”

Blondie looked almost sick for a split second before he blurted out a “No!” Then his actions seemed to catch up with him and he grimaced. “Sorry, no. Not, uh, not that again. I… like trying new drinks every time I get coffee.” Leo cocked an eyebrow up at him. Blondie had said his order with the practiced confidence of someone who drank the same thing every night, but he just shrugged and accepted the answer. “Alright then. What can I get for you?”

“How about, um…” Blondie trailed off as he studied the board, and Leo studied him. There was something different about him this time around, but Leo couldn’t quite place it. He still had his endearingly awkward wave, and his hair was still fluffy in that way that reminded Leo of freshly blow-dried Golden Retriever puppies, and his sparkling blue eyes still crinkled up at the corners when he smiled at Leo.

Suddenly, Leo’s eyes widened as he realized what the difference was. There, sitting neatly on the bridge of Blondie’s nose was a pair of glasses. They were pretty, understated things, but the glass was perfectly polished and clean, and the thin gold wire bands glinted in the warm café lighting. He looked charming and put together and like the romantic lead in a Hallmark movie. Leo was pretty sure that if he put those exact same glasses on his face, they’d immediately become lopsided and smudged with grease, and he’d wind up looking like Dorkatron 9000 rather than a professor at a small college town who drank Earl Grey tea and had a laugh like velvet that had been lying in the sun.

“Okay, so I’d like to order–”

“You’re wearing glasses!” Leo said. Well, it was more of an accusation, really, but that wasn’t important.

Blondie was visibly startled again. “Um, yes? Is that not allowed or something?”

“Are they new?” Leo asked.

“No? Why?”

“You weren’t wearing them last time you came in.”

Blondie thought about that, then shrugged. “I’m pretty sure I had lacrosse practice that evening, and I almost always wear my contacts when I’m doing sports. Usually, I take them out right after, but I must have been distracted that night or something.”

“You play lacrosse?” Leo asked, perking up. “Where at? That’s super cool.”

“I’m varsity at NRU,” Blondie said, ducking his head like he was trying to avoid any further praise from Leo.

“NRU?” Leo echoed, bouncing on his toes. “No way! I go there, too!”

“I had kind of assumed, based on the fact that I walked in on you doing homework last time,” Blondie joked.

“Yeah, yeah. Yuck it up,” Leo said with a dramatic eye roll. “Now, do you want coffee or not?”

“Well, I was trying to order when you interrupted me,” Blondie teased. Leo just puffed out his cheeks, and Blondie laughed, proving Leo’s velvet metaphor entirely correct. “Okay, okay. Can I get a large caramel crème?”

“Do you want extra shots in it?”

Blondie narrowed his eyes in confusion. “It doesn’t have any espresso in it, right?”

“Uh.” Leo didn’t want to say outright that he had no idea what a caramel crème even was, but he figured it was pretty obvious when he had to fish out the recipe book from beside the milk steamer and check. “Oh, yeah, I guess you’re right. It’s got the cold drip stuff.” He bounced right back over to the register and rang him up, grabbing a paper cup and scribbling a name on it. “$6.55, please.”

Once again, Blondie swiped his card and stuffed a few bills in the tip jar before wandering off to the other end of the counter to wait for Leo to do his job. It took more than a little bit of trial and error and a handful of failed attempts, but soon Leo was once again pushing his creation over the counter at his customer. “Ta-da!”

Blondie took the drink, then squinted at the name Leo had scribbled along the side before giving him an amused smirk. “Specs? Really?”

“Well, you still haven’t told me your name–”

“And you still haven’t asked.”

“Plus you didn’t tell me you wear glasses. So, you get to be Specs tonight.”

Specs rolled his eyes, but either he didn't try to mask his fondness, or he was really bad at it, because it was very obvious on his face. “Sorry for the oversight. I also had braces from the ages of twelve to sixteen. Does that make up for my accidental subterfuge, or would you like some more insight into my medical history?”

“Well, you can start with telling me if you like the drink or not.”

Specs looked suspiciously at the cup for a moment before taking a small sip. His face screwed up, and his nose wrinkled like a confused rabbit’s a few times, but then he swallowed heavily and gave Leo a blinding smile. “You really know how to make drinks your own way, don’t you?”

Leo didn’t really know what that was supposed to mean, considering he was pretty sure he followed the recipe exactly, but he still put on a show of casual arrogance. “I try my best.”

“I’m sure.”

“Soooo, do I get to know your name now?” Leo asked eagerly. “Or do you just wanna be called Specs forever?”

Specs seemed to consider that before he gave Leo a grin. “Not this time. Make me a drink that really wows me, and we’ll talk.”

Leo groaned and flopped over the counter. “Come onnn! You’re killing me!”

Specs just giggled quietly before he flicked Leo on the nose. “Maybe next time. See you around, Leo.”

“Yeah, yeah. Rub it in, why don’t you? See ya, Specs.”

And with that, Specs was gone, leaving Leo to replay every word and gentle chuckle he’d gotten out of the other man on repeat in his head.

*-*-*-*

The next time Leo saw Specs, he was once again neck deep in homework, but this time, he actually heard the door open, so he was able to offer the full force of his smile as soon as the bell rang. Truth be told, Leo had been eagerly awaiting this moment for the last three days. He'd even snuck the recipe book home after his shift one night to do a bit of extra studying, though Annabeth had fussed about it when Will snitched on him.

“Hey, Specs!” Leo chirped, already headed for the register.

“Hey, Leo,” Specs said, eyes crinkling at the corners. He glanced over at where Leo had commandeered one of the only two six-top tables in the dining area and spread out his entire education. “So, I meant to ask before, but what are you studying?”

“Hm? Oh! Engineering!” Leo said eagerly. “It’s really cool.”

“Yeah? You like it?”

“Mhm,” Leo nodded. “But even if I didn’t I’d still do it.”

Specs cocked his head to the side curiously. “What do you mean by that?”

“My mom was in the middle of getting her degree when she had me, so she had to drop out,” Leo shrugged. “I figure after everything she did for me, I could do this for her.”

Specs’s face went toffee soft, and the smile he gave Leo reminded him so much of fresh baked cookies that his teeth started to ache. “That’s amazing, Leo.”

Leo flushed to the roots of his hair, and ducked his head. He was used to people being impressed about him getting his degree to help fulfill his mom’s dreams, but no one had ever looked at Leo like he was the most important, special person on the planet when they said it. “Yeah, it’s, uh, it’s whatever, you know?” He cleared his throat and roughly shook his head. “Anyway, what about you? You said you were on the lacrosse team, but I’m pretty sure they don’t give out degrees for sports.”

“Sometimes I wish they did,” Specs groaned playfully. “Between lacrosse and tennis, I hardly have time for my degree.”

“Which is?”

“I’m a double major, actually,” Specs said. “I wanted to go to school for history, but my dad would only pay for it if I also studied law. So, I guess I’m doing that, and I’ll try to do something with my history degree, and if that doesn’t work out, I’ll just finish up at law school.”

“Well, the history thing sounds cool,” Leo said slowly. “But I gotta say, I’m not a huge fan of lawyers.”

Specs gave him a wry smile. “Considering my dad is one, me neither.”

Leo snorted, and Specs looked pleased with himself. “So, what, uh, flavor of history do you like?” Leo asked, tripping over his words.

“You mean what’s my focus?” Specs clarified, eyes sparkling with amusement. “I like ancient civilizations, specifically Ancient Rome.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Look.” He started rolling up his sleeve and Leo was greeted with the sight of a somewhat faded tattoo that had started to bleed around the edges, but still clearly read SPQR with a laurel wreath around it. “My friend, Reyna, gave me a stick and poke when we were in high school. It’s an abbreviation for Senatus Populusque Romanus, which is Latin for ‘the Senate and People of Rome.’”

Leo gawked at it for a moment before he looked up again. “You’re, like, dedicated-dedicated.”

Specs flushed a bit and rolled down his shirt sleeve. “Ah, yeah. Um, sorry.”

“No, dude! Don’t be sorry!” Leo insisted. “I think it’s cool!”

Specs arched an eyebrow at him. “You think being obsessed with the Roman Empire is cool?”

“Well, no, not really,” Leo admitted. “I think it’s kinda dweeby as hell, but it’s also really charming. At least from you. Does that make sense?”

Specs chuckled and shook his head. “Makes as much sense as everything else you say.”

“You're starting to understand,” Leo said, giving him a wink. Specs just chuckled softly, his cheeks dusting pink. “So, what can I get for you tonight?”

“How about a large cappuccino?” Specs suggested. “No syrups or flavors or anything.”

Leo wrinkled his nose. “You mean you want just espresso, milk, and foam?” Specs nodded and Leo's face screwed up even more. “Alright, man, if you insist. That will be $5.65.”

This time, instead of pulling out his card, Specs held out a crisp ten dollar bill. Leo grabbed it, and as he did their fingers brushed, which sent a jolt of electricity shooting up Leo’s arm.

Unfortunately, that electricity was more literal than figurative.

“Ye-owch!” Leo yelped, yanking back his hand and shoving his injured fingers in his mouth. “That hurt!”

“Oh my gods, are you okay?” Specs asked, looking genuinely distressed. “I'm so sorry! This happens to me all the time.”

“Don't worry about it; I'll live,” Leo soothed, turning to the nearby sink to wash his hands. When he was done, he took the bill from Specs with over the top caution, then handed over his change in the same manner, making Specs flush even more.

“Sorry again,” Specs mumbled, stuffing all of his change in the tip jar.

“Dude, you don't have to, like, pay for my forgiveness,” Leo laughed. “I already said it's cool.”

Specs just shrugged. “It's whatever. I mean, it's not even mine, really. My dad just puts more money in my account whenever I’m getting low so he doesn’t have to talk to me.”

“Yeah, alright,” Leo agreed easily, not one to argue too hard about free money and also figuring that now wasn’t the time or place to unpack Specs’s daddy issues. He grabbed a cup and a marker and started scribbling on it. “Gimme a sec and I'll get this out to you.”

Specs nodded and went to his customary waiting spot while Leo got to work. Cappuccinos weren't exactly hard to make, in theory, but getting the foam right and making sure all the proportions were balanced wasn't easy. Still, he was pretty proud of what he'd accomplished when he set the cup down and slid it across the bar. “Order up!”

Specs eagerly grabbed the cup and twisted it around until he found where Leo had scribbled out the nickname for the day. When he did, he gave Leo an unimpressed look, his cheeks puffed out and pink. “Really?”

