#a swap within each couple

[tpwk-formula1]

Paddock Bunny Series - 1

AN - Yay! I'm so happy for the first post to my new series! I hope you like it and if you have any ideas of what you want to see happen in the world of Y/N Brown feel free to message me with your ideas! I have nothing planned for this series and no real end goal so this could be 10 chapters long to 100 chapters long just depends on how much you guys like it!

Happy Birthday to Lando!!

Drivers included:

Lando Norris x Reader

Carlos Sainz x Lando Norris x Reader (not every chapter will have a threesome but it was necessary for the plot!)

TW - Squirting, multiple orgasms, oral (M and F receiving/giving), hickey, back scratches, protected sex, MxM (not all threesomes with have MxM), cum swallowing, cum swapping

WC - 4.1k +

Y/N POV

"Please let me take you home tonight," Lando slurs in my ear for a third time tonight.

"Lando, you're too drunk to sleep with your bosses daughter," I reply back softly making him groan.

"Please, just one night and we never have to talk about it again," Lando says making me laugh and shake my head.

"If you get your maiden win within the first 10 races of the season I'll let you take me home for a night," I reply back making Lando's face light up at the thought.

"Deal!" Lando smile and runs off making me laugh softly and shake my head knowing he would forget about it by morning.

Lando and I have known each other since his rookie season in Formula 1 and have been close friends since than. It was no secret that Lando and I both had some kind of tension between us but neither of us trying anything knowing how much of a grey area it is.

That was back in February before the season had even started and now it's just a few hours after Miami and Lando is texting me the room number to his hotel room.

"478, it't the suite on the left corner"

"I thought you would have forgotten about that night"

"I'd never forget the one chance to finally sleep with you"

I just roll my eyes at the short conversation before gathering my belongings and making my way to the driver who would be taking me back to the hotel all Mclaren employees were staying in.

When I walked through the Miami hotel I quickly make my way up to Lando's room following the directions he had sent me.,

"Hi," Lando says opening the door after I had just knocked.

"Hi," I smile back inviting myself in. I spent the first couple minutes in Lando's hotel just looking at him to nervous to make the first move.

"Do you want this?" Lando asks softly making me look up and nod softly.

"Ya, a deal is a deal," I reply softly making Lando's smile drop slightly before taking a few tentative steps towards me.

"No, that's not how consent works. Do you want to do it?" Lando asks stepping even closer so we were now face to face with each other.

Instead of responding I connect my hands behind his neck and pull him down for a kiss. Once the initial shock wears off Lando melts into the kiss wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me closer into his chest.

"Fuck, Lan," I moan softly when Lando squeezing my ass with his hands.

Lando's lips start trailing from my lips down to my neck where he spends special attention on my neck looking for my sweet spot and once he locates is just under my ear I let out a soft moan making Lando smirk before sinking his teeth down and sucking softly I'm sure leaving a small mark behind.

I feel Lando's arms wrap around my waist tighter before softly mumbling jump. Once I just softly I wrap my arms around his waist and letting him walk us towards the bedroom.

Once we get into the bedroom he lightly drops me down onto the bed before he slowly pulls his shirt from his body before letting it fall to the ground.

Once Lando's upper half was bare he slowly climbed into the bed and over my body letting himself gently sit on my thighs while he stares down at me before slowly pulling my shirt up my torso and helping me sit up softly so he can pull it off completely.

Once he discards the Mclaren team kit on the ground he get his first glimpse of my bare tits.

"Fuck," Lando whispers softly still staring right at my tits before he takes a tit in each hand and gives it a firm squeeze making me moan softly at the feeling.

"Sound so pretty," Lando whispers out more to himself than me but it didn't matter my cheeks reddened at the praise regardless.

"Lan, please," I whine softly trying to grind my hips up making me smirk before pushing my hips back down towards the bed denying me of the little stimulation I was getting.

"Patience, I've waited years for my chance, you can wait another few minutes to feel my tongue," Lando replies back making me whine at his words while trying to clench my thighs together but being stopped by Lando's sturdy body blocking them from closing fully.

"God, you are even more beautiful that I could have dreamed," Lando groans while softly rubbing his fingers up my sides making me whine softly and goosebumps to grow across my skin.

Once Lando had felt like he teased enough he slowly started pulling my black Mclaren issued skirt off before discarding it somewhere on the floor before running a teasing finger over the center of my thong making me suck in a breath at the feeling of his finger light touch running across my overly sensitive clit.

"Fuck, you're already soaked for me," Lando says with a soft smirk before roughly ripping my thong from my body making me gasp out loudly at the sting of the fabric tearing against my skin.

It was clear in the moment that any patience left in Lando has completely ran out and now the starved man in front of me was ready to have his first warm meal in over a year.

When the first flick of Lando's tongue was sent right over my clit I can't help but moan out and arch my back at the feeling.

"Fuck," I moan softly when I feel Lando's tongue flick over my clit again making me whimper.

"SO fucking responsive," Lando groans out before diving back into my soaked pussy.

"Oh Lando," I moan when I feel Lando start sucking my clit into his mouth. My hands were now tangled in Lando's hair gripping and pulling him impossibly closer.

"So sweet," Lando mumbles into my pussy making me whimper at the vibrations being sent straight to my clit.

I knew with how long it had been with the last time I had slept with someone and how good Lando was abusing my clit I knew I wasn't gonna last long.

"Fuck," I scream out softly when I feel two of Lando's long fingers slip into my soaked pussy filling me up and grazing my G-spot was perfect precision.

"I can tell you're already close," Lando says with a smirk spread across his face while he starts finger fucking me making me moan and arch my back off the bed again which has Lando using his hand to push me back into the bed before attaching his mouth to my clit and sucking.

"I'm gonna cum," I announce loudly while gripping tighter into Lando's now messy curls.

No sooner than the words leaving my mouth Lando instantly speeds up the actions with his fingers and sucking even harder on my clit almost instantly throwing me over the edge into a loudly messy orgasm that left me shaking under Lando.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," I chant when I have no time to come down from the overwhelming pleasure because Lando and still fingering me with lighting speed.

"Oh shit," I moan when I feel a second orgasm approaching before the tightly wound band in my tummy snapped throwing me over the edge into a squirting orgasm.

"Fuck," Lando gasps amazed at the pleasure he just had coursing through my body.

"Holy fuck," I gasp when I look down and realize the mess I had caused but with the smug look on Lando's face the mess is the last thing on his mind right now.

Lando slowly climbs out of the bed and quickly takes off his pants and briefs in one go letting his hard length spring free. My eyes are instantly locked on the red angry tip that was already leaking precum.

"I want a taste," I announce timidly while letting my eyes flicker up to lock eyes with Lando where he's staring at me with a smirk spread across his face.

"I'm serious," I say while climbing out of bed and getting on my knees and instantly gripping onto Lando's cock making him hiss at the sensations.

I slowly bring my mouth to the tip of Lando's cock where I lick a strip collecting a bit of the precum from his cock and let the flavors linger on my tongue before I take his tip into my mouth and start sinking down taking more of his cock as I go.

"Fuck," Lando groans letting his hands tangle into my brunette hair.

I can't help but moan at the feeling of Lando's cock fill my mouth more than any man has ever.

Once my nose brushes against the trimmed patch of hair covering Lando's pelvic bone I can't help but look up to find Lando with his head thrown back and his eyes closed. When I slowly start bobbing my head with still looking up at Lando I notice the way his face pinches up at the pleasure before he moans softly and looks down locking eyes with me.

"Fuck, you're a sight to be been," Lando groans using the hands tangled in my hair to bob me up and down his cock faster.

"Fuck, I'm not gonna last long," Lando groans at the admission but it only makes me speed up my action on his cock. I bring my hand up to his balls and start playing with them which has Lando groaning and pushing me all the way down on his cock before he lets out a low groan before cumming deep into my throat making me gag slightly but still swallow what I can.

"Fuck," Lando groans slipping his cock from my lips and rubbing the spit and cum mixture across my mouth marking me with his cum, his way of marking his territory.

"You're so hot. Your swollen little lips covered in my cum," Lando leans down close to my face with a smirk on his face before the heat of the moment got the best of him and he takes my mouth in his tasting his own cum on his lips.

With Lando's lips still locked with mine he slowly picks me up off the ground before he gently places me on the bed near the edge where I feel his still hard cock rub against my clit making me moan.

When Lando pulls away still standing at the edge of the bed I go to whine when I see him grab a condom off the night stand making me raise a brow at him.

"It was the first thing I went out and bought when I won," Lando says with a boyish smile on his face clearly embarrassed to admit how excited he was.

"I appreciate the readiness," I tell him softly while I watch him roll the condom down his length before stepping between my spread thighs again and tearing my clit with his cock before slipping his length into my pussy making me whimper at the feeling.

"Fuck, so damn tight," Lando grits out between clenched teeth making me whimper at that the burning feeling of being stretched out on his cock.

"Slower," I whimper when I feel Lando start rocking his hips into mine which has him stopping his movements giving me a few moments to adjust before I nod and feel Lando slowly pull his cock out an inch or so before thrusting back in making both of us moan at the feeling.

"Oh," I moan softly when I feel Lando's thrusts start to pick up making my nails dig in a bit deeper into his shoulders making him hiss at the feeling.

"Lan, it feels so good," I moan when I feel Lando's thrust turn from fast and shallow to hard and deep making me feel him in a whole new way. I can feel my nails digging into his back, probably leaving marks behind but with the way Lando only speeds up the harder I grip him I don't think he has any complaints.

"Fuck, you feel so good," Lando grunts out clearly getting close to the edge.

"I'm gonna cum," I announce suddenly when I feel Lando's cock drill right into me G-spot over and over again.

"Fuck, cum with me," Lando grunts his hips shuddering a bit before I feel him start to cum into the condom sending me over the edge into another shaking orgasm.

"Fuck," Lando grunts coming down from his orgasm as he slowly slips his cock from my overstimulated pussy making me whimper at the stimulation.

"Fuck, you took me so well," Lando tells me softly helping me sit up before handing me a water bottle and letting me take a few sips before he takes a few sips himself.

"You're not weirded out to drink from the same straw as me," I ask softly making Lando laugh lightly.

"I tasted my cum from your lips, we're past sharing water bottles," Lando says softly making a me laugh with him and nod my head understanding.

For the next 30 minutes Lando and I spent it in the shower while he told me how good I did for him making me blush under the praise.

When we get out of the bathroom and I wince when I catch sight of Lando's back.

"I'm sorry," I say softly while running a light finger over one of the darker scratches.

"I would live the rest of my life with them if it meant I got to fuck you everyday," Lando says while looking at the damage in the mirror with a shrug.

"You want to do it again?" I ask shyly not even thinking about the possibility of doing it again.

"I mean, yeah. It was honestly the best sex I've ever had but if this was a one off for you, I'm more than okay with that," Lando tells me honestly making me smile and nod.

"I'd like to do it again," I tell him softly with a nod making him smile.

It's only a few days later when I get another Facetime from Lando. When I answer I come face to face with a smirking Carlos and a sheepish looking Lando staring back at me. Both boys where clearly shirtless on a yacht but from the looks of it they were still docked.

"You attacked my boy?" Carlos asks with a smirk falling from his lips making me jaw drop slightly at a total loss for words.

"I have no idea what you're on about Sainz," I respond back with a blush creeping up onto my cheeks.

"No? This should remind you," Carlos says while flipping the camera and showing me Lando's back that was still scattered with a few lingering marks.

"Okay, so Lando and I had a bit of fun. What about it?" I ask trying to be nonchalant. It had never been a secret that when Carlos joined Mclaren with Lando I had a crush on him so having a conversation like this year later it a bit bone rattling.

"I just wish I had gotten an invite," Carlos says while flipping the camera back to face a red faced Lando and a smug looking Carlos. I know my cheeks are as red as Lando's if not redder.

"What?!" Is the only word out of my mouth clearly still too stunned to speak.

"Oh cut the crap, Brown! It was no secret that you fancied me back in my Mclaren days. If you're in Monaco come to the dock," Carlos says with a smirk making me gawk at the two for a few seconds before I hang up the phone and get changed into a swimsuit.

I shoot Lando a quick text letting him know I would be there in a few minutes. I guess you could say curiosity killed the cat but if a long time crush was offering me a day on his yacht I wasn't gonna pass it up.

When I get to the dock I find Lando sitting at the nose of the boat with a sour look spread across him face while looking at his phone while Carlos is smirking with his arms crossed watching me approach him.

"We have company," Carlos announcing making Lando look up from his phone letting his sour look deepen.

"Before I step foot on this yacht. I need to know what is about to happen and if both of you guys are consenting," I saw while looking directly at Lando.

"There's zero pressure on what we do today. But both of us understand what could happen and we're on the same page, Lando's just but hurt he couldn't keep you to himself," Carlos says making me raise a brow at him.

"No Carlos, I'm annoyed at you because you haven't shut up for the past 15 minutes about what happened between me and her," Lando announces with a bit of a whiney voice making me laugh softly.

When I set onto the yacht I look around to make sure we were alone before I walk to Lando and stand between his legs and lean down and press a soft kiss to his lips.

"Do you want whatever could happen to happen?" I whisper making sure he knew it was just a conversation between us.

"Yes," Lando finally answers looking up at me through his long lashes.

“I’m positive, it wouldn't be the first time Carlos and I shared someone,” Lando admits softly making me look up at Carlos with a surprised face. He just sends me back one of his signature smirks making me roll my eyes jokingly before stepping away from Lando and placing my stuff where it belonged before pulling off my swimsuit cover and making me way to find Carlos is alright driving the boat away from the dock while Lando rests back allowing his tanned skin to soak up even more sunlight.

I climb onto the sofa next to Lando allowing my head to rest on his shoulder.

"We aren't doing a single thing you don't consent to, and Carlos is big on verbal consent," Lando tells me softly angling his head so he can look me in the eye.

"Okay," I reply softly with a small smile playing on my lips.

Once Carlos has gotten us far away from the shore I realize we are completely alone in a cove with not a single person around us.

When Carlos approaches both Lando and I he leans down and places a quick kiss on Lando's mouth making me gawk at them softly before Carlos turns his attention on me.

"Can I kiss you, Hermosa?" Carlos asks softly making a me nod my head but quickly give a soft yes remembering what Lando had just been telling me.

As soon as the word left my mouth Carlos crashes his lips onto mine and our kiss was the complete opposite of the one him and Lando shared. While his and Lando's was quick and a bit lack luster Carlos and I's is heated and intense.

When I feel Carlos softly graze his tongue against my bottom lip I part my mouth and feel Carlos's tongue tangle with mine making me whimper at the feeling.

"Fuck, such a sweet little mouth. Lando has told me your head game is the best, would you like to prove him right?" Carlos asks softly.

"Yes sir," I reply back softly while pushing Carlos to sit next to me making me turn my body towards him on my hands and knees with my ass facing Lando making him groan at the sight of my swimsuit riding up my ass.

