#arlo looking glass

[frenchy-and-the-sea]

Defeat, failure, and despair; the loss of something or someone important, without which one feels incomplete

Huge, enormous thanks to Arlo on bluesky for making my dreams a reality and helping to create a custom tarokka card for my Curse of Strahd PC, Wyn! She carried the Broken One card through Barovia and all the way to Madam Eva, and I got very attached to the idea of having one that reflected her personal struggle, which Arlo was kind enough to indulge! Go check out their work!

(And if you've ever thought Wyn's design was cool in general, they are ALSO her original designer, and their commissions are still open 👀)

[grayskies2525]

After having the dumbest work week of my life involving the most tedious task I've ever been given, I was so excited to have the time to finally sit down and begin writing my next chapter of my thing.

But all I've done for the past two hours is stare at my blank document and now my eyes are doing the stupid thing they do when I spend too much time on the computer. So I wasted the precious time I had with actual functioning eyesight by staring at my screen without accomplishing anything 😭😭😭

[stevieschrodinger]

Part One Seven

Eddie cradles his can of Coke, sipping slowly. He’s trying not to be aware that there is not a single drop of alcohol here; he’s failing miserably. He’s also trying not to blame himself, but it feels like everyone else here is being punished for his fuck up.

It’s sunny and warm, everyone else rocking tee shirts and shorts, enjoying the weather, while Eddie wraps his hoodie around himself even tighter, convincing himself that he’s chilled.

Eddie slithers lower down in the fancy garden lounger he’s got half tilted back; he’s watching two pups chase each other around in clumsy circles at the other end of the yard. He’s vaguely mortified that he doesn’t actually know which one of them is Gareth’s kid.

Eddie wants to curl up and disappear when Gareth comes and sits next to him, offering a plate. There’s a burger on it, and considering Jeff’s on the grill, it’s a damn good looking burger. Eddie’s stomach turns over at the sight of it. “Don’t worry, I didn’t bother getting you any of the green stuff.”

“Thanks,” Eddie says vaguely, haunted by Steve’s not there frown, “I would have, you know, maybe a couple of carrot sticks or something.”

“Oh I’ll-”

“No. No. I’ll go in a bit,” Gareth sits back down, an uncertain look on his face, which makes Eddie feel even more shit. Gareth isn’t his fucking servant, and the guys treating him like he’s made out of glass is getting really old really quick, “you guys can drink, you know, if you want to,” Eddie offers, as an apology.

“Nah, we don’t really anyway, because of the pups,” he seems genuine enough, “and...I mean it just felt kind of harsh, I guess.”

Eddie shrugs, “I’m going to have to get used to it at some point right?”

“Yeah, totally. But it doesn’t have to be today.”

They sit in silence for a while, just people watching. It’s only a small group; Gareth’s mate who keeps giving Eddie the side eye when she thinks he isn’t watching. Jeff and his girlfriend. Chrissy. Jeff’s sister and her mate, plus Gareth’s Mom is around somewhere, Eddie’s pretty sure.

A few people have said hello to him, made polite conversation. It’s all so stilted and awkward and Eddie is already wondering how soon he can ask Chrissy to take him home again.

It’s quietly kind of devastating; Eddie had been really looking forward to this.

Eddie bites the bullet, “which one is Arlo?”

Both pups are vaguely the same age, and Eddie can’t remember seeing Arlo properly since he was basically a new born. He looked like a pink potato, so impossible to work it out from that.

“Blue shirt,” Gareth answers, “also the fucking loud one,” Gareth chuckles.

Eddie joins in, chuckling even though it’s not funny, not really. He can hear both pups squealing with joy from here. Until one of them falls over, and then the squealing turns upset and Gareth’s getting up to retrieve his pup. He ambles over, the pup just took a tumble on the grass, so he isn’t hurt, and Gareth doesn’t move with any urgency, simply scooping his pup up.

A kiss on each knee and a loud raspberry blown on a tummy and the pup is off again, like nothing happened at all.

Eddie manages a mouthful of his burger. It’s as good as it looks, and the moment he’s chewing he realizes he’s actually hungry. After a couple of mouthfuls he actually feels a little better.

“You get anywhere with the lyrics?” Gareth asks as he sits back down.

Eddie had read through everything the guys had given him, some of it good, some of it great, but as usual all of it disjointed and in need of a lot of structuring. Not to mention the actual music.

None of it has spoken to him though. He used to just look at words and the tune would come to him. Just kind of...appear, from some unknown place. Eddie’s written complete songs in an afternoon before, feeling like he wasn’t really involved, merely the delivery system for something that was being dragged from somewhere deep inside himself. Something that simply floated onto the page, funneled through Eddie’s hands and into his messy pigeon scratch.

Eddie with nothing but his guitar and a pen, creating something that spoke to literally hundreds of thousands of people.

He hasn’t lost the music, he’s pretty sure...he just doesn’t know how to get it to come back. Like a wayward pet that Eddie’s abused and neglected one too many times.

Eddie is struck vaguely by the image of his inspiration, his talent, being something like a cat. Maybe it’s gone off and moved in with a neighbor who feeds it better stuff than Eddie ever did. Maybe it’s purring up a tuney storm somewhere, for some kind old lady who dispenses tuna and has no idea what she has.

He’s pretty sure Steve would have some advice on the matter. Steve isn’t here though. Eddie wonders vaguely if he’s ever even going to see Steve ever again.

“I’ve read through it all. Some really good stuff in there...maybe I could bring it to the studio and we could have a little play?”

“You haven't written anything, have you?”

“Not a thing.”

Gareth snorts a laugh, and it kind of feels a little better, a little more natural, “okay. But don’t put any pressure on yourself okay, I guess these things take time and...you’re still getting better, you know?”

“Right. Sure.”

“How was that?” Chrissy asks, not looking at him. He’s glad she’s not looking at him, considering she’s driving, but, still.

“Yeah. It...well it was fucking awkward.”

“Uh hu, saw you got talking to Gar though.”

“Yeah. Yeah that felt better. They’re...they’re being so good about all this and I don’t know what to do with that, you know? It’d be so much easier if they were just...fucking angry with me. All this understanding is...it’s not right.” He’s not even angry. He’s not anything really. He feels like his insides have been scraped out.

“It’s because they actually like you,” Chrissy tells him, “fuck knows why,” she mumbles after.

Eddie sinks down in his seat, arms crossed tight. He decides to spend the rest of the journey staring out of the window.

“What?” Eddie squints up at Chrissy.

“The nurse is here to do a blood draw, it’s been a week since your rut, they want to check on you.”

“Oh,” Eddie scrubs at his face, manages to drag himself upright and flop on the edge of the bed for a second, gathering himself.

He doesn’t put it together until he’s slumped his way into the kitchen. It’s Robin. Steve’s best friend.

She already has her stuff laid out on the counter, a cushion from the couch ready to support Eddie’s arm. Chrissy faffs with the coffee machine, “how do you take it?”

Robin responds with what Eddie is sure is an illegal amount of sugar and creamer. He just shrugs to himself, taking his seat, Chrissy sliding him a coffee too.

“Okay, you know the drill right?” Robin asks as she tightens the elastic thingy around the top of Eddie’s arm.

Eddie holds his arm out, braced on the pillow, making a fist and giving a couple of squeezes. Robin mumbles something about a small scratch, and everyone waits quietly while Robin fills four little blood thingies up before deftly removing the needle and replacing it with a plaster. She ditches her gloves, downs her coffee, and then washes her hands and her mug at the sink.

She packs her things away, Chrissy’s phone rings and she heads out the French doors onto the deck to answer it.

Eddie takes the chance, “I’ll see you out.”

Robin finishes packing all her bits and bobs away in her cool box looking thing, “sure, thanks.”

Eddie calls himself plenty of names on the way to the door, Robin trailing behind. Thinks about how Steve is nothing to do with him. He’s stupid for asking. What’s the point of asking, even, it doesn’t change anything. It’s polite, no, it’s fine, he could ask? No, it’s weird and pointless-

Eddie’s so deep in his own thoughts Robin’s out the door and he nearly misses his chance, he’s landed on being pretty sure he definitely shouldn’t ask, but it slips out without his permission, “how’s Steve?”

She shrugs smiling, “yeah pretty good thanks, I’ll tell him you were asking after him,” and then she’s gone, getting in her little car and heading off down the drive. Eddie doesn’t know what he even expected. He doesn’t understand why he even cares. Steve’s a dick.

Eddie was just being polite, or whatever.

Part Nine

[endereies]

BREAK UP DRUG - MS - PART 2

No Nut November - Day 23

NNN Masterlist...

-➤ When you stay over at the triplet's house, you confront Matt

Part 1

“He what.” You were sat down in between Nick and Chris, tears forming in your eyes anytime you uttered his name.

“He didn’t even say why! Just that he couldn’t tell me. Did I do something?” Solemn gasps pass your lips as you begin to sob once more. It didn’t stop. I couldn’t stop. Skin had been scratched on your wrists, a sign of the failed grasp you had on him. It was just too much now.

The brothers gave a knowing glance to each other while you sniffled into your jumper. For the first time in months, it wasn’t Matt’s.

“D-do either of you know why…?” The look on your face shattered them, of course they knew why, but like Matt, they couldn’t tell you. “I’m sorry, we have no idea, we can try and talk with him?”

Nick’s voice was promising, a chance to get an explanation, anything. That was enough for now. Chris quickly got up to grab some tissues and chocolate he had stored in the fridge and handed it to you. With gratitude, you smiled up at him. Your voice couldn’t be trusted to be coherent.

Eventually, you fell silent, laying against the cushions of the couch. Sniffles grew quiet and you just stared at nothing. Chris and Nick were alongside you the entire time but they knew you needed space.

“Hey…kid? Do you want to sleep in my room tonight?” Soft eyes looked up to Nick as he offered you a safe space. “Shouldn’t I get home, what about Matt?”

“He said he was busy tonight, but it is up to you.”

The nails of your fingers protruded the underneath of others as you came to a decision. It was like part of you wanted to leave this place and never come back, but it was all you knew. Your home felt a little too empty, too quiet. “Yes please…”

“Alright, you know where everything is, I’ll see you in the morning.” The triplet just looked at you pitifully, not envying you situations.

Hours flew by and by surprise, you fell asleep. The comfort in familiarity brought you to ease. Until voices woke you up.

“Are you fucking serious, Matt! You love that girl. You didn’t think to talk to either of us about it?” It was Chris, angry. Matt’s name sobered your thoughts, and you sat up quickly. Surely you were still dreaming…

Nick lied peacefully beside you, his glasses shining against the hallway light. It fell silent until Matt spoke up.

“Of course I love her, do you think I fucking stopped? I was prepared to do anything for her, so I did.” He didn’t sound like himself, it was sharper.

“So, you thought that shoving her away and into the dark was the best choice?”

“It was either that or Arlo would do some shit, he knows about her Chris. I let the relationship get into my head and I’ve jeopardised her safety.” It was obvious it was about you, one thing that Matt wasn’t was disloyal.

“You chose your little drug group over her; do you know how pathetic that is.”

That made your chest ache. Drugs? He was always clean; he never gave you a reason to think otherwise. Matt was always so adamant about not letting you near them. Maybe it was because he knew what it did to people first hand.

“That is one of our only incomes, but that’s not the point.” The voices grew louder as you grew closer.

“Then what is! Tell me Matt, because I have spent the past three hours consoling her because of you.” Matt stammered before responding.

“She is! Y/n is the point, if she was kept near me, she’d become a target, you know what they are like. If they find out that she is the reason why I’ve fucked up so many times… I don’t want her hurt.”

You now stood at the entrance of the kitchen, staring at the two brothers. Chris was pissed, and disappointed. Although that was easy to tell by their voices. Matt had a stray tear fall down his cheek. You never saw him sad, not around you at least. Was there a reason?

“Matt?”

Both the boys perked up at your voice. Chris was more stunned than Matt was, he smiled at you before walking out the room, grabbing a stray can of Pepsi as he left. Matt just looked at you, so gently. Why did he have to look at you like that?

“Drugs? What is going on, am I finally going to get any information from you.” You didn’t want to cry, but his own tears made your body choke up.

“Baby… I-“ The nickname didn’t even shock you; you were too attached to throw that away.

“I don’t want lies, Matt”

“I ended things…to keep you safe, protected.” He watched your eyes, how they were expectant for more before he gave in and spoke again. “Yes, drugs. It’s so stupid, I know. But it’s income. I swear on my life I’ve never touched them, I don’t use, baby.” His voice quivered and it broke you, the tears visible on your faces from the light above.

“Protect me? Matt, you hurt me.”

“Y/n, let me explain. I sell drugs, with a few other people. I hadn’t meant to but my had revolved so much around you that I started fucking up my job. It was my last chance to pick between you or my work. I chose my work to keep you safe. They know all about you, they can hurt you, you don’t understand.” He rambled continuously, spewing words at me. Both his hands talked with him, and it was almost hard to keep up.

“You didn’t mean to revolve around me? What am I, some sort of side piece to you?” He hadn’t meant it that way, you both knew it but it was just so hard to understand each other.

“No wait- I didn’t mean it like tha-“

“Don’t Matt. I- I’m not in the mood.” Walking away felt the same as before, as cold at least. You left him again in the dark, alone.

Just as last time.