“What’s the matter, Sparky? You don't like it?” Leo grinned. “Maybe you should think next time before you electrocute poor, innocent baristas.”

“You're a jerk,” Sparky informed him, though he didn't really sound all that mad at all. He took a sip of his drink before grimacing slightly and forcing down another sip.

“Well, if you hate the nickname so much, you could tell me your real name,” Leo pointed out, arching his eyebrows.

“No,” Sparky huffed. “Even if this was the best drink ever, you were mean to me.”

“Do you mean to say it's not the best drink ever?”

“No,” Sparky admitted easily. “But, in your defense, I don’t really like cappuccinos.”

Leo's jaw dropped. “That's not fair!”

“I never said I was playing fair,” Sparky grinned at him, before he turned back to the door. “Maybe next time, Leo.”

“Get out of here, you cheater!” Leo called out after him. As he said the last word, the door swung shut, leaving him alone in the coffee shop.

He was already looking forward to their next meeting.

*-*-*-*

Leo was admittedly not feeling his best when Sparky came in next. He was… pretty sure he wasn’t sick, despite the throbbing headache he’d been dealing with since before he’d shown up at the shop, and he’d waved away Percy’s concern and insisted that he’d be fine. He was not fine. In fact, he’d been getting worse and worse, and now he was sitting in the darkest, quietest corner of the lobby with his arms folded on the table and his face hidden away from what light was filtering in.

Then he suddenly felt someone softly stroking his hair, and he blearily lifted his head. There, in front of him was the blurry image of fluffy blond hair and sparkly blue eyes. He pulled out a lazy, half-hearted smile, and smushed his cheek back into his arms. “Well, hey there, Sparky.”

“Leo.” Oh, Leo did not like that tone. That was the tone people, usually Piper, used on him when he wasn’t taking care of himself and they were disappointed in him but didn’t want to say so out loud. Leo didn’t want Sparky to be disappointed in him. “Are you okay?”

“‘M fine,” Leo insisted, shoving himself to his feet. “You want coffee? I can make coffee.”

“What? No, Leo, I–”

Leo wasn’t listening, and he instead started shuffling towards the coffee bar. Unfortunately, he only made it a few steps before he stumbled and started falling face-first towards the floor. Fortunately, Sparky stepped forward and caught him, so he only fell face-first into the big red ‘S’ screen printed on the other man’s shirt. He looked up and gave him a loopy smile. “My own personal Superman.”

Superman just frowned even deeper and helped Leo straighten back up, brushing one of his curls off his face, though he never released Leo enough to let him even try to topple over. “Seriously, Leo. Do I need to call an ambulance or something? You don’t look so hot.”

“You don’t think I’m hot?” Leo whined, and some part of his brain was cognizant enough to be humiliated by the tears that pricked at the corners of his eyes but not enough to do anything about it.

“That’s not what I said and you know it,” Superman chided gently. He carefully ushered Leo over to one of the cushy couches nearby and laid him down. He also took off his own jacket and spread it over Leo like a blanket before he continued talking. “Seriously, do you want me to call an ambulance?”

“No, ‘m fine,” Leo argued, rolling over and pressing his face into the back of the couch. They were both quiet for a moment before Leo broke the silence, his voice a lot smaller than it should be. “Superman?”

“Yeah?”

“I wanna go home.”

“Okay,” Superman promised, his voice hushed. “Okay, Leo. We can make that happen. Do you have a manager you can call?”

“Mhm.” Leo wiggled around a bit before he fished his phone out of his pocket. He clicked the power button and almost immediately dropped it, thanks to the bright light that shone directly in his face. The thought that now he was going to have to get out of his carefully shielded little nook to get his phone and then call Percy and Annabeth made him want to start blubbering like a little baby.

Before he could do anything like that, Superman swooped in and scooped the phone up. “Don’t worry, I’ve got it,” he said softly. “Gimme your hand.”

“You wanna hold my hand?”

“No, you dork,” Superman laughed quietly. “I need your thumbprint to open your phone.”

“Oh.” Despite the claim, Leo couldn’t help but notice that Superman didn’t let go of his hand, and instead started soothingly rubbing his knuckle with his thumb.

“Okay, I’ve got your contacts up. What is your manager’s name?”

Leo relayed the information, but he honestly wasn’t paying all that much attention. His head hurt so bad he thought he was going to cry and throw up, in that order. Or maybe in the opposite order. He wasn’t sure. Still, he distantly heard Superman whispering back and forth with someone on the phone, and when he was done, he sat down right next to Leo and started stroking his hair with care unlike anyone but Leo’s Mamá had offered him. Leo just squeezed his eyes shut and focused on breathing deeply, trying very hard not to start bawling.

Leo wasn’t really sure how long he laid there getting his hair petted, but Superman stayed right there with him the whole time. At one point or another, he’d taken his jacket off of Leo’s shoulders and draped it so that Leo’s head was left in a dimly lit mini tent that smelled a bit like the Fresh Breeze candle his mom liked so much. Leo was pretty sure he’d be content to spend the rest of his life right there in that cozy little world with Superman’s fingers combing gently through his curls.

Eventually though, all good things had to end, and Leo felt someone shake his shoulder until he emerged, squinting and whining pitifully at the light, only to see Annabeth’s stern, but deeply concerned frown only a few inches from his own.

“You’re right, he does look really bad,” Annabeth said softly. “Do you think I should take him to the hospital?”

“I asked him that before, and he just keeps saying he wants to go home,” Superman reported.

“He is right here,” Leo grouched, resisting the urge to hide his face again. “You don’t have to talk over him.”

Annabeth didn’t dignify that with a response, but she did direct her next words at him. “Alright, Leo, here’s the plan: I’m gonna get you home, and I’ll text Piper so she can let your professors know you’re missing class tomorrow, and you’re gonna sleep. Sound good?”

“What about the shop?” Leo protested. “I’m in the middle of my shift.”

“Percy’s gonna cover the rest of your shift tonight, and I’ll see if Nico will take your shift tomorrow,” Annabeth said smoothly. “Do you think you’ll be able to walk, or should I get an Uber?”

Leo thought about that. His apartment was only two blocks from the shop. It would probably take longer to wait for the car to get here and then take him home than it would to stumble there on foot, and he really wanted his bed, now that he knew it was an option. “Can we just walk?”

“Sure thing,” Annabeth promised immediately. “Come on. Up on your feet for me, Valdez.”

Leo allowed Annabeth to push and pull and poke and prod and just bully him in general until he was swaying dangerously on his feet, Superman’s hands outstretched and hovering near his ribs in case he needed some emergency steadying. Then his arm was slung over Annabeth’s shoulders, and the two of them were shuffling towards the door. As the bell chimed, signaling their exit, Leo froze, horror dawning on his features. “Wait!”

In less than a second, Superman was right there, looking like he was ready to start anxiously dancing from foot to foot like a dog waiting for its favorite toy. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

“I didn't get to make your drink!” Leo blurted. “I can’t get your name if I don’t make your drink!”

Superman’s face went soft and sweet like the center of the cinnamon rolls Percy and Will made for Saturday mornings. “Don’t worry about it; I’ll live,” he promised. “I’ll tell you my name next time you make my drink. You just focus on getting better for me, yeah?”

Leo gave him a somewhat loopy smile and a salute. “Okay. See you next time, Superman.”

“See you next time, Leo.”

With that, Leo let Annabeth lead him home, already dreaming about his bed and all the sleep he was planning on getting over the next two days. Then, he’d come back to work and finally learn Superman’s real name. He just had to sleep off this dumb headache everyone was making a big deal out of first.

*-*-*-*

Leo soon learned that it wasn’t just a dumb headache, and in the most inconvenient way possible.

As it turned out, when Leo’s body decided it was time to get sick, it meant business. The next morning, Leo woke up with a fever so high that when Piper came over to check on him after getting Annabeth’s text, she’d ripped her palm away from his forehead with a yelp of shock. Then, she’d dragged him to the emergency room, refusing to listen to any of his protests by citing that she’d rather be broke and homeless with an alive best friend than rich with a dead one. They were seen pretty quickly, but Leo wasn’t sure if that was more based on how bad his condition was or if it was Piper waving her dad’s credit card at anyone she thought would even be remotely helpful. He could begrudgingly admit that it was sometimes handy to have a best friend with a bank account that held more zeros than Leo had ever seen in his life.

He’d been diagnosed with the flu, which shouldn’t have been a big deal, considering Leo’s mostly clean bill of health, but the doctor had looked him straight in the eye and informed him that he’d probably be dead if Piper hadn’t thrown her tantrum. He was stuck in the hospital for three whole days, and then ordered to take another three at home to rest, no school or work allowed. He’d grimaced telling Percy the news when he swung by to visit Leo in the hospital, but the guy had only nodded solemnly and promised him the week off, ordering Leo to let him or Annabeth know if he’d need any more recovery time.

Piper had gone sheet white when the doctor had told Leo how close to death’s door he’d been, and she’d all but superglued herself to Leo’s side. She’d skipped every class she thought she could get away with, and she’d slept in hospital room armchairs and on Leo’s lumpy couch, despite his protests that he’d be fine if she left him alone for a few hours. She, of course, didn’t listen to him, and he’d sniffled quietly to himself and cried about the whole thing to the sound of her snores from her plastic armchair perch.

Now, though, he really was fine. He’d recovered and felt, quite frankly, like a million bucks. A million bucks, cash, even. A million bucks in neat little bricks of bound, crispy bills in a fancy black suitcase. He was finally back at work, but Piper was apparently still a little traumatized, because she’d followed him to the café, still determined to not let him out of her sight. Now, she was sat at one of the tables, playing a solo game of makeshift tiddlywinks she’d fashioned out of some popsicle sticks Leo had fished out of storage for her while Leo leaned against the bar and waited for his shift to end.

“I’m bored,” she announced, for probably the third time in the past two hours.

“I told you this job was boring, especially this time of night,” Leo reminded her. He was stationed behind the counter, flipping through the recipe book in a half-hearted attempt to familiarize himself with the seasonal drinks the shop had rolled out while he was sick and dying. “I can make you a drink or something, if you want.”

Piper visibly gagged. “Ew, gross. No. I don’t even know if I’d trust you to pour me a cup of black coffee.”

Leo spluttered in outrage, feeling his cheeks go pink. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that you suck at making coffee,” Piper said slowly. “Like, it’s a miracle you still have a job, you suck so bad.”

“I do not suck at making coffee!”

“Uh, yeah, you super do. Tell me, babe, when you’re actually working with any of the others, do you ever work at the coffee bar, or are you always doing pastries and stuff?”

