#after arthur talked oscar out of drinking

[nukuome]

Heeeyyy

[yazmarina]

dime, ¿esto es lo que tú quería'?

charles leclerc and oscar piastri x fem!reader

how about a reward for monaco's p1 and p2?

warnings/notes: smut, threesome, a blowjob, slight degradation, dirty talk, unprotected sex (wrap it up, people!!!), cumshot, creampie, gagging, light choking

a/n: very ambitious and would not set me free until i wrote it...so please enjoy <3

.

You really had no idea how you ended up here.

Arthur is a good friend of yours, having met him when you first came to work for Ferrari under the communication department, mostly being assigned to handle the Academy and development drivers' communication needs. You and Arthur got on well, and eventually, you were hanging out with him and his other friends on the weekends.

The two of you were strictly friendly, something you've had to clear out multiple times to work superiors, nosy colleagues, insistent reporters, you name it.

Arthur isn't your type, point blank, period.

His older brother was a different topic altogether.

Charles was sensitive, artistic, a prince charming in all aspects. Being in close proximity to Arthur meant you spent some time with Charles, too, but those were few and far between and every time you were within five feet of Charles, you were reduced to a tongue-tied mess.

Regardless, Arthur insisted you come along to the celebrations after Charles' most recent win in Monaco.

"Charles knows who you are and you're my friend. He won't mind," Arthur pleaded earlier that day as you were packing up after the podium celebrations.

"What if you go running off and I'm left alone?" You asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I won't go running off," Arthur promised. "I'll be with you the whole night. I'll even help you look for a guy you can go home with!"

And yet you're here in the present, sitting on a couch in the VIP section, alone.

Well, not really. You're surrounded by people but none of them are talking to you. Arthur had gone to get more drinks half an hour ago and you know by now that he probably was sidetracked by other friends or something to that effect.

You have half a mind to call it a night, your hand already reaching for your purse, when you hear a voice call out.

"________! You're here!"

You look up and your heart seems to jump right into your throat.

Charles is beaming down at you, a flag of Monaco draped around his shoulders, his previously styled hair now sticking up in all directions.

You caught a glimpse of Charles earlier when you arrived with Arthur, but the race winner was too busy doing shots for you to have properly said hi.

But he's here now. And he's sliding into the space beside you.

"Where's Arthur?" Charles asks, reaching for an unopened Heineken on the table in front of you.

"I have no idea," you half-yell, leaning closer so Charles could hear. You feel goosebumps erupt on your skin when Charles lays a tentative hand on your back.

"You can spend time with me, then," Charles grins, moving his arm further so it fully wraps around your shoulders.

A nervous laugh escapes you but your instinct is to lean even further into Charles' touch. He's still smiling at you, though clearly inebriated with the way his eyes seem out of focus.

"Ah, Oscar!"

You turn your head to see the other third of the podium finishers, Osar Piastri himself.

"Hey!" he calls over the din of the music. "I can't find anyone! I think they just abandoned me," Oscar adds, laughing.

He takes the seat on your left, effectively sandwiching you between him and Charles. You smile politely at Oscar, reaching your hand out.

"Hi, I'm ______," you say, smiling wider as Oscar takes your hand in his and squeezes.

"I'm Oscar," he says then pauses, realizing that you probably already knew who he was if you were any friend of Charles'. He laughs, practically giggles, hiding his face in his hand.

"Sorry, I see you around the paddock sometimes, so I probably didn't need to do that," Oscar explains, cheeks turning pink, or at least you think they do, given that the lighting in this club is atrocious.

Oscar is still holding your hand and you can tell that he's tipsy too by the way he's smiling, eyes hooded and sleepy-looking.

"________ is part of communications in Ferrari," Charles explains, rubbing his thumb over the exposed skin of your shoulder. You turn to look at Charles, and the way he gazes back at you, a half smile on his lips, breath hot on your cheek, has your heart pounding incessantly against your chest.

"She's very efficient," Charles praises with a chuckle. "I like seeing her around when she works."

You make a move to swat at Charles' thigh as if to tell him off. "Stop it, I'm not at enough races for you to see me that often."

You're laughing, mostly in disbelief at the words that just came out of Charles' mouth. He likes seeing you around?

Charles shrugs. "But when you are, I notice."

You feel your neck heat up and even more so when Charles maneuvers you closer, seemingly protective. If you moved any more, you'd be on Charles' lap.

Oscar eyes the two of you and you'd give anything to read the thoughts in his head right now. The younger man locks eyes with you and smiles, sweetly at first, but then his pupils glance down briefly at your chest, barely covered by the tube top you decided to don for the evening.

The sweetness quickly melts away as Oscar bites his lip.

"You're close, then?" Oscar asks casually, scooting closer to you and Charles.

"Arthur and her are good friends," Charles points out.

"So I guess by default, _______ and I are good friends, too."

You laugh and Oscar is grinning once more at you, and god does he look handsome under these lights. You can tell that he wants to come even closer, his fingers tapping nervously on his knee. Some slow song is playing over the speakers, bass loaded and making the entire place vibrate.

You reach out, laying a hand on Oscar's thigh, squeezing just enough to get the point across.

Oscar looks over at Charles and you follow his line of sight, seeing some sort of unspoken agreement cross the two drivers.

Charles dips his head, moving even closer to you. He breathes out right next to your ear and you shiver.

"Ma chèrie," he begins. "I think we need to take this somewhere else."

You turn to look at Charles, blood roaring in your ears. "What?"

Charles looks straight into your eyes as if searching for something. He rubs a soothing hand down your back, letting it settle on your waist.

"You want to, no?" Charles asks, momentarily glancing up at Oscar. "With me and him?"

You feel a rush of excitement course through you. Surely, this isn't happening. The idea of Charles bringing you home crossed your mind briefly the moment he touched you earlier, but that's as far as you allowed yourself to imagine. But the remnants of alcohol in your system and the intoxicating atmosphere of the club must have gotten to you with the way you so brazenly made a move on Oscar.

And now you reap what you sow.

"We can hang out at my place," Oscar throws out nonchalantly as if he was simply inviting you and Charles to more drinks at his apartment.

"I just moved in and it could use a little...housewarming," Oscar adds with a pointed look.

Charles bursts out laughing, leaning down to press a kiss to your shoulder before nuzzling into the side of your neck. You glance around, hyperaware that all eyes have been on Charles the whole night, and for sure it isn't any different now.

"Andiamo," Charles whispers. "We'll make it good."

Let's go. Your months of Italian as a prerequisite to working in Ferrari barely register with you now.

Oscar slips his own hand over your thigh, his large palm covering an expanse of your skin.

"You'll love the view from my balcony," Oscar offers, tilting his head towards you. He smiles, innocent and sweet once more, simultaneously squeezing at the flesh of your thigh.

You bite your lip, suppressing whatever sounds that threatened to come out.

-

You thought you'd never make it out of the car ride to Oscar's place.

Oscar had brought his own ride and being much, much more sober than both you and Charles, he took the initiative to drive. You and Charles piled into the backseat, giggling.

"Not fair, you guys," Oscar teased from the front, eyeing you through the rearview mirror. Charles merely snickers, hands sneaking up over your chest as you settle on his lap.

"Eyes on the road, Oscar," Charles ordered, yanking your top down, exposing yourself fully to Oscar. You gasped, the cold air of the air-conditioning lending to the stiffening of your nipples. Charles began to toy with them, pinching and rolling them between his fingers, reducing you to a speechless mess. You noticed just how hard Oscar was gripping the steering wheel, tight enough that his knuckles were drained of color.

You barely had time to cover yourself back up once you got to Oscar's place, with Charles tugging you out of the car as soon as Oscar killed the ignition. The younger of the two comes around to your side of the car as you and Charles stumble out. Oscar takes your hand in his and leans down briefly to kiss you, tongue darting out to lick at the seam of your lips.

Oscar pulls away, sending Charles a look. "I was on the podium, too, mate."

"Ah, sorry Oscar," Charles says lightheartedly. "Sharing isn't really my strong suit. But for her, I will try."

Charles lands a smack on your ass, the sound loud enough to make you flinch. You involuntarily whine at the sting, tripping over your feet a bit. Oscar steadies you, laughing along with Charles.

"We're gonna have so much fun with you, chèrie," Charles teases, kissing your cheek.

The elevator ride is even worse. Or better. You can't decide.

It's just the three of you, and you're backed up into the corner, Charles being the handsier of the two, creeping both hands up your sides, his knee pushing between your legs.

"Ch-Charles, not here," you manage to warn. He increases the pressure against your core, grinning as he watches you shiver.

Oscar watches from the side, arms crossed, leaning casually against the elevator wall. You meet his gaze and he winks, smiling languidly just as Charles kisses down the side of your neck.

Soon enough, the elevator doors open and you push Charles away, startled to see a pair of middle-aged women waiting on the other side. You hurry past them out into the hallway, following Oscar who saunters down towards the end with an easy step.

"Right here," Oscar declares, unlocking a door at the very end. Charles guides you inside just as Oscar turns the light on.

The living room is spacious, with a single couch and coffee table occupying it. A deep blue rug breaks the cream flooring. Past the receiving area is the dining and kitchen, set against floor-to-ceiling windows, a staple of Monegasque apartments, as you've come to figure out. A hallway veers to the right.

"You weren't kidding about the view," you comment, taking in the night sky and the sprawling harbor.

Oscar turns back to you, and only now do you get a good look at him. The first three buttons of his shirt undone, his hair the right kind of messy, and his eyes, darker than what you're used to.

"The view in here is just as good," Oscar replies, eyes raking over your body. He reaches out, a hand resting on your waist.

"May I?" Charles whispers from behind you, tugging down the zip of your skirt. He gets it open and you let it fall to your feet, kicking it off to the side.

"So pretty," Charles adds, kissing along your upper back. Oscar hikes your top up and you let him pull it over your head, leaving you bare, save for your panties.

"I could see your tits through your shirt the whole night," Oscar comments, pointer fingers ghosting over your nipples. "Imagined what they might look like."

You gasp, leaning further back into Charles. You had no idea Oscar had that kind of mouth on him.

It turned you on to no end.

"Better than what you imagined?" You breathe out, Charles' fingers making their way over your mound, pressing over the wet spot on your underwear.

"Chèrie, you're so wet," Charles curses, rubbing you through the thin fabric. "Will you let me get a taste of you, hm?"

You nod frantically, already buckling under the lightest of touch from both men. You can only imagine how pathetic you look right now, stripped bare, with them still fully clothed.

"We should move this to the room," Oscar offers, delivering a final pinch to both of your nipples. You yelp as Oscar chuckles darkly, taking your hand in his.

It hasn't even fully started and you're already made to do the walk of shame.

Oscar's walls are still mostly bare but you feel exposed somehow, shivering despite the fairly warm temperature. He leads you and Charles to the door at the end of the hall, stepping inside while undoing the rest of the buttons on his shirt.

You're met with large double doors on one side of the room, leading to, what you can only assume, is a large balcony.

"We can do it with a view, amour," Charles says, wrapping both arms around your waist.

Oscar shrugs his shirt off and you watch as his muscles flex beneath his skin, taut and defined.

"We sure can," Oscar agrees, flinging the doors to his balcony open. The cool night breeze blows past your face and you sigh, heart rate picking up even more.

Charles gently maneuvers you closer to the open doors and your hands start to clam up. Shit, are you really doing this?

"W-Wait," you mutter. "Won't anyone see?"

Oscar approaches you, pointer finger hooking into your underwear. He tugs at it harshly, yanking it halfway off.

"We don't have to do it outside if you don't want to," Oscar says, voice low. He looks at Charles. "Don't wanna get kicked out after I've just moved in."

Charles snickers. "The bed is right there. We'll leave the doors open and let them hear you, instead."

And it's true. The bed is directly in front of the balcony doors, moonlight spilling onto Oscar's navy blue sheets. Oscar grabs fully at your soiled panties now, ripping them clean off.

You gasp, but any shock is melted away when you see Oscar ball up the torn fabric in his hand, bringing it closer to your face. He raises his eyebrows as if questioning you.

"Yes? No?" He asks, tapping beneath your chin. It clicks a little late what Oscar is asking of you but you nod, parting your lips.

Oscar grins, pushing your panties into your mouth.

Fuck.

You hear the metal clang of a belt being unbuckled behind you, followed by the crinkle of fabric as Charles lets his pants and underwear pool around his ankles.

"You and I are going to have so much fun with her, no, Oscar?" Charles asks, a hint of mischief in his voice.

Oscar undoes the button of his pants as well. "Yes, we are."

"How do you want to do this, baby?" Charles addresses you, taking hold of your hips. "Tell us."

"And maybe if you're good, we'll give you what you want," Oscar adds, a hand sliding up your chest before resting around your neck. Your breath hitches as you feel Oscar test the waters, squeezing lightly.

"Oh, wait," Charles laughs condescendingly. "She can't talk."

There's a glint in Oscar's eyes as he adds pressure around your neck. "Guess we have to decide for her then."

You whimper, arms reaching out to wrap around Oscar's own neck. He smiles at you, almost warmly, but you can still see the bubbling desire in his irises.

"You can take the gag out any time you want," Oscar instructs softly, releasing your neck. You take in a big breath through your nose.

"And if you don't like anything we're doing, say 'Monte Carlo'," Oscar adds. He nods at Charles and you feel yourself being pulled backward.

"Get on the bed," Charles commands and you scramble to do so, crawling over the mattress before turning around and laying back on your elbows.

Charles and Oscar eye you intently and you're tempted to cover yourself, but with how they've been acting the whole night, you're not sure how that would be received.

"You wanna go first?" Oscar nudges Charles lightly. The Monegasque grins widely like a kid on Christmas.

"Oh, yes," Charles concedes, getting on the bed with you. He scoots down so his face is level with your cunt.

"Hold tight, my love," Charles says before licking a thick stripe up your core. Your whole body jerks and you cry around the gag in your mouth.

Charles continues to work on your dripping pussy, alternating between flicking against your clit and circling your hole. You moan and whine and whimper, eyes tearing up as you look pleadingly at Oscar.

"Look at you," Oscar laughs. "We've barely done anything."

Charles spreads your legs even wider, licking even deeper. You're fully crying now, the buildup proving too much as you feel your body shake at your approaching orgasm.

Oscar reaches over and toys with your boobs, brushing over your nipples just the way you like it. Without warning, Oscar dips his head down and takes one in his mouth, circling the nub with his own tongue.

The added sensation nearly drives you crazy. The pressure builds rapidly inside you and you're left incoherent as you beg without words.

Not yet, fuck, I can't cum that fast–

You twitch and involuntarily press your pussy harshly against Charles' mouth as you come undone, toes curling and body seizing up. Oscar pulls away and watches as you throw your head back, fingers twisting into the sheets.

"Already?" You hear Charles' voice through the ringing in your ears. "You must really want it."

You blink through your tears, momentarily confused as you see Oscar reach for your face. You cough as you feel the dry fabric being pulled out from your mouth. Oscar tosses your ruined underwear to the side.

"I think she deserves a reward for getting there so fast," Oscar suggests, turning to Charles.

"Which one do you want a taste of first? You get to pick, sweetheart," Oscar says, wiping a stray line of drool dripping down the side of your mouth.

"Ch-Charles," you croak, throat still dry.

Charles and Oscar share a curt nod and the former moves to the head of the bed.

"Hands and knees, my love," Charles orders and you follow, getting on all fours. He settles against the headboard, leaning back as you take his cock in your hand.

"Guess you want me here, then?" Oscar says from behind you. You turn to peek over your shoulder to see Oscar stroking languidly at his cock, one of his hands coming down to spread your ass apart.

"Fuck, this view," Oscar hisses, smacking your ass once.

"I reckon, you don't need me to prep you? I can just–"

You shriek as you feel Oscar push in without warning, and though it was a surprise, the obscene amount of arousal coming from your cunt aids in the stretch that Oscar's cock brings.

He fully sheathes himself inside and he groans, grabbing your hips with both hands.

"Chèrie." Charles' voice forces your attention back to him.

"Don't forget about me, hm?"

You try to compose yourself as best as you can as Oscar starts to fuck you at a relentless pace. You lower your mouth down to Charles' cock, wrapping your lips around the tip.

You take half of him in, coating him in your spit, going lower each time you come down. Charles is nearly as incoherent as you were earlier, curse words in three different languages falling from his lips.

You feel the tip of his cock reach the back of your throat and you stop, gagging around it. Charles threads his fingers through your hair, yanking you back up.

"Open your mouth," Charles says, tightening the grip on your hair.

You do as you're told and Charles angles himself better. He holds you in place as he fucks up into your mouth, hitting the back of your throat each time. You will your breathing to slow, but the constant assault on your pussy muddles your brain and destroys your focus.

"She's so fucking tight," Oscar says through gritted teeth. You can feel his nails dig into your sides.

"Here as well," Charles agrees. "So warm and so wet."

All you can do is sob as you let the two of them use you, filled up on both sides, reduced to nothing but two holes.

"Fuck, I wanna cum on her face," Oscar says hurriedly, hips slowing down, probably in an attempt to keep his orgasm at bay.

Charles pulls you back off of him and he surveys you for a second.

"And I'll do it inside," Charles says. "Will you let me cum inside, chèrie?"

You nod, unconsciously clenching around Oscar. He curses, speeding up his movements again.

"Mate, I can't take it anymore," Oscar rushes, pulling out. You whine at the loss but Charles is quick to get off the bed, replacing Oscar's place behind you.

You feel the Charles' tip press against your hole and you plead, rocking back, desperate to be filled up.

"Charles, please, n-need your cum in me," you stutter. "Wanna be filled up, I need it, need you, please–"

Charles slides in one swift motion and your eyes roll all the way back in your head. He's thicker than Oscar and the stretch is almost painful but in the best way possible.

The older of the two wastes no time and starts pounding into you, rendering you speechless at how brutal his pace is. You're dizzy with arousal, spit and tears mixing on your chin and cheeks.

"Look here, sweetheart," comes Oscar's voice, rough around the edges, his hand cupping your chin.

He's stroking his cock at an impossible pace, bottom lip caught between his teeth. You look straight into his eyes as you stick your tongue out, waiting for him to release all over you.

"Fuck, you really are desperate for it," Oscar sneers, gripping harder at your face. "Open wide."

A warm spurt of liquid shoots straight onto your tongue, landing on your cheeks as well. You squint as it hits nearer to your eyes but you obediently lick up everything you can from your lips, swallowing Oscar's thick cum down.

"Oh god, baby," Charles warns. "Je vais bientôt jouir–"

Charles presses you closer to him, caging your hips against his own. He groans and you feel him twitch within you. You clench down as hard as you can around him, earning your hair a harsh tug from behind. Charles yanks you back against him as he gives a few more thrusts to ride his orgasm out.

"We are not done with you yet, amour," Charles warns.

Oscar's face comes into view and he's eyeing you up and down, his thumb swiping at a stain of himself on your cheek. He brings it to your lips and you lick his digit clean.

"Good girl," Oscar praises. "But he's right. You can give us a few more, right?"

You swallow.

You nod.

[coff33andb00ks]

Hopeless - LN

Lando Norris x fem!reader (mentions of Charles Leclerc x fem!reader) Summary: and you know damn well that for you, I would ruin myself a million little times Word count: 2012 Themes: angst, forbidden love(?) Song: can i be him by james arthur Warnings: cheating, charles is a bad boyfriend, cursing, Oscar knows everything, barely proofread, not a happy ending Notes: I watched one too many she chose me/did she? tiktoks and this was born. Also please don't take this as me condoning cheating (unless you can cheat with Lando).

Lando isn't one hundred percent sure how it began, not really. He remembers the first move, the bit of shock when you didn't reject him, but he doesn't remember how – or when or why – he fell for you. He knows he didn't just wake up one day saying to himself right today's the day I fall in love.

It all started so innocently. Right? He found out you liked gaming and casually invited you to his place to try out his setup when you mentioned you were looking to upgrade. He'd expected Charles to come with you but had shrugged it off, too excited to share his love for gaming. You stayed most of the afternoon, laughing and he'd had the tiniest of crushes by the time you left. And when you upgraded you asked him to come over to help you set it up.

Crush: intensified.

He's pretty sure he liked you so much because you didn't talk about racing with him. He could be "normal" around you, just like any other guy in his 20s who loved video games and driving fancy cars and blasting music. Soon he was dropping by or inviting you over on off days. He didn't think anything of it. You were a friend, and Charles obviously didn't mind, so why deny himself the pleasure of your company?

Crush: die-hard. To the point Max and Oscar teased him about it.

He likes you most in his apartment. On race weekends at a track you were calm, cool, and collected in designer brands, the picture perfect girlfriend of everyone's favorite Ferrari driver. But at his place, you were… Y/n. Yapping nonstop and dancing in his living room, curled up under a blanket on his sofa watching the latest period drama, in his kitchen baking treats he isnt' supposed to eat.

It was, he thought after hugging you goodbye one night, kind of like having a girlfriend without the stress.

He still dated. Casually. Because he couldn't justify putting all the time and effort into finding a girlfriend. It was so much easier to sleep around and be friends with you. Fucked up, yeah, but easier.

Then on an off weekend you showed up unannounced, looking like you wanted to cry.

And he would have done anything to keep that from happening.

"I just needed to get away," you said, and Lando nodded, letting you in and pretending the smell of your perfume didn't affect him.

You didn't want to talk about it and he didn't pressure you. He gave you the remote and fixed you a drink and parked himself on the other end of the sofa with his laptop to edit some photos while you found some old movie to put on.

