#also I am like half asleep so don’t know if it made sense

[ildiavoloro55o]

What if winning today set in motion for Ferrari dominance and Redbull flopping? Like what if something shifted in the universe and the puzzles pieces of the universe fit right and whatever planet that was helping Redbull win is now in retrograde? And it’s just Ferrari winning the rest of the races both drivers alternating wins.

I’m being delulu okay… but for a second imagine this actually happening… hehe

[sainns]

LIKE OR LIKE LIKE.

𝓢. ㅤㅤthis is the the first time you've ever gotten drunk and of course you go and confess to your best friend.

SJYㅤ✶ ㅤ (⠀femreader⠀) . . . best friends to lovers (kind of, they don't explicitly start dating), fluff, alcohol consumption, reader gets drunk, not proofread.ㅤ1428 words

“i’ve never seen her drunk before,” sunghoon points to where you’re leaning against the wall.

jake turns to look at you, watching as you talk to chaewon. you’re continously taking sips of your drink, a sleepy smile on your face as you listen to your friend’s (most likely) drunk ramblings. he can tell you’re tipsy, at the very least; your body is swaying, it seems like you’re having a hard time staying upright.

“yeah.. i’m gonna go lay her down before it gets worse. i don’t want her to wake up sick,”

sunghoon gives jake a knowing look, shrugging as he takes a sip of his own drink, “predictable,”

“what?”

“nothing,”

sunghoon grins, patting jake on the head before walking away to—jake assumes—bother his girlfriend. the older boy shakes his head, running a hand through his already messy hair, turning around once more to watch you.

this is the first time you’ve ever gotten drunk, he thinks. you’ve mentioned before that it’s because you’re scared of how you’ll act, not wanting to embarrass yourself in front of them. he’s glad that you’re more comfortable now, and at least you’re only here with them, your friends, and not at some party full of strangers and weirdos.

he watches as chaewon pats your back, albeit a little forcefully, before she leaves to find someone new to bother. he also watches you attempt to follow her but give up halfway through your first step. he smiles to himself, heading over to where you’re standing—or leaning.

“oookay, no more for you. you can’t even stand straight, dude,” jake takes the red solo cup away and out of your reach, giving you an amused smile. you pout but you don’t put up a fight—you can’t, not fully anyways. if you could, though, you would tell him that he’s being dramatic; six shots and half a cup of jungle juice is hardly anything.

“c’mon, you can go lay down in my room, you look tired,”

“okay,”

you make a move to walk by yourself but jake steps behind you, placing his hands on your waist so that he can guide you away from your friends. it feels like your senses are heightened to a dangerous level because why do you get goosebumps the moment he touches you? you squeeze your eyes shut, forcing your heart to calm down.

somehow you make it to his bedroom without stumbling a whole lot (this is 100% thanks to jake; you were sure that you wouldn’t have been able to do it yourself), and he taps your side, signaling for you to sit down on his bed, which you do.

he kneels down and pulls your shoes off, setting them on the floor. he pats your thigh, leaving yet another wake of goosebumps on your skin, “stay here, ‘kay? i’m gonna go get you some water,”

“i don’t want any,” you whine, “i’m tired, not thirsty,”

“yeah, well, you’ll be thirsty in a little bit,”

“no, i won’t,”

“yes, you will. you’re drunk,”

you huff, throwing yourself back on the bed, “am not. also you’re so annoying. i don’t want water, i always drink water,”

jake snorts at your antics, tucking his head away as he tries to keep from laughing too loudly. after a few seconds, he calms down and looks back at your figure, smiling fondly. you can’t see him, your eyes closed as you hum some random song that he hasn’t heard since he was ten years old.

you look so serene, he doesn’t want to disturb you. he figures he can just tell sunghoon or someone to come bring some water or he can wait for you to fall asleep.

“i’m sad,” you huff, sitting up slowly.

“why are you sad, hm?” he rests his head against your knee.

you frown at him. his words felt slightly condescending. not that you really cared, in fact it kind of made you feel dizzy. wow, he’s just terrible. looking at you all worried, taking care of you while you’re (not) drunk.

“because of you,”

he sits up at that. he looks like a dog who heard the word ‘snack’ or something. of course, he wasn’t happy. he looked more worried than before, in fact.

“me? what’d i do?”

“you’re just annoying,” you whine, “you know, i like you and it’s kinda funny ‘cause i’m, like, so obvious about it,”

“you like me? like like me?”

“well, actually, i love you,” you pause, “you’re not very smart, now that i think about it. how’d you even graduate? did you cheat? i think everyone knows but you. this is so awful, i can’t believe i had to go and like someone so oblivious. you’re lucky everything else cancels that out,”

“wait, wait, wait. you love me? that’s..” jake asks, his face flushed, completely disregarding everything you said after your confession, “yn, you’re.. you know, you’re drunk,”

“oh, okay,” you push his head away, “look, i’ll tell you tomorrow, ‘cos i really mean it and you’re so annoying and it’s, like, oh my god,” you say something else after that but he can’t tell what. not with you speaking as fast as humanly possible paired with drunken slurring.

he nods slowly, processing your words, “yeah.. okay. you can’t forget, alright?”

you grin, poking his cheek, “duh, i have an amazing memory,”

your amazing memory may be your downfall. surely, you had drank enough to wake up the next morning with zero memory. isn’t that what usually happens when someone gets so drunk they tell their best friend that they like them? not even like, you said you loved him.

and now you’re laying in his bed, face pressed into his pillow, absolutely mortified at your past self’s actions.

you’re never going to speak to him again. you’re going to get up, put your shoes on, and sneak out. yeah, it’ll seem like you’re doing the walk of shame, god forbid anyone catches you, but that’d be less embarrassing than having to talk to jake.

you don’t get the chance to attempt to escape, though, because jake walks in right as you’re weighing your options.

“hey, are you awake? it’s two in the afternoon,” you hear him place a glass on the nightstand as he sits next to you.

you could pretend that you forgot.

you feel his hand rubbing your back, “i heard you groaning, get up,”

“i don’t want to,” you mumble into the pillow, pressing your face into it harder.

“i can’t hear you, you know,”

you groan loudly, picking your head up, “i don’t want to get up,”

“why? are you embarrassed?”

“i didn’t do anything embarrassing,” yes you did.

he nods, “nah, you didn’t. i was just checking, you get embarrassed easily,”

you’re quiet for a moment after that. his hand is still rubbing your back and you can feel your heat beating against your chest. you want to pretend that you forgot about last night but for some reason you can’t. you want to bring it up despite feeling nauseous at the thought of being rejected.

“i like you,”

he smiles, “yesterday you said you love me,”

you gape at him and he laughs loudly. you want to kill both him and yourself.

“i’m sorry—i’m kidding.. i like you too,” he hums, tilting his head, “no, actually, i love you,”

you frown, “you’re embarrassing me,”

he laughs again which makes you want to both laugh and hide away from him, “god, you’re so cute. i kinda wanna kiss you, is that okay?”

you almost say yes before you remember that you just woke up not even twenty minutes ago and you are not going to kiss him with bad breath. especially not when you were drinking the night before.

“i just woke up,”

he leans forward, close enough that you can just barely lift your head and you’ll be able to kiss him, “so?”

“no,” it pains you to do so but you turn your head away from him. you know he won’t kiss you if you don’t want him to but you’d probably fold and kiss him if he kept staring at you like that, “you can.. uh, later. after i brush my teeth,”

he turns you over onto your back, smiling above you brightly. you gasp at the sudden movement, your heart racing yet again (you should go to the hospital), “promise? i really wanna kiss you right now,”

you laugh, reaching your hand up to move his hair out of his face, “yeah, i promise. i really wanna kiss you too.”

[loganhowlettshousewife]

animal

chapter 3

friendly reminder that i am not a writer, i'm just a girl who loves logan howlett and wanted to write something exploring his animalistic side since i so rarely see it done. my first language is also not english, so please do not be rude when giving me any feedback.

warnings: swearing, mentions of blood, mentions of sex, non-sexual nudity

series masterlist │my masterlist

logan sleeps in your bed now. night after night you found him on the hard floor, until you couldn’t deal with the thought of him being so uncomfortable just because he wanted to be near you. so you forced him into your bed, though you’re not sure if forced is the right word to use given how willingly he slipped in next to you - as if he’d done it a million times before, as if it was normal.

he’s a walking heater - you swear there’s a fire burning under his skin, working through his veins to spread throughout his body. you naturally run cold, you always have, so cuddling up to his warmth is a luxury. even in the beginning, when you didn’t want to fall asleep in his arms for fear of what it would mean for your relationship, you would wake bundled up in his arms, safe and protected and wanted in a way that made you never want to leave the bed.

it’s nice, really nice.

and it simultaneously sucks, because you’ve started having dreams of logan, of kissing him, calling him your husband, watching him rock a baby. and you’ve had other dreams too, the ones you’re sure logan can smell on you, with his advanced senses. he’s always awake watching you when you wake up from those dreams, his body still curled against yours, hard dick pressed against you. but he never does anything.

it’s horribly endearing. he’s obviously affected but won’t leave you, knows how much comfort you’ve found in his arms. so he grits his teeth and bears it. despite being half-animal, he’s more of a gentleman than most of the men you’ve met.

and you love knowing that you affect him, knowing that your feelings for him are not completely one-sided, even if you can only be sure of the physical component. when you leave the room to start on your morning routine, he stays behind.

you can’t be certain, but you imagine him taking his dick in his hand, stroking himself to completion, hard and desperate and quick, muffling the sound of his groans with a hand pressed to his mouth.

you’re not used to being woken up like this, however. logan hovers over you, face twisted into a snarl so full of hatred it brings tears to your eyes. his claws are out and have ripped holes in the sheets and the mattress, locking you in a makeshift cage.

his eyes are glazed over, like he’s not quite present in the moment. he’s somewhere else right now, lost somewhere in his mind where you can’t reach him.

this isn’t a slow awakening where you can take time to blink the sleep from your eyes, letting them flutter shut for two more minutes to enjoy the bliss of being not-quite awake. the adrenaline hits you hard and fast, your heartbeat pounding loud in your ears.

you’re trembling, can feel it with every breath you take, shaky exhales and sharp inhales. you’re careful not to make any sudden moves, worried about what logan may do to you.

you know him, know he wouldn’t hurt you. but he doesn’t see you right now, you don’t know who or what he’s seeing in your place. but he’s never looked at you with these eyes, with this level of anger - in fact, you can’t remember a time when he’s truly been angry at you. scared, cautious, tense, maybe. but not fury like this.

“logan,” you whisper.

the sound has barely left your throat when he pulls one clawed hand away from the mattress, tearing more of it in the process, before punching his claws towards your chest. you cry out, instinctually, and that snaps him out of it.

you feel the sharp sting of his metal claws dragging over your skin as he pulls away. it’s only a scratch, and not a terribly deep one at that. you’re used to small injuries, pricking yourself in the garden or accidentally cutting your thumb while cooking or any other stupid way to draw blood to the surface of your skin.

but it’s not the pain that matters, it’s the thought that if it took him a second longer to break out of his nightmare he could have pierced your heart, killed you. 

“logan,” you ask, shaky, “are you okay?”

he’s staring at you, eyes wide and frightened, but the hatred that was there is gone. his claws retract back into his skin. he nods, slow, never breaking eye contact with you.

and then you burst into tears.

you can’t stop, your cries hysterical. logan sits on the bed, moving away from you with every cry that rakes your body, but you grab at his arms desperately, needing him. somehow, despite logan being the reason for your fear, he’s the only thing you want, your mind calling out his name like a prayer.

he hesitates to touch you at first, but you beg him with a broken “please”, and then he’s all over you, pulling you into his lap, nuzzling his face into your neck. he kisses you softly on the skin there, a habit he’s taken up that you don’t mind. you probably should mind, but you’re unable to care about that when it feels so right.

you fall asleep crying in his arms, the exhaustion pulling you under. you wake up again with the sun, logan looking haggard and pale, still holding you. it seems he didn’t fall back asleep when you had.

your throat feels raw from crying, and you can feel the tear tracks where they dried on your skin.

“what was the nightmare about?” you try to ask him.

he shakes his head, every line around his face pulled taunt, “no.”

you’d expected such an answer, something short and succinct where he refuses to lay his problems on you. still, you’d hoped he might share some information, even a sliver of his story that could help you help him.

you’re still worried about logan, but there’s not much you can do if he won’t speak to you, so you leave the bed to wash the dried tears from your face. you go on with your routine as usual, keeping a closer eye on logan, waiting for possible signs to help you uncover the mystery of whatever the fuck is happening with him.

there are none, of course - he’s very difficult to read when he wants to be.

he doesn’t touch you as much, a step further behind you than usual. but otherwise his behaviour doesn’t change too greatly. he’s still sweet and grumpy and lovely.

you teach him how to cook your favourite breakfast foods, and to your surprise, it comes naturally to him. he works by your side like he’s always been there, listening to your instructions perfectly every time. the cuts on your chest still burn slightly, but simply feeling his presence by your side makes everything better.

you’re reading a book on the couch when logan returns from hunting. he never brings anything from his hunt into the house, for which you’re grateful, but he does drag in a lot of dirt. 

you have a routine by now, or at least the bones of one. he likes it when you help him clean up after a hunt or a run in the forest, and so do you. it’s the kind of moment you imagine you’d find in a book, with a couple so deeply in love that they can hardly stand to be apart for a second.

you’re still not completely comfortable with the idea of stripping naked in front of him, but logan has no such qualms. in the bathroom, he pushes his pants and boxers down in one motion.

you blush as he steps into the shower, so unashamed of his body. there’s a wild edge to him that you notice more in moments like these, where you realise the impact of not having those human memories, the socialisation that teaches you to dislike yourself, teaches you that confidence is a negative thing, makes you vain and egotistical.

the water soaks him in an instant, flattening his cute hair tufts against his scalp and you giggle at the way he looks like a wet kitten, though less disgruntled.

he tilts his head expectantly, waiting for you. his gaze is dark and heady, intense as you pull off your shirt, leaving you in only a bra. your face warms as you take off your skirt next, watching logan’s face the entire time, the way his eyes linger on your panties for a long, long moment.

it’s not the first time you’ve undressed in front of him, but every time the effect is the same. warmth pools in your stomach, a mix of arousal and nerves. he’s intoxicating, and that’s terrifying to you.

you don’t take off your bra and panties. they feel like armour, protecting you from being fully defenceless in front of him. it’s not like he couldn’t see the full shape of you, every curve of your body, the parts that you love about yourself, that make you smile at the mirror, and those you hate. 

still, it makes you feel like the one in control - he’s completely naked and you’re not - though you know that he’s larger and stronger than you, that really he’s letting you be in control of the situation, not moving too much as you wash the blood and grime from his body. 

he cares so much about your comfort. sometimes it makes you want to cry. 

“you, now,” he grunts.

“what?”

you’re taken aback at the break in the quiet. it always shocks you a little when he speaks, his voice rough from disuse. 

“i will clean you, now,” he gestures at you and you laugh nervously, taking a step back, as far as you can until you hit the tiled wall. it’s not a very large shower, there’s not really anywhere to go.

“logan,” you whisper, heart in your throat, “no. not right now, okay? finish up your shower, i think- yeah i’m going to go now.”

you practically run out of the steam-filled bathroom, feeling like you’re going to collapse at any second. the thought of him stripping you out of your remaining clothes, unclasping your bra, pulling your panties down your legs and tossing them aside, his hands running over your body, even for something as innocent as washing you, something you’ve done with him a dozen or so times.

you’re having enough sex fantasies about him as it is, you don’t need to add more fuel to the fire. and the thing is, you want it. you want him. you want those fantasies to come to life. but you can’t help but fear that logan’s only clinging to you because you’re the one who found him when he was at his most vulnerable.

when he goes out into the world, whether that’s sometime soon or if it takes years, will he start to resent you? will he find someone better? will the soft intimacy that’s been growing between you collapse like a house of cards?

you’re in your bedroom, laying on top of the sheets, staring up at the ceiling when logan enters.

“you’re upset?” he asks, and at the tone of his voice, the pain that you hear reflected in each syllable, your head turns his way. he looks devastated, like the idea that you might be upset at him is the worst thing that’s ever happened to him in his life. you’re very certain that’s incorrect.

he looks so innocent like this, not a wild animal with claws that rip through flesh like butter, but a man, anxious and unsure and pleading. you can’t help the smile that rises to your lips. you shake your head as much as you can against the mattress and reach your arms out towards him, a wordless beckoning.

“never,” you say.

within moments he’s in your arms, hugging you tight, his face pressed into your chest. it’s nice, the solid weight of him, like a very heavy weighted blanket. minutes pass, and then logan shifts his body just enough to look up at you.

he makes eye contact with you, and in his eyes you see a raging storm. his face is blank as it often is, a mask that you can’t read, but you can feel his muscles tense as if preparing for a fight, can catch a glimpse of several different emotions in the hazel staring back at you.

he leans up, until his face is barely a centimetre away from yours, and your breath catches. you’re scared to hope, terrified, even if all signs point in one direction, so you don’t move closer but you don’t move away, eyes fluttering shut as if it’ll all become easier, as if the butterflies in your stomach will recede, if you’re not looking directly at him.

he closes the distance between you, mouth meeting yours in a chaste, soft kiss. it’s nothing like you expected from logan, feral and intense in everything he does. but he’s waiting for a response from you, scared in the way you’ve only ever seen him once, when you’d first found him in the barn.

he pulls away and you grab onto him desperately, forcing him to crash back into you. you share open-mouthed kisses, hot and urgent yet so loving. it’s everything you’ve ever dreamed about, perfect in the way little else can be, and you feel tears prickling in your eyes, a sob catching in your throat.

you’re absolutely fucked, your heart stolen by him, and you can only hope logan meets you where you are and doesn’t hurt you.

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if your name is in white it means i couldn’t tag you for some reason. i’m very sorry :(

[its-time-to-write]

hi! Could you please write something with like reader opening the door one day when Roy stars knocking for training but reader and Jamie aren’t open about their relationship yet? I think it would be cute xx

I also thought this was cute. Not sure if anyone notices/cares, but all my titles are song lyrics based ever so loosely on the vibe I am trying to convey. Thanks for another great request!

what it is

Someone’s aggressively knocking on the door and as you roll over to check the time. It’s 4am, and you poke Jamie who is fast asleep beside you.

“Babe,” you whisper, “someone’s at the door.”