Leo furrowed his brow and thought, but as he did, he felt horror crossing his features. He didn’t make drinks. Even when he was working during the day, everyone somehow managed to find a way to gently direct him towards anything other than drink making. He’d assumed it had been a gesture of kindness because of how much he hated the smell of coffee, but what if it wasn’t? What if they all hated his coffee as much as he hated theirs? But no, that couldn’t be true. He definitely made good coffee. He had a hot, blond regular to prove it. “Well, obviously someone likes it because I have a regular,” he said smugly. “This one dude keeps coming in specifically to get coffee from me. Percy texted me while I was out and said he came by during my usual shift twice and asked for me.”

“That doesn't mean you make good coffee,” Piper argued. “Which you don't, by the way.”

“Literally what else would he be coming to a coffee shop for?”

“You, duh,” Piper scoffed. “My ex-boyfriend was telling me the other day about this barista he has a crush on and he keeps showing up despite the shitty coffee. He actually asked me what the easiest drink to make is so he can maybe get something not awful for once.”

“Your ex-boyfriend is telling you about his crushes?” Leo scoffed, hiking up one eyebrow. “You two are freaks.”

“Ugh, I wish he’d tell me about them,” she groaned, flopping over the table and upending her tiddlywinks. “He won’t tell me hardly anything! All I know is that they’re a barista who sucks at their job. He thinks it’s awkward or whatever talking to me about it. Like, what’s that about?”

“Yeah, I mean, not wanting to talk to your ex about your current love life? That’s just silly,” Leo drawled. “Tell me, what was this guy’s name again?”

Piper gave him a withering look. “You don’t know my most recent ex-boyfriend’s name? Some best friend you are.”

“Piper, you dated the guy for, like, two weeks in a desperate, last-ditch attempt to convince yourself you’re not a lesbian – which I called, by the way – and then proceeded to be best buddies with him like the dating was some kind of shared fever dream,” Leo scoffed. “Like, I never even met the guy. Sorry if I don’t find that super memorable.”

“Boo, you whore,” Piper heckled, throwing little bits of popsicle at him. “By the way, what is the easiest drink to make? I never actually told him what to order next time, but I said I’d ask my barista friend. Though, considering that barista friend is you, maybe I’m setting him up for failure.”

Leo scowled at her. “Do you want my help or not?” Piper just shrugged casually, which Leo figured was the best he was gonna get. He considered her question. He thought back to when he was first learning the coffee bar, and more recently to when Annabeth had been walking Nico through his first days. “Well, the first drink anyone learns here is an iced chai latté,” he reasoned. “It’s pretty much impossible to screw up.”

“Yeah? How do you make it?”

“Chai concentrate, then milk, then ice,” Leo shrugged. “Like I said: You can’t really fuck it up.”

Piper hummed in thought, then narrowed her eyes at him. “Alright then. Make me one of those.”

Leo rolled his eyes, but shoved himself upright and got to work. As promised, iced chais were so easy, Leo could practically make them in his sleep, so soon he had a clear cup of cold, milky tea in his hand, which he sat down in front of Piper and spoke with the best Customer Service Voice he could muster. “One iced chai for the most annoying bitch in this café?”

“Ohmigosh, thank you!” Piper squealed, leaning hard into the Valley Girl kick in her voice. “You’re, like, the first barista to pronounce my name right!”

Leo snorted so hard it agitated the back of his still-tender throat, and Piper looked pleased to the point of smugness. She sipped her drink, and her eyebrows immediately flew into her hairline, and she looked at it with some weird mix of incredulous respect. “Well?” Leo demanded. “How is it?”

“It’s remarkably not-terrible,” Piper reported, taking another sip. “I’d go so far as to call it nice.”

“Careful, I’d hate for you to give me a big head with praise like that,” Leo said dryly. Piper just grinned at him from around her straw, so he rolled his eyes. “Well, there you go. You can tell your ex-boyfriend the secret key to ordering a drink that won’t make him completely sick to his stomach. Happy?”

“Very,” Piper chirped before taking another sip. “Now, help me set my game up again. I’m gonna teach you how to play tiddlywinks.”

*-*-*-*

When Leo finally saw Superman again, it was like getting hit upside the head with the baseball bat of déjà vu. He was, of course, sat at one of the tables, sequestered out of sight and completely focused on his homework, and didn’t hear the bell above the door. In fact, he didn’t even consider glancing up from his laptop until he heard that familiar voice call out, “Uh, is there anyone working here tonight?”

Leo was on his feet in an instant, a wide, beaming smile on his face as he bounded up to the counter. “Superman! I was wondering when you were gonna show up!”

Superman’s whole being perked up like a dog who just heard its owner say ‘walk’. “Leo! It's good to see you. You look like you’re feeling better.”

“Yeah. It was a sucky week, but I’m ready and raring to go,” Leo grinned at him. “How’ve you been? Percy told me you came by a few times while I was out. Did they make your drinks alright? Am I still your favorite barista?”

“He told you about that, huh?” Superman chuckled, awkwardly scratching the back of his neck. “And, yeah, the drinks he made were great. Nobody makes them… quite like you do, though.”

Leo puffed out his chest in pride. “Well, in that case, what can I get for you today?”

“Can I get a large iced chai latté?”

“Sure thing! You know, my friend and–” Leo froze in the middle of punching in the drink order and looked up at Superman, who was watching him with his usual look of easy affection. Suddenly everything made sense. “Oh, my gods, it’s you!”

Superman reared back in shock, and glanced around the store to see if Leo was maybe talking to someone else who had magically teleported inside. “Uh, yeah, it’s me?”

“You’re Piper’s Ex!”

Piper’s Ex looked even more baffled now. “I– Yes? I dated Piper McLean for, like, two weeks a few months ago. What does that have to do with anything, and more importantly, how did you know?”

“Dude, Piper’s, like, my best friend,” Leo huffed. “Why wouldn’t I know that?”

Piper’s Ex furrowed his brow for a moment before his eyes widened and he went pale in horror. “Wait, you’re that Leo?”

“Obviously! I know this city is big, but how many baristas named Leo do you think live here?”

“She never told me you were a barista!” Piper’s Ex defended. “I mean, at least not directly. Like, she mentioned that she had a friend who was a barista, and a friend named Leo, but she never said that they were the same friend.”

“I guess that’s fair,” Leo conceded with a pout. “Still can’t believe you never asked her about it though.”

Piper’s Ex rolled his eyes, then looked at Leo suspiciously. “Wait, so how did you know I dated Piper?”

“She and I were talking the other day about you, and she said you were looking for a really easy drink order because you have a crush on this barista who–” He cut himself off again and looked at Piper’s Ex with betrayal and offence. “Wait, you think my coffee’s shitty?”

Piper’s Ex’s face went pale again and then turned scarlet so fast Leo was actually a little concerned for the dude’s blood pressure. “I, uh. Never said that. To you.”

“Oh, well, then that means you’re having late night rendezvous with a different barista,” Leo accused, crossing his arms. “Do I look like a side piece to you?”

“No!”

“So, you do think my coffee’s shitty! It’s gotta be one or the other!”

Piper’s Ex put his hands together like he was praying, then pressed them to his lips for a moment as he thought over his options. “Okay, so, your coffee’s not exactly great–”

“This is the worst day of my life!” Leo declared loudly and dramatically. He had his elbows resting on the bar and his hands cupped around his eyes as he went through this mini identity crisis. “Dude! I do this for almost thirty hours a week! How do I still suck at it?”

“I mean, you’re not that bad,” Piper’s Ex said, desperately trying to salvage the situation. “Like, they haven’t fired you or anything.”

“That’s because they don’t let me make drinks when there’s actually customers in the store!” Leo let out another strangled noise and buried his face in his hands. “I’m gonna have to tell Piper she was right! I was using you as proof that I don’t suck, dude.”

“I’m sorry,” Piper’s Ex said, sounding genuinely sympathetic, likely because he knew first-hand how obnoxious Piper got when she was told that she’d been right all along.

Leo sighed, then cut his gaze back up to Piper’s Ex. He suddenly realized that no matter how embarrassed the other man had gotten – and it was very obvious he was very embarrassed – he hadn’t stopped giving Leo that same look of heart-stopping fondness that he always gave him, and Leo felt his ears start to go a little hot. “Um, why did– What made you come back all those times, then? Seeing as it apparently wasn’t my spectacular mixology skills.”

Piper’s Ex dropped his chin just enough so that he was sheepishly looking at Leo through his eyelashes. “Well, it’s kind of embarrassing, but I sort of have a crush on the barista. I’m thinking I might have a shot, but I’ve been too shy to actually ask him on a date.”

“Wait.” Leo blinked at Piper’s Ex in complete shock. He was sure that his face was so flushed his skin tone was going to be permanently altered at this point. “You wanna go on a date? Like, an actual, real life date? With me?”

Piper’s Ex looked confused and even a little hurt at the question. “Um, yes? I kinda figured that’s where we’ve been going with this whole thing. Have I been super misreading this situation or something?”

“I, uh, no,” Leo squeaked. “I just– I figured you were just flirting with me for fun or something. I didn’t think you’d actually be interested in me.”

“Oh.” Piper’s Ex finally cut his gaze away, and Leo felt suddenly cold without the weight of those blue eyes on him. “I, uh, sorry, in that case.”

“Wait, no! You don’t have to be sorry!” Leo blurted, reaching out to grab Piper’s Ex’s hand. “Please, don’t be sorry. I didn’t want you to just be casually flirting with me or anything, I just assumed you were.”

Piper’s Ex squeezed Leo’s fingers and gave him an adorably shy smile. “Um, okay then. Would you, uh, maybe want to? Go on a date, I mean. With me.”

“Yes,” Leo said, nodding emphatically. “Uh-huh. Definitely. Sí. Yup. However you want me to say it. Just… yeah. I’d really like that.”

“Okay,” Piper’s Ex said, and he had the audacity to giggle like a schoolgirl, making Leo want to throw up over how cute this grown man was. “Uh, cool.”

Leo beamed at him, still flushed to the roots of his hair, but feeling like he might just float right on out of the café on his little cloud of bliss. “Alright, um, you go wait down there. I’ll make your drink.” Piper’s Ex started pulling out his wallet, but Leo held out a hand to stop him. “This one’s on me.”

Piper’s Ex gave him an eye-crinkling smile. “Alright, cool.”

He went to his usual spot to wait, and Leo went about making his drink, taking care to make sure that this was the single best iced chai latté anyone in the history of the world had ever made. He was sweating bullets when he pushed the drink across the counter. “Well, um. Here you go.”

