#but the whole thing with how it chose the plane crash where she was the 'mystery girl'

[lam-ila]

Sharpest Tool || Carlos Sainz

Summary: Inspired by Sharpest Tool by Sabrina Carpenter.

Word Count: 1,587

Warnings: a few swears and an argument between reader and Carlos (please let me know if you find any more that i should add)

F1 Masterlist

a/n: thank you mel for helping me figure out the ending to this! i had two options and i very much like the one she chose better (which is the one that's in this fic haha)

this is gender neutral. hope you enjoy this! feedback is appreciated

LIKES ARE GREAT, REBLOGS ARE BETTER ♡

You and Carlos were… well you didn’t know. You acted like a couple, you did things like a couple, but you weren’t. You met the whole F1 family, meeting Lando, Charles, and even little Leo Leclerc. You went to a few F1 races in the 2024 season so far, the highlight being the Australian Grand Prix.

The race was just perfect for you and Carlos, and the post-race events were also just perfect. People assumed you were a couple, you felt like a couple, until media day of the Japanese Grand Prix when Carlos stopped texting you.

You two continued like that; sometimes you acted like a couple, you went to his races, then he stopped texting you. You constantly second guessed yourself and your romantic moments with Carlos, but you found yourself going back to himself every time.

You were in one of those times where you and Carlos weren’t talking to each other. You went to the Belgian Grand Prix, then summer break arrived and you hadn’t heard a peep from him. He was all you could think about, even while you sat at your desk at work on a random Tuesday.

Standing up to go on your lunch break, you grabbed your phone and tapped on the screen to check your notifications. You were about to put your phone in your back pocket when your eyes got caught on a text from Carlos.

You rolled your eyes at the soft ‘hey’ he sent, then noticed another text from him asking you if you wanted to go to one of his upcoming races. You quietly scoffed and shoved your phone in your back pocket, walking away from your desk to go on your lunch break.

You were furious. Carlos ignored you for a week and then casually asks you to go to his race? You weren’t sure how to respond. Just ignore him back? Text something snippy? Block him? Answer and say yes?

No. You couldn’t do that. You wouldn’t do that. You told yourself you wouldn’t agree to spending more time with Carlos if he asked again. But you wanted to so badly. You craved his touch, his kisses, his romantic gestures, but you knew it would only end in heartbreak, just like it always did.

You busied yourself with your work for the rest of the day, completely engulfing your mind into it to only thinking about it. You hadn’t thought about the texts that were sent to you by Carlos until later that day when you returned home from work. You crashed onto your couch after changing out of your work clothes and as you were about to open a text from one of your friends, your eyes glanced down at the still unopened texts from him.

You stared at it for a few minutes, contemplating everything about those texts and how you should respond, or even if you should respond.

You know what? Fuck it. You only live once, right?

You opened the texts, immediately bringing up the keyboard and typing ‘i’d love to! i’ll let my work know so i can get a few days off’. You quickly pressed send and turned the screen off before you could give yourself a chance to back out and delete the text. You squeezed your eyes shut, the small amount of time before receiving a text back feeling like hours. Your eyes opened once you felt your phone vibrate due to Carlos’ text that read ‘great! let me know when you find out cariño’.

—————

You managed to get a few days off of work and Carlos flew you out for the Dutch Grand Prix. He greeted you as you got off the plane with his signature smile and you couldn't help but smile back. You felt like an idiot smiling at his stupid smile and admiring his stupid hair and running into his stupid arms for a hug as he kissed you on the top of your head with his stupid lips. His lips travelled down, pressing a kiss against your forehead, then one against your cheek, then you angled your head to press your own lips against his.

And then there was his stupid voice. Once you parted, with your nose nuzzled against his, Carlos mumbled a low "I missed you, cariño." You leaned forward to capture his lips in another kiss, humming into the kiss in agreement.

The rest of that day was euphoric; you and Carlos spent the entire time in his hotel room and ordered room service, watched tv, cuddled, and soaked the presence of each other in. You woke up the next day limbs tangled with Carlos' and light peaking through the curtains. You both groggily got up after a few minutes of laying in bed together, simultaneously getting ready for media day and taking a few seconds out of your routines every now and then to press your lips together in short, but passionate kisses.