I pull Carlos's swim trunks just enough to free his hard cock before bringing my mouth down to his cock and pulling it into my mouth making him hiss at the feeling of me taking his full length into my mouth.

"Fuck," Carlos groans throwing his head back when I feel the tip of his cock bypass my gag reflex taking him all the way.

I start bobbing my head on his cock making Carlos tangle his fingers into my hair while Lando pulls my swim bottoms to the side where he started teasing my clit making me moan around Carlos's cock.

Once Lando felt I was wet enough he grips into my hair pulling me off Carlos's cock making me whine at the loss. Once Lando gets me situated on my hands and knees but this time facing Lando I realize all the prep he had done wasn't for him but was for Carlos.

Lando pulls his shorts off letting me take his cock into my mouth while I feel the tip of Carlos's cock teasing my clit making me pull off Lando's cock and trying to turn my head.

"He's wearing protection," Lando tells me softly making me nod my head and get back to work with Lando's cock. When I feel Carlos slowly sinking his thick cock into my tight pussy I whimper at the stretch. I can tell he's wearing a condom making me smile softly to myself knowing Lando was telling me the truth.

I knew I wasn't gonna last long but when I feel my orgasm build almost instantly I start freaking out slightly trying to pull my hips away from Carlos.

"Am I hurting you," Carlos asks letting my hips go letting me get away slightly.

"No! I was about to cum," I admit sheepishly making Carlos groans and sink his cock back into me in one quick motion before pounding into me and throwing me over the edge almost instantly.

"I don't care if you cum in 3 seconds or 3 hours, I want you to let go," Carlos groans fucking me through my orgasm before slowing down almost completely letting me come down from my orgasm without over stimulating me but once I got a few minutes of rest Carlos gets right back to it making me moan around Lando's cock making him whimper and pull me off his cock not wanting to cum just yet.

"Fuck, Carlos," I moan rather loudly letting my voice echo across the water coming out far louder than I was hoping.

"So fucking tight," Carlos groans clearly getting close to the edge making Lando shove his cock back into my mouth. I could feel another orgasm building deep in the pit of my stomach and once I finally release I feel Carlos shove deep into me one last time before filling the condom up with his cock. I feel Lando shudder one last time before a loud whine leaves his mouth and he starts cumming filling my mouth with his cum.

"Don't swallow," Carlos groans while slowly slipping his cock from my pussy making a me turn my head slightly and open my mouth showing him my mouth full of cum.

"Swallow some of it and spit the rest into his mouth," Lando says out of breath behind me making me look at Carlos who has a smirk on his face and he nods giving me permission. I swallow half of Lando's load before standing up and pulling Carlos into my mouth and pushing the rest of the cum in his mouth where he quickly swallows it and pulls me in for a quick makeout before pulling back and grabbing his discarded swim trunks.

Lando helps me get dressed before pulling me back into his chest and letting me cuddle up with him.

"Who else have you told?" I finally ask in a hushed whisper while Carlos starts moving the yacht to another location.

"No one I swear! But I'm sure Carlos will tell Charles, who will tell Pierre, who will tell Yuki, who will tell everyone," Lando admits sheepishly making my face grow hot and a groan to leave my lips.

"Great so I'm about to become the paddock whore," I saw with a cringed look across my face.

"No, I'm positive if anything they'll just want a taste," Lando tells me softly making me groan and throw my head back.

"That might even be worse," I groan again making Lando laugh softly.

"You do what you want. If someone tries anything and you don't want it you tell them to fuck off," Lando says as if this was the most normal situation in the world.

Over the next few weeks the group chat that started with just Lando, Carlos and I had slowly grown in size. While I wasn't sure how word had spread so fast I was positive that my life was not the same one it was at the start of the season.

[divinesolas]

sleepless nights

based on two requests; you can’t sleep and it seems neither can your husband. you find comfort within one another.

wrds; 546

a.n: just some fluff/minor angst to distract me from the pain of todays ep, 🫶

the ceiling was nice.

or maybe it was a couple minutes ago. hours ago? you had no clue how long you bad been up staring at it.

you missed luke. So much. your little brother. gone just like that. and you were so sick.

the door to your room opened but you dont even have the strength to look. with war at large you should be alert, especially with the attempt on your mothers life you should care. yet if someone has come to kill you you’ll let them because you cannot find it in yourself to care.

what you do notice however is the bed next to you sinking down and the warm heat, his smell. you turn your head, the first time youve moved in awhile you can feel the strain on your bones. a gentle hand runs on your cheek and you close your eyes at the warm. You can feel his breath on your skin, face to face though you cant bare to look at him, your eyes closed but you are more awake then ever.

“you were not at supper.”

you have barely left your bed today you certainly could not attend dinner.

“i am not hungry.”

“when was the last time you ate?”

you dont know. yesterday? a week ago? nothing mattered to you anymore.

your silence tells him everything he needs to know and he sighs, scooting closer to you and pulling you right against him. your head in his neck where you can feel his pulse. It gives you a sense of semblance a sense of life. He is alive.

“i miss him.” He knows exactly who youre talking about and his pulse races a shuttering breath leaves his lips. “i do too, so much.”

“its my fault.” you two say at the same time, pulling apart to look at each other. he is the first to speak, his guilt racing through his bones.

“how is this your fault? i was the one who had suggested we fly out the blame is on me alone-“

“i had swapped with him. i did not want to fly to see borros and i asked if i could take lady arryn. He agreed,” you find yourself struggling to speak as the tears flood into your eyes and your throat closes around you. “it would have been me. it should have been me.”

He grips your shoulders and looks you dead in the eyes, despite the gloss over them you can feel the fury. “never say such a thing. what would i do without you?” your eyes shut and shaky sobs escape your lips. His lips press against yours and your sobs cease. He pulls away and brushes your tears off your face.

“i suppose it does not matter whos fault it is. Because we have each other. and we will never lose each other. ever. when our mother ascends the throne we will take her place after her. and everyday we will live, for him.”

You nod. Hes right. You should not be wallowing in your grief it is not what he would have wanted. You allow him to lull you to sleep. It is the first time you’ve been able to sleep in days. You are at peace.

perm jace taglist <3 (open!)

@earth4angels @cruelworldlana @smurfelle @ireneispunk @hxtd @venmondiese @urmomsgirlfriend1 @jacesvelaryons @ravenn-darkholme @damewritesalot

[alotofpockets]

Out in the open | Lotte Wubben-Moy

Pairing: Lotte Wubben-Moy x Arsenal!Reader

Summary: When you make the move to Arsenal, none of your teammates know that you and Lotte are dating. How long will it take them to figure it out?

A/n: Celebrating Lotte's birthday today, with my first Lotte fic :)

Masterlist | Woso masterlist | Words: 1.6k

-----

You had met Lotte when you were playing against England a little over a year ago. Her being a defender and you being a striker for the Netherlands, meant you had seen a lot of each other that match. When you got on your phone after the match, you had an Instagram notification that Lotte had followed you, you followed her back instantly and sent her a message.

y/n_y/l/n: Good game today :)

She messaged you back within a minute.

lottewubbenmoy: Same to you! 

The two of you had started texting back and forth every day since, eventually swapping numbers, to take the conversation off of Instagram. You still talked every day, and had called a couple of times as well.

The next time you had seen her was when you were both back in the UK, again playing against each other but this time she was playing for Arsenal and you were playing for Liverpool. The morning of the match, Lotte had texted you saying that she would be in Liverpool an extra day, and asked if you wanted to grab a bite to eat together. You set up plans with her, before you headed over to the station.

Even though that was the first time you had met each other in person outside of playing football, it felt like you had known each other forever, and it quickly became clear that it wasn’t just grabbing a bite as friends, but that it was a date. After dinner the two of you went on a stroll around Liverpool, and after you walked her back to the hotel where she would be staying that night, you kissed her good night. 

The next morning you had picked her up from the hotel, and the two of you had breakfast together, before Lotte had to head back to London. It was at breakfast where Lotte had asked you to be her girlfriend, to which you had excitedly said yes. 

It has been almost six months now since that day. The two of you had decided to keep your relationship private, at least for now. Not even your teammates knew you were dating each other. Lotte had shared with her teammates that she was in a relationship, since they were quick to notice that she seemed happier, and kept looking at her phone with a smile. She knew they would push until they had their way, so she had said that she was in a relationship but she never mentioned with whom. 

Your teammates were less observant, and didn’t have a clue of this change in your life. The bond you had with your teammates was strictly professional, while Lotte’s team was like family to her. You had heard similar stories from your national teammates Viv and Vic, who both played for the club as well. You wanted to play for a club like that, a club where you wouldn't just be teammates but you would also be friends. In your opinion that dynamic made you a better team. So, when Arsenal’s offer came your way, you were quick to discuss it with your girlfriend. Lotte was delighted to have you closer, and was also very happy for you, since she knew that you had been wanting to leave Liverpool for a bit now. 

The night before your first training session at Arsenal, you spent at Lotte’s place. “Since we’ll be playing for the same club now, do you want to tell the team about us?” You asked her when you were laying cuddled up in bed with her. “Maybe we should wait just a little bit, I want them to get to know you for you, and not as my girlfriend first.” You agreed with her thinking, wanting to make your first impressions with them without any preconceptions. 

Meeting the team had been great, and your first practice went smoothly. You felt at home instantly, as all the girls were very welcoming, and kind. You had asked Lotte if it was okay to wait with telling the team about the two of you until you had earned a spot in the line up, which Lotte didn’t mind at all. 

You had a few training sessions back at Colney before the team travelled to Portugal, and continued training there. Coincidentally you and Lotte were rooming together, so it was safe to say that one of the beds wasn’t used. 

It was a lot colder in Portugal than you had thought when you packed, so you didn’t bring any hoodies besides your Arsenal ones that were in the laundry at the moment. “Do you have a hoodie I can borrow?” Lotte told you to take whichever one you wanted. Your eye fell on her Carolina Tar Heels hoodie, and you decided to go for that one. 

The two of you thought you were hiding your relationship well, but when you walked downstairs for dinner, you had completely forgotten that you were wearing Lotte’s college hoodie. Alessia sat down next to you, “I didn’t know you went to UNC too.” She said with confusion laced in her voice. Sure you wouldn’t have been in the same year, but you were only a few years older, so she assumed she would have at least heard of you. You look at her confused, not realising why she would think you went to UNC. Alessia nods to your hoodie, that’s when you realised your mistake. “Oh, I forgot I was wearing this, I borrowed it from someone.” 

Alessia let it go, or so you thought. The fellow striker was smart, and knew that there was only one other teammate in Portugal that went to UNC. So, later in the day she took Lotte aside. “So, when were you going to tell me that you’re dating y/n?” The question takes Lotte by surprise. She didn’t mind hiding your relationship but it felt wrong to lie about it, especially to one of her childhood friends. So, she explains everything to Alessia. Alessia was happy for the both of you and let Lotte go again.

Lotte quickly made her way over to her room, hoping that you would be there, since she hadn’t seen you in the rest of the hotel. When she opened the door and realised that you were inside she immediately started talking, too worried herself to notice that you had previously been pacing the room. “Alessia knows about us, she asked me if it was you, and I couldn’t lie to her.” She is worried because you had specifically asked if you could wait until you had made the line-up, and she hadn’t kept that promise. You step forward and place your hands on her shoulders. “It’s okay, it was my fault that she found out. I was still wearing your UNC hoodie when I went to dinner, and she was asking me about it.” 

“So, you’re not mad?” You shake your head, “No, of course not. I do not mind people knowing about us, I just don’t want people to think I’m getting special treatment because I’m dating a long time Arsenal player.” Lotte had never questioned the reasoning behind your want to keep the relationship to yourselves for a bit longer, as she respected your wishes despite the reasoning. “You’ve shown the team how good you are in training, and I am sure that no one would ever think you’re getting special treatment because you’re dating me. We can continue to keep us private however long you want us too though, well private besides Alessia.” You thanked her for her understanding, before you asked for some cuddles in bed. 

A few weeks later when the lineup for the match against Watford was announced, you found yourself amongst the substitutes, and couldn’t be more proud. You were subbed in at the 72nd minute of the match for your Arsenal debut, and were able to add your first assist to your stats.

While you were celebrating the win in the locker room, you whispered in your girlfriend’s ear, “So, how do you want to tell the team?” She smiled, “I have an idea, can I tell them now?” You smile and nod. 

Lotte takes your hand and pulls you towards Alessia, where she takes her hand as well, pulling the both of you to the middle of the locker room. Everyone’s eyes were already on the three of you, so Lotte started. “I know the captain usually does a speech but before we do that I wanted to say a little something. Today y/n had her Arsenal debut, and assisted Alessia on a beautiful goal that got us the win.” The team started cheering, clapping, and whistling. “Oh, and one more thing. I know you’ve all been wanting to know who my girlfriend is.” She turns to you and puts an arm around your shoulder, to pull you into her side. “It’s y/n.” Your teammates are all very happy for you, and a few of them wolf whistle when you place a quick peck to your girlfriend’s lips. 

Now that your teammates knew, you both decided that you had hidden the relationship enough, so when your six month anniversary came along, you both posted something to launch your relationship to the world.

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lottewubbenmoy: here's to making memories. happy 6 months x

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y/n_y/l/n: six month with you 💕

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Now that your relationship was out in the open, you were loving the moments you got to share outside of private spaces. Going on dates together, holding her hand whenever you wanted, kissing her in public. Even the little things were just so much easier now that the world around you knew.

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[bruhnze]

PLAYING FOR KEEPS

CHAPTER 3 – Keep your friends close, but your competitors closer

Summary: Ona Batlle has had a crush on Lucy Bronze for a little while now… how will it go when she joins Barça? A 10 chapter series.

Warnings: Slow burn, angst, fluff, smut. All the things, but I give this as a complete warning for the whole series. Not every chapter involves all the warnings :).

masterlist

September 16, 2023: vs. Madrid CFF (2-0, away) October 1, 2023: vs. Sporting de Huelva (2-1, away)

Spain – September 15th 2023

"Room arrangements?" Alexia snapped, clearly annoyed by the interruption in her conversation with Irene.

"Yeah, who’s sharing rooms?" Patri asked the first captain. "We texted about it. You were supposed to discuss it with Jonatan and share the list today. Did you?"

"Oh, did I forget to send the text? We decided to sort by last names," Alexia replied, glancing back at Irene. "Sorry, Irene, one second." She quickly pulled out her phone and sent the finalized room assignments to the team group chat. ‘’Thanks Patri.’’

<<FCBF First Team - Season 23/24>>

..

"What’s this sorted by?" Esmee asked Ingrid, looking a bit perplexed as she scanned the list on her phone while sitting with Mapi, Aitana, and Ingrid in a booth on the bus. "I can’t find my name."

Mapi sighed dramatically. "They sorted it by last names. Ingrid, I told you we needed to get married," she whined.

Ingrid chuckled. "I’m pretty sure couples with last names next to each other will be swapped anyway."