@melliflws @yuhayeee @st7rnioioss @sturn-bugz @bueckerrss @worldlxvlys @raysmayhem-72 @patscorner @y0urm4m @bernardsbendystraws @junnniiieee07 @luverboychris @jnkvivi @rac00ns-are-c00l4 @shorthairchris @colorthecosmos444 @anabethinking @zay-sturns @anyaa2s @emilyfaith2003 @jassturn @imjusthereforthesturniolosmut @sturniolosiphone @ribread03 @slutf4rmatt @spaghetti835928383 @flouvela

© ENDEREIES 2024

[agentromanoffsir]

the cry of the wild goose, frankie laine // snufkin leaves moominvalley, the moomins // brandy (you're a fine girl), the looking glass // selkie, wikipedia page // song of the sea, cartoon saloon // chilling of the evening, arlo guthrie // swan princess crying, john bauer // wild geese, mary oliver // dinosaur, richard siken // selkie statue, mikladalur // brandy (you're a fine girl), the looking glass // the swan maiden, swedish fairytales // serethereal, tumblr post // moominvalley in november, tove jansson

[hannahhook7744]

Vera Rivera Madrigal Headcanons;

Her full name is Vera Coco Rivera Madrigal.

She is 6 years old by d3.

She is the second youngest child of Miguel Rivera and Mirabel Madrigal.

She has the gift of flight.

Her birthday is December 17th, which makes her a Sagittarius.

Vera has Mirabel’s skin tone and Miguel’s big brown eyes with rosie red cheeks, big ears, buck teeth, and long frizzy, wavy, slightly curly golden blonde hair that goes down to her mid-back. 

After her gift ceremony, she was gifted angel-like white and gold wings that can be folded out of existence that allow her to steer her flight. If she lost them, she would be able to fly or float still but it would be more difficult without the ability to steer or shield herself from a bad fall. 

She adores the colors pink, yellow, purple, white, and red as well as bows, dresses, and skirts (she is very much what one would call a girly girl). It is pretty much all she wears. 

Vera has an ungodly amount of energy and could run and play and dance all day without putting a dent into said energy. It’s been like this since she was a baby.

She got glasses when she was four and handled it rather well…unlike Mariana and Mirabel, who were not at all happy to get glasses when they did. 

The blonde absolutely adores any winged creature. She does not care what it is, if the thing has wings or can fly, she loves it. Which is unfortunate for Mariana, because that includes bugs which her older sister is absolutely terrified of. 

Vera’s favorite season is summer, which is funny because her name means summer in Latin.

Vera loves origami—she mainly makes paper airplanes, origami bugs,and origami birds though. 

Some people in the Encanto have a nasty habit of touching her wings without permission when they're out—they do the same with Arlo’s hair. Unlike Arlo, Vera finds it very hard to say no to people/stand up to people when they do this. 

Lucky Vera has her family to stand up for her. 

She likes when Mirabel brushes her hair, but doesn't like when anyone else (aside from Princesa, Dolores, and Marcelo) does because very few people in their family know how to take care of her hair without brushing against her wings or tugging too quickly/much. 

Her and Princesa get along great since they've both inherited the random blonde gene in the family.

She's a daddy’s girl and wants to be a musician when she grows up like her dad. 

Unfortunately for her, she absolutely sucks at playing the guitar AND the piano no matter how hard she tries to learn. 

She's killer at the harp, ukulele, and violin though and is learning how to play the drummers, so she'll still be able to accomplish her dreams. 

Vera goes to the Encanto's only public school and doesn't care whether she goes to Auradon Prep or not. School is school. Whether she likes it or not doesn't change things.

Vera is single and as of right now does not have or show interest in anyone at the moment as more than friends but it's subject to change as she ages. 

Vera is very close friends with Lena Cove, Karina Collodi-Rossi-Liddell, Christina Bones,Fabian Collodi-Rossi-Liddell, Blue Veronica Rossí, and Samantha Cove. 

The blonde has been described as kind, shy, reserved, gentle, fair, caring, faithful, eager, trusting, and smart as well as quiet, cheerful, clumsy, forgetful, impatient, and imaginative.

Vera is rather smart and even tempered for her age, and is very curious. 

She's also daydreaming constantly and loves to play this game where she's the princess of a cloud kingdom called ‘the kingdom of the sky’.

People have said that she looks a lot like Miguel, which she takes pride in. She’s also been told she looks like Princesa and her Abuela Luisa. 

Loves playing hide ‘n seek but hates playing with Mariana and Marisol because she can never find either of them (because Mariana is always hiding under the rug and Casita helps her, and Marisol knows where all the secret passages go. Not that she knows that). 

Vera fell out of the Tree House Agustín built once when she was three. None of the older kids told anybody and just gave her some of Julieta's cooking after making sure she didn't hurt her head. It's one of her earliest memories. 

That's also why she's so good at being sneaky despite being so little. 

Vera, like Antonio, hears more than people think and will oftentimes scare the fuck out of people by dropping information she’s not supposed to have into a conversation. 

Her favorite aunt is Luisa And her favorite uncle is Bubo.

Her favorite candy is any kind of chocolates—her favorite chocolates are Chocolates Madrigal, though. 

Her favorite bedtime story is the book of life. BUT she also has no complaints about having ‘the Skeleton Man’ read to her as a bedtime story.

Her favorite holiday is Halloween. She usually dresses as ‘skeletal cupid’. 

Her favorite musician is her dad but she also likes listening to the music that her cousins and her siblings’ music, too. 

Her favorite songs are “Remember Me” (which her dad sings to her as a lullaby) and “Charm Me Maybe”. 

She has a pet/animal companion named ‘Featherplums’, who is an antbird. Antonio gave him to her. 

She likes catching and releasing bugs, and she collects fake/dead ones. She'd likely be a professional bird watcher or Entomologist if she was unable to become a professional musician for some reason. 

She does not, however, like horses because they always try to buck her off or run her down whenever they see her. The only exception is Mirabel's horse, Needles. Truth be told, they scare her. 

Vera loves flying and wishes her parents would allow her to fly higher but doesn't argue with them too much about it because they did a good job of explaining to her that they were just scared of her getting hurt. 

She's woken up herself up more than once after accidentally flying into the wall. 

Despite the fact that Vera doesn't always have her wings (since she can retract them), she still has to preen her feathers and she still molts. 

The first time she molted after getting her gifts she cried because her wings were so itchy and no one knew what was going on until Antonio got home and got look at them. 

She needs help when it comes to preening and cleaning her wings because obviously she can't reach the entire length of them. 

She also likes those lollipops with insects in them. 

Her favorite animals that are not winged are dogs.

Her favorite flower is the dandelion because she likes blowing them out. 

Vera's favorite shows are ‘The Thunderbolt Adventure Hour’, ‘Aurora The Explorer’, and ‘Toddlers without Tiaras’. 

Her favorite business to visit outside of the Encanto is The Briar Rose—a restaurant that only sells desserts. 

Her paternal family has a picture of her crying on Santa's knee when she was about one or two. 

Likes painting wooden carvings and is pretty decent at it. 

Vera doesn't like getting her wings wet because she doesn't like how it feels. 

She is terrified of needles. 

She has flown into a window more than once and refuses to acknowledge that it's ever happened because she's so embarrassed. 

Slipped walking into the cafeteria at school on a rainy day and walked right back out without looking at anyone. She was mortified. She only returned because José, Avila, and Dayana promised to beat up anyone who made fun of her. It also probably helped that Amada and Renata held her hands when they walked back in. 

She loves playing video games with Marcelo (who usually lets her win though she doesn't know it). Her favorite is ‘Hero Rising’. 

Her favorite play is ‘12 Angry Dalmatians’. 

She enjoys watching plays more than being in them. 

She slept through the night quicker than her other siblings did and she doesn't usually remember her dreams. 

Broke her wing once after getting caught in clothes’ lines. Which she is now afraid of. 

Her favorite food that Julieta makes is Zesty and Exceptional Fish Ceviche. 

Her favorite dessert that Julieta makes is ‘Coconut Fudgies For Pepa’s happiest mood’. 

Her favorite drink that Julieta makes is Lulo Juice.

Vera gets along great with her Abuela Julieta and loved being carried around by her as a toddler. 

She likes listening to Marisol's stories and has fallen asleep to them on more than one occasion. 

Her biggest dream, unrelated to job aspirations, is to meet the Grinch, Rudolph, or the Great Pumpkin. 

Vera adores horror movies and horror stories, and tries to sneak watch them whenever she can even though she's technically not allowed to watch them. 

Accidentally stole a candy bar once and cried because she felt so bad, and thought she was going to jail. 

Told the ‘If I was you I would be really sad’ girl the exact same thing she told Mirabel, only she said it about the girl's job. Mirabel was mortified but not as mortified as said girl who got flashbacks to what she said to Mirabel and couldn't look her in the eye. Yes, that girl had babysat Vera before. 

Vera's baby blanket is gold with ladybugs on it and the stuffed animal Mirabel made her as a baby is a dove. 

Met her deceased family in a dream once and nobody is sure whether it was real or not. 

Vera is a sound sleeper and it takes a lot to get her to stirr. She doesn't move around in her sleep or snore—she just stays in the position she fell asleep in. 

She drools in her sleep.

Loves learning new things.

Camilo told her once that the table manners man would come and stare ar her until she behaved, and completely forgot about it. Vera believed in the table manners man for three years whole heartedly 

Marcelo is her favorite sibling, hands down. 

She nearly floated off after her gift ceremony and now she wears weighted shoes to ensure that she can't ever float too far off uncontrollably ever again. 

She can do a handstand and a cartwheel. 

Vera loves doing tricks in the air when she flies but has gotten hurt on more than one occasion because she's clumsy. 

She once poured water on someone and flew away after she heard them insulting Marcelo. No one ever figured out it was her. 

Vera is also friends with the tooth fairy. She also adores her and her army of little baby teeth (aka littler fairies). 

She's lactose intolerant. 

She likes fidget toys and squishy toys.

She also enjoys coloring and dancing.

Whenever one of the kids in the house breaks something, Vera is the go-to person to hide the original. Leta is usually the one to make a replica of the thing that was broken so that the adults don't notice.

Vera’s door shows the blonde soaring through the clouds with her wings spread out, eyes closed and a small smile on her face. 

Vera's room is a little bigger than the nursery with wallpaper that shows birds flying on a sky blue, cloudy background and pink carpet. 

She has a big bird cage in the corner of her room that she can enter that her bird rests in occasionally (Vera has accidentally locked herself in it three times since she got her room). 

She has a nest made of soft fabric with a circular, thin but comfortable mattress in it. The nest is full of winged stuffed animals, blankets, and pillows. 

The main/biggest blanket in the nest is the pink and purple bug and bird patterned, bowed quilt Mirabel made her.

She has a coloring table that has her favorite cartoon character (Thunderbolt) in her room with a winged chair. 

She has a dresser for her clothes with knick knacks everywhere on top of it and an angel music box on top of it that plays ‘Remember Me’ whenever wound up. 

One corner of her room has a case for her bug collection. 

The ceiling in her room shows a colorful pastel rainbow sky that is endless. 

Her wall is decorated in magazine cut outs of birds, bugs, and wings, and pictures of family members. There's also a couple of posters from her favorite shows. 

She has a secret bookcase in her room that flips around when her parents are in the room. She also has a tv that gets absorbed into the wall when they enter too. 

Vera also has a toucan toy chest in one corner of the room and a little area where she can practice her music. 

Oh and she has a few skulls in her room. No one is sure where she got them. 

She got jump scared one time when she awoke in the middle of the night to find a sleepwalking Renata in her room. 

Vera will remind others in the midst of chaos how good they're being.

Before Vera got her gift, she used to be scared of the dark and would run to Marcelo for comfort. She outgrew her fear of the dark not long after getting her gift and still doesn't know that her big brother is terrified of the dark.

Vera does not know that Marcelo was sick and will not know until she's much older.

Her friends and siblings and cousins joked once that if she found a portal to another dimension she would enter it without a second thought to explore. It was funny until Vera agreed. 

Marcelo made her promise to at least get him first if she found one. 

Vera has a diary and she writes mostly with glitter pens and colored pencils. 

Vera is a good singer. 

When Vera is in a bad headspace, she'll often wake up to find that she's floated so far up in her room that she can no longer see the floor. Which is probably half of the reason why she's terrified that she'll float away and never be seen again one day if she doesn't learn how to control her powers/ever loses her weighted shoes.

When her gift acts up, she'll unwillingly start floating and her wings will disappear on her—which has caused her to face plate on the rare occasions that it's happened.

Vera has beef with Osvaldo and is very open about it. She has hated that man from birth and no one knows why. 

She has a secret social media account: no one knows it exists. She uses it to look at Thunderbolt fanart and literally nothing else. It has not occurred to her to use it for anything else. Casita is pulling the strings to keep her from seeing the more unsavory stuff. 

Is very much the kid who will say “I’m six and a half” as if it's that big of a difference. 

She's ticklish. 

Vera wants to learn archery when she's older. 

The day she hears the story of Icarus is the day a brand new fear is unlocked.

Marcelo saved her from a kidnapping attempt once using nothing but a shoe. 

Oh and Vera, like Dolores, absolutely hates getting unnecessarily dirty.

[jessicaloons]

Chapter 45:

Just breathe, just relax, it’ll be OK

Masterlist - Previous - Next

I woke up to soft barks and whines, Arlo gently letting us know that it was time for his morning walk.

"Charles… Charles…" I mumbled, pulling the sheets over my head "Arlo…"

"He’s your baby…" he groaned turning away and I hit him with a pillow "Our baby… fine…"

"He needs to go on a walk…"

"It’s too early…" Charles whined and I huffed, getting up slowly.

"It’s your week…" I pulled the blanket away and he covered his eyes with his arm "But because you won yesterday I’ll go. This one time." I scrambled out of bed, pulling on some shorts and a hoodie.