Piper’s Ex took the drink, and furrowed his brows in slight disappointment. “You didn’t give me a nickname this time.”

Leo shook his head. “No, but I, um, I did put my number on there. It’s just under the sleeve. If that’s okay.”

“Oh!” Piper’s Ex turned yet another shade of red, but he looked incredibly pleased. “That’s– Yeah, that’s okay. More than okay, actually.”

“Cool.” Leo glanced down at the drink in his hands and then up to blue eyes. “Well, tell me if you like the drink. And don’t just dance around the subject this time.”

Piper’s Ex nodded like he’d been given a solemn duty, and took a sip. When he did, his whole face brightened. “This is actually really good.”

“Yes!” Leo whooped, fist pumping to the sound of Piper’s Ex’s bright laughter. “I knew I could do it!”

Piper’s Ex smiled so fondly at him that Leo thought he was going to die. “I certainly know what I’m gonna get every time I come by from now on.”

Leo perked up. “So, you’re gonna keep coming by, then?”

“If you’re okay with it, I definitely plan to.”

“I’m definitely okay with it,” Leo grinned. “But also don’t forget to text me later, yeah?”

“Of course,” he promised. Then his blue eyes sparkled with amused mischief and Leo felt his heart fluttering in the back of his throat. “Oh, and, Leo?”

“Yeah?”

“My name’s Jason.”

#valgrace #my writing #pjo fanfic #exchange fic

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nottthemuse · 4 months ago

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three: go-bags.

summary: when you're asked to be the supporting act for daisy jones and the six, how could you say no? there's only one issue; figuring out how to manage your regression around these strangers.

pairing: little!fem!reader x daisy jones and the six (platonic)

word count: 1.8k

content warnings (chapter specific): all works on this page are sfw. reader regresses as both a coping mechanism and a trauma response / reaction to extreme stress. reader typically regresses to around five or six and is little quite a lot of the time! little!daisy. cg!karen. reader is embarrassed about her regression and tries to hide it. daisy is like a big sister and is a bit bossy but its all good <3

author's note: hi hi hi! i'm an age regressor however i am still learning terminology and how to cope with this myself. if anything i say is in any way shape or from hurtful please dont hesitate to let me know or correct me as my intentions are not to harm anyone! i'm still learning so please be gentle with me! if there are any other content warnings you think should be added pls lmk! aspen out <3

Karen went for a nap when you hit the road, so you and Daisy have been keeping yourselves busy with an array of sticker books on the recliner sofas.

You find it easy to be small around Daisy. Maybe ‘cause you’ve had a long week or maybe because its just easy to be small around Daisy, because she is small, too. Neither of you are holding the other to impossibly high standards to act like adults. Instead, you let yourselves act however you see fit, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

You find that Daisy’s a bit bossy, but you’re not really complaining. She’s not mean, just assertive, anyway, so you don’t have a problem with that.

“No, this one goes here, silly,” Daisy instructs, guiding your hand to put a sticker of a horse on the page. “On the grass, not the sky.”

Karen materializes in the doorway separating the main area of the tour bus to one of the ‘bedrooms.’ She cocks a hip and tilts her head to one side as she watches Daisy and you play with the stickers. A tiny smile plays on her lips as she adds two and two together. Its not hard to see; you’re not as good at hiding it as you think you are. She tip-toes across the room before crouching down in front of the recliners you and Daisy are sitting in.

Daisy’s face lights up as she sees Karen but she stays put and giggles as you press a sticker onto her cheek. You’re too engrossed in the sticker book to even notice Karen is there until Daisy pipes up. “Hi, ‘Ren,” She giggles.

You rear back as if you’ve been slapped and clear your throat, trying to make yourself big again. You mindlessly play with Bambis ears— Daisy was true to her word and surrendered her favourite teddy over to you to play with, and even sleep with, too.

Karen laughs and reaches out to ruffle Daisy’s mane of red curls. “Hey, baby.” Shes kind enough to act as if she hasn’t noticed you playing with Bambi. “What you guys up to, hm?”

You clear your throat again in the hopes that your voice won’t sound as childish when you answer her. “We were playing with stickers.” You mentally slap yourself when you fail miserably and sound even smaller than you feel.

Karen doesn’t say anything about it. She simply nods her head, listening intently, and continues carding her fingers through Daisys hair. “That sounds fun. I reckon you girls must be hungry, huh? Do you want me to make you both a snack? What do you fancy?”

Daisy perks up at the idea, eyes shining wide with a mix of excitement and hunger. “Sandwiches?”

Karen grins. “I think I can rustle something to that effect up, yeah.” She turns to you. “Sandwiches sound good to you, honey?”

Your heart melts at the nickname and it makes you want to sob. No one’s ever been this nice to you before and it feels strange. Not in a bad way, though. You don’t want Karen to know. Not yet, at least. “I’ll make something later. Don’t worry.”

Karen raises an eyebrow. “Neither one of you have eaten since we left Cali. That was hours ago. Honey, you must be starving.” You shake your head, but she’s never been one to give up easily, so she takes an angle that she hasnt had to use in a while; bargaining. “How about I make ya a sandwich, anyway, but you don’t have to eat it, m’kay? It can just be there if you get hungry. How does that sound?”

Youve always been stubborn but even more so when you are small. You psych yourself up to protest again but she fixes you with a firm but kind look that has you sighing and relenting. “Okay.”

Karen smiles softly and reaches out to give your knee a reassuring squeeze, testing the waters to see how you’ll react. She knows some littles don’t like physical touch, while others crave it, so she just wants to see what will work for you and what doesn’t. When you don’t shrink under her touch or pull away, she makes a mental note of it, tucking the information away into her mind. “What would you like on it?”

“Peanut butter and bananas,” Daisy cuts in, peeling a sticker off the page and pressing it onto Karen’s cheek before reaching for her hand.

Karen laughs and lets Daisy hold her hand. “I know what you want, baby. You’re a creature of habit.”

“What kind of creature?” Daisy wonders aloud. “Oo, can I be the Loch Ness Monster?”

Karen ducks her head to hide her smile. “Sure, baby. You can be whatever you wanna be.”

“Do we have jelly?” You pipe up, hiding Bambi behind your back so Karen won’t see it (which, in all reality, is a futile attempt, because she’s been watching you with the stuffed animal for the last ten minutes). “Strawberry?”

Karen can’t help but smile as she nods her head. “Yeah. We have strawberry jelly. Is that what you want?”

You shrug. “I’ll make one later. Was just wondering is all.”

Karen hums non-committedly. It’s clear that she doesn’t believe you, but she’s not going to call you out on it like she would Daisy. Although she has her guesses, she doesnt know just how little you are or how you will react if she says the wrong thing. She has to wait it out until she knows you a bit better.

Without saying another word, she stands up and moves to the little kitchenette off to the side, where she pulls a loaf of bread and the condiments out of a cupboard.

You and Daisy go back to playing with the sticker books. Deep down, you know you’ve been caught out— it does not take a genius to figure that one out— but ignoring it and denying it if confronted seems like the best option for the time being.

Karen soon comes back to the recliners with two plates. You try to ignore the sandwich and the expectations that come with it as she sets the plate on the wooden table in front of you.

Daisy practically inhales her sandwich before it has even touched the table. The crusts are cut off and it’s cut into star-shapes.

“Little bites,” Karen chastises gently. Daisy slows down and Karen smooths her hand down the length of her back soothingly. “Like that, good job.”

Daisy seems to get bored of the sticker books and pulls out a tangle toy to keep her hands busy as she eats.

You don’t want Karen to get suspicious, so you inch the sticker book away from you to make it look like all this time you were just helping Daisy. You lean back in the recliner, feeling the smooth leather under your skin. You can feel Karen watching you out of the corner of her eye as you curl your hands under your head and drift off to pass the time.

You must be out for a few hours at the very least because the next thing you know, Karen is hovering over you and shaking you awake. Her expression is soft as you stir and rub the sleep out of your eyes. “Hey, sleepyhead,” Karen murmurs, voice gentle as she props herself on the end of the sofa. “We’re at the store. Daisy said something about wanting to show you something inside? I said I’d try and wake you up first, because she would’ve body-slammed herself onto you given the chance.”

You laugh softly as you sit up, trying to get a solid grip on your surroundings. “Mhm. Sounds like Daisy.” You mutter fondly.

Karen chuckles under her breath. “Yeah.”

As if summoned by her name, Daisy exits the bathroom, wiping her damp hands down the front of her blue denim dungarees. Her face brightens when she sees that you’re awake. “Ready to go?” She flops down beside you.

You nod and blink the remaining sleep out of your eyes again as you run a hand through your hair in an attempt to flatten it out.

“C’mon then,” Daisy takes you by the hand and pulls you to your feet carefully. Karen blocks her path before she can get far and she huffs. “What, ‘Ren?”

Karen arches her brow. “That’s a lot of attitude, don’t you think?” Daisy shuffles on her feet and Karen drops it. “I’m giving you twenty minutes on your own, okay? I’ll wait outside of the store for you, and if you’re not there in twenty minutes, I’m coming in and finding you. Got it?”

Daisy resists the urge to roll her eyes. “Okay, ‘Ren, I get it.”

Karen’s lips twitch as she presses a chase kiss to Daisy’s forehead. “Alright. You head off then, sugar. But the two of you are to stay together, alright?”

“We’re big girls, ‘Ren!” Daisy insists. She huffs and puffs but takes your hand anyway, leading you inside the store.

Karen lights up a cigarette and shouts after the two of you. “Twenty minutes!”

“Twenty minutes!” Daisy echoes back, bouncing on the balls of her feet as she tugs you through the aisles.

“What’re we doing here, Daisy?” You ask, eyeing up the rucksacks that she’s stopped in front of.

Daisy does roll her eyes this time. “We’re making you a go-bag, silly.” She says, practically bursting at the seams with excitement at the idea. “Now, pick a rucksack.” She nudges you forward with her hip.

You tentatively pick up a black rucksack and peer inside. It’s big enough to hold all the things you’ll need, so you hold it close to your chest. “This one.”

Daisy doesn’t berate you for how simple it is. Instead, she takes your hand and wanders around the store until you stop in another aisle. “Do you use pacifiers?” She asks quietly. You shrug, heat rushing to your cheeks, and she takes that as a yes. She snatches up a purple one and moves onto the next aisle.

By the time you both make it to the register, your go-bag is well and truly prepared, with things from coloring and sticker books to fidget toys, to crayons and a few stuffed animals of your own. The cashier packs all your items in to your rucksack and, with one minute to spare, you and Daisy leave.