Jamie groans and mumbles something incoherent. As your eyes adjust to the darkness, you can tell something’s off. You reach out your hand and feel his forehead. It’s burning up.

The knocking continues and Jamie lets out another groan and says something that sounds like raining? Oh. Training. You remember he trains every morning at 4, but you’ve never seen who he goes with. He just kisses you in your sleep and is back right as you wake up for the day. 

You roll out of bed, grab one his sweatshirts from the floor, and pad downstairs to the door.

You swing open the door mid-knock. The man on the other side lowers his fist, looks at you all squinty for a moment, then says, “Who the fuck’re you?”

You return the look. “I live here. Who the fuck are you?”

The man scoffs. “No, you fucking don’t. This is Jamie Tartt’s house. Jesus fucking Christ, is he fucking blowing off training because of a fucking one-night stand?”

Oh. You know who this is. This is Roy Kent. You didn’t know he was the one training Jamie, but you guess it makes sense based on how much Jamie talks about him. It’s Roy Kent this, and Roy Kent that, and Roy says I need to eat more protein, and Roy said my hair looked funny today, does it look funny to you? 

You sigh. You and Jamie have been together for three months, and you basically live at his house. You’re really only at your flat to change clothes. You have a toothbrush, pajamas, and half a wardrobe at Jamie’s. Your books have started to make their way onto his shelves too, as you read them and then leave them for him to start. That was a little bit of an accident at first, after you left This Side of Paradise one night and came back to a different bookmark on page 34.

Anyway, Roy Kent doesn’t know you’re dating Jamie, or that anyone is. You suppose in his mind, Jamie is happily single, fucking around like the twenty-something year old footballer he is. 

Roy is still looking at you expectantly, so say, “I do live here. Why don’t you come in?” and hold open the door a bit wider. 

Roy’s face says fuck it, and he follows you inside to the kitchen. 

“Can I get you some tea?” you ask quietly, although Jamie can sleep through anything. 

Roy seems surprised by the question, but says, “Yeah, sure,” as he stands by the kitchen island.

“Jamie’s sick,” you say. “He’s still asleep upstairs. I doubt he’ll be up for training today.”

“Right, yeah,” says Roy, “I’m sorry, but who the fuck are you? Jamie’s not fucking supposed to be doing the whole one-night stand thing, he told me it’s too fucking distracting from training.”

You chuckle. “That’s comedy gold right there. Yeah, no, I’m not a one-night stand. I’m his girlfriend.”

Roy’s impressive eyebrows lift in shock, and you laugh again and give him your name. “Didn’t know I existed, did you? I’m not one for crowds or a big fuss. I told Jamie if we made it four months than he could start telling people. He was a little upset, but,” you shrug, “no point in making it a big deal if we just break up, right?”

You can practically see the wheels turning in Roy’s brain as he does the math.

“So you’re telling me that you’ve been fucking dating this little prick for three fucking months, and he hasn’t fucking said anything?”

You nod. 

“Fuckkk,” Roy whispers, “that makes so much fucking sense.”

You quirk an eyebrow at him.

“He’s been less of a prick recently,” Roy explains, “More considerate, been carrying around fucking books and shit. Not fucking flirting with everything that fucking moves. Thought maybe he was just taking beating Zava too fucking seriously.”

You nod and move to pour the tea. You and Roy both turn as you hear footsteps coming down the stairs. It’s Jamie, who is wearing a headlamp, pajama shirt, athletic vest, and a single sock. And, thank God, pants.

“Ready for training coach,” he says with a salute, but the action almost makes him fall over. He looks all pale and sweaty, with bags under his eyes.

“Told you he was sick,” you say.

“Fuckin’ hell,” is all Roy can come up with.

Jamie seems to notice you for the first time and breaks out into a smile. “Roy! Look! I have a girlfriend,” he says, words a little slurred while pointing to you.

It’s punctuated by a “Jesus Christ,” from Roy as Jamie wobbles, unsteady on his feet from his fever.

“Alright, mister,” you say. “Back to bed.”

Jamie frowns. “Always so mean,” he says. He does an imitation of your voice, “No Jamie, you can’t tell Roy about us. Yes Jamie, I know Roy’s your best friend. No Jamie, I don’t think you love Roy more than me.” He looks at Roy as you sling his arm around your shoulders, supporting him at his waist. He puts his fingertips on your lips as he says, “See what I have to put up with?”

You roll your eyes and suppress a smile as Roy says, “What you have to put up with?”

Jamie is so loopy right now. He lays his head on yours and smiles again. “Look at this. Me two favorite people, finally meeting. You should stay for dinner, coach.”

Roy rolls his eyes and shakes his head. You can tell he’s trying not to laugh as you both mutually decide not to point out that it is now 4:30am and dinner is a long, long way away.

“Let’s go get you out of those clothes and into bed,” you say as you start to lead him back to your room. 

Jamie casts a look back at Roy and wiggles his eyebrows. “Babe, you can’t just say things like that in front of granddad. Might give him a heart attack. Old people are such prudes.”

“Go to sleep, Tartt,” Roy says. He looks at you and says softly, “I can see myself out.”

You smile and wave with your free hand. “It was nice to meet you,” you say. “Hopefully we can meet again under more normal circumstances.”

Roy nods once and does what you think is a smile? He turns and heads out the door as you maneuver Jamie upstairs. Jamie Tartt has a girlfriend. And a good one at that. What is the world coming to?

[surshica]

RUMOR HAS IT..

: CL16

genre: fluff,angst? (if you squint),social media (smau) + written

warnings: translated french and korean,cussing

A/N: imma just add angst just in case i forget but if you squint maybe it’ll be there? also broken humor here i made this in the morning soo excuse any typos..not proofread btw!

synopsis: charles is in a new relationship with a runway model and fashion icon reader—all is well until a rumor comes around saying he is cheating on you with your bestie.. (fc: tingting_lai)

yourusername

liked by charles_leclerc,yourbestie,lilymhe,pierregasly and 828,927 others

yourusername yacht trips with you are always wonderful <3

tagged charles_leclerc

yourbestie y’all are so cute it makes me wanna puke <3

alex_albon werent you there with them…

yourbestie yeah but that doesn’t mean i wasnt third wheeling half the time…

yourusername you literally invited your bf..

yourbestie he fell asleep 😒

arthur_leclerc …slanderous.

charles_leclerc everyday with you is a wonder day mon ange <3

liked by yourusername

pierregasly i think imma throw up

maxverstappen1 me too

landonorris me three

charles_leclerc go away.😐

f1wags beautiful as always!!

user5 check your dms bestie…

user3 drop the workout routine.

user2 okay BUT how does he bag someone like you. TELL ME THE SECRETS

user4 right the math isn’t mathing !

user1 he fr must of bribed her with like a castle in monaco or smthing

liked by yourusername

yourusername i wish 🫤 i kinda just got stuck babysitting him

charles_leclerc that’s not true and you know that…

view 67,223 comments

f1wags

liked by pierregasly,yourusername, and 30,743 others

f1wags was dmed a photo of what looks to be yourbestie and charles staring at eachother lovingly while yn is away! is this the case of playboy charles returning after years of being in a relationship with yn 👀😉🫣

user1 doesn’t yourbestie have a bf…

user6 yeah and it’s charles’ brother!!

user5 SOMETHING DOESNT FEEL RIGHT

user1 nah..she a brother hopper😭, yn and arthur deserve better

user8 idk where yall seeing the love like eye contact because i for-one do not see it!!

user9 RIGHT like it doesn’t make sense, it was yourbestie who introduced charles to yn so why would she want to get with him now when she had all those years ago to get with him? ppl making stuff up.

user8 it’s like you were reading my mind!

user10 it shouldn’t be our business too!

user3 PIERRE LIKED THIS?!:!he probably knows something we don’t…

user5 @pierregasly spill the beans mister; i know you know all the f1 gossip

user4 okay but why did yn like it too? does she know something too?

user2 yn liking this is definitely giving hot girl revenge arc!!

yourusername now wtf is this?

user13 SHE REPLIED. OMG SHE KNOWS.

user4 YN REVENGE ARC YESSS

user3 charles gonna regret he hurt this girls feelings

user9 we love a good villain arc!

user10 her replying is iconic

view 8,628 comments

yourbestie

liked by charles_leclerc,yourusername,lilymhe, arthur_leclerc,lewishamiliton and 682,167 others

yourbestie cheers to an 14 year friendship! you truly are the world to me, you are like the sister i’ve always wanted. i cherish every memory with you, i am greatful for everything you do for me! i can’t wait to see what the future leads us too~ 너무 사랑해요!! i love you so much

yourusername YOURE SO ADORABLE. :( i wish you weren’t busy so we could hang out today, 나는 당신을 더 사랑 !!! i love you more

yourbestie I KNOW IM SORRY something came up last minute but i promise to make it up to you in a girls day<3

yourusername yeah you better.

yourbestie anything for you!

yourusername @charles_leclerc take notes!

charles_leclerc you two are literally just flirting with eachother in the comments…what more do you want me to do:(

arthur_leclerc feel my pain

user3 aint no way she posted this while quiet literally fcking her bff’s bf behind her back..

user7 THIS IS SO CUTE IM SOBBING

user12 not until you find out she flirting with charles.

user9 can y’all take these negative ass comments somewhere else and just enjoy the fact ITS AN 14 YR FRIENDSHIP.

liked by yourbestie,arthur_leclerc,charles_leclerc

user13 i want what they have.

user4 brother hopper!!!😂

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yourusername just posted a story

f1wags

liked by arthur_leclerc,yourusername and 29,628 others

f1wags charles leclerc and your bestie spotted roaming around monaco ‼️ charles and your bestie were reported to go on a shopping spree and they looked very happy and giggly. reportedly they came out of cartier with two bags, both were holding a bag. maybe this a sign that these two are actually together 👀🔥

user1 no fcking way..

user3 ON THE FRIEND-VERSARY ??

user6 didn’t she tell yn she was busy..

user13 busy fcking charles..thats for sure

user5 this is more disgusting than i thought

user9 imma give them the benefit of the doubt maybe we weren’t supposed to see these photos!!

user10 we should fr respect their privacy, idc if he is cheating on her or not this is fr creepy.

user7 okay but coming out of Cartier with bags?! now i’m even more suspicious..

user11 i feel so bad for yn and arthur, the fact they liked this too. they need to find better bf and gf fr😭

yourusername 진심이야, 이거 진짜야? 🫠 seriously, is this real?

arthur_leclerc lets not get ahead of ourselves, you guys don’t know what’s going on..

user6 arthur you know what is going on between these two? and what they are doing together?

arthur_leclerc yeah, i know the plans but i don’t like that you guys are jumping to conclusions like this

yourusername 🤔

view 11,278 comments

a small pout formed onto your lips, ohone in hand screen frozen on the f1wag page. a part of you wanted to be in disbelief of what you saw. charles had told you that he something important to do and bestie name had said she was busy as well. the dots were slowly connecting as if it was a game of squares.

the thought of your boyfriend of almost two and a half years cheating on you with your best friend was not a pleasing thought, scowling at the idea of it. you were sitting down on the couch knees tucked into you, your head resting on them staring down at the phone screen. dozens of thoughts flooded your brain.

is he cheating on me? how long? does arthur know he is being cheated on? are they for sure cheating on me? they’re childhood friends i don’t think he is cheating on me! bestie name doesn’t even like charles like that! am i being played? the thoughts had flooded your brain you had completely forgotten to get ready. the vibration of your phone had broken you out of your dazed state. looking at the caller id it was him. it was charles, the words in bold “lover boy<3” had popped up with a cute picture of him. pressing the accept button you put it on speaker,

yn : hello?

lover boy<3 : mon ange! are you ready?

yn : ..uh yeah im almost ready!

lover boy<3 : okay i’ll be there to pick you up in 15 minutes~

his voice sounded deeper through the phone, a small smile formed onto your lips

yn : where did you go charlie? you’ve been out for a while..

lover boy<3 : have i? désolé chérie je devais faire quelque chose d'important, sorry honey i had to do something important why? are you worried about me? how sweet

charles had a small smirk formed on his lips, he just dropped off your bestie name at her house as he called you.

yn : who said that? no i was just curious, thats all.

yn’s smile slowly formed back to a pout. he didn’t tell her but rather just said something important, it didn’t make her feel any better.

yn : (sigh)

lover boy<3 : what’s wrong mon-

yn : 꿀 honey i’ll you back i need to go to the bathroom.

you quickly ended the call ruffling your hair taking in a deep inhale before getting up to go get ready quickly.

after rummaging through your closet you found a cute brown pleated skirt, to match with it you grabbed a white tank top and black and white cardigan with a black beret. looking at the mirror you smiled at the outfit heading to the bathroom to do some quick makeup. nothing too fancy

charles furrowed his brows at the erupted ending of the call. he didn’t think much of it shrugging it off. maybe you were just tired was a thought he had, not once did he think you found out he was with your bestie name.

you had just finished in time, charles texted you that he was outside. grabbing a small purse putting your wallet and phone in there pranced your way to the front putting on a pair of brown boots you had just bought. the walk to the car felt dreadful. the more you stepped closer more thoughts flew over your head, you were starting to convince yourself that maybe he was cheating on you with her.

you needed to shake the idea out of your head and you had to do it now, your hand was on the car door handle but you hesitated. charles noticed your hesitation, his brows furrowed some more as he leaned over to the other seat opening the door for you. “mon angé are you alright?” he watched you climb into the seat buckling up. one thing about charles, he is a person who is very expressive from the body language to the faces to the voice itself. yn looked at him placing a small peck on his cheek, “yeah im just a little tired that’s all”

charles stared you down he was trying to see if you were lying or not, “well tu sais tu peux toujours me dire n'importe quoi mon ange, si ça te dérange tellement dis le moi. you know you can always tell me anything my angel, if it bothers you so much tell me.” he tucked a piece of your hair behind your exposing your cheek that got what felt like a genuine kiss. the ride to wherever you were going was suffocating, both of you hated it. you cleared your thought brushing your hand against his free hand. “so mister charles where was this important place you went to today?” you wanted answers so you kept pushing for him to tell the truth. 

charles quickly looked and you before looking back at the road, “if i tell you where i was and what i was doing it wouldn’t be a secret mon ange!” he was being very smiley, your lips formed an o shape. “why do you wanna know? are you trying to stalk me?” charles snickered his shoulders slowly bouncing up and down. you shook your head clearing your throat, “i don’t need to do that i already have someone for that..” your tone was bitterly.

you were staring out the window, you didn’t want to bare the sight of him. what if questions flew everywhere you got more upset with yourself you didn’t want them, charles noticed the shift in attitude; “mon ange seriously tell me what’s wrong,” concern laced his voice as he grabbed your hand placing mini kisses on them “, i don’t like seeing you upset. i can any questions you have just talk to me..”

a sigh escaped your lips looking at the pouty monegasque, “why were you with bestie name today? she said she was busy and you said you had an important thing to do today. are the two of you you kn—” your throat throbbed as each word managed to escape your throat, “what?” was all charles could reply with, he quickly parked the car before facing yn.

“rumor has it you were with bestie name today at a mall together..there of pictures of the two of you together charlie” his grip on your hands tightened as each word flowed out of your mouth. “chérie im not cheating on you with bestie name, i would never.” his heart broke seeing you think of all that, “okay but what was important that the two of you had to go to the mall together?” you just wanted to few reassurance.

“well..fuck i cant say it but its a surpise. you weren’t supposed to see those photos seriously, im not cheating on you when i went to the mall with her earlier. we went to go get some gifts for arthur you can even ask him mon amor!” he watched as her shoulders that were tensed up became relaxed. “oh. i’m sorry that i jumped to conclusions so fast it wa—”

charles chuckled letting go of her hand, “it’s okay mon ange. its those stupid fan accounts fault for making you think that.” he said getting out of the car to go open the door for you.

he had taken you to a nice small cafe, it wasn’t very popular but it was one of your favorites. the honey outside atmosphere was definitely to die for, the way green plants coated everywhere. the two of you sat at what was a four person table. pointing at the two empty seats charles just smiled, “two people will be joining us but they’re running a little late..”

“i didnt get to say this but you look beautiful my love” charles who grabbed your hand the table fiddling with it. “am i never beautiful to you?” you scoffed playfully—charles was taken aback from that comment “no no you’re always beautiful you just look extra beautiful!” charles justified or well he believed. “so you don’t think i’m extra beautiful whenever?” you pouted playfully. charles who was lost for words “no you are just so—you know what i mean mon amour!!” he sighed frustratedly causing you to giggle at his frustration.

“you’re so mean mon chérie~” he scrunched up his face to make it look like he was upset, “i’m not mean you are just easy to pick at!” you justified, “mean.” “no” “mean” “no” “charlie we sound like children..” “well you started it” he smirked making you roll your eyes at him. a comfortable silence fell between the two, you started to believe the other two were just not going to come at all.

“you have pretty eyes charlie” you blurted out without a care, a blush crept onto his face. he didn’t know if it was the compliment or if it was the fact you were staring at him as if he was the only thing that mattered in the world, maybe it was both. “you think so chérie?” he felt the grip of his hand that had been interlocked with yours tighten. “i don’t think so i know so” she had such loving stares it made charles weak to his knees. the stares she gives him make his heart flutter like a teenage boy seeing his school crush, he was always lost for words, he was little butter melting in your touch and stares.

the truth is, he was upset with himself finding out that you had these thoughts, these thoughts that he was cheating on you with your best friend. he wanted to get you a gift and he didn’t want to fuck it up; he believed bringing someone who you held dear to your heart and who knew you best would’ve been the right choice—he didn’t think once you would take it as him cheating on you with her bestie. it hurt him inside.

he had always wanted to show you how appreciative he was of you, he never had the time but now he does. you do so much for him and he wants to thank you for that, the states you give him; they were loving and warmly. the way you love him throughout his career taking time to visit his races it did something to him. from how you looked at him, touched him, smiled and laughed at his jokes, how you talk about him so much to family, how you make playlist about him, and even made sure he felt like he was the priority in everything—it did something for him. since the first day he met you he knew you were the one for him.

the way you made sure you’re there for him after the races and that you were okay made his heart skip beats. he had always felt like the knight in shining armor in previous relationships but with you he felt like the princess and you were the knight. he loved everything about that; it was something new to him something he never would’ve thought he would love. the small cartier box warmed in his pockets. you are always doing stuff for him he just wants to do one simple thing for you, is that too much for him to ask for? he knew he had to wait for arthur and bestie name to get here but he seriously couldn’t.

he thought any longer he waited he would spill the beans about everything, “chérie you know how much i love you right?” his lips parted as his hand slowly made his way to his pocket grabbing the small cartier box. “always know, you tell me like every hour even on the race track” you had teased a smile evident on your lips. “tu sais à quel point je t'aime mais sais-tu à quel point je t'aime ? Je te chéris tellement, j'aime tout ce que tu fais pour moi, j'aime la façon dont tu es toujours là pour moi, peu importe à quel point je fais mal sur la piste de course ou je suis contrarié. tu fais tellement pour moi, c'est vraiment comme un cadeau! you know how much i love you but do you know how much i love you? I cherish you so much, I love everything you do for me, I love how you are always there for me no matter how badly I do on the racetrack or how upset I am. you do so much for me, it's really like a gift.”