"Lan?" you asked after a while.

"Hmm?" He didn't look away from his laptop.

"If Charles…" You sighed. "If he cheated on me you'd tell me wouldn't you?"

"Immediately," he said without hesitation. Then, as your words registered, he saved his progress and closed the laptop, slowly turning to look at you. "Do you think he's cheating?"

You shrugged, eyes firmly on the TV.

"Y/n. C'mon, talk to me." Lando set the laptop aside and picked up the remote to mute the TV.

"I'm just being stupid."

He waited, and then listened while you listed off the reasons you were considering that Charles was cheating. How he'd stayed out late the night before, had left early this morning for a last minute trip to the Ferrari factory. Facing you, he moved closer, until he could hold your hand. Then, when you finished, he rattled off the usual signs of cheating to see if anything matched.

You looked at him oddly. "Got a lot of experience with cheating?"

Lando giggled, as he always did when asked a stressful question. "What? Me? Nah."

"Fucking liar," you muttered, rolling your eyes.

"No, no, I never lie when I'm fucking," he said, wondering why the words were coming out of his mouth before he finished saying them. Glancing upwards, he pinched his brows together. "Well, wait, maybe I have… Like when it's mediocre but you need to get off so you say it's good?"

You laughed, which was always his goal with you. He loved your laugh, adored the way you threw your head back, and always joined in as soon as the snort you despised escaped.

"Oh god Lan," you giggled, and moved to hug him.

And he knew he was a goner. Because you felt so good in his arms. He hugged you close. He knew the healing power of a good hug but also held onto you for more selfish reasons, committing the feel of you tucked so close to his memory, breathing in the scent of you. Easing his grip as you began to pull away, he felt his breath catch in his throat when you paused, looking into his eyes.

"Thank you," you whispered.

"You know I'm always here for you." He smiled. He liked that he could make you feel better. Then, because he couldn't help himself, he had to go and ruin everything. Reaching up, he lightly smoothed your cheek with his fingers. "If he is cheating, he's a fucking moron. You're not even my girl and I can't find anyone that compares."

He still can't remember how you'd initially reacted. Surprise, probably. Maybe a little shock. But he would forever remember the way you'd breathed his name, as though Lando were a prayer, and that you'd both leaned in at the same time.

And he was certain that until his last breath he would recall every detail of what had followed. The kiss, everything pure and perfect, your hands on his neck. Him pulling you closer, both of you moaning. It had been frantic, every shred of neediness and longing pouring from his mouth to yours, every late night dream running through his mind, each fantasy he'd allowed himself to think of coming true before he'd tasted your skin.

You stayed the night, and he'd discovered that you'd fantasized, too.

***

"You good mate?"

Lando blinks, seeing Oscar in the doorway. "Yeah," he lies, rolling his shoulders. "Just thinking of strats for tomorrow."

"You've been listening to the same song for almost an hour."

Fuck. "No I haven't." He pauses the song, rubbing the back of his neck and finally moving to finish dressing. "It's a good song."

"What's going on with you? You've been acting weird for a couple months now," Oscar says.

Lando swallows the shame. It's not that he feels guilty. He's content with the arrangement between you. Not that anything is set in stone, but it's an unspoken agreement. You're still with Charles – who, it turned out, was cheating but it was a minor fling – and he's single. Technically. In his heart, he's yours.

He almost laughs because it's so beyond fucked up now.

But he can't let anyone else find out. He's been around long enough to know that you'd be the one labeled as a whore. Even though everyone's aware of Charles' infidelity, it would be your fault. And Oscar…

For someone whose entire persona is I really don't give a fuck I'm here to race, the bastard knows everything. He's like a cat. He's always there, and even when he's not listening he soaks it all in like a sponge.

He spritzes a little more cologne on himself and pulls on his hoodie. "Dunno what you're talking about, mate."

"You haven't gone out to celebrate since Miami."

Of course he hasn't. Miami was the night he'd gotten just drunk enough to dance too close to you. The secretly snapped pictures of his face in your neck are still popping up on social media. "It gets old after a while, Osc."

Oscar folds his arms over his chest and leans in the doorway. "For me, yeah. For you? Not buying it."

Goddamn the sponge cat for being so observant. Lando shrugs, maintaining he façade of yep I'm good. "Osc—"

"Is it because of y/n?"

Ice water floods his veins. He can feel the blood draining from his face and his palms begin to sweat. You've both been so careful, Miami notwithstanding. He never takes you out, makes a point to not sit too close to you in a group setting, and is his so-called normal self anytime someone else is around. It's different alone, but – oh. "You mean in Miami?" he asks casually, fixing his necklace and lifting his foot to tie his shoe.

"You were weird about her before Miami."

Oh god. "It was just a stupid crush." He ties his other shoe and checks his pockets for his wallet and hotel key. "I'm over it now."

"Lando."

"What?" He practically snaps the word out and instantly regrets it, but he can't talk to Oscar about this. Oscar will never be able to understand. "Look, I gotta go, need to get rest for tomorrow."

"Oh. I thought… I guess you are over it." Oscar gives a tiny shrug.

Lando freezes. "Why are you talking in riddles?"

"You didn't see them fighting?"

He jerks his head to stare at his teammate. When he speaks, his voice nearly cracks. "Fighting?"

"Well, arguing. I don't know what about, I didn't catch any of it. I only saw him trying to talk to her and she shoved him and stormed off."

No wonder you haven't replied to his texts. His hand aches to pull out his phone and call you to check on you. To make sure you're okay. You and Charles don't fight often but Lando knows of your tendency to go and cry until you figure out a resolution. "What did they fight about?"

"I don't know."

Lando swallows anxiously, pulling out his phone and checking the time. "Where'd she go?"

"No clue."

"You're really no fucking help," Lando mutters, shoving his phone into his pocket and brushing past him to leave the room.

"Thought you were over it?" Oscar asks softly.

Lando freezes again, anguish twisting in his chest at the thought of ever being over you. "I… She's my friend. It's… Y/n… She's…"

"She's what?"

Everything but his. Real and true and more than he ever thought he could have. His daily sunshine and his nightly fantasy. The open ear when he's having a rough go, the tight embrace when he needs grounding. His source of peace and his greatest torment.

"Fucking hell, mate," Oscar whispers.

"I gotta go," Lando says.

And he leaves, not sure why he feels so anxious all of a sudden. Everything feels off. He tells himself it's because Oscar knows, or at least thinks he knows, and that's got to be the reason. He's fine. You're fine. Nothing's changing just because you had a fight with Charles. It'll blow over and by morning things will be as they have been.

The trip to the hotel seems to take forever and he's even more uneasy as he sits in traffic a few cars back from the valet. He should have gotten an Uber or caught a ride with someone. Despite the air conditioning going he's sweating, because you still haven't replied to his texts, and when he tries to call you it goes straight to voicemail.

Hey y/n, call me when you can?

But you don't.

He stays up late, hoping you'll at least send him a text letting him know you're okay. His sleep is restless, plagued with the worst possible scenarios. When his alarm goes off he hits snooze one too many times and so has to rush to the track, trying to push everything out of his mind as race time approaches. Checking social media so he can engage with the team posts hyping up his and Oscar's starting positions, he can only stare at the screen when Instagram loads.

You. And Charles. Cozied up like soulmates. There's candlelight and flowers.

But all he can stare at is the diamond on your finger. And, just beneath the photo, Charles' short caption.

She said yes.

*~end~*

[willowsnook]

I need a drink girly!! (Am I allowed to to put 3-4 alcohol choices? Idk)

Alcohol Vodka (it’s always been you.), Gin (Watch your fucking mouth.), Brandy (Do you enjoy pissing me off?), Wiskey (You’re mine, end of discussion.)

Mixer: Italian soda (Charles Leclerc)

Glass: Cooper Mug (Enemies *to lovers?🫶🏻🫶🏻🙏🏻*)

charles leclerc x reader

it's always been you watch your fucking mouth do you enjoy pissing me off? you're mine, end of discussion

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

As Arthur's best friend, you were no stranger to F1 and F2 races, though you definitely preferred the latter, which surprised a lot of people. In your defense, you didn’t have to share Arthur at F2 races. Anytime he dragged you along to F1, you were stuck hanging with both him and his older brother, Charles.

Growing up with the Leclercs, you knew Charles very well, and you had always fought with him for Arthur's attention. Since you and Arthur were the same age, you naturally became fast friends, especially because your families were always around each other.

Charles had been closer with your older brother, but when he went off to boarding school, Charles turned his focus solely to teasing you. His teasing always revolved around you following Arthur like a lost puppy and your supposed schoolgirl crush. It had made you insecure at first, but Arthur assured you many times over the years that he didn’t see you that way. Besides, you’d seen Arthur at his worst too many times to ever consider him romantically.

“Do you enjoy pissing me off?” A familiar voice called from behind you in the Ferrari garage, and you smirked before turning around.

“What? You don’t like my outfit?” you asked innocently. Dressed in papaya orange, you twirled to flaunt your McLaren attire, purposely donning Oscar’s number to rile him up.

“You shouldn’t be allowed to wear another team’s colors when you’re in our garage,” Charles said bossily, and you snorted. “Where’s your little boyfriend anyway? He was supposed to be here ten minutes ago.”

“He’s not my boyfriend,” you grumbled just as Arthur strolled in, pulling his brother into a hug.

“Don’t stop your flirting on my account,” Arthur teased, causing you to roll your eyes.

“I’d rather cut my tongue off than flirt with her,” Charles retorted.

“Likewise,” you shot back, glaring at him. Arthur, amused as always, ushered you out of the garage, handing you off to Rebecca. You pouted, and he gave you a look.

“Until you and Charles realize you’re madly in love with each other, we’ll have to keep doing this split custody thing,” he teased.

The idea made you laugh. Yes, Charles had grown more attractive as you both got older, and you did find yourself laughing at his jokes when he wasn’t looking. And Charles had noticed you’d grown up quite nicely, tracking you with his eyes whenever you were together, much to Arthur’s amusement.

In Arthur’s mind, it was only a matter of time. After all, what could be better than the two most important people in his life ending up together?

A little later, you were grabbing a water outside the garage when two girls complimented your outfit.

“It’s nice to see someone here in something other than red,” one of them joked, and you laughed along.

“I can’t stand Ferrari, especially Charles,” she added, and you raised an eyebrow.

“Oh yeah? Why’s that?” you asked curiously.

“He’s so cocky, it’s insufferable to watch,” she said, and your expression hardened.

“Have you met him?” you asked.

“Well, no,” she stammered.

“So just because you’ve watched a few interviews and didn’t like his answers, with the weight of the world on his shoulders, you’ve decided he’s an asshole?”

The girl stuttered, but you cut her off.

“Charles is one of the most down-to-earth people I know. And even if he was cocky, he’d have every right to be. His driving record speaks for itself. So maybe watch your fucking mouth when you’re talking about him,” you snapped before turning on your heel and storming off.

Rushing around the corner, you slammed right into a hard chest. Looking up to apologize, you realized it was Charles, giving you the strangest look. He had clearly heard everything.

Mumbling an apology, you scurried away before he could say anything.

You stuck to Arthur’s side for the rest of qualifying and groaned when he mentioned that Charles had invited both of you to join him, Carlos, Lando, and Pierre for dinner later.

When you met the group in the lobby, Arthur grew suspicious when you and Charles didn’t bicker the entire way to dinner.

“Did you guys have sex?” he blurted out, causing you to choke on your water. Charles looked at him in alarm before shifting his gaze to you.

“No, Arthur! Jesus,” you sputtered.

“Then why are you both being so weird?” he pressed.

“I don’t think we’re being weird at all,” Charles said smoothly. “Right, Carlos?”

“Don’t drag me into this,” Carlos muttered, turning back to Lando. Arthur eyed the two of you closely for the rest of the night, until an idea popped into his head.

As you all left the restaurant, he was supposed to call an UberXL.

“Sorry, guys, only normal Ubers available,” he said. “Y/n and Charles can grab their own ride back.”

Before you could protest, the car pulled up, and Arthur practically shoved everyone else inside, leaving you and Charles standing there, dumbfounded.

“Wanna just walk?” you suggested, breaking the silence. He nodded, and the two of you set off back toward the hotel.

“I heard what you said earlier,” he said, testing the waters.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” you replied nonchalantly.

“Uh huh,” he said, keeping his eyes on you. “I didn’t know you were capable of saying nice things about me.”

“I didn’t like hearing them talk about you like they knew you,” you confessed. “It’s different when I do it. I have evidence to back it up.”

“Oh, do you now?” he asked, smirking, and you smiled lightly.

“Tons.”

As you approached the busy street near the hotel, Charles grabbed your hand to lead you across. You blushed, and your face grew even redder when he didn’t let go once you reached the other side.

“Thank you, though, for what you said,” he said quietly, and you gave his hand a gentle squeeze in response.

“If only Arthur could see us now,” you joked, and Charles laughed. “He’s always been obsessed with the idea of us being together.”

“Yeah, because he knew how big of a crush I had on you back then,” Charles said nonchalantly, and you halted.

“What are you talking about?” you asked, stunned.

"It was always you that I wanted to spend time with, not him," Charles said gazing into your eyes. "All those times I was 'trying to steal him away' was really just trying to be around you."

"Why didn't you ever say anything?"

Charles shrugged, pulling you along to walk again, "Honestly for a while I thought you were into him. And then we didn't see each other for a while and when we did I decided that if pretending to fight for his attention was how I would get to be around you I just went with it."

“Charles…” you began, but your voice faltered, unsure of what to say next.

He glanced down, a small, sheepish smile tugging at the corner of his lips. “It’s fine. I didn’t expect anything to come of it. But now... I’m tired of pretending.”

His words hung in the air, and for a moment, neither of you spoke. The busy street noise faded into the background, the world narrowing to just the two of you.

“I had no idea,” you finally whispered, meeting his eyes.

“Well, now you do,” he said, his tone soft but sure, his hand still firmly holding yours.

Taking a deep breath, you squeezed his hand again and smiled. “Maybe… we don’t have to pretend anymore.”

His face lit up, the nervous energy between you dissolving into something lighter, warmer. He leaned in slightly, his breath brushing your cheek.

“Good,” he whispered. “Because I’ve waited long enough.”

With that, you let out a small laugh, feeling a mixture of relief and excitement settle in your chest. As you started walking again, this time with your fingers still intertwined, it felt different—easier, natural.

[arthur-lesters-balls]

i actually dont know if i can make a whole sentence without cursing arthur and john for what they did to oscar. like im seriously holding back here. two little bitches. hate them and their toxic codependent relationship. i hate hate hate everyone from malevolent. after that whole conversation at the bar, after arthur comparing oscar to him in the past and himself to parker, after he said he was glad parker didnt gave up on him....i dont know. im angry.

like, ok, ok, he feels like hes failing john! hes trying to understand whats making him act that way, hes trying to adapt, to make things better for him! he has regrets about yellow he wants to compensate now! but oscar was so wronged

like, come on, oscar regrets not killing father mckenna, he regrets that he tried to help but couldnt go to the end, and how that means that alexander could have been sent back to where mckenna was....and now arthur says he shouldnt drink because he had to help him and he hears him and hopes that he found a reason to keep going and follows arthur to a mysterious dangerous place! just like that! and then real action happens after he had his arm chopped off after he passed out from the pain and the blood loss.......man, he woke up with arthur talking and was able to open the door.....thats how much he was willing to fight. and then arthur didnt even told him why their partnership had ended. it was just like that, and he just accepted.

its alexander all over again, he couldnt go to the end and now hes out of the situation. and, yeah, its for different reasons, but the irony here lies in the fact that now, even when hes willing to die to not have any new regrets, he was stopped by something else. unless he still has a part to play in this story or other people, like daniel, interferes to help him, arthur honestly just left him to die. i know its a heavy thing to say, but considering how serious is his problem with drinking, and how this obviously wont seem like "a bad dream" when he wakes up, i think all arthur did was drag him to an even worst place

and, yes, i know it was not healthy for oscar to live just for arthur's sake, but healing is a process, and when he finally found someone who seemed up to helping him, that person left him behind on the same day, before it even started......like......come on AND ALSO, YES, i know arthur is doing it because it really is safer for oscar and i know john has his reasons and that they're complex ones but please dont ask me to look at nuance right now im depressed im angry and theres a fucking bar on the other side of the street from the hospital

[late-to-the-magnus-archives]

Confession - a Malevolent fic

There’s a trick to confession, if you want to keep another from hearing what you said. But not hearing it don’t make it not true, don’t make it go away.

I fear Arthur’s truth, so big and bright. I fear ours together may strike like flint and leap into devouring flame.

An Oscar one-shot.

AO3

——

There’s a trick to confession.

Well. A couple tricks, if we’re talking honest, but the biggest one is this: if you want to hide somat big but never lie, the way to do it is to put it by somat else just as big and bright.

Lies don’t work so well. They may look good up close, nice and meaty, but take a few steps back, and they’re full of holes. No, if you want to hide a truth, you can only do it with another one.

Take my own past.

What I did to a wicked man when I was but a lad is true. My regret that I didn’t finish the job is also true. Both true, big and bright, and they serve to hide the other truth that anyone would see if I didn’t blind them first with rage and revulsion.

I went after a man’s face with the claw-end of a hammer. I brought it down, again and again, like a knife through eggshell, like an awl into hard meringue. I crushed him, made wet rips in his skin for bits of skull and brain to stick to like salt on the swell of pudding. I smashed his nose, and I popped his eyes, and I ground him into bone-dusted craters, while gore flew and spattered red like tomato sauce left too long on the stone and boiling.

They dragged me away, and dragged him away, and then in my story, I give the second big, bright truth—that I regret he lived, that I didn’t finish, that he is out there somewhere, hurting someone else.

These two are already bad. It is enough to focus on my violence and my regret, maybe to question why the Fathers never saw me done to law. To wonder how I could stand to take vows after that hypocrisy, how I can live with myself and others like those wicked, guilty men.

And with all this, you miss the other truth I said outright, left in plain view, just beside the big-bright shape of truths: he lived.

With a claw hammer to his brain, over and over, he lived.

With holes like rabbit burrows right through his face, he lived well enough to be transferred to a new parish and keep his job.

I don’t believe in lies. Don’t tell them. But there’s a trick to confession that saves the one who listens: with my truths, big and bright, you don’t ask how he could live, what that means he is, and so perhaps you slip the attention of a thing that’s mere embarrassed a human boy caught it out with a hammer, and so left to continue its life somewhere else.

#

I wasn’t real surprised when Marie turned out to have demon troubles. Not that I know what Scratch is; but there’s just too many things stalking the good, struggling people of this city, and ever since I cracked the mask of one with a claw hammer, I seem to find their victims.

I’m never shocked when they come to me, or come near me—trailing monsters that have no name, things that eat their dreams or their skin, things that drink their tears or sate their lust, things that steal their children and replace them or don’t. Sheep are prey animals; wolves and bears and thieves come in the night, and I am supposed to be their shepherd.

Crook and staff are the shepherd’s tools, one gentle-hooked to lift sheep from the mud, the other heavy-cudgeled to crack skulls and spill blood. And I am so afraid.

I don’t want to see the monsters. Don’t want to hear whispering in the night. Wish I could just bless infants and calm widows and give peace through holy sacrament. 

Instead, this. I don’t have mere widows—I get them that made themselves so. I don’t have mere dreams, but creatures that infest like bot flies and persist, lumpish, under skin and feeding.

Scratch will never leave me alone. Hot breaths and lies, secrets and twisted realities, stretching true guilt out into new and terrible figures. And now his host is free, wandering, hidden in sweet sheepskin.

I am so afraid, but I do what’s right, or… I try. That’s what anyone can do, isn’t it? All anyone can do.

“Huh,” says Arthur Lester, when I say how old Marie’s house is. “When Scratch spoke to me, he said that he had been trapped in those walls for two hundred years, so how could that be?” 

A good question. And we both ignore the big, bright truth that he hides with it, the question anyone would ask if they didn’t get stuck on Butchers and injured family and multiple murders just dropped aside, like nothing, like mention of spoilt milk, a consequence of poor attention.

“This book is fascinating,” I say, clutching this well-worn thing with names for the monsters I see. “Have you used it previously?”

“Hm? Uh, yes. Once, another creature–”

“Another creature? Lord.”

“I didn’t get the impression it was a lie,” says Arthur, which makes no sense.

“What was?” I say.

“What… if it wasn’t…” he stumbles through, continuing a conversation I’m only a small part of, “as long as Scratch is saying, but he’s not aware?” 

Time dilation. Theories. A hunt. “It would make sense as to why he’s so desperate for freedom,” I say, because this big, bright thing is true, and we must find Hattie, and free her. “If every day felt like ten, I’d be batty as well.” We make our plan, and so we will go to the other home of the one who owns Scratch’s cage. 

And we both ignore the other shape, the one he spoke and leaves in plain view beside the big-bright shape of other truths: another creature, Arthur Lester said, and moved right along.

Met Scratch, he did. Learned the truth of a possessed woman, and the dead brother-in-law before that, and took both in stride.

Never lied about that. Never said it rocked him when it didn’t.

But now, I have to wonder. How much death must you see, as a man, to hear of a case like this and take it anyway, to represent the murderous widow as the innocent party, but still to use that sin as a lever for the priest what got himself involved?

And what other things must you see, as a man, that Scratch would not shake you to your core foundation, not terrify you into escape, but only turn you toward his heat like some fire hose with a mind of its own?