"You could just go on the terrace with him… for once…"

"That was just for his training! We’re not taking steps backwards!" I shook my head and slipped on some socks, then opened Arlo’s crate "Good morning little one. You’re a good boy, waiting here patiently for your irresponsible, hungover dad without throwing a massive tantrum…"

"Oh wow… not throwing shade at all." Charles mumbled and sat up slowly, wiping his eyes "I’m awake now… you can go back to bed."

"No, it’s fine, I’ll go." I grabbed Arlo’s harness and leash and walked around the bed "You look… horrible. Sleep." I kissed Charles’ cheek and left our bedroom together with Arlo. I put on the harness and the leash, slipped into my sneakers and grabbed Charles’ RayBan from the kitchen island "Let’s go, little one."

It was a warm, sunny day. A buzzing atmosphere in the air. People we passed talking about how amazing the race was, how Charles won his home GP for the second time, how proud they were on their hometown hero.

"Lizzie?" someone said behind me and I turned around, spotting a very sweaty Max "You’re awake quite early?"

"Me? Look at you! You look like you ran a half marathon…" I looked him once over.

"Almost, yeah." he chuckled and then kneeled down to give Arlo some head scratches "I mean, I didn’t have much to celebrate last night, so yeah…" he winked and I laughed.

"Oh no, poor Maxie…" I joked.

"Need to get used to it again, you know." Max shrugged his shoulders a little, a smile on his lips, as he continued scratching Arlo‘s head.

"I’m sure you’ll have plenty of opportunities this season." I laughed and he got up, lightly punching my upper arm.

"Look who‘s getting all cocky." he said and this time I shrugged my shoulders "Honestly, I’m happy that Charles finally has the car and the team around him to fight me. You can’t be the best if you’re not fighting the best."

"Such wise words from you."

"I’m not getting younger, you know." he glanced behind me and I heard the hectic voices of some fans, turning around.

"Looks like you’ve been spotted. Go on, I gotta go anyways, we’re having some busy days ahead."

"Tell Charles congrats again, and I’ll see you guys in Montreal I guess?" Max waved and walked towards the fans.

"Yep, see you then." I walked in the opposite direction, back home. Arlo happily running in front of me, all the way back to our building. I unlocked the front door and got hit with a delicious smell.

"It smells amazing, you made breakfast?" I slipped off my shoes and unbuckled Arlo’s leash.

"Just some eggs on bread, I’m not a complete lost cause, okay?" Charles laughed, bending down, feeding Arlo a piece of cheese "Good morning little one." he patted his head and then got up, grabbing me by the waist, pulling me close "Good morning my gorgeous girl." he kissed me gently, deepening the kiss as soon as I put my hands around his neck, pulling him closer "I must say… my hoodie, my glasses… it all looks way better on you than on me."

"That’s because some of the stuff you own looks horrible… sorry…" I whispered against his pouty lips "I like the simple Charles, Jeans and T-Shirt… not these weird oversized, crazy pattern clothes you sometimes put on."

"I’m experimenting…" he sighed and I kissed the tip of his nose.

"I know. But most of the time… it should stay inside your closet…" I chuckled and his grip on my waist tightened a little, as he kissed my jaw, down the column of my throat.

"Like the box with my clothes you’re hiding in your closet?" he whispered against the sensitive spot beneath my ear and I swallowed audibly "What? You think I didn’t notice that some of my… more risky clothes were missing?" his hot breath fanned over my ear, then he kissed my cheek and I could feel the smirk on his lips.

"I’m sorry, but some of that clothes are atrocious… that blue tie dye jeans? The baby blue jacket you combined with it? Basically every single one of these pants you would fit in three times?" I bit my lip, looking down "I should’ve told you something… and not just hide your clothes… I’m really sorry."

"It’s okay… I guess Doni won’t be too happy to hear that you find most of his clothes atrocious but okay…" Charles chuckled a little, kissing my forehead "Come on, sit down. Breakfast is ready…" he pulled away and went back to the stove, plating our food.

"Are you mad at me?" I asked, sitting down and Charles raised an eyebrow "That I hid your clothes?"

"No? I mean, I know that style wise you’re more into the classics, a little sporty, simple with a touch of timeless elegance… whereas me? I don’t even know if I have a style? I guess I’m still finding mine and I know that I could need all the help that I’m getting." he laughed.

"Well for starters, wear clothes in your size and if oversized then maybe one or two sizes more… and maybe not the wild patterns you’re going for sometimes? They hurt the eyes." I shrugged a little, biting into my toast "And maybe Doni is better as just a friend… and hoodie and t-shirt provider… but not pants. Definitely not pants."

"Got it… will you help me picking out an outfit for Andrea and Simon’s engagement party then?" Charles sat down next to me and I smiled "You already did… alright." he laughed and I looked at him sheepishly.

"Sorry but I was looking for what I was wearing and so I was going through my stuff and then I saw your suits and thought about something that would match my dress…" I mumbled and he laughed.

"I’m sure whatever you picked, it will look amazing, your outfit as well as mine."

Charles POV:

I looked over the bay, watched the waves gently crashing down the shore when we were called back in and I followed Daniel who apologised himself shortly after and left. As everyone finally sat down I looked over my shoulder, waiting for Lizzie to return. I ordered a bourbon for me and a cocktail for Lizzie, then talked with the two guys on my left, some cousins of Andrea, as I felt a soft hand gently stroking my neck.

"Sorry, love. It took a little longer than expected." she said and sat down on my right.

I turned to her and she gave me a little peck on the cheek.

"It’s alright, cara mia, I had a nice little conversation with Andrea’s cousins. I don’t think they understood a lot of what I was saying, well vice versa, but I was entertained." I said and she chuckled a little right as the waitress brought us our drinks "Thank you." and with a smile she was gone.

"What are we having?" Lizzie asked and looked at the red cocktail in front of her.

"Well I picked something we might later want to try out." I whispered and scooted closer, my thigh pressing against hers.

"What are you talking about?" she said and I could hear her voice getting raspy at the contact of our thighs, I leaned in even closer. My mouth at the shell of her ear now.

"I ordered you a Sex on the Beach." and as soon as the words left my lips her eyes widened and she swallowed audibly. I smirked and gently stroked her thigh with my hand under the table, pushing up her dress. Instantly she began to blush and looked around frantically.

"What are you doing?" she whispered, breathless. My hand slipped even higher, playing with the hem of her slip and she gasped loud enough for some heads to turn. Lizzie cleared her throat and looked apologetic around, her cheeks redder than my SF-24, I chuckled and pulled her dress back in place. Then I sat up and took a swig of my Bourbon.

"You look a little flustered there?" I nonchalantly asked her and she glared at me.

"That cocktail? That’s the closest you will ever get to sex on the beach!" she whispered and with that she grabbed it and got up, walking straight to Andrea and her mother. Cheeks still bright red. Totally worth it.

"What‘s up with Lizzie?" Daniel asked as he sat down opposite of me.

"Don’t know, she has some important things to talk about with Andrea I guess." I chuckled a little and took another swig from my glass.

"Maid of honour stuff probably…" he replied and I nodded "I can’t believe it… first Julia two years ago, now Andrea… you and Lizzie next. We’re getting old."

"Seems like it…" I said, a little distracted by the way Lizzie pulled her dress back into place still.

"Oh wow, you didn’t even deny it!" Daniel looked at me with a big grin and I was confused for a moment "I said you and Lizzie will be the next to marry and you just agreed! Don’t tell me you already have a ring?"

"What? No! God! It’s just… I mean, I will marry her, there’s no doubt. She’s it for me. Always was! But there are no plans or anything! At least not for now… or the near future? Honestly I don’t know, when do you know that it’s the right time?" I said quickly and he nodded.

"I don’t know… maybe you should set up a goal, for when it’s time to propose? Something you want to achieve before you ask her to marry you?"

"Like what?"

"Winning your first title?" Daniel wiggled his eyebrows and I laughed a little.

"Yeah? With Red Bull and Max being this strong? I’d like to marry Lizzie when we’re still young…"

"Oh, we’re talking about the next wedding already?" Shima sat down next to me and I swallowed hard "Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me. When will you pop the question? And I need to see the ring first, make sure it’s perfect for Lizzie!"

"There is no concrete plan, no ring, no nothing! Just us talking about it…" I rolled my eyes a little "But rest assured, when it’s time, you’ll be the third person I’ll call…"

"Third? Third!" Shima sounded offended and I laughed "Who comes before me?"

"Well first of all, Juergen, because I will ask him for Lizzie’s hand. Then Joris obviously, maybe even before Pops because he has to give me a pep talk to talk to Pops… and then you." I explained and Shima and Daniel laughed.

"You’re so traditional, Charles. But why would you need a pep talk? Juergen loves you like a son, you have his blessings already!" Daniel chuckled and I shrugged my shoulders a little.

"I think it’s romantic…" Shima sighed a little and I smiled at her.

"I heard that a special guy we both know invited you to Montreal?" I wiggled my eyebrows and she blushed a little "You and Joris seem to get along quite well?"

"Quite well? God, she’s always talking about him…" Daniel rolled his eyes and Shima threw a napkin at him and I laughed, listening to them arguing a little. I was looking up from our table, searching the crowd for Lizzie, when I realised that she was gone.

"Excuse me for a moment." I got up, looking around "Hey Simon, have you seen Lizzie?" I asked the groom to be, but he shook his head.

"Sorry, Charles. But the last time I saw her was with Andrea and our mothers…" he nodded towards the three women, Lizzie missing.

"I’ll have a look." I walked inside of the big estate, searching for her, when I heard the faint sound of a piano, played somewhere. A soft melody that I knew all too well. I followed the music and spotted Lizzie, sitting at the piano, playing a song, singing quietly. I leaned against the doorframe, watching her play, her hands dancing across the keys, her soft voice sounded almost angelic. When she was done, she smiled a little and then turned, looking at me.

"How long were you standing there?" she asked quietly and I pushed off of the doorframe, walking towards her.

"Not long enough…" I sat down next to her, kissing her cheek "That was beautiful."

"It was okay… I’m not that good at playing… need to learn a little more." she shrugged her shoulders a little and I shook my head.

"It was amazing… and your voice?" I pulled her closer and she blushed "I wish I could listen to you sing all day long."

"Oh come on. Stop it." she rolled her eyes a little but I gently grabbed her chin with my thumb and index finger, turning her face to look at me. Her big eyes softened as soon as they met mine.

"I’m serious, cara mia. I wish you would let me record a song, so I can listen to your beautiful voice whenever I want to." I looked at her intently, watched how her cheeks turned a shade darker, a glimmer in her eyes "Maybe one day…"

"Mhhh… maybe one day…" she whispered and I pulled her closer, kissing her soft lips, hoping that maybe one day would come rather sooner than later.

I watched Lizzie climbing out of her car, she looked tense and it seemed like she was limping.

"What’s with Lizzie?" I asked Andrea who followed my look "Did she have a crash or anything?"

"Not that I know of…" he replied and I handed him my helmet, following Lizzie.

She talked with Pete, her face sweaty and she smiled when she saw me approaching.

"Hey you. Good Friday sessions." she said and I nodded slowly "What’s going on?" she asked, when she saw the slight frown on my face.

"That’s what I wanted to ask you? Are you okay? You were limping?" I asked and she looked confused for a second then she began to laugh.

"When I climbed out of the car I hit my knee against the halo. I have honestly no idea how that happened and I also hope that no one saw that, or worse filmed that because I got out of the car rather gracefully after." she scratched the back of her head and I looked at her intently, mustering her face.

"Okay?" I asked and she nodded, pointing to her right knee.

"I might have a nice bruise on my knee tomorrow." she chuckled and I took a deep breath "I’m fine. Seriously! Well not fine, because it does hurt, but it’s nothing bad, it won’t kill me." she reassured me, squeezing my arm "But now I gotta go. There is a lot to talk about for tomorrow. See you later?" she kissed my cheek when I nodded and then walked into the garage, still limping a little. I walked back to my garage, where Brian waited for me.

"Good job out there, Charles." he clapped my back and I smiled.

"Yeah you too." I said as we walked inside, ready to look through the data we collected over the day.

Inside I saw Carlos discussing with is father and cousin in Spanish. He sounded agitated and I stopped when I heard Sainz senior say Lizzie’s name. I looked at them and they stopped talking.

"Still after Lizzie’s seat, I see." I winked at them and then walked away, Andrea waiting for me "I need to learn Spanish…"

"You could just record their conversations and play them to Lizzie." he chuckled and I laughed.

"True… but seriously, I’m worried that they are so adamant about taking over Lizzie’s seat! Now that the Red Bull seat is gone? Mercedes is this close to sign Antonelli? His only options are now what? Williams? Haas? Esteban’s seat in Alpine? Audi would be the best option, that’s for sure…"

"As long as Felix is team principal and Lizzie delivers good results? And after what Sainz senior said about her? After Audi stopped their Rallye team out of nowhere and he had to look for a new team? I don’t think Audi will replace Lizzie with Carlos." Andrea reassured me and I nodded slowly.

"I hope you’re right…"

I took a deep breath and climbed out of the car. The track was bumpy and the way my car bounced over the tarmac made my back burn with raging pain. I hugged Charles. Congratulated him for his pole and then made my way back to our garage after the weighing, where JK already waited for me.

"Here." he handed me my water bottle in exchange for my helmet and I almost emptied it in one go.

"Thanks." I mumbled and followed him inside where I dropped my balaclava and when I bent down to pick it up I hissed in pain, making him turn around.