“tu es un cadeau que je dois protéger de tout ce qui arrive, je n'ai jamais été doué avec les mots mais chaque fois que tu es avec moi, je fond. tu as sur moi cet effet que je n'avais jamais ressenti auparavant dans les relations que j'avais. you are a gift that i have to protect from everything that happens, i have never been good with words but every time you are with me i melt. you have this effect on me that i have never felt before in the relationships i had.” charles titled his head to the side closing his eyes taking a deep breathe, “charlie what’s this about?” you had questioned sitting up properly instead of slouching. “just promise me something mon amour. promise me that you will be with me no matter how hard times are.” charles slowly pulled out the red velvet textured box from his pocket.

it was a small rectangular box with gold like lettering saying “cartier”. charles had placed it into your hands, “you do so much for me so the least i could do is buy a promise ring.” his voice turned soft, it was silky soft. the box on the other hand was in your grasp you were staring at it, a prominent smile rushed to your face, “charlie..” you had opened the box to see a singular gold band with jewels graves into it, “its a promise ring, a promise that i will love you endlessly.” charles held up his hand showing how he was already wearing his.

“its beautiful…charlie. i love it” you took the ring out of the box putting it on a one your right index finger, “and i promise to love you endlessly.” a blush creeped onto your cheeks, “thank you 아기. 사랑해요 baby. i love you” charles wasnt fluent i.n korean that’s for sure but he knows how to say he loves you, “i love you too mon ange.” he grabbed your hand with the ring on it placing a soft kiss, smiling to himself.

“CHARLES I TOLD YOU WAIT TILL WE GOT HERE.” you heard your bestie name’s voice boom near you, it startled you but it made you giggle. “well you two were taking too long and i got impatient…hurry up next time” he scoffed, your bestie name didn’t let that slide and she started to punch him lightly. “i hope you didn’t fuck it up. be glad i went with you to get the proper ring size!” your bestie grabbed his ear and the two started to fight.

it truly did feel like home with them, “i’m guessing he gave you the ring?” arthur said standing behind you with his hands in his pockets, “you knew?” yn looked at him your lips forming an a line. “of course i knew thats why i tried to defend them but it was no use at that point, people jump to conclusions too much” he shortened a chuckle. “yeah you’re right they do.”

charles_leclerc

liked by yourusername,yourbestie,lewishamiliton, alex_albon,pierregasly,maxverstappen1 and 1,827,289 others

charles_leclerc its always rumor charles is cheating on his gf but never rumor has it that charles is still and forever madly in love with his girlfriend of two years.

user8 SEE YALL WERE WRONG ADMIT IT.

liked by charles_leclerc

user9 they’ll forever be happily in love yall are just haters!!

liked by charles_leclerc and yourbestie

user10 my cuties ㅠㅠ

user15 charles yn defender till i die.

user4 SO CUTE OMG

user1 is that a promise ring?? that’s so..i’m melting

yourusername 나는 내 아름다운 소년을 너무 사랑 !! <3 i love my beautiful boy so much

maxverstappen1 soo i dont get to yell at him for cheating on you?:(

yourusername LMAOO NO

charles_leclerc HUH WHATD I MISS MAXIE?

maxverstappen1 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️

user13 get me someone who looks at me the way charles looks at yn.

liked by yourusername

pierregasly listen if charles was gonna fumble this one i would whole heartily become a homie hopper‼️

lewishamiliton agreed

charles_leclerc i know where the both of you live…

lilymhe stop i was ready to fight him after what i saw. the two of you are so cute !

charles_leclerc WHY IS EVERYONE TRYING TO FIGHT ME OR STEAL MY GF??

yourbestie okay where is my thank you? i helped you 😒

charles_leclerc do you not see these comments??

yourbestie i agree tho if you fumbled her i would’ve ended you🤷‍♀️

landonorris we need you on the grid more

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yourusername

liked by yourbestie,danielricardo,charles_leclerc, maxverstappen1 and 926,518 others

yourusername 기다리는 자에게 좋은 일이 생긴다<3 good things happen to those who wait<3

tagged charles_leclerc,arthur_leclerc,yourbestie

arthur_leclerc SEE THEY CAME OUT GOOD!

yourusername thank you my little photographer!!

charles_leclerc i thought i was your photographer?

yourusername you were busy fighting bestie name…

yourbestie so beautiful they grow up so fast ㅠㅠ

charles_leclerc the loml truly is beautiful ❤️

liked by yourusername

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@ surshica | rb & follow.

[moseslikellamas]

♱𖣂 Redfork Menace ♱𖣂 pt.2

Benjicot Blackwood x Bracken!OC

Summary - Following the shock of a lifetime while out scouting the borderlands, Shanda deals with the fallout of her actions and makes plans to repeat the same mistakes.

Warnings - fem!reader, strained family dynamics, adult language, obsessive behavior, reckless behavior, braindead behavior, not cannon compliant, kieran burton fancast,

Word count 2.1k

2/6 currently

!Minors DNI!

Ahaha, this is going to be a pretty slow burn type of deal I think. But I am unhinged and cranked out another one before work 😤👍🏻🗣️ Next chapter will be more exciting, I promise. Also everyone involved in any romance is of age of course bc I don’t care about canon and no child marriages here.

Shanda didn’t stop running until she was back home in her own chambers. Shutting her door quietly, she stripped her soaked clothes off. The cloak would have to be mended and she would have to convince Royce, her younger brother, to take her out riding to cover for the rip. That would cost her but it was better than the alternative. Shivering, she quickly dressed for sleep before adding more logs to the dying fire in her harth, then seated herself in front of the flames. Only then did she allow her mind to wander back to the horrible encounter she’d just experienced. Why was the Blackwood heir on guard duty in the borderlands? It didn’t make any sense even if he had spoken the truth earlier. She moved like a shadow but no woman can be invisible. To send Benjicot to deal with a once off rogue spy was a move that was so strange it made her head spin.

Tomorrow she would talk to Martyn first, tell him mostly the truth of what happened and then convince him to let her out again. She had a good start on information for swaying her father but it wasn’t enough. If she went with tales of the heir and half heard secrets, he’d lose his mind at her irresponsibility. But if she found out what the heir was up to and confirmed what real problem the Blackwoods were having, well then he might see reason. He might for once appreciate having a slippery sneaking daughter who doesn’t know how to mind her own business.

Shanda awoke with a start, nearly toppling herself from the chair she’d fallen asleep in. No light shone in from the windows, her room was damp and muggy. Her night clothes stuck to her in an uncomfortable manner, sweat beaded on her brow as she rose to wash and dress for the day. The riverlands were often damp, hot and moist, the air thick with water. Gazing out the window she saw the torches lit and in the distance gathering clouds like a bruise against the gray sky.

Leaving her room, Shanda slowly made her way downstairs. She stopped along the way to make a comment to anyone passing by, making a point to be seen by many and accounted for undoubtedly. Then without pausing in the main hall, headed straight out into the yard to find Martyn. The guard shift was up at first light and though there was no light outside, she guessed it had only been a few minutes since the shift changed.

Martyn was waiting for her outside of the barracks and he motioned for her to walk with him. They began to circle around the yard, walking quietly and slowly together. Her brother was a short man barely an inch taller than her but he had eyes like a hawk and could shoot a field mouse clean nearly a mile away. Which was why he was always stuck on guard duty.

“Well out with it. I’ve gotta have a sleep too, you know?”

Shanda hesitated. What exactly was she going to tell him? ‘Hey so I got into a knockdown fight with the Blackwood heir last night who threatened to arrest me by the way for a made up list of crimes’. Well mostly made up crimes. That didn’t sound like a good idea.

Martyn spoke in her silence, “Did you bring the knife back?”

Shanda inhaled sharply, grimacing.

“About that, I maybe sort of-“

He cut her off, “Shanda please tell me you didn’t leave it.”

“I didn’t leave it per say. It was jostled from my hands, let's say instead.”

The look Martyn gave her was incredulous to the point of absurdity and it took all of her willpower not to laugh.

“Okay listen. Last night I found out the Blackwood heir has been relegated to guard duty. Overheard an argument between him and another guard.” She glanced around before continuing, the yard was still mostly deserted. “They were arguing about crimes being committed on their lands. I don’t know what crimes but it didn’t sound like they were too happy about it.”

“Benjicot was on guard duty? Wait, and you said the knife was… Did you fight the heir to Raventree?”

Shanda pointedly avoided looking her brother in the eye, a bit embarrassed of her behavior in the light of day.

“To be fair, I didn’t know it was Benjicot. I thought it was just some nameless guard!” She hissed agitated at having been caught in such a situation.

“Shanda, do you have any sense? The mother save you, I certainly can’t! If father were to find out...”

He didn’t have to finish that sentence. Shanda had been walking on thin ice lately. But it wasn’t her fault her father had no vision for house Bracken. She didn’t want to play second fiddle to the Blackwoods for the rest of her life. But he was set in his ways at his age and that meant ‘no sneaking into the borderlands to spy on our sworn rivals’. A foolish and dangerous act that she just couldn’t abide. Hence the sneaking tomfoolery.

“Look I need to get the knife back and I need to figure out what they’re up to. Surely this is suspicious behavior!”

Martyn only shook his head looking thoughtful.

“He could just be doing rounds.”

“In the borderlands? You don’t see our father wasting you there, why would they?”

Sighing heavily he replied, “I don’t know dear sister and I’m too tired to care. Don’t do anything stupid and I’ll see about getting you out again.”

Despite her best efforts her face still lit up at his proclamation.

“No promises. Now go away and annoy someone else for a change huh?”

“Sure thing Martyn. Sleep well!”

Waving him off, she waited til Martyn was out of sight before booking it to the stables. It was time to convince Royce now. A much harder brother to move. Royce was three years younger than her and though seventeen, still incredibly immature. Which was why he was in the stables and wifeless. Not that she had a better track record when it came to potential suitors but she could sympathize with women not wanting to spend a significant amount of time around him.

Entering the stables, Shanda could smell the fresh hay that was being spread out. Reminding her of her own duties she was neglecting while outside brother negotiating. The tasks would hold, this could not.

“Royce? Are you here?”

“No, go away.”

Groaning and already regretting the decision to talk to him, she made her way back towards the corral.

“Wonderful to see you brother.”

“As wonderful as an arrow in the eye. What do you want?”

Royce sat on a barrel, cutting an apple open and eating slices from the blade. In the distance, sounds of horses whinnying could be heard. Shanda decided to cut the pleasantries and get to the point.

“I want you to take me riding. Name your price.”

He smirked, weighing the statement while continuing to eat the apple. Mouth half full he said, “Get me out of the Sept gathering.”

She stood there mouth half agape. Get him out of the mourning ceremony? Genuinely speechless, she just stared at him for a full moment before shaking her head and gathering her thoughts.

“Right. That isn’t for a fortnight though and I need to go riding soon.”

He shrugged.

“Ugh. What else do you want?It’s already going to take a miracle to get you out of the ceremony. Which you should go to. ” She pinched the skin in between her eyes, exasperated.

“Well you shouldn’t sneak out at night but then neither of us is exactly the picture of a perfect person.”

That made her look up. “How did you..? Nevermind, mind your own business Royce. Figure out your price, we ride today. I don’t care if it storms, all the better. I’ll be back after dusk.”

Not bothering to hear his reply she left in a huff. Crossing the yard swiftly she made her way back inside, heading up the stairs into the library tower. Arriving in the room, the familiar sight of rows and rows of shelves met her eyes. Shanda takes the first real deep breath she’s had since yesterday as she sits at her desk. Already two messages have arrived, one about the recent steel shipment that she files away for a conversation with her father. The other is a letter from another of her brothers, Gerald who was currently doing bridge repairs.

Neither captures her attention and soon she finds herself in front of the window gazing out. Not at the yard below but at the trees in the distance. The leaves shimmer and twist in the blowing breeze, almost as if dancing to a hypnotic rhythm. What is the heir doing in the borderlands? The tall grass looks dark and forbidding, jutting up in front of the keep, weaving and swaying back and forth. How long has he been on guard duty? The clouds now a deep rolling luster of plum, illuminate as lightning strikes down the sky. Silently and slowly the rain begins to fall resolute. Would they put him on guard two nights in a row?

The first slow roll of thunder startles her back into the present moment. It didn’t matter, she decided, if he was on guard or not. She had to go back tonight, without Martyn. She’d wait longer, spend the day leisurely and then steal out in the dead of night. It was, of course, a foolish plan. That didn’t matter though, she’d be more prepared tonight and have a solid alibi lined up. It would be more foolish to waste this golden opportunity. All she had to do was make it through dinner, ride out with Royce, avoid martin and then sneak out of the yard tonight. After that she hoped only to find her knife and continue reconnaissance from a safe distance. Easy peasy right?

It was not so. The gods must truly find the riverlanders to be the most accursed of all beings. As the day progressed the storm grew to such a height it would’ve been impossible to ride out in it. It built much like it had the night before, growing to a cloying suffocating state that drenched any and everything. But it had given her an excuse to pull the ripped cloak out and wear it outside as she raced to meet Royce in the stables. Unable to ride didn’t mean he was unable to assist her in this endeavor. All she needed was a warm body and a viable excuse for why her very nice cloak had a nasty gash through the side.

The storm raged against the stables and the horses were restless in their stalls. Royce was sitting, relatively dry she noted, on a stack of hay.

“No riding out in this, sister.”

Shanda smiled, nodding. “I agree.” Then she grabbed a horse shoeing tool off the table and ripped at the already torn cloak.

Satisfied it looked like she’d clumsily tripped into a workbench and once stuck had ripped herself free of it. It was believable enough and she’d already made a deal with Royce for his support should she be questioned too much about it.

“No worries brother. We spent the evening playing games and watching the storm clouds. After which I tripped and ripped my cloak. Very sad and wholly unavoidable.”

“Whatever. Just get me out of the ceremony.”

“Of course. Anyway, I’m going to my room now.”

Departing from the stables, she was immediately soaked through but she did not return to her chambers or even the main keep. Instead she made her way into their private sept. It was freezing and the dim light threw wild shadows against the white stone walls. Only a few small candles lent any light to the room but she was unafraid, striding in and standing before the one stained glass window they owned. On it was a rainstorm depicted and in the dim flickering light the window shone iridescent. The window also depicted a large tree, white with branches ever reaching up. She felt small in the shadow of it.

“Can I help you dear?”

The scratchy voice of old septa Beck made her jump. Her head was in knots today. Why had she come here again? She couldn’t remember. Did she even have a reason? She glanced back at the window, forgetting about the septa. Lightning flashed and the leaves on the window seemed to weep red in the light.

“No. No thanks, Septa Beck. I was just saying a quick prayer before bed.” Shanda smiled gently at her before casting the window one last look and leaving the sept. From there she did return to her chambers, it was time to prepare and plan

Pt.3

[dark-frosted-heart]

Roger Barel Main Route - Chapter 2

As usual, can’t guarantee 100% accuracy on this. I’m doing this for archiving purposes and you can probably find a better translation out there.

Roger: …Yeah, last night was pretty hot, wasn’t it lil’ lady?

(N-no way…Me and Roger?)

Just the thought of what could’ve happened in bed set my face ablaze.

Kate: Thank you for bringing me back. I’m sorry for the trouble… But…to make a move on someone drunk

(Sure it’s my fault for not remembering what happened last night, but still…)

Unable to deal with this embarrassment, I scowled at Roger.

Roger: Sorry for any outrageous expectations you had, but I didn’t do any of that to you.

Kate: Right, I let my guard down and was eaten up…what? You didn’t…?

Roger: Yeah. The moment Ellis and I brought you here, you threw up.

Kate: …I threw up?

Roger: Yeah. Violently.

I froze, eyes wide, as I realized that something even more shameful happened.

Roger: But don’t you worry. Ellis had the sense to call a maid to undress you.

Kate: …Then why are you dressed like that, Roger?

(Also earlier…)

Kate: Didn’t you say that “last night was pretty hot”!

Roger: I was gonna leave after you fell asleep. But you grabbed my shirt like it was your favorite stuffed toy and wouldn’t let go. So I had no choice but to sleep here. It was “hot” last night ‘cause of your high body heat.

(Um…so that means I got drunk and caused trouble for others?)

Kate: I am so terribly sorry…!

I bowed on the bed while still wrapped up in the sheets.

Roger: …I thought so.

(You thought what?)

He suddenly grabbed my chin and our eyes met.

Kate: …??

Roger: Had been thinking about it, but…you’re like a dog.

Kate: Dog?

Roger: You’re just like my corgi back at home. He barks and yaps, digs his own grave, and makes himself sad. Just like you.

Kate: Wha?!

Roger: Haha, show me that pitiful face. I couldn’t see well without my glasses on.

Kate: Then put your glasses on?! Or rather, you’re too close. Please let go of me, now.

Roger: I get more fired up when someone tells me no or says they don’t want to.

Provoked, I was about to start whining like Roger’s corgi…when someone knocked on the door.

Liam’s voice: Kate, are you awake? I made breakfast that’s easy to eat after drinking if you want it?

Harrison’s voice: No response. I wonder if she’s lying dead inside right now. They say that the day after drinking a lot is dangerous.

Liam’s voice: What?! Kate, Kate, are you alive?!

I could hear Liam and Harrison from the other side of the door.

(They came to check on me because they were worried. B-but…)

I wanted to open the door, but I wasn’t wearing anything.

Worse…Roger’s here.

Roger: You’ve only been here a week, but everyone already likes you.

Kate: Now’s not the time for that!