You went through media day acting like a couple, just as you had many times before, but at the end of the day when you entered Carlos' hotel room for the night, you broke. You couldn't act like everything was okay anymore.

"What are we?" You asked Carlos the minute after you took your shoes off upon entering the hotel room.

"What do you mean?" Carlos rebutted, stepping closer to you to meet you in a kiss. Knowing what he was about to do, you placed your hand flat against his chest, stopping him in his tracks about one step away from you.

"This isn't normal, Carlos." You kept eye contact with him, trying to portray your sincerity in your words. He opened his mouth to respond, but you cut him off. "You're lying to yourself if you think we're fine. You know you are." Carlos took your hand off of his chest, holding it in between the both of you and despite how much you knew you shouldn't let him hold it, you let him do so.

"Cariño, you confuse me." You abruptly pulled your hand out of his at his words, take a step back from his to increase the distance between the two of you.

"That's just it!” You started to pace around the area in between the door and the bed you shared with Carlos the night before. “You're either blissfully ignorant or you actually don't realize anything's wrong because we never talk about it!"

“Cariño-”

“Stop calling me that!” You abruptly turned on your heel to pointedly look at Carlos. He looked at you, mouth slightly parted in shock, as you stood in front of him, breathing heavily.

"Okay," Carlos cautiously began, not wanting to provoke you even more. "I'll stop calling you that. But I thought you liked when I called you that?"

"I did. But fuck, I'm such an idiot because this has all just been casual for you, right?" You continued before Carlos could answer your question. "Just a casual little on again off again fling. But this has been everything to me. My life has revolved around you. I've used up so many of my vacation days to be at your races. I've cried myself to sleep because of the multiple times you stopped talking to me. I've never been happier while knowing you, but I've also never been in a worse state of mind while knowing you."

You stopped after spewing out your little monologue, waiting for Carlos to respond. You stood in silence for a few minutes, staring at each other in shock.

"I'm done." You stated after Carlos didn't say anything. "I'm done with all of this, whatever this even was." You started to collect your belongings from around the hotel room, refusing to look at Carlos because you knew you'd fall back into his arms if you looked at him.

"Let me at least get you on a flight home." Carlos finally spoke up.

"Fine."

"And text me when you get home. Please. I need to know that you get home safe." He pleaded, eyes not wavering from you hurriedly moving across the room.

"Why?" You stopped in your tracks, still facing away from him.

Because I really do love you.

"You're not going to like the answer."

"Fair enough." You shrugged, leaning down to pick up your bag and shoving your belongings into it. "I'll be waiting in the lobby until you find a flight for me." Walking past Carlos towards the door without sparing another glance at him, you put on your shoes and hovered your hand above the door nob, giving him one last chance to say something.

"Go." Carlos softly lamented. "I'll text you the information once I book one for you. You won't even have to see me."

You left the room without saying another word, slowly and quietly closing the door behind you to avoid anyone in the neighbouring rooms from hearing a loud slam.

Instead of immediately starting to find a flight for you, Carlos sank down into the desk chair that sat next to the bed. His head fell into his hands as he mentally beat himself up. How did he screw up this bad? How did he lose you?

He glanced towards the closed door, debating whether or not he should run down to the lobby to beg for you back. But he didn't, despite how much he wanted to. He couldn't do that to you after everything he put you through.

Maybe he'd earn your forgiveness one day.

——————————

F1 Taglist: @2manytabsopen @matthewkniesys @fallinallincurls @c-losur3 @sof1shticated

join my taglist here!

[stalltherain]

Manifest finale spoilers. I'm about to rant.

What the f-ck was that ending?

It might as well have all been a dream. Other than Mick meeting Zeke, a few people disappearing, and Saanvi's cancer treatment coming out soon enough to treat Cal, nothing is different than if the show had never happened.

I'd have preferred the characters find happiness in their shitty world. Or heck, even all of them dying in their shitty world to sacrifice themselves for people they love (that would have required a different setup from the beginning of s4 so that we saw the people that the passengers loved).

This ending reminds me of the dilemma in scifi where a character has to chose to live in a happy fake world or a tough & gritty real world. The show writers chose the happy fake. I'd have preferred to see the real world.