"Okay Liz, that’s it. Doctor. Now." JK looked at me pointedly and I sighed "This is going on for weeks now, no months actually. I see how you struggle sometimes. You’re in pain. Bad pain."

"It’s no-… okay, okay!" I rolled my eyes a little.

"How bad?"

"I don’t know…"

"Liz… how bad is the pain. Be honest."

"6? Maybe?" I looked down.

"I know you, when you say 6 others would say 10…" he groaned, scrolling through his phone, dialling a number "Hi, can I talk to Dr. Odell? John Knight, he knows me. Thank you…" I cocked an eyebrow and he shrugged "I know him from back home, he a-… Jack! How are you mate?"

I sat down and leaned back in the chair, closing my eyes. JK was right. The pain in my back got worse. I thought it was because I maybe wasn’t training hard enough. But no matter how much I worked out, how many exercises I did, there was still this dull pain in my lower back, sometimes worse, sometimes less. But it was there. At all times.

"Go change, I’ll talk to Pete and Felix…" JK’s voice brought me back out of my head and I blinked confused "I’ll take you to the hospital. A friend of mine will check you through and then we’ll see."

"JK tomorrow’s the race? We need to go over the strategy? Are you out of your mind?" I looked at him with big eyes.

"No. But you can’t drive like this tomorrow, so let’s check what it is and then we can come back and the team can present you the strategies and you’ll pick the one you like. Done." he walked away and then turned around "Go get changed. Chop, chop."

I groaned but ultimately did what he said, maybe he wasn’t wrong after all.

"Were there any complications after they removed the rod and screws?" Dr. Odell asked and I shook my head.

"No, the healing process was pretty quickly…"

"She had some typical swellings and bruises afterwards, but nothing out of the ordinary. We started with strengthening her spine and lower back muscles and increased the intensity slowly but steady." JK said and Dr. Odell nodded, applying pressure on my spine, making me hiss.

"Is the pain concentrated on the area where I apply pressure? Or is it a pain all around that just increases when I push in…" the doctor asked.

"Umm…" I began when JK looked at me pointedly.

"Be honest."

"It’s like a dull pain in my lower back, certain movements hurt more than others and please don’t apply any more pressure because that hurts like hell…" I sighed and he nodded.

"We make a X-ray and I also want a CT scan, then we’ll see what we’re dealing with." he got up and grabbed the phone.

"But you have an idea what it could be, right?" I looked at him.

"I have a theory. But I need to see the pictures before I can say anything…" he smiled and then left the room.

"It’s going to be okay, don’t worry!" JK tried to calm me down but I shook my head.

"What if I need a surgery? I would miss a good amount of races…" I frowned.

"Let’s just wait for what Jack will say, okay?" he patted my back and I sighed right when the door opened.

"Lizzie? Can you please put that on and then I’ll pick you up and get you to your X-ray and CT scan." a nurse walked inside, handing me a hospital gown.

"Sure." I got up and JK left the room.

I changed into the hospital gown and looked at myself in the mirror, goosebumps erupting all over my body. Too many bad memories were flooding my head when I saw how the gown clung to my body and I turned around, stepping out of the room, where the nurse stood and smiled at me.

"Ready? Alright, then let’s go…" she said and I followed her down the hall "We start with the X-Ray and then we’ll go downstairs for the CT scan. I would explain to you what’s happening but unfortunately I know that you’ve been through this all before."

"Yeah… good old memories…" I chuckled a little and she looked at me sympathetically then opened a door to her right where two other nurses and Dr. Odell were already waiting for me.

"Ready?" he asked and I nodded "Then let’s go."

"I can’t go every other week to the hospital to let them check my back!" I groaned while JK navigated the car through the traffic "I don’t have the time! Also, how am I keeping this from Charles? My family? The team?"

"You’re not keeping it from anyone? Are you serious?" he looked at me.

"How good of a doctor is your friend anyway? I want a second opinion! Taking a break? In the middle of the season?" I looked outside and JK sighed.

"Liz, he said he would suggest it, because your spine and dorsal vertebra’s that were injured from your accident are looking-…"

"I don’t care how they look. Or if they are sore, tense, whatever. As long as nothing is broken I’m good to go. Period." I crossed my arms in front of my chest and JK groaned.

"You’re so freaking stubborn! He said we should keep an eye on your back, so that’s what we’re going to do. Every two weeks you’ll get a CT scan, I want your back to be monitored. I think of new exercises to strengthen your lower back and spine." JK said and I looked at him "It’s that or I’m telling Charles and your family…"

"You wouldn’t dare!"

"Try me… I’m serious. You’ll tell Felix and Pete. They need to know it. And then we’ll monitor your back and then we’ll see how it progresses. Do I think you should tell Charles and your family? Absolutely. Is it my decision? No. Will I tell them if you’re not doing what I say? 100 %. So? Do we have a deal?" I never heard JK sound this serious and after a while I nodded.

"We have a deal…"

"Good. And now stop pouting."

I rolled my eyes again and looked outside right when I got a text from Charles.

"Great. Just great." I groaned and JK looked at me "Charles asked me if I’m okay. He heard that I’m at the hospital."

"Well… you might as well just be honest with him." he shrugged.

"Yeah sure and then from now on he’s constantly at my ass, asking me how I feel or if I’m in pain." I rolled my eyes.

"Liz, don’t take this the wrong way, but haven’t you learned anything from the whole mess with Diaz?" JK asked carefully and I swallowed hard "I’m sorry, but you were hiding everything from everyone and suffered through it all alone… and in the end it was even worse…"

"I know… it’s just-… god JK I have a feeling that Charles could really do it this season! He could win the title… he’s in such a good headspace, he’s so determined and motivated! I know that this year is his year… I don’t want him to constantly worry about me." I looked at my hands in my lap.

"I understand you, I really do. But if something happens and he finds out? Don’t you think he’ll be hurt? Mad?"

"Of course… but that’s something future me has to deal with then." I sighed.

"Very mature…" he laughed.

"Thank you." I replied, staring at my phone "Also, your friend said that it’s possible that something happens, not that it’s certain…"

"Yeah, that’s why he suggests a break and every 2 weeks a check up in the hospital."

"Yeah, yeah…" I rolled my eyes again.

"What will you tell him now?" he asked after a while.

"My knee hurt a lot and you wanted to check it through?" I suggested.

"Oh great now you’re pulling me into your lies?" JK rolled his eyes.

"Please?" I pleaded and he groaned.

"I’m not lying for you. You say what you say and I just nod."

"What if he asks you when you guys are alone? Because he will come to you and ask!"

"Then I’ll tell him that you’re fine and he doesn’t have to be worried…"

"Okay… thanks JK…"

"Yeah, yeah…"

"What happened? Ale asked me what’s going on with you and I had no idea and he told me that people spotted you at the hospital?" Charles stood in front of me, the second I walked through the door "Are you okay?" he cupped my cheek, looking me once over.

"I’m fine! It’s just my knee. JK didn’t like that it still hurts like hell and when I told him that pushing the throttle all the time was really painful he wanted a doc to have a look at it." I lied and felt bad instantly.

"And? What is it? Are you okay?" he guided me to the sofa, gently pushing me down.

"Yeah. It’s just heavily bruised. But nothing bad. The doc said I should ice it and keep it steady. Not move much and it’ll be gone soon." I smiled at him when he handed me something to drink.

"Can you drive tomorrow?" he asked and I nodded "Are you sure?" he sat down next to me, carefully lifting my leg into his lap, putting an ice pack on my knee.

"It’s literally just a bruised knee! I’m fine. But thanks for the ice pack." I kissed his cheek and he nodded slowly "Did you eat? No? Can we order something? I’m hungry."

"Sure… after you told me what’s really going on." he looked me dead in the eye and I swallowed audibly "That’s the wrong knee…" he looked down at my left leg in his lap and it dawned on me.

"Charles…" I began but he shook his head.

"Why are you doing this? Lizzie we said we’re honest after all the shit that went down with Diaz last year? And still you’re lying to me…" he sounded more frustrated than angry, more hurt than mad.

"It’s just-…" I stopped.

"It’s just what? What is going on? Is it your back? I’ve seen you struggling with it for months now?"

I closed my eyes for a moment, then took a deep breath and told him everything Dr. Odell had said earlier.

"So he suggests you take a break from racing?" Charles asked and I nodded.

"Yeah… he said I shouldn’t race until the second half of the season… and then also only if the soreness and pain is gone." I said quietly and he took my hand in his, stopping my fiddling.

"What would happen if you continue? Without taking a break?"

"He’s not sure, but one of the things that could happen is that the high force will damage my spine permanently…" I almost whispered and he stroked the back of my hand.

"What would that mean?"

"I don’t know…"

"Lizzie…" Charles looked at me pointedly.

"I might lose the ability to walk…" I sighed and his grip on my hands strengthened.

"But that’s just one possibility? Doesn’t mean it has to happen, no?" a tinge of hope in his voice.

"Yeah. It’s all hypothetical. I also want a second opinion. I’m going to ask Dr. Friese to have a look." I smiled a little and he nodded.

"First things first when we’re back home you’re calling him." Charles said and I squeezed his hand.

"First things first. Promise."

"Can you please stop looking at me?" I sighed and Charles looked away in an instant "I’m fine."

"Are you really? You struggled a little today?" he countered and I rolled my eyes.

"Yes. I’m fine."

"Cara mia, please, talk to me… what Dr. Friese said is exactly the same-…" he began and I huffed "Lizzie…"

"They said that these things might happen! Not that they definitely happen! I know my body. I’m fine. My work out routine is just a little more intense now, so yes. I struggled a little today."

"Okay. But maybe consider taking a break?"

"No! Charles, in one month we’re racing at Hockenheim! It’s my home race! I will not miss that out! Who knows when the next German GP will be?" I said, pulling my knees close to my chest.

"I understand that, I really do, but Lizzie this is about your health…" Charles sat down next to me, cupping my cheeks "I just don’t want you to be in pain constantly, okay?"

"I’m not! I can do it. I would really appreciate it if everyone would just let me do my thing." I groaned and he took a deep breath.

"You promise me that the moment you feel it’s getting worse, you’ll tell me and we go to see the doc?" he said slowly and I nodded "Okay… then I won’t talk about it anymore."

"Just like that?" I asked.

"I trust you." he stated simply and I smiled a little.

"Thank you. Really."

"As long as you’re honest with me…"

"I will be. I promise!" I kissed his cheek, feeling like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders.

I didn’t try to show it, not to Charles, JK, anyone, but I was scared. To think that continuing with racing could have major consequences was more than scary. Sure, it was just a possibility, but still, the pain I’ve felt for weeks, the throbbing in my lower back after a longer session in the car, how stiff my legs were after getting out of it. Things I didn’t talk about out of fear what they could mean.

"Are you okay?" Charles asked, studying my face "You spaced out a little…"

"Hmm? Oh yeah-… yeah, sure. I was just… umm thank you for trusting me, it means a lot, really." I said quietly, taking a big breath and smiled at him.

"You know that I always trust you, cara mia… it wasn’t always easy, but we’re getting there." he cupped my cheek, gently stroking it.

"I know, I know, but I like you said, I promise you that I’ll be honest about everything. For now, it’ll be okay, I’ll see what I’m able to do, I’ll focus on strengthening my back and then we’ll take it from there." I took his hand in mine and kissed the back of it, when Charles pulled me into him, breathing into my neck.

"The last two weeks made me age for at least 5 years." he sighed against my skin and I felt his warm breath tickling my neck.

"Oh come on!" I chuckled, combing through his hair.

"I’m serious! First that messed up Canada weekend, now you. God I need a good result tomorrow…"

"You’ll win. I have a good feeling."

"Winning in Barcelona would be nice." he said slowly and I grinned.

"In front of Sainz’ home crowd…" I winked and he nodded.

"You’re evil." he laughed, pulling me close "But I love you for that."

"Just for that?"

"No, you’re cute too…"

"Oh thanks… how very nice of you."

He got up and shrugged his shoulders a little, when his phone rang.

"That’s Silvia…" he rolled his eyes and put the phone done "She can leave a message."

"She’ll be mad." I chuckled.

"So what. She’s forcing me to all this stupid videos with Carlos. And I can’t keep on faking a smile when inside I just want to punch him."

"Ignore him. That’s what I’m doing. He won’t get my seat, the interest from Audi died down, Felix talked to the board, they are setting up a new contract for me, Valtteri will leave at the end of the season and Nico will come, Audi is happy because they have 2 German drivers. So yeah, I don’t care about him anymore."

"I know, but after everything that happened… this season can’t be over soon enough and he’s finally gone." Charles said and took of his shirt "But let’s stop talking about him or Silvia or whatever… care to join me under the shower?"

"As if I would say no to that."

"Bill McKnight, CBS. Charles, after winning in Japan, Monaco, Barcelona and last weekend in Spielberg, your closer then ever to Max, with a good result this weekend, you could take the lead in the driver standings. How do you feel, knowing that?" the reporter in the first row asked.

"Umm- yeah I mean honestly, the season started not so great for me, but we worked hard and delivered weekend after weekend, sure, some weren’t that great as well, but over all our season is really progressing in the right direction and we will work hard to get the next win this weekend." Charles answered and I smiled at him.

"Becca Reynolds, ESPN USA. Lizzie, some really observant fans noticed that you started to follow some accounts of wedding dress designers and liked some dresses. Is there anything you and Charles want to tell us?" she asked and I immediately blushed.

"Wh- what? I don’t- we don’t… no. No. There is nothing that needs to be told." I stuttered, taken aback. I wasn’t expecting a question like this and began to laugh nervously "One of my best friends is getting married and of course I help her, picking out the perfect dress." I added and I saw out of the corner of my eyes how Max was trying his best not to laugh out loud.