(What sort of misunderstanding would they have if they saw Roger half-naked in my room…)

Liam’s voice: If anything happened to Kate, I’d…Sorry, I’m coming in.

Kate: Ah.

Roger: Haha. They’ve seen everything.

--

(...This is the worst)

To be honest, I wish I could forget everything that happened after the door opened.

When Liam and Harrison saw Roger and me on the bed, they froze like statues and I spent half an hour frantically explaining that “nothing happened last night between us.”

—Finally clearing up the misunderstanding, we sat down for breakfast.

Roger: Glad everything was cleared up, lil’ lady. The way you tried to explain yourself was adorable.

Kate: …And whose fault was it that I had to explain myself.

Roger: I wonder. Let me know if you find out?

(Ugh, he has a comeback for everything)

(I’d like to withdraw the thought that he was a mature older brother with common sense…)

And correct it to…Roger’s an extremely egotistical person who’s a bully, pushy, and treats people like dogs.

But it’s definitely thanks to Roger that this fruit sandwich I’m having for breakfast tastes delicious again and that I have the energy to argue.

(I don’t know if I should feel happy or frustrated)

Kate: Huh? Now that I think about it, it’s rare to see everyone together today.

Elbert: Yeah…Because Victor called us.

At that moment, light footsteps were heard coming into the dining room.

Victor: Good morning my beloved Cursed Ones and Fairytale Master!

Harrison: You’re too loud.

Victor: I’ve gathered you all here today to discuss something important.

(Discuss something important? What could it be…)

The usually cheerful Victor looked serious.

Victor: Am I making Kate work too hard?

Kate: ……Excuse me?

Victor: I’m the one that made you Fairytale Keeper and asked you to record Crown’s evil deeds! But I can’t possibly imagine the burden it must be to record all nine members. It was a huge oversight on my part. So we’re now going to have a contest for the rights to an exclusive Fairytale Keeper. Yay!

Kate: Exclusive Fairytale Keeper…contest?

Harrison: That topic came out of nowhere that it’s hard to keep up. In short, you’re going to be the personal Fairytale Keeper to one of us.

Kate: I see. Thanks for the simple explanation.

Liam: I want you to be my exclusive Fairytale Keeper. Then I’d always be with you.

Ellis: If you become mine…will you be happy? I’ll do my best then.

They each had their own motives, but were all interested and fought over the kind of contest.

Victor: Tada! I made this just in case something like this ever happened.

(This is…)

Victor: A fair and square ladder lottery*.

With the lottery, it was decided that the contest was going to be arm wrestling— 

Victor: And the winner is—Roger Barel!

Roger: Well, it was bound to happen. Their muscles are just for show. The only one looking bony was Ellis.

The tournament became everyone else vs Roger, with the goal of beating him.

Despite never taking a break, Roger won one game after another, winning them all.

Also Jude was given a forfeit since he disappeared half-way through.

Roger: Now then, lil’ lady. I wanted you to be my exclusive Fairytale Master no matter what, you know?

He looked at me so passionately that my heart skipped a beat.

(What reason did Roger want me to be his exclusive…)

Roger: Organizing materials and helping me with research and investigations…Research is a lot of work. I’m in a situation where I’m gonna a hand from a dog. I’m counting on you, Kate.

(Hm? …Dog?)

Kate: So you’re saying…you need a dogsbody?

That sly grin gave a clear answer…

(You are the worst…!)

--

A few hours later, Roger was in the palace office with investigation reports in hand, along with Victor and William.

Roger: Victor. These are the results of the analysis on the illegal marijuana seized during a recent mission that you asked me to do.

Victor: Thank you. Your quick work’s always a big help.

Roger:  By the way, I wanna ask why you rigged the lottery to arm wrestling so that I’d win.

William: Haha…see Victor. Roger’s a sharp man. It’s best to confess.

Facing blood-red eyes full of amusement, Victor held his hands up in defeat.

Victor: I surrender. I’ll confess. To tell you the truth, I’m still wary of Vogel. They publicly claim that they want to deepen our friendship, but I’m certain that they have other motives. Should they plan to harm us in any way… You know who they would go after first, right?

Roger: …Our lovely Fairytale Keeper.

Victor: Yes. Therefore I thought you’d be the best to protect her. You always keep your composure and you’ve got a strong arm.

Roger: Thanks. But in the end, it all depends on the person themself. I can only do so much.

William: Is that a no then?

Roger: No…I’ll look after her for the time being. Been needing a dogsbody you know?

With some sort of hidden meaning in his words, Roger agreed to their proposal.

Roger: Oh right, you can transfer the remuneration for the report later. See ya.

A steady man never forgets to mention that before leaving.

Victor: Roger really is a shrewd and rational man.

William: Vic, like Vogel, you haven’t revealed everything yet. …What’s the “other purpose” for having Roger and Kate work together?

Victor: Roger’s a strong man. Not just physically and mentally, but he’s also someone that can survive all on his own.

William: Perhaps. I’ve never seen him distressed or depressed.

Victor: It’s wonderful to be unshakeable. However—Unpredictable chemical changes is what makes life so interesting.

William: So you paired the two to satisfy your own curiosity? Ahahaha, you’re as terrible as ever.

Victor: You don’t need to tell me that. You know I’m not a good person.

William: Yes, to your very core.

–

After becoming Roger’s exclusive Fairytale Master, I was assigned to organizing his basement lab.

Kate: I don’t think this is in a Fairytale Master’s job description.

Seeing the books scattered everywhere and piles of paper on the desk, I glanced at Roger.

Roger: A Fairytale Master should get a variety of perspectives so that time isn’t wasted.

That’s a stretch

Are you trying to win me over? 

That may be true +4 +4

Kate: That…may as well be true.

Roger: Your honesty’s a virtue.

Kate: Did you say something?

Roger: Nothing. Come one, let’s get to work.

The lab was filled with an extensive amount of medical books, equipment, and chemicals that I’ve never even seen before.

(It’s pretty amazing…)

Roger used to be a doctor and had been treating the members’ injuries since joining Crown.

He still continued with his research and trials, and some of the books had difficult to understand titles.

(...What exactly is Roger researching?)

One by one, I picked books off a stack and shelved them by subject.

(Um, this is anatomy so…it goes here)

The moment I reached for the shelf, I felt a presence behind me.

(...)

The warmth on my back was obviously his pecs…

Kate: Roger, you can’t just go around touching someone just because no one’s around!

Sandwiched between the shelf and Roger, I wobbled around in place to face him. His eyes were narrowed in displeasure as he placed a hand on the top shelf.

Roger: You know you can stop treating people like starving beasts like you did the other day. I just wanted to get this book off your head.

(Um…so I misunderstood?)

Roger: Well…you do look pretty good though.

Kate: …

I gasped when Roger took advantage of my confusion and closed the distance between us.

…But then stepped away.

Roger: I quit. It’s gonna be too much trouble.

Kate: Future trouble?

Roger: Kate. Do you think romantic love exists in this world?

I’m sure every adult has thought about love.

But I’ve never thought about its “existence”.

Kate: I think there are people who don’t fall in love. But if you’re asking if it exists, it does, doesn’t it?

Roger: That’s the general consensus. However, I believe that romantic love doesn't exist in this world. What you call romantic love’s just a dysfunction of the brain or a misunderstanding caused by sexual desire.

I suddenly remembered the book I had picked up earlier, “Functional Anatomy and Maturation Process of the Brain”.

(Love can be explained through the brain’s structure, right…?)

Kate: But if romantic love’s not a dysfunction or misunderstanding…

Roger: There’s no rational explanation for it at the moment. You can’t separate love from human society, but it’s never been proven. I don’t believe in or value anything that can’t be proven through science or medicine.

Kate: So, then when you…

Roger: When I do it, it’s for release. Once it’s done, that’s it. We mutually agree on no repeats.

Kate: T-that’s to the point.

(But that’s typical of Roger with his rational mindset that doesn’t like pointless things)

Roger: Well, having said that, I’ll play with you for as long as I can if you’re fine with it. Ah, but you’ll have to keep it a secret from the rest of Crown.

His somewhat seductive smile sent my heart racing.

Kate: I’ll pass.

Roger: Haha, how boring.

Currently, my goal was to complete my job as Fairytale Keeper safely. There was no time to think about love.

(No one can predict how people fall in love with each other)

(Meaning it’s not impossible, but)

There’s no way Roger and I would fall in love…I think

—Yeah, biggest and only goal at the moment was to complete my job as Fairytale Keeper safely.

The day after I became Roger’s personal Fairytale Keeper was when my job started.

My first assignment…was to infiltrate a “death party”.

-

*Stealing a tears of themis ladder lottery example

Dogsbody is British slang for someone who does menial tasks. Not related to a dog itself, but still kinda fitting?

[zurdurer]

Stranger ramblings because I am a broken man - this is literally just about the fact dbb and gpt sing each part of this lol

I wrote this half asleep so please excuse any over explaining or whatever, I'm copin w exam season and i needed enough context for it to make sense to whatever unfortunate member of my family i decided to throw it at

Drumbot Brian is cast away, killed by the people he wanted only to help. Called a witch for his abilities and mechanical prowess when he used his machines to revive a priest. His work clashed with the religion of where he had landed and was strictly a last resort to the townsfolk. After saving the priest from breaching the veil of death a mob was gathered, determined to put an end to this man who played God. They fired him into the cold of space using his own machinery.

Brian is benevolent, moral; he does only what he believes to be right. However, he is never allowed full control of his own situation. He was near completely stripped of his humanity by Dr Carmilla, his moral trajectory can be changed at the flip of a literal switch. He only wants to help, he only wants to love and be loved back. He knows that when people learn about that aspect of his mechanism and what he can and will do when the change is made there is a risk of them manipulating it - him - to their benefit.

This is why ‘Stranger’ is so utterly heartbreaking. Of course the story behind it is tragic:

A crane visits a man disguised as a woman and falls in love, they marry and live together happily. Over time though, the crane grows sick as it sells its feathers to support them both. One day everything changes, the man discovers the true nature of the crane. He says he cannot love her any further, that she has to leave, he cannot see through her deception. Heartbroken, it respects his wishes and leaves but as she goes it tells him “You are not worthy of loving a Crane.”

Now, in the song it is Brian and Tim singing the parts of Cranewife and husband; Brian playing the Cranewife. This is incredibly important to who he is as if you look at the folktale and compare it to Brian’s experience there are a great deal of similarities.

Brian wanted only to help the townsfolk with his gifts, the Cranewife only wanted to love and support the man he (it?) loved. Neither want to be alone, in fact: Brian makes a point to never sing or perform by himself, not singing at all during the retelling of his own tale. Both give up parts of themselves, to the severest degree, to help others and yet despite all of this they are rejected and cast off. Something changes. The truth about the Cranewife is discovered just as the extent of Brian’s abilities are and they are looked upon with nothing  but disdain and fear.

Similarly, in ‘The Ignominious Demise of Dr Pilchard’, Drumbot seems particularly upset that their kidnapper hadn’t believed what he told him and accused him of lying. This was likely also to be the case when in ‘The Hanged Man Rusts’ Arthur and Gawain didn’t listen to him. Drumbot is an honest man, he takes it rather strongly when people cannot place trust in him or his word for he knows he is not a liar. He knows when people think they have been lied to they feel threatened, when they feel threatened they often don’t hesitate to hurt him.

When the Cranewife is discovered, it is accused of “spinning falsehoods into gold,” but repeats the phrase, “I meant no deceit”. It didn’t mean to lie, he didn’t want to lie. He was living truly but concealing a secret out of fear for that rejection. Not a misplaced fear though as we learn from the line, “In your place a monster I do see”.

This story is an anecdote, of course, but it sounds almost personal to Brian. As though this is what he himself has lived before or after becoming a mechanism. Even if it is not his own, him singing it feels almost like he is healing from the trauma that haunts him. Afterall, this is one of the last things we hear from him before his death. His death being something I believe to be a sign that he could face himself, his past, and give himself the chance to return to the biting cold that should have taken him aeons before.

Not only is it important that Drumbot Brian sang the part of the Cranewife, but also that Gunpowder Tim sang the part of the husband. Tim’s mechanism is his eyes after they got burnt away by a blast strong enough to annihilate the moon. Before this, however, he had been blinded more metaphorically. After the death of his close friend Bertie during the war waged by the Moon Kaiser he fell into a deep bloodlusting rage where quick and mad he carved through the Kaiser’s men. He was eventually captured by the Kaiser which led to the loss of his eyes and the introduction to his new ‘immortal’ life as a mechanism.

From this point on, near every character Tim has played has had some sort of issue with foresight, actual vision or a combination of the two. In ‘Ulysses Dies at Dawn’ he plays Oedipus who is not only blind after gouging out his own eyes but also failed to recognise the identities of his mother and father along with the Olympian’s plans to drive him off world. In ‘High Noon Over Camelot’ he plays Gawain, a hot headed young man with a blind hatred for the Ghouls. In ‘The Bifrost Incident’ he plays Loki whose own mind is hidden from her. In the song ‘Alice’ he plays Major Hare who is likely rather short sighted as he fails to notice a doormouse sat in the teapot he is sharing with opposing Major Hatter.  In ‘Pieces’ he plays Osiris, changed and unreachable after being rebuilt by Isis. In ‘Twisted Threads’ he plays Arachne who cannot see the web Athena has caught her in. This trend persists in ‘Stranger’ where he plays the husband.

The man could not recognise the true nature of the Cranewife until it began to get weaker. When he found what he had thought he loved in a form he described as a “metal demon”, he was blinded by fear and betrayal. Unable to see the person he loved, he couldn’t listen to its begging for him to listen and understand.

Anyway they make me sick and I can't be normal about them :]

[exitpursuedbyavulcan]

The Silver Dragon (7)

Cold Fire

Having been worse than ignored by Daemon at the funeral, Arianwyn finally comes face to face with her father.

Pairing: Aemond Targaryen x OC (Daemon and Rhea's daughter)

Warnings: none

Author's Note: daddy's home...

Series Masterlist - Previous Chapter - Next Chapter

The first time Arianwyn called someone ‘papa,’ it was not Prince Daemon Targaryen.

King Viserys had come to the nursery to see her dragon. He’d made a habit of doing so about once per week. Arianwyn and Aemond loved when he came, for they would get to sit on his big, soft lap and listen to him tell stories.

Aemond fell asleep halfway through the first story. It was about a beautiful Valyrian princess who lived her life confined in a tower, who only escaped when a handsome Valyrian prince fell in love with her without even seeing her and rescued her on his great dragon. That story was a particular favorite of hers.

She snuggled closer to the king, holding her dragon – who was also asleep – in her arms. “Read another one, papa?”

The king frowned, his face crinkling. “Oh, little Aria, I’m not your papa.”

How could that be? Aegon and Aemond called him ‘father,’ and Helaena called him ‘papa.’ Why was it different for her? “Why not?”

“Because someone else is your father,” the king said. “Your father is my brother – he is your papa. I am your uncle, your kepa.”

She considered for a moment. Aunt was her aunt, not her mother, and Aunt was married to the king. She supposed it made sense. “Where is my papa?”

“He is…” the king, Uncle, looked away from her, out the window to the sea. “He is far away.”

“When is he coming back?”

“I don’t know, my sweet.” He looked sad. Very sad.

Arianwyn did not want him to be sad. If he was sad, he wouldn’t read to her more. “Which story is your favorite, Uncle Kepa?”

He laughed, but she didn’t know why. But he began reading again, so it was fine.

That evening, once Aegon and Helaena had returned from wherever they went during the day, Arianwyn explained what she had learned to Helaena and Aemond. But Aegon laughed at her when she mentioned her father and how she couldn’t wait for him to come back.

“Why would he come back?” he asked.

It seemed like a silly question to her. “To see me.”

Aegon shook his head. “He doesn’t want to or need to. He has a new family across the sea – two new daughters. Besides, he’s had more than ten years to see you. If he wanted to, he would have done it already.”

Aemond started to yell at him and threw a stuffed velvet rabbit at him. But Arianwyn said nothing.

What Aegon said felt like the truth. She could feel it in her chest like the weight of half a dozen books. Her father stayed across the sea because she did not want to see her – he did not want to be her father.

She never called anyone ‘papa’ again.

The main dining room at High Tide was as lavish as the rest of the castle. A great table, some twenty feet long, ran through the center of the room. From the uneven grain and sun-bleached color of the wood itself, it was clear to all who laid eyes on it that it had been constructed of driftwood – Lord Corlys was many things, but subtle he was not. The twenty-two chairs set around the table were made of the same wood, backboards reaching up in points shaped by the sea.

Prince Daemon Targaryen sat on one of these chairs – at the head of the table – slouching with disinterest as he picked at the wood of the armrest with his fingernails. He did not look up when the queen entered the room, his daughter trailing sheepishly behind her.

Arianwyn thought her heart would burst out of her chest for how fast it beat. She could no more decipher her own churning feelings than the expression on her father’s face. She curtsied, just as her Septa had instructed. But she said nothing.

Neither did Daemon.

After long moments of silence, the queen spoke. “My Prince, may I introduce the Lady Arianwyn.” She fixed him with her most withering glare. “Your daughter.”

“Yes, I can see that,” the Prince drawled, at last looking at the girl. He scanned his violet eyes over her like she were livestock to be appraised. “She has her mother’s piggy little nose.”

Arianwyn clenched her fist to prevent her hand from flying to her face, resisting the instinct to cover the apparently offensive feature. A fire ignited in her heart, setting her blood boiling.

The queen herself had to bite her tongue to hold back a curt reply. Instead, she smoothed the front of her dress and spoke again. “I am pleased to say that she is a fine, accomplished young lady. She has excelled in her studies, and the Dragonkeepers report she is equally talented as a dragonrider.”

Daemon grinned as if he had been told a foul joke. “I’d heard the egg hatched. Let me guess, a bronze she-dragon?”

Forcing out a shaking breath, Arianwyn shook her head.

Her father pursed his lips, “Pity. You could have called it after your mother. Few enemies would stand a chance against the Bronze Bitch.”

“How dare you?” Arianwyn spat, her oath of silence and indifference entirely abandoned. “How dare you insult my mother?”

Alicent placed a hand on her niece’s elbow to calm the girl’s rage. But Arianwyn ripped her arm away, stalking around the massive table to advance on her father. “You’ve never cared about me for a single moment of my entire life. And now, after ten years, you finally ask to see me only so you can insult me and continue to defame the woman you tortured in life?” She reached the end of the table, fire blazing in her grey eyes as she stared down at Daemon. “What kind of cowardly monster are you?”