I was optimistic for this season and really had hope this show was going to be better than previous shows about explaining the mystery. Of all the theories of how it would go, resetting back to the plane not crashing was the most boring one & what I really hoped wouldn't happen. I guess it's a satisfying-ish ending if you had low expectations.

I just thought we'd actually get some answers, and was also disappointed by all but one of the character's endings. Since the show chose to ignore the mystery and focus on character stories, I'm going to address my issues with those.

TJ lost Olive, but immediately seems to forget her because another cute girl shows up.

Mick ends her relationship with Jared, because he wants kids and she doesn't, but how did that never come up for them in conversation before. Took my opinion of both of them down a bit. Then, 5 seconds after Jared got dumped by the woman he wanted to marry, he's already flirting with another woman. Took my opinion of Jarod about as low as it can get. Shame because I had actually liked him.

The Cal, Olive, and Grace we knew are all gone. Never going to even exist. They're basically fake versions of themselves now. Grace is reset back to season 1, which means she's the annoying version I wanted Ben to dump. Also, how is Ben going to explain that he had sex with someone on the plane? Season 1 Grace would not be open to the whole "hey, we went to another world or whatever" story. She didn't believe anything Ben said about it until she saw it affecting Cal. There's no way she believes his story if she hears it led to him sleeping with someone else. Unless Ben plans to lie to his wife, she's leaving him soon. If he does keep it a secret that he slept with Cal's doctor, that just means she'll leave a little later. Keeping that secret will destroy their relationship. It was a really terrible writing choice to have Ben and Saanvi hook up and then just go back to their previous partners like nothing changed. I think they're great together, but I'd have preferred nothing happen if that was how it ended.

The one thing I really wanted was for Saanvi to realize that she deserves better than the person who kept rejecting her over and over, but nope. Zero growth. I felt so bad for her and feel like from what we know of Alex, she'll go right back to her family soon. Or maybe Saanvi will get enough self esteem to get angry at how Alex treated her (both by not taking the flight and by how she repeatedly rejected her in the real world).

Vance is back to being kind of a jerk who knows none of them. I suppose I'm glad he has his family back, but his character development was meaningless. I'd rather have seem him get his family back in the real world.

The only ending that didn't suck was Mick found Zeke based on what he told her in the real world. I personally wasn't attached to Mick with either guy, so I wasn't expecting her ending to be the most satisfying. At least one story we watched ended up having meaning.

After so many shows have ended disappointingly, I just really wanted one to stick the landing. (pun not intended, but I'm keeping it) This ending was a major (pun also not intended, but I'm also keeping it) bummer.

I don't know how go wrap this up, so I'm just going to drop this. In five years or less, Ben and Grace are definitely split. So are Saanvi and Alex. Hey, maybe Benvi will get back together then. Lol.

[widebrimmedhatsblog]

Nights for the Ask game!! 💕

(I’m still behind on OTRA so don’t want to get spoilers 😭)

I'm doing one night and then another for this ask, and the one night one shot on another ask!!

Favorite Scene: I would say the bit with Liam in the library, where he kisses the top of her head. I have NO idea what chapter that is because I haven't re-read the whole fic in full, but that was the first scene that popped into my head. I also love every scene in the Xaden POV flashback, but especially the Imogen scene because that's precisely how I imagine their pre-apostasy dynamic to be.

Favorite Chapter: The original one shot or the epilogue! I love the dynamic in the original one shot, the confined setting, the lap sitting, all of it!! And in the epilogue, I love the symbolism of them having such a calm moment. Also, ALL of my 14k Xaden POV chapter (I should not have started answering this when AO3 was down, because I have no idea what number that was...8?)

Everything else is going below the cut because I'm yapping!!

Hardest Scene to Write: Mmmm, every scene involving the actual plot? Is that a good answer? Specifically, that first conversation she has with Xaden about Naolin and Brennan and the forcefields. I forced my IRL friend to read it for me because I was SO nervous about the plot making any sense. Also, the scene where Vi reads Brennan's letter, and Xaden helps her through it. I got really hung up on writing that one, because I really wanted the emotional intensity to be there. For some reason, at that point I was really struggling to judge the emotional intensity of my OWN writing, but in everything I've written since that has an intense emotional component (OTRA, looking at you bestie) I've been significantly more confident!

Favorite Character to Write: Nights Xaden my beloved. In terms of comparison to my other fics, I seriously prefer nights Bodhi to OTRA Bodhi.