I hear him talking to himself again as I head into the night to bring Daniel his things, and I wonder about possession, and about what Arthur said, and the big, bright truths he shared that he hopes hide another. 

I heard him talk to himself in that house, not as a man just muttering, but as one arguing with somebody else. He did it in the hospital, too, when I approached.

And I wonder if our big, bright truths will weigh too much, grown too big to be camouflaged by another.

Fire is big and bright, too, but it doesn’t hide. It eats what it comes near. I smile and listen to Daniel’s drugged ramble about a son-in-law with terrible secrets and little hope, and I fear.

There’s a trick to confession, if you want to keep another from hearing what you said. But not hearing it don’t make it not true, don’t make it go away. I fear Arthur’s truth, so big and bright. I fear ours together may strike like flint and leap into devouring flame.

May God have mercy on both our kindling souls.

[lostonehero]

Snapshots

Here we go!

Arkhem was the same as it has been when Arthur brought Faroe home. The cold winter chill made him want to curl up by the fire and not leave until spring had sprung, but his daughter had other ideas. However, all things considered, after the talk with Daniel, his mind was at ease he felt like he could handle things.

"Daddy!" Faroe shouts. "Daddy!"

Arthur sighs and gets up from his piano. "What is it, Faroe? I told you not to play outside until the snow has stopped." He stops seeing Oscar next to her, holding out a note. "Oh, hello Oscar, where's your father? Or your mother?"

Oscar pushed the letter into Arthur's hand.

"No talking today." Faroe smiles. "I'll talk for him."

Arthur frowns, Nerophropte mentioned this off-hand, but Lucifer said if he develops this way, they will love him regardless. They didn't mention the adult version of Oscar, but even he could see the similar quirks between them. He took the letter and opened it. He pauses to read and hums. "Ok, we can do this. Oscar, you'll be staying here for the week. That means you have to listen to me and be on your best behavior."

Oscar's eyes widen, and he jumps in excitement. He nods wildly.

Arthur couldn't help but smile. "Alright, Faroe, Oscar is our guest. How about you help him into the guest room?"

"Yes! I'm your hostess. Come on, and don't forget your little buddy." Faroe grabs Oscar's hand, and they run off, Oscar left a bag, but he took a black plush with him. Arthur could never figure out what it was.

Arthur sighs, grabbing the bag. He's happy that they packed him things, but he didn't know what heat emergency meant. He'll have to ask when they come back here. He hums softly and brings the bag to the guest room where Faroe and Oscar are playing on the bed. "Do you like the room?"

Oscar nods and smiles wide.

"Alright, can I trust you two to stay here?" Arthur quirked his lips into a smile as both children nodded. "Oscar, i know you have the power to go wherever you please, but tell me first, and take me with you both. I want to keep you both safe."

Faroe nods. "Ok, Daddy! Can we play in my room now? I wanna show Oscar my toys. Grandpa got me new ones."

Oscar looked excited.

Arthur chuckles. "Alright, go ahead, you two, and maybe if it's early enough when it stops snowing, we can play in the snow."

Faroe grabs Oscar's hand, and they run off, leaving Arthur to unpack Oscar's bag.

Arthur hums softly as he puts away the clothes and realizes he has an idea. He needed a pencil and his piano.

.......

Faroe huffs, the weather has only gotten worse, and her dad isn't paying attention. Oscar was next to her enjoying the music even though Arthur kept stopping and going at odd times. "Daddy's too busy with his piano. This isn't fair."

Oscar tilted his head. "W-why?"

"Oh... uh, he always forgets about things when he plays. Like food or my bath. I think he forgets to eat too." Faroe gasps. "If daddy had someone else with him, they could get him to stop."

"But Mr. Lester said not to go anywhere without his permission." Oscar frowns. "I don't want to be bad."

"But daddy won't listen to us like this. He's really focused like um....um... the big you did stuff like this?"

Oscar pauses for a moment. "Y-yeah! Mr. Collins said it was normal, but he also told me he knew how to take care of Big me and get me to remember to eat and drink."

"So my daddy needs a husband like big you!" Faroe smiles.

Oscar nods, smiling. "Yeah a-a husband. My daddy always makes sure my mommy doesn't work too hard, too."

"You can get Hastur!" Faroe smiles. "He likes my daddy."

Oscar nods and vanishes, and in a few minutes, he comes back with Hastur in his human shell. "Uncle Hass, Mr. Lester needs a husband."

"Daddy needs someone to help him. Big Oscar has Mr. Collins to help him. Mr. Collins is big Oscar's husband." Faroe points her dad playing piano.

Hastur raised a brow. "You are odd spawns."

Not even two minutes Arthur and Hastur begin to argue.

Faroe frowns. "This was a bad idea."

Oscar nods. "What do we do now?"

"I want lunch." Faroe sighs.

"Oh! The dancers like making human food." Oscar holds out his hand. "Uncle Hass always makes me play with them because he's busy."

"I want to play with them after we eat." Faroe smiles, taking Oscar's hand.

"Yay." Oscar giggles and vanishes with Faroe.

......

"How the fuck did you even get here? I told Oscar specifically not to leave without permission." Arthur growls.

"How dare you even speak to me like that! To think the only saving grace is your music, you stupid mortal." Hastur huffs back.

"I don't give a shit that you're a god or a king. You have no right coming into my home uninvited." Arthur scowls. "I was just composing, and you're lucky I finished despite your distraction!"

"Oh, so your music is more pressing than myself?" Hastur scoffs.

"Yes! You pompous ass! I can't believe I even entertained the thought of having you as a friend." Arthur huffs and deflates when the grandfather clock chimes. "Wait, where did.... Faroe? Oscar?"

Hastur rolls his eyes. "Oh, the spawns can't get far it hasn't even been that long."

"Hastur it's fucking dark out." Arthur covers his face and takes a breath. "Fuck I did it again. Fuck fuck FUCK." He starts to panic.

Hastur frowns and pulls Arthur into his cloak. "As I said, it hasn't been long. The spawns can't get far."

"Hastur, it's a blizzard outside, Faroe... they could freeze to death." Arthur pulls away and sucks in a breath. "I have to get my coat."

"I don't what blizzard means." Hastur stiffens as Arthur gives him a look.

"Snow, Hastur! Frozen rain! Fuck I have to find them. They are probably starving and alone and I can't believe I fucked up again." Arthur starts to shake again.

"I didn't know rain could freeze." Hastur pauses he reaches out to Arthur, holding his hand grounding him. "Don't these spawns sleep?"

"Sleep?" Arthur freezes and lets out a nervous laugh. "Their rooms, fuck I have to check their rooms."

Hastur motions for Arthur to show him. "Well, show me. I am a guest in your home shouldn't you show me around?"

"You're a fucking ass and I hate you." Arthur stomps forward.

Hastur freezes feeling something in his chest as emotions stir. "You are a confusing mortal."

"Hastur, for fucks sake the children are more important than to whatever you are talking about. I can't believe I lost focus again. I'm such a terrible father." Arthur sighs at the tugging at his pant leg. "Not now, Faroe, I'm looking for... f-OH."

Hastur curses because Oscar appears in his cloak. "Spawn, leave me alone!"

Arthur picks up Faroe. "I'm so sorry, my baby girl. I'm sorry. I just got into my music, and I just lost track of time and.."

"It's ok, I thought if Oscar brought Mr. Hastur here you would stop, but then you guys started to argue and play music and argue again. So Oscar and I went to play with the dancers and they gave us fruit, but we came back and you two were just playing music so we went to find a different big Oscar, and we did, he was hurt but there was a big version of me there, and I had a voice in my head named Jane she was very nice, and grandpa was really old, but they made us dinner and we got to play games with a different Hastur and a different Kayne and Lucifer."

Oscar nods. "They laughed at me when I asked why I wasn't allowed to visit in the winter. They said I would know when I was older, but the big me there fine so I don't understand. I asked, and he said he was hurt. That's why, but that still doesn't make sense." He huffs. "Why do we have to be adults to understand?"

"Yeah, Daddy, it's not fair." Faroe puffs out her cheeks. "Adults get to know everything."

Arthur sighs in relief. "How about we ask Oscar's parents when they come back? Also, again, please don't leave again without my permission. I'm sorry I lost track of time, and I was too absorbed in my music."

"It's ok, but why do you say bad words to Mr. Hastur?" Oscar motions for hastur to pick him up and he doesn't.

"Arthur is a mortal, and can not bear to be in my presence." Hastur smirks.

"He's full of himself, and I have a need to punch him in the face." Arthur sighs. "But I'm not going to because that's a bad lesson."

Hastur huffs and picks up Oscar, who makes a surprised noise. "Take me home spawn. My dancers should be in one piece."

Oscar yawns and clings to Hastur, who stiffens.

"Spawn, do not embrace me!" Hastur growls.

Arthur pauses and smiles and begins to chuckle. "Did you guys have fun?"

Faroe nods. "Yeah, sorry daddy for leaving."

"It's ok, you're ok, and that's what matters." Arthur brushed his daughters hair back. "Come on, you both need a bath, and then it's time for bed."

"Arthur, do not leave me with this spawn! The spawn has closed their eyes." Hastur huffs following behind Arthur.

.......

Arthur sighs, cleaning the dishes, Faroe and Oscar have been put to bed. He finally ate because he forgot to eat, and unfortunately, Hastur had not gone back because Oscar fell asleep several times while in the bath. Speaking of which.

Hastur growls. "What are you doing?"

"Cleaning." Arthur sighs. "And before I ate and I will head to bed after I'm done. Yes, yes, I know you don't sleep, but I do. You can huff and puff all you like, but that won't change the fact that you're stuck here unless you wish to try the snow again."

"I do not." Hastur frowns. "You know what I am now."

"I do." Arthur pauses, putting the last dish away.

"Are you not scared of me?" Hastur sounded curious.

Arthur turns to face him and sighs. "I lashed out in fear and anger earlier, but I still see you as a friend. I know I should be frightened of you, but I can't seem to be. Faroe likes you, and that's enough for me."

Hastur huffs.

Arthur scoffs. "What you don't like my answer?"

Hastur's voice is oddly quiet. "I want to make you mine."

Arthur didn't hear what was said. "Can you stop grumbling, I can not understand a word if you keep with that."

"I said you are a strange mortal." Hastur growls and looks away.

"Yeah, yeah." Arthur shakes his head.

.......

Hastur has not stopped looking out the window as the sun poked through the sky.

Oscar tugs on Arthur's pant leg. "Uncle Hass has been staring outside for a long time."

"Daddy, why is he staring?" Faroe rubs her eyes.

Arthur sighs he hasn't even made coffee yet, and Faroe and Oscar woke him up early because Hastur was being weird in their words. He sighs and walks next to Hastur. "What are you doing?"

Hastur doesn't blink but continues to stare. "Is this the snow you talked about?"

Arthur furrows his brows and looks outside, thick blankets of snow lay outside. "Yeah, it snowed pretty heavily last night. Probably won't be able to leave the hose for a while."

"I've never seen this before." Hastur places his hand against the glass of the window. "I have mountains, deserts, forests, lakes, oceans, and everything else, but I've never seen this snow before. You said frozen rain, it can get cold enough for the rain to freeze?"

"You've never seen this before?" Arthur pauses and smiles. "Well, I'm glad I can share in this first for you. Will you be staying?"

"Staying?" Hastur finally tears his eyes away from the window. "Well, I suppose a little longer wouldn't hurt before I return to my realm."

"If Hastur is staying, can we play in the snow together?" Faroe runs up and tugs on Hastur's cloak.

"Spawn, don't touch me." Hastur sighs. "How does one play in this snow?"

Oscar runs up and joins Faroe. "Lots of ways! We can build things and have snowball fights. We make tunnels too and hide in the snow."

"Yeah! We can build snowmen!" Faroe giggles. "Daddy, make breakfast so we can play! Please!"

Arthur chuckles. "Alright, alright, the both of you get dressed while I make breakfast."

Faroe runs off and Oscar isn't too far behind.

"Looks like you're stuck now." Arrhur smiles.

Hastur can feel warmth on his cheeks as he follows behind Arthur.

.....

Faroe and Oscar disappeared under the snow. Arthur did not realize how deep the snow was.

"Faroe? Oscar?" Arthur stops seeing tiny hands raise up. "Maybe this is too much for you guys..." He stops as Faroe climbs out and giggles.

"Daddy, there is so much!" Faroe giggles laying on a large pile of snow.

Oscar can only be seen by the top of his head, but he seems to be happy enough walling through the snow tearing a path. Arthur chalked that up to him not being human.

Hastur stands, and the snow is up to above his waist. "This is incredibly odd." He takes a handful of snow in his hand and licks it. "It's cold."

Arthur can't help but laugh. "Of course it's cold John, it's snow."

Hastur huffs, but for some reason, he still enjoys the name John. "I don't see how this is funny - FUCKING SPAWN." He hisses as Oscar jumps out in front of him.

"Up!" Oscar holds his arms up.

Arthur laughs harder.

Hastur growls and picks up Oscar and throws him into the snow.

Arthur stops. "John! You can't f-" he stops when Oscar is squealing with laughter.

"Me next!" Faroe follows Oscar's path and holds her arms up. "Mr. Hastur me next!"

"Now Faroe, you know...." Arthur gives a heavy sigh as he watches Faroe be tossed in a different pike of snow and giggles.

"Now do you want a go?" Hastyr smirks at Arthur.

"Fuck you." Arthur huffs trudging through the snow to Faroe, but Oscar gets there first and they run off making trails in the snow. "Now come on, you two slow down. Aren't you cold?"

Faroe pauses tugging on Oscar's arm, and he stops as well they both look up at Arthur. "Daddy, I'm not cold." Her skin wasn't even red from the cold.

"Mommy says I'm always cold because of daddy." Oscar hums.

Arthur really had to talk to Oscar's parents about what the boy did by accident to his daughter. At least he wasn't worried about his daughter freezing to death. "Stay in the yard."

"Ok!" Faroe giggles and runs off with Oscar.

Hastur raised his brow as Arthur trudged over to him. "Why did you ask about the cold.... wait why are you red?"

"Because it's cold." Arthur sighs. "Oscar might have done something accidently to Faroe, but now I don't have to worry about her freezing to death." He pulls his coat tighter around him.

"Humans can die by being too cold?" Hastur looked alarmed.

"Well, yes." Arthur hums and smiles watching the two children run around in the snow.

"Go inside." Hastur frowns.

"John, I'm fine. I can handle a little more cold. The kids should enjoy a snow day." Arthur smiles.

"I do not want you dead." Hastur crosses his arms.

"You think..." Arthur chuckles. "John, I'm fine. I know my limits."

"I do not like this." Hastur scowls and growls when a snowball hits him in the face. "Spawn! You dare attack me?"

Faroe giggles. "Snowball fight!"

Arthur chuckles. "Good shot, Faroe."

"Thank you, Daddy!" Faroe giggles louder, and Oscar is busy building a snowman.

Hastur frowns. "I desire to go inside now."

"Nobody is stopping you." Arthur smirks.

Hastur doesn't move but keeps his arms crossed.

.......

It's been a few days, and Arthur had to go shopping, and he does not trust to leave the kids alone. He also doesn't trust Hastur to watch them in the dreamlands, so they are coming with him. "You two are going to be on your beat behavior."

Faroe nods. "Yeah! Does that mean we can get chocolate?"

Oscar's eyes widen. "I've never had chocolate before. Daddy always takes it and gives me a lollipop instead because she likes chocolate."

Arthur smiles and ruffles both kids' hair. "Yes, but that means best behavior." He grabs a cart and makes sure both kids are inside as he heads inside.

"Mr. Lester, who's that young man with little lady Faroe?" A stranger to the kids approached.

"Hello, Miss. Mayweather, this is Oscar, his parents are dealing with a heating issue, so they asked me to watch him while they get it fixed." Arthur smiles.

"That's such a kind thing to do." The woman smiles. "Maybe a future husband, aren't you Oscar to little Faroe."

Oscar stares up, confused. "I don't want a wife when I grow up."

The woman chuckles. "Oh, you'll grow out of that."

Oscar still looks confused.

Faroe puffs out her cheeks. "I don't want a husband. Oscar can have a husband."

The woman makes a face. "Now you don't want to be a disgusting faggot."

Arthur sighs. "That's enough."

"Oh, I'm just teaching the children the correct behavior."

Arthur narrows his gaze. "I said that's enough."

"What's a faggot?" Oscar looks between Arthur and the woman.

"A disgusting homosexual." The woman makes a face of disgust. "Now men belong with woman, that's that."

"That's not true." Faroe stands up in the cart. "I've seen two men together, and they are very happy."

"That is abhorrent child they should be arrested for indecency. Arthur, what are you teaching your child? My I should report you on that alone. That's a crime against nature. Two men together is disgusting and dirty and you should teach your children to be better."

Oscar looks close to crying. "I'm bad?"

Arthur scowls. "That's enough. I will not discuss this with you, Miss Mayweather. I am here to go shopping, and that is all..." his scowl drops as Oscar starts to cry.

"I-i don't want to be...." Oscar whimpers, and the metal in the cart begins to break and curl with a horrible noise.

Faroe huffs and stomps her foot. "You made Oscar cry! He isn't bad because he wants a husband!"

The woman pales watching the cart break apart and twist in unnatural shapes, then lodge into the floor ceilings and walls at an alarming speed barely missing her.

Arthur sighs and picks up Oscar. "Come on, you aren't bad." He had to calm Oscar down. It was so easy to forget the boy wasn't human.

"Fucking antichrist! Promoting homosexuality is the devils work!" The woman reaches for Faroe.

"No!" Faroe shouts as the woman grabs her, and Arthur shouts, but in an instant, the woman crumples to the floor as if all her bones were gone and what remained was a wet sack of meat.

Faroe runs to her dad's side. "Daddy I'm sorry."

Oscar cries became soft whimpers.

Arthur swallowed his horror and looked to Oscar. "Did you make the lady stop?"

Oscar looks at Arthur, confused with tears still in his eyes.

"Nope!" A manic laugh filled the air. The man with white hair floats down. He looks like a mess his suit was haphazardly put together and torn in a few places. "The metal was him, though."

Oscar reached out for his father, and Arthur handed him over.

Arthur had panic in his features. "Look, I just needed to go shopping and I don't excatly trust them to be on their own."

"Shhhhhh." Nerophropte places his finger against Arthur's mouth. He had a lazy smile on his lips.

"The lady was being mean. She said two men couldn't be together, and that was bad! She laughed at me when I said I didn't want a husband." Faroe huffs.

Nerophropte looks to his son, who nods, rubbing his eyes. "That's not very nice." He turns to Arthur. "Did you have fun besides the mean lady?"

Oscar nods. "Mr. Lester was very nice and we played in the snow. Uncle Hass was here too, and he played music with Mr. Lester, but they also argued a lot. Faroe let me sleep with her after I had a nightmare, and she showed me all her toys, too."

"Sounds like you had a lot of fun." Nerophropte chuckles. "Alright, Artie boy, you've got two free favors from me and Lucy. We'll take you up on babysitting again."

"W-wait!" Oscar points. "I wanna help, Mr. Lester grocery shop."

Arthur watches the cart reform as Nerophropte places Oscar back into the cart. "Well, I suppose your mommy needs some more time to relax. We can help Arthur shop."

Faroe runs over to Nerophropte. "I wanna sit next to Oscar!"

Nerophropte smiles and picks her up, and places her next to his boy. "You heard them come on time to shop."

Arthur sighs and nods. Just one step at a time.

......

Arthur didn't expect to carry Nerophropte back to his home along with his new groceries. "Oscar, do you know what's wrong with your father?" He hefts the god on his couch and then grabs his groceries.

Oscar shrugs carrying four bags, and Faroe is carrying two.

"Nuttin is wrong." Nerophropte slurs from the couch, holding up a hand that promptly hits him in the face. "Mmh, just feeling funni"

Arthur shuts the front door. "How about you two let Nerophropte rest? You can help me put away the groceries."

"Don't sleep!" Nerophropte shouts than a distinct snore is heard.

"Right..." Arthur sighs.

Oscar and Faroe look up at Arthur.

"If my daddy is being weird, can I stay longer?" Oscar stares up innocently at Arthur.

"You would have to ask your mother." Arthur bit his tongue the moment the words left his mouth as Oscar vanished, then returned too quickly.

"Mommy got white in her hair, and she said I should stay a bit longer." Oscar breaks out in a smile. "So can I?"

Arthur had to keep reminding himself that Oscar wasn't human and not just an adorable child. Also, the fact that his father is now asleep on his couch. The same creature that can remove all his bones with a flick of his wrist. "Ok, but right now you and Faroe are going to help move the bags into the kitchen so I can put everything away."

Oscar nods and runs to grab some bags with Faroe.

......

Faroe has climbed on Nerophropte along with Oscar to take a nap.

Arthur is watching barely holding himself together because it's like watching children play with a venomous snake. He has to figure out how to wake them without causing Nerophropte to accidently kill him or Faroe, especially Faroe.

A soft laugh comes from behind Arthur, and Lucifer is leaning on his chair. "Well, it was bound to happen. I didn't think it would take this year. Maybe the other us had influence on our abilities or desires."

Arthur nearly jumps out of his chair.

"Relax." Lucifer looks down with mismatched eyes. "You're not in trouble, and honestly, I don't think Faroe could be any safer sleeping."

"She's ok?" Arthur breathes out in relief.