"Ayy Mapi," Patri said as she approached the group, "how would you feel about sharing a room with Salma instead of me?"

Ingrid shook her head with a smile, glancing at the list. "And you and Pina will room together?"

Mapi laughed, "Pfft, I won’t trade with anyone but Jana. I might need to make a quick visit to her seat."

"Nuh-uh, no trades allowed," Aitana chuckled. "And you and Pina will definitely not be rooming together."

"What’s wrong, Esmee?" Ingrid asked, noticing the Dutch midfielder still anxiously scrolling through her phone. When Esmee remained quiet, Ingrid checked the list again, looking for Brugts' name at the top. She realized Esmee had been left out.

"Alexia!" Ingrid shouted, frustrated. "You forgot Esmee on the list." When she saw Alexia was sitting too far and was in conversation she turned to Mapi. "Babe, you need to fix this."

"Me?" Mapi replied, bewildered. "What can I do about it?" she asked defensively, raising her hands.

Aitana laughed. "I think Brugts should be with Bonmatí, right? Both ‘B’?"

Ingrid gave Mapi a stern look.

Maria scratched her head. "I’ll go to Ale and tell her Tana and Esmee will room together, and I’ll remind her she’s silly for forgetting Esmee," Mapi offered carefully to her girlfriend.

Ingrid smiled at Mapi. "Thank you, baby. You’re so sweet." She wrapped an arm around Esmee. "No worries, Maria will fix it."

Esmee smiled as she leaned into Ingrid, chuckling as Mapi scrunched her face, still a bit jealous that Ingrid had insisted on sitting next to Esmee, and opposite to her.

"Whipped," Patri whispered to Mapi as they headed back towards Alexia´s seat.

..

A few moments later, an updated list was sent to the group chat.

<<FCBF First Team - Season 23/24>>

@Alexia Putellas: Sorry, guys, forgot our star player! Everyone moves back one place. These will be our roommates for the entire season. If you can't share a room with the person you’re assigned to professionally, please come to me. Except for those exceptions, this is final.

@Jonatan Giráldez: Just to be 100% clear, to make sure you all understand what Alexia meant by that message: It is not our intention that couples share a room. We see this as a breach of professionalism. If there’s a couple we don’t know about, please report it to us so we can arrange different rooming. We support and accept relationships within FC Barcelona, they just can´t share rooms. Thank you.

Ona had quietly observed the whole situation unfold and hadn’t interrupted when Mapi pressured Alexia into pairing Esmee with Aitana, even though it should’ve been Batlle, Bonmatí, Brugts, and Bronze. She figured since she already roomed with Aitana for Spain, she could manage with Lucy here. Maybe it would even be a good chance for them to become better friends. Honestly she already felt a little excitement pumping through her veins at the thought of being alone for Lucy for more moments.

Ona glanced at Lucy. She was deep in conversation with Mariona. Lucy was friendly with everyone, so she probably hadn’t even thought about who she’d be rooming with.

..

As the bus stopped at a gas station, everyone got out for a quick stretch or bathroom break.

Lucy stood behind Ona, waiting in line to use the restroom.

"Who’s your roommate?" Ona asked, trying to make small talk. She couldn´t help but just wanting to talk with Lucy.

"Uh," Lucy laughed a little awkwardly, "I don’t know. Where can we check?"

"It’s in the group chat," Ona replied, then realized she’d been careless. She already knew they were rooming together. "Oh, I see there’s a new list," she quickly added, pretending to check her phone just now.

Lucy had also pulled out her phone. They looked up at each other simultaneously, Lucy grinning widely while Ona feigned surprise.

"Hey, we’re sharing!"

"Looks like it," Ona chuckled. "Who did you room with last year?"

"Mariona," Lucy laughed, nudging her friend, who was standing nearby, absorbed in her phone.

"What?" Mariona asked, looking up, confused.

"Oh," Lucy chuckled, "just saying it’s probably for the best they made a new room arrangement. We barely slept because you’re too funny."

"Have the rooms been assigned?" Mariona asked, glancing between Ona and Lucy.

Ona laughed. "What are you doing on your phone then? Didn’t you see the group chat messages?"

"Hmm," Mariona muttered as she opened WhatsApp. "Ah, let me see." After a few seconds she palmed her forehead. "Cata," she groaned, pushing Lucy playfully. "Well, you might’ve upgraded to more sleep, but I definitely haven’t."

"Well, I’ve lost my Spanish teacher," Lucy pouted, draping an arm around Mariona, "and no more lullabies."

"What?" Ona chuckled, confused.

Mariona shook her head, laughing. "Ay, don’t spill our secrets Lucy. That was something special between us," she said, bursting into laughter.

Whatever the inside joke was, it must have been hilarious, as the two of them doubled over with laughter, wiping tears from their eyes.

The line moved forward, and it was Ona’s turn, so she guessed she wouldn’t be getting an explanation anytime soon.

..

The team bus pulled into the driveway of the hotel, the low hum of the engine fading as it came to a stop. The players were a mix of weary from the journey and buzzing with energy, eager to stretch their legs and settle into their rooms. The hotel was sleek and modern, its glass shiny front facade reflecting the late afternoon sun.

Alexia was the first to stand, grabbing her bag from the overhead compartment. She glanced back at the team, "Remember, room assignments are final. If there's an issue, come see me, but let's try to get things over with smoothly. I´ll call everyone up and hand out the keycards once we´re inside, please gather in the lobby quietly. Please, let´s show that we are a good behaved team."

The players began filing off the bus, exchanging light chatter. Ona was one of the first out, taking in the sight of the hotel. She felt Lucy come up beside her, still laughing at something Mariona had said moments ago.

"Nice place," Lucy commented, slinging her bag over her shoulder.

Ona nodded, "Yeah, looks good." She looked around for the entrance, spotting a hotel staff member ready to guide them in.

As they walked in, Mariona caught up with them, a smile still on her face. "I hope the beds are better than the last hotel, though. My back still hasn’t forgiven me."

"This time you'll have Cata to complain to," Lucy teased, nudging Mariona with her elbow.

Mariona rolled her eyes dramatically, "If she snores, you bet I'm coming to your room."

The lobby was spacious and elegant, with polished marble floors and minimalist decor. A large chandelier hung from the ceiling, casting a glow over the space. The receptionist smiled warmly as the team approached the front desk, where a manager stood ready to greet them.

"Welcome, team FC Barcelona, it is an honor to host you guys" the manager said with a smile that was almost leaning towards creepy because of the way he forced it, "We have everything prepared for your stay. If you could just confirm your room assignments, we'll have your keys ready in no time."

Alexia took charge, stepping forward with a clipboard in hand. She read out the pairings, double-checking against the list she had sent earlier.

"Aitana and Esmee," she began, and the two nodded in acknowledgment, moving to the side to wait for their keys.

"Ona and Lucy," she continued, glancing up. Watching as the pair caught each others eyes and smiled at each other.

..

With everyone eventually checked in, the team slowly made their way to the elevators. As they piled in, the air was filled with laughter and the sound of luggage wheels rolling across the floor.

Once in the elevator, Ona found herself next to Lucy. Maybe it was not really a coincidence as she took the fact they were roommates now as a opportunity to stick to the other defender, at least for this moment. "So…  you ready to be roomies this season?" Ona asked with a smile.

Lucy shrugged and laughed playfully, "As long as you don't mind my midnight snacking."

Ona chuckled, "Allright, just don't wake me up, and we're good."

The elevator dinged, and the doors opened to reveal a long, carpeted hallway. The couple of team members that had shared the elevator began heading to their respective rooms, eager to finally drop their bags and relax for a moment before they had a meeting later and the team dinner.

As Ona slid her keycard into the door and pushed it open. The room was spacious, with two neatly made beds, a large window offering a view of some greenery the hotel bordered, and a modern bathroom off to the side.

Lucy dropped her bag on one of the beds and flopped down beside it, "Home sweet home for the next days I guess."

Ona smiled. "Yup." She placed her bag down on the ground and sat on the edge of the other bed, already feeling comfortable in the new environment. She took her phone out of her pocket as she felt it buzzing.

<<FCBF First Team - Season 23/24>>

@Cata Coll: jajajjaj does everyone have glass bathrooms?

Ona looked up at the bathroom, only now realizing the walls were indeed, see-through.

<<FCBF First Team - Season 23/24>>

@Marta Torrejón: we shower together often, what’s the difference?

@Cata Coll: yeah, but the toilet is in there too…

@Vicky López: team buildingggg 🤪🤪

@Caroline Graham Hansen: you guys realize we are able to exit the rooms right? just communicate with your roommate.

@Salma Paralluelo:

@Vicky López: jjjajajajajjaj @salma quick with ittt

Ona chuckled at the messages, catching Lucy's attention. Lucy, who had been staring up at the ceiling, turned her head. “What’s so funny?”

“Check out the group chat,” Ona said, still laughing, pointing behind her. “Turns out everyone’s bathroom has a glass wall.”

Lucy raised an eyebrow, chuckling. “A glass wall? Wow, I guess we’ll be getting to know each other very well.” She turned to sit up towards Ona.

Ona held up her phone so Lucy could see the messages. Lucy started laughing too. “Who thought it was a good idea to put a glass bathroom in a room meant for at least two people anyways?"

Ona shook her head with a smile. "Well at least for us the only weird part is the toilet. We’re used to sharing showers at the club anyway. But for other groups of people it would be very weird, yeah."

Lucy chuckled, ‘’Haha, imagine two guys from some corporate business sharing this room.’’

Ona shook her head and chuckled, ‘’yeah, what a strange hotel, really weird.’’

"Maybe we can just leave the room if the other needs to use it," Lucy suggested, still chuckling. "or we could always find another bathroom."

"Yeah, we'll figure it out," Ona agreed, kicking off her shoes before also flopping back onto her bed.

<<FCBF First Team - Season 23/24>>

@Alexia Putellas: Sí, we’ll just have to manage. Follow @Caroline’s advice: talk to your roommate about giving each other some privacy. And @Vicky, you're right, it’s definitely teambuilding! Setting boundaries can actually help us grow stronger together. 😊

@Salma Paralluelo:

@Alexia Putellas: Sí, thumbs up 😊

..

The team’s meeting went as expected. Jonatan broke down the tactics for tomorrow’s match, reviewing their opponents’ weaknesses and how Barcelona could exploit them. There was a seriousness in the room, but a relaxed confidence as well, thanks to the string of victories they held against this opponent.

At the end of the meeting they all knew their own roles, the roles of their teammates, the defensive structures and attacking movements. Everyone left the meeting feeling prepared and focused but ready for a meal with some more easy conversations.

The team gathered in the hotel dining room. Ona, Salma, Vicky, Bruna, Jana, Patri, and Pina found a long table near the windows and claimed it. The vibe was light and playful, everyone still buzzing from the earlier meeting. As Ona settled into her chair, chatting with Vicky about her excitement for the match, Lucy appeared with a tray, scanning the room for a seat.

"Mind if I join you guys?" Lucy asked, her eyes landing briefly on Ona, a small smile tugging at her lips.

"Sure, Lucy," Patri waved her over with a chuckle. "There’s space right here."

Lucy sat across from Ona, placing her tray down. Almost instantly, Jana leaned slightly over the table. “Wouldn’t you rather sit next to Ona?” she teased, her eyes glinting mischievously. “You two seem pretty close these days.”

Ona felt her cheeks flush, and she tried to hide it by taking a sip of water. Lucy, however, didn’t miss a beat. She chuckled and raised an eyebrow at Jana. "Is that your subtle way of asking me to move, Jana? You can just say if you don’t want me next to you."

Laughter rippled across the table.

"Hey, I’m just asking," Jana said, smirking. "Gotta make sure everyone’s... comfortable."

"Very considerate of you," Lucy replied dryly, glancing at Ona, who still hadn't quite found her voice but was smiling, cheeks flushed pink.

Ona wished she could disappear through the floor. Why would Jana say something like that? It wasn’t as if she and Lucy were attached at the hip. In fact, Ona had made a conscious effort not to follow Lucy around like some starstruck puppy. She was careful—so careful—to keep her distance, to maintain that delicate balance of being close but not too close. They were apart often, painfully often, if she was honest.

If only Jana knew how much effort I put into this, Ona thought, mentally wincing. If she knew, she’d never make a joke like that.

The rest of the table laughed at Jana’s comment, but Ona could barely join in. Lucy though, she didn’t seem phased at all, her expression as light as ever, which made Ona feel both relieved and frustrated. It was a emphasis that Lucy could never look at it the way she did.

The conversation shifted back to football and the plans for tomorrow’s match. With just the right proportions of banter and seriousness. Everyone seemed relaxed, the different tables buzzing with jokes.

As they finished their meals, Jonatan reminded them to get some rest. “Early night, everyone. We have a big day tomorrow. I suggests everyone goes to their room after deserts and we stay off the hallways, everyone can relax in their rooms and preferable go to bed early.”

The team groaned good-naturedly but they kept their opinions about it silent.

After the food the players obediently made their way back to their rooms one by one. Ona and Lucy walked together, a comfortable silence between them as they navigated the quiet hotel hallways.

Once in their room, Lucy stretched, pulling off her sweater before throwing it onto her bed. “That dinner was fun,” she said casually, glancing at Ona. "Jana’s a funny girl."

Ona chuckled, still feeling the warmth in her cheeks from earlier. “Yeah, she’s just stirring, I don’t know.” She paused, sitting on the edge of her bed, fiddling with her bracelet. “Thanks for sitting with us.”

Lucy sat down on her own bed, leaning back on her arms. “Huh? I came to join you guys.” She hesitated for a moment, chuckling quietly. “Thanks for letting me sit with your friends.”

Ona’s heart skipped a beat at the casual way Lucy talked. ‘’Ofcourse, you can always join us, whenever you like.’’

‘’Good.’’ Lucy smiled, ‘’but from everyone I like to spend time the most with you I think.’’

Ona stared at Lucy. Her mind running a thousand thoughts at the same time. But she didn’t want to read into it. “I like spending time with you too,” she admitted, her voice quiet and her cheeks heating up.

They lapsed into a comfortable silence, the dim glow of the bedside lamps casting soft shadows on the walls. Ona’s eyelids were starting to feel heavy, the weight of the day catching up to her.

Lucy noticed and chuckled softly. “We should get some sleep, Ona. Big game tomorrow.”

Ona nodded, stifling a yawn. ‘’Mhm, you’re right.’’ She agreed with Lucy, even though the way her name rolled off Lucy lips made her sleepiness disappear.

They gave eachother some time to use the bathroom and got dressed in their pajama’s or rather just undressing, in Lucy’s case. Apparently Lucy slept in her underwear, Ona concluded as she saw Lucy crawling under the covers.

She climbed into her own bed, pulling the blankets up around her. As she settled in, she heard Lucy’s quiet voice from across the room. “Goodnight, Ona.”

“Goodnight, Lucy,” Ona mumbled back.

..

