#but i like answering asks more so <3 priorities am i right

[5eraphim]

Yeah, the choice is ultimately up to you but this guy blatantly disregards your boundaries and disrespects you. Not to mention he's a fucken creep. It's hard to show people, especially yourself, that you can say no and have boundaries, but we all start somewhere. Maybe your start is telling that guy to fuck off in a way you're comfortable with. I also want to say that nothing is set in stone when it comes to who you are as a person. You aren't just a push over, you aren't just weak, you aren't what your past actions have boxed you in as. You always have the chance to say no or change your mind, and there's no one out there who can make you feel bad about it. I'm rooting for ya.

this is a really sweet thing to say, and honestly i wasnt really expecting any kind of response to that post- let alone one so well-said!! im trying to not burn any bridges, not hurt anyone's feelings, but i hate having to turn him down again and again the same way bc he WONT leave me alone😭

i got back from a visit and am trying to force meslef to get back into writing to have some fun creative time as im job hunt. its also relevant to say, but this is vermont and its almost foliage season, and i waitress, realistically- just about anywhere thats open now is looking for extra help, so there a little luck on my side :) 🍀

.... also not that this matters really, but did i mention after i quit and stooped returning his messages he guilted me into texting him back by telling me HIS DOG DIED THAT DAY , and what was i gonna do? ignore it? of course not- i told him my condolences chatted a little about pets and life and thankfully the convo ended quickly,

but seriously dude? bringing up your dead pet to your ex employee who stopped texting you back bc you KEEP BADGERING ME INTO COMING BACK TO YOUR SHIT HICK-TOWN DINER!!!!!

[luveline]

Hiiiiii!!!!!!! I recently got back into criminal minds and devoured all ur hotch fics like a MANIAC (you write. So unbelievably well. Im also in love w ur tasm peter stuff, you are just such a good writer thru and thru) and that one request where Jack calls reader mom for the first time really stuck w me so I was wondering if maybe I could request smth of the opposite? Like not-so-single mom!reader and hotch have been dating for a while and her lil girl calls him dad for the first time :3 🖤🖤

thank you for requesting! 💌 —your daughter calls Hotch dad for the first time. fem, 2k

“Come in, come in!” Hotch says, the door held ajar by his arm, forcing you to squeeze in and save the heat. “Quickly, honey, please, get out of the rain.” 

Sarah bursts in through the door and away from the rain, her vinyl coat covered in raindrops, her boots wet with mud. “Aaron!” she says, pulling it into something softened and excited at once, though her ‘r’s are weak, closer to ‘w’s. “I missed you.” She jumps from one foot to the other. 

He makes sure you’re safely inside before he abandons you. It’s not very kind to you, but he can’t help himself. “Sarah,” he says, without your daughter’s sweetness but heavily fond, “I missed you more, honey. How many days has it been?” 

“Four!” she says, holding up four fingers as Hotch grabs her by the waist. 

He doesn’t mind her wet coat, working an arm around and beneath her to shuck off her muddy shoes. They topple to the ground to unveil damp socks. 

“Oh, no, your socks are wet. I did all the laundry while we were waiting, I have some warm ones for you in the dryer. Should we get you out of this coat?” 

“Where’s Jack?” you ask. 

“Eating. He was starving, couldn’t wait.” 

You kick your shoes off and gather them with Sarah’s to line up by the door. Hotch takes off Sarah’s coat with some one-armed manoeuvring, aware of her smiley gaze following his every move. 

“I,” you say, pressing a swift kiss to his cheek, cold lips to his rough skin, “am gonna go to the toilet really quickly. Hi, handsome.” 

He savours your kiss and watches you go. He owes you a better greeting, he missed you just as much as he missed your girl. For now, he wipes the cold from Sarah’s cheeks and stations her comfortably on his navel. 

He loves her like his own. He’s privileged to get the opportunity, and it’s hard not to feel that low level of awe whenever she’s around, because she loves him the same way. Sarah waits for him to smile before she wraps her arms around his neck, long enough to twine her fingers in the short hair she finds there. 

It’s funny to love someone you had no hand in bringing into the world, but no less real. He’d do anything for Sarah. I miss you doesn’t cover it, but it’s a start. “I missed you,” he murmurs, not well-versed in baby talk but always willing to try for his kids. “It’s so nice to see you. Jack missed you too, should we go see him? I can change your socks.” 

He ushers her back enough to see her. She has such loving eyes, not shy at all as she nods her head. “Can you make crackers?” 

He beams. “Oooh, yes. Crackers and cheese and apple slices, I know what you want, honey. It’s ready for you in the kitchen.” 

Things weren’t easy at first for either you nor Hotch. He works too much, and you both have priorities that can’t be shifted, but the connection between you was easy. Love, undoubtedly, pretty much the moment you met, even if it scared him. He never thought he’d get a second chance and he’s not sure you thought you’d find yours either, and yet loving you has been as helpless as loving your daughter. He doesn’t have a choice and he doesn’t want one. 

In this time, you’ve found routine. He’s introduced the idea of moving in together and you’re excited for it, though concrete plans haven’t been laid. There’s a lot of questions and no need to rush into answering them yet. He has no intentions of letting you go now —Hotch will do anything it takes to keep his small family. 

Today, right now, that’s crackers. 

“Sarah!” Jack says when he sees them, jumping off of his chair to climb on top of it. He holds his hands out and Hotch leans down with a loving laugh to let his son hug her. “You’re back!” 

“I’m back,” she agrees. 

“Do you want some of my sandwiches? Daddy made me two.” 

“Yes!” she says, wiggling to be put down and given what he’s promising. 

Hotch fights to take her to the sink and wash her little hands, to her horror and whining. He says, “Okay, okay, I’m sorry, sweetheart, but you gotta wash your hands before you eat.” 

He puts her in her own chair, and it is Sarah’s chair, outfitted with a big pillow so she can see the table and marked by a pink star sticker, putting a placemat in front of her. Jack quickly pushes one of his sandwiches towards her. “There you go.” 

“Thank you, Jackers,” she says. 

Hotch smiles. Despite their different interests and ages, they’re quick to get along. 

He shouldn’t pry while you’re in the bathroom, but he worries about you. “Honey?” he calls up the stairs. 

“I’m just changing!” 

“Yeah? Can you bring some socks for Sarah, please?” 

You shout back something incomprehensible. He returns to the kitchen, where Sarah looks over the chair with pleading eyes and asks, “Crackers?” a piece of lettuce stuck to her chin. 

“Ah,” he says showfully, turning to the fridge to grab the plate of crackers, sliced cheese, and apples he’d Saran wrapped an hour ago. He peels off the wrapping and places it in front of her. “Here, sweetheart. Do you want anything else? Maybe some chips?” 

She laughs and grabs a piece of apple without answering him. 

“What about you, sweetheart? Drink?” he asks Jack. 

“Yes please, daddy.” 

Hotch makes Jack a cup of orange juice and Sarah a sippy cup, hers diluted some with water. He places them down in front of the kids, crouching between their chairs, intending to stay and chat. “How’s that?” he asks, tilting his head to the side to listen for your light footsteps on the stairs.  

“Thanks, daddy,” Jack says. 

“Thank you, daddy,” Sarah echoes, reaching for him. Hotch offers his hand, startled, not quick enough to hide it. She doesn’t pay any mind to his expression, pleased to have her hand held and her big plastic plate of crackers to munch on. 

“Why’d you look like you’ve seen a ghost?” you ask, passing him Sarah’s socks, and rounding the table to stand by Jack's other side. “Hi,” you add, ruffling Jack’s hair, “look at you, gorgeous, you got your hair cut.” 

Hotch rubs Sarah’s knuckles, trying to phrase it, not sure how to tell you with the kids still there. Will Sarah feel embarrassed if he brings it up so swiftly? Will she feel like she’s done something wrong? Will you? 

“What’s wrong?” you ask. 

He decides to present you with the situation. He’s not manipulative, but clever. “Mommy got your socks, too. Can we take these cold ones off, is that okay?” 

“Yes, please,” Sarah says.

You watch in confusion. Hotch gives you a quick look. Trust me for a second. 

He eases the socks off of her feet, laughs when she laughs at his tickling, even if he’s not quite sure how to feel. Happy, he gives her toes a squeeze and bunches a sock up to pull it over her heel and up to her ankle. “One,” he says, repeating the process with the same tenderness. “Two. There we go, all warm again, Sarah.” 

“Thanks, daddy.” 

You breathe in. 

Sarah puts some cheese on a cracker and offers it to Hotch, who eats it while you summon him away with silent parent talk. He kisses her forehead and wipes it clean as he goes. 

“Did she do that when I was upstairs?” you ask quietly. 

Hotch knows you. Loves you, but knows you intrinsically. He knows just by looking at you that you’re happy, but you’re worried about something, and it’s not hard to guess what it is: he might not want Sarah to call him daddy, and telling her not to might break her heart, and yours too. 

“She did.” 

“She’s never… expressed that interest to me.” 

“Sometimes they think about things more than we know.” Jack still surprises him as he did when he was a toddler.

“She just loves you,” you say. 

“I love her. She can call me whatever she wants to.” 

You hold his wrist, taking a step closer to him. “Are you sure?” 

“Of course I’m sure.” He murmurs now you’re close, ducking his head to yours, two halves of the same heart looking at one another’s hands. “I love her more than anything in the world. I want to make her crackers for the rest of my life.” Hotch puts his index finger to the soft skin under your chin. “Maybe by tomorrow she’ll forget she called me daddy and she’ll never say it again, but… I want her to. Is that okay?” he asks. 

You lean up to kiss him and you nod into his lips, which makes it hard but not impossible to kiss back. “She loves you so much,” you say quietly. You’d only wanted a quick peck. 

He might’ve said he loves her more than anything, but there’s a level on which he holds her and Jack where you sit too. He loves you. You made Sarah who she is all by yourself, and you’re so lovable standing in his reach. You’re perfect. 

Maybe he’s feeling sweet because Sarah called him daddy. 

“I think Jack confused her,” he says. 

“Maybe. You are, you know, her dad. You do everything a dad would.” 

Hotch slots his leg between yours and leans back to force you into his favourite kind of hug. You laugh slowly, hug the same, your arms sliding up over his shoulders to wrap behind his head, your hand cupping his hair. 

He closes his eyes and feels your waist. 

“You don’t have to worry,” he says. 

“I don’t worry about you and Sarah, I know you love her. I guess I just worry about us. Not that you don’t love me, Aaron.” 

“Big changes,” he guesses in a whisper. 

“Big changes.” 

He encourages you away to hold your face. He hopes that waiting with you in quiet for a while can explain it better than words. 

Your shoulders finally relax. 

[just-a-ghost00]

Crush series - Compatibility test : your kinks vs their kinks (18+)

Minors do not interact.

Group 1

For you my group 1 I intuitively channeled the song Alibi as I picked your picture on Pinterest. Maybe some of you have struggled with intimacy in the past and/or were surrounded by abusive people. You may have struggled with finding beauty in yourself, feeling cared for and valued, setting boundaries. If that is your case, first of all I am sorry that you had to go through all of this. Second of all, then this could be a confirmation you picked the right group.

Your kinks - The World, The Hierophant, The High Priestess

You like to be adored, to be put on a pedestal. In the ideal version of how your sexual life should be, you want to feel powerful and in control of what is going on in the bedroom. You would rather keep your sexual life private. So exhibitionism or sharing your intimate moments online are definitely out of the equation. You want to feel safe and nurtured. But most importantly you want to see in your person's eyes that not only are you important to them but you are their world. You want your partners to keep their eyes on you and treat you as a goddess. You want to be pampered, to be praised, to be venerated. You like to be courted. Your kinks involve being fully clothed or wearing expensive outfits and jewelry. Things that your partner would have provided for you. You likely want to be on top physically or feel like you are on top of things. You want your partner to answer your every request. You would definitely instore a safe word. Also, some of you may be reliigious. So you would want your partner to keep their distances until marriage/commitment. You want to be romanced, wined and dined. You want your partner to be respectful of your boundaries and also adaptable. You would best be compatible with someone that is open minded, that likes to explore new things in the bed room and shares your values and desires. You would want your partner to read you like a book. Some of you may enjoy travel sex, car sex.

Their kinks - 3 of swords, 9 of swords, The Emperor

I think it is safe to say that this person's priority wouldn't be their partner's pleasure. They don't like giving up control. They want to possess and to dominate. This person is into BDSM, fast and rough sex, mind games, dirty talking. They honestly enjoy torture. They would probably overstimulate their partner or keep going even if the person was exhausted and couldn't handle it anymore... They care about their own pleasure more than that of others. They are a taker. They are an abuser. I don't know how to put it any other way. They enjoy mental anguish. They would enjoy keeping people guessing, flirting through texts or phone calls. They are the type to take their partner by surprise or in their sleep. They litterally view their partner as a toy. Do I need to elaborate or you get the picture? I really don't like this person's energy. I can't think of any positive thing to say about their kinks.

Compatibility test result : 0%, this person would make you so unhappy and you deserve better than that.

Group 2

Since I had picked up intuitively on songs for the other two groups, I asked my guides to point me toward a song that could be relevant to you. Punching bag is a song that expresses the tiredness and frustration we may feel when the people surrounding them aren't being mindful of their words and actions, when they are either subcounsciously or consciously walking over us and disrespecting our boundaries, when they are being harsh on us and belittle or bring us down. If that is something you relate to, then this is your sign you picked the right group.

Your Kinks - Ace of swords, 2 of swords, Emperor

Communication and spiritual/mental connection are major factors in your relationships. Your ideal version of intimacy involves words of affirmation, praising, dirty talk, mental stimulation. Foreplay matters to you more than the actual act. You are the type of person that enjoys sexting, teasing phone calls and possibly sending nudes to your partner. For you, sex must be aerial, lighhearted and make you feel like you are touching the sky. You enjoy trying risky positions or positions that are somewhat artistic, that need a good balance. You also enjoy switching roles and positions, though you prefer to be in control. You enjoy giving and receiving oral. You have a fascination for the genital area and this is likely to be the part of the body you would be focusing on the most or would like for your partner to focus on. Breathplay could also be a thing you're into. The throat and the mouth seem to be significant to you. Those could be erogenous zones you enjoy teasing or being teased. Hickeys also. You may like to leave marks on your person's body and have them leave marks on yours that show who you belong to. You could tend to be a bit possessive and jealous. For you, sex could be a way to keep the upper hand in a relationship. If you are the type to be rather submissive in your daily life, you tend to balance that out by being more controling and demanding in the bed room. You are the embodiment of the saying "lady in the streets, freak in the sheets". You could like mind games to some extent. You could also be into blindfolds. You may prefer a partner that is a bit dominant and challenges you for power without being forceful about it.

Their kinks - Page of cups, 7 of cups, Knight of wands

Your crush is a major giver and a romantic at heart. Nothing to them matters more than feeling a deep and meaningful emotional connection with their partner. To them, sex is first and formost an demonstration of love. Thus, their main priority is for their partner to enjoy the experience as much as possible and to feel cared for in their arms. They are quite the charmer. They ally a good mixture of cockiness and gentleness that makes intimate moments feel like a moment of bliss. This person has a thing for fluids of all kinds. Obviously, that includes saliva, semen, even sweat. They could be into shower/bath/jacuzzi/beach sex. This person could also enjoy having a bit of liquid courage before doing the deed. When they are sober, they may be extremely shy so getting a little buzzed could help them channel their inner fire. I don't see this person getting drunk to the point of not being conscious and forgetting it all afterwards. On the contrary, they want to remember every single detail. They also enjoy their partner being vulnerable and emotional. One of their kinks could be to be intimate with virgins or people that are younger than them. They like the "damsel in distress" type of people. People that seem very innocent and submissive. They tend to be more of the dominant type but they would definitely be willing to hand over some control if that makes their partner happy. If they're dominant, they're a soft dom. They like passionate sex that makes them lose their breath and be all sweaty. This person tends to get a bit hasty when they are aroused. They could be the type to whine or moan, maybe even cry of happiness at how good they feel with their partner.

Compatibility test results : 80 to 95%, this person would want to put you first no matter what, they feel genuine and communicative but they maybe wouldn't be as mentally and verbally stimulating as you wish.

Group 3

I have no idea why but upon seeing the picture I picked for you on Pinterest, I immediately thought of The Grinch lmao That might be one of your favorite animated movies or your crush's favorite. Definitely tell me in the comments if that is your case!