"She's with my boy being held like a teddy bear by my mate. Only an idiot would ruin this." Lucifer chuckles. "Was he too much for you? I apologize for the last-minute ask."

"N-no actually he was a delight to have and kept Faroe out of trouble. Nerophropte, on the other hand well..."

"Well, he's always like that. I can't say it's not part of his charm." Lucifer chuckles, walking over to Nerophropte and brushing his hair out of his face. "I'm happy to hear that. I'm glad I can trust you with Oscar."

Nerophropte furrows his brows and opens his eyes, blinking cleared eyed at Lucifer. "When did you get here?" He doesn't move yawning and then seems confused at his actions.

"Go back to sleep, dearie." Lucifer smiles to Nerophropte confusion.

"I was sleeping?" Nerophropte grumbles, holding both children in his arms. "You stole my eye."

"You stole my eye as well." Lucifer kisses his forehead. "Go back to sleep the kids are your blanket."

"Mmmk." Nerophropte's eyes flutter shut, and he was out like a light.

"Oh, he'll be incredibly confused when he actually wakes up." Lucifer giggles. "He's quite adorable." She turns to face Arthur. "How about a drink? Seems the kids will be out for a bit."

Arthur relaxes. "Yes please."

......

Nerophropte opens his eyes to his son's brown eyes, which he copies from Faroe. "Hey, little destroyer, when did you get here?"

Oscar pokes his father's face. "You took Mommy's eye like Kayne, the other you did."

"Did I?" Nerophropte yawns a bit confused on why he did that, and it doesn't really register what his son is saying. "Now, what are you doing?"

Oscar blinks and tilts his head. "Daddy, Mommy told me to wake you up."

"Wake me up?" Nerophropte sits up, and Oscar falls into his lap. He was in Arthur's home. Ok, he can recall coming here, Oscar wanted to help Arthur shop. He hugged his boy from behind and rested his chin on his head. "My little harbinger I don't sleep."

"Yes, you do, Mr. Morningstar. We took a nap with you. You're very cold." Faroe hums writing her name in a school book.

Nerophropte furrows his brows. "You took a nap on me?"

"We both did!" Oscar smiles and looks up at his father. "Mommy said we have to wait here for you to wake up. She went with Mr. Lester to pick up dinner. She said she was going to get your favorite human food!"

"Isn't all food human food?" Faroe looks at Oscar.

"Um.... I think so, but some make you sick, though." Oscar hums. "Daddy, what does human food mean?"

Nerophropte smiles and sighs, putting Oscar down on the floor. "Human food is food humans create. That's why it's human food. Not to be mistaken with food made of human meat."

"Humans can eat other humans?" Faroe furrows her brows and puffs out her cheeks. "Like how fish eat other fish?"

Nerophropte giggles floating to a mirror. "Yes, little one, you're very smart for your age." He freezes and stares at himself in the mirror. He did have Lucy's eye... did he really sl - "OH!" He suddenly shouts and giggles manically.

"Why's he being weird?" Faroe watches Oscar sit next to her.

Oscar shrugs. "Mommy said he is already weird."

"Well, yeah, but why is he laughing?" Faroe pouts. "Nobody said anything funny."

"Daddy's weird." Oscar frowns. "I want to visit big me."

"Can I come with you?" Faroe locks her arm with Oscar's and they both giggle.

"Daddy!" Oscar points at his father.

Nerophropte pulls himself away from the mirror and floats over. "You rang?" He giggles.

"Can we visit big me? We promise we won't stay long." Oscar makes pleading eyes up at his father.

"I wanna check on my other daddy. Can we?" Faroe matches Oscar's pleading gaze.

Nerophropte huffs. "My nobody warned me about how weak I would be to pleading gazes." He taps his lips and sighs. "You can visit your other father, Faroe, but Oscar, my little harbinger, you aren't allowed to visit the big you until January is over."

The two kids share a look and nod.

"Ok!" Oscar smiles and gets up. "Love you, Daddy. We'll be back soon, and I'll uh." He seems to pause and vanishes.

Faroe huffs. "Hey! That's not fair. Where did he go?" She stares up at Nerophropte, who also seems confused.

Nerophropte grabs Faroe. "How about we go look for him? Maybe he just wants to play hide and seek." He needed to keep Faroe distracted. Lucifer is going to be pissed.

Faroe crosses her arms. "Oscar doesn't like hide and seek because he doesn't like being alone."

"You're really too smart for your own good." Nerophropte sighs then suddenly smirks. "How about a deal, little girl?"

"A deal? What for?" Faroe sat herself up on Nerophropte chest as he floated.

"I can make you Oscar's sister." Nerophropte grins as Faroe's eyes light up.

"You can? I want to be Oscar's sister like the other big me!" Faroe was getting excited.

Nerophropte pauses. He really had to ask his little boy how many other adult versions there were of himself because he has a feeling it's more than six. It's not important. His plan was working. "I'll make you Oscar's sister, but in exchange, you'll have to agree to whatever changes I put on you."

"What do you mean?"

Nerophropte bites back a groan. Why are kids so inquisitive? "You know, like changing your body physically so you can fight better against creatures of abject horrors?" He keeps his cheery tone.

Faroe pauses seemingly mulling it over as much as a five years old could. "Ok, but you have to tell my daddy. Daddy always gets really weird when I tell him about my adventures with Oscar. He makes weird faces."

Well, Nerophropte didn't have to tell Artie about this since it's the start. His lips pulled into a wide smirk. He holds out his hand. "Ok, let's shake on it. You'll be his sister forever!"

Faroe grabs Nerophropte hand and shakes. She doesn't cry out as the sudden burning feeling on her back, and it was over as soon as it began. "Ok, where did Oscar go?"

Nerophropte's smile drops. Aren't kids supposed to have short attention spans he doesn't even know where his boy went. He pauses before his eyes light up. "How about we visit the Mr. Collins here?"

Faroe nearly squeals in excitement. "I can meet Oscar's, Mr Collins here? For my brother Oscar? I can meet him first? Oscar is going to be so jealous!"

Nerophropte nearly shudders in relief. "Ok, come on." He vanishes with Faroe.

......

Lucifer covered Arthur's eyes as soon as she set foot back into his home. "Oscar, my little monster, what did you do?"

"I shouldn't ask why you're covering my eyes." Arthur takes a breath. "Is Faroe ok?"

"Hi, Mommy! Can you fix the other Mr. Lester? Faroe asked me to watch him so we could visit all the time but I felt something weird and I went without her and um I found him. He was screaming a lot, and so was John. We were supposed to go together because Daddy said it was ok, but I accidently left without Faroe. Mr. Lester is hurt really bad, though, I think." Oscar is covered in blood. "He's sleeping, I made him sleep."

Lucifer smiles, and it doesn't reach her eyes. "Ok, little guy, how about you go find your daddy? Mr. Lester and I will help the other Mr. Lester and John."

Oscar frowns. "Did I... did i do something bad?"

"What else did you do to help?" Arthur eyes still covered smiles nervously, trying his best to sound not concerned.

"I made him sleep.... I found the other Mr. Lester like this, he didn't know I was there. I tried to ask what was wrong, but he was screaming a lot." Oscar pauses. "Did I do bad bringing him here?"

Lucifer sighs and turns Arthur around and then walks to Oscar. She hugs her son. "No, my little harbinger, but you're going to have to find your other daddy and tell him where his Mr. Lester is."

Oscar nods and vanishes.

Lucifer sighs. "Oscar left, and he wasn't wrong to bring the other you."

"I'm terrified to ask why." Arthur takes a breath. "Why?"

"From the state you're in, it looks like this has been at least a week or two. I was told you live alone, and the others respect your privacy, so they probably haven't checked on you out of respect. Along with the time of the year, it's also another reason why they haven't done a wellness check-in. I have a feeling Kayne is responsible." Lucifer frowns. "You don't have to stay and watch me clean up and help the other you."

"N-no." Arthur turns around and swallows the bile rising in his throat. It was horrific. "I will help. Thankfully, Faroe and Nerophropte have vacated."

"Ok, help me with the clothes." Lucifer smiles softly.

.......

Oscar yawns as he gets up he scratches his chest. The room stunk of his scent, and Dennis was out cold, the covers shredded under him. He felt that fog lift from his mind as he cracked his back and spread out his wings.

"Why does it smell funny in here?" Little Oscar stared up at big Oscar.

Oscar nearly jumped out of his skin. "FUCK!"

Dennis grumbles from the bed but doesn't wake.

Little Oscar frowns. "Have you seen my other daddy? I can't find him."

"My father?" Oscar pauses as his younger self nods. "Why do you need to find him?"

"Um, your Mr. Lester got hurt, and I brought him to my mommy. Mommy told me to find my other daddy to tell him. I just wanted to help, and Mommy said I wasn't being bad, but I think she was lying. I just wanted to help." The boy wipes his eyes.

Oscar realized two things: one, the younger him was covered in dried blood, and two, he was trying too hard to be brave.

"Did I kill the other, Mr. Lester? A-Am I bad? Faroe w-will hate me. S-she is my b-best friend." The child's eyes filled with tears.

Oscar takes a breath and scoops up his younger self. "It's bathtime for the both of us."

"W-what?"

"I'm sure my father will come visit, so we just have to wait."

"O-ok."

"So how about we clean up?" Oscar holds his younger self close. "My father told me he helped Arthur, but I don't know what that means. His definition of help isn't exactly clear."

"Was I bad?"

"No, I don't think so. Your mother can help him. You did a good job. You saw something bad and went to get help." Oscar hums and heads to the bathroom. "When you don't know what to do, it's a very good thing to ask someone else for help."

"Ok, but I promised Mommy to tell my other daddy."

Oscar nods, turning on the water. "I will make sure you can tell my father." He crouched down and began to help his younger self undress. "You were very brave."

"How?"

"You saw Arthur was hurt, and you got him help. I wish I could have helped him, but I've been out of it for the past two weeks." Oscar sighs. "When you're older, you'll have these things called heats, and you won't be able to do anything, but what your instincts tell you." He ruffles the younger him hair. "It's very scary, but Dennis helps me through it, and that's why he was sleeping. I'm a bit of a handful during it. You'll find someone when you're older to help you too."

"That sounds really scary. Is that why my mommy made me stay with Mr. Lester?"

"Yeah, she didn't want you to get hurt. She also didn't want you to see her like that. Your father helps her through it. Good news it's only two weeks out of the year. Your mother's heat was shorter than mine this year because she was still healing." Oscar shuts the water off with his tail.

Little Oscar nods, wipes his eyes, and gets into the bath with the older him. "Is Mr. Collins going to be ok?"

Oscar chuckles and begins to put soap on a washcloth. "He's just tired and sore. I can't control myself during heat, but that doesn't mean he didn't want to help. It just makes him tired after two weeks. He's a very strong man, and I love him very much."

"Can you um... can you feel it coming?" Little Oscar watches the water turn a orange as the blood is scrubbed off of him.

"There are signs, yes. My behavior changes, and I get urges. My temperature rises higher than normal, and my temper is much shorter. If I don't notice someone else will and they can help." Oscar, let's the younger him pour soap on his fur. "There's other changes like the flame on my horn gets brighter, and my fur gets even thicker. There's supposed to be other stuff, too, but I'm still stunted, so I just have to wait till my body heals to figure it out."

"Did you get hurt a lot?"

"When I was your age, my parents were taken from me, and I was raised by people who didn't understand what I was, and that made them scared and angry. They hurt me and made me think really bad things about myself, which led to myself to be hurt more by myself because I was taught to be scared of myself. I'm still trying to unlearn those behaviors and heal, but it takes time. You'll be able to figure things out before I am able to." Oscar sighs and drains the bath, turning on the shower to rinse all the soap off. "My strengths and powers are more on my father's side because of the pain, but I'm healing to learn about my demon half and to be healthy."

Little Oscar clings to his adult self. "I'm sorry."

Oscar smiles softly. "It's not your fault, but how about this? When I learn more about my body changes I'll tell you and you can teach me what you learn too. I didn't get to have my parents to teach me, but you do, so how about you help me out?"

"I-i can do that." The boy nods. "Can I bring Faroe back here after the other, Mr. Lester is better?"

"Only if she wants to and her father has to agree." Oscar breaks into a smile as his younger self nods eagerly.

"Can I... can I wear your robe again?"

"How about you wear Dennis's, I need mine." Oscar chuckles at the look of awe on his younger self's face.

"I can wear Mr. Collins? That's really cool. I met a woman who told me that wanting a husband is bad."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, Daddy took away her bones because she made me cry. But she tried to take Faroe away before that." Little Oscar pauses. "When can I get a husband?"

"When you find the right man." Oscar smiles and puts Dennis's robe on the younger him, and he swims in it. He puts on his before picking the boy up.

"So not when I'm older?"

"Hmmm, no, but you'll have to find the right guy."

"Ok."

.......

A boy who's about seven sits in the grass reading a book obviously made for adults, and he has a scowl on his lips.

"Hi!" Faroe waves being placed down by Nerophropte.

The boy raised a brow and glared at Nerophropte. He had a very thick Irish accent, and he put his book down. "What? Here to add to the deal you cornered me into?"

"Your accent is a lot thicker than the other Mr. Collins." Faroe tilts her head.

Nerophropte smiles with too many teeth. "This is Faroe, your future sister in law. I expect you two to get along. Unlike you, Faroe isn't an adult stuck as a kid."

Faroe raised her brow. "What did you do?"

"Well, I made a deal just like I made with you. Dennis here didn't want to die, and I made sure that didn't happen." Nerophropte chuckles.

"So you made him little?" Faroe looks confused. "Why did you make him little?"

"You're an odd brat." Dennis quirks his lips slightly into a smirk. "I didn't want to die, and I accepted any and all terms without thinking. I didn't think I would end up back in Ireland and made to be a lad again, among other changes."

Faroe pauses and moves to sit next to Dennis nearly in his lap. "Well, what are you reading?"

"I can and will hurt you." Dennis scowls.

"So?" Faroe huffs. "I wanna know what you're reading. You don't scare me. You're just a boy."

Dennis huffs and narrows his gaze at Nerophropte. "I will kill her."

"You won't." Faroe answers before Nerophropte can.

"And why won't I?" Dennis raised a brow.

"Because that wouldn't be wise." Nerophropte crosses his arms.

"No." Faroe crosses her arms.

Nerophropte and Dennis both look at her with a raised brow.

"Dennis won't do it because he doesn't want to." Faroe looks very confident.

Dennis snickers. "Aye, that isn't how this works."

"Yes, it is!" Faroe grabs at the book, making Dennis huff in annoyance. She begins to sound the words out on the cover.

Dennis snatched it back. "Why are you even here?"

"I wanted to meet you." Faroe crossed her arms and pouted.

Dennis scowls. "If I read to you, will you both leave faster?"

"Dunno, it's up to Mr. Morningstar." Faroe smiles. "But can you read?"

"Yes, I can read! Despite my looks, I'm very much an adult." Dennis scowls and begins to read.

Time passes, and Faroe is leaning on Dennis trying to read along, but he's going too fast for her.

Dennis huffs and shuts the book. "If you are going to read, you might as well take the bloody thing." Just because he had the mind of a man in his 20s doesn't mean he had the emotional control of one in this body.

"I will!" Faroe huffs and takes the book.

"Daddy?" Both kids' eyes landed on a boy who suddenly appeared. He's in a fluffy robe that's way too big and cloth shorts.

Nerophropte sits up from laying in the grass. "Hello, my little harbinger. Where did you run off, too?"

"The other Mr. Lester is really hurt because of the other you. I don't know what the other you did, Daddy. I talked to Big me, though. He said he finished his heat. It sounded very scary." Oscar pauses. "Mr. Collins let me keep his robe, though. It's very soft."

"That's very cool." Nerophropte floats up and ruffles his son's hair. "I'm going to check on your mommy and Artie. Stay here with Faroe and Dennis." He vanishes.

Oscar blinks. "Are you my Mr. Collins?"

Dennis rolls his eyes. "How about you both leave?"

"You're being mean." Oscar frowns seemingly thinking. "Can you be my friend?"

"No." Dennis gets up and grabs his book back from Faroe. "I'm leaving, don't follow."

Faroe gets up and huffs. "Why are you being mean?"

"If you don't like it go fuck off to the big me you keep talking about you keep spouting about!" Dennis growls.

Oscar nods. "Ok."

Dennis pauses, not expecting that. "Well then...." He stares at the room he just appeared into, that boy and the girl are also here, but there's two adults staring at them.

The man sitting on the chair sips on the warm drink in his hands. "Lad, who's your new friend?" His accent was just like his.

"He's my Dennis. He said we should come back." Oscar points at Dennis. "See."

Mr. Collins hums and puts his mug down. "I see."

"Can you tell him to not be mean? He's mean." Faroe huffs.

"You're annoying, brat!" Dennis huffs.

Faroe sticks her tongue out at him.

"Now, how about you two go play with my Oscar while I talk to myself here?" Mr. Collins smiles as Oscar grabs the two kids and heads to a different room.

"Why should I even talk to you? You made a deal with Nerophropte as I did, and you're stuck with that man." Dennis scoffs.

"I didn't." Mr. Collins chuckles. "Oh, do you think our worlds are the same? I know you aren't a child because I know I would never talk back to anyone at that age." He puts his mug down and grins.

Dennis raised his brow and crossed his arms but moved to sit across from this adult version of himself. "You're right. I'm not a boy. I don't want to play these games. I am not a child."

Mr. Collins chuckles. "You might as well be to that creature, as am I. However, Nerophropte merely sees you as a toy for his child. If you were wise, you would want to change that. However, I won't tell you how to act."

"So what? I'm a toy." Dennis rolls his eyes. "I shouldn't be stuck playing pretend."

"Toys are replaceable." Mr. Collins doesn't lose his smile. "The faster you learn that boyo, the faster you will learn how to survive."

Dennis scoffs. "So what? I can play house as some sort of pansy. I ain't some cock lover. I'm not some fucking housewife."

Mr. Collins gets up from his seat. He cracks his neck and pulls out a metal wire from his pocket. "Oh, then we are not the same. It's a shame it would have been fun to see another me grow older with my little devil." He wraps just enough around both hands before he lunges.

"Tisk tisk tisk. Butcher, you gotta play nice." A white-haired man appears. He's in just a robe and nothing else. He wraps the Butcher in the wire, not enough to cause any real damage but to immobilze him. "Now you have to appreciate the fine work the other me did. He even looks human."

Butcher rolls his eyes. "Kayne, what are you doing?"

"Well, I'm happy you asked, you see I heard artie went off to my other son's world. Which is fine annoying but fine. I'll just have to wait. However, I did want to visit my boy because his heat just ended." Kayne floats over the Dennis. "This was a surprise. Same biomass of you, too! Ain't that something?"

Butcher stops moving and laughs. "Aye that ain't me."

"Correct!" Kayne laughs. "Oh, I just love you. Always willing to play along. Quick to figure things out, too, which is such a relief yaknow."

Dennis raised a brow. "Yet I am here."

"You are!" Kayne laughs again more manically. "But you're not Dennis Collins." He wipes a tear from laughing so hard. "The problem is the other me never met The Butcher, so I couldn't possibly tell humans apart."

"So what? I get to live. I get to -" Dennis is unable to finish as his head explodes.

"My, I needed that." Kayne laughs again. "Anyway, where's my little babies?"

"That wasn't my Dennis?" Little Oscar frowns. "B-But my daddy s-said."

Kayne's smile dropped as he quickly floated over. "Hey, hey, it's ok. The other me can try again. He'll find him."

Little Oscar wipes his eyes and runs off to Faroe, and they both vanish.

Oscar runs in and gags at the dead child. "Father, what did you do?"

Dennis sighs on the floor. "That wasn't another me. Nerophropte never met me, so he just plucked a random Dennis from that time. I was trying to be quick, but Kayne interrupted long enough the little you witnessed everything."

Oscar takes a deep breath and growls. "Get out."

"Oscar, I was just trying to help. You deserve the best and not some -"

"Get out!" Oscar breaks the glamour by sheer anger, and Kayne is whisked off. He rushed over to Dennis. "Let me help."

"My little devil." Dennis smiles. "Where did you send him?"

Oscar pauses and pales. "I uh... where Nerophropte is?"

......

There was a silence as the identical men stared at each other. The difference was their clothes.

"How did you get here?"

"I... I made a mistake."

"Kayne, correct? That is the name you chose."

Kayne nods. "I thought I did something good."

Nerophropte pauses. "To your Arthur?"

"No." Kayne crosses his arms. "That was bound to happen, and I will not tell you I regret that I did a good thing."

Nerophropte nods. "You're right it's quite the sight wish I had one of those here, but I don't want to upset my boy."

Kayne flinched. "I upset my boy and yours. That Dennis you took wasn't the same as mine. Just another stupid human with the same name."

"Explains the behavior couldn't even train him properly. He wasn't even a bit murderous." Nerophropte sighs. "Thank you for cleaning my mess."

Kayne frowns and crosses his arms. "I would like help."

"Help? I can not fix your mind."

"No. I do not understand what I did wrong. Your boy was very upset. Surely you've killed in front of him."

"I haven't, Lucy has told me not to. From your expression and request, I should not have doubted her request." Nerophropte pauses. "You also upset your son."

"That is how I got here." Kayne muses.

A sudden appearance. "Father, I am sorry. Am i.... um...." Oscar blinks, looking around the field they were in.