Favorite Dynamic: Riorgail!! I was constantly on edge about it not being in character for Xaden to be mildly emotionally available, but since decided I don't give a fuck! They were so fun! Especially at the end. Some of the comments I got quoting things Xaden said in those last couple chapters baffled me.

Why I Chose The Title: I can't remember! In terms of nights-verse as the series title, I thought it was a silly in-joke for me, because the whole fic until the very end only takes place at night. This was supposed to limit me and make it shorter so I could get back to writing original stuff/my plane crash AU sooner, but that actually didn't work! Evidently.

A Fun Fact About The Fic: I think this is something most of you partially know, but it was NOT supposed to be a long fic. I wrote the one shot for Alli and Amy's birthday bash, and a lot of people asked for me to continue it. I think they meant like...add a sex scene. But, I started thinking about writing my own long fic, especially because my favorite long fics in the fandom were both on hiatus at that point. Anyway, all that was backstory. The fun fact is that I sort of spontaneously came up with the force fields idea, and then I decided it was bat shit insane and no one would read it, so I told my IRL friend about it, and she encouraged me to write it!

[lover-of-mine]

I can't find the post you mentioned it in, but I swear you have brought up the power imbalance and age difference with Tommy in Canon calling him kid. If that wasn't you, sorry for wasting time. But I was curious about your thoughts on something.

I'm a believer that the last scene wasn't supposed to be there. The last one was the medal scene, and you know that would have still worked with him coming back next season. I think it was added for extra ick because everyone on the other side just skipped over "kid".

The thing is, it's established that Buck is the kid.

BObby, well we now know he thinks of him as a son. But since season 1 he routinely calls him and only him kid.

Athena obviously has maternal feelings for him.

Hen was his older sister before the real one came. She continues to do this with him even with Maddie.

Maddie.. Well she's a combination of Hen and Athena.

Chim. Older brother before becoming it. Who yes routinely referred to him as kid.

Even to Carla, he's Buckaroo. Heck, the inmates that kidnapped him. He called him kid. Kid is basically established lore to how he's viewed. And yes, they chose to have Tommy say that, and yes, it means something to me, especially when you through the put of place Daddy joke in.

I did mention it, quite a few times actually, but the way you phrased this made me think about the beginning of Buck and Abby actually. You made it click why the joke bothers me so much, because the thing is, the whole age difference was a thing that was made into a joke of sorts with Abby in the beginning, but it never happens in front of Buck or directly from Abby. Carla is in the background calling Buck a boytoy and Abby a cougar, and it's supposed to be cute that Abby wants the hot firefighter who happens to be 16 years younger than her. But Abby is the main character, Buck exists to serve a purpose for her in s1, so he's isolated from the age difference comments, even though Buck keeps giving this boyish energy. Buck very much is the baby of the group. But when you think about Abby, Abby is conflicted by the age difference even though she ends up asking Buck out, so even though the age thing could be a problem, it's not what's actually exacerbating a power imbalance, the thing there is that Buck is more in it than Abby, the age there is not a deciding factor. But when you look at Tommy, the way he calls Buck kid, the way he, in a sense, is making decisions about what he thinks Buck is feeling, like kissing Buck out of nowhere or deciding Buck is not ready by himself and leaving him in the curb, a daddy kink joke directed a Buck as Buck opens up about his issues, ends up being dismissive in a, (I don't wanna say disturbing because it doesn't go that far, but my English is failing me and that's the only word I can think of) it's more than unsettling but it's not quite disturbing, but it leaves a weird taste in my mouth because Buck is never taken seriously, and he wants to be taken seriously so badly he ends up trying too hard and that just makes him crash harder, and, as someone who knows Buck and didn't see enough effort in establishing Tommy as someone who truly cares about him, the "God, I hope so" kinda sounds like he just wants to take advantage of that eagarness Buck has and that's not it. Like, it's so not it. And you may be right to some degree, we did see behind-the-scenes stuff with Lou in the hospital that didn't make the episode, so they made a choice to have that dinner happen that way. But the question is, do they know that joke could be received like that, or did they just think that would be a funny thing to throw in there no one would look at twice? Because the thing is, I don't like Tommy and it got to a point where I'm looking for things to hate, so I look at that in the worst way possible, but if we are assuming intention of creeping people out, we can't exist in a plane where everything about Tommy will be instantly received poorly by everyone, because the joke landed. It's only a problem when you think about it and it was placed there as a throwaway comment. Because, Buck and Abby, it's never supposed to come out as weird, even though Abby used her job to get Buck's number and Buck is still living in a frathouse, so are they trying to make Tommy seem as weird as he comes off to us or are we interpreting things in the worst possible way? There's a balance there that I can't seem to find yet, because the show didn't build enough of the relationship for me to look at it objectively and know.