Your kinks - 2 of pentacles, 6 of wands, 9 of cups

You enjoy having to work for it. But you also like when your partner is being encouraging and reassures you. You're into praises and pet names. You enjoy switching roles and positions. You are fine with being both dominant and submissive. You're a bit of an adventurer when it comes to intimacy. You are curious and daring. Foreplay is definitely a thing that turns you on. You also like to feel a bit foggy or dreamy during sex. So maybe you could enjoy getting drunk with your partner before. You want to feel emotionally connected to your partner. You're into body fluids as well as water or other liquids. You may enjoy a partner that's a bit resistant, that doesn't show affection easily in their daily life but would be vulnerable only with you, in the most intimate moments. You like to get under your person's skin. 69 might be a position you enjoy. Missionary as well. You might enjoy to be woken up with sex in the middle of the night or to have sex when you've just woke up. You could be into tantra and other sensual practices that could help you connect with your partner through dreams. You enjoy fantasizing about your partner more than you enjoy being intimate with them. The waiting phase or the uncertainty before the moment is something that turns you on. You may be into orgasm denial. You may also like to go back and forth for several rounds until you are sleepy. I feel like you would go with whatever your partner wants as long as they are pleased with you and the connection.

Their kinks - knight of pentacles, 9 of pentacles, King of pentacles

Your crush is both a taker and a giver but they lean more on the giver type. They are quite reserved and uptight but when it comes to intimacy they go all out. To them sex is essential to a relationship for it to be prosperous. They give it a lot of care and importance. They view it as a duty and an honor. They take this responsibility very seriously. They tend to take their time and increase intensity gradually. They enjoy sex that is deep and rich, very earthy and sensual. For it is a grounding step in a couple's life. They may enjoy riding, whether they are the one on top or their partner is. They may have a breeding kink. They are not very communicative during sex. They envision sex as a dialogue between two bodies. Touch is really important to them. Through touch they express their satisfaction, their passion, their needs. They have a tough exterior that is hard to break but once you get under their skin they give you their all. Their arousal would mainly be seen in their eyes, through their fast movements or the tension in their body. They are the type to grunt, to grab and hold on tightly to the sheets or the bed. They want their partner to do the same. They enjoy positions that are stable and simple but efficient. So they are not the type to try out super flexible positions, though they could definitely carry you around without any problem. They enjoy chair sex, desk sex, work sex. Also travel sex, car sex. They could enjoy outdoors sex. They definitely are a hard worker but they also like to make their partner work for their attention.

Compatibility test results : 75 to 80 %, I feel like this person would satisfy you to some extent and make you feel safe but they seem a bit too rigid and old school for the curious spirit that you are, also they maybe wouldn't be able to provide as much emotional satisfaction as you need.

[mc-survivalist-steven]

(Heya! Ooc related: I’ve actually been thinking of starting a Minecraft ask blog myself. Do you have any advice on how to get your foot in the water? Are there any communities I can join to connect with people more easily?)

/ooc HAHAHA- Oh man.

To start off, do note that: This is entirely MY perspective and MY experience. I'm gonna tell you ALL I know, so the good and bad will be included. Always take advice with a grain of salt.

IT'S GONNA BE SUPER LONG, FAM, SO IF YOU AINT INTO READING ESSAYS IN SOME NICHE HOBBY just scroll all the way down 👍

Also, I've been an outlier in this community for prioritizing askblog and storywriting (than jobhunting. DO NOT BE LIKE ME.), so, please don't use me as an example and find what's the best askblogging style for you.

▦ Note: edited at 26/03/25 for better readability and extra elaboration on some parts.

1. Know the scene. (Currently? p bad lmao)

Here's the first bad news: You kind of entered at the timeframe of Highest Difficulty (tm) at the moment. I'll be real with you right now, the community is very inactive atm. I can't blame them. A lot of people I know have real life priorities to do. I myself am only here because I'm doing askblog mid commissions and jobhunting.

With that said, you CAN still open an askblog, you just have to realize that the following will occur:

↪ Lack of the interactions/asks you hope to have. ↪ Lack of notes/validation. ↪ Lack of people who would plan with you or join events. ↪ Lack of interest.

And this WILL suck. It'll get to you. It got to me, obviously. But I'm still going because, again, I am an outlier, and TECHNICALLY I also have a goal I always look forward to to keep creating, which ties to...

. .

2. Your type of Askblog. (Neutral. This depends on you.)

Note first that you CAN always experiment and change styles midway if you don't feel for it. I only find mine because I've been here since 2013, LMAO, so don't be too pressed as a beginner.

But knowing the type of person you are, how you create, and your limits in creating is important. Knowing where you also want to steer your blog is important. Your skills are also important.

So your askblog MUST depend on what kind of content you want to do.

↪ Do you want to do askblog just for fun? Then limit the amount of effort you put into it, else you burnout when you don't get the validation you want. ↪ Do you do it to practice art or writing? Then put your SOUL into it. Just know it'll be slow and slow = also slow engagement. ↪ Do you do it to tell a story only? Not really an artist? Might want to commission someone for RP emotion icons and flex off your writing chops. Do know ppl prefer images rather than text.

This will be the core basis of your motivation for the blog. If you lose sight of this, you will burnout/quit faster.

I suggest if you don't know what to do: Do it for fun first. Do it blind. Notes will start very small, mostly 0 and max at 3... but if you have no expectation, you will take it less painfully. This is important, especially when you start off. And overtime when you start to solidify what you actually wanna do with the blog, you may switch gears. People will follow it if they're interested! So just keep trying.

. .

3. How to Run an Askblog (The hard part lmfao)

Bro I cannot stress ENOUGH that I cannot read people and especially you. I cannot tell you how to run your askblog. Your vision of your OC and story is purely yours, so only you can unlock the secret of what makes your blog 'you'.

But I can tell you what USUALLY works in nabbing people's attention and want to interact with your OCs:

↪ Endermen OCs. (e.g. askendy) They are super popular. No shade to Endermen blogs, it's just what works + the endermen community is the largest rn. ↪ Great artist and replies with images. (E.g. Askzub) Sorry to all the text only askblogs / those who answer with too much text... but if you wonder why people engage less, it's probably that. ↪ Great event hosts, aka blogs who knows how to rally up the masses in a collaborative effort to spice up the community. (e.g. rnotsleeping, 'Monstrosity of the Night' event) ↪ A continuous story featuring duo/trios with engaging storyline. (e.g. hexavexen and ask-vulcan-and-toby) ↪ A gimmick that is simple but interesting. Keep it to one sentence, e.g. mine: 'Retired herobrine with one eye.' (this caught the attention of a LOT of people surprisingly.) ↪ Characters that copies canon minecraft design concept to a T, but has some kind of story people wanna see. (e.g. Enderbro.) ↪ HUMOROUS/SOFTCORE blogs. Ironic, slice of life, or funny. We need more humor tbh. (e.g. hiiamramy (i love this cute blog lmao))

Again, these may or may not work for you. This is the trend that I just frequently see. You can make whatever you want, but know that these are what I see usually climb up to the top.

MEANWHILE, here's the parts that I think DEFINITELY make blogs stand out:

↪ Utilizing your asks in a smart way. (More at #4) ↪ Askblogs with APPROACHABLE quality. Askblog is about interaction.You may want to make space for people to include their OCs (TO A DEGREE) with you and also experience your stories with you. ↪ Characters who don't annoy the viewers/other askbloggers through asks. I cannot stress enough how merely annoying people can get you so much flak. ↪ Characters who tries to interact a lot with other blogs, but isn't intrusive about it. Keep it cool when you try to interact with bigger blogs! They're all riddled with anxiety just like the rest of us.

But also, here's the deal: If you want to break the market, you got to put in some effort. Basically, the same as marketing every products and yourself. You gotta post often, draw often, and send asks (THAT WORKS for both you and your target blog) often. Sometimes you hit the jackpot, most times people ignore you.

It's par for the course. If you think something isn't working, though, always ask for criticism. Just... know that most ppl are too nice to tell you where you went wrong, so, uh... Idk? Ask someone who you trust and is willing to be upfront with you, I suppose.

. .

4. Utilizing ASKS holy shit this is so important to me

You know how in 2013 everyone spams asks so much that you have like 80 asks per blog in a week? And that 'if you spam me or send asks that is unfitting to the blog, I'll delete it uwu' mindset?

Don't.

Let me let you in into my secret. Asks are RARE these days. Baiting for them is even harder. Only your friends will send you asks, and overtime they'll run out of things to ask. If someone sent you a humor ask and you want to throw it away... well... What if I tell you not to?

Here's what you can do:

When you get an ask that feels too humorous or OOC or trolling, weigh how much you can twist it to fit YOUR narrative. For example, this is the ask I got.

Imagine getting this 1 year ago at the peak of Steven getting stuck in the Nether at a break apart state. Your first reaction would be: 'Man, this makes no sense. I should delete it.'

Nope. Weigh it first.

Can you utilize this somehow? Usually, id either answer it in character and then end it with some kind of lore reveal. (e.g. your character sees this and goes 'no! I never did this! ...or did I...' -flashback about an enderman friend they've forgotten-) so you still answer accordingly BUT also reveal something about your character!

See? This engages viewer's interest while also accommodates the ask. Everyone's happy.

Do note some asks can't work like this no matter what you do. You can bank these for future happenings.

...and if the asks are highly uncomfortable, or clearly a troll you can't utilize, or just 'hi.'? Probably just delete those, yeah.

. .

4. pt2, Baiting asks.

Baiting asks is like fishing. You gotta know when to reel and when to hold. Lemme explain.

The basic on this is: don't make your ocs TOO mysterious, but also not TOO open. TOO MUCH OR TOO LITTLE INFO ABOUT YOUR OCS WILL NOT HELP EITHER PARTY! Especially when we are in a drought like this! So yap, reveal, hide ONLY the most important secrets they have, and then reveal it slowly through asks and flashbacks.

Make askers feel that they unlock your ocs more (satisfaction on their end) and you get to infodump on them who your OCs are in a slow pace (satisfaction on your end.)

"But Doe, I can't do this if I don't even get asks."

I grab you gently.

Then drop lore posts.

I notice a lot of askbloggers refuse to post ANYTHING unless they got asks. DON'T. DO THIS. Realize that people usually don't ask because they have NOTHING to ask about. GIVE them something to ask about!

And remember! Do it in a trickle. BOTH in your standalone and answer posts.

So reveal in a consistent, slow trickle way. Give people things to ask about, while also not be too protective of your secrets and reveals.

.

.

4. pt 3, throwing asks.

I BEG OF YOU. SEND ASKS.

You send asks in return to getting asks. That's why non-anon asks is IMPORTANT. It lets people know WHO you are! SO THEY CAN SEND ASKS BACK AT YOU.

Here's my formula:

↪ Read the blog about 20 posts back and figure out something you can ask about. ↪ Ask 2 asks IN CHARACTER, PROPERLY. (format: "your ask here" > Line break > @.yourblogurlhere) This allows you to extend an olive branch for interaction (and future character relationship (friendship, enemies, rivalry, etc)) with the character, while staying in character. [E.g. "Hey, man! I noticed the sweet ride you have outside the house. Is that yours? Because I got a lot to talk about if you like cars!" - @.software-bugs-b-gon] ↪ THEN SEND 2+ MORE ASKS IN ANON with differing styles and personalities to give them MORE FOOD to continue their blog. This allows you to be slightly mean or out of character and gives YOU more ooc leeway to pry the character open further.

Now you just askbombed a blog with 4 asks! That's 4 POSTS OF CONTENT! You're happy, they're happy. YIPPEE!

AND IF YOU ARE ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE WHO GOT AN ASKBOMB, please either return it or spread it to other blogs. Please.

P l e a s e. . .

5. Keeping it fresh.

Like a comic, people gotta come up with new story ideas else the blog stagnates.

If you aren't a story driven blog, letting people do M!As or just do silly 'scenes' and 'situations' work. Think of it like a slice of life or a sitcom.

Shit happens, and your OC is put into it. Let people ask things that help drive them around!

If it's story related, breaking it into arcs and story events will also help you introduce something new per arc and thus, not stagnate!

. .

6. I am tired of askblogging, and I want to take a break. How do i come back from that?

By, uhh... By just coming back?

There's not really a secret sauce to this, I feel like. Do note I am one of the more well-known askblogs out there, so I can just come back anytime and still have people waiting for me. I know that much. But still, not EVERYONE waits for me, y'know? So I just treat it like I'm starting over. No expectation, no grumpy because people aren't waiting for me. I just write for myself and to entertain, and those who like will come back and those who don't can leave and this is okay. This is normal! Don't lose hope.

It's kind of depressing to say 'just don't expect too much,' but it is actually the mindset you need. Do it for YOU, mainly.

And if you somehow deep, deep down know what you have isn't working out?

It's fine to quit! Or restart. Whatever works for you.

But also, quit with honor! Keep these in mind:

↪ DON'T JUST POOF. Believe me. You may be surprised how many people will be sad you're leaving, and what's worse is leaving things open ended will bite you in the ass. I've seen it happen. THRICE NOW actually. None of them ever ends pretty... I'd suggest just taking a hiatus before breaking the news. ↪ Take note of everyone you plan with, and contact them. Tell them you are quitting, and open up a conversation on what they can do in your absence to not break their story midway. Just- just keep open communications going? It'll suck then but it'll cover your bases. ↪ Tell your followers. Obviously LMAO. ↪ If you have the balls, ask them to anon message you on what you can do better for next askblog. People will be more upfront when they are hidden in anon, so you will get some nasty comments. If you want to pursue better writing/art/askblog and you can take the heat, try it out. If you CANNOT take the heat, DO NOT DO THIS. Especially when you quit for mental health reasons. ↪ This is just me to you, don't delete your blog, man. Just close your asks and let it up for good time's sake. I can't tell you what to do with your blog, though, but I prefer archived blogs over deleted ones.

. .

7. Last one I promise: HAVE. FUN.

Askblogging isn't a full time job. You do it because it's probably like a lite-comic for you. (me.) Or maybe it's a place to showcase your OCs. (me.) Or maybe it's because you are insane and you just want to yap about stories and humanity and touch that SOUL in everyone and understand complex emotions in niche situations that wrench your guts (also me.)

No matter the answer, have fun. The blog is for you to LARP as your character and interact with others. Find your community, find the people you belong with,

and most importantly: FIND THAT SWEET SPOT OF WHY YOU CREATE IN THE FIRST PLACE.

Just have fun. It's your blog, your rules. I am just an old man who likes to see more blogs show up, so whatever your decision is:

Make your own damn fun, okay?

.

.

ALRIGHT THATS MY YAP HERES THE TLDR:

The scene is currently dead, but make one anyway. Just don't expect much from it atm. You will start on Highest Difficulty, and I don't blame you if you can't garner interest no matter what you do.

Decide on your type of askblog. This will be your core, so if you lose motivation you still have the core to fall back onto. Why do YOU want to make an askblog? What is it for you?

Askblog isn't easy to run. You have to keep your eye on trends, other blogs' stories (you are invested in) and events. Some things work and some don't. But most importantly: Post a lot, include pictures if can, send asks and interact a lot with others!

Know how to utilize your asks. They are SCARCE. Don't just throw away asks that 'makes no sense' and try to twist it your needs. b. Additionally, learn how to bait asks by feeding your viewers bits and pieces that makes up a big secret/character of your OC. Give them something WORTH asking. c. ADDITIONALLY throw a lot of asks. Send some in character and a LOT in anon. Make some askblog happy. We need asks, after all.

Keep it fresh. Don't let the blog stagnate.

If you don't think it works out, it's ok to Quit or Restart. But please do it with other people in mind. Quit with dignity.

Finally, HAVE FUN. Do what it takes to keep the fun fresh for YOU.

. . .

For communities, I suggest LiLaira's MC discord community just to find people you can vibe with. You can then do your own smaller discord community to yap MCaskblog with, preferably those you are chill with and can rotate ideas with.

Joining here also will give you access to the Tumblr MCaskblog community, which helps with your MCaskblog feed.

(both are currently low activity though, just a heads up.)

I'm sure there are more communities out there that I don't know of. Just research who are behind them and be careful with what you choose!

I myself is in the above MC discord. If you wanna yap OCs with me, I am the kind of bastard who camps in the oc discuss channel, sooo... I guess I'll be waiting! :D

[secretress]

❝𝐏𝐀𝐂: 𝐈 𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐫, 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐰.❞

What do you need to hear?

Subliminal channel | Masterlist

Tips | Paid Readings

Not a tarot card reading, only based on my intuition.

18+ readings

Divider

Pile 1

You must understand that the reason why everything isn’t going your way isn’t due to the fact you’re not a good person. It is not about your good deeds, or your bad deeds. It is not about who you harm inadvertently, this stems from you as a person. What are you looking for or in your case, whom are you looking for? Are you looking for something that satisfies you for the time being or for the longer term? Ask yourself this. Are you deserving of good luck? Am I deserving of the best?