"He still is in poor condition. He isn't to heal as well, is he?" Nerophropte frowns and tilts his head.

"Unfortunately, there is a mental component as well as the physical. Unable to fully use either half of where his powers come from." Kayne frowns. "But I will always help and care for him. His heat doesn't even last a month."

"How horrid. Maybe he should stay it's safer on this side." Nerophropte floats around Oscar. "Just until your mind is straightened out."

"Um...." Oscar frowns.

"I might almost agree with you, but he is my son, and yours only by principal. I will not let you have him to protect you already have yours."

Nerophropte growls. "You're not even doing a good job. You are barely even as good as I am. You are broken."

Oscar huffs. "SHUT UP!"

Both Nerophropte and Kayne stared at him.

Oscar sighs. "I am perfectly fine to decide on my own. Father, I'm going to take you back, and the younger me is so upset because he found my Arthur in an awful state. He thought he killed him. He then witnessed that fake Dennis die and blames himself for it. He's a child he doesn't understand that this is happening because of others, and it's not his fault. He's still scared from what happened with Gabriel and his mother."

Nerophropte swallows. "Fuck." He vanishes.

"You are coming home, and I'm giving you to dad." Oscar grabs Kayne, and they vanish together.

.......

"Is my other daddy ok?" Faroe sits in her father's lap while Oscar clings to his mom he cried himself to sleep.

"He's... well, he's going to be alright. Him and John are now um...." Arthur takes a breath. "Instead of being separated, they are now together forever."

"Is that why the other you is changing?" Faroe looks up with innocence in her eyes.

"Yeah." Arthur sighs. "So what happened on your adventure?"

"We met a fake Mr. Collins and Kayne killed him. He was really mean before he died. Oh, and big Oscar told Oscar what a heat was, and he told me it sounds very scary." Faroe frowns. "I don't want Oscar to be alone again. He doesn't like being alone."

Arthur smiles and hugs Faroe. "You two can be friends forever and look out for each other."

Lucifer smiles. "I'm sure Oscar will be very happy to hear that when he wakes up." She pauses. "Nerophropte get the fuck out."

Nerophropte swallows. "Wait."

"Why?" Lucifer scowls.

"I'm sorry." Nerophropte knew that wasn't enough.

Lucifer takes a deep breath. "No. We are not doing this. You can come back when Oscar asks for you and not a moment before. I warned you about this. And if you are so keen on trying this again, you better make sure you have the right one, or I will stop speaking to you for a decade."

"Yes, I understand." Nerophropte vanishes.

Arthur breathes out as the tension leaves. "You're going to let him repeat that?"

"He would even if I said no." Lucifer sighs. "However, he knows better than to repeat his previous attempt."

"Why doesn't he ask Mr. Collins for help?" Faroe yawns.

"Because he didn't think to." Lucifer sighs. "Would you mind if I let Oscar sleep next to you?"

"No, he's my brother forever." Faroe yawns again.

Arthur bit his lip. That was adorable, and he would suffer through this just to see his daughter happy.

......

"A month."

"Please stop."

"It's suppose to last a month."

"Dennis, I'm begging you." Oscar curls his wings tighter around him.

"A month, my devil. Do you have any idea what that tells me about your health?" Dennis pinches his brow.

"What's supposed to be a month?" Noel stands in the doorway to the living room.

"Oscar's heat." Dennis crosses his arms.

Noel blinks. "Excuse me a month?"

"It's not surprising my heats can last up to three." Hastur hums.

"We are discussing that later." Noel pinches his brow. "Yeah, Dennis is right, though you seriously need to take care of yourself better."

Oscar groans. "I don't need you both fussing. I am a grown man."

"Well, I'm your husband, and I'm supposed to care for ya. So if you keep this up, I will get both your father's involved." Dennis crosses his arms.

"Three, actually." A white-haired man in a perfect suit but no bloody hands or feet appears. "Oh, I didn't think that would work. Oh, this is perfect. Anyway, can I take your mate?"

Oscar unfurls his wings. "Nerophropte?"

"Correct!" Nerophropte floats upside down. "So can I take him? I'll return him alive and well."

"I thought you couldn't come here." Noel raised a brow.

Hastur appeared on Noel's shoulders. "Oscar's interference has reset that limitation for their world at least."

"It's odd hearing my son's name from your lips." Nerophropte floats lazily over. "Although this situation is quite fascinating. I would bother you about it, but I do have other things I have to fix."

"Why do you want to take Dennis?" Oscar raised a brow and got up from the couch.

"Well, it was my mistake last time to just grab a random man. So it would be more so easier to find my version of him if I just took him with me to find them." Nerophropte floats down and stands next to Dennis, grabbing his shoulders. "So how about it? Can I borrow him?"

"It's not my choice." Oscar sighs. "I still think you should let the other me figure things out on his own."

"It could be fun. I want to have another version of myself running around." Dennis smirks.

"Dennis!" Oscar huffs. "You just want an excuse to have him run around with a little me."

Dennis smirks. "What can I say? I'm feeling sentimental."

"Oh excellent, well be back soon." Nerophropte vanishes with Dennis.

Noel chuckles.

Oscar sighs. "Shut up."

[richardsphere]

Rwby Catchup V7E10

Writing this after the fact, so non-chronological order: Weiss mom has a drinking problem, in the same episode that reminds us Qrow is trying to kick the same habit. To indicate exactly how terrible a parent Jaques is, she cries happy tears from hearing her daughter isnt coming back home. Whitley hates his sisters for abandoning him to his father. (great scene, great characterisation. Love it entirely). I dont ship it (yet) or anything, but i do hope they’ll join the same AA group at some point. Imagine the thrill of getting to arrest your own dad. Arthur is still sort of generic, but he’s earned a trait besides Smarm and Science: He’s a half-decent salesperson. Also a bit of a showman with a sense of drama. Innocents are about to freeze, and i’ll admit that i like seeing a businessman turned corrupt politician actually face accountability but i dont know if thats the writing or my frustration with the having access to the internet during the Trump Administration. I hope this’ll be the end of his character, he seems like exactly the type of villain whose presence is better felt in absence. (as in the scar on Weiss’ face is enough presence on its own, we dont actually need his presence that much. I might be wording it badly. Basically im worried they’re gonna stage a breakout scene for him and he’ll overstay his unwelcome as a character.) Neopolitan is back, and she still leaves me feeling as cold about her presence in the narrative as the icecream she is named after, but that’s largely because its hard to characterise a character who does not speak. (but then, her being a one-note character is actually a strength. The same as Wile-E-Coyote being one-note is a good thing).  This brings me to a little segment that I call “Richard struggles to figure out what the deal with Emerald & Neo even is”. Today on RSTFOWTDE&NES: I’ll openly but shamefully admit it took me verry long to realise that neo’s semblance was some kind of pseudo-illusion thing? Though at least some have seemed semi-tangible. In my defense her earliest appearances mostly had her use it to vanish into thin air so i thought she was just a teleporter like Ruby. Then when i finally figured out Neo had illusions, i sort of got confused and thought a lot of Emeralds things in the tournament where actually Neo doing that. I guess what im trying to say is its kind of weird for the villains to have 2 different illusion-based characters, and for one of them to have an “only one target at a time” limitation. like thats sort of weird isnt it? I might be misremembering, but did Maid!Neo talk to Weiss? Or was that a different maid who has been stuffed into a closet off-screen so Neo could take her place afterwards? Its sort of unclear to me. Cinder is also here, God i hope she gets a character besides “generic hunger for power” at some point but if there is i havent seen it yet. But its nice to know that Ozpin isnt the only one whose lieutenants can betray them at least, not much to say she’s still spending most of the plot looking ominously. Whitley crying on the stairs, This family needs more hugs and less alcohol. Robyn, you’re nice. I dont know what more to say. You’re the only character in Atlas i would trust to run a popsiclestand, Not a lot of deep going on with her, but Robin Hood parodies live and thrive by virtue of their simplicity. They finally tell James that Salem cant be killed and that they lied about the relic’s number of questions, i’ll admit i only ever understood one of those two lies. (They could’ve just claimed “ozpin told us she cant be killed/do you really believe that if she could be killed Ozpin wouldnt have succeeded a thousand lifetimes ago). Does this mean the tower is cancelled? Is operation “100 Shions at once” finally cancelled? NO because Oscar said to stop keeping Salem a secret, so that plan is still a go apparently.  The Penny and Winter Dont Understand Eachother scene was great, and i adored the moment Winter thought “oh shit, did i just pull a robo-racism?”. Verry “Pyrrha accidentally implies Jaune should jump off the roof” energy there.

[satoru-is-the-way]

Hello, hope you don't mind me siltering in and dropping a follow to fellow writer. I'm @/pteridopsidaissues (this just happens to be my main and I don't ask with anon) but I wanted to drop in a request for Marc Spector if you don't mind. I was thinking of maybe a fellow avatar (avatar of Anubis) who's been paired to work with him due to Khonshu and Anubis working a pact together. I'll leave creative liberty up to you where you want to go with it but I wanted to pop in with one.

𝙼𝚊𝚛𝚔 𝚂𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚘𝚛 𝚡 𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛 (𝚡 𝚂𝚝𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗 𝙶𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚝) 

𝑹𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒔𝒕: Hello, hope you don't mind me filtering in and dropping a follow to fellow writers. I'm @/pteridopsidaissues (this just happens to be my main and I don't ask with anon) but I wanted to drop in a request for Marc Spector if you don't mind. I was thinking of maybe a fellow avatar (avatar of Anubis) who's been paired to work with him due to Khonshu and Anubis working a pact together. I'll leave creative liberty up to you where you want to go with it but I wanted to pop in with one. 

𝑨/𝒏: Hello everyone! This is my first Moon Knight fanfiction!! Gotten this request about a week ago and decided to wait on episode 2 until writing it! To let everyone know I am open for more requests ESPECIALLY regarding Moon Knight (and other characters of Oscar listened). This one is NOT smut. But since I am 20 I am ok with writing it. But you MUST be over 18 when you request it or else I will block you. Now here we go! Plus talking about DID. I have been reading people post on tumbler about correct terms and how to write this appropriately. Please if anything comes off incorrect or disrespectful I am sorry. Message me and I can edit any part of this fanfiction. Regarding the Egptian facts I did get information off this website. I kinda also got inspired to based this series off Mr.Sandman. I'll link the song.

𝑾𝑨𝑹𝑵𝑰𝑵𝑮𝑺: EPISODE 1 AND 2(ISH) SPOILERS! Drinking, Drugs(mentioned), Curings (a lot), Blood(i think), Death (I thin) and yeah I tried my best. Lmao

𝑺𝒖𝒎𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒚: You are the avatar for Anubis the Egyptian God of death. Both your god and Konshu, God of the Moon, have a similar goal in mind. Find Ammit's tomb before Arthur Harrow. You journey to London searching for Marc Spector (Moon Knight). Not only do you find Marc but discover there is more than one side to him. 

𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝑪𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕: 2,594

ℳ𝓇 𝒮𝒶𝓃𝒹𝓂𝒶𝓃

𝙿𝚊𝚛𝚝 1 𝚘𝚏 3(??...𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚎 𝚢𝚎𝚝...𝚕𝚘𝚕)

For years (Y/n) has been plagued with a curse. Others would call them gifts, abilities to possess power beyond human imagination. She almost forgot about how normal life was before Anubis chose her, a nobody, to become his Avatar. It all started in 2018 when Thanos erased half the population. Like others, she lost everything, including her mind. Anubis first came to her three months later when (Y/n) stumbled out of a local bar into the dark alleyway. The God frightened her, of course, she believed someone must have spiked her drink. You simply do not see an Egyptian God every day. Nor does a purple alien often erase half the planet she thought right after. He stood tall, golden eyes piercing her soul, a black jackal head, and flail clutched in his left hand. Perhaps the God of death has come to take her into hell. However, his words shocked (Y/n). Anubis elicited a proposition she could not turn down. Their deal is that she will permit him to use her body, become his Death Angel, his personal assassin, and at the end of her life, he would grant her a free pass into heaven. How could she turn down such an invitation? A God is asking for her help. Maybe she survived the blip because fate allowed her to. No family, no friends, and completely alone. Who could even notice her absence? (Y/n) made a deal with the devil that day since then she could not escape his control, or maybe she did not want to.

Time flew from 2018 to 2024. Everyone she loved has come back. (Y/n) decided she will leave Anubis and go back home. But the blood on her hands will never disappear and neither will the God in (Y/n)'s mind. After a long year of begging for release, Anubis gave her one loophole out of their deal. You see, Konshu is not the only God seeking Ammit’s tomb. Anubis recently became interested in a new quest. The two Gods made an alliance. Konshu’s Moon Knight and Anubis’ Death Angel will fight together to defeat Arthur Harrow before he can reach the tomb. (Y/n) accepted the deal with no questions asked. Anubis told her where to find Marc Spector, the man who was Konshu's avatar. London is not an exact place on her bucket list but this is where Moon Knight is located. 

(Y/n) and Marc's first encounter went horrible. Both were persistent, loners, and had their own strategies for performing missions. Marc plans everything, he lines up plans A to Z and likes having every scenario prepared. On the other hand, (Y/n) is the opposite, a wild card having a go with the flow type, and doing what she feels in the moment. A reason why (Y/n) dislikes a partnership deal. When she does not follow Marc's lead it results in them losing the scarab. Both had a good plan yet two contrary paths to achieving it. A few more unsuccessful missions later the Gods second guess their pact. Each warrior is very stubborn and unbreakable in their manners. 

'I wonder if our pact truly can fulfill our goals. They have more to be considered about than personal egos.' Anubis remarks. He only had limited avatars in his long reign of God. (Y/n) stuck out. 'Time is running short as Arthur Harrow reaches closer to Ammit.' 

Konshu bowed his head contemplating how problematic these humans are despite their noticeable fondness for each other. 'We've come too far now. Your angle and my knight must come to an agreement. Both wish for freedom yet he is the embodiment of an Avatar I sought centuries for...Oh great the idiot's back. We can plan more later.' He left quickly to take care of Steven

They had just escaped from the castle when- Well she did not remember it fully sometimes Anubis just takes over and makes her go where he wants. (A/N: The reader does not have DID just Anubis being rude lmao). She woke up, broke into a hot sweat, and is back at her flat? Rolling over she grabbed her phone. How did she lose a week?! What did Anubis do with her body? She never has known the God to control her this long. (Y/n) then noticed Anubis standing there staring at her. 

"Can you not be creepy as fuck? Damn. What the hell?! Things were going- decent. In fairness I didn't mean to push Marc out the window, it's his fault landing on his stupid...handsome...face…" (Y/n) told the God Anubis. He did not seem amused by her words. 

"Girl, you want out of this? Right? That is why you have agreed to our terms. Now, find Marc and deal with this problem. Remember who is in charge here." Anubis growled. (Y/n) rolled her eyes mocking the God. "Do not mock me, child." His comments (Y/n)'s room began to shake. "Your simple human mind could not fathom exactly what can happen if or when Harrow gets to Ammit before us." 

(Y/n) frowned, "When you said one last mission I thought… maybe something easier. Kill a bad guy. Destroy a country you know the usual! Not find some God's tomb before a cult leader resurrects her! Oh, plus you forgot to mention his freaky powers and staff. Besides, you paired me with Marc -" 

"The problem isn't Spector entirely my dear. If you can find a solution instead of arguing with Marc things may go smoothly. You are running out of time. If you do not finish this...and fail you are mine forever." Anubis then disappeared. 

"Fucking bastard." She whispered, forcing herself out of bed and getting dressed. Marc occasionally shared measly facts about himself. Including his place of work. Who knew that would come in handy? (Y/n) rushed out the door. If Marc lost the Scarab she would kill him. They worked hard to find it which lead straight to Ammit's tomb, the last peace Harrow needed to finish his journey. 

"London just has to be busy." She grumbles fighting her way into the trolley. (Y/n) exists at the stop by his workplace, the Museum Of Fine Arts. The museum is rather busy. It had opened less than an hour ago. She went to customer service desk asking for Marc Spector but, they said no one under that name is employed. He probably is under a false identity because in their lifestyle it is necessary to carry back up names, passports, and money. 

Steven's day is rough like normal. Haunted by dreams of...some weird castle, a cult leader, but shocking to Steven this one contained a beautiful woman... He sighed returning to his job as a gift shop-ist, timid Steven's typical day, including Donna yelling, being called Scott, and inventory. Steven greeted morning guests and employees finishing a small task list. Until he saw the woman from his dreams, was she real? She had perfect  (h/c) locks, (e/c) orbs, and a body to die for. When she looked his way Steven flushed awkwardly waving his hand with an enormous smile on his face. It soon subsides as (Y/n) strides his way. The look on her face...is he about to get murdered by this goddess? 

"YOU!" (Y/n) screamed once entering the gift shop. Steven uncertain points to himself. "Yeah idiot who the fuck else?! What happened?! Damn you always land like a fucking cat but no- you had to hit your face!" The woman jumped the counter shoving Steven, who is presently shaking, against the wall. "Speak!" 

Steven gave (Y/n) his big brown doe eyes promptly she calmed. "I-I am sorry miss. But I have no idea what you mean."

"What is this accent? Marc, please tell me did you manage to keep the scarab? Anubis is pissed at me!" 

'Anubis? The God of Death? Maybe this is some joke Donna or Ronnie decided to pull. But..she called him Marc...Steven opened his mouth immediately, shutting it just the same. He trembled under her eyes, "Why...why did you c-...c-call me, Marc?"

"That is your...name." 

"No, my name is Steven with a V. See." Steven tapped his name tag. It clearly said 'Steven'. (Y/n) blinked, unsure of what to say. Did he take her for a fool?

"Oh...Do you have an equally handsome twin named Marc?" She asked. 

He reddens being called 'handsome'. "No, n-not that I know of...I-I been having weird dreams or I think they are dreams. Until I saw you." Steven whispered gazing helplessly down at (Y/n). 

"What kind of dreams?" 

"M-Maybe we could speak about this on my lunch break, yeah? Donna will have my job if she...sees me distracting you." (Y/n) pondered his request. The way he spoke and assured her that he is not Marc...many years in this arena she could spot a liar. Steven was not one.

"Fine. You have a lot of explaining to do." Before (Y/n) left the gift shop Steven called for her. 

"Wait!- S-sorry for yelling at ya- I must know...uhh do you...Well...You know...really think I...am handsome?" He whispered shyly, rubbing his arm. She chuckled, nodding. 

"Yes I do, Steven with a V."

In the meantime (Y/n) decides to walk around the free museum. Impressively it was solely based on Egyptian history. She knew a decent amount in this subject mainly after one decided to use her body. More time was spent reading about Konshu. Until resting her eyes upon Anubis. Her master, her God, the writing states: 'Anubis, also called Anpu, ancient Egyptian God of the dead, represented by a jackal or the figure of a man with the head of a jackal. In the Early Dynastic period and the Old Kingdom, he enjoyed a preeminent (though not exclusive) position as lord of the dead, but he was later overshadowed by Osiris. His role is reflected in such epithets as “He Who Is upon His Mountain” (i.e., the necropolis), “Lord of the Sacred Land,” “Foremost of the Westerners,” and “He Who Is in the Place of Embalming."...' 

She stopped distracted by the statue in front of her. It stood considerably shorter than her actual deity is. Certainly, they could not represent accurate heights of (what many considered to be fake) Egyptian Gods. “Yeah, some fucking God you are, Anubis.” Near the end of her self-guided tour, a gentle hand caressed her shoulder. (Y/n) quickly turned around a burrito jabbed right between her body and Stevens.

“Hey, I got hungry and...and thought perhaps you would like something. I know a nice little square that we can go to. My lunch break is roughly an hour.” Steven is nothing like Marc Spector, an instant thing she noticed. Marc stood tall, had excellent posture, confidence, and a raw American accent, although further could be declared about Marc Spector. On the other hand, Steven is slumped over, hunched, scared of the world, innocent brown eyes, no confidence, she dared to say no experience with women and the British accent. Surely if Anubis knew about this he would inform (Y/n). On second thought he enjoyed seeing her this frustrated. 

“Oh! Thank you, Steven, that is very kind of you.” She took the burrito, “Sure lead the way. I have more than enough time on my hands.” Steven lent a nervous smile leading her to the courtyard. A water fountain is centered in the middle with a statue man posing for pictures. Steven took a seat on the bench nearby patting the empty place beside him. (Y/n) sat down unwrapping her burrito. “Steven, you are not Marc? Or a brother? Maybe an oddly identical relative?”

“No, I promise. I am just as confused… You may think I am crazy. Hell I know I am. There is this Egyptian God inside of my head, Konshu. He haunts me-“

“Anubis for me.”

“Wh-what?” Steven asked, puzzled.

“I said Anubis for me, we both have a God up here.” She points to her brain. “Well technically he can be anywhere but I can only see him. No one else can see other Deities. Like Konshu. I am incapable of seeing him. When my master created their deal I now can sometimes hear him speak with Anubis. They are – Hey are you ok?” (Y/n) questioned as Steven’s beautiful eyes turned red as tears streamed down his tan cheeks.

“Y-Yeah I have been so frightened. Now knowing I am not totally insane. I was so alone. Trapped in this nightmare. Begging and praying to whoever is listening send me...someone. That perhaps my nightmares are over...Even someone to call my own. It still does not explain why I get blackouts so often. Anyways- I uh...ordered a Vegan burrito.” He whipped the tears off and started apologizing for crying. 