16th September 2023

They had won the game 2-0, a brilliant start to the Liga F season. But Ona still couldn’t sleep. She tossed and turned, her mind racing with thoughts of the match. Glancing over, she noticed Lucy scribbling something down in a notebook.

“Hey, Luce,” Ona whispered softly, trying not to disturb the quiet.

“Hm?” Lucy responded, not looking up from her notes.

“Is it okay if I call my mom really quick?”

“Of course,” Lucy replied, turning toward her with a warm smile. “Are you okay? Do you want me to step out for a bit?”

“No, no, I’m fine,” Ona reassured her, shaking her head. “I just want to talk to her for a second. We’ll speak in Catalan anyways.”

Lucy grinned. “Are you annoyed that you’re finally back in Spain and stuck rooming with someone who speaks English?”

Ona chuckled. “Actually, I like keeping up with my English. With the others, I can speak Catalan or Spanish.”

“Well, I can’t speak Catalan yet,” Lucy teased, showing her notebook with a proud smile, “but my Spanish is getting better. See? I’ve been practicing.”

Ona smiled. “If you ever need tips or have any questions, you can always ask.”

“Gracias,” Lucy replied in Spanish. “You Spanish people are so kind.” She waved her notebook playfully. “Now go call your mom, I’ll be quiet.”

Ona’s mom answered on the third ring, her voice lighting up at the sound of her daughter. They chatted about the game, her mom mentioning how excited she was to be able to go to the next match so they could see each other. But mostly so they could see their little girl play in real life again, instead of from behind a screen. As the conversation went on, Ona’s voice began to tremble. She tried to keep her composure as she was all to aware of the fact she was not alone. Maybe if it had been any other person she hadn´t minded a few tears, but with Lucy it was no option. Crying infront of your crush was like one of the most pathetic things that Ona could imagine.

“I really want to hug you, Mom. I miss you,” Ona admitted, trying to keep her emotions in check.

“Oh, honey, are you feeling down?” her mom asked gently.

“No,” Ona sniffed, “I’m really happy actually, just a bit overwhelmed.”

“Can you find a teammate to hug, then? Maybe a hug with someone else will help you a little bit too,” her mom suggested. “Or maybe just talk to someone?”

“Yeah, but I don’t know my roommate that well yet, not on that level” Ona confessed. “That’s why I called you, mom, I just needed to talk.”

They chatted a bit longer until Ona felt more at ease. Her mom promised her a big hug next time they saw eachother, sending plenty of love through the phone before they said goodnight.

When Ona finally hung up, she realized the call had lasted over half an hour. She turned to see if Lucy was still awake, noticing her light was still on.

Lucy smiled at her. “Feeling a little better?”

“I didn’t mean to keep you awake…” Ona began, trying to sound composed, though her runny nose likely gave her away.

Lucy’s expression softened, “Just so you know, if you ever need to talk about anything, I’m here.”

Ona nodded, her voice shaky. “T-thanks.”

“And if you need a hug, just ask,” Lucy added, turning back to her notebook. “I’m here.”

Ona hesitated before asking, “Did you… did you understand my conversation?”

Lucy looked back, smiling curiously. “Did you talk to your mom about hugging me?”

Ona blushed, shaking her head. “No, I just said I missed my mom’s hugs,” she laughed, embarrassed.

“Ahh,” Lucy chuckled.

“Then she suggested I ask my roommate for a hug,” Ona admitted, her face still flushed. “But I said I didn’t know her that well yet.”

Lucy set her notebook aside and sat up, her expression softening further. “Oh, I’m sorry if I made you feel that way. I hope you know I’m here for you, whether you need a hug or just someone to listen.”

Ona nodded, sitting on the edge of her bed. “I’d like a hug. I’m not sad or anything, just… a bit overwhelmed by everything I guess.”

Lucy smiled gently, shifting in her bed. “All right, let’s see if I can get these legs to work.”

“No, wait!” Ona suddenly remembered Lucy had been icing her legs for hours. “No, don’t get up. You need to recover, we have to travel tomorrow. I don’t want to mess with your recovery.”

Lucy tilted her head slightly, “You come here then. Otherwise, I’ll stand up, it’s no big deal. It’s the same as if I needed to go to the bathroom.”

Ona blushed, glancing at Lucy in her bed. Lucy was wearing matching white Calvin Klein underwear, a sports bra and briefs. Her abs, usually defined, were softened by the way she was half sitting, her knee wrapped in a brace.

“Come on,” Lucy coaxed softly, now lying back down. “Don’t be shy. I promise I’m nice.”

“Yeah, I know you’re nice,” Ona muttered as she stood up, trying to figure out how to approach this.

Dressed in her pajama shorts and T-shirt, Ona climbed onto Lucy’s bed, unsure if she should lie directly on top of her. But Lucy’s open arms were inviting, and soon, Ona found herself half lying on top of Lucy, who closed her arm around the smaller woman.

“Are you comfortable?” Ona asked. “Is your knee okay?”

“Mhmm,” Lucy smiled, bringing her hand to Ona’s back and gently rubbing soothing circles. “You?”

“Why are you so nice?” Ona murmured against Lucy’s upper chest.

“Why?” Lucy paused, her hand stilling for a moment. “Because we’re teammates and roommates, and I like to think we’re friends. Or maybe becoming friends? Honestly, I thought we we’re already friends.”

Ona remained silent.

“Like with the walking and stuff,  driving together to training,” Lucy continued, resuming her soothing motions. “But before this we already knew each other a little, right? From back in England, the worldcup, and now we are neighbors... and I mean our dogs are friends”

“Yeah,” Ona said softly, “I want to be friends with you too. I was just a little afraid you’d see me as a rival since we both play right back. But I promise, they signed me to play left back, and I’m happy with that because I like it there too.”

Lucy chuckled, “Were you worried about that?” She playfully patted Ona’s head. “Don’t worry.’’ She chuckled. ‘’I think you’ll get the spot eventually, I mean you’re still young. You’ll be better than me one day, but for now, I’m still better,” she teased.

Ona chuckled, though she felt a little embarrassed. “Sorry,” she muttered, burying her face further against Lucy.

“I thought you were nice when I met you at Stani’s wedding, if I’m honest from that day on I have seen you as a friend of mine” Lucy said, resuming the gentle motions on Ona’s back. “Stani likes you a lot, by the way. She’s always going on about how great it is that we’re playing together now.”

Ona’s cheeks burned with embarrassment. She hoped Staniforth hadn’t spilled anything about her crush on Lucy. “Oh, yeah, we’re good friends,” she said, not sure what else to say.

“Did you know I grew up with Stani?” Lucy smiled at the memory. “She was my neighbor. We used to play football together every day. And do you remember Jordan? She was also at the wedding, remember?’’

Ona hummed.

‘’Well, she was part of our little group too. Those were such good times.” Lucy said, smiling as she looked up at the ceiling, remembering the early days of her football career.

Ona smiled, and after a moment of silence, she softly spoke, “I like listening to you talk.” She confessed.

Lucy chuckled, still tracing slow circles on Ona’s back. “Does it help calm you down?”

Ona nodded slightly against Lucy’s chest. “Yeah, it does.”

“Well,” Lucy continued with a warm smile, “I can keep talking if you want. What should I tell you about next?”

Ona thought for a moment.

“Would you tell me about your whole career? Like the clubs you played for, their playing styles, and how you adapted?” She asked eventually.

Lucy chuckled, “Ah, I see what this is,” she teased, poking Ona gently. “You’re trying to trick me into revealing my secrets.”

Ona giggled as Lucy tickled her. “Sorry, sorry!” she cried, laughing until Lucy stopped. “Okay, something else then.”

“No, no,” Lucy pulled her closer, her arms wrapping around Ona like a protective shield. “I don’t keep any football secrets from my teammates.” Her fingers gently threaded through Ona’s hair, her voice softening. “I just want you to feel comfortable here.” Lucy’s chest rose and fell beneath Ona’s cheek, the steady rhythm almost lulling her to a calm. “If I’m being honest,” Lucy sighed, “maybe I secretly wished I had someone to comfort me when I was new. So now I’m here for you.” She paused, her lips quirking into a half-smile. “Mario was great - super kind, really - but we we’re just... not really huggers like this.”

Ona hummed against Lucy’s chest, her thoughts racing in every direction, both a thousand and none. How was she even processing this? She was here, lying against Lucy’s body, getting comforted by someone she admired so deeply. Friends. That’s what they were, right? Lucy had made that clear. Friends was good. Friends were safe.

But still, her mind wouldn’t stop racing. She clung tighter to Lucy, as if holding on would help quiet the whirlwind in her mind. No, she said to herself, Lucy thought relationships were distractions, that being single was freedom. So friends it was. It had to be. And it wasn’t like Ona could confess her feelings anyway. That would be absurd. Lucy was… out of her league.

masterlist

[angstics]

Highlights from the AJ Pen webcast on the My Chemical Romance Foundations Tour set and lighting design book:

“[Gerard Way] was the most- he was the one that I was interfacing with most to come up with this design. Although the rest of the band did have their own say in one way or another. And he in his other life is a comic book author who wrote the Umbrella Academy. So I did a deep dive into comic books to sort of, understand his world a bit more. And I thought I'd throw a little nod to the comic book world with this sort of cartoonish call-out box [in the design book].”

“This picture from a Nine Inch Nails show is something that Gerard sent me. And he was, when he was asking me to make the color palette look washed out and not necessarily all bold colors, he wanted it to sort of have a sense of being weathered.”

“We took an approach where each song had its own kind of color and it wasn't just one color across all of the lights. We'd take groups of lights, randomize the selection set over the whole rig, and then sort of stretch that make the colors in a neighborhood.”

“That drape is actually black. That's lit with just four or five Mac ultras to give it this lovely red color.”

“Thank you to Gerard Way for working so directly with me on the creative for this project. And then the rest of the band, Ray, Mikey, and Frank, they all had their own say and their own take on this project. And it was a very collaborative effort with me and the band.”

“One cool thing about this band is they play, they're analog. They just play. The drummer listens to a metronome that's just coming off his iPad. So there's no time code. There's no reference. All I know is that more or less they're going to be playing at the same tempos. Although sometimes he would shut off mid song because he would push and pull the tempo bottom style.”

“I will say that for this band the drummer that plays with them didn't chart on most of the records... And he likes to try to really recreate what each drummer that tracked the records was doing.”

"We didn't have any video content to play. Other than there were a few things that our video director, Robbie came up with to mix in with the IMAG. So we did carry IMAG screens and he did mix in a little bit of content, but for the most part, it was basically IMAG and a set on stage.”

“The reason that this set worked without like, a bunch of video screens on stage really well for this band was they never played the same set list twice. And I don't mean that they just had a set list that they had a couple of songs they'd swap out. I had to plead with them to keep the first song to be the same so that we could drop the Kabuki in the same place every day.”

“So once that first song was out of the way, they literally crumpled up the set list from the night before, threw it out... And that's why this sort of set design approach worked. The band would tell their own story because they know their music. I never had a set list feel like it was dragging or wasn't telling the story in some way of what's within their music. They know how to rearrange things and we just programmed each song so that it would stand on its own and work no matter where it ended up in the set list.”

Watch the webcast here! Take a look at the book here!

[faelorelia]

If Byler isn't endgame, then why…

1. Why do they consistently emphasize the unique nature of Will and Mike's friendship within the party? Why highlight their deep bond and illustrate their special connection?

2. Why does Mike gaze at Will with expressions of fondness, affection, admiration, and longing? Not to mention the times he seemingly focuses on Will's lips…

3. Why do they exhibit strange behavior around each other in s4? If they're merely friends, why the nervousness and awkwardness? Their dynamic sharply contrasts with the rest of the party.

4. Why does Mike feel compelled to insist that "they're just friends" to Will if it's an obvious fact? Could it be that Mike senses something more in their relationship?

5. Why are some of their scenes so romantically coded? If you consider it typical best-friend behavior, try swapping Mike with, say, Dustin or Lucas. Byler's scenes, particularly in seasons 2 & 4, are remarkably moving and heart-felt.

6. Why do they share intimate moments they wouldn't with other friends? And say things that sound rather romantic, like "Crazy together," "Hawkins hasn't been the same without you," "I felt like I lost you," "You're the heart"…

7. Why are some of their scenes so intimate that when interrupted by other characters, Will and Mike look as if they were caught doing something "inappropriate"?

8. Why do many of their scenes include "tender, emotional music playing," reminiscent of scenes with other ST couples?

9. Why are Will and Mike consistently paired up and paralleled with other canon couples? And sometimes with gay characters from other films/shows? I recommend checking out this thread as well.

10. Why do Netflix and the ST cast & crew talk about Byler so extensively? Here's a great thread with all their mentions.

11. Why are there numerous queer references surrounding Mike and his relationship with Will? If unclear, you can check out this channel.

12. Why does it seem like Mike and El's romantic relationship is reaching its logical end? If they were intended to be endgame, why did Mike struggle to say he loved her until he felt forced to? And why didn't we get a passionate Mileven scene after his "love confession"?

13. Why was Will present in almost all Mileven scenes in s4? And why was he the one attempting to piece together the broken elements of Mike and El's relationship?

14. Why make Will fall in love with Mike (canonically!) and illustrate the depth of his love for Mike, only to reveal that Will's feelings are unrequited? This character has already endured so much. In the context of a fictional story, it makes sense for such a good character to have a well-deserved happy ending (including being with Mike).

15. And finally: why invest so much in the beginning, highlighting the unique bond between Will and Mike, creating tension with romantic undertones, only to leave it unresolved and without the exploration it seemed to promise?

I want to clarify that I'm not claiming Byler is a definite endgame. I'm fully aware of the unpredictability of ST. However, it seems like a narrative gap if Will and Mike's relationship doesn't find its logical conclusion, which, in my view, is them being romantically together.

[potentialguybodyswaps]

Cum Locked Into a Marine:

Are you in the military but feel like you joined the wrong branch? well there’s a way to swap branches, only catch, you have to swap bodies with someone in that branch and live their life, you can always swap back but only after both parties have finished their contract, so if you have 1 year left on yours, and you decided to swap with a fresh boot, you gotta finish the rest of their contract

Not many people wanna swap with a guy fresh out of boot camp but I did.

I’ve spent a year in the navy and didn’t like it one bit, when I joined I was hoping to join a brotherhood but the comrodery wasn’t there , when I was in A school, the base I was at for training was actually a joint base with the army, navy, Air Force and marines

Something that always upsetted me is when ever we’d see the marines, they were fine as fuck, for no reason, hands down the best looking fucking branch, no homo.