If you think to yourself that every small detail of your life isn’t going well then you stimulate your mindset in the wrong light. Small simple bad things are normal for us all. One paper cut, a fight occurring, a friendship ending, these things are much smaller than you know.

A paper cut, you were careless and you lack patience.

A fight occurring teaches you patience, resilience, and knowledge. You learn from their behavior, are they a hot headed, calm, how do they react? It heightens your sense, awareness and analytical skills.

A friendship ending is a lesson for us all, it makes us grow as a person and it teaches us how to make ourselves the priority because friendships always end no matter, positive or not. Happy memories are the things one can hold on but to reminisce about the past makes us a prisoner. Do you want to be a prisoner? Does that sound ideal to you? If so, why?

So to ask once more, who are you looking for?

Think about this for a bit and speak to yourself about it until you realize you already know the answer.

The answer is within you.

Pile 2

When you see fire near you, you instantly run or perhaps freeze due to fear, and yet here we stand in the midst of it excited by it. Why is that? Why do you think you seek the adventure of danger? Do you think it plays the factor of being the person you desire or perhaps you’re hiding away once more under a facade of dread and hatred?

Do you believe that the burning flame within you is seeking to go upward or downwards? Do you believe that the same burning flame is you or perhaps it's merely the people around you, your environment?

Why all these questions? What is this reading, you may ask, the truth is, your mind is rather clustered of useless thoughts surrounding you like a snowstorm where you cannot escape, only to shelter oneself. Learn to let go of the thoughts that do not benefit you, and take in the ones that makes you happy. Let go of your worries to whom you believe or what you believe in, and let them take those worries away. Come back anew and make yourself whole once more. Your life is in your hands, not them, not the community nor your family, simply just you and you alone. Obstacles surely are a pain, are they not? But then again, obstacles make us whole so, will you be the person who stops midway through the obstacle or will you go forth with it and leap over it, perhaps even swim around it? The choice is yours and it lies within your grasp. You choose.

Pile 3

When you see the moon hiding the sun, you find it to be mesmerizing. The moon shines its beauty for us so we can enjoy the stars, perhaps to stargaze, maybe to feel like ourselves, who knows. But then again it’s just a normal cycle, a factual tradition, I suppose. But then we look at society and how it teaches us that our flaws are significant and that we must be perfect like Barbie and Ken. But then again, one cannot achieve such perfection, it’s simply impossible. Right?

Why do you believe that you must be perfect at everything? You must achieve everything and that if you do not, you’re unworthy? Not good enough and such. What are you gaining from that? Would you preferably say that to a child, let alone your child? No.

Would you find an infant, barely born and tell them, “you’re doing this wrong. What is wrong with you?! You cannot do anything right!” No. So why do you do it to yourself?

If I were to yell at you right now, how would you react? Would you reciprocate it? Would you let it bury inside and create resentment towards me? Maybe you might slap me as well. Or I suppose, you will laugh it off like it’s nothing, or maybe it truly isn’t anything because you became numb to it because you justified it.

Even so, it’s not justified to act so harsh on yourself, high expectations won’t lead you anywhere, well, I suppose it would leave you in a dump. That doesn’t sound enjoyable, does it? No.

Maybe next time, let’s try being easier on ourselves and show gratitude to oneself for achieving a small accomplishment and giving ourselves a reward. Shouldn’t be hard if you actually care for yourself, now would it? You tell me. Decide it for yourself.

Pile 4

When I think of your pile, I see a child, presumably someone who looks pale, but isn’t. I see an image of someone wearing nothing, but not in a perverted fashion. I see them staring into my eyes with such sadness, such hatred in their heart and eyes. So much anger, and yet there is a “help me” feeling of the way they are gazing into my eyes.

What I’m saying is, those reading this pile feels .. a sense of emptiness and apathy. This pile gave me anxiety for 3 hours straight and I ruined my nails by biting them (which I never do), I wish I was exaggerating, but I am not. Your pile is very rocky, lots of anxiety and frustration, and so much resentment. I can feel my heart beating so incredibly fast, I feel suffocated, I feel like I am drowning, but it’s not the same as you expect someone to drown. I feel as I am dying and that is what you feel right now.

I hear depression, anxiety, BPD, and “I’m going to kill you.” Everyone here feels so much anger, it’s going to explode on the next person. Sometimes you feel like no one understands you and they treat you as a joke, at times you feel as if you aren’t important enough to be apart of your social group, even your family as well. At times, you want to.. jump off a cliff but the thought scares you very much, not because you're a coward, but because you have this small shred of hope that you may have a better life, and you will.

I see a hill, someone's child is holding a book or perhaps a diary, they are holding it tightly, close to their heart. Despite if you don’t read or write journals/diaries, something you have within you is what you hold very close to you and you must cherish that. Keep it close, I’m not speaking of your negativity (some of you, stop it), I’m speaking of the thing you want so badly but you believe it is impossible to achieve and yet it is not. How could it be impossible? You found the right pile for you, so what is the issue of you believing it will come to you even when you do nothing? Anything is possible, that’s very obvious, understand this. If you put your mindset on something, in this case, what you want, you think of it or perhaps daydream about it, then it’s yours. That’s all.

Here is what you must hear.

When a shooting star shoots across the night sky, we all become hypnotized by it due to it being such a rarity, correct? We stargaze because stars are so mesmerizing, so enchanting. When you think of what you desire, that lost hope, you become hypnotized about it, don’t you? If shooting stars are possible, then how dare you say what you desire, that shred of hope isn’t possible?

Getting lost in a world of possibilities is such an exciting experience, isn’t it? But when you realize it’s not real, it hurts even more. Perhaps using that small shred of happiness can amplify what you want. Ever think of that? So just daydream or think of the things you want, even if it’s a “silly” daydream about being a knight saving a princess in a castle with dragons and such, and then think of what you want for a split second even and go back to that “silly” daydream. You’ll manifest what you want without even realizing.

My intuition is telling me is that you can get what you desire if you change your approach in life. If you can do that, then that small shred of hope in your life can bypass the hopelessness that you feel as of this moment. It will twist your mind and make it assume that what you want is so incredibly easy to reach and achieve.

[valiantstarlights]

Which Hob Gadling Are You? Quiz

Instructions: Get a pen and paper (or open your notes app) to keep track of your answers and scores. Select one response and add +1 to your tally. At the end, the letter with the most number of tally marks is your result. There are 8 possible results, as there are 8 versions of Hob. Enjoy! 😊✨

--

1.) How well do you flirt?

Not sure. There's no one to flirt with. (A)

Fucking terrible. (G)

Not trying, not interested. (E)

Somewhat of a disaster, but I'd like to think there's hope for me. (B)

Not sure. I think I'm decent at it, but... (C)

I'm often not sure if I'm being flirted with, but if the person is my type, then I'll do my best to flirt back! (H)

I know what I'm doing, and hopefully it's my date tonight. ;) (F)

Honestly? I'm at a point in my life where I don't care if I'm good at flirting or not. (D)

2.) How much do you wanna fuck/get fucked by your date?

0% - Not right now. I have other priorities. (E)

25% - I'm not actively thinking about it, but if they're interested, then I'm game. (B and D)

50% - Why not? My date is super hot and I'm very interested in them. But if they're not in the mood, then that's fine, too. (H and C)

75% - Look, I'm making an Effort here. It would be nice if my date could show some interest. (G and A)

100% - OH HECK YEAH (F)

3.) Finish the sentence: "How..."

did you know that I'd still be here? (B)

long should I wait? (A)

did you know my name? (H)

wonderful to see you again. (D)

the hell did I fuck that up? (C)

rude! (G)

do you want me? ;) (F)

much longer until my order gets here? (E)

4.) Pick one word from the list:

Life (E)

Patience (A)

Change (F)

Courage (H)

Wonder (B)

Contentment (D)

Friendship (C)

Prosperity (G)

5.) Do you hate Shakespeare?

Ugh. Do we have to talk about him? I have more important things to worry about. (E)

I'm so glad you asked. Here, make yourself comfortable. I have a 6 hour presentation on why he sucks. (D)

I'd rather read a phonebook. (A)

I don't know who that is. (B)

(sighs) If I say no, will you leave me alone? (C)

THAT FUCKING BASTARD (G)

I watched one of his plays. Still think he's overrated, though. (F)

What's a shake spear? Is that a weapon or something? (H)

6.) How likely are you to say stupid shit?

Everything I say is stupid shit. (G)

Only when I'm drunk. (H)

I have no filter, so... (B)

I'd like to think I have learned not to be so careless. (E)

Fuck! I thought I had it! Apparently not. Gods motherfuck I'm never speaking again. (C)

I'm trying, okay? I really am. (F)

I said stupid shit once and I regret it until now. (A)

Very likely. Just wait and see. Any second now. (D)

--

YES OR NO QUESTIONS: If your answer is yes, +1 to the letter indicated.

7.) Do you believe in love at first sight? (H)

8.) Do you get excited over things/topics that others consider boring? (B)

9.) Are you content with the life you have right now? (G)

10.) Do you still feel hopeful, despite the horrors? (E)

11.) Are you always DTF (Down To Fight)? (F)

12.) Have you ever fallen in love with a friend? (C)

13.) Would you wait/Have you waited for hours for your friend/s to arrive? (A)

14.) Are you willing to wait however long it takes for the love of your life to appear in your life? (D)

--

15.) BONUS: Which is your favorite Hob?

1389 (H)

1489 (B)

1589 (G)

1689 (E)

1789 (F)

1889 (C)

1989 (A)

2022 (D)

--

RESULTS:

Mostly A's = 1989 Hob

Mostly B's = 1489 Hob

Mostly C's = 1889 Hob

Mostly D's = 2022 Hob

Mostly E's = 1689 Hob

Mostly F's = 1789 Hob

Mostly G's = 1589 Hob

Mostly H's = 1389 Hob

[me-loving-woso]

The Aftermath

Hello Tumblr and Hello readers.

This is Part 3 of Monthly visits. I really hope you enjoy it. I’m already working on Part 4, so hopefully you won’t have to wait that much. Does this part end in a cliffhanger? Yes. Am I sorry about it? No.

Let me know if I should continue this series. Hope you enjoy this!

The past few days have been incredibly challenging for you. Ava's room was finally finished, so you had to help her move to the room and Lucia finally decided to join La Masia, so you went with her to sign the contract.

Things with Alexia have been really in a weird place. You still remember vividly your conversation with her that day after she called for a break.

"So you want a break from me or the kids?" You ask, nearly crying, changing your position on the bed to sitting, waiting for an answer.

"I don't know, okay! These past few weeks have been overwhelming; I thought I could handle it. Then, Mom began talking about holidays and Christmas, and I guess I didn't think about it before? I don't know, it feels like my life has been changing so much, and I can't keep up anymore." She says clearly, in a very anxious state. "And above all of this, there is the World Cup, and I have all this pressure put on me, and I just want to disappear." She gets out sobbing, making your heartbreak. 

"Hey, hey, look at me." You gently take her face, turning it to you, wiping away her tears. "Since when has this been going on?"

"Since I got called up for the World Cup."

"So two months ago." You say more to yourself. "Why didn't you tell me anything?"

"You had already been dealing with your problems; I didn't want to add to anything."

"You are not a problem to me, okay? If you are happy, I am happy. If you are sad, I am sad. Whatever you need, I'll always be with you. I love you. And I know I don't say it much, but I probably should have. I love you." You began leaving small kisses on her face, trying to kiss away the tears, "What do you need?"

"I need not feel so broken and out of control of my feelings." She says, keeping her gaze down.

"It's alright to feel broken every once in a while, and it's alright to feel out of control. If you need time, I can give it to you. I'd rather lose you for a while than for the rest of my life. I'd wait a thousand lifetimes for you because you are worth waiting for. So when you are ready. I'll be right here." Your eyes start to water, too, as you understand what this entails. You shift on your bed, hugging her. 

"I love you so much, Alexia. I don't know what I would do without you. You really changed my life for the better. You are the love of my life. The only person I imagine spending my life with. And I swear to God, or whatever is up there, that one day I'm going to marry you, and I'll finally feel like I deserve your love."

"You know, you never said that."

"What?"

"That you wanted to marry me." She smiles shyly, keeping her head on your shoulder, hiding in the crook of your neck.

"Of course I do. I can't wait to be your wife and call you that." You pause, taking a deep breath, making her move her head to look at you. "But before that, you must focus on yourself and be good and happy. I want a happy wife, okay? Not the depressed ones you see in the movies that drink an absurd amount of wine and pass out. I want you to be happy. And if, eventually, I am not part of that happiness, I still want to see you happy." She nods, giving you a light kiss on your hand. "I want you to have fun at the World Cup and kick ass, okay? If you ever need me, I'm a phone call away."

That night was the last time you saw her. You told yourself you wouldn't call or look at her Instagram; it would be too painful. So you decided to distract yourself, of course, still having as first priority the kids. 

-

The first thing you did was go to the pitch. You decided to take Lucia and Ava with you, the older girl was about to start the season in Barcelona B, and you couldn't be happier for her. 

You were practicing free kicks and penalties. You and Lucia were in a clear competition while Ava was just there having fun with the ball. After a while, Ava got bored, so she decided to stay on the sidelines in the shadow playing some games on your phone, which left you and Lucia on the pitch.

"Where is Alexia, by the way? I haven't seen her all morning." She asks out of the blue, catching you off guard.

"She left for the World Cup." You reply coldly, quickly passing the ball from one foot to the other, then shooting hard to the goal post, scoring a top bin.

"Aren't they leaving in like two days?" She replies, clearly not getting the point.

"Aren't you asking a lot of questions?" You glare at her, then realize that your tone slightly hurt Lucia. "I'm really sorry, Lucia. I didn't mean to snap at you like that."

"No problem, I'm used to it anyways." She rolls her eyes, closing off, then walks away.

You were feeling guilty; you really didn't want to hurt her feeling, so you told her the truth, "She left."

"What?" She turns around, looking at you. 

You take a deep breath, "She left me."

"Wait, what? You broke up?" She says, shocked at the revelation, fully turning her body to you, taking a step towards you.

"I don't know. I'm sorry I snapped at you; you took me off guard with the question, and I still haven't fully processed it."

"It's okay. I just overreacted." She pauses. "I'm really sorry about Alexia. Do you need a hug?" She asks awkwardly.

You chuckle. "No. It's better not. If you will, I'll start crying. And I am an ugly crier, especially when it comes to Alexia. And I don't think none of us want to experience that."

"Are you going to be okay?"

"I will be." You release a shaky exhale. "Now, let's go back home. Ava here is getting too bored." You wrap your arm around Lucia's shoulder and take her to her sister.

-

As you get back home, you decide to go and take a shower, and there you silently cry until no tears are left. You then change into something comfy and go outside to your garden, trying to get some fresh air, and for the first time during the day, you check your phone. There were multiple missed calls from Alba and one from one of your best friends, Mapi. You knew that you had to call back both women, so you opted to go first with Alba. You knew it would be a sad call and hoped that calling Mapi after would cheer you up.

Spoiler Alert: It didn’t.

You take a deep breath and call Alba; she almost immediately picks up.

"Y/n, are you okay?" Alba asks almost immediately, quite sadly. You really didn't want her to pity you.

"You already know the answer, Alba." You smile sadly, "How is she?" You couldn't not ask about her; even though you tried to keep some distance, you still wanted to know how she was doing.

"She is miserable and guilty but knows she must focus on herself now."

"Did you tell her she doesn't have to feel guilty?"

“Y/n.” She replies sternly. "She might be my sister, but that doesn't mean I must agree with everything she does."

"Alba, we know how your sister deals with the pressure and anxiety. Alexia has always been very sensitive. She doesn't deal well with that kind of thing; when she was younger, she had her father and football that kept her going on and deal with the pressure. Now she only has football. You can't take that away from her."

"But she can take you out of her life?"

"That is an unfair question." You clench your jaw, trying to keep at bay your own feelings.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm sorry."

"Just know that I only want what is best for your sister, and if she really wants to, she will return; I really hope she will."

"She will." She says a little too sternly. "Or else she won't hear the end of it from me and Mom."

"Just please, stay with her, support her, and care for her. She needs it now more than ever for this World Cup."

You soon end the call after that, and after taking a minute to ground yourself, you call your best friend. She, too, picks up very quickly.

“Y/N!” She screams in your ear excitedly, .

"How was Norway? Did you already come back? Are you already in Barcelona?" You reply as excited as you can, given the circumstances.

"Norway isn't that bad; I missed Barcelona though; Ingrid made it worth it. How are you? How's Alexia?" You could feel her smile through the phone. 

"Mapi, you have been away for a month; I have some news to share, big news, actually."

"Oh my God, did you get engaged?" She replies excitedly; without making your reply, she continues, "Oh my God, I'm so happy for you guys! And yes, of course, I will be your maid of honor, and yes, of course, I already planned your bachelorette par-"

"Maria calmate, I didn't get engaged." You reply sadly while feeling utterly sick to your stomach from the sadness of the situation.