Her (e/c) soften, cherry red lips pout with Steven's honesty “You're lonely nights are over now, Steven. We both can help each other. Sadly, I cannot exactly help you with blackouts. Especially when you blackout with no recollection of the events during them. Plus being called Marc Spector…Ah Hehe, I kind of assumed. I still enjoy it.”

“Please tell me if I am…asking too much. What are w-we to each other? Am I- or even Marc your... boyfriend? Because you did call me h-h-handsome.” Steven asked.

(Y/n) flushed looking away, “No. We are not a couple. We hardly can function enough to be deemed, friends..”

Steven pouts not hiding the disappointment. “What a knob Marc must be. I don’t see why he wouldn’t date you! I mean you look perfect and so beautiful...” His mouth moved faster than his brain at times causing him to become a blushing mess. She bites her lip (s/c) equally red.

“I am flattered, Steven. However, Marc might disagree. We don’t exactly get along.”

Steven chuckled and opened his mouth before suddenly dropping his burrito eyes rolling back into his head. (Y/n) stood up panicking.

His eyes open, Steve-no this isn't Steven, stood up causing (Y/n) to step back. "M-Marc?" 

Marc nods, "Yeah unfortunately your date with Steven has to be cut short." 

"You need to fucking explain what is going on! Marc or Steve! American or British accent?!" (Y/n) looked into the sharp brown eyes. 

"I vow that I will clarify everything. First I must obtain the bag from my storage locker. Are you coming with me?"

(Y/n) huffed, "Not like I have a choice. So do you have the damn Scarab or not? I only need to know . Anubis is up my ass about this. All because you fucking landed on your face." 

Marc smirked, "Don't you mean handsome face? Ah...Well that's for me to know and you to find out. How far is Abuis up your ass exactly?" 

(Y/n) glared, "Jerk. I assume you are taking me to this storage locker to what? Murder me?" 

"I gave it a thought." He remarks earning a slap on the arm. "Ah! Watch it. You know if I recalled you pushed me out the window." 

"Sorry ,love. I didn't see ya." (Y/n) smirked following Marc into the streets of London. For a moment Anubis appeared, eyes glowing. She paused, throwing her hands up as if 'what do you want.' 

"You better not mess up again." He warns. 

~ ᵗᵒ ᵇᵉ ᶜᵒⁿᵗⁱⁿᵘᵉᵈ

[bbcmerlinvault]

[Article] “Swanky Launch For BBC’s Merlin”

by msntvuk (by Guest Editor Elliot Pickup), posted on September 15, 2008

[Original article]

The following is a copy/paste of the article followed by screenshots. In the screenshots it looks like there were two pictures there at one time, though I’ve been unable to retrieve them:

Since 2005, the new revival of Doctor Who has dominated Saturday night television and the genre of family-friendly drama. Everyone in Britain knows the Time Lord; he’s a large part of popular culture and part of our national heritage. But the end of the series is a massive gap in the BBC’s Saturday night line-up and only something equally as spectacular would fit the bill. Hence all the hype about Merlin – every inch a suitable replacement.

I took myself off to the swanky launch held in central London. The launch was in two parts; the first segment was a screening of the premiere episode of Merlin in Waterloo’s IMAX cinema. The ever-impressive IMAX was packed with a crowd ranging from hard-nosed hacks to some of the actors appearing in the series. The buzz of excitement was palpable as press, cast, crew and some lucky fans waited. Now obviously we can’t say too much about the episode itself, but I can tell you this: the first thing that immediately stands out is the impressive cast. The show is littered with familiar faces, such as Anthony Head (King Uther Pendragon), Richard Wilson (Gaius, the court physician) and John Hurt, who appears as the voice of the great Dragon.

Other stars lined up include Santiago Cabrera from Heroes (as Lancelot) and former EastEnder/Bionic Woman Michelle Ryan as the evil sorceress Nimueh. Further guest stars will include Eve Myles (Torchwood), Will Mellor (Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps) and Julian Rhind-Tutt (Green Wing). Two not-so-familiar faces occupy the main roles of Merlin and Arthur: Colin Morgan and Bradley James, respectively. Playing opposite them as the leading ladies are Angel Coulby (Guinevere) and Katie McGrath (Morgana).

The show is set in the world of Albion and Camelot, but the series focuses on a young Merlin and Arthur who are finding their way and carving their destinies; Uther Pendragon, Arthur’s father, is still King. Aiming for a similar audience as Doctor Who, Merlin has the playful, more obvious and less sinister overtones that will capture the younger crowd. But there is also plenty for adult viewers to enjoy. The story isn’t too complex; everyone can keep up and no-one will be lost in the twists and turns of the plot. Production company Shine has done an amazing job creating this world and the characters. Equal credit must go to The Mill, the British Oscar-winning visual and special effects team behind Gladiator – the CGI is stunning and at times you forget that what you are watching isn’t real. I was very impressed with Merlin and if, as expected, it goes up against The X Factor, it will be a fantastic alternative to endless sob stories and emotional manipulation.

After the screening, there was a reception at the OXO Tower in central London (top-notch canapés and drinks). The majority of the cast were there, which was really great. I spotted Anthony Head talking to Russell T Davies (Doctor Who revivalist) and Richard Wilson. I also saw Michelle Ryan (a real stunner in the flesh), Julian Rhind-Tutt and Will Mellor. I also spotted Bradley James and Colin Morgan having a drink together. All in all it was a great night and if the launch is anything to go by, the series itself will be a massive success.

Merlin starts on Saturday at 7.30pm on BBC1

[yesttoheaven]

I SEE YOU – chapter II

pairing – arthur fleck x female!reader

wc – 2.4k

warnings – none, just some rude people. It's gotham.

a/n – I'm late with this chapter, I know... 🙃 but I hope you like it!

chapter one here:

English is not my first language. I am getting help from google translator and he is not always a good ally, so I apologize for any typos or grammar errors.

Y/N – your name

Y/L/N – your last name

A week has passed since Y/N met Arthur Fleck. It was a long week for her – with TV appearances, some biased rumors about a possible affair with her co-star and problems with the city's main NGO. The place was invaded and looters took what little they had to offer to the population. Gotham police were doing their best to find those responsible, but it would take some time.

Despite the problems, Y/N constantly found herself thinking about the brown-haired man. At some point he was always in her thoughts. Since the day she left him in front of a building on Winslow Avenue, they haven't seen each other anymore. Y/N would like to know what he thought of the movie, but the man never came.

Maybe he didn't like the movie, she thought. And that was totally fine. What was not right was this desire to find him again.

On Wednesday, Brian asked if 'the guy with the big shoes' had called her, but the actress confessed that she had not given him her phone number. What the young actress didn’t know, was that Arthur had crossed the city – more than once – just to tell her what he thought about the movie, but his attempts were marked by misunderstandings.

"The entrance for employees is on the other side." The receptionist informed, attracting the attention of Arthur, who was walking through the luxurious hotel lobby. He didn't know if she was talking to him directly, but he approached the counter anyway.

"Huh... Y-You talked to me?"

"You are the new janitor, right?" The woman stopped what she was doing and finally looked at him, repressing the urge to roll her eyes.

Arthur shook his head and with a small smile, he said:

"I'm looking for Y/N Y/L/N." The mere fact of saying her name made his heart run so fast. Arthur could not explain, but since he met Y/N, his days have become colorful. He still suffered from the brutality of the citizens of Gotham, but everything became more bearable.

"Y/N Y/L/N? The actress? Are you sure?" The receptionist asked incredulously and at the same time seemed to hold herself back from laughing. It really seemed like a joke to her. What could this strange man want with Gotham's Golden Star?

"I need to deliver this to her." Arthur showed the VHS tape, hoping it would guarantee his free pass. "What room is she in?"

"Listen, I don't know how you got through security... but you certainly saw all those people out there. Everyone wants to talk to Y/N or just ask for an autograph. The problem is that none of you are allowed to be here."

"Autograph? I'm not here for the autograph! She wants to know m-my opinion about her new movie."

"I'm sure the only opinion that matters to her is that of the Academy of Oscars."

"You are not understanding... We are practically friends, she saved my life in that alley! Ask her! Say that Arthur Fleck is here... S-She... She will remember me!" While Arthur was stuck in his own words, the woman called the security guards.

The moment two men approached, Arthur realized that things were going very, very badly. In his mind everything seemed easy. He found Y/N and she was happy to see him, but in practice he hadn't reached the elevator yet and the security guards were already putting him out.

"Wait! You got it wrong..." He tried to explain and get rid of the men who were holding him, but the receptionist just shook her head, telling them to get him out of the lobby before the residents showed up to see this show. This would not be good for the hotel's image. "I just want to see Y/N..."

"That's what everyone wants." One of the men said, laughing.

"And I wanted her to dance for me." The other security guard confessed, sighing sadly, while that desire would remain only in his dirty imagination.

Near the main door of the luxurious hotel, they treated Arthur like trash, throwing him on the sidewalk. The poor man managed to maintain his balance and remain standing with the little dignity that remained, but that disappeared as soon as a painful laugh cut his throat.

"Go back to your filthy home! You are too old for this fan and idol thing."

...

When the elevator doors opened, Brian left the metal box accompanied by two officers. Because of the police's satisfactory commitment in this case – obviously Y/N's status contributed to this – the actress received good news. The stolen supplies from the institution were found in a shed and a man was caught in the act. Other suspects are still being sought, but the only piece that doesn’t fit, is that the owner of this shed is Thomas Wayne, candidate for mayor and also owner of WayneCorp.

"Tell Miss. Y/L/N that we will capture the responsible."

"Or those responsible." The other officer added, reinforcing his commitment to the citizens of Gotham.

As soon as the officers left the building, Brian intended to go back to Y/N's room and check on her, mainly after receiving new information about the case, but his plans were interrupted by Susan, the receptionist. She showed a big smile, waving, and he approached the counter trying to look friendly.

"Hey, Susan! How was your day?"

"You know, check-in, check-out... The same things." She laughed, shaking her head. Her job was not exciting, but it paid her bills. That was enough. "I saw the cops... Do they have any suspects?" Curiosity was plastered on her face and Brian sighed, fully understanding why she had called for him. Gossip.

"Unfortunately I can't give too many details, but they are doing a good job." He stated, satisfied with the investigations.

"I don't know if that can help anything, but maybe he participated in the theft..." The woman murmured. The words seemed to be directed at herself, like a loud thought, but the bodyguard was unable to ignore and asked:

"What are you talking about, Susan?"

"A man was here looking for Miss. Y/L/N. His insistence scared me. He was determined to go into her room, only God knows what he intended to do, so I called the security guards, they put the man out. But Carl saw him across the street for three days straight."

"You did the right thing. It's unbelievable how Gothan became a fucking asylum!"

"Do you think I don't know? Sometimes it feels like we're living in hell... But the freak left his name. Arthur Fleck. I don't know if it's real, but you should check with the police."

"I will do this... Wait! Did you say Arthur Fleck?" Brian questioned, as confusion appeared on his face. That name was familiar to him.

"It's a strange name for a strange guy."

If it were possible, a lamp would be shining next to Brian's head right now. Arthur Fleck is the name of the guy with the big shoes.

Without any explanation, Brian ran for the elevator, leaving Susan extremely confused behind. When he arrived at the actress' room, he found her talking on the phone. She didn't look happy.

"Oh, he does not want to talk to me? Very busy, huh? You know I don't like to get involved in these problems... but he started it, Alfred!" Y/N had crossed her limit. The only thing she wanted to do was talk to Thomas Wayne about the NGO supplies that magically appeared in his shed, but that would be impossible. Alfred insisted, saying that the billionaire was at an important business meeting and that he had no connection to the theft. "Okay, I will not insist. Maybe when you regain your senses, you understand my side. Have a nice day, Alfred!" She ended the call and looked at Brian.

"I can't believe you called Thomas..."

"Likewise when he called the mayor’s office trying to ban the showing of Midnight Seduction." The actress argued, showing a fake smile. "These NGOs that I help, they are hindering his path, it is not very difficult to see. You know how men like Thomas Wayne build their empires. It's not pretty."

"God, I know... but be careful what you say. It is a very serious accusation." He advised, concerned for her safety. Y/N just walked over to the table in the center of the room, picking up her glass of scotch and drinking all the amber liquid.

"Don't worry, I'm used to white-collar men."

"Oh, I can see it, but I hope you're used to clowns too, because I have news about the guy with the big shoes." Brian started, capturing her attention immediately.

"Arthur was here?" Y/N's voice took on a hopeful tone and a beautiful smile formed on her lips. For a moment it was as if all her problems were gone.

"Well..." Brian cleared his throat, choosing the right words to tell her, but deep down he knew it wouldn't work. "Arthur was committed to seeing you, but Susan did not allow his entry."

"Why she did it? Usually she talks to me first..."

"It is the protocol, but in this case she considered his behavior to be atypical. I don't know if he was nervous and had another fit of laughter in the middle of the lobby, but she believed that he could present you with some danger or even be involved in the theft of the NGO... The security guards kicked him out."

For the first time in this conversation, Y/N didn't know what to say. The words were stuck in her throat. She felt stupid for not giving Arthur her number or simply putting his name on the reception list. Any of these options would have avoided the embarrassment he went through.

"Maybe you should talk to him. Do you know where he lives." The blond-haired man suggested. It was clear as the day outside that Y/N was silently blaming herself for what happened and that was not fair to her. "What do you think?"

"Arthur possibly hates me now..." She murmured, walking across the room. First he was beaten in a dark alley and now humiliated, practically compared to a criminal. All Y/N wanted at the moment was to go down to the lobby to clarify some points with Susan, but Brian was right. Talking to Arthur is the best she could do. "Prepare the car."

"What? Now?" The surprise was tangible in his voice.

"I don't know, maybe next month?" She rolled her eyes. "You have an appointment?"

"No, but you have." Brian added, crossing his arms. It took a few minutes, but as soon as the actress finally remembered, her mouth opened in a perfect O.

"The dinner with Charles is today! I completely forgot!"

"And before that I need to get Misty. If she gets here with the makeup artist and you're on the other side of town, we'll be in big trouble."

"Maybe not." Y/N smiled.

...

"If Misty finds out where we are..."

"First: You need to calm down. Second: She will only know if you open your mouth and tell her." Y/N listed it on her fingers and then took off her sunglasses, looking at the building across Winslow Avenue. "Just trust me."

"I think I will regret this later." He whispered to himself, leaving the interior of the car and opening the door for her. Y/N accepted the help and together they went to the entrance to the building. The next step would be to find out which floor Arthur lived with his mother. "And now what do we do, genius?"

"I confess I didn't think about that part..." The actress replied, looking around curiously. The place was nothing like the luxurious buildings in downtown. There was no lobby to ask for information and the reality here was completely different.

"Do you need help?" Brian and Y/N were surprised by a female voice and found a woman near the building's front door, holding some groceries from the market.

"Oh, hi!" Y/N smiled as the woman approached where they were. "We are a little lost... Do you know which floor Arthur Fleck lives on?" After that question, a mixture of confusion and surprise appeared on the woman's face.

She didn't believe it when Arthur said that a downtown girl saved his life, especially when that girl was the Gotham's Golden Star. It seemed impossible, but now Y/N Y/L/N was here, asking to see him.

Abandoning these thoughts, Sophie smiled, agreeing immediately.

"You are lucky. Arthur and I live on the same floor, I can accompany you there."

The actress smiled appreciatively and Brian offered to help with the bags from the grocery store. As soon as they were inside the metal box, the woman pressed the number 8 button and looked at Y/N, saying:

"By the way, I’m Sophie Dumond."

"Nice to meet you, Sophie. I am..."

"Oh, I know who you are." She stated, dispensing with the introduction. "I mean... Gotham breathes you!"

"Sometimes it is strange to open the window and see your own face on a billboard or on TV." Y/N confessed. The fame was glamorous, but sometimes suffocating.

"It sure is better than opening the window and seeing a pile of garbage. This is the privileged view we have here." The woman argued, laughing at the situation and the elevator stopped on the eighth floor. "Well, Arthur lives there." After leaving the metal box, she pointed to the end of the hall and while Brian helped her with the bags from the grocery store, Y/N thanked Sophie for the information and walked to the location indicated.

Looking at the "8J" sign, she took a deep breath, wishing she had a mirror nearby to check her appearance. She wanted to be presentable to finally meet Arthur again, even though he might be mad at her. Gathering courage, Y/N knocked on the door. To her disappointment, no one came. The apartment continued in absolute silence.

"Don't tell me there is no one at home." Brian appeared beside her. Realizing that the actress was anxious, he knocked on the door again, with more insistence this time. "We can come back another day..."

Without a better option, Y/N was ready to go back to the elevator, when the door was opened unexpectedly, revealing a woman on the other side.

"Hello, you must be Arthur's mother! I'm Y/N and this is Brian, we are friends of your son."

–––––––––––––––––

a/n – I really don't know if anyone is going to read this, but I would be happy to know what you think of the story :)

[msmarvelouswinchester]

Love In Sin

Chapter 6

Summary - Special Agent Winchester is forced to go undercover with his frenemy Special Agent L/N when they try to track down a notorious drug dealer. How will Y/N and Dean complete their task? Will their relationship worsen or will new feelings emerge between them?

Pairing - AU Detective!Dean Winchester x Reader

Series Warnings - Angst, Slow burn, Fluff, Implied Smut, Mentions of crime and drug, Swearing.

Chapter Warnings - Slow burn, Swearing

Word Count - 1.5k+

A/N - So I decided to post this a little ahead of the schedule. This and the next chapter are one of my favourite chapters I have written so far. Hopefully y'all will like it!

Beta'd by the lovely @deanwanddamons

Spn divider by the amazingly talented @talesmaniac89

Series Masterlist

“What's up?” you asked Dean.

“So, almost everyone has shown up to the party, though I am still waiting for Rowena. While you were busy getting dolled up,” you glared at him, “I exchanged a few words with Arthur and Mick - they are really secretive and I talked with both Chuck and Amara - Chuck seemed nice but Amara didn't even acknowledge me.” Dean muttered.

“Aw, did she hurt your male ego? You’ve never been turned down by a girl I see,” you said with a straight face.

“Girls simply can't resist the Winchester charm,” Dean smirked.

“Well I’m kinda immune to the Winchester charm,” you sneered.

“Are you sweetheart?” Dean pulled you closer.

“Uh-huh,” you said, your heart started to flutter in your chest as he cupped your face.

“Chuck’s watching,” he said.

“Wha-” your words died in your throat as Dean lowered his head, tilting it and pressed his lips onto yours. Your whole body tingled with various sensations. The smell of Dean's cologne invaded your nostrils. His teeth grazed your lower lip. You gripped onto the sleeves of his black shirt to steady yourself. His tongue swept over your lip and you found yourself getting lost in the kiss, completely forgetting about the party.

“Hey Dean, I-sorry didn't mean to interrupt you two kids,” Cas chuckled, making you pull back from Dean. He winked at you and walked away.

Trying to catch your breath, you looked at Dean, that cocky son of a bitch.Your heart was beating rapidly in your chest and your legs were jelly. You tucked the loose strands of your hair behind your ears.

“Our cover’s safe,” Dean brought his mouth near your ear and whispered, “Winchester charm.” His lips grazed behind your ear which made you go weak on your knees, but you were adamant - you didn't want Dean to know how much effect he had on you.

“Winchester charm doesn't work on me,” you smirked, “but maybe the L/N charm works on you. You got to take care of your little problem.” you said, pointing at the bulge in his pants, wiping the smirk of his face.

Dean looked up at you, his mouth snapping shut, the tips of his ears bright red. He loudly cleared his throat and walked out of the room, mumbling something about “hormonal teenager”, and left you behind with your heart beating loudly in your chest and an aching core.

You knew it was important to attend to the guests, but you needed a moment to yourself to gather your thoughts and Dean would be downstairs. So you made your way up to the bathroom.

Closing the door of the bathroom shut, you checked yourself in the mirror. You were a mess after that kiss with Dean. Taking a deep breath, you tried to calm down your racing thoughts. You touched your lip, remembering the sensation of Dean's lips on you, a shiver running down your spine. He was having too much fun riling you up because you had looked around and had spotted Chuck was in another room. Well two can play the game now. Straightening your dress and touching up your makeup, you left the room to find your ‘husband’.

“There she is,” Dean called out as soon as you entered the living room. You smiled at the guests and Dean walked over to you, snaking his arms along your waist, he pulled you closer. He lightly pecked your cheek making your face to heat up immediately. You seriously needed to control your emotions because it was getting tougher day by day to keep them in check. This was a job and you needed to maintain a professional relationship with him.

“It's nice to meet you again, Y/N. Sorry, I couldn't talk to you guys properly yesterday when you came to invite us. I had a business meeting going on,” Chuck said, a sheepish smile on his face.

“Oh it's absolutely fine, Mr. Shurley,” you said, waving your hands at him.

“Please call me Chuck and you have a lovely party going on here,” Chuck said, excusing himself to go and talk with Meg.

“They all maintain such a polite personality, it's hard to figure out who might be the right hand of Crowley. Amara is the only one who is acting like a bitch. Maybe you should go talk to her - have some girl talk,” Dean whispered.

“You think that will be a good idea?”

“Do you have any other idea about how to make that lady talk?”

“Fine but I can't promise it will go smoothly.” you said and walked towards the couch where Amara was sitting, scrolling through her phone. You took a seat beside her, but she still didn't bother to look up from her phone. You saw her dress. It made you feel extremely self conscious . Her dress was beautiful and expensive. It was costlier than any of the dresses you had ever bought. You didn't know how to strike up a conversation with her, but fortunately Chuck came to your rescue.