Even when I got to my ship and did a deployment with the marines onboard, they always looked hot and way fitter, if I would have join them instead of the navy, I’d definitely have abs but a lot of the navy struggles to stay within height and weight regulations

So I decided I wanted to swap with a marine, I made an account for the Body Exchange Program (or B.E.P. For short) and went to the subsection for military swaps and clicked on the marine branch to see what bodies were available

One thing I loved about the B.E.P. Is while the swaps are basically contracts and ment to last for the agreed time, they’re a couple ways to get out of that aswell… The B.E.P. Isn’t actually ment for long term swaps, so the only real way to do so is by breaking the TOS (terms of servicing). if both parties end up ejaculating while swaped, they end up locked in each others bodies

A lot of them had high standards in order to swap with them but I did find one Private named Matt Cummings. his profile says he’s only been out of boot camp for a week now and hates it, willing to swap with anyone from any branch as long as their not old.

I’ve only done 1 out of my 5 years so it didn’t bother me basically losing a year and having to restart a 5 year contract, especially if it ment I got to look hot as fuck and be a marine

Luckily I was only about 3 years older so I sent a request and after a little talking he agreed saying “I’d love to be in the navy and see more countries than just being deployed and stuck in 1”

Since we were in the same time zone this would actually be somewhat easy, we just set the time to swap to 3 A.M. when we’re both sleeping, and since we both actually had the next couple days off, it’d give us time to adapt and try to figure out our new lives

He asked me if I was sure I wanted to do this, promising it’s not like how I think it is. And I told him yes I’m sure…

Unfortunately he was one of the few profiles on here that didn’t have a profile pic so I was a bit worried about walking into this blind, but checking out the basic stats on his profile made me a bit more confident, 5’10 and 140. At the very minimum I might lose like 2 inches of height but atleast I lose about 40 pounds of weight also haha

I woke up the next day in a bed that didn’t belong to me and a dorm room that didn’t look familiar to me. Needing to piss I flung the blanket off me and saw that I was in nothing but my underwear, I rushed to the head (bathroom in military talk) and lowered them to piss and was kinda shocked, nothing too special about the dick, I mean about the same size as my actual body, but maybe a bit longer, ok, more than a little, I had to be atleast 3 and a half inches soft now, bro probably had like atleast 2 inches on me hard, I don’t know yet, so I’ll assume im about 6.5 or 7 inches hard maybe more now. What had me shocked tho was that I’m now uncircumcised! This is awesome man! I always wanted to be uncut. I just woke up and I’m glad this guy wanted to swap, definitely lucked out.

After I got done pissing and shooked my dick, I went to the sink to drink some water straight from the facet, after I got done drinking I stood up water dripping down my face onto my chest and onto my thin 6pack… if you could even call these abs, I’m not sure, maybe inbetween toned and abs status. Finally taking the chance to look in the mirror, I believe I lucked out, this guy seems to be one of the finer looking ones

While admiring my new self in the mirror I started to get hard and decided to check out the goods, pulling my underwear down my initial assessment seemed to be right, definitely bigger than my original body, so definitely atleast 7 inches. I decided to save playing with myself for later, hate to be a cliche and immediately go to touching myself after a swap, I’ll save it for later when I decide to act like a true marine and go get day drunk!

I tried finding some clean clothes but everything that wasn’t a uniform item was kinda just thrown onto the floor so I don’t know which piles are clean and which are not… I decided to take from the pile that smelled the lest like B.O. and get dressed

Once dressed I grabbed a backpack I saw laying around and left the onbase housing and found a store that happened to sell some IPA’s in there. I got a 6 pack and headed back to my room. on the way to the store and on the way back I was getting looks from everyone like I’m doing something I shouldn’t be, can’t be the alcohol can it? I mean no way, I tucked it into my bag. I mean, ya bro didn’t check the back of my CAT card to see my date of birth, so it’s technically underage drinking, but no one knows I have beer in my backpack nor does that explain the looks I was getting on the way to the store in the first place

I shrugged it off and just went back inside to my room. Once in I started drinking right away after I found some good shows to watch on this guys phone, I don’t know his password but the finger ID works, I’ll have to message him and ask him for the code later

It was taking me longer than usual to finish these due to not liking the taste anymore, and they were fucking me up more than usual making me a bit nauseous, I guess it makes since, this Matt guy has only been in for a week, probably didn’t have a taste for alcohol yet, not to mention different tastebuds in general, dam that sucks, this was one of my favorite brands too!

It took me almost 3 hours but I was finally on the last one, on a scale of like 1-10 I was probably a 6 on the drunk scale, trying not to throw up, which is ironic sense I use to black out and wake up never throwing up once throughout the night

When I get drunk I like to start cleaning or working out drunk, makes everything a bit more fun, I decided to do laundry, sense I can’t tell what’s clean and what’s not, I decided to just wash everything on the floor

Once I put everything in the washer I had a thought, technically I don’t know if the clothes I put on today were clean or not, and after spending some time in them today, technically they are dirty “fuck it” I said outloud and stripped completely naked tossing my clothes into the washer too before starting it

I went back and sat on the couch buck ass naked, it always felt weird walking around naked, so the fact that I’m doing it now in a slimmer body, balls swinging? Was kinda erotic, I started to get hard but the hornyness turned into fear when I herd a knock at the door

I remained still hoping they’d just go away, but then herd the sliding of the lock and the door open

“Aye Private FuckFace, I gotta talk to you. A sergeant and 2 corporals came in with him and closed the door behind them. For some reason I forgot that I was totally nude and thought it’d be a good idea to just start playin a movie again and pretend like I didn’t hear them

They walked around the corner into the living room to see me naked on the couch making them freeze and recalculate for a few seconds

I tried to not look up at them and continue watching my phone

“Well what do we have here” the sergeant said walking up to me

“Uh, uh, nothing much sergeant, just watchin a movie, you?”

“Me? What do I have? Let’s see, I’m given the task of coming to scald you for going out in public today and not shaving, what is this? Like my 3rd time telling you in the last week since you’ve been here that you have to shave EVERY DAY. And now I have YOU sitting on the couch, buck ass naked with beer cans on the table” he yelled knocking my partially full can over

“So that’s what we’re doing now? Underage drinking in base housing, not shaving. Sitting in the couch naked, legs open, not even trying to cover yourself, you know I told you if you kept fucking up I was gonna cum on your fucking face Private Cummings, I wasnt joking” he said unbuckling his belt

It didn’t register with me the first time, but it did the second, I’m so fucked up right now that I totally forgot that I was nude, fuck. Wait did he just say he was gonna fuck my face!?

I went to get up off the couch but he pushed me hard when I got half way up, sending me back on the couch.

“Now you know the rules to this, you can try to get out of this but I doubt you’ll be able too” he said nodding to the two corporals as he pulled his 5 inch hard dick out

I went to get up a second time but the corporals went behind the couch, each grabbing an arm and holding it back so I can’t go anywhere

“Suck” he said dick inches away from my mouth

“Fuck that” I screamed trying to spit on his dick as a sign of disrespect

Due to my slow reaction time the moment I tried to build up saliva and spit out on his dick, he just Jammed it in my mouth the second I opened it

I didn’t dare move, I’m not gonna fuck him up by hitting his dick but I’m not sucking it ether

I quit trying to fight to get up and just fell back into the couch more trying to get the dick to come back out my mouth

“Private FuckFace you are to suck my dick until I cum in your mouth, do you understand? That’s an order soldier” the sergeant said yelling at me

The moment he said “that’s an order” it’s like the combination of my boot camp instincts and this Cummings guy’s kicked in and I just quit resisting giving in and sucking his dick

Like a good soldier does, I gave it my all trying to do a good job and I suppose I did cause he yelled “I’m about to cum” I sped up a bit just so I can be done with this gay shit, the moment he started to blow his load in my mouth I quit sucking, but he wouldn’t pull out

I looked up to see my sergeant looking down on me, saying “you know the rules, now swallow, Private”

The moment I swallowed my sergeant nodded again and the corporals finally let go, they came back around the couch laughing

“Oh my god sergeant did he actually do it? Haha” one of them said laughing

“Yep, he swallowed it, which by Marine Social Code, means you, private fuck face, are officially my bitch now and have to do whatever I say whenever I say it” the sergeant said with a smile

“Bro what the fuck is wrong with y’all, fuck that I’m not nobodies bitch, you just mad a private has a bigger dick then you dude” I said standing up

“Private I told you, you know the rules, if anyone is able to take you by force and make you swallow their cum, your their bitch now, you could have gotten out of the hold we had you in, you just decided to say fuck your training, I feel like becoming a bitch all of a sudden right? Just accept it for what it is and do what I say like a good little bitch”

One of the corporals decided to tap the sergeant and ask him a question

“So uh, sense he’s your bitch now, do we get any sort of compensation for helping you? I mean he did put up a fight in the beginning and make us put some effort into holding him down, for someone that decided to become a bitch, he should have known he shouldn’t fight with his superiors” one of them said

The sergeant smiled and said “perhaps… Private go ahead and suck these two’s dicks aswell, take as much time as you’d like”

“No dude what the fuck is your problem I’m not doing that gay shit I’m a marine” I said angrily

“Private, you will suck these two men’s dick, that’s an order” the sergeant said

Once again it was like something in me was triggered and I proceeded to get down on my knees to make it easier for them to stick it in.

“ and you might be a marine but your a fresh marine, ment to be made into whatever the fuck we want you to be, if we want you to be the bottom bitch of the whole platoon, guess what your doing? Suckin dick just like we want you too” the sergeant said as I was giving one of the corporal the works

Both the corporals were bigger than the sergeant, so my only assuming is that the sergeant likes to get drunk with his power and assert it whenever he can, like now

After I got done blowing the first corporal, just like the sergeant did… he ordered me to swallow after cumming in my mouth. laughing, he pulled out and let the 2nd corporal take his turn

This time I didn’t need any instructions and just knew to swallow that way his dick come out my mouth faster, I hated every second of this, I thought the marine corps was the straight bad ass branch but I guess their even worse than the navy somehow

As I swallowed the 2nd corporal’s load I moved my eyes and glanced over at sergeant to see a pissed off expression

“What sergeant, I’m just doing what you told me to do” I said feeling the urge to please my superior officers

“I told you to suck their dicks, I didn’t necessarily say to let them cum in your mouth and swallow it, did i” he said rubbing his hands against the sides of the his temple

“Your point” i asked

“My point is now that you swallowed their cum, your all of our’s bitch now…. man you must really love this don’t you? It’s ok private, I knew from the beginning you must be a little gay from our first encounter, with that being said, we’ll round up the rest of the platoon and make sure you have plenty of cum to swallow and dicks to suck by the end of the week, I’m sure the rest of the guys will be ecstatic to find out they can get free blowjobs whenever they want and not have to go out into town to get it. Good work private” he said now smirking a little bit

“Ok I’ll leave the rest to you two” sergeant said and then walked out

Once the sergeant walked out the corporals both started dying laughing

“Hold up just stay right there private, ima make a call to the E-4 Mafia and get you some more dicks to suck tonight” one of them said pulling out their phone and started reading aloud the text he was sending to a group chat

“E-4 mafia, new platoon bitch is with me right now, drunk as fuck, giving out free blowjobs and swallowing, hit me up if you’d like to get in on this day one, goal is to get him to swallow every guy in the platoon by the end of the week” and send he said

Guys, come on now, this isn’t cool, y’all are gonna make me get a STD or something, you really want that? I said panicking

“Really only a problem for the ones after/if you get one private, but I think most would say it’d be a fair trade off in the hopes of having a platoon wide bitch, it’s gonna be a long 4 years for you dude haha” he said sitting down on the couch keeping an eye on me to make sure I don’t escape before his buddies show up

For some reason thinking about what just happened has me getting hard, the sergeant can go kill himself for all I care, but just like my new marine body, these corporals are starting to look kinda hot

The one that send out the group chat noticed I got hard and addressed me

“You find this hot Cummings” he said with a sly smile on his face

“I got something for you private, just go ahead and close your eyes and start stroking your dick dude, slowly”

I do so, and next thing I know I hear the corporal searching his bag behind me untill he found something, I herd a bag open and he asked me

“ do you like poppers private”

“I love them! What type of popper tho? Like jalapeño poppers?” I said starting to sound excited from the sound of food, drinking on a empty stomach wasn’t my brightest idea

As I’m still stroking my uncut cock I feel the corporal grab the back of my head and go

“ no these ones” he said as he forced my face into the bag inhaling chemicals

It suddenly felt like my dick was about to explode and so I let go immediately but it was too late

My dick started to twitch for a few seconds before I shot my load all over myself

“Noo!! What the fuck was that I yelled”

What I thought you said you liked poppers? I just figured I’d help you get off since you’ll be helping a lot of guys tonight he said with that same sly smile

My whole life has been turned upside down, I was hoping if I could make it pass the next few days the B.E.P. Would swap us back knowing I never cummed, not wanting the swap to be locked in

But now I’m stuck as this private Cummings guy for sure, since the corporal wanted to mess with me and make me cum myself, locking me in this body for years to come

#edit, I’ll try to make a patreon next week where y’all can see the pictures I really want to use for these stories 😏

[thankskenpenders]

Sonic Prime: "Season 2"

Eight more episodes of Sonic Prime are out! They're labeled as "season 2" despite just being the next eight episodes of the first (and presumably only) season, allowing Netflix to market it as multiple seasons without having to give the cast and crew raises. They love doing that shit to their original cartoons. Ugh.

Anyway! Last time, I gave the show some leeway because it was still finding its legs. This time, though? We're now two thirds of the way through the series, and sadly, I think it's time to accept the truth:

While there are parts I like, a lot of this show... kinda sucks?

This multiverse sucks and Rouge was robbed

Previously, I noted the pattern of each universe spotlighting a different friend of Sonic's (Tails in New Yolk City, Amy in the jungle world, Knuckles in the pirate world) and predicted that, hopefully, Rouge would get her time to shine next. And with 16 episodes left, surely there's time to explore new worlds that are more interesting than the jungle and pirate worlds. Those were just the warm up act. Right?

...Right?

Nope! That's it! There are no more worlds.

This multiverse show where anything is possible really is just about another Eggman-controlled dystopia world, a jungle world, and a pirate world. That's all they came up with! Just those three, and two dead worlds that don't really count - one a featureless wasteland, the other a ghostly echo of the original Green Hill dubbed "Ghost Hill." (Sonic's friends appear here as holograms stuck repeating a single line each. It gets old immediately.)

The jungle and pirate worlds and their inhabitants being so overwhelmingly generic becomes unforgivable the moment you realize this is all we're gonna get. It just leaves me wishing they'd thrown this whole concept out and finally made a normal Sonic cartoon with no twist in its premise. A few of the new takes here are good, particularly Nine as a darker riff on Tails, but so many of them don't feel anything like the fun characters they're supposed to be. They're stock cartoon characters wearing the Sonic casts' skins.

I'll admit my bias is showing, but god, Rouge is REALLY done dirty by this setup. The normal Rouge we see in the first episode is so fun for how briefly she appears, but then in all the other worlds she's reduced to a generic action girl with zero personality. What's her purpose, exactly, when every AU version of Amy is ALSO a straightforward action girl? It drives me absolutely insane that they gave us a PIRATE ROUGE and she doesn't care about treasure. They do nothing with this! How!!!!!!!! She's just never gonna get her turn. It's so obvious that Rouge is only in this show so that they can have another girl, but you could swap her out with another character like Blaze and it'd make no difference.