"Then what is the big news to share?"

"I think I need to tell you in person about it."

"Oh, you can't leave me hanging like that!"

"Come over, and I'll tell you." You say, nearly reaching your point of total exasperation, you knew she wouldn't budge, but you also knew it was best to tell her in person that you have children now.

"A small hint?"

Losing your patience from your long day, you went straight to the point, "I adopted two children, and Alexia and I are on a break." You say, feeling a knot closing your throat.

"Ha ha, a good joke; tell me the truth."

"Mapi, I'm not joking." You say while your voice is wavering. She never heard you cry.

"I'm coming over." With that, she closes the call leaving you with a small tear running down your cheek.

You go inside and find the two girls watching something on TV.

"So girls, change of plans; a friend of mine is coming over, so you will meet them."

"Is it someone from the team?" Lucia asks.

You nod, "Guess."

"I know you are friends with Mapi; is it her?" Ava says excitedly.

"Yes, it is her, but that doesn't change anything. Bedtime is always at the same time." 

"But-"She tries to find an excuse, but you interrupt her, "No buts, you will definitely see more of her, so don't worry." She lightly pouts, reminding you of Alexia and how she uses the same facial expression. 

When you hear the doorbell ring, you open the door, finding your best friend in front of you for the first time in a month. You share a hug, then she asks, "So what happened? What is all this about?" Trying to make sense of what you said in the phone call. "Or was this a way to make me come over?" She gives you a mischievous smirk.

"Even though I missed you, it's not. I'll let you meet the kids, and we can talk later, okay?"

"So it wasn't a joke?" You shake your head, annoyed, "Then this 'talk' will take a while.”

She enters your home and makes her meet the girls. In the beginning, Ava was very shy, hiding a little behind you. But, as soon as Mapi began asking for her attention, she gladly gave it to her. Whereas Lucia was trying to keep it cool. 

Your teammate, in the meantime, was giving the older girl a weird look as if she was trying to remember something. 

"Do I know you from somewhere?" She asks, mostly rhetorically. Your friend had a memory of steel. "Wait, you were the girl that won the meet and greet."

Lucia shyly nods.

"I remember you because you were the first kid I met after joining Barcelona. You were so excited to meet your favorite players. But then, when you found out that Alexia and Y/n weren't there, you were so sad." She chuckled. "You must be happy living with your favorite player now." She says while looking at her smirking and then glancing at you.

"Oh yeah, they never shut up about Alexia. It's so annoying." You chuckle, crossing your arms, looking at both girls as if you unveiled one of their secrets.

"Oh no, if I'm not wrong, Alexia wasn't your favorite player," You could see Lucia changing expression in one instance, trying to communicate with Mapi to stop talking, she was shaking her head, widening her eyes. She was embarrassed, and you could see it from miles away. "Your favorite player was Y/n Y/ln." She chuckles. 

You turn around facing her, utterly shocked, wearing a proud smirk.

"She couldn't stop talking about how much she loved to see you play and how she couldn't wait for you to win the Champions League. It was quite cute, actually."

 "Now. Now. Lucia. Now that I have this information, you know you'll never hear the end of it, right?" You chuckle a little, making the girl slightly blush from the embarrassment but quickly recovering.

"You really had to say it?" Lucia asks Mapi, shaking her head. 

"Of course she did! Do you want an autograph?" You joke.

"Oh my God! Stop it!" She says, smiling, clearly not enjoying your teasing.

"Lucia, pay some respect to your favorite player!" Mapi retorts, then she bursts out laughing.

"Yeah, Lucia! Pay some respect. In this household, we don't condone this disrespect, especially when talking about your idols." You finish the teasing while she rolls her eyes, "Moving on, who's up for some food?" You ask, turning to the three girls around you. 

You decided to order pizza again; you really had to begin doing some serious grocery shopping. 

You were so happy that your best friend met the two girls that you loved so much, and you were even more delighted when you saw that they got along great; it was nearly perfect. Only a person missed for it to be perfect. 

That night you played games together, and when it was time to go to bed, Ava apprehensively went to bed after some convincing.

"I think I'm going to bed, too," Lucia said soon after her sister left for her room.

"You know you don't have to; if you want, you can stay with us." You offer.

"Nah, don't worry. I'm tired, and I have some episodes that I have to catch up with." She says, heading to her room. "Goodnight!" She says, while you and Mapi reply in the same way. 

-

After a month of not seeing each other, you were left alone with your best friend.

"So, the girls are great!" She says, clearly trying to begin all the explanations you had to give her.

"Before I begin explaining everything, I need a drink." You go to your kitchen, open the first bottle of wine, and then go outside with your friend.

You sit at the table, basically downing your glass of wine. You took a deep breath then you began explaining everything to her. First, how you met the kids and what made you adopt them, then you talked about what happened with Alexia, reserving some of the most private details.

"She told me she needed a break because she was getting too overwhelmed, and of course, I let her."

"She's an idiot. She'll come to her senses, believe me. You and her work so well together; it's almost annoying. I don't think I could ever see you guys break up." You knew that she would be sad about Alexia leaving you, as she was the person that indirectly put you two together in the first place. 

"Me too. But I guess nothing good ever works out perfectly." You reply sadly, looking at your glass of wine just poured. "I even bought a ring; I would propose after the World Cup. I had everything planned. Our honeymoon, the wedding date, everything. I'm so delusional." You realize, sadly.

"Hey, hey, Y/n, you are not delusional." She reassures you, taking your hand. You look up at her with glassy eyes, looking at her skeptically. "She wants the same things as you do. It might not seem like it right now, but you'll have your happy ending in the future."

"You know what I hate about all of this? The fact I still don't know what made her decide to want to leave me. Is it me? The kids? She said she couldn't deal with the constant pressure anymore, but what made her change her mind about me? Fuck! Am I not enough? In those three years that we've been together, we've gone through so much, from dealing with my own shit to her ACL; I thought that what we had was good, great even. I thought that taking the next step would be the best thing, you know, she would give me hints too that she was waiting for the proposal. So I thought she was sure about us, but I guess I was wrong? I don't know. I really don't know." You sniff, trying to keep in tears, then you quickly backtrack. "I'm really sorry; I shouldn't be dumping you like that; I know I am talking about one of your best friends too."

"No, Y/n, you can talk to me about it. You are one of my best friends too, okay? And I'm here for you. For whatever you need. And now that you have kids. Thanks for telling me right away, by the way," She remarks ironically, earning a chuckle from you, "I'll be the best aunt they ever had."

"I know you will." You give her a faint smile.

--

--

From your talk with Mapi, you realized one thing, which is that the kids should be your first priority, and everything else would come second. 

You tried to deal with Alexia leaving after three years of relationship, in many ways. Normal people would think that you went to therapy, as this whole situation was making your abandonment issues from your parents surf up, but instead, you coped differently: watching Grey's Anatomy, the first seasons obviously. 

That show was oddly comforting for you, for many people, such as Alexia, were adamant about watching it at first. You tried to convince her to watch it for three years, but she never budged. So now that she is gone, you thought it was the best time to watch it again. You usually watch it after Ava’s bedtime. You would put it on your TV for a couple of episodes. Initially, you didn't go in order; you just watched the most painful episodes. In all of this, Lucia would be like Alexia; she would roll her eyes when you watched the show and then go and mind her own business. You often offered her to come and watch it with you, but she wouldn't; you jokingly called her a girl full of prejudice, while she replied that she wasn't as lame and soft as you. But you could definitely see her stealing some glances at the show. 

What you didn't know was that Lucia and Mapi were keeping in touch. A phone call happened, and Lucia told your best friend that you began watching the show; needless to say, Mapi was concerned because she knew that you only watched the show when you were on the verge of a mental breakdown. She told Lucia that she would be coming over soon, as she left town for a couple of days. But you still didn't know that.

That left you one night while you were watching a really intense episode. Lucia came out of the kitchen, passing through the living room, trying to get to her room, but she suddenly stopped looking at the screen. "Wait. Where is the brunette? The best friend of Meredith, I think. Wasn't she supposed to be in the show from day one?"

"She left," you replied, not taking your eyes away from the screen.

"Wait. What?" She says surprised, taking a seat next to you. You gave her a pillow.

"Yep."

"Is it okay if you put an episode from the beginning?" She asks shyly. You beam at her and switch on to the first episode.

And that is how Lucia began watching Grey's Anatomy. And what shocked you the most was that she was an emotional kid, and she got really invested really quickly, but what was funny was that she tried to hide it, but she never managed to do it properly, silently sobbing when characters died.

A week after, you were so invested that you watched it in all of your free time. You knew that it wasn't healthy. Especially for you, but it looked like she was enjoying herself, so who were you to stop her from watching something she loved. 

That day you were watching the bomb episode; Ava left with Nico to get some stuff for his shop, leaving you and Lucia with time to kill, so you put on the show, and both decided you were up for a show marathon. As you got up to get some water for the both of you, you heard a knock at the door.

"Hey Mapi, what are you doing here?" You ask happily, being surprised you were seeing your friend without her telling you beforehand.

"What are you doing?"

"Nothing, why?" You ask her, clearly hiding the fact that you were watching Grey's Anatomy.

"You are watching Grey's Anatomy again, right?"

"No, I am not!" You say defensively.

"Stop bullshitting me, Y/n. Do you remember after we lost the Champions League last year against Lyon? You began watching that freaking show because you thought it could bring you some comfort, but instead, it made it worst!" 

"That's not true!" You bark, even though you know it is the truth. "And you can't barge in like this, into my home unannounced, making wrongful claims." 

"Lucia told me to come."

"And since when you and Lucia talk?"

"Since the night we met, so where is she?"

"Oh, you'll love what you are about to see." You chuckle, taking her to the living room.

When she saw Lucia watching the show, her face was adorned with the most disgusted and offended look.

"Lucia?" She says, making her turn around quickly, giving her a guilty expression.

"Okay, this is not what it looks like. It's-It's Y/n's fault."

"Oh don't blame me! I didn't force you." You say, showing the palms of your hands.

"Okay, you two. We are going out. The both of you. We are going on the pitch; get ready. Where is Ava?"

"With Nico." You reply. 

"Tell him we'll be out for at least two hours."

As you get in the car with Mapi, she keeps her eyes on the road without giving you another glance. Leaving Lucia and you with an awkward silence.

As she gets to the parking lot of the training grounds, she makes you exit the car and turns to Lucia. "Have you already been here?"

"Yeah, Y/n takes me at least once a week." 

Mapi looks at you surprised while you comment proudly, "Mark my words, she's going to be the future of Barça." Lucia blushes lightly, staring at the ground.

"I'm not that good." She says, nearly whispering.

"Don't you dare underestimate yourself! At your age, I was not even near as good as you. And you didn't even start training! Imagine then." She curls her lips in a small smile, heading to the entrance of the pitch.

"Did Y/n tell you about how we got the keys to this place?"

"Oh yeah!" Lucia chuckles, "She told me that you got drunk and wanted the keys, and Alexia had to save you."

"So, are we also changing this story?" Mapi asks you accusatively, making you sigh.

"Okay, maybe I embellished it a little." You grin guiltily.

"So what happened?" 

"She was the drunk one!" Pointing the finger at you while you rest your forehead on your hand, shaking your head, not looking at Mapi. "And then, with some excuse that I don't even remember she lured us into helping her get the keys. Needless to say, she couldn't keep quiet, so her plan went to shit. She couldn't think properly because she was very drunk. She called Alexia, who was partying with the other girls because we had just won our first Champions, crying."

"I wasn't crying."

"You were sobbing because you couldn't figure out where the keys were, even though you claimed you knew where they were. And then Alexia came to the pitch, worried sick, and helped us find them. Which is something I would have never expected her to do."

"Well, she definitely told me another story." Lucia chuckles.

"Well, okay, I may have skipped some of the most lame parts of the story because it was the second time I saw you, and I wanted to not sound too lame." You reply, a little embarrassed.

She places her hand on your shoulders and smiles at you. "But you are lame."

"How dare you talk like that to your football idol?!" You say, faking being offended.

"I can, and I will!" She begins running to the pitch while you follow behind her trying to catch her. Spoiler alert: you couldn't. That girl was fast. Too fast.

After a little while, you both stop, taking a break. You put on your shoes and begin passing the ball to each other in a triangle. Then you leave Mapi and Lucia to play alone while you sit on the grass, smiling at their interactions.

-

You were more than halfway through July, meaning the World Cup was about to start. Even though you decided not to participate, you still told yourself you would watch all the Spain games. You had friends and teammates in that squad and wanted to support them. You and Mapi had the same idea, so you hosted a little get-together with other Spanish teammates who didn't attend the World Cup. Of course, you chose to tell all of your teammates about the kids and the adoption but refrained from talking about the Alexia thing. Initially, they were shocked that you had two children now, but then they were very happy for you. 

So you found yourself on the day of Costa Rica against Spain, with many people in your home, all commenting random shit on TV. You were wearing your old Spain shirt with the number 10 behind it, while Lucia and Ava wanted to wear Alexia's. You let Ava wear one of the old shirts Alexia gave you at the beginning of your relationship with her. While with Lucia, you basically forced her to wear a Spain shirt with your name on it, claiming that "You have to wear the shirt of your favorite player, and you are lucky enough that you live with her." You loved teasing Lucia about the fact that you were her favorite player, and loved even more her annoyed reactions.

The two girls looked too cute, making your heart swell. So you posted a story on your Instagram showing the two backs of the shirts and the tv behind, with no caption. You still had to wait for everybody to come when you received a text from Alexia. 

'Love the fits ;).'

You reply almost instantly, with your fingers trembling, as it was the first time you spoke to her since she left that night. 'They look so cute in it!'

‘I still don't know how you convinced Lucia to wear one of your jerseys, though…’

‘Long story’ You simply reply. This conversation confused you, as she wanted to keep talking to you. At the same time, she was the one that wanted a break, but you kept on replying to her, as you really missed talking to her. 

'You'll tell me when I get back?'

You are about to reply when you hear a knock on the door, so you leave your phone on the table in your living room and go to the door. Mapi, Sandra Paños, Patri, and Claudia quickly enter your home, clearly looking for something.

"Nice picture you put up on your insta." Mapi remarks, "People are going to ask why you have two kids on your story and why you were watching a Spain game when you were part of the 15 people that refused to participate in the selecciòn."

"Make them talk about the kids; I'll discuss everything with Lucia in the future. And for the story, I'll just say it was in support of Alexia and nothing more, which is true." You explain to your best friend. 

"So, where are the kids?" Sandra, the goalkeeper, asks you.

"They are in the living room."

After your teammates meet the two girls, you all order pizza and wait for the game to start. 

You picked up your phone and saw that Alexia sent two other texts to you.

'Wish me luck (luck-clover emoji).'

'I miss you.'

You released a shaky exhale and decided not to reply; it was hurting you too much to respond to any of it. It was unfair of her to send you that last text, and it wasn't fair to you to reply.

During the game, when Alexia did something remarkable, as always, your friends, who were clueless about your break with her, would always make little comments about her and you, which you would shrug off, but Mapi and Lucia immediately understood that they were making you a little sad.

Spain managed to win that game by a very narrow margin. 1-0. You knew that they could've won by much more. You could see that by how they played, something was missing. Alexia's performance was clearly below her average, which made you low-key very worried. You see them return to the changing room, and then you switch off the tv. All the people in the room began talking and joking with one another, mainly focusing on the two kids that you had in your home; okay, a kid and a teenager, but for you, Lucia will always be a kid.

After a while, you receive another text from Alexia, making you feel bad that you weren't replying to them. Which she wrote

'You all were right about Jorge. I should have stayed home.'

You reply to this text, saying, 'I'm sorry, Alexia. He's an asshole.'

What actually had shaken you up from the text wasn't the fact that Jorge probably verbally abused many of your friends and teammates from your national team, which still made you angry as shit, but actually was that she said that she should have stayed home. Was she saying that she regretted going to the World Cup? Or was she regretting leaving you? 

Mapi realized you were having inner turmoil and dragged you to your kitchen, asking what was happening. You showed her your phone, and she looked at you surprised.

"Since when has she been texting you?"

"Since today." You put away your phone, "I just don't get what she is doing. What she wants from me. And I know for sure that she is going through worse than me. But this is fucking torture, and the worse thing is that she doesn't even realize it."

Mapi didn't have the time to reply that a very tired Ava came to the kitchen searching for you.

"Mo-, Y/n, I'm tired."

"Do you want to get to bed?" You ask her smiling as you know the subsequent request that she will make. Over the weeks that she stayed at your home, you started giving her piggyback rides to the bed, making her fall into her bed, earning a laugh from her. Then you would tuck her bed sheets, giving her a good night.