Sighing, Daemon pulled himself from his chair. He was so much taller than her, even when he leaned to brace his hands on either side of the driftwood table. “I did not ask to see you.”

Something cracked in Arianwyn’s chest at those words, as the last shred of a primal, desperate hope for reconciliation with her father – a hope she did not know she still held – died. Tears finally spilled from her eyes, and she whirled around toward Alicent.

The queen’s heart broke when she saw the utter devastation on the girl’s face – knowing she had been its architect. “I am so sorry, Aria,” she breathed. “I thought… A child should know her father.”

Before either woman could say anything more, Daemon strolled casually around the opposite end of the table, a self-satisfied smile across his lips. “If you’ll excuse me, ladies, but there are people in this castle I should like to meet.”

Neither Alicent nor Arianwyn moved a muscle until the door had thudded shut behind him. Then and only then did Arianwyn fall to her knees, letting out a cry that would shatter the frozen heart of an ice dragon.

Arianwyn cried for hours, despite Alicent and Brynna’s attempts to soothe her. But there was no calming her fury. It continued to grow, burning brighter and hotter than even the black fire of Balerion, a ferocity that could only come from a shattered Targaryen heart.

She had told herself that she did not care what Daemon thought of her, that she had lived her life happily enough without him, and even that she hated him after what he had done to Rhea. Yet, true as those feelings were, there remained a piece of her soul that yearned for the love and approval of her only remaining parent. To have that piece destroyed, even when it was suppressed for so long, was a wound from which most would never recover.

But Arianwyn was not just any girl. She was the blood of Old Valyria and the daughter of Runestone. She would endure.

When her throat was raw from screaming and her eyes at last dry of tears, she let the fire that burned in her soul cool. It was not quenched – nor would it be for many years to come. Instead, the sprawling red blaze in her chest joined together in a single flame of crackling silvery blue. This fire burned not with heat, but a cold that made the icy fields beyond the Wall look like a scorching Dornish desert.  

Fire burned in the soul of every Targaryen born – but precious few had ever burned cold.

Alicent offered to have dinner brought up to Arianwyn, but she refused. She would not hide in a tower like a damsel from a story. She would walk once more into that dining room with her head held high and look upon her father with her mother’s grey eyes. She would show him just how like Rhea she was – that even bent and cracked, she would not break.

[koolades-world]

Obey me! height headcanons

This isn’t revolutionary but I couldn’t stop thinking about this, especially asmo’s. For reference, I’m 5’2 and almost all of my shoes have platforms or are raised in some way because I like pretending I am taller than I actually am 💋 although in this case I think I’m winning for once (please tall people let me know what it’s like, the tallest person in my family is my dad at 5’5)

While I half wanted to make them unnaturally tall but I kept them within human possibility since these were their humans forms

1. Beel

100% the tallest, a beefcake of a man. Perfect for a boost up high, like during hanging up decorations or cleaning. When it’s the twins birthday, it’s a struggle to hang up the decorations. Nobody is as reliable as him. I imagine he’s about 6’3 or 6’4. The best for using scary dog privileges, going anywhere with him guarantees elite treatment. It would be so easy for me to get piggy back rides cause he wouldn’t want to leave me behind

2. Lucifer

He can’t be that far behind. I imagine him at like 6’2. Part of the reason people are scared or HoL is because of his height. Me personally, I’m scared by anyone I have to look right up at and he definitely falls in this category. Lucifer would make me shit my pants. At least Beel isn’t consult scowling and yelling. Would definitely use his height to my advantage, like making him clear a path for my through a crowd or to tell the fast food worker I wanted no pickles on my burger.

3. Levi

I definitely picture him as a taller dude, but nobody can every guess because he has terrible posture and is always staring down. Like, tall Levi is doing something for me. Lanky little gamer guy that no one knew was actually like 5’10 because 95% of the time he’s at home and the other 5% is when he’s playing a game.

4. Belphie

Another one I picture as lanky, but is constantly asleep so people don’t realize. He’s always curled up somewhere. Another sloucher 100%. He still insists on being carried around by Mammon even though he’s taller. Probably 5’9 or 5’10

5. Satan

I feel like he’s the Mr. Average in the height department. He’s the only brother who’s a demon, so it makes sense to me that he’s the most normal. Not that being super tall or short is bad, but he would fit in the most (which is saying a lot). I think he’s about 5’8. Demons are probably tall since it’s harder to intimidate a human if they’re taller than you. Nobody dares to comment on this, though. If they’re not Mc, you’re probably going to die which lucky us!! we are mc

6. Mammon

Short king! Not the shortest but I feel like him being not super tall adds to his appeal as a tsundere. He’s just short and (pretending to be) angry. I think he’s 5’6 or 5’7. He gets made fun of his height by his brothers even though Asmo is shorter. I like to think he also likes shoes that make him taller, it seems very him. he’s just cute ok <33

7. Asmo

He’s not that short but he just happens to be the shortest in their family. I imagine him about 5’6 which is funny to me to think this twink is taller than my father. I’m foaming at the mouth thinking about sharing a wardrobe with him, and if you happen to been a similar height to him, then it’s like you just won the lottery. I’m dying to have a mini fashion show with him 😭 it’s kinda funny to me to think that Asmo, who I personally think is the shortest, is stronger than Beel, who’s universally agreed to be the tallest. Height isn’t everything is what I learned from this

[random0lover]

Johnny ‘Soap’ Mactavish Head Canon’s - dad edition (kinda)

This all occurs some time after mw2 so I think Johnny would be about 27-28 (this is just my opinion so you don’t have to include this part if you don’t want.

Here’s a Pinterest board I made to go with this… kinda struggled with this one tbh

Notes: kinda got carried away and gave a backstory… this is messy af. Wrote all of this while I was super tired and my brain was only half computing so I hope it makes sense. Oh this also is not edited *cries in exhaustion*

Word Count: 3,500 (damn I got carried away)

Warnings: I don’t really think there are any, SFW, afab!reader, pregnancy, marriage, children, fluff.

- you two definitely had a whirlwind romance and probably met through a friend. Would love to say that you were a friend of Gaz.

- You knew he was on leave for almost 2 months (him and Soap were pretty messed up after a mission gone wrong) so you called him and he invited you out to a pub that he and his friend were going to that night.

- Once you got there and introductions were out of the way, Soap spent hours trying to make you laugh and trying to get to know you.

- The night ended with you helping a very drunk Gaz and Soap stumble back to Gaz’s flat. You spent the whole walk trying not to laugh when Soap would trip over his feet or when Gaz would start belting out lyrics to random songs.

- The next morning you woke up to a text from Soap- he had insisted on adding his number to your phone after his sixth drink- the contact name was a bar of soap. He was asking if you wanted to hang out again.

- You ended up spending everyday day together even if it was only for a few hours.

- It was the second week of his leave that you shared your first kiss. Gaz had gotten in contact with some of his other friends and you all went out for the night. You were standing out on the balcony of the little restaurant just staring at the view of the town below you.

- He joined you quietly- Johnny was never quiet unless he’s deep in thought- and it was a comfortable silence. Everything was comfortable with him and you’d honestly never gotten this close with anyone so fast and it kinda scared you.

- You know the whole situation where the girl says “beautiful isn’t it?” While she’s staring out at their surroundings and the guy says “yeah it really is” but he’s staring at her instead? Yeah that’s what happened that night on the roof.

- You felt his eyes on you so you looked over at him. He cupped both sides of your face while staring into your eyes and slowly leaned in to kiss you. You completed the kiss though.

- You didn’t sleep together that night but he did come home with you. You spent the whole night together just laying in bed with your head on his chest, sometimes just laying in silence, other moments were spent kissing and laughing. Just really enjoying each other’s company.

- It was the day before he and Gaz had to go back to base that you two finally made love. I don’t mean fucking I mean actually making love. There were tears sometimes coming from both of you but mainly you. You spent hours in bed getting to know each other's bodies.

- You woke up at about 2 am to him laying awake staring at the ceiling- he was confused tbh he’d never felt like this for anyone and he’d been with his fair share of people but no one had ever made him feel like you did-.

- You laid there with him just rubbing his chest when he told you he loved you. At first you didn’t know what to say. You knew the feelings you felt were more than just liking someone. So you told him you loved him too and made him promise to come back to you.

- He held you in his arms until you fell back asleep and when you woke he was gone. An old set of his dog tags lay on the pillow he slept on.

- You wore them around your neck only taking them off to shower and that’s it.

- It was four- almost five- months before you saw him again.

- You were rushing around your flat trying to get all your stuff together for a doctor's appointment when you heard a knock on your door. You opened it to find a fidgeting Johnny.

- Your mind was racing and you were trying not to panic. You honestly didn’t know if you would ever see him again. Your hand comes down to rest on your stomach, a habit you developed after finding out you were pregnant.

- You just staring at him with a slack jaw wasn’t helping his nerves one bit and you knew that but you couldn’t help it.

- “Bonnie?”

- As soon as the word left his mouth you let out a sob and leapt into his arms.

- He held you for a moment before pulling back to look at your tear streaked face before giving you a teasing smile, “Can I come in?”

- As soon as you stepped away from him your mind started racing but you let him in while you went to the kitchen to get yourself a bottle of water.

- You heard him go into the living room and didn’t think anything of it until you heard the duffel bag he was carrying fall onto the ground with a hard thump.

- He was standing by your coffee table holding an ultrasound picture that you got from your last doctor's appointment and you felt your mouth go dry.

- You didn’t know what to say. Today you were supposed to find out if it was a girl or a boy. You also knew for a fact that it was Johnny’s. He was the only person that you hand slept with in months and you didn’t get with anyone after he left.

- “It’s yours.”

- He didn’t say anything, just kept staring at that damn picture.

- You were starting to panic. You wouldn’t force him to stay, you promised yourself that if he wanted nothing to do with the baby that he didn’t have to stay. You made the choice of keeping the baby yourself. Once you found out you did try calling his phone but of course it went directly to voicemail as he kept that phone off when he was deployed.

- “Johnny,” you let the words start flowing, “You don’t have to stay, I don’t expect you too. I know with your work you were hesitant even getting into a relationship nevertheless having a baby so I’ll understand if you want to leave.”

- He’s frozen for a moment before he takes three long strides across the room and he’s kissing you.

- “Don’t say that, I could never leave you.” He’s covering your face in kisses and you can’t help but giggle and he smiles down at you with tear filled eyes.

- “You’re pregnant.” He whispers against your lips and you giggle again before nodding.

- “I was actually supposed to be finding out the gender today,” you look down at your watch covered wrist, “my appointment is in 15 minutes if you want to come.”

- He gives you a wide smile before giving you another kiss, “Then what are we waiting for?”

This is where the actual hc’s start if you want to skip the mini story above.

- This man could absolutely not hold still while sitting in the little plastic chair beside you. His eyes would be bouncing around, he’d be drumming his fingers against your hand, and he would be readjusting himself constantly.

- When he found out you were having a boy he was shocked. (Mini hc) He lived in a family of girls, no brothers just sisters so to think he would have a little mini him made him ecstatic.

- Feel like he would be the type to jump up and hug the doctor quickly lol (since you are laying down on the bed)

- He tried to bring up marriage but you didn’t want to get married just because you were having a baby. Instead you wanted to just keep dating until it felt like the time was actually right instead of just jumping into it.

- He had a flat back in Scotland which is where you end up relocating to since he has family there that could help while he was deployed. It had two bedrooms and 2 full bathrooms.

- He would be supportive of whatever birthing plan you choose as long as you and the baby come out safe and healthy.

- When you’re further along he does the thing where he stands behind you and lifts your belly to take some of the weight off your back.

- Will massage your feet whenever you ask.

- Before the baby is born anytime he goes out shopping he’ll come back with something for the baby to the point that you had to buy a shelf with cubbies to start putting it all in.

- The further along you get the more worried he is about you doing too much to the point he won’t even let you make it off the couch before he’s gently pushing you back down into the cushions saying he can do whatever it is you were needing/wanting to do.

- Calls his mom all the time to ask questions and if it’s too late to call you’ll often find him either on his phone or computer scrolling through articles.

- Definitely talks to the baby all the time. Sometimes he’ll crouch down and push his forehead against your stomach and start whispering things you can’t hear.

- Read somewhere that putting headphones over your belly and playing music can help the baby.

- Would love seeing you walk around the flat with just his shirt on, definitely gets turned on by how your stomach pushes the shirt out.

- You had spent hours ordering things for the baby's nursery and as things slowly got delivered you’d wake in the middle of the night and find Johnny sitting in the baby's room surrounded by empty boxes and random parts to things.

- It was a month before your delivery date when Johnny had to ship out again and for once he was scared. He knew he needed to come back to you. No matter what he couldn’t let the little boy in your stomach grow up without a dad.

- It took hours of reassurance from you and his family before he felt slightly okay with leaving. He honestly felt guilty, his job was insanely dangerous but when he first took the job he never saw himself being in an actual relationship, never mind having a kid.

- He left that night with his heart in his throat and a promise that he would be back as soon as possible and that he would be there when the baby was born.

- He almost didn’t make it. You had been in labor for hours though trying your hardest to wait until your baby’s father was there to hold your hand and cut the umbilical cord. He stumbled in still in all his gear other than his guns, he was frantic hoping that he made it in time.

- When he came in you let out a sigh of relief and within 20 minutes your little boy was born.

- Johnny cried. Idc what you have to say I totally believe this man would cry once he heard your baby’s screaming cries.

- The whole time he would be smothering you with praise about how good of a job you did. His hands would be shaking but the moment he held his little boy he had never felt more grounded in his life.

- Would definitely want to pick a name that had meaning to you both.

- The only time he moved away from you was to cut the umbilical cord and to go to the bathroom, otherwise he never left your side. Not once.

- He did absolutely everything he could to help with your healing after the birth.

- When the baby would cry at night he would be out of bed before you could even hear it. Sometimes though he would wake to find your side of the bed empty. He would rush into the nursery feeling horrible for the fact that you had to wake up but it would all be washed away when he would see your happy little smile.

- If you had PPD, he would do anything he could to help. Even offering a few good therapists.

- Once you were okay with being alone he would try to find a day where he and the baby could be out of the flat for a few hours so that you could have time to do whatever you wanted to do. Showering, napping, gaming, reading, anything you wanted to do. He just wanted to make sure you had the time.

- Bath time is his favorite.

- Buys a bunch of little water safe toys and would sit in the tub with your precious baby and spend so much time just playing.

- Nap time. Would totally fall asleep just holding your little boy.

- Baby boy is a carbon copy of him when it comes to energy so by the end of the night they're both exhausted.

- Fast forward two years and Johnny thought it was time to propose. He decided to take you back to the little restaurant where you shared your first kiss. Before that though you spent hours having fun, walking around town and even went back to the pub you met at.

- As the night got closer to an end he became super nervous. You could tell something was up because he kept talking too fast and some moments would become dead silent.

- For his sake though you were going to pretend you didn’t notice.

- Totally wanted to do the whole ring in a champagne glass thing but was scared you would swallow it lmao.

- Instead he opted to get you a little puppy and on its collar the name tag said “will you marry me?”

- When you looked up you found Johnny down on one knee with a beaming smile.

- Stumbled through his speech and completely abandoned the one he had planned and written.

- You decided to go with a traditional Scottish wedding just a few months later.

- Once you were back from your honeymoon you and Johnny decided that is was time to find a bigger place as your son was getting bigger and bigger as the days went by.

- It was an older two story brick country home that had been renovated by the sellers. 4 bedroom 3 bath with an attached garage, it was on 4 acres of land, leaving plenty of space for the kids to grow into.

- Johnny is kinda a pain in the ass to pack with. He would be going through things to pack and would get so easily distracted, telling the stories behind each item.

- He would also have the role of distracting your son so that you could pack stuff without getting side tracked every two seconds.

- Would probably call Gaz and make his ass come help lmao and this leads to you having the whole task force lugging boxes and furniture around like it’s nothing. They would all insist that they didn’t need your help but would be ecstatic when you called into the back of the house that you made sandwiches.

- Fast forward about two years. Your son is 4 now.

- You had the whole group in your home. Johnny liked to have them all over for a meal the first week they were back from a deployment (he likes to tell them that you’re the one that’s asking them all to be there)

- That’s the night you tell him you’re pregnant. Zoom forwards some months and you find out it’s twin girls.

- Johnny passed out 💀

- This was a planned pregnancy 100%. You both wanted this pregnancy to be different from the first. Not that you weren’t grateful for that pregnancy, you both just didn’t want any surprises.

- He would make jokes about it being a two for one deal all the time.

- Would totally be willing to get a vasectomy after the girls were born.

- You were both happy with the amount of children you had and honestly didn’t want anymore.

- Playful dad completely. Can be serious when he needs to be though which is honestly not often but as the kids get older his stricter side would have to come out.

- Totally the type of dad that would wander into the kitchen to see what the kids are making and when they’re not looking would snatch some of whatever it is.

- Would be the dad to offer your kid a drink of beer because he knows they wouldn’t like it and it makes him laugh 💀

- Would build a tree house for them and as they get older would add more to it.

- When trick or treating he would secretly be eating the kid’s candy.

- birthday parties are so important to this man. Literally goes all out with a theme of the kids' choice. Like the house or whoever the party is being held looks like it got pulled out of the game/movie/book.

- Family game nights and movie nights.

- He would be so happy if any of your kids got into football as he loved it himself when he was a kid.

- Handles tantrums with distractions. Like handing them a glass of water or just helping them reload focus. King at handling tantrums. (He almost cried every time until he learned what to do.)

- Anytime you leave them all alone you know they’d be up to some mischief. One time you came home to see them all covered in paint in the backyard.

- Laser tag enthusiast. Your kids 100% got their competitiveness from him.

- Big on encouraging your kids to follow their dreams.

- He’s super amazing at science (mini hc 🤷🏻‍♀️) but when it comes to Language Arts he is like no help.

- Would go all out on science fairs and honestly just loves to help the kid with school projects.

- Had so much fun teaching them how to ride a bike but is the type to make them wear full gear complete with knee pads, elbow pads, helmet, and maybe even shin pads.

- Super protective dad.

- Would hold the same standard for all of your kids, doesn’t matter if they are a girl or a boy they are not dating until they turn 16.

- When introduced to girlfriends/boyfriends he would be completely welcoming but would have the underlying tone of “istg if you hurt my kid”.