Speaking of the pirates, though...

The way things play out in the pirate world is so stupid

Previously, with the Paradox Prism shard within reach, Captain Dread Knux was regressing into his old obsessive personality. I'm fine with this. Sonic and Dread both want the shard, they're gonna fight over it. Obvious stuff. But the actual impact it has on the story is maybe the stupidest bit of writing in this entire show so far.

Basically, while fighting a couple of the Eggmen and their robots at sea, Sonic has to briefly run over to the enemy ship to fight them and grab the Paradox Prism shard while Dread and his crew remain back on their ship. Dread goes "Oh my god, look! Sonic's abandoning us! Traitor!" While Sonic is... like 200 feet away. Still in clear view. Fighting the guys who are trying to kill them. Retrieving Dread's beloved treasure for him.

And yet, Dread's crew buys this! And when Sonic runs right back over with the shard in hand, they're all like "HOW DARE YOU BETRAY US" and turn on him.

It's just. What?!

This isn't a huge part of the "season," but I highlight it as maybe the worst moment of the show's character writing. I'm reminded of Thorn Rose's backstory from last time, where she was depicted as suddenly snapping one day when she saw her friends pick one too many berries in the jungle. Sometimes a character just needs to pivot for the story to work, and they aren't really interested in getting there smoothly.

The Chaos Council fucking sucks

I tried so hard to like these guys, but they drag the show down so much.

The choice to have a team of five different Eggmen really just means that Eggman has been split into five one-note characters. Four of them revolve entirely around the most trite, predictable, boomer-ass jokes based on their ages. The teenage one is whiny and just wants to play video games. The young adult one is a vegan hipster who does yoga. The old one is cranky about all the whippersnappers and has a bad back. The baby is a baby. These are jokes that would've been tired if this show aired 20 years ago.

The odd man out is Mister Doctor Eggman, the middle-aged one with a toupee who's the stand-in for regular Eggman. But even he kinda sucks. The other four all being one-note joke characters means that he has to be the straight man of the group, so he's just very dry and serious and plot-focused without any of Eggman's fun eccentricities. He's neither particularly funny nor particularly sinister, which is just about the worst place for an Eggman to be.

He doesn't even have any incompetent robot lackeys to bounce off of, because the unfunny alternate age Eggmen fill the quota for bumbling secondary villains. But also, like... Orbot and Cubot are in this show! They were in the first episode! Where are they? God, I never thought I'd miss them so much...

But, okay. It's not ALL bad.

The highlights

There's a recurring theme here, which is that the best episodes are the ones where Sonic is pitted against a foe who can match his speed and they just let the animation carry it.

The first of the new episodes is mostly about Sonic fighting Shadow, and BOY is their fight fun to watch. Said fight happens because Shadow blames Sonic for shattering the universe and doesn't trust him to fix things. Shadow wants to restore their world, but he refuses to see the various AU counterparts as the same people Sonic once knew, and he doesn't really care what happens to them. Ultimately, though, he begrudgingly accepts that Sonic really is the only one who can hop between dimensions for Plot Reasons, and therefore lets him go try to do things the nice way. He sadly spends most of his time waiting around in the void between worlds, but in the last episode of the batch he and Sonic get to team up against the Chaos Council's forces and it's very cool.

As far as recent interpretations of Shadow go, this is a good one. He's a great foil for Sonic, which just makes me wish he could travel with Sonic to the different worlds. He's cynical and overly pragmatic in his approach, but his points aren't entirely wrong. His anger feels justified. They even let him have some snark! And Ian Hanlin is really great in the role - definitely a contender for Shadow's best voice ever. He just sounds so natural.

The other speedster Sonic fights is Chaos Sonic, the Chaos Council's take on Metal.

He can talk! Deven is basically doing a Jaleel impersonation for him? People are very mixed on this.

The idea behind Chaos Sonic is to turn Sonic's obnoxious smack talk and zingers back around on him, and I don't hate this idea, even if a lot of fans find him annoying compared to Metal Sonic. (Some comparisons have been made to Archie's Shard, but I assume this is a coincidence.) Like the rest of the script, his dialogue certainly isn't anything to write home about, but the fights he gets into with Sonic and co. are so damn fun and dynamic that I have to like him. I also like how expressive his eyes are on his dome screen face, and the animators have a ton of fun with the fact that his torso and head can rotate 360 degrees.

Unfortunately, he's destroyed at the end of his debut episode. I'm praying he gets rebuilt, because this show desperately needs better villains than the Chaos Council.

Again, the animation in Prime is maybe the best animation in any official Sonic media, period. I just wished I liked the characters and worlds enough to be invested in more of the fights. It's hard to care about the dozenth group battle against the generic Eggforcer bots and the baby in his Fisher-Price mech.

The note we end on

After fighting a giant glowing replica of the normal Eggman for... some reason? Episode 16 ends with Sonic and Nine getting into an argument over what to do with the Paradox Prism shards. Sonic wants to restore his original world, but Nine still wants to create a new, better world out of the one that's just an empty wasteland, believing he doesn't belong anywhere else. Nine angrily runs off with the shards, and Sonic is distraught as he realizes that Shadow was seemingly right about how he shouldn't trust Nine.

I kind of like this conflict, mostly because Nine is the standout character of this show. But my main problem is that we don't know what will happen when everything is fixed.

The logical assumption is that the alternate worlds will just... stop existing, right? That must be the idea if Sonic and Nine are treating restoring the original world and creating a new one in the Shatterverse as mutually exclusive options, right? If the Shatterverse disappears, will Nine and the rest all stop existing, too? The show seems unwilling to discuss this possibility, so I'm left not really knowing what the stakes are in this conflict. Nine becomes a whole lot more sympathetic and Sonic becomes a whole lot more monstrous if restoring the world will erase most of this show's cast from existence, but the thought that this could even happen doesn't seem to have crossed Sonic's mind. Sonic seems to want to take his AU friends back to the regular Green Hill - he at least wants to introduce Nine to his normal friends - but like... he can't really do that, can he? They're not gonna have four Tailses running around.

I don't really know what direction this is all headed in. I guess we just have to keep watching, even if I'm past the point of accepting that this show is mostly very mid.

It's just frustrating that everyone else working on this show is clearly giving it their all while the writers at Man of Action phone it in for so much of its runtime. The scripts drag this show down so, so hard. There are moments and episodes I like, but you have to slog through so much mediocrity to get there.

[httpseungmxn]

Hidden Passion

Jeong Yunho x Reader(afab)

🍰🍬 - suggestive and fluffy

Authors note: This was actually an early request that came in tonight that I decided to do just to get used to doing what others ask for in fics. I wanted to prepare myself for everybody's super cool and fun fic ideas! Yunho may be a little oc and I apologize in advance for that, he isn’t super hard to portray but I do want to try to get him as perfect for the fic as possible! So @txt-yaomi this is for you!

Warnings: making out with a little bit of spit swapping, wooyoung walks in on them and begins teasing 🙈

Triggers: N/A

Just five minutes alone with Yunho was what you wanted in that moment. The tension between the both of you had grown so intense over the past two weeks that it was hard to stay in the same room with the two of you because of the constant hinting looks and flirtatious teasing. Being at a hangout with several friends made it hard to have a moment alone though. People were everywhere, especially places where you didn’t think they’d be.

The gods must’ve heard your inner pleading because a commotion in the backyard drew everybody away except you and Yunho. You stole the first glance towards him but he was already staring at you while taking a drink from his soju. His tongue swiping over his bottom lip had your cheeks turning red and your knees going weak. Deciding to sit near him was the best thing you had done that night.

Why may you ask? Because in just a matter of minutes your drinks were discarded and your lips were pressed together faster than you could say the word “kiss”. Yunho’s lips were soft and tasted slightly of what you assumed was vanilla from his chapstick. Sighing into the kiss blissfully and trying to enjoy this heaven for as long as you can.

You both parted a few minutes to allow each other time to catch your breaths. As soon as Yunho saw the expression on your face, he was gone. Your lips were slightly swollen from the kiss and your cheeks were flushed. Nothing could have ever prepared him for that look on your face, the lust hidden behind the innocence in those beautiful eyes of yours.

Within seconds his lips were attacking yours. This time more rough and desperate, spit being swapped. His tongue slid across your bottom lip much like it did with his own five minutes ago. Once his tongue felt yours, it slid further into your mouth, deepening the kiss even further. Grabbing you by your waist and pulling you onto his lap, yunho took hold of your hips and gripped them gently. 

The feeling of Yunho’s big, warm hands on your bare skin had you melting into his lap and his lips. Your arms wrapping loosely around his neck, right hand becoming tangled in his short black hair. You could’ve stayed here in this moment kissing yunho forever, but alas it just had to be ruined. And by who? None other than a smirking wooyoung who was more than happy to have walked in on his hyung having a very steamy makeout with his noona.

In an instant you were off Yunho’s lap and sat beside him instead. Wiping the evidence of your kiss attack from his lips, Yunho cleared his voice and avoided eye contact with his younger friend. He just knew wooyoung was going to say something though because that’s the type of person wooyoung was. So yunho wasn’t surprised at all when wooyoungs voice was heard speaking his words in a teasing tone. 

“ 𝚆𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚠𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚠𝚎𝚕𝚕, 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚍𝚘 𝚠𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎? “, an infamous smirk on his lips, wanting nothing more than to snitch on the couple for finally revealing their feelings for each other. His voice rang out again but this time it surprised both of you by what he said. “ 𝙳𝚘𝚗'𝚝 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚛𝚢, 𝙸 𝚠𝚘𝚗'𝚝 𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚜. 𝚃𝚑𝚎𝚢'𝚕𝚕 𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚍 𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚞𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚒𝚛 𝚘𝚠𝚗. “

A sigh of relief left your lips but Yunho didn’t seem to care whether or not wooyoung snitched. His eyes were staring at your plump lips that were swollen from his kisses. Once the sigh of relief left your lips, he was pulling you against him, arm wrapped over your shoulders. No longer caring if anyone walked in on you and saw you acting all lovey dovey.

His mates’ teasing and jokes were the last thing on his mind right now. All he could think about was that the girl he was absolutely in love with shared the same feelings and was now his. Even if neither of you had asked each other, it was a silent agreement that he was yours and you were his.

Your hidden passion was what brought the two of you together finally and you wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.  

Authors ending note; What did you think? This one was one of my longer fics and I had a lot of fun writing it, especially the makeout part 😳 I hope you all enjoyed this, make sure to leave me feedback in the comments and like if you want more! 🫶

[hubbvrd]

Hey can I request #18 with joe burrow 😊 Thankyou

summary — Joe takes you out on a date to the drive-in movie theater, where you get a little closer

pairing — joe burrow x reader

words — 1758 words

THE SUN WAS slowly setting on the horizon as Joe skillfully parked his car in one of the empty parking spaces.

About an hour and a half ago, Joe had spontaneously texted you that he would pick you up for a date.

You had tried to get a little dressed up because you didn't want to go on a date with Joe in your cozy outfit, which consisted of pajama pants and a loose shirt that was way too big for you.

In fact, you had just managed to swap your outfit for a pair of comfortable jeans and a T-shirt before Joe collected you.

And now you were in a large parking lot in the middle of nowhere, with the drive-in movie theater opening in less than an hour.

"Come on, I've got everything ready." Joe grabbed your hand after you got out and led you around the car to the trunk, which he opened, leaving you in awe.

The back seat was folded down so that you had more space inside, while countless cushions and cozy blankets were spread out.

There were even a few fairy lights to keep you cozy for the next few hours while the movie was playing.

"Wow, Joe. This is incredible," you exclaimed almost enthusiastically with a broad grin on your lips.

"I knew you would like it" Joe replied with a grin and looked over at you.

A soft giggle left your lips. "You're great!"

You gently pulled Joe over to you to give him a soft kiss on the cheek. Joe's cheeks turned slightly red within a few seconds and he began to scratch his neck nervously.

"Uhm, I'll get some snacks and drinks then."

Without waiting for an answer from you, the older man had already made his way through the parked cars towards the snack bar.

With a contented sigh, you dropped onto the edge of the trunk and began to untie your Convers and slip them off your feet before sinking into the large, cosy cushions and covering yourself with one of the blankets.

From the seat in the trunk, you had an incredible view of the big screen that was a few meters from Joe's car.

Around you, other couples or friends were sitting next to each other on the roofs of their cars or in their trunks. A few soft voices wafted over to you, otherwise it was pretty quiet.

And in this silence, you began to feel the butterflies in your stomach slowly picking themselves up and starting to fly little laps.

Joe and you had already been on one date or another, but none of these dates had ever involved an intimate moment. But you were more than sure that this would come to an end today.

Because the two of you in a cramped room with countless pillows and blankets would probably end in physical contact. And that's what you desperately wanted.

You loved to cuddle, so you wanted closeness and affection quite often and let others feel it too.

Until now, you had only ever dreamed about what it would be like to cuddle up in Joe's arms and how it might feel. But today, today you would finally take the step and find out what it would be like to lie in Joe's arms.

"I see you've already made yourself comfortable," Joe's voice snapped you out of your thoughts. In his hand he held two Coca Cola bottles and a huge popcorn bucket.

"Yup," you grinned, "and I see you bought the biggest popcorn bucket on the stall?"

"Yes, so that we can still have some during the movie. I know how quickly the popcorn always runs out."

Joe handed you the two bottles of Coke and the huge bucket of popcorn, which you held securely, while Joe took off his shoes and then lay down next to you at a distance.

His aftershave immediately caught your nose and your heart began to beat a little faster within a few seconds.

Joe's proximity made you slightly nervous, so you began to wonder if the movie would distract you so much from Joe's proximity that your heart wouldn't race incessantly and you would almost go crazy.

"What...what are we actually watching?" you started some kind of topic, trying to keep your physical reactions to Joe's closeness under control as best you could.

While Joe told you a movie title you'd never heard before, you kept reaching into the bucket of popcorn to keep yourself occupied.

A short time later, the screen was switched on and three commercials appeared until the movie finally started and you began to hope you could distract yourself with the movie.

But this seemed to be more difficult than you thought, because in the middle of the movie Joe slid so close to you that your knees touched slightly and the butterflies in your stomach did somersaults.

"Are you okay?" Joe whispered softly to you as you began to play nervously with your fingers under the blanket.

A glance to your left in the dim light of the fairy lights and the screen showed you that Joe's eyes were looking at you curiously, not too far from your face.

"Um, yeah," you mumbled softly before pulling your hand out from under the blanket and reaching into the popcorn, then shoving the handful of popcorn into your mouth and chewing with relish.

As you kept shoveling a load of popcorn into your mouth and began to notice that the butterflies in your stomach were slowly calming down, you automatically became more relaxed.

But this only lasted until you suddenly felt Joe's arm around your waist, gently pulling you towards him.