Karen’s waiting outside of the store, golden hair shining as the sun-light catches it. Her eyes land on the rucksack clutched in your hand, and although she has an idea what is inside, she doesn’t comment on it. “Did you girls have fun?”

“So much fun, Ren!” Daisy rambles about the upcoming tour as she takes Karen by the hand and the three of you make your way back to the tour bus.

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alterrune · 8 months ago

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A RANT ABOUT THE NOZZLENOSE WEAPONS

I find it hilariously awful that directly after Grand Run, Nintendo decided to put the H-3 Nozzlenose as the FIRST WEAPON in the rotation roster for the new Salmon Run rotation...and then also put the L-3 Nozzlenose IN THE EXACT SAME SPOT for the one after that!

Now, I'm gonna go on a bit of a rant as to why I personaly think these weapons should be reworked ENTIRELY for Splatoon 4.

Every single weapon in Splatoon has one thing in common: You hold down the trigger, you can fire for as long as you have ink. It's consistent, it's great, and it makes it so you don't have to constantly tap the ZR button.

Guess what's missing from these two?

THEY. DON'T. AUTO. FIRE.

This ALONE honestly makes me want to never touch this weapon.

Personally, I think the whole concept of "constantly tapping the trigger" with this thing is incredibly stupid.

(This is just my opinion. If you use either [or both] of the Nozzlenose weapons and actually can use them really well, don't let me stop you, keep using them if you're comfy with them.)

If you ask me, the way to fix the Nozzlenose's problem without making it a full-on clone of another weapon is simple: Keep the way the weapon fires, but make it full-auto so players don't have to constantly hit the fire button. The "tap fire" thing on the Nozzlenose duo is not neccesary.

AND WE ALREADY HAVE A WEAPON THAT DOES THE WHOLE "TAP FIRE" THING, AND IT HAS A FULL AUTO MODE.

THE SQUEEZER. Tap the fire button once, you get a long-range, high-damage shot. Hold it down and you get a short-range, low-damage shot. I literally call this thing "the better Nozzlenose" because it actually has a full-auto mode, which every other weapon in the Splatoon series has.

-🔺💜🔵💕✍🏼-

Now, what about Salmon Run? That's why I made this post in the first place, after all.

Are the Nozzlenose weapons good there?

No. No it isn't. In fact, it's actually WORSE there, and I think a lot of people share my opinion on that.

In Salmon Run, there are salmonids EVERYWHERE. And not only do they come in the standard variety, there are also special event waves: Mothership, Grillers, Fog, Glowflies (called "Rush" in-game), Mudmouth Eruption, Goldie Seeking, Cohock Charge, Giant Tornado, and, of course, High/Low Tide.

A couple of those are no problem with ANY weapon, those being Mothership, Mudmouth Eruption, Giant Tornado, Goldie Seeking, Cohock Charge, Low Tide and Fog. Though it doesn't hurt to practice, as Salmon Run is known for being incredibly chaotic.

But the last 3 types, HOO boy.

The Grillers have a weak spot you need to hit, and if they have a lock on you (as shown by a red laser pointer line they aim at the player they're targeting), you need to run and gun or else you'll recieve what basically equates to a Salmonid Roller crush. And mind you, that weak spot is tiny, and the Griller constantly spins around. You see where I'm going with this? With the Nozzlenoses, you have to repeatedly tap the trigger button to hit that tiny-ass weak point. And mind you, you have to run AND shoot if they target you. Expect to see the "That's a wrap!" fail screen pretty darn quick if the last player alive in the Griller wave (either you or another player) has one of the Nozzlenoses.

Glowflies ("Rush") just sucks overall. One of the players will randomly get a bunch of glowflies following them. They aren't a helpful thing, though. It makes it so that every Salmonid on the map targets that one player. And with the Nozzlenoses, that's a guarenteed player down. You expect a weapon that has to be tap-fired to actually work well when you have about 100 enemy mooks (at BEST, mind you) all targeting you? Ehh, not saying it's impossible, bc there ARE people who use this weapon and are skilled with it, but it's HIGHLY unlikely.

High Tide is when the water surrounding the area (which, btw, INSTANTLY SPLATS YOU IF YOU TOUCH IT) raises up, limiting movement options. Even worse, it can be paired with other wave types to make things THAT much worse for you. The Nozzlenoses were not built for fighting in certain special waves, but throw in the High Tide event with it, and kiss that teammate (or you) goodbye. Expect to see a downed player you need to revive, unless, again, they're somewhat skilled with the weapon.

Oh, that's right! I forgot the whole revival system! See, in Salmon Run, you don't respawn the traditional way. In order to revive, one of your teammates has to hit the life ring you spawn back in on, and THEN you can fight again. Imagine if someone with either of the Nozzlenoses tried to revive you while fighting off something like a Steel Eel, all 3 shots fired by the Nozzlenose miss ANY player, and then they get splatted by said Steel Eel, causing you to lose the run in true bullshit fashion. Unfortunately, that's not exactly a hypothetical situation when it comes to the Nozzlenoses.

-🔺💜🔵💕✍🏼-

So what am I trying to say here? MAKE THE NOZZLENOSE WEAPONS FULL-AUTO. It would fix every single problem I have with the weapon!

That, and remove them from Splatoon 3's Salmon Run weapon roster. In my honest opinion, they should've never been added in the first place.

(Again, I have to repeat this bc people might get on my ass if I don't: I AM NOT SAYING YOU SHOULD DITCH THE WEAPON IF YOU'RE COOL WITH IT. IF YOU USE ANY OF THE NOZZLENOSE WEAPONS AND ARE COOL WITH IT, THEN YOU DO YOU. THESE ARE SIMPLY MY OPINIONS.)

That is all. Thank you for coming to my TED Talk about these godforsaken weapons. Goodbye.

#alterrambles #splatoon #splatoon 3 #splat3 #salmon run #salmon run next wave #holy shit this post is long #i lost track of time while writing this

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honeysorwell · 3 months ago

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Two hearts can fix everything

Synopsis of the story + Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7

Chapter 6

Par: Wilhemina Venable x fem!Reader

Tag list: @paulsonix @d14n4ol @harknspet @strawberryshorttcakkee @italianaidiota and if any of you want to be added just let me know!

Warning: no warning just a tiny bit of "who hurt you?" vibes

Word Count: 1,3k

Enjoy!

It's a glorious day for Wilhemina. A million-dollar deal was closed between Kineros Robotics and an important technology company, all thanks to her, and that was enough for everyone to finish their work early today.

It sounded absurd to the redhead. To relax just when they were making such big progress, but there was no point in complaining about it.

This is not her company, which means the loss isn't hers either.

But the worst part is that Wilhemina really doesn't know what to do with all the time she has now. It seems strange to anticipate all the things she will have to do tomorrow and consequently push unwanted free time to the next day, so she decides to go home. But as she leaves the building where she works and heads towards her car, the redhead decides that she can just enjoy her free time watching the bartender, who just lives in her mind, work.

But just entering the colorful coffee shop, Wilhemina felt the atmosphere of the place strangely... uncomfortable.

The aroma of fresh coffee and the soft clinking of the cups were more than enough to put her in a good mood on a normal afternoon, so on an afternoon after starting such a good contract for her company, the redhead should feel ecstatic with happiness. But that afternoon, thanks to the uncomfortable aura that just consumed the normal oxygen, small sounds like those only made Wilhemina feel anxious.

The conversations were still happening but at a much lower volume than usual. A small number of people were still scattered around there, but there was also, for the first time, a large yellow sign indicating that the floor was freshly wet, as if someone had just wiped it with a damp cloth after some clumsy person had an incident.

And the strangest part of all: Y/N was nowhere to be found in the cafeteria.

Bryan was modeling a funny little name tag on his chest and an irritated look on his face, which aged him terribly in Wilhemina's opinion, but she ignored it and just walked towards the kid, not even saying hello, and asked:

"Were… Well, I'm sorry to ask, but do you know where Y/N is?"

When the sound of the redhead's voice catches the boy's attention, he finally focuses on her figure and some of the frown disappears from his face as he nods and smiles, a little excited at the prospect of answering her.

"In the back. I'll bring her here for you. You will cheer her up!"

It takes a little less than two minutes, but the woman who's smile always graces the redhead's day like a warm sun on a paradise beach appears.

The problem is that Y/N, who always radiated joy and warmth, walked from the door that connected the common area to the back of the coffee shop to the cashier with her head down and, only when she raised her eyes to meet Wilhemina's, the redhead noticed how red they were, as if the woman in front of her had recently cried.

Oh no.

"Hello, good afternoon Wilhelmina, did you ask for me?", the small greeting came along with a tired smile that made the redhead's heart tighten with worry and sadness.

"Yes, I… Are you okay? I… I was surprised not to see you as soon as I entered the store."

I missed you. The thought almost escapes Wilhemina's lips, but she bites her lower lip at the last second, briefly noticing how Y/N's gaze is mesmerized by her gesture before returning the glance to her eyes.

“You're so sweet.”, the barista says simply, purposefully ignoring the older woman's question before asking, “Coffee?”

With a hesitant nod and her cheeks flushed, Wilhemina confirmed, even with her mind whirling in search of the right words to comfort the one in front of her.

“Y/N… is everything okay with you?”, the redhead asked once more, her voice soft, almost like a whisper.

“A customer took out all his frustration on me and on the floor, if you know what I mean. But this is just one more day...", her voice was tinged with discouragement and Wilhemina then decided that she could not let Y/N sink into sadness.

What kind of woman in love would she be if she didn't?

Carefully, the redhead leaned on her cane and sat on one of the high seats in front of the counter, determined to bring back the smile she admired so much.

"Look, don't let an unhappy customer ruin your day. You are an incredible person, and your coffee is simply the best in town. Everyone who comes here knows that and appreciates you. Especially me." said the redhead, with sincerity in every word.

The words touched the heart that Y/N carried in her chest the same way someone would touch a newborn. With such great care and affection that it was impossible for the little one not to snuggle there.

"The best in town? Wow!"

After a little giggle, the two women remained in soft silence until the coffee was ready. Y/N's mind spun throughout the preparation of the redhead's usual coffee, enchanted by the sweetness of the words spoken by that very special client.

When she finally poured the hot liquid into a ceramic cup, instigated by the fact that Wilhemina had chosen to sit in front of the counter and hoping that she would

Go away now, the barista drew two hearts on the disposable napkin displayed there before presenting it to the redhead.

“You are a person like no other, Wilhelmina.”