"If you’ll get married, I hope the whole grid will be invited?" he joked and Charles laughed.

"I see you all of you way too much already! You’re so not coming to our wedding!" he replied.

"Hey! Not fair!" Max said and I chuckled a little.

"There is no wedding or anything planned! So stop whining." I said with finality and he held up his hands.

"Okay, okay!"

"Alright, some more questions? No. Then thank you all and good luck this weekend!" Tom Clarkson ended the press conference and we left.

"So? Are there are really no wedding plans being made?" Max wiggled his eyebrows and I punched his arm "Ouch… I’m not asking again."

"Good."

"But honestly? You should do a Daniel and just get it over with in Vegas." he laughed, and I glared at him.

"What about you and Kelly? You're together even longer than Lizzie and I.." Charles threw in and Max paled visibly.

"Okay, no more wedding talks ever again." he said hastily.

"Yeah, that's what I thougt." Charles laughed and Max just shook his head, waving us off when he stepped into the Red Bull hospitality "You looked damn shocked when that reporter asked you that question.. almost terrified."

"Oh come on. I didn't look terrified! I just wasn't expecting a question like that." I defended myself but he laughed

"I'm just kidding!" he replied and pulled me to his side.

"But honestly? I would be terrified... marrying you? Like hell no." I joked and he pinched my side.

"Careful, cara mia, or there might be a ring on your finger sooner than you think."

"We'll see about that. And now I gotta go." I kissed his cheek and walked towards Julie, who waited for me.

"I think I never saw you blushing this hard." she chuckled, and I groaned

"What was that for a question!" I replied.

"I don't know, but you handled it well."

"Yeah... like a pro." I laughed and we walked inside, Arlo jumping right at me "Hey my little furball. Did you behave?"

"He behaved well as always." Julie smiled, scratching his ears.

"You're a good boy." I picked him up and plopped down on one of the sofas, right when the rest of the media team arrived and sat down as well

"So, we have some things to talk about. First things first. Your upcoming contract renewal. I know, I know, you didn't sign anything yet, but we will announce it at Hockenheim. It's your home race. It's our home race. We're having a special livery and race suit, we're also thinking to put your last name on the back and then instead of your driver number the year until when you're having a contract with us then. 2026 or 2027, I don't know all the details yet. Netflix will be with us the whole weekend, the original DTS crew as well as Elijah, his crew has priority, it's the last race they'll film. In Hockenheim you'll also have some junior drivers with you the whole Friday, to see how a race weekend in F1 works, they are all girls, it's a cooperation with the Fl Academy, Susie will be here as well. That was ist for Hockenheim. We have one team event in Spa where you have to attend, it's a sponsor dinner. But that's all. Elijah and his crew will edit the final episode and it's all shown to you then. You have the final word. He also wants to shoot one final interview with you and record some commentary and then it's done." she looked up from her tablet "Questions?"

"Don't think so." I shook my head.

"Alright, then that's it. Let the race weekend begin."

Charles POV:

"You did a good job, Charles, you-..." Bryan radioed.

"I did a shit job. That mistake cost me the win." I was frustrated.

"But you recovered well. From P13 to P2 in less than 10 laps."

"Doesn't matter. The team did a good job. The pit stop was amazing. I'm sorry for the whole team that I messed up."

"You didn't mess up. You did good out there, even if you don't think so."

"Thanks, Bryan." I sighed, parking the car next to Max, climbing out.

"Unfortunate mate, but what a comeback, well done man!" Max clapped my back.

"Thanks Max and congrats..." I said, opening my visor.

I was gutted and wasn't in the mood to celebrate with my team, but seeing them all chanting and clapping I swallowed my misery and went to them.

"Daghe Charles!"

"Good job!"

"You did good!"

"Thanks guys." was all I could say and when I walked back to get weighed

"Hey." Lizzie bumped into me, a soft smile on her lips "You made a mistake, but you recovered damn well. Please keep that in mind, okay?"

"I don't know..." I began but she looked at me pointedly

"Okay! But the mistake was stupid and shouldn't happen to me, we can all agree on that?"

"You were taking a risk, nothing wrong with that, sometimes it pays off, sometimes it doesn't."

"Yeah…" I sighed.

"Go to your interview and don’t be too hard on yourself. I’m watching your podium."

"You have to go to the media pen, cara mia." I reminded her.

"Yeah I can do that later." she kissed my cheek and pushed me towards David Coulthard.

I took a deep breath and thanked the girl who handed me the microphone and turned towards the former driver.

"Charles, congrats on P2. You’re not happy with the result, I can tell."

"Yeah, I’m never happy with a P2. Especially not when I had the pace to win."

"It was a tight battle between you and Max there, some good racing."

"It was really tight. We had a lot of pace and where at the straights quicker then the Red Bulls. Until my mistake I was in a good position to win." I said honestly.

"You recovered well from P13 back to P2."

"It was the least I could do. The team did such a good job, our strategy was on point, the pit stop was amazing. I had to fight to at least make it back on the podium for the team."

"And that you did. Well done Charles. Congrats again." Coulthard smiled at me and I nodded, giving back the microphone.

I followed George into the cool down room and sat down next to Max, wiping my face.

"Tough luck, mate." George said when the replay of my failed overtake was shown.

"I hit the kerb a little too hard… I’m just glad there was no gravel, one turn later and the race would’ve been over." I sighed.

"True. But what a comeback." he nudged my shoulder and sat down next to Max.

"The least I could do."

I watched on the screen how I overtook Lizzie and had to smile, she didn’t make it easy for me. She fought hard. But eventually I made it past her. The screen switched to the crowd under the podium and I spotted Lizzie next to Joris, right when we were called out on the podium. I heard Lizzie cheer all the way up to the platform and had to chuckle. I was so enamoured by her that I missed the champagne spraying and got soaked by Max and George.

"Hey lover boy!" Max laughed.

"Grab your champagne mate!" George continued spraying us and I grabbed my bottle and sprayed them as well.

"Look at him, he can’t see through his heart eyes…"

"The only thing he see’s is Lizzie."

"Very funny guys." I rolled my eyes playfully when we all toasted our bottles together, taking a swig from our bottles.

After the picture I looked down, Lizzie gone and Joris nodded to the left where I saw her walking off with Julie, I grabbed my trophy and walked downstairs with Max and George.

"See you later guys." I waved them off and then walked back to the garage.

I thanked my team when Bryan walked up to me clapping my back, I handed him the trophy and he looked it once over before he sat it down on the table next to him.

"Don’t be too hard on yourself, Charles. I told you to keep pushing, you pushed… it’s 50 % on me and 50 % on you." he joked and I cracked a little smile.

"You said keep pushing and not push over the limit."

"Semantics." he shrugged and I laughed "The recovery was brilliant, let’s focus on that."

"Yeah. We have to focus on Germany now. It’s been a while since we all raced there the last time." I said and he nodded.

"Just ask Lizzie for advice. I’d say she’s one of the most experienced on the grid when it comes to Hockenheim." Bryan said and I took a big swig of water.

"Yeah. She’ll be one of our main threats that’s for sure. And since Audi will bring some updates as well?"

"Be extra nice to your girlfriend then, not that she’ll kick your ass out there."

"Did you see how she fought me off today? Yeah? That’s the Lizzie I know and love, she won’t back down no matter what. Especially at home."

"Maybe she’ll win her home race just like you won yours." Bryan shrugged and I nodded.

"She will win. I know it."

Chapter 45 - it’s basically just a filler chapter, a shorter one, but I had to make a cut because next chapter we‘re racing in HOCKENHEIM - Lizzie‘s home race and let me tell you, A LOT IS GOING GO HAPPEN… 👀

Also, sorry for uploading so late, I don’t even know how it happened, but I simply forgot to do it on Sunday… I woke up last night at 3 am or so and realised that I forgot to upload 🙈 sorry!!!

Please leave a comment/ like/ reblog/ message and tell me how you liked it! I'm dying to hear your thoughts!

If you want to be added to the taglist, drop a comment!

Last but not least, English is not my first language and although I tried my best: please excuse any mistakes I made!

Taglist:

@silkenthusiasts @eugene-emt-roe @sunny44 @itsjustkhaos @glitterquadricorn @aundercover @kakorrhaphiphobia @alittlebitofbooksandmagic @ru-kru @shimmermotorsport @janeh22 @kahhorri @18754389 @chiliwhore @hellowgoodbye @queensassybitchsworld @harrysdimple05 @skynel09 @fangirlforever2000

All the images I’m using are from Google, Pinterest and Instagram (or self made).

[mellowyellow236]

I have made a fic I made for @sunnysidesevenup’s Everend’s Cove: Moonlight Song event. There's some out of character stuff for Arlo, he definitely starts getting a bit further away from his normal self in the ending (I couldn’t figure out how to end it, so he took a figurative bullet for the rest of us) The groovy of the card I’m working on is at the bottom. I don’t know how I finished all of this first. (Quick side note! I only ever write romance, so it reads like that in some parts, but it’s meant to be interpreted as platonic. You are free to read and interpret it however you want, but know the waters were accidentally muddied.) 

(Word Count: 2222) 

~

Yuri huffed, sitting behind Arlo, two drinks in hand. She offered him one as a painfully high-pitched note was hit by the “singer” on stage. 

“No.” He pushed the glass back as she shrugged and drank one, leaving the other on the rock beside where he rested in the water. She rolled her shoulders back with a small pop afterward, sticking her tongue out at the person not even looking at her. 

“I didn’t spike yours. Or mine, this time. I’m not stupid.” 

“That doesn’t make me trust you more.” She hit him lightly on the shoulder. He turned and glared at her. “You look like you did do something. Don’t make me clean up your mess.” She crossed her legs as he uncrossed his arms. 

“Lilia’s mess.” A pause. “Well, he told me he wanted an excuse to do something stupid on stage. Before you ask, I don’t know what.” There was another lull in the conversation before a mutual wince. “Why would you want to come here? It’s a high- No, middle school talent show in disguise.” She casually degraded. He shrugged. 

“I didn’t. My sibling signed me up.” Makes sense. “And there are some good singers. Somewhere, probably. Stop annoying me and go look for them.” She gave him a raised eyebrow before he dropped his glare and turned back around. “And you didn’t ask Lilia what he wanted to do?” 

“You’re a good singer, first of all. Secondly, not my circus, not my monkeys.” 

“You spiked his drink.” He huffed and narrowed his eyes into slits. “I’m not going to be cleaning up the mess.” 

“With his permission.” She pointed out and poked the back of his head. He pushed her hand away before she grabbed his wrist. “And he’s a fae. Nothing I could sneak from the Night Raven to here could do anything to him. He just wants an excuse to be chaotic.” Arlo tugged his hand back. She rested hers on the shore behind him where she sat. 

The conversation fell into a mildly awkward silence once more. Yuri took a deep breath, chilly air tickling her nose and throat. It was a few moments before she spoke up again. 

“So… Your siblings. What’re they like?” 

“Bad.” She stifled a giggle, before pausing at his serious face. She frowned. 

“Like… Bad as in ‘I’m still petty about that thing we did when we were five’? Or bad like… Bad. No good. Horrible family.” 

“Second option.” She nodded and grabbed his arm again, tugging him out of the water. Her face was serious, though there was a hint of fun in her eyes. He glared again as she pulled him. “What are you doing?” 

“You have terrible siblings and parents who are absent from this event. I’m doing you a favor!” She joked, hosting him up. Gleaming, dark scales glowed a shimmering purple in the full moonlight. 

“How is dragging me out of the water when I have a tail a favor.” It was a fairly easy grab him once she got his hands to let go of the large rocks he had been resting next to. 

“Upsy-daisy!” 

“Put me down!” He whisper-screamed, trying not to draw attention to them but still getting his point across. He narrowed his eyes as she snickered and started to skip around the stone jetty, away from where the competition was taking place. 

“No-oh!” She taunted, giggling as she spun with him over her shoulder, as though he was a sack of potatoes. He kicked her with his tail, shining scales hitting soft silk and sparkly golden thread. “You are a sad child who never got the pleasure of being taken out of a school concert early to get ice cream!” 

“Why would I want that?” 

“Because running away from bad singing with the person who’s heard you rehearsing in the shower is more entertaining!” She cackled, bouncing him up slightly. “Besides, your turn to sing isn’t until nearly the end, and I’ve already gone! I’ve got enough time to pull you away for an adventure!” He hit her shoulder, making her drop half of the sash she wore over her arms. She snickered again, grabbing him by the stomach and tossing him up. 

As Yuri spun around, Arlo let out a frustrated yelp, attempting to push away from her grip. The salty air ran around them, giggles echoing across the surface of the water. Arlo couldn’t help but roll his eyes. With a dramatic flourish, she softly threw him into a bush. Granted, a bush with no thorns and fairly soft leaves so he wasn’t badly hurt or cut, but a bush nonetheless. 

“The hell?! This isn’t any fun!” He hit her with his tail, making her grab him before they both fell into the waiting ocean. The ocean was surprisingly chilly, a stark contrast to the warm, humid air they had just been in. 

As they surfaced, droplets glistened on their skin like stars in the night sky, and Yuri couldn't help but laugh at the tangled mess of seaweed clinging to Arlo's tail. It was a bright sound, a real laugh, not contained by the need for silence in a crowd or reputation in the school. The fireflies danced around them, flickering a pale yellow light into the blinding white from the full moon high above them in the star-filled sky. She grabbed his shoulders when he tried to swim away and into the sea. 