"What... what are you doing?" Your voice sounded rather nervous, while the spot on your hip where Joe's hand was resting immediately began to tingle.

"You're sitting too far away," he realized and wrapped his right arm, which had been resting on your hip, around you.

Joe's warmth immediately enveloped you and your head automatically found its way towards Joe's chest, where your head rested.

Joe's fingers kept gently stroking your arm, on which goose bumps were slowly spreading. And while you tried to concentrate a little more on the movie, in which you didn't even know what had happened, you felt Joe put a blanket over you and he pulled you a little closer to him.

A smile formed on your lips as you savored the closeness to Joe and absorbed his touch, hoping that this moment wouldn't end too soon.

- - -

A soft yawn left your lips as you sauntered over to the trashcan to put the empty popcorn bucket in the trash.

The movie had ended a few minutes ago and by now it was getting pretty late. Every now and then you had already dozed off, as Joe's closeness and warmth had surrounded and enveloped you so much that your eyes had automatically closed.

The bucket landed in the garbage can with a thud and as you strolled between the parked cars back to Joe's car, you pulled Joe's warm hoodie over your head.

It had gotten pretty chilly, so you grabbed Joe's hoodie without thinking twice.

You immediately stopped shivering as the warm fabric and Joe's smell surrounded you.

You buried your nose in the fabric for a few seconds, taking in Joe's scent completely, before slowly walking back to the car to wait for Joe.

The older one had left about five minutes ago, saying that he had to go to the toilet.

Another loud yawn escaped you as you began to shake out the remaining popcorn crumbs from the blankets and another smile crept onto your lips as you began to think back to the last step and a half that Joe and you had spent cuddled up together.

It wasn't just you who had enjoyed that time to the full, but Joe too. At some point, Joe had wrapped his arms around you quite protectively and rested his head on yours, occasionally stroking your arm, lost in thought.

When you thought back to the last hour and a half, the butterflies in your stomach, which apparently didn't even finish work today, started to fly again.

A yawn next to you made you flinch, so you clutched one of the pillows tightly, possibly having to chase the person who had approached you away with the pillow, which was probably not the best defense.

"Hey. It's just me!" Joe almost shouted, throwing his hands up in the air as you swung the pillow ready to strike.

"God, Joe! Don't ever scare me like that again!" you grumbled quietly and lowered the pillow.

"I'm sorry, y/n. I didn't mean to scare you," he began to apologize to you guiltily and then took the pillow from your hand, which he carelessly threw into the trunk and then closed it.

"Let me take you home."

- - -

Fifteen minutes later, when Joe turned into the street where you lived, it took a lot of effort to even begin to keep your eyes open.

During the drive, you had both enjoyed the silence that had surrounded you except for the radio, which Joe had turned down quite a bit.

"So, here we are." Joe stopped in front of your house and looked over at you. "This really has been a lovely evening."

"It was," you agreed, hoping you wouldn't blush as the fond memories began to play out before your eyes.  "Thank you for the date."

Your lips gently touched Joe's soft cheek before you undid your seatbelt and just before you were about to get out, you remembered something else.

"Oh, I still have your hoodie on." 

Your hand reached for the waistband of the hoodie, but before you could even begin to pull it over your head, Joe's words stopped you.

"Keep it. It looks better on you anyway." He gave you a warm, honest smile, which the blood slowly start to rush to your cheeks.

"Thank you, Joe. For everything," you almost whispered before you kissed him on the cheek again and got out of the car.

Joe waited until you had disappeared inside your home before he drove home too.

With the door slamming shut, you leaned back against the door as your nose buried itself in the fabric of the hoodie again and you closed your eyes, heart pounding, and reviewed the day. And you could hardly wait for Joe to pick you up for your next date.

[eddiediazismyhusband]

Literally just saw a post beginning with “Kinda want to see Chris reach out to Tommy”

Like, what??? In what universe??

ah yes, christopher reaching out to a man he has canonically only been onscreen with once (technically not even onscreen they were iust at the same event) and had only been mentioned to have met one time prior to that…. rather than reaching out to buck, or idk this may seem crazy, HIS FATHER who (even tho he may he mad at him) he knows would be there for him the INSTANT he called…

that cul- i mean- “fandom” want him to be eddie so fucking badly and want them to do this character swap of the two of them rather than acknowledging that their fav guy is a racist misogynistic asshole who has not shown any evidence of change from how he was originally portrayed. not even in 7a– he was still a dismissive asshole in each episode he appeared in (even when we were supposed to believe the bullshit of buck seeing him through rose tinted glasses… the guy was being a massive dick)

i swear if tim brings him back and doesn’t write him off within the first couple episodes i will be rioting at the abc gates bc this character, his actor, and his fans have outstayed their nonexistent welcome and im sick of it; they have all played a major hand jn ruining the quality of the narrative and it’s all tim’s fault bc he just had to do buck’s queer arc with a preexisting character rather than just creating a random man to be his awakening that could just as easily be written off.

[desb3ar]

Vulnerable

Pairing: Miguel x Reader

Summary: A heart to heart. Comforting Miguel.

Genre: Emotional, uplifting

Warnings: Forms of self-neglect and self-loathing.

Disclaimer: This is placed during the heat of his tragic event. Just a couple weeks after. I can’t tell you the gap between then and the time the movie was placed since I don’t have a timeline at my disposal, so I’m sorry if theres some inaccuracies within here that don’t sit right.