Excited by the compliment as generous and honest as the one she herself had given Y/N, the redhead decided it was time to go further.

All or nothing. Now!

“I think you deserve a prize for being so strong and for enduring so much. Is it weird if I buy you a coffee from your coffee shop?” suggested Wilhemina, winking at Y/N while gently shaking the disposable napkin with the two hearts in front of her.

And then silence. For a few seconds, Y/N just looked at the brown eyes in front of her, completely astonished by the suggestion before gifting Wilhemina with the most beautiful smile the redhead had ever seen.

“A coffee? For me?”, Y/N asked, still completely shocked before nodding her head affirmatively with renewed enthusiasm amidst a laugh, “Buying a coffee for the owner of a coffee shop? Right on target! Good job!”

The barista’s choice of words makes a smile appear on Wilhemina’s lips, one she couldn’t hold back even if she tried. And that smile adorns the redhead’s face as Y/N makes herself a coffee, takes off her apron, and approaches the redhead with the cup still full, only to sit next to her.

“Would you be willing to give me another prize? This time one that I can choose?”, Y/N murmurs to the redhead, trying to take hold of the courage she has been building up within her soul and mind since that customer entered her coffee shop for the first time.

“Anything for you if you keep smiling at me like that.”

At that moment, something magical seemed to hover in the air. Y/N leaned a little closer, her eyes fixed and full of enthusiasm for Wilhemina’s. Very slowly and taking advantage of the silence of the almost empty coffee shop, Y/N promised herself to act as if the world around them had disappeared and, with a soft and hesitant gesture, she approached and gave Wilhemina a delicate kiss on the lips.

And when Y/N's lips touch hers, Wilhemina barely knows how to write her own name.

It is a touch of lips so sweet and careful.

The barista has one of her hands carefully placed against the redhead's cheek. Their kiss is sweet and long-awaited, like a new flavor that the redhead has wanted all her life and she couldn't be more grateful for not having had to ask for it.

Even after they separate, stunned by the intensity of the moment, the two women take a moment before opening their eyes, enjoying the precious atmosphere they share, but when they focus their gaze on each other, the words slide off Wilhemina's tongue like butter on a hot pan.

“Well, well… It was about time…”, and the redhead only gets a glimpse of Y/N's smile before leaning in and kissing her again.

#sarah paulson #sarah paulson imagine #sarah paulson x reader #wilhemina venable #wilhemina venable imagine #wilhemina venable x reader

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bekolxeram · 7 months ago

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Question: the autopilot kicked out because … the airflow coming into the plane was more than the autopilot could compensate for? And then once Athena and Jim fixed it, the autopilot must have come back on?

Because I don’t really understand how any of that works, but I did notice that Athena leaves to cockpit and tries CPR on the copilot, so I suppose they just didn’t mention autopilot came back? I was a little confused about how this happened.

It’s 9-1-1, the answer probably could be they were hoping no one would notice.

This is very hard to explain, because I'm just someone who likes planes a lot. I'm not a pilot, scientist or engineer, and this is an engineering question. I only know a tiny little bit how to operate an aircraft, I can't explain how a particular airframe works on a deeper level. I know there are actual scientists among my followers, so can someone help me out?

Anyway, I'll try. Just know that I'm in no way as knowledgeable as an actual professional.

So first, different models of airliners have different flight computer systems and aerodynamic characteristics. This one in 8x02 is not real. The cabin and the cockpit are emulating an Airbus 330, but in the show it's a "Skytrain 880", they intentionally avoid connecting the fictional crashing airplane to real life ones, in case some aviation big brass gets mad.

But in general, autopilot on a commercial airliner works like a fancy, more precise cruise control. It's a bit like a Tesla, you can use it to drive itself on an open, relatively straight highway, but you can't use it to make sudden turn into an exit or to swerve and dodge an obstacle ahead. Airplane autopilots are likewise designed for normal operations.

In the scene in question, the hole at the back of the plane suddenly opens up and the broken fuselage skin, the other debris sticking up in the air and the giant gaping hole create large amount of localized drag at that area. The thrust produced by the engines stops being able to counteract the additional drag, so the plane starts losing speed rapidly. A fixed wing aircraft generates lift by continuous airflow around the wings, so less air speed equals less lift, hence the sudden drop in altitude. In order for the plane to stay airborne and not crash into the nearest mountain, it needs more speed and it needs to climb. Airliner pilots are well trained to resolve this problem, but Athena has no prior experience in flying any plane, so the flight instructor on the ground has to come up with a solution easy enough to execute that even a total novice like Athena can understand.

The flight instructor thinks increasing air speed is the priority, so he asks Athena to simply slam the throttle to full thrust until optimal air speed is reached. Airplanes with engines mounted under the wings (hence under the center of gravity) has the tendency to pitch up when forward thrust is applied. (I don't know how to explain that, again, scientists/engineers please help me) So the flight instructor warns Athena that the plane will pitch up and climb pretty rapidly when she applies maximum thrust, but the autopilot should be able to understand that, and compensate with enough nose down pitch to keep the plane level, eventually.

The flight instructor probably underestimated how big of an impact the hole in the fuselage has to the overall aerodynamic properties of the plane. The autopilot is never designed to take such an extreme situation in to consideration, so it decides the math isn't mathing. I've tried my usual routine to level the plane but it isn't working, something is wrong, so pilot, you should take control of this one, in case my sensors are wrong. So the autopilot disconnects, and the pilot flying has to put in manual downward pitch to level the plane, which is exactly what the kid does.

If the airflow really is too strong for the elevator itself to pitch the plane down, any control input from the pilot wouldn't matter either. This is instead the case of autopilot being asked to do something out of the ordinary, so it disconnects itself in case of a computer error, and asks the pilot to make the input manually instead.

Once the plane returns to normal condition (aka level flight at the right speed), autopilot can be engaged again. The kid has probably already done that by the time Athena leaves the cockpit, we just didn't see it. Even if he didn't, he would still be in the pilot seat taking control of the side stick when Athena gets out.

#It's the first time I've typed the word thrust so many times when there's nothing smutty #I apologize for the word salad #I really don't know how to explain #ask answered #911 spoilers #911 meta #911 abc #athena grant #aviation realism

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lemuriz · 9 months ago

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ALSO

my fields of mistria character, plus thoughts!

I just want to share my early take on this game. I didn't play the demo, but I have played other farming sims like stardew valley and coral island.

I'm pretty early in the game still but so far it's been SUCH a blast. I have literally barely put it down since yesterday afternoon. Some tiny things I adore that are standout to me are, -the pronoun options instead of setting gender

- the ability to customize your character wherever you go

- in settings, being able to turn off eating and drinking sounds (I have never seen this before in a game, I have sensory issues related to this and it also triggers my tics aswell so it is very comforting to encounter!)

- having hourly cycles for everything, but buildings always being open to use.

- npc locations being marked on the map

- twice weekly events to round up npcs and shop (unsure if more that get unlocked as game progresses but there is 2 I have seen, Friday at the inn and Saturday market)

- in game tracker of loved and liked gifts (stardew only added it with an update, this is just a stardew comparison really. old players know the frustration of having to memorise them all.)

- outfits that rotate with seasons!!!!

Then, I have some small criticisms. First, it's a bit confusing on how to acquire the tools. I had no clue you had to go to the fishing hut to buy a fishing rod. there isn't really dialogue that hints at this, though to some it may just be obvious- I didn't even discover the location for a good while. Which brings me to my second point, the map is a bit confusing to navigate at first. I am unsure how this could be fixed? Once you get used to getting around, there is sufficient points to get from one zone to another though. My third point is then, WHY IS COMBAT SO HARD? maybe it's just me.. but the enemies are incredibly difficult because of the way the sword swings. it pushes you forward alot, which with constantly moving enemies makes it really hard to aim. they also do a LOT of damage. The rock/non green slimes I have the biggest problem with, because unlike the bounce slimes and lamps, they don't really have a vulnerability/cooldown period. you can attempt to dodge, but then you can't really move in to hit them. and the triple hit ones in the water area? brutal. My final point is the amount of items. The museum is GREAT. I love donating to it! but, it gets frustrating especially when I find an item that actually cannot be donated. I understand why this is, but for the amount of fish especially that are undonateable, the task of finding everything I do need to find is very difficult.

to sum up, acquiring tools is confusing, map is not explained, combat hard, too many items.

That is all! thanks for reading. If you haven't picked up the game yet, despite it being in early access- it's SO worth it! give it a try!

#fields of mistria

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valalice · 3 months ago

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HI!! i’m the anon who went to the saudi trip yesterday and boy do i have an update

okay so, when we went to the cultural center, it was GORGEOUS i wish i could put some pics (you can search saudia ithra) but it was HUUGEEE and the building was stunning

first they took us to the library area. FOUR FLOORS FILLED WITH BOOKS I WAS SO EXCITEDDDDDD I found some books i’ve been wanting to read so bad but it’s borrow only </3

then when the other bus of students came, the tour started and this woman explained to us about the impact islam had on some of the art pieces and its significance in the first gallery.

then she took us to another gallery which shows old artifact and calligraphy, even some pieces dating back to 1200 years ago WHICH IS CRAZYYYY. i saw old fighting armor and swords which was so fucking awesome?? like WOAH?? there were also some gorgeous paintings which showed how calligraphers often worked closely with painters, illuminators and gilders to create pages of great beauty from illuminated frontispieces for manuscripts of the Holy Qur'an and i was basically in awe the entire time.

we saw some crazy huge completely handmade carpentry and ceramic which was stunning. the mechanics of it (from what i understood) was that it was build to bring cool air in and keep it there back in the day. they showed us spanish pottery, also so beautiful that i fear my storage is gonna explode from HOW many pictures i took 🧍‍♀️

after that, they took us to the energy/science exhibit and the science nerd in me was jumping up and down but unfortunately they were rushing because we had to go and eat BUT it was so much fun there were tiny games where you could play and see how extracting oil works, how anticline and fault traps work for oil and how certain rocks are formed. i wwiiiisshh we continued since there also was a knowledge tower which i was interested in going.

after eating, they took us to this walk open area with restaurants and cafes to chill a little before we had to go. and as we were JUST about to leave, someone fainted and from there it went downhill because someone had a panic attack about it and it was crazy but thank god they’re okay. but when we were in the bus, a girl who was with the one who fainted told us that she had heart and stomach problems but didn’t take her medication soon and only took it after she drank coffee on an empty stomach and apparently her antibiotics were super strong and you had to eat first which is why she passed out and wasn’t able to move for a bit. god bless her soul i’m so glad she’s okay but girl 🧍‍♀️ and apparently it wasn’t the first time she’s done this especially since she knows how bad it can get? 😭

but she’s good now, i’m beyond happy about that and we reached back home at 9:30 pm when we were supposed to go back home at 5:30 pm 🧍‍♀️ over all it was reallllly fun despite the little turn of events.