She slowly nods, raising her arms and making grabby hands. You chuckle at her and turn around, waiting for her to jump on your back.

You put her to bed, give her goodnight with a kiss on the forehead, and return to the chaos in the living room.

You found your teammates and Lucia outside in your garden, sat down on the couches, actively talking about random stuff that you didn't even want to know about. You went out and sat down next to Lucia and took part in the conversations that were happening.

"Now Lucia, I have a really important question for you." Sandra begins, making the young girls sit up straight, a little worried. "How's living with Y/n?" Making all the people at the table chuckle apart from you. "I ask you this because when this woman here moved in with Alexia, we were really worried for Nala. And also because she has never once made a plant live for at least more than a week."

"Okay, this statement is very wrong. A, I am a great dog mom, Nala loves me, and B, I only ever owned one plant, and I hate taking care of them." You say, clearly, nobody was listening to you but were waiting for Lucia's answer.

"Honestly, she has been very good to us." She replies shyly. "She took us in when nobody asked her to, and honestly, she has been more of a mom to me this past month than my mother has ever been in sixteen years."

You look at her, eyes watering, really shocked about her statement. You give her a small smile, "Stop it, you will make me cry." You chuckle while removing with your fingers the tears forming in your eyes.

"Who would've thought that Y/n was such a softie!" Claudia teases you while you give her a deadly stare.

"Shut up, Claudia." The other girls at the table chuckle softly, then you turn to Lucia, "I'm really happy you feel that way." You hug her, and you give her a small kiss on the temple.

"If you will excuse me, I'm going to bed now; remember that tomorrow we have training." She reminds you, you slowly nod at her, and then she turns to your teammates, "It was so nice meeting you all; I hope I'll see you again sometime. Good night." All your teammates say goodnight to her, and as soon as she leaves for her bedroom, they turn to you.

"That revelation must have hit you like a ton of bricks." Mapi jokes.

"Oh, you don't even know. I wasn't expecting her to say that; she's not the kind of girl who likes to 'speak her feelings.' But it was a nice surprise."

"They are good kids, really kind and smart. You must be so proud of them." Patri speaks up.

"I am. Ava is so smart and sneaky, you don't even know. Whereas Lucia she's a really good kid, she will be playing for Barcelona B this season. I'm so proud of her; she'll surely be our team's future." 

You say proudly as if you were speaking about your own kids, which slowly you realized that as time progressed, those two kids became so much part of your life that now you couldn't see yourself without them. For you, they were your kids, but you knew that it wasn't right to both of them for you to call them that, they already had a mom, and you didn't want to make them feel like you were replacing her.

"And with Alexia? How are they getting along with her?"

"Oh great! The younger one has her wrapped around her little finger. You all know how Alexia is with kids. Ava found out how she can make her say yes to everything she wants, so that's that. Whereas with Lucia, they bonded over football and dogs."

"You all look like a happy family."

"Yeah, I guess." You chuckle sadly, trying to keep up the façade that you and Alexia were still together.

After approximately half an hour, all your guests left, leaving you alone in the house, wallowing in your pit of misery. You were so happy that Lucia told you what she had told you, and there was only one person that you wanted to tell, Alexia. But you couldn't, and that realization left you helpless.

You go to your bed, which had been half undone since Alexia left, and you lay on it, still smelling her perfume from her pillow. You really missed her. So damn much. 

You turned on your phone one last time before going to sleep. As Mapi predicted, you received many comments about the two kids and why you were watching the Spain game, but what worried you was your agent, who texted you.

'Call me as soon as possible. I don't care if it's midnight."

You decide to call him immediately, hoping he wouldn't pick up. He picked up, telling you how the story you put on Instagram makes many people ask questions, making you roll your eyes.

-

The next day you wake up after approximately two hours of  tossing and turning in your bed, and go downstairs to your kitchen; you give Nala something to eat and make her go outside. You prepare coffee for yourself and wait for the girls to wake up. 

You were scrolling through your phone when Lucia and Ava came to the kitchen for breakfast. Fortunately, after more than a month, since they moved in, you managed to get something to eat for them for breakfast, so you didn't have to go to your brother's place every day.

Lucia sat at the chair next to you while Ava tried to sit on the kitchen countertop, as she saw you many times sit there, but she couldn't because she was too short, but she wouldn't surrender. So you chuckled, then picked her up and put her where she wanted to sit.

"What are you doing?" Lucia asks, trying to peek at your phone.

"Did you open my Instagram yesterday?" You ask her.

"You might be one of my idols, but I don't stalk you on Instagram; I already live with you." She threw her hands up.

"Look at my story." You push her phone to her hands, and she picks it up and goes on Instagram.

"Wait, this is us!" She says, smiling shyly. Ava snatches her phone from her sister to see the picture, making the owner of the phone grunt from irritation, the older girl tries to physically take back the phone, making them have a small fight.

"Okay, girls, it's nearly nine a.m.; it's too early for this type of physicality. Ava, give back the phone to your sister." The little girl huffs and reluctantly gives the phone back.

"So, what is the problem with this picture?"

"People are asking who are the kids in the picture, so I thought I would post about it to get my agent off my back. Is it okay for you? I chose a picture in which you can't see your faces, so you won't have any problems." You reassure the older girl, showing the picture on the phone. 

It was one of the first pictures you took together. The first one, Alexia, took it, and it was the first time you hung out together, all four of you. Ava was very tired and fell asleep on you; Alexia took a picture and sent it to you the day after. You couldn't see the sound girl's face in it, but it was evident she was a child. 

The second one instead was a picture of you and Lucia playing football, you didn't remember who took it, but it appeared on your phone. You fell in love with the photo right away. You were possessing the ball, and Lucia was trying to take it away from you, but you were pushing her away laughing. When you saw both pictures, they became your top three favorite pictures of all time. 

The third picture being with you and Alexia you took when you won your first Champion's League together. You had just started dating and thought you couldn't be happier at that moment, but boy, you were wrong.

"I love them." Lucia simply says, nodding. 

"I don't like my picture!" Ava says, crossing her arms on her chest and pouting.

You chuckle at her antics, "What do you have against it? It's cute!"

"It's not cute! I'm sleeping." 

"Okay, why don't you decide the picture." You offer, giving you her phone, on the album where you kept all the pictures with the girls.

She casually lands on a picture you took of her and Alexia petting Nala, which you thought was beautiful and sad. Making you rethink your life choices again in the past month.

"I want to put this." She says, giving you back the phone.  

"I'll think about it." You give her a smile, then go back to preparing breakfast for them, thinking you'll finish the post that night.

That day, you had a lot of things to do. One is enrolling Ava in an elementary school and then bringing Lucia to the pitch to help her train for the season. You decided to multitask. You took Lucia to the pitch, then left for the school with Ava, and then you'd leave her with Nico and then go back to the pitch to Lucia so that you could train for preseason in Mexico.

Needless to say was that when you got home, you were exhausted. After the tough training that you and Lucia just endured, you both decided to shower then the both of you found yourself lying frozen on the couch with the AC on, waiting for Nico and Ava to come back home to dinner.

—

Fast forward to three weeks, and you still had to do the post; you opted out of it because you thought the pictures were great, but you knew something was missing: Alexia. How could you post about your family when a huge part of it was missing? So you decided not to post anything, hoping she'll return to you. 

You were all now watching the Spain game against the US. The same at your house for the Panama game was again at your home. Spain barely got out of the group stage, with all the players clearly missing the spark they usually had. Matches with the US have always been challenging games; they were 4-time world champions for a reason, but more than that, the majority of the players in the USWNT played in the US, so you weren't even used to playing with them in a club. 

Needless to say, Spain lost that game badly. Jorge was fuming. You could see it from the screen. He would scream at his team at any time, especially with Alexia, making you extremely worried. Alexia didn't deserve it; nobody did. He was acting irrationally for the world to see how bad of a manager he actually was. 

The US team was over the moon when the final whistle blew, whereas Spain was shattered. They were all on the ground with their hands covering their faces. Then Alex Morgan walked towards your ex-girlfriend, picked her up from the ground, and gave her a small pat on the back for encouragement. It really hurt seeing the love of your life this hurt and distraught. 

You see her go to get water near the bleachers, then the camera frame Aitana Bonmatì, which she was too standing up, but then you see her begin running. The camera changes the frame again, and you see where Aitana is running to. Alexia was drinking from a Gatorade bottle, and Jorge approached her. He snatched it harshly away from her and began talking angrily at her. You couldn't hear what they were saying to each other.

Still, you knew Alexia wasn't having any of it, chuckling sarcastically and shaking her head. He reacted by grabbing her by the arm. In the meantime, many of your Spanish teammates that have seen the scene unveiling, ran up to their captain, trying to make him take his hands off her. Ona even forcefully removed his hand from Alexia's arm, giving him a death stare. As she saw her teammates swarm her and their trainer, Alexia put a hand on Ona and Aitana, trying to stop them from doing something stupid. At the same time, Jorge kept screaming at all of them. 

You and your Barça teammates were watching the scene on TV and looking at each other worried. You were frozen and scared, hoping that things wouldn't go sideways than they already were. FIFA was about to intervene when Jorge just finished screaming when Alexia shook her head and left the pitch, practically stomping. The game's broadcasting went to the ads, and you all looked at each other.

"What the fuck just happened?" Map was the first to speak, all turning to her while you still stared at the screen. Many voices were talking one on top of the other, but you closed them out, trying to think about your next step. You knew that if their interaction had lasted more than it did, you would've probably already been at the airport.

What brought you away from your spiral of thoughts was Ava calling out your name. This made you snap out of your trance and realize that also Ava and Lucia probably saw the same thing as you and many other kids around the world. 

You went before her and then kneeled so she wouldn't have to raise her head too much.

"Y/n, why was the coach screaming at Alexia?" She asks worriedly with her head down.

You didn't know what to say to her; you couldn't possibly say that Jorge was an asshole who couldn't interact appropriately even on a worldwide broadcast.

"You know, when a person is sad and angry, they sometimes take it out on others even though they don't deserve it. That's what happened, even though you should never have your feelings out of control." She nods understandingly while you gently take her sides, "Now, why don't we go outside and get ice cream together?" She nods excitingly. "I have to make a phone call now. Can you stay with Mapi until I am back?" You look at your best friend; she gives you a slight nod, then turns her attention to the younger girl. 

You go to your room, and the first thing you do is call Alexia. It goes to voice mail. And even though you hate leaving voicemails, you do.

"Hi Alexia, it's me, Y/n. I think you probably know that already. I saw the game today. I'm trying to say that please call back as soon as possible, or even just text me to let me know you are okay. And I know we're on a break, so I must give you space. But just please let me know if you are okay. I love you." You say, probably holding your phone too tightly, trying your best to find the right words.

Then you text Alba, which you haven't heard from her since the day she called you.

'Hey, Alba. I know that you are in New Zealand right now. I just wanted to ask you if you had heard anything about Alexia. Is she okay?'

Then you send a text again to Alexia. 'I saw the game today. Can you call me when you get this text, please? Or if you don't want to call, just tell me you are okay.'

Then you took a big breath to ground yourself. You told yourself to put your concern for Alexia in little boxes in the back of your brain. You had to be strong for Ava and Lucia. 

You went downstairs to the girls and found your house empty, only Mapi and your kids.

You give the woman a puzzled look. "They left about two minutes ago. And the kids are outside playing with Nala. Did you manage to get a hold of Alexia?"

You shake your head. "I send her a text, and Alba too. I really hope that she's okay. That interaction looked like a lot. And for the whole team to intervene seemed like he was saying some hurtful stuff."

"I sent a text to Aitana to ask her what was going on. She told me that some hurtful personal stuff was said to Alexia. They haven't seen her since then."

"I mean, should I be worried? I know that we aren't on talking terms right now, but she is still someone I still care very much about."

"It's okay to worry about her. I know for sure that she won't be MIA for much long."

"Thank you for taking care of the kids, I'm sorry I left in such a hurry, but I had to make the phone call, ya know."

"If it were Ingrid, and I was in your place, I would've probably done worse." Her confession made you chuckle. 

"So, ice cream? You don't have to come if you don't want to." 

"Of course, I'm coming! I still have to beat Nico for top place as aunt/uncle!"

"You are an idiot." You say, laughing. 

You go outside and call the two girls; Ava goes straight past you to Mapi, whereas Lucia, Shows you the thumbs up and asks you, "You okay?". You nod, giving her a weak shoulder pat, making her enter the house.

Every ten minutes, you would check your phone in the hopes of notification of Alexia, but it was useless. Good thing that Mapi was there, keeping the kids busy. 

You were taking a walk when Alba called you. 

"I'm sorry I have to take this." Your mouth to the defender that it was Alba and move away from the three girls.

"Hi Alba, how are you?"

"I'm good; we are about to go back to Spain. Tomorrow we have the flight."

"Say hi to Eli from me, okay?"

"Oh no, she told me to pass you the phone when we are done talking. What are you doing?" Even though you have known Alexia's mom, she has always been scary to you, especially when Alexia was on the line.. 

"I took the kids for some ice cream with Mapi. Right now, they wandered off, probably looking at some squirrel." You chuckle, smiling at the thought. "Have you heard from Alexia?"

"Nope, she didn't even call mamá. But strangely, she is not that worried. I think she knows where she went."

"At least one of us knows." You say hopefully.

"Mamá wants to talk to you," Alba says, passing the phone to her mom. 

"Y/n, how are you?"

"I'm good, Eli. How's New Zealand?"

"New Zealand is nice, but Barcelona is better."

"No doubts about that." You chuckle, agreeing.

"How are the kids? Are they behaving well?"

"They are wonderful; you should come to dinner as soon as you get back." You say politely.

"Now, I know you love my daughter very much, right?" She asks you authoritatively, making you subconsciously make your back straighter.

"Yes, I do very much."

"When she'll come back to you because she will. Make her work for it." Your face turns into a weird and confused expression. "You two are perfect for each other and complement each other perfectly. That is why I gave you my blessing to propose to her a year ago. But when my child comes to her senses and apologizes to you, if you want her back, which I really hope you do, make her earn it."

"I will." You say, chuckling. "I'll make her sweat a little."

"Good. Now I'll let you get back at it with the kids. Give them a hug from me. And take care of yourself, with ya?"

"I will. Have a safe flight."

-

The rest of the day and the next day passed on rather quickly. You were still worried, but somehow, after the call with Alexia's mom, you were worried less. You knew she was a nearly 30-year-old independent woman; she could care for herself. 

It was approximately 11 pm. You had just put Ava to bed, and Lucia was already to bed, ‘Claiming’ that she was tired. You thought she was hiding something from you, but you weren't worried about that. When she is ready, she will tell you. At least, you hoped. 

Alone in your house, you wondered if this was like rich housewives felt when they waited for their husbands to come home, except that you didn't have a man, nor a woman, for that matter. 

So, willing to get the whole desperate housewife experience, you decided to do the most typical thing they could do. Which was pouring yourself a glass of wine or two and hoping for the best. 

You tried to find the cheapest bottle in your kitchen and opened it immediately; as you were about to put the wine in the glass, you heard an insistent knock on the door. You checked your time and wondered who in their right mind would knock at someone's door at past 11 pm.

You go to the door and open it.

"Alexia?"

[merlinmylove]

Dragonlord reveal pt 3: The Darkest Hour rewrite (Finale)

Read on Ao3 Here (fully updated and edited)

Read part 1 Here

Read part 2 Here

After saving their lives, Merlin tended to his duties.

He made a simple mushroom soup, refilled all the water skins, brushed down the horses, hung all their capes up to dry over some nearby branches, washed Arthur’s socks in a cold creek where he also gathered some algae for Gaius. All in all, it had been a very productive trip.

He rubbed his hands together for warmth as he looked over this work. Yes, he thought. All is well. Or maybe, not all is well, but at least he got his chores done before Arthur decides he wants to berate him again. Merlin trotted over the fire where Percival had upended two tree stumps, and placed them down as benches.

Sir Leon was stoking the fire with a stick, trying to even the smoke out. It was clear to Merlin that he’s been on the verge of speaking several time, but didn’t know how to begin. After he gave the older man a soft nod, he began.

"So is that how you survived the Dorocha? Your...dragonsblood?" His voice was guarded but not judging, as if he was trying to figure something out for himself. Merlin met his eyes over the fire and saw nothing but sincerity and honesty in them.

"It’s possible. Frankly, I’m not too sure how or why I survived”

"Its a simple enough question, Merlin. Just answer him” Arthur grumbled from the right. The Prince had made a point of sitting furthest away from him. What an ass.