The reader has no indication of gender.

~~~~~~~~

It’s been weeks since the tragedy. The moment the world had crumbled around him like an earthquake wreaking havoc in a city, debris crushing those around him, just out of his reach. That horrific day of seeing the unforeseen result of his actions left an ugly stain on his decrepit psyche. The unforgettable memory of hearing his foster daughter desperately yell out to him for aid as she glitched into nothing right in his arms had messed him up completely. Seeing his palms, like her blood was on his shaky hands. Someone he had a strong connection with, someone who he loved dearly, was gone, and he was the person to blame. A whole universe was in the palm of his hand, unbeknownst to him.

As he would stand tall, the Miguel he was before being gutted out of anything, he remained in his office. Empty and cold. That space was nothing but a tomb with someone buried alive inside by the worries and concerns for keeping everything together. Dealing with nails-on-a-chalkboard humor by numerous Peter Parkers and other variants was something he endured every waking hour when he was working. Which is every day.

With his neglected emotions aside, shoving them into the back of his mind, he keeps himself ready to order when he’s on the clock. An anomaly was taken down in minutes if it wasn’t some big shot super villain. He’d rid himself of the need for back up, he didn’t need anyone. He can do it all by himself, he’s a strong guy. Isn’t he?

He’s lost track of the days, or weeks, he’s taken a day off. That led to certain needs not being met. His shower wasn’t touched for days until he actually took his focus off his screens to get a whiff of himself. He had no shame, nothing was worse than the reason he’s brought himself down to hell. He didn’t care what anyone else thought. Jess and Peter B. gave him a push to get his tail up. He was able to return to his home just to bathe, but then it was back to work. That was his plan, to pop in then pop back out.

However, someone knocked on his door. With a slight groan and great reluctance, he made his way over to his door and pulled it open.

“You got the wrong house. I don-“

His mouth froze when he saw who he was about to shut down.

It was you.

Miguel and you had gone way back to his early days of being Spiderman. You and him had chemistry that not even the most skilled chemist could understand. You were a calm, reasonable, and sweet being with a heart made of gold, seems like you gave him a chance when he was accepted into your orbit.

The two of you hung out with each other frequently, drinking at spots you found in the cities, downtown too, and swapped between who’s pad you two were gonna hang out in that day.

Your bond was believed to be unbreakable. Until the incident.

Days together turn into the days you’d only remember. When life was just alright, when he smiled. Now they were counted, tallied up to the grand total of 47 since the last time you two faced one another.

What you saw was a walking dead man, his eyes sunken from the lack of overall care, eye bags telling his horrific sleep schedule, skin dry, hair messy, he was not the same man. You couldn’t even make out if he was even the guy you’d steal food from and share drinks with. Its been weeks and then some of radio silence on his end.

You’ve ruthlessly contacted him, but he was never keen on responding to your messages and endless calls. Multiple calls turned to one a day. Messages followed suit. You lost enough hope with long-distance communication and decided with better judgment that this reunion needed to be face-to-face. The untold but expected awkwardness was your push.

You two stood in heavy silence until you let out a soft sigh. Then, you pushed your way in, making him stumble as you moved him away from the door and pushed it close. His cracked and damaged heart skipped a beat.

“I’d believe you’ve lost your phone given your silence.” You started. Miguel stared at you as you found your place in front of him. “… But you make way too much money to not have another one if you even lost it to start.”

Miguel sighed and just… Walked away. This left you wide eyed. “Wha- Hey! Don’t just walk away from me- TALK to me! Where have you been?” You exclaimed as you followed behind him. “It’s been ages without a single word and you don’t even have anything to say now that I’m here?”

You went on to vent about the worrying abrupt absence that came from him as he set his route to his room that was devoid of filth. You’re heart ached when he didn’t say a way to your words, as if they hadn’t meant anything, or simply went through him with no effect. He sat on his bed facing away from you with you standing at the doorway.

"It's nothing." He monotonously muttered as he kept his eyes off you,

"Like hell it is." You spat. "C'mon, don't get fresh with me. Where have you been all this time? I get that you have your whole superhero thing goin' on, but nothing's kept you away for this long."

"Nowhere." He answered dryly as he put a hand on his face.

You took a deep breath and sighed at his response. "Miguel O'Hara, you have got to talk to me, not just respond. Gimme somethin' to work with." You protested.

Your friend was going through something. You let your excitement to see him and annoyance at him being a brick wall get to you. Thinking he died tragically without a trace made it seem valid. You took a second to get yourself together before you walked to his bed, joining him. Your own weight made the bed mattress seep, moving him slightly. He didn't grant you not a second of a glance.

He wasn't always the most vocal about how he was mentally. It had always been a thing you wanted to get into with him. Having deep coversations about life once a bluemoon had opened a window of oppurtunity.

One night, the two of you were talking about childhood and other endeavors that sculpted out how you turned out. You spilled some details about the past and he was surprised about how you seemed so vastly different compared to how you were brought up. That surprise came with validation when he was somewhat relating to you. Everyone who wasn't sheltered as much had suffered through some form of childhood trauma, that's obvious. However, with Miguel, going through his neglectful and troublesome past, he was stuck on the fence of reaching out when he truly needed help.

“… Miguel. What’s going on?" You asked him, your voice now lacking the fierceness you once had, just filled with worry.

Miguel stared down at the floor. His mind was flipping through the pages of a book on how to even explain. The pain he felt these past couple weeks crept back through him like a cryiptic plague.

"... I'm sorry." He spoke gravely. "I'm sorry I didn't say anything." He closed his eyes as if it would make it easier for him. "I... I went through something that really... Troubled me..." He confessed slowly.

"That's fine, that is alright, Miguel." You reassured him. "Just..."

You looked down his lap. His fingers tightly gripping his pants as his forearms shivered. You looked at his face with only your eyes. He was trying so desperately to keep himself together.

"... I hate myself for this." He grieved, his eyes were tightly shut. "I made a horrible mistake." He confessed.

He wanted to speak more, but it wasn't coming out. He knew you deserved a better explanation, but he didn't know how'd you see him after he foolishly let a whole universe blow away into oblivion. All because he wanted a family, to take care of a daughter that wasn't even his. Who makes that seem so innocent. Anyone could find that immoral, but he couldn't just let her be on her own. He wouldn't be able to bear it. Yet, he would have much rather her go through it alone now instead of her not being here at all. He couldn't think of a reason to care for himself, or even look at his own reflection. He only saw someone who was naive, someone he didn't deserve much more than a passing glance.

During his attempts at trying to speak, his lips remained parted to only spill nothing. His breath was shaking with anticipation, that was when a horse sob broke past his guard.

"Hey, hey." You placed an arm on his shoulder, rubbing it. "Look, you can talk about it later. Okay?" You told him with a gentle tone.

Silence reigned when he looked at you.

It was a sight you never thought of seeing.

He was on the brink of breaking down right in front of you.

This was not like him.

That's what broke your heart.

You went in and pulled him into a tight embrace.

"I'm sorry." You said.

That was when he finally broke down in your arms, hugging you tightly. His painful sobs ripped through his throat as tears ran down his cheeks like faucets, wetting your shoulder. All the pain he's gone through up till this point was finally being let out.

You pat his back gently, gasping and panting, catching his breath. The sounds of his despair made it harder for you to keep it together yourself. You nearly caved when, through sobs, he spoke about how much he despised himself. Treating himself like someone that committed the worst crime. He gripped onto your top tightly.

You spoke against it, knowing this was all just things saying out of spite of himself. You didn't want him to keep up with this mindset. You started to give him soft and gentle kisses on the cheek. You spoke words of reassurance and small truths that was able to break him out of his shell of self-hatred.

He was beginning to find ease, taking you in, he didn't loosen his grip around you however. His breathing hitching as you rubbed his back.

“It’s gonna be okay.”

There was never a time in your life where he was even close to shedding a tear. However now, he was completely vulnerable.

.

.

.

.

.

got a little rushed in the end so i apologize.

comforting miguel is so nice so why not write about it??

[heartfullofleeches]

Sorry just asked about the fast food reader (if tumblr didnt eat it) but what would happen if fast food reader was pulled into the ball pit yan’s pocket dimension

"Sleep....Rest..."

Work was hell. A bus full of suspiciously clad individuals held up the already hectic lunch rush, awhile the mascot attempted to braid your hair as you managed the register. As if matters couldn't get worse, the ice cream machine had unlease a slurry of thawed cream at your coworker for kicking its side when it refused to dispense ice cream for them. With so many new hires, it's hard to keep up on who knows that machine wouldn't allow any hands on it besides yours and who didn't. The flood was catastrophic. You had to wheel yourself around the kitchen using the Janitor's cart which was - actually pretty fun, but navigating around the sunken body within the river didn't share that same thrill.

At the end of the chaos, all you wanted to do was go home so you could curse the domino effect of evolution that eventually resulted to you getting this job, but you couldn't go anywhere without a trip to the ball pit first. Those hands had the touch and grace of God on your joints and muscles - a statement likely truer than you'd like to think about. If someone asked you why you kept this job they would probably be your first answer. Besides trying to play sneaky and dragging under a few times, they were the most useful of the entities claiming this location, and you, as their territory. There was always a part of you that did wonder - a lingering thought in the back of your mind.

What would happen if you went down there?-

Seems the day you'd find out as come at last.

"You're tired... don't fight us anymore..."

After the day you've had, your body is about as useful as a wet paper towel. The ball pit's hands lower your ailing husk into their plastic prison; nimble fingers and palms jutting the exact points that weight you down. You feel defenseless in their embrace. They meticulously knead your stress away and with it goes your will to fight as the dingy ceiling lights disappear in the sea of colorful balls. You can feel them drag you further down between each palpitation, but you had neither the strength nor the broom to free yourself. Was there even anything you could do at this point if you did? You weren't sure if you could wrestle yourself out of so many hands. It seemed like there were a dozen more than you remembered; pulling your weightless self through the sea of plastic and forgot memories.

"We will treat you with the care that you deserve.. Our idol. Our love. Close your eyes and rest."

Your head breaks the surface - and everything goes dark.

-

When you wake, everything appears normal. From the checkered titles around you, you're laying on the floor of the play place - surrounded by balls. Nothing unusual there. It's when you sit up that you notice something to be...off. There are other items amongst the orbs. Happy meal toys, wallets, jewelry, IDs. You pick up the closest to you. The missing persons flyers get swapped out pretty quickly, but you always remember the face that was once there - when no one else could.

"Do you prefer silver or gold?"

You look around for the source of the voice. A pale arms extends from the figures equally as pearl robes. You can't see their face. You couldn't see much of anything that was a couple inches from your face. Unable to stand on your own, you take their hand. It's uncharacteristically cold. On your feet, you can see a basket in their other arm - full of discarded belongings scattered across the ground.

"Where am I?..."

"Home....for now. We've been stuck here for eons, a pocket between your world and the next. Come, we can talk more once we get out. Stick close to me and if you hear anything, hold your breath. We are never alone here"

The figure moves your hand to their shoulder and begins walking. You follow behind, praying your eyes to adjust enough to peal a layer of darkness. Whispers and intangible mutterings sworn from all corners. They pause - briefly as the figure bends down to pick something up and either place it into their basket or inspect it more closely. There comes a time when you hear paper tearing or glass shattering, but it's hard to locate where they're coming from. Soft light emits from the exit doors as you approach.

"run."

The doors fly open. Squeezing your hand from instinct, you find that you are alone - and that the play area is no longer the same. You're in the forest behind the restaurant; skies block out by a sea of mass manufactured balls. There's something in the distance. A writhing, pale mass it takes your mind a minute to process. Hands. Hundreds of white limbs all tearing and fighting over the spilled contents of that same wicker basket you saw before. They raise family photos and handheld mirrors into the centers of their horde; a single, calm hand in the storm ripping the objects free. It turns them over in its palm before raising it height above its body. Torso, shoulders - there's something in there and its eating the lost memories. A torn photo falls at your feet. It's the manager that tried to fire you your first week.

"... They're still here. Everyone's that's gotten lost in that pit. Their bodies were lost as soon as they came, but their spirits still hunt for what's let of them so they can be remember. So they can go home... Just like I want to."

A hand meets your cheek, followed by another at your waist. They're everywhere - swarming.

"If you're curious if you're dead, don't be. You are still of body and mind, as I could never eat the one who's made this purgatory tolerable. Please, allow me to hold you just a little longer and I will send you back. I want to look at you with these tired eyes and to know peace. Please, accept me."

The god reaches its hand out to you. It reeks of blood, and is stained with their tears. You take it - and there you are back laying on the play area floor.

[molinaskies]

Sonic and the Mirror of Trauma: Scrapnik Island

Scrapnik Island is by far the most intriguing and impressive IDW Sonic miniseries so far. Daniel Barnes wrote an excellent story about recovering from trauma, struggling to escape your past, and facing the setbacks that come with both of those, and Nathalie Fourdraine and Jack Lawrence produced some beautiful art.

On its surface, the story has the potential to be a cheeky, cliché one-off akin to a spooky Halloween story (that started in December… hehe). But, when you look deeper at the plot and some of the tropes, and once you remember that it takes place between issue 56 (which I’ve crucially discussed at length) and issue 57, it suddenly becomes so much more important.

Mecha Sonic is a version of Sonic who has been forced to address the pain of his life and dabble with the consequences, and he represents the moment that Sonic has to face his own trauma—and that scares him.

Scrapnik Island sets off with the Scrapniks pursuing Sonic to help him, but Sonic, of course, has missed the memo. Mecha Sonic is hottest on Sonic’s trail, which stands out to me as not only is Sonic visibly afraid of Mecha (both from his sudden presence and from his memories of their last encounter), but he’s actively running away from his trauma, his past, his fear.

Even after Sonic’s been set straight on the Scrapniks’ deal, he’s still put off by Mecha Sonic’s silent demeanour and their history. So, Sonic treats him coldly, and this animosity triggers something deep within Mecha that he fights to starve off.

There is lots of visual storytelling to indicate that Sonic and Mecha Sonic are meant to be literary foils, but below is my favourite example. A flashback of a decommissioned Mecha Sonic fades into a present shot of Sonic “taking it easy,” but more so getting fed up with his situation.

Sonic is also particularly distrustful (and afraid) of Mecha Sonic, compared to the other Scrapniks. However, as time runs on, Sonic comes to an initial understanding of Mecha’s changed ways and wants to make peace. However, right after this, Mecha Knuckles attacks, Mecha Sonic defends and, in a way, sacrifices himself for Sonic, and things fall apart from here.

After Mecha Sonic is triggered during his battle with Mecca Knuckles (after a forceful encounter with Mecha Sonic’s past that sends him down a path of relapse), Mecha Sonic loses his ability to starve off Eggman’s primary programming. He turns on Sonic once again, but instead of serving Eggman, he strives to serve himself. While Mecha is falling victim to his traumatic past and coping mechanisms, the unfortunate thing about this is how it all reads to Sonic: another betrayal of his trust. It all calls back to Mr. Tinker, Metal Sonic, and Surge.

Mecha Sonic’s plan is to swap bodies with Sonic so that Mecha can use Sonic’s speed to escape the island, but the Scrapniks attack before the transfer can complete. This leaves Mecha and Sonic in an in-between state where they hear each other thoughts and feel each other’s feelings.

Even though Sonic states that the anger and sadness in his head is not his own, he’s still clearly shown to be feeling those feelings. They don’t originate from him, but their presence mingles with his own emotions to produce something darker and more irritated. Their presence also acts as a gateway of sorts, where the latent anger and sadness that Sonic can’t suppress makes it harder for him to put away his own feelings. Couple that with his physical pain from his sprained ankle (on the same leg he busted up a few issues prior), and soon, Sonic snaps for the first time in the entire IDW comic’s run.

I love whenever Sonic’s anger is allowed to shine because he is never enraged for petty reasons. Sonic has an attitude that often leads him to cranky comments, but Sonic is genuinely angry here because it hurts him to see someone speak so lowly of themselves, to have been hurt by the world so poorly. Mecha Sonic is also yet another person who has been created by Eggman’s terror specific to oppose Sonic. It’s another example of Surge’s “I will kill you or die trying” with the added complexity of Mecha’s attempt at redemption being corrupted by the trauma of Eggman’s influence. This puts pressure on Sonic because these impositions put Mecha, Surge, Kit, and others like them in direct opposition to Sonic for reasons entirely of no fault of his own—and that angers him. All Sonic strives to do with his life and his gift is help people, and to have so many people come out of the woodworks to say that the only thing he can do to help them is to kill himself is absolutely devastating to him. Not only because he believes in the direct opposite—that the only person who can give one purpose is oneself—but because it threatens to strip his own purpose away from him whenever these notions are unearthed.

Sonic isn’t angry at Mecha, personally. He’s angry at the system created to hurt them both.

The most important thing to remember is that, unless I fully missed something*, that strange mind-link thing between Sonic and Mecha Sonic is never undone. After Sonic cries Mecha Sonic’s tears, the story cuts to Tails officially deprogramming Mecha Sonic and Mecha Knuckles from Eggman’s directives, but it’s never explicitly stated that Mecha Sonic’s and Sonic’s mental link was reversed.

It can be reasonably assumed that it occurs off-screen (off-page? Outside of what is shown to the reader) because that would make general sense, but then again, so did the reprogramming, and that was explicitly mentioned. Further, it’s a general rule in writing for media that if you want something to be known about your story, it needs to be shown to the audience if not alluded to or directly referred to having happened. So, this is either an oversight, or it’s entirely intentional.

* The only way I can imagine this being accounted for is that the machine that linked Sonic and Mecha’s brains, the Egg Noggin, is (obviously) an Eggman device. Thus, whenever Tails removed Eggman’s programming from Mecha Sonic and Mecha Knuckles, perhaps it also restored Sonic’s brain to normal. This, however, feels like a bit of a stretch because we never see or hear of Sonic needing or receiving any treatment, but I am willing to consider it to be a viable reason. Either way, I think the point I’m about to make still stands as either a physical change or an emotional change in Sonic’s character.

This experience, this sharing of minds in such an intimate way where they can both so clearly hear each other’s hearts, taught them something. I read this as some sort of floodgates being opened, where while Mecha Sonic can more easily feel compassion and listen to the good in his core, Sonic now more clearly feels his anger and has a harder time suppressing his emotions. Whether there is lasting physical damage left in Sonic or he’s simply reeling from the depth of his emotions felt in this adventure, there’s been a clear impact.

Even if Sonic isn’t fully delving into things just yet, he’s taken a lesson away from all of this.

(From the IDW Endless Summer One-Shot, set between issue 64 and issue 65 and after the 900th adventure one-shot)

If nothing else, Sonic clearly understands trauma better now. Sonic is absolutely traumatized by his experiences with Eggman and other high-stakes adventures, but again, due to his tendency to push away his darker emotions, he hasn’t processed much of this. Sonic puts all his sadness and rage and fear and confusion into box after box after box before shoving everything onto a big, cluttered shelf, never to be seen again… until now. With such a clear look into the mind of someone actively reeling through trauma, a trauma so like his own, that shelf has collapsed, and now everything is spilling onto the floor before Sonic, quick as can be, can stop it.

Sonic is finally starting to understand the bigger picture, but I don’t think he’s fully on the path of self-awareness. I think there’s more boiling under the surface, more than even he realizes. And if Sonic keeps taking these micro-risks (instead of his usual Hail-Marys) that are fueled by his anger, like storming the Eggperial City too soon, then something will have to give.

Scrapnik Island is incredibly important to the IDW storyline because it showcases not only Sonic learning the depths of his pain and the pain of others but also yet another nail in Eggman’s coffin.

[catboybiologist]

So I'm realizing that I basically have one outfit that I just make minor alterations/swaps with. I wanna keep tabs on where I got this stuff, and since I'm an attention whore, I might as well make a post out of it. With a few exceptions, everything has been stuff I've nabbed when it's on sale online or I see in a thrift store within the past couple of months.

Here's a dump of pics, some new, some old, to give you an idea of what I wear basically every day:

I really like this fit. It's professional without being stodgy, showy on the figure without being inappropriate, casual without being sloppy. I'm def "dressing up" by grad student standards, esp compared to what I used to be like as a guy, but I'm okay with that.

Now, let's steal her look!!!

Bra:

https://www.calvinklein.us/en/underwear/women/bras/perfectly-fit-lightly-lined-full-coverage-bra/52013837-643.html

Underwear:

Shirts:

Khakis:

Alternate khakis:

https://www.calvinklein.us/en/cotton-stretch-straight-fit-chino-pants/198294081239.html

Cardigan:

https://www.uniqlo.com/us/en/products/E472074-000/00?colorDisplayCode=30&sizeDisplayCode=004

Flannel:

https://www.rei.com/product/192987/rei-co-op-wallace-lake-flannel-shirt-mens

Glasses:

Shoes:

Note that the shoes are absolutely the most expensive part of my outfit, but I have 0 regrets. I do NOT fuck around with shoes. I'm a hiker with messed up feet, I need to keep those babies working. And so far, these have been amazingly supportive on my messed up arches and ankles, I've used them in hikes even, and they support my ankle well. They also look really nice, far cuntier than hiking boots, so y'know. That's nice too.

There are two additional things I'll mention here that I know aren't easily accessible. I have pride colored hiking socks that I wear a lot which were given to me by the trailQTs. My belt was also something I got years ago from a leather worker at an art show.

Anyways. Idk if my assessment of this actually holds up, but I figured I'd record this all somewhere.

[insert-name-heres-things]

Traumatized System X Stable-ish Singlet love is so underrated.

- safe person X protective collective

- we get to experience love in so many different ways together: romantic love with those dating, platonic love from others who aren’t together but still close, and a family like love with some of the younger alters

- system partner gets to fall in love with singlet partner over and over as different alters get to know the singlet (we can actually go on 50 first dates lol /ref)

- spoon swapping!! It has helped us both so much, our partner handling tasks that are too painful or complex for us and we handle tasks that are too mentally taxing for him, while we both learn to taking the time to understand who in our system is better at handling what

- as the system can recognize dangers, abuse, and toxicity, the singlet gets protected and taught about red flags & mistreatment

- as our singlet partner grew up with a more stable life, our partner has helped us understand what is actually normal and safe, what wasn’t okay, and helping us find a more stable and happy life

- having someone to help us in the morning when blurry, confused and in pain (this morning for example, we couldn’t move our limbs properly due to poor circulation and our nerve pain, nauseous as fuck, and he quickly got up to help us move and reassured us in our blurry state)

- our singlet partner slowly gets to recognize each individual based our different facial expression, body language, voice, interests, etc… (our partner has gotten so good at it that he can notice our micro-switches and have accurate guesses of who was out for a moment)

- our singlet partner has such a deep understanding of each individual he meets and who we are as a collective

- as a system we get to see so many different sides of our singlet partner and we individually have our own reasons for loving him

- being able to have safe sexual experiences with eachother where we can better learn and understand our boundaries, interests and preferences, despite the both of us having sexual trauma

- learning and understanding together how deep and multifaceted the human brain can be

- taking the time to research each others disorders to better understand one another’s similarity’s and differences

- seeing our singlet partners different ego states and helping him understand himself better

- being physically disabled being able to trust our partner to help take care of us when we’re in too much pain and be patient with the more vulnerable alters that end up fronting

- our partner meeting our alters we don’t have good communication with helping us establish better connection within ourselves

- we have to add a note about how beautiful cluster B and autistic love can be when there’s mutual trust and support

- us being chronically ill and physically disabled and our partner taking time to knowing how to take care of us and be patient with vulnerable alters when we can’t take care of ourselves due to pain

- Grounding and Stimming together

- being an interabled couple means we’ve been able to have help with our mobility aids, someone to help manage our medications, help in the shower, assistance walking and moving around when we can’t, help with pain and comforting the alters that have to go through it, and generally just having assistance wherever and whenever needed has changed our life drastically and for the better

- understanding that affective empathy isn’t needed to love each other when building love off of connection and understanding, while practicing using cognitive empathy

- we have been so lucky as to have a partner who’s family has been so understanding and curious about our system as well as our other issues, and have done there best to make us feel safe and comfortable- we used to not be able to hug others but we were hugging everyone last time we saw them!!! /pos

- a group of boyfriends that all love their boyfriend <3

I wish I could explain it all better, as we struggle with alexthemia and have npd/aspd so love is difficult, weird and confusing, however this relationship and connection is so deep and special to us, something we never thought possible, expecially with someone without a system and I wanted to share as it’s almost the end of pride month and we love our boyfriend.