okay WOW this is super long, i am soooo sorry about that 😭 you don’t have to respond to it <3

EKKK THANK YOU FOR GETTING BACK TO ME NONNY!

aww i wish i could see your pictures :( i guess anon doesn't allow you guys to upload pictures which is unfortunate, but i look it up and it looks incredible oh my god! and seeing a library like that must've been one of kind (a shame you couldn't take any of the books you found home 😞)

the art and history section ahhhh! i love art history that it's so cool that you learned all of that and was able to experience it all in person, definitely a little jelly haha. the armor and swords!!!! i love seeing that stuff so much, i could stare at it for forever just picking out the interstate details they'd put into those kind of thinks back then, and how they actually used to fight wearing it! 1200 years ago is insaneeeee, even now i'm still wrapping my head around humans being around for that long and all the advances that were made back then! i'd be in awe too if i wear you girl (and the photo storage i get that too, so many thing to capture but so little room on my phone)

fellow science nerd ahhh, so sad you guys didn't get to spend longer in the exhibit :(

oh my god i'm sorry to hear that about the girl :( glad she's okay though! and hopefully things like that don't happen to her too often, she's gotta be looking out for her health!

ahhh i'm so happy you had fun nonny! it definitely sounded like an eventful trip (minus the accidents towards the end) :b

#✉️ message : received.#this was so fun to read!!!

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eldritch-elrics · 4 months ago

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today (in sh2r) i was just running around between the park & the hospital, because... wow! there is so much to see! most of all, i really loved hearing the idle banter between james and maria. not to mention all the new cutscenes, oh man???

as far as the larger story goes, i think it's really really good to put all this development of james and maria's relationship in here. not just because i love them. also because... she's gonna stop being a companion after the next dungeon, so they've gotta frontload this shit to make sure her (first) death hurts as much as possible!

pacing-wise... very odd that there's still no mention of the hotel. not a fan of that. as i detailed in my last liveblogging post, i really think we should know by now that the hotel is the final destination!

anyway... plenty of good stuff here. some fun references, like maria not-quite-remembering baldwin mansion, or james assuming (seemingly for no reason) that maria doesn't want to go into the bowling alley. i also enjoy james shutting down maria's attempts to ask about mary - "i don't think you're that much alike"... ouch. it's not anything new, but this bit just kind of underscores the fact that his dream babe (sorry) is Not Mary and he probably subconsciously hates himself for this.

i like how the pipe is now required. i missed it in the og so i'm excited about this!

also! oh my god! heaven's night!!!!! i loved everything about this part, holy shit. the way maria turns on the lights & music for him and pretends to give him a little performance?? her mini breakdown about how scared she is? the two of them just sitting and chatting, her telling him that he sounds hopeful rather than crazy? james being obviously uncomfortable with being offered alcohol? (i wonder if they'll make his alcoholism problems as explicit in this version as they are in the og... i hope so.) and then so many other details, like: the posters! ("is that.. you?" "would you like it to be?" - foreshadowing!) the photo implying that the "mysterious photographs" are taken by maria! the ring in the lost and found! the sexy nurse outfit?? what the fuck is this implying????

also, maria's flirtations just keep getting better. like james, she's definitely a different character than she was in the original game, but i'm loving her characterization regardless. even if she is ultimately manipulating james to some extent, i love how genuine and approachable she feels. she's relatably scared and tired! she wants the two of them to have a good relationship! i feel like... even though i love the evil seductress vibe of og maria, and i think it's fascinating in its own right, it was probably a good decision for the remake to lean a little less into that trope? yes, the original game is aware of & playing with the misogyny of the "evil seductress" thing, but it's also cool to see an alternate take building an equally interesting character out from a slightly different angle you know?

anyway. i already knew about this line but it still killed me:

i don't have a strong opinion on the new garden area (moonlight grove), but it does set up a few cool things, such as affirming that maria is In The Know about the general culture of silent hill, plus giving us context about the island where the rebirth ending takes place. so that's neat!

also, uh... foreshadowing. haha.

this is a tiny and petty complaint, but the reason maria gives for staying outside the theater while james goes to meet eddie and laura is way too natural imo. this is not an actual problem, it just (unlike the weird awkward "i hate bowling" line from the og) doesn't add any fuel to my "maria avoids running into other npcs because she doesn't want james to know he's the only one who can see her" headcanon...

i continue to have no strong opinions about eddie or laura either. kinda sad to see eddie's still a bit of a fatphobic stereotype...? we'll see how his later cutscenes go. anyway, movie theater setting was great!

i forget if i mentioned this in the last post but i love how maria reacts to you smashing windows. sorry maria, i love items.

finally: love how sh2r has its own wacky advertisements

#my post #silent hill #finn plays sh2r

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retphienix · 1 year ago

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So we've stumbled a bit further (just a tiny bit, I've been busy lol)

Random bits- I mentioned this many years back when I was toying with this game but there are random encounter events alongside random encounter fights. Nothing incredible just yet, some free rations, some lost rations from a trap, randomly encountering fellow adventurers who can teleport you back to camp- but it's always nice to have a little extra going on :)

Also forgot to mention how the caravan travel works altogether, I'm not mad about it. But it has a rather terrible introduction lol

You start with no ration capacity and no way to make money. It gives you a "freebie" market in the very very first area for rations, but after that you're stuck "playing the game", but the thing is money in this game at the very beginning is simply horrendous.

We're talking like 2 gold a fight, that's 2 rations at the best of times and you have to walk usually 8~ rations worth to encounter that fight to begin with.

You are not in a position to "grind" your rations at the very very beginning- but you're not supposed to- but it's still ROUGH that it's balanced around that lol It basically tells you "Hey, no grinding levels yet, go to the next town and finish this intro" and that's okay but still doesn't feel great.

The reason I'm not too upset though is because conceptually I get that, and mechanically I like the idea, AND I just got a new party member that kind of explained to me how this is supposed to be better handled this early on (and how it should become a non-issue later on).

Among these early hires I got a merchant and merchants are a profitable caravan member that basically erases the worry the first couple minutes put on you for money.

When the merchant's turn comes up they simply "find" 10 gold- immediately that's a net positive that makes rations a non issue :) And it shows that at least in part, problems like ration management are being considered in the tactics you bring in your caravan party and that's cool, I dig that :)

Anyways, I did some hiring and exploring of this early area, and I found this funny re-imagining of the DWM breeding.

So instead of breeding, we uh, "capture the hearts with the heart getter" and then combine them. I think it's novel. It's a bit disappointing because I like how DWM was just kind of blunt like "Yeah the monsters breed and a baby egg appears" but now we're obfuscating it for child-friendly language I guess? IDK, it's fine.

I'm stoked mostly because, well duh, the monsters are the best part of exploring DQM games :D We're on our way!

And after talking with that dude and being told to go to the port to show the heart getter to a merchant I dove into a nearby dungeon to see what's up.

It's probably progress towards the merchant but in my head I was just like "I'm gonna take a detour to fight some stuff" so we'll see :P

Also shows a bit more on the ration struggle- I've only just got the merchant so money is still REALLY tight- it's part of why I want to grind against some monsters with her in my party- so I can afford some rations lol

Thankfully I came prepared, this early game ration grind is finally going to take shape :3

#Dragon Quest #Dragon Quest Monsters #Dragon Quest Monsters: Caravan Heart #DQM #DQ #RetPlays

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homeofhousechickens · 2 years ago

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What are some of your chickens favorite snacks? Mine seem to prefer watermelon over anything else and I'm asking both out of curiosity and so I have more ideas on good snacks for my birds

Watermelon is a very yummy snack that most of my birds love but my birds only really get it in the summer because I like buying local watermelons. I think most chickens like watermelon but Beeper doesn't really like very juicy things because she dislikes her face getting wet and dirty. I can get her to take a couple of bites usually but she becomes disinterested but maybe this summer she will change her mind.

Kale is a favorite of my leghorns. They also like it when I buy these small lettuce heads grown by a local producer, and they will happily shred them. Beeper hates leafy greens. I have to bribe her in some way, like sprinkling meal worms on it or putting tiny bits of yogurt on it.

Pretty much all my chickens like blueberries, blueberries tend to be a universal favorite just be mindful it stains their droppings and makes them more moist.

Whole corn (remove the leaves and fibers) is nice enrichment they love it and will pick it completely clean.

Cooked carrot is rare treat for them but they like it. Muffin and Cannoli aren't huge fans of it though

Orange squash or pumpkin is a treat that I also think is universally loved by chickens. When fall comes around I tend to buy my chickens small pumpkins for them to eat but they all like the canned stuff to. Keep in mind pumpkin is not wormer it's better to treat it as a tasty treat.

Unsweetened plain yogurt is very well loved but my birds who don't like getting messy tend to regret it after a few pecks. Chickens can't digest lactose so it can cause stomach upset in some birds. I haven't ever had that problem though.

Egg in various forms (scrambled,boiled,ect) is a good treat and food to feed sick chickens who have went off feed.

Also live and dried bugs are a good treat just mind the protein and phosphorus. I like getting superworms,mealworms,and hornworms as treats for my birds. Other insects work as well but those are the easiest to get in my area.

I also get given a lot of apples and bananas that overripe so I feed those to birds as well but they aren't super enthusiastic about apples.

I think those are the things I feed as treats the most often.

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dzpenumbra · 2 years ago

Text

7/18/23

I want to get to bed earlier tonight than I have been lately, so I'm going to try to keep this shorter than normal.

I went to the skatepark today. The smoke from the Canadian fires was back and I went anyway. It was pretty exhausting and I sweat like crazy, I had to take a ton of breaks. I didn't do anything too impressive, but I really wanted to get more comfortable on my board, so I just kinda focused on that. I was getting a bit spooked with the idea of ollieing onto an angled box, I kept riding up to it and then chickening out. It was only like 6 or 7 inches tall. But I was just spooked by it. So I made myself do it. And I ended up doing it a bunch of times without any problems at all. I was probably ollieing way higher than I needed to, but the feeling of just doing something I was scared to do just seconds before was really nice. And just getting comfortable with it and seeing it's really not that bad. So, all-in-all, skating was fucking great. I was beaming, I felt like a kid again. I had no shame really, I wasn't even that insecure, I just sorta embraced where I was at and just skated for the love of skating.