“Sis, I think you should look up from your phone for once and try to socialise- maybe talk to the host who is actually sitting right beside you,” Chuck said, his voice laced with annoyance.

“Socialise? It's not like it's a damn Oscars after party,” Amara said, finally lifting her head up to look at her brother. This girl was downright rude.

“But I will try to socialise just for your sake.” Amara said and turned towards you. She snickered as she saw your dress and makeup.

“Hey Amara, enjoying the party?” Dean asked, winking at you.

“As much as I can,” Amara said and went back to scrolling through her phone. Chuck gave you guys an apologetic look and mouthed the words 'I'm sorry’ to you. You and Dean finally went to introduce yourselves to the last couple of guests.

“Arthur, Mick - you guys have hardly said anything since you came to this party,” you asked the two British gentlemen.

“Don't you worry, love. We are fine and we're quite enjoying the party.” You nodded at them, pulling Dean aside and whispered to him.

“I have no idea who is Crowley’s right hand.” You sighed.

“Me neither sweetheart.”

“What now? What's the pl-”

“I am so sorry for being late!” Rowena exclaimed bursting through the doors.

“Ms. McLeod, welcome,” you greeted and walked up to her.

“Oh please, call me Rowena. I had to attend an important meeting and it made me a wee bit late,” Rowena said and handed you a box.

“No worries Rowena but what-”

“Oh what type of guest am I walkin into your party empty handed? Please accept this,” Rowena smiled warmly at you.

“You must be Dean. We met yesterday, right? I have to meet so many people in one day, it all just gets jumbled up together,” she laughed making Dean chuckle. You thanked Rowena once again and she walked into the room where the other guests were.

“Do you think-”

“Nope. I don't think so.”

“Right. She actually seems a nice person.” you said, your eyes scanning the entire room of people.

The rest of the party went without a hitch. You and Dean kept a close eye on everyone, but no one did or said anything that set off any alarms in your heads. Everyone seemed to smile and make small talk with you. The entire evening was filled with food and drinks and laughter and all the neighbours warmed up to you guys easily, except Amara. No one gave off any vibes of being the right hand man to a drug lord.

Soon after, the guests started to head out, thanking you for an amazing party.

“We are heading out now. Thanks for this lovely party Campbell,” Meg said and pulled you into a bear hug. The Novaks were the last to leave. You closed the door shut behind them and saw Dean already typing on his phone.

“Are you updating the boss about how the party was a total failure?”

“Yes and no. The party wasn't a total failure Y/N. We got to know more about those rich jerks and their lifestyle-”

“They were nice,” you said.

“One of them is involved in a drug racket, they are jerks.”

“Fine. I am heading to bed then. I have to be prepared for whatever happens tomorrow,” you said and turned around to go to your bedroom since Dean was sleeping in the guest room.

“You're going to sleep already? You're such a party pooper. Come on the party's not over yet, Y/N/N,” Dean said.

“What do you mean Winchester?” you narrowed your eyes at him.

Dean went in to the kitchen and came back with a bottle of wine.

“The Novaks gave us this beauty as a housewarming gift and I never say no to free wine,” Dean wiggled his eyebrows at you.

“It's only for tonight because we have to have our game face on. Let's get drunk Winchester.”

Let me know if you want to be tagged in the series!

Feedback is appreciated!

[g0ldengubler]

chapter 8 ~ the party...

A/N: im sorry for the chapter seeming very rushed and quick. i was mad at myself for taking forever of chapter 2 of positions but get ready for chapter after chapter coming up as a holiday gift :) also thank you guys so so so much for 400 followers and im sorry i’m saying my thanks now. it really means a lot to me :’) i hope u guys are still here and thank u for reading :)

Category: fluff

CW: cannabis use; consumption of alcohol; mentions of sex

Word Count: 2360

before you read | next chapter

masterlist

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

Spencer's POV~

We had the whole weekend planned: go fishing, read by the lake, walk through the forest and appreciate nature in all its beauty. But in a bittersweet turn of events, it ended up raining the whole time. So we ended up spending our time inside, reading to y/n in the afternoon while she sipped on her coffee, going out to the balcony at night and look at the stars because that was when the clouds would pull apart until the day came where we woke up to the peaceful sound of rain hitting the windows and the roof. I rambled on and on with what I knew about space and constellations as she let the sensations of the blunt or joint she rolled up take over her body, relaxing her.

As the weekend went on, after the first night, I didn't know what I felt about her. She was the most beautiful girl I've ever seen. The way she spoke was like poetry to my ears. When we smoked and just lay out on the couch, the way she would explain her thoughts gave me butterflies. This was all really new to me, falling for a girl and having some kind of a chance that it could happen. Was there a chance there? I'm a profiler and I can read people by their micro expressions, especially when someone's in love. But with her, I couldn't even read her micro expressions. It bugged the hell out of me, but I would let it out through cuddles that happened naturally and little kisses that'd happen out of nowhere.

On the last night, it was pouring down rain, harder than it would the last couple of nights where it would only sprinkle. We had made some popcorn and y/n thought of the idea to listen to old time radio ghost stories that were then put out on the internet as podcasts. While it was playing, she grabbed her grinder and looked inside. We had pretty much finished the last of our stash this morning for what she called a "wake'n'bake", which was definitely a great way to start the day. She quickly grabbed the bong from the kitchen counter and started packing it with what I thought was nothing.

"What are you doing, silly?" I asked.

"Just packing a kief bowl." She said, very nonchalant.

I gave a confused look, then she rolled her eyes and explained, bringing the grinder closer to me. "See all this? This has all the different strains we smoked. With all of this mixed together, we'll be really really gone."

She continued to pack the bowl as I sat there ready. She grabbed the lighter when she was done and explained how she'll smoke half and I'll take the other. I watched as she put the top around her mouth. A huge cloud exhaled out of her as she moved her head up to the ceiling, which then after started coughing up a storm. I offered her water but she pushed it away, trying to say she was fine.

We continued to smoke bowl after bowl a few more times until there was nothing left in grinder. Y/n nuzzled her head onto my chest as we lay on the couch, letting those tingles intensify our senses and our minds wonder. She was right, this was probably the most high I've felt before. Every movement we made was slowed down and I could see that my arm was as if it was split in two, but was transparent like a ghost. I could barely even move as the sensations were too overwhelming in the best way possible, let alone try to figure out if this was what being this high was like or really how the brain can do this, but I also wasn't really trying either and let the waves relax me.

As I played with her hair, I couldn't pay attention to the episode because all of my thoughts were of her. I wanted this all the time, the stillness and calmness that brought peace and happiness to the atmosphere-that she brought to our atmosphere. I wanted her to feel safe in my arms and never let go. Getting to know her like this on a deeper level ever since we first met made me fall in love with her everyday we were together bit by bit. I never want to let go of her.

"Do you ever have the fear of giving your heart to someone?"

Her question shocked me, breaking the process in my head. I didn't know what to say but, "What do you mean?"

"Have you ever given your heart to someone, doesn't even have to be romantically, giving them you're all and love and care, to then suddenly watch them break it bit by bit as if they're breaking down the wall that you had built for yourself, instead of you taking each brick off piece by piece and handing it to them?"

There was silence. No words that I could think of could answer a question like that.

"I've given my heart away to so many people, and I don't know why they break it every time." She moved to where she used her elbow for support in between me and the couch. "Spence, I wish we could stay like this forever. I have these feelings for you that I never really, or truly, felt for another person before. Even though we've only known each other for a short time, I think I'm in love with you. There's just something about you that makes me feel safe. For the first time, it's like all my walls fall when we're together, I have this feeling of giving you my all, my care and support, my love. All of it. I want you, Spencer. And, this feeling I have about all of my protection crumbling down, I'm only just a little bit scared of letting it break."

I pulled her in and kissed her. I let my lips do all the talking, telling her how much I loved her, too and now nothing was going to break her down. We pulled away and she gave me a look of confusion and happiness, as if she was scared to let the happiness show through.

"I feel the same way. Exactly, the same way," I said, "I'm in love with you, too, and it's all new to me also. You're like a beautifully written poem, y/n. I could listen to you day and night and never get tired of it. You have a beautiful mind that I want to explore each and every day. I never want to let you go. Will you stay...with me?"

This time she pulled me in after a moment of pause. Our lips crashed like fireworks, yet moved together in perfect tempo. Without breaking, she moved on top of me slowly. I let my hands wonder all over her body as she cupped my face. We were passionate. We were needy. We were in love. Everything was perfect, and everything felt right.

—

Y/n's POV~

You two had left pretty early in the morning for your adventure back to D.C. Somehow, both of you couldn't sleep at all, even though you were pretty well gone to the point of passing out, so you decided you’ll leave at 5am so then hopefully you’d get back in the afternoon. The whole ride, Spencer held your hand, no matter who was driving. I'm in love. You couldn't wrap your brain around it, but for the first time, it felt like your heart knew better than your head. Nothing about this felt wrong. You had found the one that you had been looking for my whole life. Nothing was going to pull you away from him, and you were not going to allow that in the slightest.

On your way back, Rossi called about meeting up tonight at the bar for drinks, which kind of ruined your plans to stay in and cuddle, but you both figured it'd be nice to see them again. You told him we'd be there and hung up. The rest of the ride was just you listening to Spencer ramble about books he's read in last month. You forgot this man can finish books in half an hour, so the fact that he read more books in a month than the average person was astonishing. He talked about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Oscar Wilde and their beautiful works of literature, and you never drifted off to sleep once, your mind didn't even wonder as his soothing voice was in the background. It's quite beautiful hearing someone talk about something they're passionate about.

When you got back to the city, you went to your place so you can grab my things. You told Seth that you’d be back officially tomorrow, gave goodbye kisses to your children, and went back to Spencer's, where you both freshened up and got ready for night. You had an adorable shower that turned just a bit quite naughty. You talked about how you both wanted to tell the others, and while you said you were fine if you told them now, Spencer's response was very well said. "They're very nosy, so I always thought I'd just keep it secret until I felt ready. But this is different. We're on vacation, so Hotch isn't going to have 'the talk' with us until we're back at work. It feels right, everything feels right with you."

Once you were done getting ready, you headed to the bar, where you were told specifically where to park (Garcia had texted saying that she's friends with the owner and that she'd make sure they were safe. She also mentioned that an uber was going to pick them up at around 1am to go back to her place to pass out. She was, for sure, the mom of the group. More than Jj was at that). Right away, you saw the gang sitting in a corner booth, and once they saw Spencer was holding your hand, they all either were speechless with their jaws sitting on the table or ran up to you and gave hugs and congrats. Morgan had to pull Garcia away from you so you could sit down, which thankfully for her, you ended up sitting right in between her and Spencer, so her arms went right back around you.

"How much has she had already?" You asked laughing.

"Well, she started with jager." said Morgan

"Jager?!" You was shocked. "Did she drink the whole bottle?"

"You'd think," said Rossi from the other side of the table. He sat in between Hotch and Emily, drinking his bourbon before continuing to speak, "she's only had two glasses."

"You guys definitely seem to be where the party's at then, huh?"

"You can never go wrong on us for a party." said Emily.

Spencer ordered you two some beers and a couple of vodka shots each. The music wasn't so loud to where you had to yell over one another, but the sound of classic rock filled the building top to bottom. You clanked your shot glasses together and took the shots before taking a sip of your beer as a chaser.

"Look at you, kiddo," Rossi said to Spencer, "where's the Spencer that would get an ice tea or a shirley temple instead of...a beer and shots?"

"Yeah, you can't tell me that all this of this started happening that night at Garcia's?" asked Jj.

The two of you made eye contact and were silent for a moment before bursting out laughing. "So it DID start at my place," said Garcia, "I knew it! I'm such a good cupid." She danced happily in her spot which made everyone giggle.

"You are magic, baby girl." said Morgan.

"So, how did it happen?" asked Hotch, "Don't worry, I'm not your boss tonight but we will have to discuss this once our vacation is over."

"Right," You said nervously, "Well, we hung out after that night after we woke up at Garcia's, and then the next day we went up to my family cabin in Michigan for the weekend, and...that's where we confessed."

"And the rest is history!" said Spencer, sounding like a little kid as he tried to hide the amount of excitement he had.

"Well, we're happy for the both of you," said Morgan as he got up from the table, "I think that calls for a round of celebratory shots, since pretty boy over here has proven in the past week that he can handle them."

When he came back with the shots, you all grabbed them from the tray that the bartender let him use and raised them high. "To having an uninterrupted vacation, and to y/n and Spencer!"

"Cheers!" You all said in unison before clanking them together and letting it go down the hatch. As the night went on, you drank and drank until you were all pretty drunk, even Rossi and Hotch, who you didn't think the whole team has ever seen them like before. When Garcia found out it was karaoke night, she grabbed a few of you, yourself and Spencer included, up to the stage where you sang-or slurred, really-changes by david bowie. Emily and Jj had their arms around each other to hold each other up, and Morgan and Garcia were hogging the mic from everyone, but the whole bar could still hear every one of you. You noticed Hotch in the crowd standing next to Rossi, his phone recording the moment so we wouldn't forget.

The last thing you remember was getting into the uber and Spencer being very touchy on the ride back, making sure that Emily, who sat in the passenger seat, didn't notice that anything was going on in the back. His fingers were ghosting your thighs as he whispered, 'The things I wish we could do right now' before his lips connected to neck.

[hms-chill]

“I got you a trophy, it’s only plastic, but it’s for being the best human I know.” for fluffy firstprince ❤️

It starts as a joke; the youth shelter needed prizes for a fundraiser talent show and the set of trophies came with one more than they need. Alex has a hard week coming up, so Henry takes it home with him, and when Alex gets home from his first day at a new internship, Henry is there with take out from Alex’s favorite restaurant. After they’ve eaten and Henry has heard about how much Alex likes the internship, Henry goes to get dinner and comes back with a trophy full of ice cream.

“I got you a trophy, it’s only plastic, but it’s for being the best human I know. I’m proud of you, and I’m so glad you like the internship.”

Alex laughs, pulling Henry in for a hug. 

Henry thinks that’s the end of it, but two days later, he’s finishing up an essay about queer history for Teen Vogue when Alex comes in to hug him from behind, setting the little trophy in front of him. 

“I got you a trophy. It’s for being the smartest, most amazing person I know.” 

 Henry laughs, finishing his last sentence before leaning back into Alex’s chest and letting him reach around to scroll back up, reading through the article before Henry sends it off. This is Henry’s favorite part of finishing an article, and the he sets the little trophy up on the edge of his desk with a smile, then relaxes back into Alex’s arms.

Alex’s first voter registration canvassing trip with the congresswoman he’s working for is that weekend, and he comes home drenched in sweat but grinning. Henry greets him with a trophy full of Mexican Coke. 

“I got you a trophy, for working so hard and getting so many people registered to vote. I know how much it mattered to you, and I’m so proud.”

Alex smiles, finishing the Coke before he pulls Henry in for a disgustingly sweaty hug. Henry wants to complain, but Alex is so happy he can’t bring himself to whine. David, who’d gone with Alex wearing a bandana supporting the congresswoman, is licking the sweat off Alex’s leg, and Henry bends down to rub his ears. The trophy takes up residence on Alex’s nightstand. 

It lives there until one morning, Henry needs to focus on writing after a long night, so Alex finds him as he’s making coffee in the kitchen. This wouldn’t be an issue, except that Alex finds him just as he’s pouring a dash of vinegar into it. His excuses that it’s what Victor Hugo did and that it takes the bitterness out of the coffee don’t have any effect on Alex’s indignation. He disappears shaking his head, then returns to plonk the plastic trophy down in front of Henry.

“I got you a trophy. It’s for making the worst, most offensive fucking coffee known to man. I’m personally offended by that cup of coffee. I hope you’re happy.”

Henry just laughs, drinking his non-bitter coffee before kissing Alex. Alex complains, whining that he can taste the horror coffee on Henry’s breath. Henry just laughs, taking the trophy with him as he goes up to the office to get started. 

He already has a plan for how he’ll get the trophy back to Alex. It will take some work, and probably some help from Nora, but he knows exactly the way to do it. 

They’re scheduled to go to the Lake House for a week soon, and Alex doesn’t notice when Henry slips the trophy into his suitcase. They fly down, and Alex doesn’t know what’s coming, but Henry does. He knows it will go well, but he’s still nervous. Asking Alex to marry him is hardly the same as making bad coffee or having a successful voter registration trip, after all. Alex wants to marry him; when Henry talked to Nora she told him that Alex wants to ask but doesn’t want to feel like he’s making Henry choose between getting married and staying a prince. So Henry’d bitten the bullet, and he’s looked into what it would mean to abdicate, and he knows he wants a big gay wedding in Westminster but once that’s done he’s ready to step down. He needs Parliament’s permission, but he doesn’t doubt he’ll get it, and Bea has promised to make sure whatever royal funds he would get go to the same charitable causes he’s already supporting. He’s ready, assuming Alex says yes.

It rains their first night at the Lake House, so they spend it inside, playing Mexican Train and other games Oscar bought for the house. But the next, it’s a clear night, so once the sun has fully set, Henry pulls Alex up and out to the pier. The first time they were here like this, Henry ran. He let his fear get the best of him, and instead of letting himself admit that a relationship with Alex was even remotely possible, he disappeared. Now, though, Alex’s hand is in his, and he’s not letting go. 

It’s still a bit cold to swim this late, so they kick off their shoes and let their feet dangle in the water, taking in the peace and quiet of this place.

“I got you something,” Henry says after a moment. Alex looks at him, and with his feet in the lake and the fireflies around his head, he looks like a nature spirit that five year old Henry would have pretended he didn’t have a crush on. “It’s a trophy. It’s for being the best person I know, and the best part of my life. It’s for being the person I love more than anyone, who saw me for everything I am and loved me anyway. It’s for being the love of my life and the person who makes everything better. It’s for being the person I want to spend my life with. It’s... there’s something inside, and it’s to ask you if you want to spend your life with me, too. I love you, and I want to scream it to the world in the loudest, most public, most permanent way I can imagine. I--”

“Yes. Yes, absolutely, yes. I love you so much.”

“I didn’t even ask yet,” Henry laughs, taking the ring Alex has pulled out of the trophy to hand him. 

“Sorry. I’ll... I’ll let you, but...”

“Alex Gabriel Claremont-Diaz, if I abdicate, will you do me the honor of becoming my husband?”

“Yes, of course I’ll marry you; I-- if you what? You’d... you’d abdicate for me?”

Henry’s in the process of sliding the ring onto Alex’s finger, and he looks up. “I was planning on it. So you can run for congress and become the best politician this country has ever seen.”

Alex only waits until the ring is fully on his finger to pull Henry in for a kiss. 

The second they’re back to the house, Alex is admiring the ring in the light. It’s a simple band, gold, but there’s something familiar about it that he can’t quite place. 

“It... it was my dad’s wedding ring. When I told them I wanted to ask you to marry me, Bea and Philip and Mum all agreed that--” Alex cuts him off for the second time that night, this time with a kiss. Henry melts into it, feeling the last of his worries about the proposal fading away, leaving only the question of why he’d ever had them in the first place.

--

Fun fact; putting vinegar in his coffee is an actual thing Victor Hugo did! Cursed fact; it’s not bad!

Also, royal men apparently don’t traditionally wear wedding rings, but if there’s one couple before Alex and Henry to break with tradition to show off how in love they are, I feel like it’s Arthur and Catherine (especially because Arthur’s not originally a royal and might not even be fully aware that they’re breaking tradition). 

--

Requests are now closed, because it’s been a week and a half and I don’t know how y’all keep finding that prompt list but I’m tired. I’m glad you like my writing! I am! But also I have other things I should focus on, so they’re closed until I reblog another prompt list and don’t have to keep scrolling through all my old stuff to find it.

--

Want to support the Hannah Makes Art fund? You can tip me in ko-fi here!

[derl30]

ALTERED STATES REVIEW TIME!

OK, this tumblr is, today, a vehicle for me to review ALTERED STATES. And you (the one person who stumbled on this review two-hundred years from n- oh who am I kidding, when the aliens from A.I. who show up to thaw out Haley Joel Osment and the teddy bear who was the real hero of that movie find this) should be very excited about this. Because this movie is insane. And highly entertaining.

Yes, the movie poster looks like ass. If I told you this was a movie where William Hurt (not the William Hurt from that awful 90's Lost in Space remake, or the one who slept through an entire performance as Duke Leto in the Syfy miniseries of Dune. This is before the body snatchers got him) took ayahuasca and got in a isolation tank and it blew his mind so hard he started devolving into a neanderthal and creating dimensional portals and he couldn't stop because he was addicted to finding the truth of existence... Well you wouldn't get that from this poster, would you? So let's move on. Shall we?

The film opens in 1967 with William Hurt's character, psychopathologist Edward Jessup, already immersed in a sensory deprivation tank, whilst his colleague and “buddy” Bob Balaban (he's just Bob Balaban in everything I'm not giving you his character's name look it up yourself if it's bugging you so much) oversees.

Now, you may notice I put buddy in quotes. The reason for that is that Jessup is a self-obsessed ass who seemingly has no reason to be around other people unless he can expound to them one of his various monologues. Bob Balaban barely gets a word in edgewise throughout the entire film. Bob Balaban.

See, Jessup loves the sensory deprivation tank experience. Unsurprisingly, as it allows him to be completely alone with himself for hours.