“The question may be simple, but I don't know the answer, my Lord. Your father destroyed any books on the topic, and any other dragon-nobility was executed, so there is no one I can ask. Though I suppose I could ask Killgarrah, but I doubt you’d like to see him again”. Merlin added bitterly.

Arthur's eyes met his and Merlin could see in real time how quickly Arthur came to realise what he had meant by that. “I didn’t kill the dragon that night, did I?”

“No, Sire. You did not”

“So that was anther lie”

“You can’t blame me for lying when the truth is a death sentence”

Merlin let that statement sit for a moment. Perhaps it was a cruel thing to say, after all he hated lying to Arthur, and he did want to apologise for all the years of lying. But he also needed his friends to hear his side.

Lancelot, kind gentle Lancelot, placed a hand on Merlin’s shoulder. His touch had always had a calming effect on Merlin. His presence even more so. Tears begun to sting his eyes, but. he told himself it was just from the smoke of the fire.

“I met the dragon yesterday, he saved our lives from the Dorocha with his fire. And afterwards he flew us to you”

No!

“No, that’s not true. Sir Lancelot lies, he is not a traitor to the crown, he would never betray you sire!” Merlin scrambles to explain, desperate to keep his friend alive. Gods, why is it every friend he makes is so willing to sacrifice their own lives?!

“Lancelot!?” Arthur exclaims but is shushed by Lancelot soothing voice. “My Lord, I am your knight and I will always be loyal to you. It is an honour to serve you, Sire. But I must also look after my friend — and right now Merlin is my priority.”

He turns to face Merlin, placing his hand gently under his chin. “You don’t have to lie any longer, Merlin. You don’t have to hide”

That thought terrified him. As much as he had always wanted and fantasied about being honest with Arthur and their friends, he found himself more terrified than ever before.

“I’ve been hiding my whole life, I don’t know how to be visible” Merlin choked as he tried to wipe his tears.

“Then let me be your strength.” Lancelot gives him one of his gentles smiles before he speaks again. “It is true Sire, that I’ve always known about Merlin’s magic. You remember the griffin that plagued Camelot all those years ago. We were all told it could only die by magic, and I willing to lay down my life for your kingdom when I made my attempt at charging it. But somehow, seconds before I struck it, my lance erupted in blue flames killing it where it stood.”

All the knights were attentively listening. Lancelot had that effect on people, his voice and demeanour always seemed honest. “I admit I was surprised at its death, for my lance had not been made with magic. When I looked around I saw fallen knights on the ground, yourself amongst them. And hiding behind a tree stood Merlin. His eyes glowed gold, for it was he who saved Camelot that day. Not I.”

The fire crackled as everyone looked at Merlin, who seemed to grow pink. They all knew he had a tendency to hide behind trees and bushes during battles. Had this been the reason why? Had he been fighting using magic all this time?

“From that day on I swore to keep his secret. I’ve watched Merlin take down an immortal army, kill beasts and assassins without breaking a sweat, all while still serving you breakfast. You may question Merlin’s honesty but never for one moment should you question his loyalty. Merlin is entirely devoted to you, Arthur”

Lancelot pulled him into his side and hugged him with one arm. Merlin tried to even out his breathing as he waited for his prince to speak.

“But he was not a dragonlord back then…how did he have magic?” The idiot asks. Arthur seemed more confused than angry. Hopefully, that meant he would be able to forgive him for some of his worst decisions.

“I told you my dragon abilities were inherited. My father was a dragonlord and warlock, as am I”

“What exactly is a warlock? Is that any different from a sorcerer?” Elyan piped up from his left side. He sipped his drink as if he was merely asking about the weather.

“Well, sorcerers study magic, they must practice and it takes years to learn. Gaius is a sorcerer who studies magic for healing purposes. Warlocks and witches on the other hand, are born with their powers. Morgana is such a witch, just like I am a warlock.”

At this Arthur raised his voice. “That’s not possible, Merlin. People aren’t born with magic”

“Isn’t it? Says who?” Merlin cocked his head. His tears were dried and his breathing much steadier.

“My f-“

“Your father? The king who banned magic? The same king who burned pregnant mothers and drowned druid children? Right, of course, silly me. For a moment I forgot that my father was a dragonlord, whose ability was passed down from his father and from his father before him.”

Merlin explained calmly, letting the words flow over the knights as he spoke. It’s not the first time they’ve heard him speak treason, and judging by the look on Arthur’s face, he was not entirely happy about it. But Merlin knew him better than anyone; Arthur was not angry with him, but rather because he recognised the truth in what was said.

“And Morgana inherited her magic from her mother, who was a notable seer and the sister of a High Priestess” Merlin added lamely. “I had only known her a month when I realised she had magic. Gaius had been dowsing her with sleeping draughts for years in order to dampen her sight, hoping it would keep her safe from speculation. Of course, that didn’t work out. Her powers manifested regardless, and she was alone and helpless in a Kingdom that killed her kind”

Arthur looked away at that, and it hurt Merlin. He could never condone her actions, but Morganas path to villainy had been paved with loneliness and lies. Eventually, Arthur turned back and fixed his eyes on Merlin. It seemed he had more pressing matters than the revelation of Morgana's magic. At least for now.

“So the beast is still alive. How do I keep Camelot safe if it’s still out there?” Arthur grumbled at Merlin. The fear of another attack on his home was great. He was also angry that the dragon still lived, that his victory had just been a lie. A lie that Merlin made him believe wholeheartedly. Because he never thought Merlin of all people, would be so comfortable lying to him.

“I told you, Killgarrah is like an uncle to me and so I couldn’t kill him. He is the only one alive who truly knew my father. Instead, I banished him from Camelot, and he cannot return upon pain of death. He obeys my orders like your knights obey you.” He nodded towards Sir Leon who gave him a small if not uncertain smile.

At this point, Arthur had stood up and began pacing the campsite. His jaw was tightened as he thought and reasoned with himself. Anxiety and desperation were evident in his tone as he spoke. “If you are telling the truth, and you truly were born with magic — that it exists within you...how is it that you’re not corrupted?”

A loud sigh escaped Merlin`s lips as he shook his head. He knew it would be tough to explain to Arthur and the others that magic is not as black and white as Uther had made it seem. “Magic is woven into the very fabric of the earth. It lives in the leaves in the trees, the waves at sea, and the moss on the ground. Trying to eradicate it is impossible. Uther might as well try and shoot the moon”

The men around the fire sat silently and listened. The fire crackled and the wind blew softly across their camp. "You’re saying that magic is just a part of nature...what, like water? But we’ve seen magic corrupt and kill before" Said Elyan, admittedly a little confused.

“Yes, I am. Magic is no more evil than any other force of nature. To use your example of water." Merlin ignored Arthurs's scoff as he continued:

"It can sail a ship safely to shore, or sink it. Water can also grow crops, or flood the streets. It can put out housefires, or it can be used to drown druid children. Magic is about balance, just like any other part of nature. Too much of it can be deadly, but if you remove it entirely you will die." He paused for a moment. "It all depends on how it's used and how much.”

“You speak of magic like it’s poetry, but I’ve seen horrible things at the hands of magic users” Arthur tried to reason.

He wasn't entirely incorrect, Merlin had seen awful things at the hands of magic users. Moraguse and Morgana came to mind. But he`s come this far, he needs to make them understand that not every sorcerer is hellbent on destroying Camelot.

“That’s true, but you’ve also seen good things at the hands of magic. Just like I have seen good things from Uther, I have also seen the injustice of your father's paranoia" He steadied himself before he continued. Merlin knew he was closing on dangerous grounds, but Arthur needed to hear it.

"Gwen has been accused of practicing magic twice. She was innocent, yet Uther ordered her pyre built. Gaius was accused of magic, and tortured into a false confession. He was already tied to the pyre when you stopped it. How many more innocents must be accused and executed before you realise that crying magic is a death sentence in Camelot. That as soon as the word is whispered, your father orders their arrest - innocent or not."

Elyan looked distinctly green at this and moved uncomfortably in his seat. He no doubt remembered how his father died, and the vision of Gwen at the pyre was too much to bear. Percival placed a hand on his shoulder to soothe him.

Arthur seemed ashamed as he mumbled to Merlin “Magic killed my mother," as if this was a reasonable justification. And now, Merlin is no stranger to pretty revenge. But, Arthur is above such things and thus needs to hear the truth.

“And a sword killed my father, but you don’t see me refusing to sharpen yours. And a spear killed Sir Elyans father but you don’t see him burning all spearmakers.” Merlin snapped back harshly. It was a cruel thing to say, and he could see the pain in the knights eyes, but at least they finally understood him.

Elyan looked uncomfortable as he mumbled “I just think it’s unfair that someone can wield such power, while others” he gestures towards the knights “like us, don’t. We don’t have any way of defending ourselves against magic”

Merlin shrugged. “Well…most things in life are unfair, Sir Elyan. You’re all trained killers, I’m just a peasant with no sword training. You’re all of noble standing with a voice at court, but if I speak out of turn I would be flogged.” 

Arthur winced at that, he hated hearing of the time Uther nearly flogged him. “You guys dragged me with you on all sorts of quests and adventures, but you never gave me any armor or training. That’s unfair. My only choice of defending myself is to run or hide, which you will call me a coward for. But if I use magic to save mine, or even your life, I would hang for it. That’s unfair”

Arthur had since stopped pacing and had now walked over to sit beside Merlin. It made his heart happy to feel him so near, to know that his very presence no longer disgusted him. "Alright, Let`s say Im entertaining this idea of yours." He began.

“In your examples, it’s not just the water doing the work, it’s humans too. Like the ship; you say the ocean can sink or sail it, but that’s not entirely true — you’d need someone to man the ship". Arthur concluded.

Merlin smiled. “Yes, Arthur. But if you think back to what Elyan said, about how it’s unfair that some people understand this power while you guys don’t, imagine this:

"Could you prevent a shipwreck, tend to the sails or the mast? No, but a sailor can. You cannot command a dragon, but I can. Is it unfair, maybe — but that’s how life works. Everyone has their own skills and abilities, as we must all work together. I can’t fight in battle, but I can save your life afterward with medicine. You wouldn’t call that unfair, it’s just how life works. And that’s also how magic works — everything in harmony and balance”

Next to him Lancelot smiled and grabbed his knee in a comforting way. Gwaine kept his eyes on him, not judging, but he was clearly intrigued about this way of thinking.

At last, Percival spoke. "I think my issue is the trust we must then place at the feet of magic users. Druids are peaceful, I know. I've stayed with them for a while. But common sorcerers...I don't think I've ever met a kind sorcerer.”

"Well," Said Gwaine. "We are all fighters and killers, as Merlin says. But we trust each other not to attack while the others sleep. Arthur trusts us not to stage a coup, or steal from his vaults. We swore an oath, and our word as knights means everything. But that does not mean we are not capable of terrible things."

Merlin had never been more thankful for Gwaine in his life. He gave him the brightest smile he could, before turning his attention towards the largest knight. "What Gwaine says is true. And just for the record, you have met a kind sorcerer. Gaius is one. I am one. Many other kind magic users reside in Camelot, you just don't know them."

Percival seemed to listen attentively and motioned for Merlin to go on.

"Most people only have small amounts of magic, but you will never know about it, for if you did, they would burn. As a servant and a physician, I meet most people in the Citadel. There are many sorcerers in Camelot living a quiet and normal life. They have jobs like me and they’re nobles like Leon. We exist. And we don’t want to see our home destroyed”.

"In fact," he said, and turned to Arthur again. "Remember the tourney where you lost purposely so your father could win?”

“Yes, there was a peasant lad who placed second. Father beat him of course” Arthur smiled proudly at the memories.

“He was a sorcerer who inherited his powers from his father just like me. His name is Gilli, and his father was a kind man who never used magic to harm others — in fact, he died knowing he could save himself using magic, but he refused. Gilli is still my friend"

“But he fought using a sword, not magic?” Confusion clouded Arthurs's features.

“Exactly. You never knew he had magic, you only saw a competent fighter. Gilli wanted to kill Uther, or at the very least humiliate him. But he changed his mind once I told him about you. He and I both know what it’s like to watch a father die, and he didn’t want you to go through the same thing”

At this Leon sputtered "You mean to tell us that a sorcerer who sought Uther`s death...simply changed his mind! How?"

“Because I was kind to him." Merlin smiled and blushed at the coo`s Gwaine made. The knight was lazily laying against the log with a drink in his hand, smiling at Merlin across the fire. He was half tempted to box his ears, but instead, he continued.

"Because I offered him friendship and kinship. We still keep in touch. Last I heard he was in Nemeth fighting in their tourneys. He’s become quite the champion” Pride was evident in his voice, and his eyes beamed as he thought back on the many letters Gilli had sent him over the years.

Arthur seemed to calm down at that. He obviously remembered the boy and was now revisiting the memories in a different light. To think that his father may have died in that arena, that he would've been an orphan if not for Merlin's interference.

To think that a sorcerer seeking revenge simply changed his mind at the offer of friendship? Merlin saw a plot to kill the king, intervened, and kept quiet about it despite the possibility of a reward, simply because he wanted a friend. How could he ever think Merlin could be corrupted? Is magic not corruptive at all? Arthur needed to know for certain.

"Answer me this; Does magic corrupt at all. We all saw what it did to Morgana, how she turned spiteful and evil. Or is that also another of my father's lies?"

“Dark magic can certainly corrupt, and Morgana dabbled in it. Magic is all about balance, that much you know. You give and you take, and it’s closely tied to your emotions. She is angry and vengeful, so her magic will reflect that. But she takes too much without giving back -- the Gods are not happy with her for tearing the veil. She will be punished, and thus become even more angry, and the cycle will continue."

He shuddered at this. "But no, not all magic corrupts. I’ve never been good at healing spells, I’m better at dealing direct damage, jsut like you in a fight. I’m good at sneaking around, so my magic can be subtle. Gaius on the other hand, is a studious person with an interest in the human body, so his healing abilities are much better than mine. But Morgana…” Merlin trailed off, unsure if he should speak further.

Arthur nodded and wordlessly told him to continue.

“Well, think back to all the years you’ve known her. She’s always been proud and forceful. She could be stubborn as a goat, and once she made her mind up it was near impossible to change it. She stood up to your father many times, and even spent days in the cells for it. She was kind and playful yes, but also competitive and cunning. She knew how to play court and put up a false face”

Arthur couldn't disagree with that. It is true all he said. Morgana was his dear friend and sister for most of his life, but they too, had their spats and disagreements. She could be angry and dangerous at times if provoked. If Sir Leon's facial expressions were correct, he was also thinking back to what she was like.

"So it wasn`t magic that corrupted her. But it helped her achieve her goals. It was her, not Dragoon, who placed the love poultice in Gwens house. She used your father's paranoia of magic to frame her former friend to be rid of your future queen."

Arthur's eyes shot wide open at this. "Morgana was willing to let Gwen burn at the stake for a crime she has never committed?! I always knew we were not enchanted, but I thought that was just Dragoon being bad at magic”

“No, the love you two shared was real, and it frightened Morgana. She saw Gwen as a potential future queen and so she wanted her to die. It's no surprise why Gwen was so terrified she broke off your courtship.” Merlin looked sheepishly to Lancelot who had benefitted from this broken engagement.

The Prince Regent looked furious at this, but his anger was not directed towards either his knight or former love. The sting of betrayal ran deep, and the realisation that Morgana had turned her back on them earlier than he knew, was a painful one. Beside him, Merlin concluded.

"Now is probably the right time to tell you that I was Dragoon. I realised Morganas plot and changed my appearance to take the blame. Gwen was freed, and I escaped execution. Morgana was enraged, but thankfully she never realised it was I. So instead, she’s now afraid there is an old, dodgy sorcerer following and sabotaging her." Merlin giggled at the thought. It was kinda funny.

Elyan, Lancelot, and Arthur began speaking all at once. Their words drowned each other out, but it was easy to understand them. They were both furious at Merlin's lack of self-preservation, as well as thankful that he foiled Morgana's plan. Merlin let them ramble on for a few minutes before he waved his hand to silence them.

"Like I said, Morgana isn’t evil because of magic. She has always known how to anger and push you, how to act two-faced and conniving. The only difference is that she can now also utilize magic to further her goals"

The knights nodded at that. Arthur knew his friend was right, but it still hurt to hear. Beside him, Merlin had lifted his hands to his mouth and whispered a spell into them. Eyes shining brighter than Arthur’s crown. When he opened his fists, a small delicate butterfly emerged, flying from his hands and over to Lancelot. It landed on his nose.

Arthur smiled at the sight.

“You’ve seen magic used for evil before, but you have also seen it sued for healing. Morgana tore the veil using magic, and I fixed it using magic. You once believed that not all magic is used for evil, that it can be used for good. I hope that I can make you believe in that again.”