The ride up on my electric board... I was a bit nervous. I have to go through a not-so-great area to get there, which just so happens to be the area right next to the health center and the community center... and a block away from the police department... it's pretty clearly not a great area. Going up, I was a bit nervous. I forgot what turn to take and kinda... had to come to a stop for a minute and check my map. But I made it there fine.

Coming back was another story. At first... I was having no problems. In fact, most of the way was pretty much fine. Until I got to that same area by the train tracks and the community center and a dude flagged me down. I... stopped. I was just absolutely stunned that someone actually wanted to interact with me. There was one other kid at the skatepark and he was just on the other side of the tiny park the entire time and never even acknowledged me. This guy was like waving and yelling, asking me if I just rode down that hill on my board. I yelled back across the street that yeah, it's electric, and the brakes charge the battery, it's really cool. I seriously... in those moments, it is 100% my inner child coming out. I sound like a fucking 8 year old. And I love that about myself, I love connecting with that part of me, there's so much excitement and wonder and joy. Then... the guy came across the street.

I... actually was getting ready to let him try riding it. I don't fucking know why, honestly, I really shouldn't. He actually kinda stopped me, saying something like, "oh no, that belongs to you, that's okay." That's around when I noticed this guy was barefoot and had painted toenails. He had scraggly hair, he was missing one of his teeth. He had gigantic widely-open blue eyes and his pupils were pinned. He had a recent injection mark in his right arm. He had something stuck in his left foot and didn't seem to be aware of it. Meth, I'd put money on it. But I was just... oblivious. In the moment, I was just like "oh wow, someone wants to talk to me." And I told him I came from the skatepark and this is how I get to the skatepark, and he asked me if I was on a mountain, would I ski or snowboard... and I said snowboard. And he got excited and fist-bumped me. And that's when I saw the injection site and reality started to set in. He then said, out of nowhere... "okay, welp, I better go get that corpse out of the road." And walked off. I'm guessing it was roadkill or something? I was just like... in my head... "alright, um... guess it's time for me to get the fuck out of here..."

Wonder why I have social anxiety? This is really... a big part of why I'm scared of socializing. I feel like I just completely miss the gigantic red flags. I feel... inept. I feel like I put myself in unsafe situations, because... I just assume the best of people. I see the best in people. Compulsively. And that means that not only is my guard down, my guard is pretty much non-existent. I genuinely wonder... if this guy asked me if he could have my skateboard that was on my back... if I would give it to him. Me right now, most likely not. I mean, unless he was like part of an NA program and had a sponsor who could vouch for him and thought skating could get him off the drugs and turn his life around, then sure, absolutely. But me in the moment? I really don't know. I really don't know. And that shit scares me. It's been haunting me ever since.

I've honestly really been struggling to process that encounter. It's like... 2-3 blocks away from my apartment. There is an alternate route I can take to get to the skatepark that's through a suburban(ish) neighborhood. I have no idea if that neighborhood is any better, worse, or the same. But I guess... maybe next time just... if I see someone coming across the street trying to get my attention, trying to talk to me, in that area... maybe next time don't stop and talk to the dude. Even though nothing bad happened.

I don't know if I'm being paranoid. He didn't seem to have bad intentions, he just seemed... high. But after that interaction, I have just really... not felt safe. It doesn't make me want to go that way to the skatepark again. Is this an overreaction? Have I had these effects on people when they've observed me inebriated in public? Am I being fair? Am I underreacting?

I don't really know how to assess this situation, and the obvious solution would be... don't skate alone. It's really never a good idea... but I just don't really have a choice right now. So the best compromise I have come up with is just... stay away from that specific road.

Is it obvious that I'm not a city person? XD

I legit treated that interaction like I would've treated meeting another hiker in the woods. "Hey, how are you? How's your day? Can I offer you a gift of some sort? Tell me your story!" And this dude is tweaking, standing in the doorway of his apartment building, walking out into the road and shit. Now that I'm thinking back, there was even a truck that slowed down to like... scope out the scene and I'm guessing make sure everything was okay and shit. And even they probably realized it looked like a potentially unsafe situation.

I'm seriously... ugh, I'm trying not to get too anxious about this but my heart is going already. I really worry that I'm not cut out for this type of world. Like I said, when I am doing well... when I am confident and all that... I keep ending up in unsafe situations and like... not even realizing it. It makes me feel stupid. I'm just going to say it so I can get it over with and move beyond it. I feel socially stunted or oblivious, blind, dumb.

It's making me think of kayaking in the flooded river. Or just not going to the doctors when blood started pooling in my foot when I got a blood clot in my shin. Or getting on a plane and flying to Vegas alone for the first time with no hotel room and barely any plan. Reckless. Adventurous? Shortsighted. Impulsive. Optimistic?

I don't know how to read it. Part of me just wants to see the best in things and not let anxiety rule me... but encounters like these just... they fucking validate that anxiety so fucking much. I can feel it right now, that smug little shit in the back of my head chiming in over and over and over - "I told you it wasn't safe..." "I warned you." "You're lucky."

And then another part of my brain chimes in and goes, "these are just people. Not all drug addicts are thieves or violent people. You were nice and neighborly to a troubled person." "Maybe you could find some kind of work in rehabilitation or something, find a way to help these people out, since you just... compulsively see the good in people. I'm sure they appreciate being treated like actual people."

Then another part of my brain goes... "AAAAGHAAAHAHA!! WE'RE NOT SAFE! Don't go back there again! Don't make yourself a target! Lock the doors!"

So... inner conflict. That's really how I feel. And right after a really good skate session where I had a lot of fun and was beaming with joy.

I've been lost in my head trying to find a good analogy for how I feel in pop culture... nothing is coming to mind right away... so I'm just going to reference my GTA RP character - Raymond Holmes. I made a character that went through a personality facelift and I made him into basically... during the day he was a cool high school dropout kinda guy who wanted to become a stuntman, like a Jackass cast member... during the night, he reverted to an 8 year old child. The two personalities had no knowledge or awareness of each other. What I'm referencing here is... how people would treat Ray, the child persona. They were very well aware that they were interacting with an authentic child-like personality. And every fucking person tried to get him drunk or get him high, or make him commit crimes, or something corrupt. Every fucking person wanted to corrupt him. Or hurt him. For fuck's sake, he went up to a gang member and straight up told the gang member to their face that his friend was stealing the gang member's car - he negligently, naively ratted on his only friend. And the gang member beat the shit out of the friend... then beat the shit out of Ray with a golf club. ... Why? No clue. Barely even spoke to him. But he did, left him crying on the side of the road.

I feel like that. And I know that people... for some reason... find amusement in causing bad things to happen to innocent people. Corrupting the innocent. I know that good, passive, well-intentioned, child-like people are excellent targets. They are prey. And... I feel like I've kinda... ended up in a strange reversal of the situation I came from.

In my old environment, I could feel people looking at me like I was the rabid dog in the pack (ahh Kristoff Krane). Like I was the wolf wearing sheep's clothing, hiding amongst the herd. Because I would wear metal band t-shirts and I have tattoos, and shit like that... where I used to live, that was very out of place. Now? I feel like a sheep wearing wolf skin trying to blend in in the pack, and doing a horrible job.

How much of this is feeling and how much of it is reality? I really can't tell. That's the most confusing part. Maybe that interaction was... not the worst in the world? I want to be social. I want to be trusting. I want to see the best in people. And I really, really do. But... man, all it's gonna take is someone baiting me into a parking lot and then I get jumped or some shit. "Oh they just need a hand, better be a Good Samaritan."

I want to be a good person. I want to be innocent. I want to embody that childlike wonder and joy. But this comes with it. And it leaves me vulnerable to being exploited. Which is why I feel so unsafe. And... ultimately... if my material possessions (my skateboards, my sunglasses, my AirPods, my phone, my water bottle and my keyfob were all I had on me... I deliberately left my wallet at home) were just... things... it wouldn't be that bad. "Just take my board, I'll walk home." I file a police report, they don't follow up on it... I lose my form of transportation that I only really use to get to the skatepark. Maybe I buy a new one, maybe I don't? So... working on my level of attachment to my possessions would dramatically reduce the feeling of risk here.

But then there's the element of physical harm. I don't know why any idiot would risk committing a violent crime against a stranger on the side of a major street... but I guess stranger things have happened. And if someone had it set in their mind that they were going to harm me? What am I going to do about it? Fight them? Run? I don't know. I just wanna fuckin skate, man! Now I've gotta think about this shit?!

What blows my mind is that a lot of the populace think the skateboarders are the criminals. Good lord.

So yeah. I'm just... kinda processing. Again, none of these feelings really hit until after I got back inside my apartment. In the moment it was just like... "oh, poor guy. I wish he chose going out and living life instead of drugs. He seemed like this was something he might be interested in." And I just moved on. But when I got back, it started hitting how... that could've been a bad situation. And it started bringing back those memories of how I just stood there and listened to my former best friend from high school tell me horrific (like literally straight out of a horror movie) stories about the life she came from. It just all makes me so sad. So sad. How horrible people can be to one another. To themselves.

I guess it makes the work of being a good person, breathing light and love into the world, that much more important. Is that how this works?

I don't want to linger on this. I'm sure I will discuss this with my therapist at length on Thursday. I just... I really wish I met a new friend today... not a meth head. It's not really making me feel comfortable renewing my lease... XD But huge pat on the back to me for going out, getting exercise and braving the world today - warts and all. It was a very big step and well worth it, even with its surreal setbacks.

Other than that? A decent night's sleep. 4 hours, got up, read some of this Meditation in Action book that is just... probably the big core of my existential crisis with like... "how do you deal with situations like vehicle theft and potential physical threat as a pacifist without just being eaten alive?" It's hard because books don't talk back. Then I got back to sleep and rested well.

After dinner, I did more work on the grip tape, it's coming along. Most of the mandala basecoat is pretty much done... I think... depends on how big I want to make it. The bigger it gets, the more paint it's taking to fill. Kinda "no duh"... but it just means each step is more time consuming and it feels like progress is slower. And yeah, that was pretty much the day.

So... I'm gonna try to focus on the good here, that I was getting pretty comfortable on my board and I actually went and skated regardless of the smoke in the air and the late hour. And I had a lot of fun. I absolutely saw the dark side of letting my inner child take the steering wheel, but I really don't want to let that overshadow the huge plus-side, because I had a fucking blast.

#diary #journal #online journal #stream of thoughts #stream of consciousness

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