- Would be accepting if any of your kids were part of lgbtq+ community. Would probably tell them about his “adventures” of his early 20’s *wink wink*

- Would teach all of them self defense and even how to use a few select weapons like knives, guns, and how to form a weapons out of “nothing” (what you have around)

- Would get tears in his eyes on prom night but would joke about using protection.

- Would not be ashamed about teaching your kids about safe sex. He knows at their age he was having sex and he would prefer for them to be safe and aware rather than being lost and making bad decisions.

- Patient dad energy fr. Would not yell at the kids when they're having to hold a flashlight for him but instead would try to keep a calm tone and maybe even show them what exactly he needs them to do.

- Teaches them how to make harmless little rockets. Nothing too serious and would only shoot a few feet into the air.

- First aid. Would make them take actual classes to make them become certified if for any reason they would need it.

- Would do spa nights with your daughters. Meaning face masks, letting them paint his nails, and would let them convince him to wax his nose hairs (only one time though cause it hurt like a bitch)

- Would want them to know that they can call him about anything. Even if it’s something they're scared of getting in trouble for. He would ensure them that their safety and well being tops everything so making sure they're okay would come before any punishments.

- Honestly, I don't think he would be too keen on punishments. Would prefer to sit down and talk about why they did what they did and would have a punishment that would focus on making sure they understood why what they did wasn’t okay.

- Chill dad until he’s not. Don’t fuck with his kids… that’s one way to get on his bad side

- Was super emotional when dropping them off at Uni.

- If they chose not to go to uni he would be supportive but would want to know their plans.

I think that’s it… this was a mess and I feel like it was more of a story type thing rather than hc’s *sigh* my brain is scrambled. I’m sorry if this is bad 😭

Requests are open but can’t guarantee when or if I’ll write them. I prefer more specific requests as I find them easier to write. Thanks for reading my loves <3

[avastrasposts]

The Pilot and his Girl - ch. 14

I'm sorry. Please feel free to yell at me.

Warnings Contain spoilers

Word count: 5.7k Chapter 15

You start pulling on your clothes as you come back from the bathroom, Frankie is already wrapped up in the bed sheets, half asleep as he pries open an eye to look at you. 

“I was thinking we should maybe not both sleep at the same time,” you say, reaching down for your boots. Frankie loses his sleepy look almost immediately and shoots up in bed, but you’re already holding your palm up to him.

“I’m taking the first watch, Frankie, no arguments. You didn’t sleep last night, I did, albeit behind the couch, but still. You need to sleep because to be frank, we’re gonna need you alert tomorrow more than me.”

“Cariño…” he starts to protest but you physically push him down onto the bed with your hands on his shoulders, and he lets you topple him over.

“Sleep, Frankie, I’m going to be outside the door, you’ll hear me shout if anything happens.” 

He looks up at you, trying to find an argument for taking the whole watch himself, but his brain is scrambled by adrenaline and sleep deprivation. The post-orgasm hormones don’t help either. 

“Leave the door open, wake me at three,” is all he manages before you kiss his lips and stroke his cheek, you swear he’s already asleep by the time you leave the room. 

Staying awake was harder than you thought, sitting on one of the bar stools by the kitchen counter stops you from dozing off, but you still feel like your jaw is going to pop as you yawn widely. Your gun is on the counter in front of you as you study the ring Frankie slipped onto your finger. The delicate gold band is thin, three simple diamonds set in a row, with room, you notice, for more diamonds along the band. You know Frankie isn’t the kind of guy to spend three months pay on a ring just so that it’s as big as possible, he would pick the ring that meant something to him and make it mean something to you too. You run your fingers over the diamonds, three in a row, you’ll have to ask him tomorrow. 

At three am you gently walk into the bedroom to wake Frankie, but he sleeps too lightly, your footsteps wake him up and he shoots up in bed. 

“It’s ok, Frankie,” you say in a low voice, “It’s three am.” 

“Ok,” he rumbles, his voice rough with sleep as he rubs the heel of his hand into his eyes. You pull off your boots and crawl into bed with your clothes on next to Frankie. He catches your chin between his thumb and fingers, giving you a slow kiss, before letting go. 

When you wake up a few hours later daylight is starting to slip through the shutters of the window. Frankie’s hand is on your shoulder, gently shaking you. 

“Hermosa, time to wake up,” he murmurs as he bends and presses his lips to your temple. “The night was quiet and I made coffee.”

“Thank you,” you mumble and push the covers back, sitting up as Frankie hands you a mug. 

You drink it while you get ready, which only means you put your boots back on and stick the gun into the back of your trousers. Frankie’s heated up another can of stew from Denny’s supplies and you both eat it in silence. You’re apprehensive about leaving the safety and quiet of the cabin and move back into populated areas, but you can see Frankie’s nerves too. His jaw is clenched as he goes through both your packs, swapping out some of the food for Denny’s supplies. As soon as you put down your spoon into the empty bowl he grabs it from you and starts readying up to leave. 

“We should leave a note for Pope or anyone else who comes here,” you say and Frankie nods.

“Yeah, I did already,” he points to a folded piece of paper on the dining room table, “Read it and tell me if it makes sense.” 

You pick it up and flip it open, reading Frankie’s neat handwriting; 

September 29th 

To anyone of the guys

My girl and I are safe up here for now. We’re heading to L’s place today. Pope was here on the 27th, also went for L but hasn’t returned yet. 

We’ll return here when we have L, hope to see you all safe. 

Catfish

You fold it up and put it back on the table, “Looks good to me, I really hope they’re all here when we get back,” you say, looking over at Frankie who’s picked up your backpack and walked over to you with it.  

“Yeah, I really hope so too,” he replies as he helps you on with the pack, turning you around and adjusting the straps before he pulls your gun from behind your back. 

“I made you this while I was keeping watch,” he holds up a makeshift leg holster. “You can’t wear a regular holster with a backpack on and you won’t be able to get the gun from behind the pack, and I don’t want you walking around with the gun in your hand.” 

He kneels down and straps it to your thigh, using a snap-link to attach it to your belt. “Denny had a couple of old holsters for his hunting gear so I repurposed them.” He’s got a similar holster on his leg, his gun already in it and now he slides your gun into yours. 

“Feel good?” he asks, looking up at you from the floor, tugging on the holster, making sure it’s not too tight. 

“Yeah, but I’m not sure how much use I’ll be, Frankie, I’ve never even fired a gun.” 

“Hopefully you won’t have to but I can’t show you, I don’t know when we’ll get more bullets,” he gets up and gives your backpack a final look over, “Denny didn’t keep any guns or ammo up here so we’ll have to grab any that we find.” 

Once outside the cabin, Frankie locks up and puts the key back into the lock box before turning towards the lake. 

“There are a couple of canoes down by the small boat house,” he says, “we can use one of them to get across the lake, saves us walking around it, we’re heading in that direction.” 

You nod and follow him down the gentle slope to the lake, the morning is calm and quiet, and again you’re struck by how normal everything feels. If it wasn’t for the slightly heavy feeling in your stomach, a small hot ball of anxiety, you’d think it was just Frankie and you heading out for a couple of days camping. 

The trip over the lake is smooth and when you get to the other side, about a mile from the cabin, you get the packs out before Frankie paddles the canoe into some thick, tall reeds to camouflage it as much as possible. Luckily it’s an old wood canoe and it all but disappears into the reeds. 

Frankie glances down at his compass, attached to his belt, and motion for you to follow him. You’ve agreed to speak as little as possible and move quietly. There probably won’t be any infected out here but Frankie doesn’t want to take any chances. So in silence you walk behind him for three hours, stopping when he holds up his hand, checking his direction or listening intently. At one point he signals for you to stop and crouch and as you sink down behind a bush, you hear rustling in the shrubs ahead. Your skin goes cold as you mimic Frankie’s movement and pull out your gun, moving it slowly out of your leg holster. The rustling continues, coming closer until, finally, you see the source of the sound, a white tail deer, slowly ambling through the forest, nibbling at leaves here and there as it goes. You let your breath out slowly, as Frankie stands up, startling the deer enough to make it prance away into the underbrush. 

At the three hour mark Frankie finds a good spot for a break, a small stream that lets you refill your water bottles. Stretching out your legs on the ground, your back against a large boulder, you try to savor your lunch sandwich. Frankie sinks down next to you and gives you a little nudge with his shoulder. 

“How you holding up, cariño?” he asks in a low voice. 

“I’m alright, just jumpy,” you reply, leaning your head on his solid shoulder for a little bit. He caresses your cheek with his warm palm and you feel his lips press into the top of your head before he begins to unwrap his sandwich. 

After lunch you get even jumpier, you’re still following hiking trails through the forest but every now and then you have to cross main roads, you start seeing houses, you even skirt around a small town. In the distance you see a group of people, you can’t tell if they’re infected or not, but as Frankie leads the two of you in a wide circle around the group, you keep watching them. They don’t move and you think they’re too unnaturally still for humans. 

Just as you’ve managed to clear a small ridge and put some distance between yourself and them, a loud collective shriek goes up from the group of people. Frankie immediately grabs you and pulls you down into the tall grass next to the trail. It feels like your heart is going to claw itself out of your chest as you feel Frankie’s weight on top of you, he’s half covered you with his body. You glance up at his face and you see him carefully lift his head out of the tall grass. 

“It’s ok, they’re running, but in the other direction,” he whispers and pulls you up. In a crouch Frankie starts to jog down the other side of the ridge, holding on to your hand as you run to keep up with him. You continue running until your lungs are about to give up and Frankie slows down but starts walking next to you, keeping a brutal pace, still holding onto your hand. 

“We need to get away from them as fast as possible, we can’t fight that many on foot,” he pants, giving your hand another squeeze. 

Not until you’ve covered about three miles does he slow down to a regular pace, you’re drenched in sweat and breathing hard, your legs aching. He pulls you off the side of the trail you’ve been following, into the forest and behind a thick shrub. 

“Sit down,” he motions, pointing to the ground, “catch your breath and drink some water.” 

You gratefully sink down and pull out your water bottle while Frankie remains standing. 

“We’re about half a mile from the bridge and the river crossing,” he says, looking at the map. “We need to be extra careful as we approach, if people in this area were trying to get away from any towns they’d probably have to cross there which means a potential traffic jam and potentially infected.” 

You nod and sip the water, offering Frankie your bottle when you’re done. He gratefully takes a long swig while you get back to your feet. You’re still exhausted after the sprint but you want to keep moving. The countryside around you makes you nervous, there are small farms dotted across it, three days ago you would’ve thought it looked quaint and rural, now the sight of every farm house makes you edgy. 

Putting away your water bottle, you follow Frankie back to the trail and after a short time it emerges from the forest onto a large country road, up ahead you can see the bridge. As Frankie had feared, it’s jammed with cars. You can walk between them, but the thought of what might be hiding among them makes panic claw its way up your throat and you take a tight hold of Frankie’s hand. He looks back and sees the fear in your eyes. Pulling you back into the trees he wraps his arms around you. Holding you tight to his chest for a minute, he pulls back and cups your cheeks, his large hands are warm and dry on your skin, as he kisses you deeply before he looks down at you and traces his fingers over your lips. 

“I’m sorry, cariño, it’s the only way forward.” His eyes rake over your face as if he’s committing it to memory and you suddenly realize what he’s doing. 

“Don’t say goodbye, Frankie,” you croak, your voice catching in your throat. 

“Just in case, mi amor,” he says in a low voice, pressing his lips to yours again. When he pulls back he turns and takes your hand, leading you back to the road where he lets go of it. 

“Stay six feet behind me, gun out, safety off, but keep it pointed to the ground. If you have to fire, squeeze the trigger, don’t pull it.” He gives you a final look, a small smile, before turning back to the road. 

It’s slow going, following Frankie’s lead you move carefully in his footsteps, trying to make as little noise as possible. Frankie stops and surveys the cars in front of you regularly but nothing seems out of the ordinary, you see no humans, only open car doors, luggage that’s been left behind. 

As you’ve crossed about two thirds of the bridge a dog suddenly launches itself at the cage door keeping it shut in, barking loudly from inside a large SUV. Frankie and you both drop into a crouch, trying to see if the loud noise will draw in any infected, but the dog quietens down and the landscape around the bridge remains silent. You breathe a sigh of relief as Frankie carefully stands up again and motions for you to follow him. He carefully approaches the dog in the cage, a golden retriever you think, mumbling soft words to it, calming it down. Soon the dog is licking his fingers through the bars of the cage and Frankie slides back the lock, opening the door. The dog jumps down, its tail happily wagging as you scratch its ears. 

“Good boy,” you mumble, patting its flank as Frankie starts moving forward again. You give the dog a final scratch before you follow him towards the end of the bridge. The dog trails behind you for a while before it falls behind, going back to the SUV. 

As you get to the end of the bridge Frankie holds his hand up, signaling for you to stop. He points to the last pillar of the bridge, written on it, in what looks like black magic marker, are the letters SOF, underneath is a rectangle with a single line through the middle and the number 1 just outside the box. 

“Special Operations Force,” Frankie says, “Pope’s been through here but he’s alone. The rectangle means he’s motorized.” He walks over to the pillar, pulling a marker from his side pocket and crouching down he writes SOF underneath Pope’s message, but he adds an odd looking cross underneath, two sides are flat and two are rounded. Then he writes ‘2’ next to it. 

“Special Operations Aviation,” he explains while he stands up and puts the marker away. “I don’t think any of the other guys will come past here but if Pope comes back the same way he’ll see that we’ve been here.” 

You continue down the road, it’s still about an hour's walk to Lucía’s house and you’re forced to stay on the road, there are no hiking trails leading in the right direction. Frankie’s head is on a swivel, his gun drawn as you both walk off to the side of the road, creating some distance between  yourselves and the cars. There are less of them now, and up ahead you can see an almost clear road. You crest a hill in the road, carefully trying to see over to the other side before you’re too exposed, when a pickup truck just ahead rumbles to life and barrels towards you with a screech of tires. Frankie grabs your hand and pulls you behind one of the few cars on the road, his gun aimed at the truck. “They’ve got to be ok, right Frankie?” you say, his hand still holding you down behind the car. “Infected can’t drive!”

“Stay down, cariño,” he snaps, his eyes focused on the truck. You hear it come to a stop and the engine goes silent as the doors are opened. Frankie lets go of you and grabs his gun with both hands. You turn and peek over the bonnet of the car and see two men get out, staying behind the doors of the truck, as another two jump down from the flatbed. 

“You know how to use that gun, sonny?” the oldest man calls from behind the driver’s door. He’s big and burly looking, a cowboy hat squashed down on a very round head. 

“Sure,” Frankie calls back, shifting his stance. 

“Why don’t you lower it and toss it over here. And any gun your cute girl might be carrying.” The man’s voice is saccharine and makes your neck hairs stand on end, you glance up at Frankie and see the muscle in his jaw working. 

“We’re just passing through, trying to get to some friends, we don’t want any trouble.” 

“Then why you pointing a gun at me, son?” The older man looks over his shoulder and nods at the two men who got off the truck and they slowly move to the sides, circling the two of you. 

“Cariño, get your gun up and stand behind me, aim at the man on the left,” Frankie says in a low voice, his eyes never leaving the older man. You do as he says, trying to have a steady grip on the gun to keep your hands from shaking. Copying Frankie’s stance, you hold your gun in both hands, your feet apart and steady, aiming at the man on the left. With a thumb you flick the safety off and draw a deep breath. 

“Steady there, girlie,” the old man drawls, as he sees you move, holding up a hand to stop the two men. “Son, you don’t want to do anything stupid and get your girl in trouble here.” He moves out from behind the car door, and from the corner of your eye you see the rifle he’s holding low in his hands. “We’re just out here making sure no one’s looting these cars, especially of any guns they might find.” 

“These guns are mine, like I said, we’re just passing through.” Frankie calls back through gritted teeth. You can hear the sharp tone in his voice as his eyes flick from the man in the cowboy hat and the man still standing behind the passenger side door. 

“You’re outnumbered, pal,” the man on the right calls out with a chuckle, “just hand over the guns and any supplies, and we’ll let you pass.” 

“Might keep your girl though,” the man on your left drawls, the man you’ve got your gun aimed at, he’s eyeing you with a smirk on his face that makes your skin crawl. “She’s shaking like a leaf but I bet she’d put up a nice little fight.” 

Frankie glances over at the man on the left, before he looks back at the man in the cowboy hat, he’s got a crooked smile on his lips as he shoulders the rifle. 

“C’mon, sonny, the guns and the girl, and then you can walk away.” 

Frankie’s gun is loud on the silent road, and the man in the cowboy hat crumples over, his shot going wide as the rifle hits the ground. The man on the left throws himself forward and you feel the recoil in your arms as you fire, you don’t even know if your bullets hit, you can hear several shots from Frankie’s gun and your own, and Frankie’s hand on your shoulder as he pushes you to the ground. Two more shots ring out and Frankie ducks behind the car, his gun raised, listening. When nothing stirs he quickly glances over the bonnet before he stands up. Three of the men are dead on the ground, the fourth one, the one behind the passenger door, is scrabbling for something and with a few long steps, Frankie is on him, kicking the gun out of his reach. 

He’s on the ground, you can see him beneath the door, Frankie towering above him, his gun aimed at the man. As you watch, the man lifts his palms up, pleading, but the shot rings out and the man slumps back. Frankie bends down and picks up the man’s gun, quickly patting him down and fishing an ammo box from his pants. When he straightens up and walks back towards you his face is impassive, blank and you remember when you last saw that look; the bar that night you thought Frankie was a violent man. Now you know, he is violent, but only when he needs to and for now, you’re very grateful for his skills.  

You put your hands out to push yourself off the ground and a burning pain shoots through your shoulder, wincing you get to your feet and look at your torn shirt. Blood is seeping through and you suddenly feel faint. Frankie is on you in two fast steps, grabbing your arm and pulling back your shirt. 

“You’re hit,” his voice suddenly sharp with worry, as his gentle fingers push at the fabric, making you wince again. He unbuttons your shirt and pulls it over your shoulder. “Thank god,” he breathes out as he sees the shallow gash, “you’ve been grazed, it didn’t go in.” He pulls up his arm as if he’s about to pull his backpack off but changes his mind. 