 They dove deeper into the water, bubbles floating around them, coming off in ways from laughter and the white noise normal speech had turned into underwater. Arlo attempted to shake her off, but she only clutched him more tightly in response. The ocean was alive with hues of blue and green, illuminated by the soft glow of bioluminescence coating his tail. 

They came up once more, if only so Arlo could legably scream “Get off of me!” And attempt to shove her away. She willingly released him from her arms at the point, out of breath and cackling like a madman. Despite being let go, Arlo continued to stay in the area, swimming to the side of her. “Your makeup’s ruined. Did you really not use waterproof eyeliner?” She poked his head softly, pink-tinted purple nails hitting deeper purple scales. 

“I didn’t think I’d get dragged into the sea.” 

“I didn’t drag you anywhere, you grabbed me!” He hissed. His tail flapped against the water, ripples reflecting the bright moonlight that shone in from high above. 

“Oh please. I haven’t done anything wrong, you’re just my baby brother.” She bumped into him and wrapped her arms around his neck. 

“I’m not your anything-”

“Who I would very much appreciate if he would carry me because I am but a weak maiden in need of assistance!” She loudly cut him off, tightening her grip. It was a losing battle to attempt to leave Yuri without possibly ending up with her dead in the water once the potion wore off, so Arlo just glared and shook his head wildly when she tried to pet him. “A weak maiden who could freeze! How cold must you be to try and leave me alone here! In the open ocean!” She gasped, the arm that hadn’t snaked its elbow around his neck going to rest its wrist over her forehead. 

“I’m still not your brother.” 

“Shut up. My baby brother’s not in this realm, your siblings are apparently the worst, this makes perfect sense. Like Married at First Sight but in a family way.” She shooed him with her hand despite making no move to get off. 

“Do I want to know?” He huffed as she pushed her cheek against his, faces side by side. 

“Do you like reality television?” She poked his other cheek before he was able to respond. “Well, doesn’t matter! You won’t once I’m done with you!” She gave him a slight nuzzle. “And I hope you’ll remember the name of every single divorced couple on there because I will not let you forget.” 

“I’m not going to watch it with you.” She only laughed and dunked his head underwater once more. He took her down with him, turning the pair upside down under the blanket of the dark sea. The cool embrace of the ocean enveloped them and everything felt weightless. The moonlight danced above the water, creating a beautiful source of light for that brief moment before they came back up. At that second, the world was surreal and magical. Arlo glanced over at her as they broke the surface again, water cascading off his scales and her skin. 

Her laughter mixed with the sounds of the ocean until he joined in a mild chuckle. She pinched his cheeks, pulling him closer to her. “See? This is so much better than being back at the concert.” He only let her go, and with a pink back, spoke. 

“Fine. If you’re so insistent on games, I’ll race you back to the shore.” He spoke she let him go for once so they could swim back to the shore separately. He ended up doing three rounds around her and the shoreline before ‘barely’ getting back onto the sand before her. Water dripped off them and left wet trails in the sand, sticking to Yuri’s clothes and under Arlo’s nails when he clutched them into the pale grains. Arlo lay back in the cool sand and gazed up at the stars, a comfortable silence settling over them for just a moment. 

Arlo then opened his eyes and sat up straight. Yuri turned her pale blue gaze in his direction. 

“And right after I got comfortable, too…” 

“I still need to perform for the competition.” She sat up slowly. 

“…Need to be carried…?” 

“I can swim around the jetty.” She lifted him up and into her arms a second time. While he didn’t try to hit her this time he made his displeasure known through a glare. 

“Nope.” She threw him up for a moment. His nails dug into her shoulders as he hissed at her. The moon shone as she made her way through the path set through circular rocks on the ground. Moss and ferns toughed her feet, as she had long since sent her silk shoes due to the wet conditions of the ground. “This is my job now.” 

“You owe me nothing.” 

“You owe me rights after making me come here.” She jostled him around a bit. A nearby firefly, spooked by the movement, flew away. Arlo caught it, caging it into his hands for a moment. When he opened them, it fluttered out once more. 

“I never made you come here.” 

“Okay, maybe you didn’t, but it was your idea.” He smacked her arm with his tail. She dipped him, to which he attempted to make her stumble by shifting repeatedly, which soon succeeded as she slipped on some plants growing on the almost covered stepping stones and every crack in between them. While they didn’t fall, they certainly managed to knock into a tree once more, sending waves of beautiful beads light swarming away and swimming through the crisp night air. 

They flew through the sky, lighting their path as they continued to walk back to the competition. Arlo paused to stare at them, the creatures foreign to the sea, and yet their glow so similar to his own. Yuri shook her head like a dog, drops flying off of milky white hair. “If you like those, I’ll take you to visit my home someday. They are all over the place every summer.” 

He hummed, “No.” 

“I’ll drag you there anyway.” She set him down on the shore. They were back in their original spot near the back. He swam out, observing the stage. It seems his turn hadn’t yet passed, but was quickly approaching. “Go out there and knock ‘em dead, Cholarlo.”

“Well aware. Don’t call me that.” He narrowed his eyes. She laughed and waved her hand as he swam away, his front still facing her. 

“Arlie?” He splashed her. “Lolo?” A second time. “Ari?” She doesn’t get hit in the face with seawater this time, instead choosing to chuckle. “What does your boyfriend call you? Your darling Neige LeBlache-?” 

“Not my boyfriend. I’m not listening to you.” 

“Baby? Love?” He put his hands over his ears and glared at her. “My dearest heart and soul, Arlo, my little par-” He pushed his way under the water, so he could no longer hear her. He bobbed back up after a moment. 

“How do you know that I like him?” 

“How are you not dating him yet? Careful, I will swoop in and wingman you so hard he falls for me!” She laughed as he hissed, carrying the conversation on with the glass from the drink they had long since left spilled in the water. ”Oh my, Neige, you’re so beautiful, but I bet your sweater would look nicer on the floor of the little cutie Arlo’s room, who’s totally available and just loves you so, so much it’s disgusting to look at because he thinks you’re the most jaw-dropping, stunning, handsome man in the seven seas~!” He swam away and towards the stage, mild disgruntlement showing on his face through a furrowed brow and the usual scowl, leaving Yuri cackling to herself on the surface, a smile etched into her features as the cool ocean breeze blew past her. 

~ 

I don’t know how I half-switched writing styles midway through this. I doubt it’s that noticeable since I went back in and added more details in the first half, but like… It was weird before that. Moral of the story; Don’t write five hours after you usually go to bed. I had to edit this seven times to make it legible, you don’t even want to know. Not to mention the end was, like, 600 words earlier not including added details. This was the “good enough” draft after I gave up making Arlo’s characterization 100% perfect. 

“Cholarlo” is just the word Choleric (“bad-tempered or irritable” according to the dictionary, anything overly annoying and rude according to me) plus Arlo’s name. 

Writing Arlo and Yuri together was fun. They make each other worse by egging the other on with insults. This was half inspired by me reading about Arlo’s personality and thinking that if Arlo ever met Yuri, she'd get really attached really quickly. Her actual little brothers aren’t there to mess with, so she’ll just steal a new one. [More dynamic rambling starts after the drawings because I yap too much] 

*For anyone who’s really into historical Chinese fashion and accuracy looking at the outfit designs: I know that a pibo wasn’t historically worn with cheongsams. The sash isn’t meant to be a pibo, it’s just a sash that ties the outfit together well since without it it’s just an overload of blue and the arms look too bare. For those that aren’t, Yuri is wearing a cheongsam with a western skirt underneath and a sash over/around her arms. 

~

~

Yuri and Arlo are interesting to me because if they ever met, I think they’d get along either really well or really badly. 

Yuri’s a liar by nature. Her main, and arguably only “important” skill once she comes to NRC, is reading people and adjusting her personality accordingly to be able to get what she wants out of them. It’s better seen in my Royalty AU, but in the opposite direction of her normal personality, where she purposefully gets a rise out of those around her. Meanwhile, Arlo can’t lie to save his life, and I imagine that he’d likely not like being around people who do considering how much he seems to dislike visiting his siblings during this event, although that could be for other reasons. 

But even if Arlo doesn’t, Yuri can tell if someone else is lying, and seeing that he’s not… She gets comfortable. He’s honest so she doesn’t need to worry about hurting his feelings by doing the same, and she can bite back without ruining her reputation because he hates everyone. It’s freeing for her to be able to be around anyone who’s constantly telling the truth, and even more if they’re a jerk about it. 

And since he’s caused her to let her guard down, she starts to love bomb, for lack of a better term. Very much the argument of “Well now that you’re here I can’t let you go because if you leave I know for a fact that my real personality is bad and I don’t want to be a bad person so you have to stay” She tries to get him to love her like a sibling so that way she can get away with being moody or annoying, because she’s just his big sister! It’s okay because it’s all in good fun at the end of the day! It’s a desperation to make him care about her back so that way she can prove to herself that she’s doing something right. It’s also something not exclusive to Arlo, as in my canon, Idia and Ace end up getting some of that treatment too. 

I don’t entirely know how Arlo would feel about it, but that’s definitely how Yuri would act with him if they ever met. I assume he’d either like her or hate her, no in between.

[ramshackle-ramblings]

Happy Birthday, Arlo!

Arlo is very special, and gets separate birthday presents from Mouse and Alise.

Arlo is still @sunnysidesevenup's.

“Ah, speak of the devil.” Vil’s voice called out, motioning towards Arlo who had just stepped inside the lobby with a slight scowl.

He had noticed Vil was talking to someone before he entered, but he assumed it was unrelated to him - on his birthday. Whoever Vil was talking to was hidden from him, so it was probably Epel. He walked over, tugging at his sleeves and raising an eyebrow.

“What is it?” Arlo snapped, glancing up at the Housewarden.

Vil scoffed, shaking his head and stepping to the side. “Be nice, Arlo. Don’t scare off your guest.”

Arlo looked down from Vil to look at his “guest”, a tad surprised.

There stood the very well-known Magic-less student, gently holding a couple wrapped boxes and smiling up at him nervously. Glancing around the lobby, he tried to see if that grey weasel was around. Only to look back at the Ramshackle Prefect when the coast was clear.

Now that he thought about it, the two of them had never officially met. And he’s pretty sure the only time he’s ever gotten a good look at them, before now, was the time he peaked into the room they were staying in, and they were hooked up to a bunch of IVs… Something about getting poisoned?

He took a step back when they offered the boxes to him, his eyes narrowing. He couldn’t really say anything with Vil looming over him though.

“For you,” They started, looking off to the side. “Vil mentioned today was your birthday a couple days ago, and I’ve seen you around the gardens. So I hope these are okay…”

“Uh…” Arlo looked between them and the gifts, before carefully taking them. “Thanks?”

Vil smiled, before placing a hand on the prefect’s shoulder and leading them towards the kitchen.

“Now that that’s over with, how about I brew you some tea? You look a bit pale, Mouse.”

Arlo watched them walk off, before scowling. “Who name’s their kid Mouse?”

He sighed, looking down at the gifts. Walking to one of the couches to open them.

His expression softened, placing the gift of floral teas to the side and carefully looking over the glass globe that held a variety of preserved flowers.

[pickledpascal]

Hold Me Like Water

Chapter Three: Unearthed Without A Name

Warnings: queer themes, a little whump

Word Count: 1.9k

Hold Me Like Water Masterlist

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

September 2014,

Maya's appearance in Days of Future Past, released months ago now, created a lot of buzz for her career. Some good. Some bad. Of course, the fanboys thought her role in the film, especially as an original character not in the comics at all, was unneeded. She tried not to focus on that. 

She was getting offers to be in mainstream film—some of which she took, some of which she did not. Arlo was pretty good at sifting through the bullshit Native stereotype roles—small, dainty, soft-looking enough to cater to the male audience. Not that she would fit into those stereotypes anyway but it seemed the scripts were sent to any well-known Indigenous name. 

In the midst of everything, Hugh kept by her side. He called her whenever he could just to make sure she was alright. She would tell him it was even if it wasn't. But he always seemed to know when she lied. It felt like he was staring into her soul. A pomegranate cracked open with her seeds on display, messy with juice but he didn't mind. 

Since she knew it'd be easier for her job, Maya rented an apartment with her sister in New York. It proved to be a good idea. New York was a hotspot for other actors and directors, she could keep in touch with them a little better than if she stayed in Canada. She hated that she had to pay more for data when calling across the borders. 

As she lived there for a few months, she got to see Hugh in person a lot more. Though, she never saw him with his family. Maybe that was on purpose. 

It was confirmed one day when she was invited to his apartment for the first time.

She was glad to leave her apartment. Sakari had been blasting an album by some new artist called Hozier. It was a bit annoying but she had to admit the music was good.

As she entered, she looked around the large penthouse. It had large floor-to-ceiling windows. Maya couldn't help but compare it to the small two-bedroom apartment she now shared with Sakari. There was a lot of white with silver accents and a bit of clutter here and there. 

“They can just be a lot for new people. I wanted to talk to you one-on-one for something, anyway.” Hugh told her, giving her a light smile. “I told my wife to take the kids to the zoo,” He chuckled, “I had a feeling it'd give us enough time.” 

Maya tilted her head at the mention of what the visit was for. They had quite a few conversations over the phone. She wondered how face-to-face would make it better. Perhaps it would make it more real depending on what the topic was. 

“Would you like anything to drink?” Hugh offered, trying to make her as comfortable as possible. He was fidgety. 

It made Maya even more confused. Every time she'd seen him, no matter where they were or what they were doing, he was relaxed. She was almost concerned. 

She shook her head. “I'm alright. Thank you.” Her eyebrows furrowed as they sat on the couch. He got himself a glass of water and sat it on the coffee table in front of them. 