The blue butterfly flutters from knight to knight, standing out in the darkness. Seemingly taking a shine to Percival and stays seated on his head for the rest of the evening, while the men chat idly about nothing and everything. Merlin had never felt more happy than he did in this moment.

Things would need to change, and trouble was brewing on the horizon with Morgana yet defeated. But Merlin smiled to himself as he realised his friends didn’t hate him, and that they believed him about his magic.

Arthur believed him!

It was everything he had ever wanted and more.

Late at night when the others are asleep, Merlin and Arthur distance themselves from them. The Prince walks them over to a large rock, where they sit down, side by side like they always do. Arthur's chainail felt old against Merlins thin jacket, but the happiness he felt from finally being seen, kept him warm.

Arthur took Merlins hand in his. “I don’t understand” Said he.

“You have all this power. You’re a warlock and a dragonlord; you’re trusted by all the knights and even members of the court. You’re a noble with direct ties to the kingdom of Elmet, you could be King of the Perilous Lands. Why on earth are you still a servant? Others would’ve taken over the kingdom by now! Used me as a puppet King to do their own bidding”

“That’s not why I do it”

“Then why?”

“Some people are born to plow the fields, to sharpen swords, to sail ships. You Arthur, are born to be a great King. And I was born to be your servant, and I’m proud of that. I would never want to change a thing”

“Do you really believe that?” Arthur sounded hesitant, desperate almost, for the validation that he knew only Merlin could provide.

“I believe in you more than I believe in anything else. I know our destiny is true because I met you. You made it true — you made me believe in you, and therefore we made it real. One day you will be the greatest King Albion has ever known, and I will be there at your side"

Arthur held their joined hands close to his chest. “Do you promise to never lie to me again. To always tell the truth, even if it hurts me?”

“Yes, Sire. You have my word”

“Then I believe you.” He looked over to his servant. Their faces were closer than comfortable, and their voices hushed as they whispered in the misty night.

“Merlin" He began but found he needed a moment to gather himself. Melrin offered him one of his usual dopey smiles and it filled him with the courage and determination that he needed.

"I don’t know how to be King without you by my side. I don’t know how to do anything really, without you there to support me. I need you. And I cannot loose you. My heart would break and I’d go mad with grief like my father”

The very thought of losing Merlin hurt him more than he could ever put into words. The terror of these last few days, of watching Melrin almost die, the reveal and betrayal of his magic, had finally taken its toll on him. The Prince broke down in tears. 

Arthurs's voice shook with tears as he finally admitted. “I need you…to always just be you” His eyes shone wetly and he hoped that Merlin would understand him. That Merlin would understand his heart, the way he always seemed to understand his soul. 

Thankfully, Merlin is not so much of an idiot as Arthur seemed to think.

"You will always have me, Arthur. And I will never leave your side." Merlin promised his prince as he closed his eyes, and met Arthur's lips in a soft and everloving kiss.

[rowdyluv]

★✰ 600 ꜰᴏʟʟᴏᴡᴇʀ ᴄᴇʟᴇʙʀᴀᴛɪᴏɴ ✰★

Holy smokes 600? 600 of you guys following me? I can’t believe that each of you have joined me for this crazy ride of experiencing hockey but I love and appreciate that every one of you have. As a thank you for supporting me I have decided to do a little celebration of blurb requests! More information to come on the submission how-tos, prompts, and players I’ll be accepting!

ᴘʀᴏᴍᴘᴛs!

Falling for You

“I love you.” ‘I know.’ “Say it back.”

"I'm always thinking about you."

“You’ll be the death of me, …”

“You make me want to be a better person.”

"Is it not obvious? Am I doing something wrong?"

“So, tell me, what do you feel for me?” “You know the answer. You know it all.” “I want to hear you say it. It’s now or never.”

“We could be something more than this. Something we both want, something we both feel.”

“You’re doing it again.” ‘What?’ “Staring like a creep. Just go talk to (pronoun).”

“I saw this and I thought of you.”

"What are you doing here? I thought you were going to be out with your friends." "Yeah, well I have a priority and the priority is you. Plus you're technically one of my friends too."

Spice it Up

** See image list of players for who can be selected for NSFW content**

A “you have no idea how long i've thought about having you like this”

B “fuck, I missed you.”

C “I’m not jealous, you’re just mine.”

D “You want me don’t you? Want this? Want me all over you, inside you.”

E “That’s it baby girl.”

——-non-dialogue

F thigh riding

G mirror sex

H size kink

ⵊ praise / degrading (choose - degrading more so is just dirty talk sorryyyy)

J spit kink (it’s me what do you expect?can’t do w/o it)

Angst

1a. “So what? You’re dating them now?”

2b. “What changed?” “Us. You and I did. And there is nothing we can do about it.. It’s too late to fix it.”

3c. “We can’t be together.”

4d. “You…I thought…” “You thought what?” “I thought you were the one.” “Well, I’m not.”

5e. One is cheating.

6f. One gets injured/sick, the other isn’t available right away and beats themselves up for not being there.

7g. “Don’t cry. God, please don’t cry. I hate seeing you like this and not being able to do anything.”

8h. Out at a club and another guy hits on you, a verbal altercation breaks out between the two guys at first. The other guy swings first starting a physical fight.

9i. “Why did you just flinch from me?” ‘Because you’re yelling at me (name) and you don’t even notice.’

10j. “Can you stay for once?”

sᴜʙᴍɪssɪᴏɴ ɢᴜɪᴅᴇ!

Once you have decided on your desired player and selected your prompt drop the request in my ask box!

You may do this anonymously ♡︎

Please make sure to name who your desired player is, your prompt number/letter, and your desired pronoun!

Example: Quinn, prompt 3, She/her

If anyone has questions please feel free to drop questions in the ask box as well! ♡︎

[elllisaaa]

hello sweetie <3 hope you’re having a wonderful week!!

i would love to hear your thoughts on a question 🙋🏻‍♀️ who in enhypen would ask for permission to cum without you even making them? like they’re so whipped that they easily go submissive for you and do things that you thought you’ll have to ask for, but they end up surprising you… (hope i make sense with this)

hii love ! it's been a little harsh because exams are soon (but we're surviving), hope you'll have a good week too ! well, i hope so with what you sent once more... you know my love for subby men, i couldn't be more happy to answer to that

SIM JAEYUN

jake is first on this list obviously ! this man is so fucking whipped for his girl, it’s not even a question if he’s going to do absolutely whatever you want him to : he will. i see him as a switch, but i think he leans more on the subby side. yes, he’s totally able to fuck you into oblivion if he wants too, but most of the times, you hold the power in the bedroom. no matter if you praise him or degrade him, he loves it.

you can literally ask him anything and he’ll do it. but it comes to a point where you don’t even need to ask anymore, jake is doing it all by himself. when you’re asking him something, he willingly waits until you give your permission to talk. when you ride him, he doesn’t touch you until you allow him to. even when you've been playing with him for the longest time, he’s still asking you permission to cum every single time. 

“please, please, please… i’m so close, please, let me cum…” the moans jake’s letting out are sinful, and they make your panties stick to your core. you smirk down at him, seeing how tears are gathering in the corners of his eyes, how tight his fists are clenching on the sheets. “do you think you’ve earned it ? have you been good ?” he’s quick to nod his head, “yes, please, i’ve been so good for you, please.” - “that’s right, such a good puppy” 

KIM SUNOO

a pillow prince through and through, i’m convinced of that. he loves when you take care of him and he doesn’t have to do anything else but take it. and since he’s extremely sensitive, that makes it even more fun for you. sunoo is reactive to every one of your touches, even the most subtle ones. that’s why it’s so fun to edge him : the more orgasms your refuse him, the more whiny and disinhibited he gets. 

that’s what you need to do to get him to beg for you. he might be sweet but he still has a little bit of an attitude that needs to be tamed. it takes one ruined orgasm for sunoo to lose it all and beg you to let him cum. that’s when he decides to be a little brat, but most of the time, he’s so obedient. when you start to get the ropes or ribbons out to tie him up, he offers his hands out to you without you even needing to ask. but one thing is that he needs to be praised, needs to know he’s doing good for you.

“am i doing good for you ?”, sunoo asks with pleading eyes, interrupted every now and then by a moan because your hand on his sensitive cock feels too much, but also too good to ask you to stop. “yes, baby, doing so, so good for me. you wanna cum ?” sunoo almost cries out in relief to your sweet praises, but even more so to the promise of finally getting his orgasm. “please, please, i need to cum so bad, please let me…” - “then go on.” as soon as he stopped trembling, you detach the pink ribbons that were keeping him tied up, kissing his wrists and his whole face to reward him. he’s your perfect pretty boy after all.

LEE HEESEUNG

most of the time, heeseung prefers to dom, but it all starts with that day you came home from work really frustrated and your sweet, loving boyfriend offered you to use him in every way you wished to get the tension out of your body. problem ? he ended up liking it way more than he thought he would have. every time you are even slightly mad, he’s ready to drop on his knees or let you ride his face without you even asking. his number one priority is to make you feel good, to be good for you. 

the feeling of surrendering completely to your control gives him a rush that he cannot explain. heeseung just knows that he loves it when you humiliate him, call him names and slap his face. and even if he always does exactly what you ask him to, you still degrade him, which pushes him on to go further and further and even anticipate all your desires. 

“look at you baby, crying just because i’m touching your dick, huh ? how pathetic.” your fingers gripping his jaw forces heeseung to look down at his reflection in the mirror, seeing how he’s slumped against your body, your hand sliding up and down his swollen cock. and he can’t help but moan at the sight. “i’m sorry, i’m sorry your hand just feels so good…” - “is that so ?” another noise escapes his mouth as you speed up your rhythm. “can i cum ? please… i wanna c-'' he's interrupted by yet another whimper and you just smile at seeing him so desperate, his hands gripping your thighs for support even if he’s not allowed to touch you. “well, do it but just know i’m not finished playing with you.” - “ah ! thank you, thank you !”

[lestapiastrisgirl]

Maybe this is weird, but

I was re reading your lestapiastri(dont know if u wrote that right) series, which are ABSOLUTLY BEAUTIFULL. The dynamics, the plot ,the backstories, the SEX

And i was thinking, what of one of them would be kidnapped. Not Oscar, we basicly kinda got lestappen reactions with the mclaren mission.

But likez what if Charles is gone......their top, their dom, what keeps them running

BUT WHAT IF MAX WAS KIDNAPPED. poor maxie all alone, Charles ks going Mental, totally mental. Oscar is freaking out

Sorry for my thought and spelling mistakes, i am a bit typsy

Have a nice day🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈

Ohhh so more brain food. Perfect. Let's dissect this. Charles being gone would be the end of the world. For Max and Oscar. They both have similar protective behaviors when it comes to Charles. They share a look as they are gearing up for the rescue mission. A look that says far more than either of them were able to articulate with words. An understanding passes between them that no matter what happens, Charles at least makes it back alive. At whatever cost.

Oscar's chest feels hollow thinking about potentially loosing Max while trying to get Charles back. But the thought of losing both of them while he himself is left alone and standing, is even more unbearable. He and Max had an understanding. They loved each other fiercely. That was undeniable. Either would be willing to lay down their life for the other, but Charles would always be the priority at whatever expense. Even if that expense ended up having to be one of them.

Max knew that Oscar understood what he was asking of him. He knew that if something happened to Max that Oscar would be next in line to lay his life down before anything could befall Charles. Max search Oscar's gaze for any ounce of uncertainty. He found nothing but pure determination and an upending desire to bring Charles back to them. Max hoped they all three would be curled up in the bed behind them before the sun was due to rise the next morning.

Max leaned into to grab Oscar by the back of his neck. He pulled him forward to rest his forehead against the youngers. Oscar's eyes flickered around searching for answers Max couldn't give him. Questions Max himself was avoiding at all costs. Questions about Charles' wellbeing. If they were going to be able to complete their mission with a 100% success rate like with the fall of McLaren.

"I love you."

The words were quiet in the dark of the room. Words the two of them didn't exchange with each other as Charles did. Words they knew to be true without them having to be spoken. But they were words needed in this moment. Words to ground the two of them. Oscar's hand move to grasp at Max's wrist. Grip a bit too tight but not enough to have Max jerking away from him. Oscar kissed him them. Slow and deep. Eyes squeezed shut, hoping to hold himself together as his heart threated to shatter to pieces within his chest.

"I love you too, Max."

The hungry gleam of the chase had made its way back to Max's eyes. He was ready. They both were.

"Let's bring him home."

~

OKAY these are really helping me with this story development! Please keep them coming I LOVE THEM AND YOU GUYS <3 <3 <3

[thesensteawitch]

A Message From Your Person 💝💌

Pick A Pile Reading

(Left to Right- Pile 1, Pile 2, Pile 3)

Hello, Senstea Souls!

I hope you all are doing well. I am back with another collective reading. This reading will give you a glimpse about what's going on in your person's mind and heart.

For personal readings please DM me or email me at thesensteawitch@gmail.com

Pile 1

Tarot Cards- Three of pentacles, The magician, King of cups, Queen of Pentacles, Ace of Cups, Ten of Pentacles

Animal Spirit- Spider

Hello, my dear pile 1. This person is in love with you. Like REALLY. TRULY! Their efforts may seem a bit slow but they will be pacing up with time. They have this whole life planned or at least imagined with you. They love you with everything they have got. They try to keep a check on you. They see you as a stable and beautiful human being. They are trying their best to match your level. You are their home, their safe space. They too are trying to be yours. Just know that it will take some time for them to love you the way you deserve. To reach your standards they need to deal with their emotions first. But in the midst of everything they care about you. They need to come out of their comfort zone which they clearly know. Suffering and pain have somehow become comfortable for them but they know that you are their true calling. For you, they must come out of it. They feel overwhelmed when trying to communicate their emotions. Give them time and space. They have got so much to share and build with you but they are at a place from where they can only imagine and visualize a future with you. They are asking you to be patient with them. When the time is right Universe will clear all the blockages. Your person may be a workaholic. They need to set their priorities straight. For some of you I see that they are trying to make themselves financially stronger so that they can provide for you. They dream of a fulfilling and abundant life with you.

To know more about your situation book a reading with me.

Pile 2

Tarot Cards- King of Swords, 3 of Wands, King of Wands, Six of Pentacles, The World, Nine of Swords

Animal Spirit- Elk

Dear pile 2, currently your person is at a learning stage. They are learning some very significant lessons regarding relationships. The true meaning behind them. They are trying to understand what love truly means. They have searched for definitions from all around the globe. They may be spending a lot of time on the internet searching for the answers they need. They are generous and kind-hearted. They are trying to figure out how to begin this new journey with you and at the same time let go of the past hurts. Your person is charismatic. They may be magical. But they seem to be suffering some days. Their own mind plays tricks on them. As this year ends they will be out of their misery. Probably after the 21st of December, you'll see some positive change in their behavior. Somewhere deep down they love you. In the weirdest way, they are showing their love for you. But you can sense the hint of pain in their gestures. This pain will be over soon. Your person may also be suffering from health issues so they need to take care of themselves. They are letting you know that soon they will be able to spread love but before that, they must embody love within them. They are learning to detach themselves from their past relationship experiences. Sometimes it's a struggle and sometimes they sail smoothly. You need to give them time at least till January.

To know more about your situation book a reading with me.

Pile 3

Tarot Cards- Queen of Cups, Four of Swords, Judgement, Six of Wands, Eight of Swords, Temperance

Animal Spirit- Swan

My dear pile 3, your person wants you to know that it's okay to fall in love again. Don't hide yourself behind the walls. Don't give them excuses. Don't tell them that you can't do it for XYZ reasons. They know you have got so much love to give. They can see right through you. They know that deep down you can love someone again. To love them, perhaps again. They are asking you to come as your true self this time. Wake up and look in the mirror. Look what they see in you. Someone who is patient, loving, victorious, and who can handle transformation. Someone who is honest and doesn't give excuses. You're being too proud to show them your true side. They want you to drop your walls. Spend some time alone and assess your emotions. Ask yourself questions regarding this person. Sit in silence. You will receive the answers from within. If you or your person doesn't take a step towards each other then this bond can end very soon. Communication is needed. Pride needs to be set aside. They are afraid too of falling in love with you. But they are willing to give it a try. Think about it.

To know more about your situation book a reading with me.

Links:

Booking Form

My Rate Card

[yshzai07]

syn: when your mother falls ill, you return back home to take care of her, and the family boarding house. however, you don't anticipate meeting Suna Rintarou, or the changes he brings

wc: 1.5k

-> part 1/part 2/part 3

By some fault of your own, you hadn’t been home recently.

Lots had just… happened. School had been way more stressful than anticipated, and home had become just out of your reach, pushed further and further by looming deadlines and the never-ending tutoring sessions you’d taught for a little extra cash. No weekend had been freed from the shackles of your irritating schedule. Not to mention, you hadn’t exactly been… welcome.