[elvenbeard]

AAHHH!!! I *finally* got to play a little more Phantom Liberty today öahjsdföasklfasfhdfs

First I wanted to riot slightly cause GoG didn't find my install anymore (but rescanning folders did the trick).

Man OH MAN. I'm really just rambling about how fucking cool this game is below the cut, but beware of spoilers!!

"How the fuck do I keep ending up in these situations..."

I played all the way up to meeting Reed and agreeing to work with him back in the President's hideout. This was also the point up until I'd seen the gameplay at Phantom Liberty Tour back in August, but I also saw a loooot of new stuff o.o The demo back then started at entering the Stadium (when V walks through that area with cyberarms hanging from the ceiling) - stopped at meeting Myers in the crashed plane - continued at arriving at the hideout with her and then ended, as I said, with shaking hands with Reed.

SO. The whole "how do we get the president to the hideout" sequence was completely new to me AND MAAAN. That Chimera fight was so good like?? The whole setup and everything, I didn't expect such a big and epic boss fight so early on in the expansion at all, really sets the tone I guess xD First V gets his face bashed in by the President, then gets his ribs broken by this thing, things can only get better from here on. That whole section gave me such Bioshock vibes actually like... the Art Deco architecture the "amazing city that turned out so awful" vibes, it's impeccable, and I love it so so much. Really gotta take some time to properly explore everything (and now I gotta wait for Reed to call me back so, best opportunity).

I saw that thing under the tarp and was like "oh yeah, later on in the story this is gonna come back to bite me in the ass" - only that in this case "later" was "five minutes later" not "10 story missions later" as I anticipated XD

Also, I gotta say, I really don't trust Myers or Songbird much at this point with their intentions. I mentioned this previously... how convenient for Songbird to know to contact V via the Relic, but how the hell did she know about it in the first place, that he had it, where he was at, etc.? And then, in the Space Force One Wreck there was the shard with the answer! They knew about the Konpeki heist and two involved mercs through an informant potentially working at Arasaka. Yet, when I then deliberately chose a dialogue later on where V was like "yeah, I got Arasaka's Relic stuck in my head" Myers was all "oh, what really! how peculiar!". And maybe she really didn't know and I'm reading too much into it, but I'm really not liking her vibes atm at all XD (as a character though she's so cool, not at all how I'd picture a typical NUSA president, and I get the impression she doesn't really like the role all that much - I wanna read up on her background lore as soon as I'm done playing XD). AND. The shard on the plane specifically mentions Johnny on the Relic AND I'M CALLING IT NOW like I called it before, I BET they're really after Johnny's engram to do some experimenting with it for some fucked up Militech scheme. And in return V gets to live or some crap. URGH. I hope I'm wrong but I said it before "Phantom Liberty" (if you read it as in "a ghost that was freed" or "no real freedom") screams to me that this all boils down to something happening to Johnny in a messed up way in the end in exchange for V's life. Analogue to the Devil ending, but instead of Arasaka you have Militech/NUSA (if I'm wrong, please don't spoiler it to me, and if I'm right or close, please don't spoiler it either XD I wanna see just how far off I am myself XDD)

Songbird being MIA is hmmm... Not quite suspicious, but I'm wondering if she is still alive or maybe also doomed to be a construct now, but I'm really not sure. It would be kinda disappointing, I'd like to meet her in person still and am excited to see what she is gaining in all of this. I like the tragic "gifted criminal kid turned government asset" trope a lot and I'm curious to see how her story develops.

I'm also loving all the lifepath specific dialogues so much, I'm actually learning something new now and then about what Vince's Arasaka job was actually truly like at the core!