“You're, um, a transgender woman…” Hugh started, still not meeting her eyes.

Maya was intrigued at this point. “Yes?” 

“I, uh, I guess I was just wondering how that happened?” He visibly cringed as the words came out of his mouth. He knew that wasn't the best way to do that. “What made you know?” He clarified.

Maya smiled softly, amused. The topic wasn't one she talked about much because nearly everyone she knew personally did not care and simply accepted her. Now, it was known by far more people than she could possibly comprehend. But it wasn't something she felt she needed to explain, especially regarding people who she did not care about, even less so for people who did not care about her. 

“I can't really give you a straight answer,” Maya told him, an eyebrow raised. She continued, knowing he might need something more than that to grasp onto that. “It's just kinda something you know. A feeling. I told my family when I was very young and, seeing as we're Native, it was very easy for them to grasp and accept me. I know for some it's different, of course. I know I was very lucky.” 

Hugh nodded along as he listened to her. He was silent, looking down at his lap. He was clearly processing the information. Or working up the courage to ask something else. 

“I just… I want to know how to be that for my kids. If they ever do feel like that, I'm just—I don't know what to do.” Hugh confessed, his shoulders slumping. 

Maya could tell he had been thinking about it for a long time, his reaction to the possibility one of his kids could be queer. He seemed so afraid that it would be the wrong one. Her eyes softened. 

She lifted a hand to squeeze his shoulder. “You're an amazing person, Hugh. If one of your kids came out, I have no doubt you would be supportive. And that's all they need.” She assured him softly. “You love your kids. I can tell. Would them coming out change that?”

“Of course not.” He responded without hesitation. 

Maya smiled at his response. She wasn't with him around his family so she couldn't observe it in action but she could tell his love for them was unconditional. It flowed through him in every vein. And it made her heart feel full just seeing it in him.

“Then you need to tell your kids, not outright, that it's okay if they are. Be their safe space. Be patient.” She knew it was better said than done. It could be hard to come out even if a parent was vocally in support of the queer community. 

Hugh nodded. Another answer he wasn't quite looking for but one that he knew would help him. He looked up at Maya's eyes, glancing between the two different colors. 

“When you said… it was easy for your family to grasp because you're Native, what does that mean?” He asked, eyebrows furrowed.

Maya adjusted her position on the couch and let out a soft laugh. “Lots of Indigenous cultures do not abide by the European two-gender idea.” She flexed her fingers, a few bones cracking in the process. She had never explained this to anyone before, seeing as a lot of people she surrounded herself with knew these things already. Arlo was included since they were good friends. “I'm not sure about the Aboriginals, but a lot of Indigenous American peoples have a third gender. They were thought of as divine. A gift of the Heavens since they were born with part of a male and a female soul. Most became shamans and other higher ranks in the tribe.” 

Hugh's eyes were wide with wonder, actively nodding along. It was something she was not used to, especially coming from someone like Hugh. Her heart beat loudly in her chest. It was nice to be paid attention to. 

“That is… beautiful.” He smiled softly, a myriad of thoughts filled his head. 

He could almost imagine her as something like she described. She had told him that her father was the head of the tribal council for the town they lived in. So, to some respect, she was born royalty. 

“Does that mean I'm friends with a goddess?” He asked teasingly, nudging her arm with his hand. He was half tempted to squeeze her bicep. 

Maya chuckled bashfully, shaking her head. “I'm nowhere near as powerful as my character.”

“I wouldn't say that,” Hugh argued gently. “You're just powerful in different ways. She can control the water inside people's blood and you…” He paused, staring at her for a few seconds. “You can command a room of people by simply being in it.” 

He recalled a particularly emotional scene while filming Days of Future Past. The whole room went silent, even him. The camera wasn't focused on him so he took the opportunity to simply watch her work. To see the light tremble of her lips and the gentle furrow of her eyebrows. He felt his heart clench at the sight. He wanted to console her, felt the need to as if she was genuinely emotional and he was the only other person in the room watching her come undone because of the weight of her sadness. 

Maya let out a soft huff of laughter which confused Hugh. “I mean it, Maya.” He said firmly.

“I know. And I appreciate the sentiment.” 

“It's not just a sentiment. It's the truth. An empirical fact.” Hugh kept pressing softly, as if gently beating it into her. A soft, stinging, constant pain that was careful of which parts to surgically slice into so it didn't leave much blood. 

Maya sighed, looking down at her lap. She knew she was a good actor but she was never one to brag about it even if she had every right to. She felt like all this newfound fame could disappear at any moment so she didn't want to get too attached to it. 

Hugh took one of her hands and squeezed it lightly. “You deserve all of this.” 

It was funny. How she believed it when it came from him out of all people. Not her mother nor her father and certainly not her sister. Though their support was nice and she appreciated it, it was expected. They had been cheering her on since her first home video. Arlo was the same. They'd been friends since they were kids. 

Hugh's support was different. They hadn't been friends for long, but they stuck like glue and he was content with being her crutch for a while as she got used to Hollywood and the trials and tribulations of it all. He even read lines with her for a few scripts Maya had been given. 

It was different when the person telling her she was talented was also talented. And had more time being in the spotlight than her. 

“Yeah,” She breathed softly, a light, lop-sided smile appearing on her lips. “I guess I do.” 

Hugh let out a slightly exasperated sigh. She was still uncertain but he supposed it was the best he was going to get out of her. He pulled her into a hug and pressed his chin on her shoulder. She immediately wrapped her arms around him in return. 

When he pulled away, he kept his arms around her and smiled. “I have a feeling your career is just starting.” And that this was only the start of their friendship, though he didn't voice that thought out loud. 

“Whatever you say, Hugh Jackman who has a Star on the Walk of Fame.” Maya teased in return. 

Although their names might appear underneath each other on the credits or besides each other on a poster, she couldn't fathom being on the same level of fame as him. Being bombarded nearly everywhere she went by fans or paparazzi? Absolutely not for her. Especially if she had kids? Oh, they would be punched. In her head, at least. 

Hugh laughed softly and shook his head. “Who knows? Maya Imik sounds like the perfect name to be put on a Star. It could happen.”

[the-hinky-panda]

Forged Series: Part II

Title: Forged

Rating: Explicit (Trigger Warning: Interrupted sexual assault)

Pairing: Bill Bevilaqua x OFC!Reader

Summary: You're a forger working out of an auction house that's owned by Kansas City mafia boss Bill Bevilaqua. You're practical, detail orientated, and love at first sight doesn't make any logical sense. That is until it happens to you.

Taglist

Bill hates parties. He hates going to them. He hates having them. His ex-wife told him he was a casebook introvert based on those quizzes in one of her many magazines she left lying around the house. She’d thrown a Martha Stewart Living one at him when he called her five question quiz bullshit but maybe there was something to it. Being around large crowds made his skin crawl. Having a large crowd of people in his home made him want to crawl out of his skin. But he had wanted to throw this shindig because it looked good for a boss to be hospitable, approachable, and willing to network with the underbosses. 

But his real reason was so he could see you again. 

Of course everyone thought he dropped about forty million on the Vermeer painting, a sign that business is more than just good in the middle of the US, but really it was just a way to launder a whole bunch of dirty money in one fell swoop. He got forty million clean and had a next to impossible forgery of a stunning painting. It’s not the first piece of forged artwork he’s hung in his home but it’s the first that actually spoke to him. The overall feeling of conquering but looking out into the distance for the next acquisition, it resonated with something inside him. And knowing that this was the one you chose for him, it only solidified what he had felt that moment you walked into the auctioneer’s office. 

You’re the same. 

He sees it in the painting itself, the expression in the man’s eyes, that longing for more, whatever that more was. That feeling wasn’t in the original piece. You added that. He wonders what it is you want more of in your life. And if he could provide it. He had to know, had to see you again to get a read on you, your mind, your heart, your desires. Arlo had talked nothing but shit about you since that day almost three months ago but Arlo was a small-minded man easily threatened by women so it only elevated you in Bill’s already high perception of you. 

He’s in his bedroom, having to take a ten minute breather from the schmoozing and inane small talk. He’s seen you in passing this evening but always from across the room. You’ve traded your blouse with bright red cherries on it for an A-line dress with flowing sleeves. It’s a rich green with beautifully painted flowers on the fabric. You’re stunning in it, no doubt about that, but when he leans his head back on the chair in his room, letting the whiskey sit in his mouth before swallowing it down, it’s the cherry blouse that he recalls to his mind and lingers over like the whiskey. 

His ten minute reprieve is over and he has to face his guests once more but he’s going to find you first. You’re going to get him at his recharged finest so he can drink in all the details about and around you. Memories that can be added to his meager supply. He finishes his whiskey and leaves the glass on the dresser before straightening his jacket and heading back out of the safety of his room. He’s passing down the hallway where the guest rooms are located when he sees a door in front of him close. 

“For fuck’s sake.” 

He resigned himself to people traipsing through his home for the evening, leaving champagne flutes, wine glasses, and tumblers on various pieces of furniture, but he would have thought people would have enough sense to not use guest rooms as places to hook up. He can’t believe he has to even do this but when he reaches the closed door, he grabs the doorknob and turns it, only to find it locked. 

“Ocupado.” 

Fucking Arlo. “Yeah, well Mr. Ocupado, you better open this fucking door before I break it down.” 

“Shit.” 

“You can say that again,” Bill mutters. But when Arlo opens the door, trying to hastily buckle his belt, he sees Arlo’s companion is still on the bed. “The fuck is this shit, Arlo? You got no fucking manners…” 

He fades off in his reprimand because he takes notice of the person on the bed, in the green dress with flowers on it. Your hair is mussed, mascara showing where tears have fallen down your cheeks. Your eyes are fluttering, an effort of trying to fight through whatever drugs you’ve been given. And suddenly, all Bill can see is red. 

“Look, man,” Arlo is saying, “I’m sorry. You want to have a go first, your house, your rules, right?” 

Bill doesn’t even realize he’s made a fist until he hears the crunch of Arlo’s nose and sees the spray of blood splash across the mirror on the dresser. He focuses and feels the impact of the second punch, watches as Arlo’s head bounces off the wall and right back into Bill’s fist for a third time. The man slides down the wall, holding his broken nose as blood is running through his fingers. 

“The fuck, Bill?!” 

“The fuck? You have the fucking audacity to fucking say that to me?” He raises his knee and drives into Arlo’s nose again. “In my fucking home?” 

He’s going to kill him. It’s going to happen but he can’t afford to have a murder scene in his home, no matter how justified. So when two of his men come running down the hallway, he steps back, takes a few deep breaths before grabbing the throw blanket at the end of the bed and laying it over you. He forces himself to look at the condition of your dress and finds there’s no tears or even wrinkles from being pushed up. 

Breathe. He needs to breathe. 

“Get him to the barn,” Bill orders. “Take him out the back, through the kitchen.” 

Arlo, as moronic as he may be, is a long standing capo in the organization and two lower level security guys are hesitant to put their hands on him. That is until Bill turns toward them, split knuckles and Arlo’s blood splashed across his cheek. 

“Did I fuckin’ stutter?” 

They step around him and grab Arlo by the arms, hefting him to his feet. Arlo is still whimpering and holding his nose but otherwise is silent as he’s led from the room. He glances over his shoulder and sees Carl standing at the door. 

“Again?” 

Bill gives him a confused look. “What do you mean ‘again?’” 

Carl sighs. “This isn’t the first time Arlo’s done this shit. I caught him at a club one night. He swore up and down it wouldn’t happen again.” 

“And you didn’t think to tell me?” 

“I thought it was settled.” 

“Yeah, well,” Bill reaches down and tries to lift you as carefully as he can. “It wasn’t fucking settled, now was it?” 

Carl follows him down the hallway back to Bill’s bedroom. “That’s the forger, you know. The one who did the painting. The one that made Arlo look like a fool.” 

“I know precisely who she is.” Bill lays you down on his bed, wishing for a hundred different scenarios other than this one. He leaves the throw tucked around you, your head resting on one of the decorative pillows. “Arlo doesn’t need any help looking like a fool. He is one. A fucking dead one.” 

“Think before you act. Arlo’s been around for a while, he’s made. He has his uses.” 

Bill heads into the bathroom and washes his hands, wipes the blood from his face. “His only use to me now is as fucking fertilizer.” 

“What’s the matter with you?” Carl motions to the bed. “You got something going on with her or something? If you did, no one knew that. Arlo wouldn’t have even thought of touching her if he knew.” 

“No? What about the other women he tried this messed up shit with, huh? What about them? It’s sick, Carl. And we can’t have that kind of sickness running around in our organization.” 

“Bill, wait-” 

“No, Carl. It’s over. It’s done.” Bill picks up his glass and fills it to the brim with his private stash of top shelf whiskey. “Now, make yourself useful and get these motherfuckers out of my house. Party’s over.”