Later, at perhaps the lamest party ever, a bunch of faculty are chilling out and listening to the Doors. Everyone we see is talking about Jessup. Why? Well, much as Jessup is obsessed with himself, everyone else seems to follow suit by being obsessed with him. One young woman, Emily, (Blair Brown) is introduced to him in this very shot below as he arrives at the party:

Notice how is framed in holy light? There is a closeup after, of him framed in blinding glowing light followed up with a zoom in on Emily's face, enraptured with this incredible dynamic man. So much so that the moment he tries to make a goddamn sandwich she starts grabbing his celery (get your mind out of the gutter) and flirting with him. Which for these two that means talking science, immediately. Talking more at each other than with each other. This is often the way with Paddy Chayefsky's scripts.

PAUSE

Paddy Chayefsky is doubtless one of the great American writers for the screen. He wrote Marty, The Hospital and Network (which is a fucking incredible piece of work). He got an Oscar for all three. He also wrote this movie (Altered States, remember? Good lord) and disowned it completely three weeks in to production. His scripts tend to have very intelligent, driven characters at the center, who monologue extensively at each other. These scripts are not attempting to sound naturalistic.

Ken Russell, however, directed the film. He, like Chayefsky, is top notch at what he does (Direct. I said he directed the film like a second ago, come on keep up). His films, like Women in Love, The Devils, (which was banned in several major countries upon release and has never been shown publicly in its full, uncut form (by the way it's a masterpiece)) the Who's Tommy, Gothic, and Lair of the White Worm are all fucking gonzo nuts. I mean like, when you gave this guy the reins, you were going to Overthetopsville and there will be no stops on this trip. And god bless! I love directors who GO for it!

You're getting the chance to make a movie. Stop hemming and hawing and hit me over the head with what you want to say! Film is a visual medium, USE IT!

I feel I might have made my feelings clear here. So, moving on...

Ken Russell and Paddy Chayefsky immediately started butting heads, right from the start. Chayefsky was a BIG deal, and he wanted control over the picture in a BIG way. Ken would listen to his suggestions on everything to lighting and set dressing, and politely tell him, “No.”, and continue being the director of the film. Chayefsky hated him pretty quickly.

He had much more control over films like The Hospital. Which, if you watch The Hospital, well, it shows. You've got great actors (George C. Scott, Dame Diana Rigg (Dame may be the greatest official title of all time)) saying great dialogue. But its just two very witty bitter people sort of expounding on topics and speaking at each other and suddenly admitting they are in love and discussing what drapes they will have to buy for their new home. It's utterly preposterous, and it doesn't work in the way Sidney Lumet got it to work in Network, by literally making one of the lead characters realize his life is turning into a ludicrous soap opera.

So of course Ken tried to humanize, naturalize, the dialogue sequences. And it works! The film feels more human than the Hospital or Network. Despite the fact that Jessup is literally becoming more and more inhuman throughout the film. One of the ways he does this is by having the character's eat, drink, and work on other things during the dialogue sequences. This is perfectly normal in film, it's called giving the actor “business” to do, during the scene. Chayefsky HATED this. “They are mumbling my precious dialogue! Chewing through it! Sucking it through a straw!” Sorry, Chayefsky buddy. It works for the picture. Chayefsky also felt the actors were too emotional with his dialogue. Right. See, they call that acting.

UNPAUSE

Which brings us back to the first meeting of Emily and Jessup at the party. They are eating during this important scene! I can just picture Chayefsky seeing this, and running to the studio brass to tattle and get Ken Russell fired (as he got Arthur Penn of Bonnie and Clyde fame fired before Ken Russell came on board).

Emily and Jessup are, true to Chayefsky form, extremely intelligent, driven people and hearing them discuss topics such as anthropology and schizophrenia is quite interesting. It's just that what is to come, film being a visual medium, will eclipse just about any dialogue, no matter how good, from our mind thingys.

The two give up on the science talk and go straight to banging on her couch. After, she asks what he was thinking about. His answer is priceless. “God. Jesus. Crucifixions.”

She smiles.

Bwahahaha! Oh Paddy Chayefsky, you sure know women.

He admits he used to have religious visions. She listens to him from the sweaty couch whilst he sits naked on the floor, and starts going on about his father's horrible death of cancer and his loss of faith. And he admits to her that he's a nut. Her response is to call him a fascinating bastard. I think Lucas may have taken notes for Padme and Anakin.

So naturally, they get married immediately.

But none of that matters because Jessup gets back in the sensory deprivation tank and has his first vision. A nightmare of his dying father and lost faith in christianity. It's pretty great, filled with foreboding hospital rooms, his father's face being covered in a burning Shroud of Turin, everything covered by horrible blood red clouds and then THIS FUCKING THING SHOWS UP AND ITS ALIVE AND WRIGGLING

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

excuse me...

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

The many-eyed goat is slaughtered over a gold bible and suddenly Jessups screwing Emily again and we enter a blood vessel looking thing and the vision ends and he never mentions this again. Oh. Okay,

Emily continues on about what a nut Jessup is as they make marriage plans. Her monologue:

“You're an unmitigated madman. You don't have to tell me how weird you are. I know how weird you are. I'm the girl in your bed the past two months. Even sex is a mystical experience for you. You carry on like a flagellant... Which can be very nice, but I sometimes wonder if it's me that's being made love to. I feel like I'm being harpooned by some raging monk in the act of receiving God. (Emphasis mine)

"And you are a Faust-freak Eddie! You'd sell your soul to find the great truth. Well, human life doesn't have great truths. We're born in doubt. We spend our lives persuading ourselves we're alive. And one way we do that is we love each other, like I love you. I can't imagine living without you. So let's get married, and if it turns out to be a disaster, it'll be a disaster.”

It's a disaster.

As in, by the next scene. It starts off happy enough looking, they have kids and people are smiling. And hey, wow it's seven years later! But, well, see, whoops, they are getting a divorce. Well, not they. See, he is divorcing her because he considers the seven years with her a complete waste.

She still loves him, desperately. He doesn't give a shit about her or the kids. He tells Bob Balaban this, straight up. And then starts bugging him about deprivation tanks and Hinchi Indians in South America who have sacred mushrooms that can really fuck you up.

It's at this point you would like for Jessup to be hit by a Mack truck. But the movie continues on. By the way, this is one of the kids he doesn't give a crap about:

That's right. Drew Barrymore's first role is a kid that William Hurt doesn't give a shit about. Something that William Hurt would make a career out of with narcoleptic performances in Lost in Space and Syfy's Dune. So, Emily takes the kids to Africa for her anthropology work while Jessup goes to South America to go deeper into his own creepy mind.

The Hinchi Indians agree to allow him to participate in the drug ritual. They enter their holy cave.

This shot is beautiful. At this point the film becomes increasingly gorgeous. Ken Russell has started to go into overdrive, ladies and gentlemen. Buckle. Your. Seatbelts.

The Indians grab Jessup's hand and cut him, freaking him out. They pour his blood into the drug mixture. They begin to drink. Then he takes a sip. The intensity of the film here has quadrupled. The vision begins, fireworks going off all around him. He sees cave paintings of humans and komodo dragons and this:

The proper life he left behind with Emily. He's convulsing, sweating. The Indians are all around, masked. Snakes. He's laughing in pain. Energy spills from the void. A snake under the parasol strikes and begins to strangle him. He and Emily march toward a nuclear explosion as energy pours from the cut on his hand, becoming a lizard. From within a sandstorm, Emily watches him, naked. Jessup looks at her, entranced, as the soothing sands cover them both, slowly.

It's a beautiful sequence. A perfect film sequence. I can't overstate how strong the vision sequences are from this point forward. Great visual effects work and the madman mind of Ken Russell create something unforgettable, with it's own pace, independent from the rest of the film.

Jessup awakens with a komodo dragon laying before him, ripped to pieces. The Indians and the others all claim he killed it in rage. Jessup remembers nothing, takes samples of the drug to reproduce it, and goes back home.

Back home, Jessup keeps doing as much of the drug as he can and having Bob Balaban record results. They can't up the dosage any more so Jessup hops back in to the self deprivation tank to create a more extreme experience.

In his next session, Jessup states he is having a vision of early man, hunting a deer and killing it. Suddenly he states he is one of them, killing the deer. He begins to grunt like an animal. The two pull him out. He's incredibly pale, blood seeping out of his mouth. He can't speak, and has difficulty breathing. He insists they do an X-ray. It shows that there is a vocalizing lump in the front part of his throat. Jessup claims that his body had begun to revert to a simian state. The medical doctor agrees, stating the throat X-rays looks like that of a gorilla.

Luckily his throat returns to normal. So Jessup finishes up his day by having over a student of his and sleeping with her.

Our hero, people!

At this point we hardly feel sorry for him as his body suddenly begins to twist and bulge in the middle of the night, shifting in and out of neanderthal shapes. It's a horrific sequence, disturbing as hell. You certainly didn't expect the film to shift into body horror.

Jessup feels normal after a while. but sees visions of lava explosions, the birthing of the Earth all around him. Not a good sign.

He goes to pick up Emily from the airport the next day. She asks how he is doing.

“Oh, fine.”

Yeah right.

Emily has been told what Jessup has been doing and is worried, which of course pisses off Jessup even more. The guy is obviously obsessed with reaching the truth and root of existence, much as Emily surmised earlier, and we see he has no fear of even losing his own soul, again true to her word. The only thing that allows us to give a shit about him at this point is that Emily cares for him and she's decent people, okay?

So back Jessup goes into the tank with his ayahuasca or whatever it is. Alone. The tank door opens from the inside.

The hand that pushes it open is covered in thick hair. He's devolved.

Ape-Jessup escapes the tank room and chases a janitor around the building. Again, this scene is fucking freaky as hell. We can't get a good look at this screaming animal that was Jessup.

The janitor gets a guard to help and chases after him into the boiler room, where we finally get a good look at him when he assaults the security guard and escapes.

AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

Ape-Jessup runs through the city at night, making his way to the zoo where he kills a antelope and eats it. The Ape-Jessup sequence goes on way too long, but is nonetheless unforgettable. The makeup is much more convincing than the above picture suggests, and whoever performed Ape-Jessup did an admirable job.

The cops find an unconscious Jessup in the zoo and bring him in. Emily picks him up and questions him. Jessup admits everything that he can remember. He also admits that he probably killed that security guard. And once again doesn't seem to give a shit. Prick. He calls it the most supremely satisfying time of his life.

Even Emily seems disgusted with him. But, she's also fascinated with what he's accomplished. As an anthropologist, his transformation fascinates her. And so, she agrees to help oversee his next session. Big mistake.

Before the big session Emily and Jessup romantically reconnect, and then into the climactic session we go!

Get your popcorn ready!

After a few hours in to the session, the video monitor shows Jessup begin to literally melt apart like goo, reverting to primordial ooze, the very beginning of existence. An attempt to open the isolation tank doors blasts everyone unconscious, as light and energy pour forth. Emily is the only one left. She sees Jessup's life energy pulse from within the tank.

Rain pours down around them. The pipes on the walls twist and turn like jelly. The ground is covered with a pool of swirling fog and energy. Emily advances toward the vortex of the tank.

In the emptiness of the beginning of everything, Emily seizes the energy before her and reconstitutes Jessup.

They take him home. While he sleeps, Emily rages over the fact that she loves such a insane bastard, and can't get over him. And, then, after Bob Balaban leaves, leaving Emily alone, Jessup wakes up.

He sweetly admits that the truth he learned was that there was no learnable truth, just unknowable horror, and all that's real is human experience. And he'll be a good boy from now on. Well too bad!

Because that horrible truth isn't done with him, and it's back to goo-Jessup! Emily tries to help him, grabbing him, but this in turn effects her, turning her into a shimmering lava form of herself. Both of them begin to self-destruct as Jessup, enraged, watching her in pain, struggles to retake his humanity, slamming himself into the wall, reforming himself through sheer will and physicality. He grabs her and brings her back, mirroring what she did for him during the final session. They embrace naked in the hallway. He finally admits, “I love you, Emily.”

Fade to credits.

Awww true love!

What can I say to sum up? Awesome 80's practical effects. Genius wacko go-for-it Ken Russell directing. Out of this world vision sequences. A awake and actually remarkable performance from William Hurt. An occasionally turgid but often fascinating script by the ever ornery Paddy Chayefsky. Whats not to like?

Well, the ending is a little rushed. The ape sequence goes on for a little too long and takes up perhaps too much of the films overall running time. The central love story is, well... a little hard to swallow, but hey, I guess there really is somebody out there for everyone. Even self-absorbed, deadbeat, cheating, sensory deprivation loving, ayahuasca dropping, Harvard teachers with a messiah complex!

And on that note, aliens from A.I. Artifical Intelligence, have a good day, and don't leave poor Teddy alone with no one to keep him company!

Sayonara!

[errantinfinity]

head canon corner ; gsod heads and important members

Since people displayed an interest in more important about the GSOD heads, I am here to make a post about it. I was going to make separate posts but then I didn’t want to make too many, so this is instead a master post for the GSOD heads and other important members that I have had ideas for.

This post actually got really long so if you don’t read it I will absolutely not be offended, once I started I just couldn’t stop.

The Six Heads and how they work together.

For the most part, Philip and Arthur are in charge, and any decisions in the end come down to them.

The other four heads were the first four people they invited to join them to help run GSOD. They are invited to any and all meetings about the future of GSOD and also other general operations meetings. All of their opinions are taken into account before any decisions are made, but in the end Philip and Arthur are in charge and the decisions come down to them.

The Six are all friendly with each other and have known each other for many years. Philip and Arthur are the closest, but they all generally get along well, minor disagreements aside.

They are all very well respected in their line of work, and they are well known in the government for being efficient and helpful whenever they are needed to help with anything.

Philip Pullman - ability ; The Amber Spyglass.

One of the men who spear headed the idea of GSOD and got it set up, along with Arthur Conan Doyle.

His ability, when activated, allows him to locate other ability users. It “pings” more the closer he gets to an ability user, allowing him to track them down effectively even in very crowded areas.

A straight forward man, with Philip you will always know where you stand. He is a thoughtful speaker, and a generous boss, and always tells every member of GSOD that they are welcome in his office should they ever need anything.

He and Arthur run the recruitment branch together, but also goes out to help find any ability users that may be eluding capture and are not using their ability to hide from authorities.

Has a large tropical fish tank in his office, and can regularly be seen watching or feeding the fish if he isn’t working.

Arthur Conan Doyle - ability ; A Study In Scarlet.

He and Philip are friends from university, and they came up with the idea for GSOD after leaving.

His ability, when activated, allows him to discern what a person’s ability will allow them to do. It doesn’t strictly let him understand an ability, just the basics of what the ability is capable of. For example, if he used his ability on Kunikida, he’d say that Kunikida is able to pull small objects from a notebook by writing the characters for them. It does not help him to understand the strengths, weaknesses, and limits of an ability.

A shrewd man, Arthur usually knows more than he lets on. Highly intelligent and observant, Arthur can usually be relied upon to decipher body language, facial expressions, and the way things are phrased after meetings with other organisations.

He goes out with Philip and uses his ability to discern what the ability users they find can do. They offer a place at GSOD to any and all ability users, it just helps them to get a better idea of which branch they would be best suited for.

He keeps a large python in his office. When asked the name of the python, Arthur will smile slightly and tell you it is Monty.

Roald Dahl - ability ; Fantastic Mr Fox.

Roald used to run the Policing Aid branch of GSOD, his ability allowing him to be an effective detective in cases where he could blend in. As he got older, however, and as more members had children and there was more call for childcare, Roald asked to step down and run the childcare at the GSOD members building. There is a daycare for younger children, baby sitting services for anyone that wants them, and after school, weekend, and holiday clubs for when parents are working or the kids just want to take part.

His ability, when activated, allows him to transform into a red fox. He does still sometimes use it in the field, where it helps make him inconspicuous, but largely it is used to entertain the children.

Roald adores kids. He can often be found surrounded by an enraptured group of children of all ages, weaving them wondrous stories, or transforming into a fox and allowing them to pet and play with him. He is much better suited to this role and he loves it.

A gentle, caring, and loving man, Roald cares deeply for any of the kids that come through his childcare branch. He invited Zadie Smith, when she arrived at age thirteen, to help teach the kids sign language. He is the person that helped to make her feel the most at home, and he became a father figure to her. They are still very close.

Roald has a pet parrot named Pelly. She can talk, and he often brings her with him to introduce to the kids.

Virginia Woolf - ability ; A Room Of One’s Own.

Virginia, who tells the people she likes to call her Ginny, owns and runs the large building where many GSOD members live.

Her ability, when activated, allows her to create rooms in a building providing that she owns it. (Don’t ask me exactly how this works it just does. Lucy can create a space out of nowhere and Gogol’s coat can manipulate space, it just works sdfsidk.)

Although many think of her as stern, she just runs a tight ship. She wants to ensure the safety and comfort of all the members that stay in the building, and her and her staff work hard to ensure that the building is clean, safe, and well stocked with everything they may need.

She is the only head that rarely sees any fieldwork, because she is most useful in her building, helping to run and maintain it along with her staff.

Despite her generally rather brusque exterior, Ginny is very motherly to those she is close to. She cares deeply, but when in work mode she is very serious and, some would say, a woman you shouldn’t cross.

Angela Carter - ability ; The Magic Toyshop.

Angela is a well respected lawyer, and runs the legal aid branch of GSOD. She does a lot of legal work herself, but also assigns lawyers to different cases. Her branch also offers legal advice, and does both paid and pro bono work. She is a prosecutor herself.

Her ability, when activated, allows her to manipulate toys as she sees fit. Think Toy Story, except she is in control of them rather than them having a mind of their own. She uses this a lot in court to show how crimes may have played out.

A serious and severe woman in the court room, outside of it she is known to be loud, proud, and, by her own words, common. She swears like a sailor, could drink most people under the table, and gets very invested in football.

Angela is very competent, known to be a scary prosecutor for any defendant to go up against. She works very hard, does endless research, and is highly intelligent. It is generally advised not to challenge her to a debate.

Her office is considered deeply creepy by a lot of people. She keeps a lot of toys in it, and has shelves of dolls and stuffed toys. The dolls all sit behind her desk and stare at anyone sat opposite her. Most believe she has done it on purpose to unsettle people (and they’d be right).

Sarah Waters - ability ; Tipping The Velvet.

Sarah runs the combat training for GSOD, and is a hard task master. Her training, she says, could be the difference between life and death, and she works her students hard.

Her ability, when activated, allows her to affect the equilibrium if people in a small area around her. She uses it to help train people to work in unusual and adverse circumstances.

She works very hard, but it is with good reason. Her mother died because she didn’t have the combat training that might have helped her, and so Sarah takes what she does very seriously as a result.

Despite being such a hard task master, Sarah is helpful and kind, and will take time out of help people when they are struggling, often in her own time after or between training.

Sarah is trained in several different martial arts, as well as being gun trained and a good archer. There are few weapons or combat types that Sarah isn’t able to do, and this allows her to help teach others.

She has a big soft spot for cats, and has three of them. They’re called Peaches, Pudding, and Pip, and she is always willing to share pictures of them.

Other important members.

A short list and brief overview of other important GSOD members.

Ursula K. Le Guin - ability ; Those Who Walk Away From Omelas.

Ursula runs the police aid branch of GSOD. She was recruited from America while visiting GSOD from an America organisation. She was very impressed with them, and when Arthur and Philip asked if she’d like to join, she didn’t have to consider her answer long. She took over from Roald when he stepped down, and was personally recommended by him to take his place.

Her ability, when activated, causes people to forget what they are doing and walk away. She uses it to stop people from loitering around crime scenes, car crashes, and other sites where people loiter because that is what they do.

Douglas Adams - ability ; The Babelfish.

Douglas runs the foreign aid branch of GSOD. A somewhat clumsy, very good natured man, he is very funny, quick witted, and eccentric. He is thought of very fondly by all who have met and worked with him.

His ability, when activated, allows him to create an area in which he can manipulate the ability of people to understand languages. It looks a look like Rimbaud’s ability in the anime, except his creates a dome rather than cubes. Douglas enjoys making people in the affected area speak absolute gibberish to each other entirely for his own amusement, although when using it for work he does take it seriously (mostly).

Oscar Wilde - ability ; Picture Of Dorian Gray.

Oscar runs the ability control branch of GSOD. A charming, fashionable Irish man, Oscar likes to look good and likes beautiful things. He is known to collect art and other beautiful items.

His ability, when activated, allows him to transfer injuries her obtains to a portrait of himself. Oscar uses this ability very sparingly, because whenever he uses it, a piece of his soul and humanity is also transferred to the portrait. Oscar is well aware that he will eventually become inhuman, in whatever way that means for him, if he continues using his ability. He uses it when he receives fatal or near fatal injuries in the field, or an injury that would cause him to take a fatal injury such as broken bones.

William Shakespeare - ability ; The Tempest.

William does not run a branch, but is the second in command of Sarah Waters. A flirtatious, romantic man, he is known a lot as Billy Shakes - a joke he started himself - and loves to write poetry and wax lyrical about beautiful people.

His ability, when activated, allows him to create and control violent storms. He uses it largely to help with combat training in a similar way to Sarah - by creating adverse conditions for the GSOD members to train in. He enjoys making heavy rain and snow storms and watching people try to fight their way through them. If you can make it through William’s tests, it is said that there is nothing in the field that could possibly be worse.