“Come here, get in the truck,” he guides you over to the passenger side, “close your eyes, don’t look,” he mumbles as you have to step over the corpse.  You breathe in deeply and keep your eyes closed until Frankie closes the door. He bends down to pick up the other man’s rifle, putting it behind the bench seat, before he gets in and starts up the engine. It rumbles to life and Frankie turns it around, heading back down the almost empty road, and as soon as he sees a secluded spot he pulls over and kills the engine. 

“I’ve got to clean your arm, cariño,” says, opening up his backpack for the first aid kit. “Does it hurt?” He looks over at you, his eyes are worried and you shake your head to calm him. 

“Only a little, it stings more than anything.” 

“Ok, just keep breathing in and out while I do this.” 

The iodine solution makes you whimper but Frankie is fast and efficient, when the compress is on your shoulder the pain is already subsiding. He pulls your shirt back on, gives you a soft kiss, cradling the back of your head with his large hand. 

“You ok?” he asks in a low voice, “not just the injury, with what just happened too?” 

You let out a shuddering breath as you allow yourself to think about the situation, “I’m very glad you used to be a soldier, Frankie,” you say, leaning your forehead against his, “I think that’s the fourth time you’ve saved my life in twenty four hours.” 

“Me too,” he breathes, his thumb is caressing your cheek as he looks at you. His deep brown eyes are strained, but calm, “Things are going to get worse before they get better, cariño. I’ve seen it before, when society crumbles, it brings out the worst in people and they become very dangerous. I need you and Lucía safe at the cabin until we know things are getting back to normal, whenever that might be.” 

You nod and he turns back to the wheel and starts up the truck, “At least we got a truck out of it, this will make things easier as long as we have gas.” 

The truck rumbles through the landscape, in the distance you see a group of infected running towards something but the road curves and you move away from them. Frankie has driven this road hundreds of times, every time he came to pick up or drop off Lucía, and now he wonders at how eerily still it is. There are no people as the truck drives past the first few houses of the small town, cars line the main street but they’ve been pushed to the side. The dents and scrapes on them indicate that something big came through and shoved them out of the way. 

Frankie turns down a smaller side street, and then another small street, coming to the end of town. There are a few cars still parked outside the houses but most are gone. You glance over at him, his fingers are drumming on the steering wheel as his restless eyes bounce around the street, looking for infected, people, anything. He’s grinding his teeth, the muscle in his jaw flexing and when he pulls up outside a small bungalow you hear his white knuckles make the steering wheel creak. 

“This is their place,” he says in a low voice, “the car is still here.” He opens the truck door and steps down, listening for any movement as you follow him out. Pulling his gun he moves carefully up the porch and tests the handle on the door, it’s locked. 

“Stay by the truck,” he says to you, “if anything happens, if anyone comes, fire once in the air, ok?” 

You nod and do as he says. Frankie carefully walks down the side of the house, easily scaling the wooden fence that closes off the backyard. He disappears from view and you nervously wait, looking around the quiet neighborhood. When he opens the door to the house from the inside you jump but he holds up his hand in a placating sign, signaling for you to stay where you are. He disappears into the house again, you guess this means Lucía isn’t here, and neither is anyone else. 

You hear him walking through the house and before long he comes back out, a note in his hand. 

“They’ve been evacuated,” he says, showing you the note from Lucía’s mom. It’s dated the day before yesterday, Saturday, the note says the soldiers came at night and gave them fifteen minutes to pack up essentials. 

“She says they told her they’re going to a quarantine zone in Franklin. I’ve got to see if I can get them out of there.” He breathes a sigh of relief, “At least they’re safe for now.” he says, getting back into the truck and starting it up. 

As the truck rumbles through town you start seeing more infected, they stumble out of a few of the shops, attracted to the sound of the truck. At one intersection you see a large number of them fallen into a pile, bullet wounds to their heads, and you quickly look away. Their pallid skin, starting to show strange looking lesions, no longer looks human, but their clothes are still bright and colorful, reminds you terribly of the people who would’ve put them on, maybe on Friday morning, expecting just another day. 

Frankie speeds up, leaving town, and the shrieking infected behind, heading for Franklin. It’s less than an hour away, the nearest big city, and like before you see the cars pushed to the side of the road. Frankie’s fingers are drumming on the steering wheel again, his grip tight, his jaw clenched. He’s getting closer to Lucía, now he knows she’s safe, he just needs to get to her. 

“When we get to the quarantine zone, do you think we should stay there?” you ask him. “It doesn’t sound like a ‘quarantine zone’ is somewhere they’ll let you in and out of. Maybe it’ll be safer for us there too?” 

“I don’t know,” Frankie says, glancing over at you, “I need to see it first, how are they quarantining people? Keeping them separate enough so that if someone is already infected, they can’t attack and infect more people?” His fingers drum faster against the wheel, “I just need to see her, see her safe.” 

You put your hand on his leg and give it a squeeze and he drops his hand, curling his fingers around yours. 

“How’s your shoulder?”

“Still stings a bit, but it’s dulled, hurts when I move it.” You test moving your arm up and down, feeling the pull of the compress.

“It’ll give you gnarly looking scar,” he grins, “match some of mine.” He pulls your hand up to his lips and gives it a kiss, his eyes leaving the road for a second. When he looks back again he sees birds circling up ahead. 

“Buzzards,” he points them out to you. “Looks like they’re circling just over the road.” He slows down the truck as you come around a bend, clearing a small group of trees. The rumble of the truck startles the birds and you see more of them rise into the sky from the field bordering the road. Frankie stops the truck, leaving it in neutral, watching the birds circle, waiting to see if something moves. When nothing stirs he opens the door, signaling for you to stay put, and he steps on to the instep of the truck, hoisting himself up so that he can look over the door of the truck. 

“Oh fuck…” you hear him breathe out. 

“What, Frankie, what is it?” you ask but he doesn’t answer so you open your own door and swing yourself up on the instep. Frankie glances back at you and motions for you to get back inside. 

“Cariño, don’t, you don’t wanna- “

It’s too late, you look over the field, it looks like almost a hundred people are lying in it, none of them moving. The buzzards are settling back down, walking across the still bodies. 

“Oh my god…” you gasp, your hand going over your mouth as your eyes widen in horror. “What killed them?” you whisper, “are they infected?” 

“Get into the driver’s seat,” he says, “I’m going closer but I need you to be ready to drive if they are infected.”

“I’m not leaving without you, Frankie!” you say in a hard voice, as you slide over the bench seat and get behind the wheel.

“I’m counting on it, cariño,” he grips your hand before jumping down onto the ground. Grabbing the rifle from the back he loads it before he starts moving slowly towards the field. 

You step up onto the instep on the driver’s side, watching Frankie’s back as he makes his way across the road and into the field. As he reaches the first body he crouches down and seems to inspect them. Nothing moves, none of the bodies are jerking, they’re just dead. He stands up again and walks around the outskirts of where they’ve fallen. Suddenly he stops, slinging the rifle onto his back, before he steps into the mass of bodies, he must be stepping on them as he bends down and pulls at one of them, turning it over to face him. He stumbles back, losing his footing and falls onto his back among the bodies. 

Without thinking you jump down from the truck and run to him, grabbing hold of his arm as he scrambles to stand up, getting away from the bodies. 

“It’s Helena, she’s the mom of Lucía’s best friend,” he pants, standing up. You look over at the blonde woman, her open eyes looking sightless to the sky. Her torso has at least three bullet holes in the pale blue shirt she’s wearing, blood staining the light fabric dark. 

“They lived across the street from Lucía,” Frankie croaks and you suddenly realize what he’s saying, gripping his arm hard. 

He tears himself away from you as he starts circling around the bodies, crouching down, looking under those who have fallen on top of others, his eyes desperately scanning every face, every piece of visible clothing, looking for something he recognizes, praying he doesn’t. His heart is racing, his vision narrows into one long tunnel, focused on the bodies, praying, cursing, he can’t hear you call after him. 

And then he sees it. 

The hem of a dress he’d know anywhere because her abuela made it for her. 

With a shout he steps into the mass of bodies. You rush up behind him, tears are welling up into  your eyes, as you watch him scramble over to the small body. Skinny little legs in sneakers you bought for her birthday, you bite down hard on your lip to stop yourself from wailing. 

The dress is sticking out from underneath a woman, and as he gets closer he realizes it’s his ex-girlfriend, her arms hugging her daughter tight, even in death. The back of her tan coat is dark with coagulated blood that sticks to his hands as he bends back her arms to release her grip. As he shoves her aside a strangled cry goes up from the small body underneath, Lucia’s head moves as a rattled breath escapes her lungs and Frankie cries out in relief, grabbing hold of her waist to gently turn her over, scanning her body for injuries, he sees no blood on her. 

“Mija, I’m here, I’m here,” he gasps, “daddy’s here, Lucía, I’m here.” 

He’s holding out his arms to lift her up when he sees it. 

Trailing under the skin of her small throat. 

Up under the pallid skin of her cheeks, spreading out in a fine net. 

Tendrils reaching out from her small mouth. 

“Frankie!” you cry as the small body shrieks and reaches for him. He almost takes her hand, almost takes the small hand that’s grasping after his. You can see it, even from behind him, you can see the empty eyes, the twitching movement. 

Infected. 

His hand is still in the air, halfway to reaching out for her, his Lucía, her hand outstretched to him. As she screams, his hand drops to his gun. 

You turn your head when the gunshot rings out.

Chapter 15

Taglist: @pimosworld @i-own-loki @casa-boiardi @littlenosoul @stormseyer @mxtokko  @javicstories

[klaprisun]

One Sunny Day

(Stardew Valley)(Haley x Female Farmer)

Chapter 18

Today is the day of the Luau. I had gone back to sleep, but in my bed this time, so I could sleep off the sense of guilt and dread I felt. I had not managed to stay awake to see Haley last night and I feel terrible. That… and maybe I was looking forward to seeing her. It has been a while since we have talked or interacted. I miss her.

Walking over to my fridge to grab out my prize melon I’m bringing with me. Before opening the door, I admired her note that I had stuck to the door of the fridge. I reread it every time I am in the kitchen. I could recite it word for word without even looking at it if I had to.

“I guess it’s not quite 9am yet. I better keep it in the fridge so it stays cold until then,” I decide.

Looking out the window, I see my field of crops waiting for me to tend to them. Guess I could water them all before I head over. With the amount of crops this season, it should kill enough of the time. Grabbing my watering can, I hastily walk outside.

                                                 🌻 🌻 🌻

The watering must’ve taken longer than I thought, because just as I am finishing up with the watering, I notice a figure approaching from my peripheral.

“Good morning, Danny!” Leah calls over as she gets closer.

“Good morning, Leah, how are you today?”

“I’m doing great. Super ready for this Luau….” she begins. Her eyes travel towards my farm and crops, “Wow! Your field here looks amazing! It must be a lot of work keeping it looking this good.”

“You have no idea,” I chuckle.

“It’s about that time to start heading over to the event. You ready to go?”

“Yup, just about,” I reply as I give the last plant some water.

“What did you end up picking to bring anyway?” Leah questions

“I’m bringing a melon. That’s what Haley suggested I bring.”

“OH you’re bringing a melon because HALEY said so,” Leah teases me.

“As a matter of fact, yes. What’s wrong with that?”

“Nothing… nothing,” she brushes off her last statement, “So she ended up coming by last night?”

I don’t respond to her question and just sulk. We have made our way up to my house so I could grab the melon out before leaving.

“What happened?” Leah questions with concern.

“I had fallen asleep while waiting for her… and she stopped by without me knowing,” I answered while grabbing the melon from the fridge, not looking Leah in the eyes.

“Oh Danny.” She puts her fingers to her forehead in disappointment.

“I don’t want to think about it anymore. Let’s just go now,” I wave Leah along so we can get going.

It is sweltering hot out due to it being the middle of summer. For the first time since being in Pelican Town, I actually decided to wear shorts. I had a tank top on as well because anything else would just be too much. I couldn’t do much about my hair since it’s an awkward length, so I had put half of it up into a ponytail again while the rest I kept down. My shoes being flip flops is also a first here in Pelican Town. It feels really weird being so exposed like this after being layered in clothing for so long.

“I’m going to majorly regret wearing flip flops,” I say to Leah as we arrive at the beach, “I hate the feeling of sand on my feet. It’s also going to be hot sand.” I start pouting and shaking my feet around to get the sand off already.

“You’ll forget about it. Don’t worry. I’ll see you around, okay?” She pats me on the shoulder and takes off across the beach to where Elliot is standing by his cabin.

“Look sharp!” Mayor Lewis hollers to me as he spots me. Immediately, I straighten my posture and roll my shoulders back. Mayor Lewis continues, “The governor's here for his annual visit. If you brought something for the potluck make sure and add it to the soup cauldron.”

“Soup.. cauldron..?” I hesitate.

“It’s that giant pot over there.” He gestures to the cauldron in the middle of the beach. Marnie seems to be tending to it with a giant spoon.

“I put the melon in there?” I question him, but Mayor Lewis has already walked away back to the governor’s side.

Unsure of what to do, I slowly and awkwardly start pacing towards the cauldron. I didn’t know that I’d be dumping my amazing tasting melon into a soup. If I knew that, I wouldn’t have even brought it. It deserves to be appreciated for its taste alone, not mixed in a soup.

“What’s the matter Danny?” I hear from beside me. I must’ve been frowning or expressing discouragement on my face unknowingly. When I look over to see who it is, the bad mood immediately disappears and I feel my face heat up. More than the temperature has been already doing.

“The- Um-...melons? In the soup..” I stutter embarrassingly.

“Ah I see. You didn’t know that the melons would be for the soup,” Haley chuckles after deciphering what I was trying to say. She had fallen in step with me when she had noticed my bad mood. It’s been a while since I’ve seen her. She is still as gorgeous as ever, maybe even more. Summer really brings out her beauty with her glowing tan and stunning blonde hair that gleams in the sun.

“I think that’s so stupid. I would’ve never brought it if I had to just toss it into a soup with a bunch of other shit,” I rant on, “I would’ve kept it for myself to enjoy. The flavor will just disappear in the soup.”

The two of us make it to the small stairs up the ledge of the cauldron. I pop the lid off the container with the melon and go to walk up the stairs. Haley grabs my arm and pulls me back down.

“Can I have one last melon chunk before you toss it in? I want it to be appreciated like you said. You went to all the trouble growing it…” she innocently looks up at me through her eyelashes.

“Of course you can,” I reply while holding the container out to her.

She daintily picks out the best looking chunk and holds it up to her mouth. The melon I had brought was a super juicy one, so it makes quite a mess when biting into a chunk. However, she seems to embrace it. When she holds the melon to her lips, she makes direct eye contact with me and slowly bites into it. Her lips seem to form around the shape of it perfectly, taking in all of the juice. She slowly pulls it from her lips after taking the bite, letting the juice drip down her chin. I feel my face get warm once again, but not moving my eyes from her lips.

“You better toss the rest in now. Before it gets too mushy from the heat,” Haley says as she chews the piece of melon.

“Hmm..?” I break my gaze away from her lips and move it up to her eyes, “Oh… right.”

I step back up the mini staircase and look into the cauldron. The texture and color of the soup looks repulsive. It is a thick, sluggish, brownish green color with chunks of who knows what floating around in it. I have to cover my mouth to not vomit at the sight. I quickly toss my melon in and rush back down the steps.

“People actually eat that?” I huff, holding back a gag.

“Apparently it’s usually good. I don’t know though. I refuse to try it.” Haley makes a face of disgust.

“One year Sam put a pound of anchovies in the potluck soup,” Sebastian chimes in from where he was standing nearby. “Ever wondered why Sam leads the town in community service hours?”

“That’s disgusting. I definitely don’t trust anyone enough to try that soup now,” I respond to Sebastian. In that moment, I see Haley wandering off towards a table with a bowl of punch on it.

“I see you found Haley pretty quickly?” Sebastian chuckles as soon as she is out of range.

“Actually, she found me first,” I retorted. “But I see you haven’t found your way to Sam yet?”

“Oh that’s right. You ran into Sam leaving my place that one morning.” Sebastian sheepishly looks away

“Mhm. Can’t call me out on anything when you guys act the saaaammmmee wayyyyy,” I tease, making a point to draw out my words.

“You suck,” Sebastian cracks back playfully, “ I’ll leave you and Haley to it then. I will in fact go see Sam now though. Don’t you dare even crack a smile at that.”

Sebastian saunters away in the direction of Sam as Haley makes her way back to me. She has a plastic cup of punch in each hand.

“I figured you’d want some punch in this heat, hope that’s okay.” Haley hands me one of the cups from her hand.

“I’m actually allergic…” I give her a devilish smirk as I remember the first time I did that to her.Haley just scoffs and shakes her head. I notice a little smile dance across her lips.

Suddenly, she grabs the strap of my tank top and pulls me down to her height.

“I heard the punch was spiked. This is going to be a fun Luau this year,” she whispers in my ear. Her gentle voice in my ear sends shivers across my body, causing subtle goosebumps to form on my arms.

“What about the young kids though? They shouldn’t have any of that. Did anyone warn Jodi and Marnie?” I whisper back with concern. Haley pulls back away from my ear, my tank top strap still in hand. She has a soft look on her face.

“You are so sweet Danny,” Haley gushes. “Jodi and Marnie were warned not to give Vincent and Jas any punch. Don’t you worry.” She releases the strap of my tank top and puts her hand on my cheek. I haven’t moved from my slightly bent over position so she didn’t have to reach far.

“Everyone gather around! It’s time for the governor to try the soup!” Mayor Lewis yells to the crowd.

At his command, we all circle around the soup cauldron. The governor is on the top step of the stairs leading up the side, with a ladle in hand. He seems overly eager to try the soup. I can’t believe he keeps coming back after the anchovy incident.

Mayor Lewis gives the governor the go ahead to try a spoonful of the soup. Instantly, the governor dips his ladle in and takes a big slurp.

“Oh my... that's the best soup I've ever tasted!” The governor exclaims. His remark causes Mayor Lewis to walk up and taste the soup himself.

“You’re right… it’s delicious!” Mayor Lewis agrees.

A line begins to form at the base of the cauldron with everyone holding an empty bowl to fill.

“Are you guys coming to get some soup?” Leah shouts to Haley and I from the line. We both awkwardly shake our heads.

“I don't care how good everyone says it is, I am NOT trying that soup,” I remarked to Haley. However, she seems to be giving me a sour look.

“Are you into Leah?” she asks rather bluntly.

“No-?” I try to respond, but she continues on.