But school was over, and you’d been summoned back home by the imposing, strict woman in the hospital bed beside you.

“Tuberculosis?” You sounded out the illness named by the smiley doctor with the clipboard, glancing down at your scowly mother. “That’s, ah, kinda bad-sounding.”

“We can start treatment asap,” the doctor said, flipping a page. “Your mother will be fine, but she’ll be in the hospital for quite a while.”

“Oh. Okay,” you scratched your neck awkwardly. “Let’s do the treatment then.”

Your mother squawked in disapproval, while the smiley doctor nodded and stepped back.

“Alright then. I’ll get that paperwork arranged for you, then,” the doctor drew back the curtain. “Have a good day.”

“You too.”

The silence stretched thin, and you cleared your throat.

“Stupid doctors… hospital for months… what idiots…” the ominous grumbles from your mother reached your ears, and you sighed.

“Ma, tuberculosis is serious. You can’t just go home and brush it off, yknow?”

“Of course I know that. I’m not a fool, y/n,” your mother glares. “I just have actual responsibilities in my life, and I’ve a right to be concerned about them.”

“I’ll take care of the boarding house, Ma.”

“Like hell you will,” she sniffs. “You could hardly wait to get out of here once your precious school started. You don’t even want to take care of the house!”

“Yeah, well, you’ve got no other option, have you?”

Silence. Again.

You sighed, for the millionth time that day. Your mother evidently hadn’t changed in the years you’d been gone. Not that that was unexpected.

“I’ll take care of everything,” you muttered, shoving your hands into your pockets. “Don’t do anything stupid.”

Without waiting for a reply, you turned on your heel, leaving and drawing the curtain behind you. You were no stranger to hospitals, but you were certainly a stranger to seeing your once-formidable mother laying there, vulnerable. Shivering, you shoved the thought away.

Instead, your mind focused on the boarding house. Having inherited it from her in-laws, your mother had run the place like a sergeant, raising you and the house simultaneously. You’d grown up with your mother’s priorities clear; it was the boarding house first, and you second.

You wanted to leave.

You didn’t want to stay, for God knows how long, running the house you’d practically leaped to get away from. Or maybe it was your mother you'd ran from. Internally, you cursed yourself for answering the phone. It was a terrible habit of yours, giving in so easily.

By the time you got home, the sun was setting. There were no guests, but you were greeted by the few other people in the house, two older girls who were employed by your mother, Mei and Yua. They helped with the household duties, and had been around since you were an unruly teenager.

Yua smiled at you welcomingly, her brown eyes warm. “Is she alright?” she asked worriedly, her hands clasped. Mei stood silent behind her.

“Uh, yeah. The doctor said she should have a full recovery,” you nodded. “She’ll be in hospital for a while, though.”

Yua shakes her head. “Oh dear,” she whispered. “Don’t worry. We’ll help you out with the house, of course-“

“You are staying, right?”

Mei’s voice was sharp, cutting Yua off. With her eyes narrowed on you, you couldn’t help but shift on your feet.

“I am,” you said flatly.

“Good,” Mei sniffs. “You do seem to have a history of leaving.”

The silence stretched thin as you took in the low blow. Evidently, she didn't like you.

“If that’s all, I’ll see you both tomorrow,” you meet her gaze. The distaste was mutual.

The sun had set, long ago, yet sleep evaded you. Thoughts ran through your mind endlessly, crashing up against each other like waves. Having given up on trying to sleep, you'd resorted to sitting in the communal dining area, staring down at your phone. As expected, your messages to your mother went unanswered.

Before you could lose yourself in your mind, sharp raps sounded at the door, startling you back to the present. Hesitantly, you rose from your seat, padding to peer out of the front window. It was late into the night, the moon high and bright. Usually nobody came knocking at this time of night.

"Hello?" His quiet voice pierced the silence, momentarily freezing you in place. He sounded tired.

Fumbling with the locks, you swung open the door, coming face-to-face with the stranger.

He blinked.

You blinked.

"Can I help you?" You say, eyes narrowed up at him. His gaze never faltered, his grayish-yellow eyes focused on your face. It made you feel uncomfortable.

"You're not the owner," he muttered out, his voice low and raspy. "Who are you?"

"Does it matter?" You retorted. "Do you need a room?"

"No, I'm just here at a boarding house for kicks," he deadpans. "Is there any space available?"

You stared.

He stared.

You should never turn away a guest, y/n, your mother’s voice echoed in your mind. It's bad practice.

You leaned against the wall in the dining room as the man ate. You didn't turn him away. No, you offered him a room. Then food. After all, you were taught to be nothing but hospitable.

"The previous owner never stared at me whilst I was eating," you ignored his piercing gaze on the side of your face.

"I'm not looking at you," you muttered.

"Liar."

You slid your gaze over to him, before turning away, towards the kitchen.

"Stay."

You paused, tilting your head. Nothing but hospitable, you reminded yourself. Sitting down opposite him, you observed the man who's name you'd taken down as Suna Rintarou.

Suna Rintarou had sharp eyes, high, defined cheekbones and hair that was dark brown and stuck out in tufts. Eerily, he was akin to that of a fox, causing an uncomfortable sensation to ripple down your spine. Suna Rintarou wore dress trousers, and a creased white button-up that was rolled up to his elbows. His jacket was hung on his chair behind him, and his knuckles were bloody.

"You do have a staring problem," a slight smirk played on his lips. Suna Rintarou apparently was also an asshole.

"Sorry," you diverted your eyes. Nothing but hospitable.

"No, you're not," he said casually. "But I'll take the apology."

"How kind of you," you grit out.

"It's one of my many gifts," he grinned to himself into his bowl. Definitely an asshole. "So, who are you?"

You blinked "Huh?"

"Who. Are. You?"

"Y/n. L/n."

He tilted his head. "L/n? So you knew the previous owner?"

"She's not dead," you said defensively. "She's my mother."

"I didn't know Ms.L/n had a daughter."

"Now you do." Was he seriously not done with his food? You wanted to go to bed now.

You could feel his gaze on you again, as you intently studied the grooves of the table. For some reason, meeting his eyes made you feel odd.

"Got no questions for me?" Suna sounded bored.

"Why should I?"

"Am I not interesting enough for you, Y/n?" Your name coming from his lips felt familiar, almost as if you'd known each other beforehand; impossible, of course.

"I already know your name," you answered after a beat.

"Ask me a question," his gaze intensified, his grip tightening on his chopsticks. You glanced at his bloody knuckles and swallowed.

"Why are you here so late?" You blurted out.

Silence. He tilted his head. "I needed a place to stay."

No shit. You nodded. "Okay."

Abruptly, he set down his chopsticks, flexing his fingers. "I'm done. Show me to my room, please." Not an ounce of politeness in that statement, but you complied nonetheless. Nothing but hospitable.

His room was at the top of the house. Something in your gut had told you to distance yourself from him, setting him as far away as possible. It felt like he was breathing right down your neck as you climbed up, and up, and up.

"Here's your room." you said, your voice barely more than a whisper.

"Thank you, Y/n." He slipped past you, hand pausing on the doorknob. "How long are you staying here for?"

You swallowed. Telling this seemingly-dangerous man how long you'd stay in one place for? Stupid idea.

"The foreseeable future," you divulged. Idiot.

Unable to see his face, you were unaware of the smirk forming.

"Interesting."

No response was needed from you, as he slipped into the room before you could open your mouth, leaving you unsettled and nervous.

Who was Suna Rintarou?

[mirrorball-leclerc]

big reputations - part two

series masterlist // previous // next

AN INTERVIEW WITH DANIEL RICCIARDO (EXCERPT)

comments

user1 nah, the interviewer was so wrong for this. you know he wanted to say himself.

user2 daniel's blushing over this. i just know it.

user3 fernando is probably giggling over all of this. we've all see the tiktoks he's posted.

user4 daniel dragged his best friend along to see his future gf at a concert.

user5 this man is giggling like a schoolgirl over a woman who's not even his girlfriend.

user6 daniel, baby, this isn't like you. what about our farm, our six dogs, 3 kids, 2 goats, 12 chickens, and 4 cows?

↳ user7 babygorl, delulu is not the solulu. not this time.

↳ user8 girl wants to raise a whole ass fucking zoo

↳ user6 i've grown up in the country, i am surrounded by animals

↳ user8 that explains it

user9 the interviewer heard we wanted the tea on what happened at the eras tour and she was not going to stop until she got answers. too bad daniel is good at keeping secrets

user10 oh this man so desperately wanted to say himself but had to stop from doing so.

alex albon i get asked about the eras tour one more time i will lose it!

max verstappen someone's bitter they didn't get a chance to go. alex albon YES! I AM! IT'S ALL LILY WILL TALK ABOUT! WE DESERVED THE RIGHT TO GO!

daniel ricciardo well that's up for debate. i waited ages in line to buy those tickets. did you?

alex albon YOU TOOK MAX AND P?? BUT NOT ME OR LILY?

daniel ricciardo i only had three extra tickets??

lando norris THREE? WHO WAS THE THIRD??

daniel ricciardo kelly? penelope's mom?

lando norris oh. i forgot about that.

charles leclerc you forgot penelope had a mother?

lando norris i plead the fifth

logan sargeant YOU'RE BRITISH?? THAT DOESN'T WORK ON YOU! lando norris I CAN BE WHATEVER I WANT TO BE! logan sargeant OF COURSE YOU CAN YOU'RE A COLONIZER! lando norris AT LEAST WE DON'T HAVE SCHOOL SHOOTINGS! logan sargeant YOU CAN'T USE THE SAME FUCKING COMEBACK EVERY TIME ASSHOLE! oscar piastri okay, we are not doing this again logan sargeant YOU STAY OUT OF THIS KOALA!

lewis hamilton can you three be mature?

logan sargeant in the words of the colonizer, 'i don't wanna mature'

fernando alonso por dios, estan locos. (my god, they're crazy)

sergio perez obvio, no estan nada normal (obviously, they're not normal)

george russell i don't speak spanish but all i understood was normal.

alex albon because it's spelled the same way in spanish and english

carlos sainz they're talking shit about the three stooges.

george russell thank you siri!

kevin magnussen so daniel how's your hand?

daniel ricciardo thanks for asking kevin! at least i know someone here cares about my wellbeing.

daniel ricciardo i'm currently texting with one hand because i have to go into surgery soon. it's only a broken bone. if i don't make it back don't let fernando date daphne jones!

max verstappen glad to know you have your priorities straight.

daniel ricciardo of course.

¡leclerc-s speaks! you cannot convince me that logan and lando haven't had a similar argument at least once and poor oscar was stuck as mediator between them.

¡disclaimer! this is in no way making assumptions about the people involved in this story, this is all fake. it is a fanfiction please don't take any of what is said seriously. this is all for entertainment purposes and as a creative outlet for me. enjoy!

[dreamwritesimagines]

Sunshine hcs coming your way bc it's all I've been thinking about besides my own xmen OC lol

- After the whole ordeal at the diner Sunshine wants to learn how to protect herself a. In case Logan isn't there b. So she doesn't have to see Logan get hurt and c. So she can protect Theo against his dad in case he comes by :(. Either she takes up self defense classes or she asks Logan. If the latter queue Tension, flirting, blushing, and both being worried they're gonna hurt the other. I'm thinking it would happen when she would drop off Theo and she would ask Lo abt it and they plan to meet at the school? Or her apartment? Idk up to you. If the former I think it would be interesting to reveal her "secret nightly classes" in a way where she saves Logan somehow and he's has a "Oh shit that was hot I'm in love" moment followed by a "that was stupid I'm basically immortal you could've gotten hurt" lecture

- Logan hearing Sunshine singing for the first time when he does his nightly pace/ guard of the kids rooms at night (bc hes always scared the mansion is gonna get attacked again esp since Theo is there now) and hears her voice coming through the speakers of his phone as he passes Theo's room. He opens the door to find Theo asleep as his mom sings. "Bean? You there hon?" Logan comes in, turns it off speaker, and answers the phone. "You knocked him out, siren"

- I have a random thought of Lo teaching Sunshine how to ride his bike for some reason (maybe I'm just projecting bc I want to learn lol). I feel l Iike this would happen after they get together but early in their relationship? Again lots of Tension, flirting and blushing haha

- I also have a hc that Logans love language is acts of service and touch. So way down the line in their relationship he makes a point to learn how to paint Sunshines nails, braid/style her hair, anything he can help her out w while touching her <3

ANYWAY sorry for the rambles I will definitely be back at some point with more

HONEEEY OMG OMG-

I LOVE THESE HEADCANONS SO MUCH I JUST-

These are so amaziiiing! ❤️ Thank you so much! ❤️I am so inspired, let's have a HC for each of these! ❤️

Sunshine learning how to protect herself, this would be so good! ❤️ I think they'd meet at school because Sunshine's apartment is tiny, and Logan would be so trying to keep his shit together but being that close to her...😏

If Sunshine surprises him with it though! Like, she would definitely knock someone out before Logan could so much as turn around, and he'd be staring at her like,

"What the-"

"Did you see that?!"

"You shouldn't have gotten involved-"

"Oh my God, I should get a costume or something, I'm awesome!"

"Sweetheart, we've been over this. I can't get hurt, you on the other hand-"

"I don't know what you're talking about, I'm like so badass right now."

Logan walking around the mansion to make sure Theo is safe and Sunshine singing Theo to sleep MY BELOVEDS-

ALSO-

Logan comes in, turns it off speaker, and answers the phone. "You knocked him out, siren"

I

AM

That's me being feral😂

Sunshine would be melting and she'd be like,

"...Hi Logan."

"Hi sweetheart."

"I didn't know you were awake."

"Didn't know you were awake either."

"I'm about to go to bed, it's just that um, Theo can't sleep without hearing my voice, so..."

"Can't blame him."

Logan teaching Sunshine how to ride his bike asdfghjkl oh that would be hilarious😂 She'd be like,

"I'll get a cute helmet."

"Okay, but how about you learn how to drive first?"

"I have my priorities straight."

"The priority isn't learning how to drive?"

"It is but I can't decide whether to get a lilac helmet or a pink one."

Oooooh Logan's love language is definitely acts of service! ❤️ Like, even know he's trying to show it like that, so Sunshine would be smiling and going like,

"Oh wow, the big bad Wolverine..."

"You're not telling anyone about this."

"You're very sweet, you know?"

"To you only, princess."

"I'll never ever complain about that."

[syoddeye]

hi sy!

was wondering how you decide when to put a fic down when writing. i have so many things that i want to write/have written but they keep snowballing into something bigger and i can't really finish anything. very fun in the moment to have all these things in my head but also frustrating to not have anything finished!

hello! i hear you. you’re not alone in that feeling at all. snowballs happen. not all of my wips are shared to tumblr, so trust that this is me.

for me, deciding to put something down usually comes when it stops feeling fun or when it starts feeling more like a burden than a joy.

you have the idea part down. it sounds like you need help with discipline, specifically not letting your stuff spiral. i have very general advice for working on that - as always, i’m not an expert:

set boundaries on the project. what is the core of it? a mission? character analysis? porn with plot? a budding/deteriorating relationship? define what you’re actually trying to capture, and treat everything else as optional or secondary.

give yourself a word limit. i have a couple projects right now where my entry/chapter limits are 1.5k-3.5k depending. it helps keep things tight and makes me focus on what needs to be written.

worldbuilding. how important is it to your fic? can you keep it to a minimum without losing people? should you detail every member of a fictitious small town government if it’s only briefly alluded to once or twice? is worldbuilding a fun toy for your brain to chew, keeping in mind chew toys are used to help tire dogs out? i love worldbuilding, but you’ve got to ask yourself if it’s for the benefit of your readers or for your own fascination. there is no wrong answer, but you have to be okay with that dictating your time.

utilize writing sprints. pick a wip, set a timer, and work only on that for x amount of time. build in buffer time if you know you’ll need to ~get in the zone~.

track your progress. i fell out of the habit of using trackbear, but a visual might help motivate you.

things that i do to help myself stay motivated and focused on one project:

when i sit down to write, i pick whatever jumps out at me first and it becomes my priority for that window of time.

i set small goals. stuff like “i am going to finish this scene” or “i will write 300 words”.

i let myself jump wips if i suddenly have an idea for dialogue or a scene. i keep it short, 2-3 minutes, then i return to what i was working on. there’s no point in beating myself up for having an idea.

give yourself credit. you’re still creating. all that writing is practice and exploration. and if you put something down, it doesn’t mean you’re putting it down forever. you’re letting it simmer.

anyway. above all, write for yourself. follow your bliss. i hope everything above is helpful, but remember there are no real rules and you gotta do what works for you.