Also Myers roasting him for not having had a high enough security clearance to know about Reed xDD So rude! But I'm so so so curious how Ex-Arasaka agent with occasional homesickness to the corporate world and FIA-Sleeper agent with a big Arasaka-grudge are gonna work together o.o

I feel like, they're either really gonna see eye-to-eye very much or will continue to clash over and over and V is gonna come out as the loser at the end of this xD But currently, me as the player I'm trusting no one, and Vince as being caught up in all of this tries to play nice and be on everyone's good side but behind the scenes does not trust any of them one bit either xD It's really more a one hand washes the other kinda deal for him with no long-term obligations.

I'm also LOVING Johnny in all of this so far like... Vince and he don't get along that well most of the time for a variety of reasons. And so far, even though I got the Sun ending as my canon (as of right now), I feel like Vince acted more out of desperation than real trust or anything in going down that path and not any other. So I think Phantom Liberty *might* be the storyline that has been missing for me personally so far to really legitimize to myself that Vince would trust Johnny enough to let him take over his body for that last mission or go on a suicide run through Arasaka Tower with him. They are really seeing eye to eye on a lot of the stuff that's going on, both paranoid and suspicious, both not liking to swear any oaths or work for the FIA or anything like that. Bonding over their shared dislike for all the secrecy and scheming xD

Speaking of timelines, I found an ingame date for the 16th of June about an meeting Myers was to attend and another meeting scheduled for June 18th - sounding like the 16th is already passed at this point and the plane crash probably happening on the 16th or 17th or something like this... which completely throws my previously established timeline overboard :D But also stretches the canonical timeline a bit, if my assumptions are right, which would be nice and a lot more realistic than "like, a month, for all of that to happen". (For reference, in my timeline for Vince without PL I put the last quest on June 9th).

But that's only speculation ofc!

Then I also had my first vehicle gig for Muamar and omggg I loved this little convo with him so fucking much?? Like, this really built up his character so nicely, and the whole car stealing scheme would also be super down Vince's alley XD

And this exchange I LOVED sm:

Vince, car nerd surpreme, offering to fix the Cap's car, and Muamar's response: certain things I don't do halfway -> my clothes, my cut, my cars. Vince 100% seconds that sentiment XDD Like, so far I have to admit Muamar never really grabbed me that much as a character and I felt like he and Vince probably didn't have much in common. I was wrong XD

I also wanted to pay Mr. Hands a visit in his funky pyramid, but he wouldn't let me in yet. I'm so looking foward to finally playing his gigs now :D And seeing what else Dogtown has to offer in terms of stories and side jobs :o

Others mentioned it already, but I'm loving this place's design so so much... it feels like a different city altogether, the style of the buildings and everything is so unique and it's such a biiiig sprawling place o.o

And a random little thing I noticed, there's a lot of little cinematic moments now (the contextual removal of the HUD for conversations for example is such a good new feature). And occasionally the camera will automatically pan to interesting events or V's optics zoom in automatically - it was a bit weird the first time it happened but I really like it in a way? I noticed it during the part of rescuing Myers where you had to sneak past the huge Barghest drone (also such a good good moment, I'm loving all the stealth, parkour, and whatnot, the level design is *so good* hhhhh).

And finally, when I decided "okay, I'm gonna go to bed now" and was just about to close the game... I got a text message from Kerry I didn't know yet :DDD

(the fucking emojis with noses, Kerry pls, your age is really showing)

Like... I did not expect new texts from the LIs, and yeah, this got me really excited xD (and yeh I obviously had to read all the different outcomes and there *are* some differences depending on what you text back. I love it sm). AND. Then I called him. And there's new conversations about the events of PL too??? Hello?

Man I wish there was something like that for the other missions but obviously, with how late-game Kerry's romance is that sadly doesn't make much sense. So this is also something that made me tremendously happy (and also adds some new depth and bits and pieces to Kerry's character, which I'm always so here for XD). Exicted to see if there's more to talk about with him as the expansion progresses - I doubt it, but I'm ready to be surprised, maybe also by the other main NPCs that you're not in a relationship with.

That one V will definitely bear in mind for whatever is to come. Hhhhh I'm so excited!!