“Because I noticed you two walked here together. Emily also told me you were hanging out at her place yesterday.” She crosses her arms and pops her hip as she speaks

“I’m not into Leah, Haley. She is just a friend. Not every girl I hangout with I’m into. Why do you care so much, anyway?”

“I don’t care. I was just wondering that’s all,” she sasses.

“Then why are you crossing your arms so hard?” I point out how tightly she is gripping her arms together. Her fingers are turning her arms red from how tight she is holding them. As I point it out though, she immediately releases.

“I’m just…cold.” We stare at each other in silence in the sweltering heat of the summer sun. “I’m getting more punch. I’ll get you one too. Be right back.”

I watch her bounce away to the table with the punch. Beside where we were standing, there is an appetizer platter table. I take a cracker from a charcuterie board arrangement and pop it into my mouth.

On the other side of the appetizer table, Clint is hovering around holding a cup of punch. He seems to be uneasy and acting really suspicious. He is very clearly checking out Emily who is still waiting in line for soup.

“Dude,” I scolded him from across the table. He looks my way and I shake my head with my brows furrowed. Emily is so much younger than him and is also clearly not into him. Clint has always rubbed me the wrong way and I hate to see Emily being objectified like that.

That one word seemed to scare him enough because he darted past everyone and left the beach. I’m glad I didn’t have to waste my breath anymore than I already had.

Clint had been the first person to leave, but the others soon began to leave as well. Although, It was mostly the older adults leaving along with Vincent and Jas.

The rest of us young adults hung around and set up a huge bonfire. Marnie told us we could keep the punch with us for the rest of the night to finish it up. It was nearly gone though already due to everyone getting multiple cups of it throughout the event. It was most definitely spiked because every one of us was anywhere from really drunk to at least a little tipsy.

Circled around the bonfire is the usual group of us who tend to hangout at the arcade plus Shane. He seemed to be in good spirits today and wanted to hangout with us.

Emily and Haley had walked over to their house to get blankets for everyone to sit on and huddle under. The rest of us had set up the bonfire by gathering firewood. Sebastian had used his lighter to ignite it which was all it needed. The fire had burst into hot, roaring flames and continued that way the whole time we were around it.

Everyone who I’d thought would sit together or share a blanket sat with someone unusual. Instead of sitting with Sam, Sebastian sat with Abigail. They had a blanket wrapped around their shoulders, but Sebastian is not paying any attention to her.

Sam and Alex shared a blanket to sit on, but sat as far from each other as they could on it. On that same note, Shane and Penny were sharing a blanket to sit on but also sat far apart.

Maru and I share a blanket to sit on and to drape over our legs. It’s not too weird, but I haven’t got to talk to her much since living here. Hopefully this will allow me to get to talk to her more.

The only two pairs that made sense were Leah and Elliot and Haley and Emily. I don’t understand why everyone sat with people they weren’t comfortable sitting with. Maybe as the night goes on, people will shuffle around. Sam seems to have the perfect solution for that too.

“Who wants to play truth or dare!” Sam chants, rubbing his hands together maniacally.

“How old do you think we are, Sam?” Shane moans.

“We are never too old to play truth or dare, Shane. If anything, it’s more fun this old. Don’t be a party pooper. Why don’t you go first since you were so quick to say something,” Sam sneers then lets out an evil laugh.

“Oh brother,” Maru mumbles to me, putting her head down into her hand. Sounds like it’s going to be a long night.

[kimetsu-chan]

hey!!!! I saw that you were writing emergency requests and I was wondering if you could write one 4 me?? I’ve been having a lot of trouble at home recently….my parents got a divorce and are ALREADY remarried. it all happened really quick. I have a lot of anxiety because going from house to house is HARD!! My Stepmom and biological dad fight a lot which doesn’t really make sense….if you know what I mean?? also my stepmom and bio dad have a REAL drinking addiction (maybe that’s why the fight a lot?). I was just wondering if you could write something like that??? The character that I would like to request is Nikolai (BSD).

Pls only do this if you have time to!! ❤️❤️

~Not Fun~

A/N: I apologize if this was late, I’ve been gone all weekend, but I tried to get this out as soon as possible! Please don’t worry, I had plenty of time to write this, I can only apologize as I probably don’t have the best grasp on Nikolai’s character, and I wasn’t quite sure how I wanted to write this scenario out. If this wasn’t quite what you were wanting, please let me know, and I’ll re-write it for you :)

TWs ⚠️: mentions of alcohol, probably at least a little ooc, reader is a minor, platonic relationship, reader cries, no dialogue so I apologize for that

Nikolai knew about your situation at home, you had previously found comfort in confiding in him with that sensitive information. And oddly, he felt the need to.. protect you in a sense.

At first, he hated it, he thought being tied down to a hurting child would take away his freedom. But after some thought, he came to the wonderful conclusion that he was expressing his freedom by caring and comforting you when he did not have to.

He was not tied down to you, he was doing this out of his own will.

And that is what brings us to today.

You were moving houses so often lately, and that toppled on top of hearing arguments and being around alcohol almost constantly had utterly drained you.

Not an ounce of energy remained as you wept tiredly in his arms. His hand ran soothingly across your back, trying to calm your exhausted tears.

He felt sympathy, an emotion that wasn’t quite uncommon, but not what he’d expect to feel towards you. You were so young, yet already burdened by problems you shouldn’t have to bear.

It’s not your fault your parents’ relationship was messed up, so why should you have to deal with the consequences?

It made him angry, to say the least. They were constricting your own freedom. And in his eyes, he wanted you to be free just as much as he, himself, wanted that freedom.

Often, he’d let you stay with him. When there was just a little too much alcohol was being passed around in the house, and when no one would notice your impromptu disappearance.

He’d make space for you in his bed and would kneel beside you, running his hands through your hair all night or until you fell asleep.

It was so oddly nice of him, he felt out of place giving this kind of comfort, especially given his list of terroristic crimes. But he felt like he wouldn’t want to be doing anything else in the world.

He was like a rock for you, something to cling onto when it got too hard. He would never judge you, he would never turn you away. No matter where he was, what he was doing, or what time of day it was, he would always drop everything and come to your aid. You could come knocking on his door in the middle of the night, and he’d be half asleep, ushering you to his room.

You meant so much to him, and he never really understood why. But he soon decided that he didn’t need to understand, he just needed to know that he’d do anything for you.

He’d sacrifice the world to keep you happy and safe.

And if you felt safe crying in his arms, so be it.

A/N: once again, please let me know if you need me to re-write this. I am so sorry that you have to experience this, you shouldn’t have to :(

my parents were going to have me and my sisters switch houses every three days when they divorced and that sounded super tiring, so I kind referenced something like that when writing

Taglist 🏷️: @larz-barz @mooechi @saffron0v0 @zenitsustherapist @gyutarowritings

@muichirolover12 @midnightmah07

[solarmorrigan]

I’ve just read made with love (and yarn) and it’s absolutely fantastic but it also made me think: Eddie gifting Steve his very own hellfire shirt and Steve wearing it but everyone just assumes that Steve is wearing Eddie’s shirt and they’re all just very nonchalantly *shoulder shrug* “guess they’re together now”

So when Eddie and Steve actually get together nobody is surprised because “we knew for months already” and Steve and Eddie are very confused because “we’ve been together for two weeks?”

Hellohellohello I am sorry I sat on this for, like, a month, but Anon, you gave me An Idea. And then life intervened and it took me forever to write it, but! It's finally done and thank you very much because it was great fun to write (and I'm so glad you liked the other story, too, thank you for saying so <3)

-

The kids aren’t oblivious. They have eyes, after all

So when Steve turns up wearing a Hellfire shirt and reveals, after Mike demands to know where he got it, that Eddie gave it to him, the kids know exactly what’s going on

Obviously, Eddie and Steve are dating

Which- finally. It only makes sense, the way they’re always in each other’s space, always staring at each other, always laughing at some little joke between the two of them while annoying everyone else. So Eddie finally gave Steve a Boyfriend Shirt, and now they’re dating

And as much as some people (coughStevecough) might like to say that the kids have no manners, or sense of personal boundaries, or common decency, they do actually know how to behave like functional human beings. Like, sometimes. If they care enough. And they do care about Eddie and Steve, so they make some allowances

For instance, significant others get shotgun privileges; if Steve is driving, Eddie gets the passenger seat, and vice versa (no matter how much Dustin grumbles about it)

On movie nights, they leave the easy chair in Steve’s living room alone even though it’s the most comfortable place to sit, because it’s Steve’s favorite place to sit, because Eddie usually ends up smooshed in there with him, insisting that it’s such a big chair it can fit two people (it can’t, really, but that seems to be the point)

When they go out to eat, they make sure that there are two empty seats left side by side so Eddie and Steve can sit together (usually at the end of the table; they both seem to like placing themselves between the kids and the door, which is completely unnecessary, but sort of nice in a way they won’t admit to)

And just occasionally, on nights when gatherings run late and Eddie and Steve seem comfortable, wrapped up in each other and dozing off like a pair of old men and not two early twenty-somethings, the kids will call someone and arrange for another ride instead of catching a lift with Steve or Eddie like they’d originally planned

See? They can be considerate

Dustin pokes at Steve, who lifts his head drowsily from where he’s nodded off curled into the corner of Eddie’s couch, Eddie himself draped all over Steve and half snoring into the crook of his neck.

“Whazzat?” Steve mumbles, shaking his head to clear the sleep and blinking up at Dustin. “Time t’go?”

“Jonathan’s gonna give us a ride, since you two are useless and fell asleep,” Dustin says quietly, his smile conveying more amusement than anything. “I’m just letting you know we’re leaving so you don’t freak out when you wake up later.”

Steve rolls his eyes, but the “thanks” he shoots back is sincere, if grumbled, and Dustin goes to wait with everyone else out in the cool air of the early fall evening. Mike, Will, and Lucas are loitering around the trailer door, waiting for Jonathan to arrive; Max and El are waiting with them before convening to a sleepover at Max’s place across the way.

“Okay, but that is still weird, right?” Mike is asking the group at large, pointing towards the door as Dustin comes out. “Them being together? They don’t even have anything in common.”

Dustin glances back over his shoulder before taking a seat on the front steps. “Who, Eddie and Steve?”

“Yeah.”

“Nah, you’re just mad you lost ten bucks betting it would take them longer to start sucking face.” Dustin smirks.

“Ew.” Mike’s face twists briefly in disgust. “No, look, I’m just saying, they have totally different interests. Like, Eddie’s into D&D and metal and cool stuff, and Steve’s got whatever lame shit he’s into, so what do they even do together?”

“Well, Mike,” Max drawls, “when two people love each other very much - or at least when they each think the other is hot, they–”

“Oh my god, shut up!” Mike screeches, shoving at Max as she cackles at him.

Jonathan arrives not long after that, stemming any further conversation (or yelling) on the topic.

Back inside the trailer, Steve shakes Eddie gently from his nap.

“Hey,” he murmurs as Eddie is stirring. “It’s late. We should go to bed, I don’t wanna sleep on the couch all night.”

(The suggestion that he and his friend both go to bed--as in together--doesn’t even register as weird anymore. His definition of what constitutes casual intimacy is beyond fucked; he and Eddie have decided to stop caring.)

Eddie hums, turning his head to rest it against Steve’s shoulder and scanning the empty room with sleep-bleary eyes. “Gremlins gone already?”

“Jonathan got ‘em,” Steve replies. “Hey– have they been acting weird lately? The kids?”

“Oh, for sure,” Eddie says, stifling a yawn. “But I haven’t had to fight a fifteen-year-old for shotgun in, like, a month, so I haven’t been questioning it.”

Steve snickers. “Yeah. It’s... like, it’s actually been kind of nice, though. Really nice.”

Eddie lifts his head finally, shuffling back a little so he can look at Steve properly. “What has?”

“Getting to be close to you,” Steve says, meeting Eddie’s gaze head-on.

“Yeah?” Eddie asks, a smile teasing across his face.

“Yeah,” Steve says. “And I’ve been thinking that... maybe we could do it more officially.”

Eddie snorts. “Official, huh? You wanna get some forms notarized before cuddling the fuck out of me? Maybe put on a suit and tie?”

“Let’s not go that far, you weirdo.” Steve rolls his eyes. “How about just a date?”

Steve tries not to hold his breath, tries not to be nervous; he’s talked himself into and out of this question so many times since Eddie had given him that club t-shirt, insisting that Steve was at least an honorary member.

“A date, huh?” The way Eddie’s smile has only grown is very promising. “Yeah, I– I think we could do that.”

Steve grins in return. “Good.”

(Barely two weeks later, they decide to announce to the party at large that they’re definitely Official now—paperwork not included—only to receive the most lackluster response they’ve ever seen come out of their loud, dramatic troupe of children.

“Uh, yeah, we know,” Dustin says, barely looking up from the notebook he’s scribbling character notes in. “You’ve been dating for months. Old news, guys.”

“Uh, no, we haven’t,” Steve parrots Dustin’s snarky tone right back at him. “Dude, the hell are you even talking about? Our first date was, like, a week ago.”

This gets everyone’s attention.

“It was what?” Dustin demands, voice gone pitchy.

“A week ago, Henderson, try to keep up,” Eddie says.

Any other forthcoming details, however, are drowned out as Mike stands, jabbing a triumphant finger at Dustin and declaring, “You owe me twenty dollars!”)

[stars4ni]

skz + when your anxious

maknae line + gn reader! ☁️

warnings: anxiety, crying, kisses, stress, cuddling, thunderstorm, panic attack.

genre: fluff + comfort

notes: sorry this took so fucking long, i legit forgot and also i have no motivation. im so so so sorry my loves. enjoy & reblogs would be appreciated!

hyung line

han: you walk into your shared bedroom and lay on the bed. resting your head on jisungs chest, closing your eyes. “hey sweetie, you okay?” you looked up at him. “not really ji, feeling anxious” he ran his fingers through your hair. jisung also has anxiety frequently so he knows how to calm you down. “how come my pretty hm?” you grab onto his waist, snuggling into his chest. “i don’t know i just am” he continues to play with your hair. “i understand, i feel that way sometimes too” you look up at him and smile. “you made me feel a little better, but I still feel awful” He kisses your forehead. “It’s okay love, you don’t have to feel okay. it’s okay to feel this way, and don’t worry it will pass eventually” “will it?” he laughs. “Yes I’m sure of it my love” he kisses your lips. “how about we take a nap hm? that always helps when I’m anxious” “okay sung that sounds good” he pulls the covers over your body. he then wraps his arms around you. “sleep well baby” he kisses you on the cheek. you doze off to sleep as jisung admires your face peacefully sleeping in his arms.

felix: you open the door to your apartment, setting down your things and then sitting on the couch. you were so stressed from work, your boss just kept giving you work even though you couldn’t get any of it done by the deadlines. even if you worked 24/7 you would never get it done. but still agreed to do the work because you didn’t want to seem as a “bad worker”. you just laid on the couch, tears forming at your eyes. you laid there for a couple minutes slightly crying, until you were full on crying. you felt like you couldn’t breathe, you hated feeling anxious. you just kept crying, you couldn’t stop. you quickly stopped crying (or at least tried to) when you heard the front door of your apartment opening. you quickly sat up and wiped your tears away. your boyfriend felix sat next to you, “hi beautiful! i missed you” he said as he hugged your waist. “missed you too…” your voice was soft, sounding like you’ve been crying. “babe…you alright?” he said as he grabbed your face to look at you. “aw bub were you crying?” he said with a pout. “yeah” you said looking away. “why? what’s wrong” he grabbed your hand. “it’s just work” you said starting it cry harder. “hey, hey it’s okay” he said as he put your head onto his chest petting your head. “it’s okay” he kept saying. “it’s okay love, breathe”.

seungmin: “hey weirdo” your boyfriend seungmin said to you as you walked into the kitchen. “hey” you said not even looking at him, or showing any emotion. you just quickly opened the refrigerator and got a energy drink. you walked out of the kitchen back to your room, as you sat in your desk chair you heard min walking in. “min…im really busy” you said typing in your keyboard. “yeah i can see, could you please take a break? it’s been hours. im worried you are going to get body aches” he looked at you concerned. “no babe i’ve got to finish this…” your eyes were glued to the screen. you opened the can and took a sip of the energy drink. “baby how many of those have you had?” min says walking to you. “normal amount… seriously min, i’ve got to get this done go away” he could tell how anxious you were. all he wanted to do was shut your laptop, pick you up, cuddle, and fall asleep. but of course you have been working like a maniac (haha) and not taking any breaks. “fine i’ll go away, just take a break soon” “uh huh…now go away” you said not even looking at him. min left the room and you started to get annoyed with your work. it was due in 30 minutes and you had only gotten half of it done. you were so confused what you were even writing, everything made no sense. you didn’t even think the lack of sleep & nutrition was making you not able to function. you realized that you were not going to be able to finish, you were so annoyed with yourself. you just excepted how you were gonna fail. all you wanted was minnie cuddles, so that’s what you did. you walked out your room to find seungmin on the couch. you sat on his lap facing him, “did baby finally realize they should take a break?” you sighed. you knew he was right. you laid your head on his shoulder. “be quiet i just need cuddles please” “of course my lovely” he said as he then kissed your forehead.

jeongin: you sat up in your bed as you heard a loud noise outside your window, you looked at your phone and saw it was 2 am. it was a thunderstorm, you hated thunderstorms, they always scared you ever since you were little. you were wishing your boyfriend was next to you but he was at his dorm. you so badly just wanted to bury your face into his chest and have him stroke your hair. he always was the best boyfriend when he comforted you when you were scared or anxious. he knew you hated thunderstorms. you looked over at your phone to see a notification from “innie the loml” it read “baby your handsome boyfriend is here outside, please open the door it’s raining really hard 😭” you smiled. you jumped up and ran to the door. you saw him smiling at you. he walked in drying his shoes on the mat and taking them off. “baby… why are you so perfect?” you said hugging him. you didn’t even care if you got wet from his soggy clothes. you were so happy he was here. he kissed your forehead. you went to your bedroom as he followed behind you. he changed into dry clothes as he then crawled into your bed. he wrapped around you as you sunk into each others warmth. the thunder got louder and louder, the rain was so heavy. you hated the loud sounds of storms. you hid your head into his chest. “aw baby it’s okay” he started to run his fingers through your hair, as he whispered sweet nothings into your ear. “it’s okay love, im right here” “shhh, it’s alright my love” “fall asleep with me” “you are safe with me sweetie”.