[mid-nighttiger]

[Image ID: Digital art of Arlo from Flight Rising from the chest up. He is holding a magnifying glass up in front of his left eye and looking at a large dinosaur skull in front of him. The background are shelves full of multicolored books. One shelf also contains boxes of rolled-up scrolls, fossils of prehistoric animals on stands, and Arlo's hat. /End ID]

i was in this year's @sornieth-zines! you can get the zine, with 26 works featuring our most beloved trading post personalities, for free here

[brittle-doughie]

This is pretty much what I wanted to show you(I'll try to shorten it as much as I can)

Meet Hollow Flora Cookie

Type: Magic

Position: Rear

Pronouns: He/Him

Hollow Flora Cookie(Formerly Known as Melodic Berry Cookie), he was the Attendant to the 5 Beasts prior to their Corruption while also becoming the Mentor of the current Ancients when they first got their respective SoulJams. Now he's the King of the Cookie Kingdom the Brave Gang, Sugar Gnomes and Blueberry Birds reside

This was pretty much how he used to look like when he was still the Beasts Attendant

Description

"A Cookie as kind and compassionate as he is mysterious. A skilled Mage and Fighter that appeared out of nowhere, taking in numerous Cookies under his wing and teaching them of his ways as a fighter or mage, maybe even both. When asked of his name from his students or himself, they'd often say "Hollow"

No one knows what had happened to him after the birth of the Ancient 5..... But rumours started to spread that after he ended his life of being a mentor, he had travelled far and wide until he found a Kingdom that he settled in. Though, no one knows whether or not he had stayed or left..... But if one thing is for certain.....

...... He was alive and he had began to call himself Hollow Flora Cookie"

(Don't mind the bad cropping, I don't have a stylus pen right know, don't even know were only one went...)

Hollow Flora Cookie's Soulstone

"This stone holds a piece of Hollow Flora Cookie's soul. It exudes a calming yet stern aura with a sort of emptiness to it and the melodic tune of...... Crying..?"

Hollow Flora Cookie's Past

Back when the 5 Cookies were new and had reigned over EarthBread in peace

Due to the Witches' busy schedule, a lone Cookie was left forgotten near Magic Crystals as the Witches had gone on and about in their home

Due to how the Cookie was made and baked, it had absorbed the Magical energy of the surrounding Crystals, resulting in it's ability to release said energy and return it to it's own body

The Witches had learned of this little Cookie when a sudden glow emanated from a corner. Looking back to the first 5 Cookies, the Witches decided to prepare this little Cookie for an important role

The Witches had introduced the new Cookie to the 5 as "Melodic Berry Cookie" and that he'll serve as their Attendant

Due to his responsible and diligent yet naive and curiosity nature, the Primordials took an instant liking to him, often doting on the small Cookie and enjoying their peaceful days along with the rest of EarthBread

So when the Primordials began to give in to their dark desires...... Their love and adoration for Melodic Berry Cookie had taken a dark turn as well

Melodic Berry Cookie did what he could to convince his beloved Masters to stray away from the dark path and come back to who they once were

But his opes and fatih in believing his Masters were still there were crushed when they had placed him in a House-like prison where he endlessly cried at his own uselessness for not stopping his Masters in time

So when the Witches had asked him for help with sealing them. He immediately agreed with the exchange of helping him fake his own death

While the Beasts mourned the death of the body double while the real body was in a glass coffin in a comatose state, the Cookie was to be reborn again

.......

Okay, some extra stuff on Hollow Flora :D

Where his colour palette originated:

A summary of what happened after the Beasts were sealed:

Got to the Faerie Kingdom severely injured, which resulted in the Faerie Cookies fixing him and going wings. He also became a Silver Tree Knight after a decade or so of being there until he left Beast-Yeast 57 years before the current Ancients came to be but would visit The Faerie Kingdom yearly

This is pretty much his suit:

Some facts about him:

Due to being bound to a bed for centuries, he would sleep anywhere, but a bed

Has taken a liking to Custard Cookie the |||.(Their dynamic is basically that Rosa and Arlo the dog scen from Brooklyn 99)

Has no shame in sharing stuff about his students to their closest friends and family. A prime example would be him commenting how Dark Choco was similar to Dark Choco when he was around his age. This resulted in Dark Cacao quietly pleading for him to not share anything

Has the compassionate ✨️rizz✨️, which resulted in many letters and gifts. What's funnier about this fact is that he's oblivious to what he's doing to these Cookies' hearts. And then there's the fact he's good-looki-

Basically his Kingdom skill:

......

Okay, that's it for the ask...... Feel free to ask me if you have any more questions

This is quite the read! I normally have reservations with Gacha stuff (have any of you seen the YT videos?), but I don’t mind the use of it here if visuals are needed to paint a picture!

[idontplaytrack]

Sing Me To Sleep

Amber Appleton x fem! reader

Warnings: fluff, tiny make-out scene

In which reader can’t fall asleep and asks Amber to sing her to sleep

Been sitting in my drafts since April 30th. I just had to finish it instead of deleting the whole thing. 🤷🏻‍♀️

You watched the wall clock intently as the hands ticked, feeling the frustration of not being able to get to sleep. You scrambled out of bed to walk around the apartment and stretch. Getting to the kitchen, you poured yourself a glass of water and sat at the table to drink it. You were still gonna be on your own for a while, Amber wouldn’t be down with her shift at a diner nearby until about thirty minutes and it takes her about twenty to get home.

You made yourself a cup of tea while waiting, playing a staring contest with the wall clock in the meantime. It was no fun, obviously. Then, you turned the TV on and flipped through channel after channel but nothing good was on either. So you just...stared into space and drank your tea, hoping the warmth would somehow make you sleepy. Or maybe the boredom would.

You spaced out until you heard the front door open. “y/n.” Amber says, “Why are you still up?”

You blinked profusely, snapping out of your thoughts, “Can’t sleep. Very tired, but I can’t sleep.”

She sets her backpack down, untying her hair. Amber came up to your side and pressed a kiss to the side of your head, “I’m sorry, honey. Give me a minute to change my clothes then I’ll be right with you.”

You took your mug with you and followed her into the bedroom, sitting down on the edge of the bed while she got out of her work clothes and into sleepwear. After brushing her teeth, she climbs into bed with you. “What can I do so you can get some sleep?” She rubs your back soothingly.

You hummed in thought, taking the last few sips of your tea then sitting the mug down. She lets you go so you could set the mug down properly but quickly envelopes you in her embrace again. “Are you coming down with something?” Amber asks.

“No, I really don’t think so.” You shook your head, snuggling closer against her chest. For some reason, you got this overwhelming urge to kiss her. So, you gave in to it. Hand reaching up for her cheek while you looked up at her. Amber leans closer too, allowing you to kiss her. She smiles into it, asking, “What’re you doing?”

“Nothing.” You answer, pressing another kiss to her lips, “Just felt like kissing you.” With that, Amber deepens the kiss, hands roaming your back while both your hands now held her face and, you were straddling her.

“Do you want to—”

“No, do you?” You ask, pulling away for a moment before connecting your lips with hers again.

“I don’t mind, but if you don’t want to, we can just make out.” She informs you, barely audible as she carries on kissing you, her tongue sticking into your mouth fleetingly.

“Miss me?” She asked, eyes cast downward to watch your grinding against her thigh. You chuckle, “Maybe a little.”

With one final kiss, she breaks away from it, guiding you back into her embrace.

“Amber?” You said quietly.

“Hm?” Her eyes looked down, meeting yours.

“Can you sing me to sleep?” You asked, an arm wrapping around her as you laid slightly on your side and stomach.

“Sure can, my love.” She says with a smile. You didn’t look at her, you could just hear it in her voice.

“Sing me Feels Like Home.” You requested, blocking a yawn that escaped your lips, “Please?”

“Anything for you, sweet girl.”

————

🏷️ Tag list:

@ashecampos @auliisflower @cheesysoup-arlo @frogs00 @reneeswif3 @ludoesartnstuffs @pda128

[commanderteag]

Thanks for the tag, @lady-quen

Tagging anyone who wants to do this :D

Once you're stripped clean, what's at your core?

Maol: Rippling Sunset You’re the nicest person I’ll ever meet, probably. With an undying passion to protect those who can’t protect themselves, you’re energetic and bubbly to a fault. It’s cute watching you run around trying to tie up loose ends. I feel bad for you — out of everyone you know, you probably have some of the deepest trauma, more than anyone’s aware of. This isn’t something that you want attention for at all, and you’d really just rather forget it exists at all… even then, it seems like you can never escape it. I wish you a pleasant rest of your life, full of rippling sunsets and free of prying eyes.

Mori: Benign Culpability Everyone hates you because you are a facetious, lying bitch. I'm kidding, I think. Seriously, though! You try way too hard to look like a picturesque example of class and responsibility, but you use your position as a social butterfly to take advantage of those weaker than you. It's rare for anything not to be your fault, and everyone thinks you're a crying wolf when you actually HAVEN'T done anything. It gets kind of tiring to have everyone on your dick all the time, but it's less interesting to actually behave. Good luck with the therapy.

Teag: Flimsy Conviction Your confidence in yourself seems fairly weak. It's easy enough for your friends and peers to ask if you're okay, but what's the point? You're just going to say you're doing fine, you're doing alright, you don't need anything at all. Your selfless pursuit of what's important to you has striped you dry. Rinsed you clean like pork bones for soup. There's only so much to keep running from and only so much to hold back until you explode. It's ok to not be ok. Eza: Cauterizing Rag The house has burned around you, and you're the only one left standing. Is it gratifying to be the survivor? Fear and anger are weapons in your capable hands, used only to serve your agenda of fighting back when deemed necessary. You're a powerful person, built from the ashes of your despair and your family's mistakes. With time, you'll bloom into someone softer, like the full blossoms that grow each spring and wither away with the leaves in fall. They won't disappear if you take your eyes off of them. You're enough.

Miren: Fractured Glass No amount of orchestrated class is ever going to hide the fact that you're doomed to be alone. You're a puppet, you're a weapon, but most importantly? You're a fraud. Your facade isn't malicious, but that doesn't change a thing. Everything in your life is in your control now, and you choose to let yourself become stiff and distant. You're guilty of everything you blame yourself for, and your misfortune is the fault of nobody but yourself. Your selfish nature forges you into a man-made monster, so quick to blame and so desperate to escape consequences. I hope that you can become someone you're proud of soon.

Arlo: Animal intuition. Loyalty is the saint you pray to. If you ever were stabbed in the back by your beloved, you'd probably apologise. to your enemies, you're fierce. To your allies, even fiercer. You cultivate a thick inner circle built on promises and devotion, fit only for the best of the best. It's impossible for most to even begin to dissect the type of person you are, owing to your unbreakable emotional walls and confusing philosophies. Dream careers? Body guard, movie star, unwitting pawn. Don't let people get the best of that loyalty.

[whump-and-other-misfortunes]

Bambi and the King

cw fantasy whump, captivity, nonhuman whumpee, defiant whumpee, royalty

Cassian choked on the wine he was drinking. “You what?” he demanded between coughs, handing the glass to one of his servants. 

“A wood nymph,” Valeria, the leader of the royal guard, repeated with a stoic expression. “We found him about fifty miles west, sneaking through Arlo Forest. The little thing was a pain to catch, but we got him.” 

Cassian was still reeling. A nymph venturing into his kingdom was almost unheard of—they knew better. And the fact that his guard had managed to capture the creature was equally stunning. As far as magical beings went, nymphs were up there with faeries in terms of flightiness and cunning. “You have him?” Cassian repeated in disbelief. 

Valeria nodded once. “Yes, your majesty. Would you like us to bring him in?” 

The man waved his hands in an aborted gesture. “Um—yes. Yes, of course.” 

Valeria strode away silently, returning to the throne room a few moments later followed by two other guards. They were each holding an arm of the struggling wood nymph, dragging him to stand before Cassian. He looked young—no older than twenty, maybe, but Cassian wasn’t sure what that meant for nymphs. Soft auburn hair framed his face and he was scowling poisonously.

“Well, isn’t this something,” Cassian drawled, gazing down at the creature. He was tall and thin—willowy, his mind supplied—with big brown eyes. Sweet, like a fawn. He could have almost looked innocent if Cassian didn’t know the strength nymphs were capable of through their magic. And if this one weren’t looking at him like he was a second away from scratching the king’s eyes out. 

“Get off me,” the nymph spat, yanking his arms away from the guards. 

Cassian waved them off. “It’s alright. Let him go.” 

The guards released him and they, along with Valeria, stood to the side. The nymph stayed where he was, standing before Cassian’s throne, but those doe eyes shot daggers at him. Delicate wrists were locked in front of him in gold chains—special cuffs that blocked magic. The only reason they still had the creature there, and he hadn’t already run off or upended the entire castle. 

“I must admit,” Cassian said, “I’m very curious why you were trespassing on my land, Bambi.” 

The nymph’s glare soured even more, if that was possible. “My name is August.” 

Cassian waved his hand dismissively. “Not what I asked. Don’t you know that magical beings are not allowed to enter my kingdom without express permission? Your kind usually isn’t foolish enough to disregard that rule.” 

“The second I get these cuffs off, I'll fucking kill you,” August sneered, tugging pointedly at the restraints. 

A strange sense of excitement filled Cassian—this was already more entertainment than he’d had in a long time. And if the little nymph at his feet happened to be quite pretty as well, that was just a plus. “Well,” Cassian sighed, “if you don’t wish to answer my questions, then I suppose I'll have to keep you around until you’re ready to talk. Valeria—take him away, please.” 

August startled, trying to jerk away from the guards as they returned to grab him. “Wait, I—” 

“Don’t worry. They’ll be gentle with you, Bambi,” the king promised sympathetically. He turned his gaze to Valeria, instructing, “Find somewhere nicer to keep him, please. I don’t want our guest catching a chill in the dungeon.” 

The nymph’s eyes widened, but the fight quickly returned as Cassian’s guards began to drag him away. “Get your fucking hands off me,” he snapped, before turning over his shoulder to shout at Cassian. “I will claw that stupid, smug look off your face! You can’t keep me here!” 

“I’ll come see you soon,” Cassian called after him. Oh, this was going to be fun. 

taglist: @morning-star-whump ((lmk if you want to be added!))

pt 2