[dongpound]

i demand to know more of your oc's (also im trying to catch up on your space au fic its been so long since i last read it)

OH MY GOD IT DIDNT GET EATEN BY TUMBLR

Anon™️ I’m using your ask as like a sticky note of oc ideas specifically Tundra dude there’s SO much I’m so sorry I got into the hyper focus zone

Tundra’s name is actually Alejandra Citlali Osorio-Cruz and through the series she’s just about to turn 16 in season 1 and roughly 19-20 by Season 5 (give or take how the fuck you think time works in 2012 bc I think it takes place over 3-4 years season 5 included)

Tundra came about as a nickname when she was a kid and got super hyper-fixated on professional wrestling and like. She made an entire persona and lore. Alec started using her wrestling name as a silly nickname and it stuck.

Yes I did come up with a stupid cute reason behind the name Tundra bc I can not handle the fact I chose such a BAD oc name for a LION but like I can’t change it NOW!! I MADE HER IN LIKE 2015 SHES TOO OLD TO CHANGE IT

Xever did just think for the longest time Tundra WAS her name. He also just assumed that Alec and Chris adopted a child for fun.

Her bio parents Ixchel and Alejandro were really good friends of Alec and Chris for like. Well over a decade. Ixchel and Alec especially. Ixchel was an actress (like I would say their worlds equivalent of Selma Hayek) and Alejandro worked in music production.

They didn’t have a ton of family they kept in contact with, so Alec and Chris were named Alejandra’s legal guardians if anything happened to them. They sadly died in a plane crash when Tundra was around 1.

This feels like SOOOO edgy and silly to me now but like I literally can’t see Alec and Chris adopting a kid any other way than the guilt of losing their friends pushing them to do it. WHICH SOUNDS BAD. AND LIKE IT IS. However they still love and raise Alejandra as their own, if anything Chris is like. Somewhat distant bc he still has his career but Alec’s like “fuck yeah I get to raise a kid again” and kinda slips from the spotlight. Which is fine by them , they’re like 600 years old they can just have messy fun in the public eye another time

Tundra goes fucking THROUGH IT emotionally through the series. Like goes from would do anything for Chris and Alec (especially Chris who. Again. Was distant and she desperately wanted his approval) to the point where like. She’s yknow. Mutated, to growing resentful of them when Hachi enters the picture (especially when she has to take care of him) to like. Low key betraying the foot and joining the mutanimals in season 3. And then having to deal w Chris being resurrected temporarily in season 5 after a really chill and happy 2 years with her mom and little brother like it’s a LOT.

In season 1 she’s very much a “mean girl” stereotype and slowly evolves into Cool And Gay (but still a little better than you)(she. She gets that from her upbringing.)

Tundra and Karai are seen as like a duo/bffs up until season 2 after the whole “I’m not shredders daughter” thing happens. They grow distant (obviously) until season 4.

So like Alec and Chris are NOT the best parents and like. They did totally just let Tundra take Hachi to live w her and the Mutanimals in season 4. She’d already been in space w him for 6 months and the poor kid really didn’t want to go live in the woods. I have such a specific scene in mind for this and I want to write it out so bad. Anyway tundra basically becomes a teen mom for a little bit. Eldest daughters am I right? *plays class of 2013 by mitski*

Tundra has a modified mini van which she does haul all of her friends who can fit in. Apologies to leatherhead and slash . No she doesn’t have a license

She also has a bike. These two vehicles she did canonically find on the side of the highway and she convinced Donnie and Casey to help her fix them

Tundras in a punk (? Maybe more Pop punk ) band called The Muties (my other characters Jack and Spinstra are in it. also Mondo. Sometimes Raph fills in on drums if Spinstra can’t make it). Tundra and Jack switch off on vocals, she’s usually on bass. They started up in the down time between seasons 4 and 5. They play in Moira’s Menagerie (a mutants only bar and hall) every week on Fridays. Alec comes to nearly all of their shows and also they bring Hachi sometimes when they practice and he’ll play his DS.

Alec will also force their friends (I.e. Apep, Anton, Ivan and Xever) to come watch Tundra w the promise of drinks and she thinks it’s embarrassing every fucking time bc they’re SO LOUD and OBVIOUS and god she could just DIE (but also. Having the support makes her happy)

Alec WILL slam back 3 tequila shots and go on about how talented their daughter is.

Chris got to see her play once. And it was when he was resurrected. And Tundra, frankly, was not thrilled. Another one I wanna write

[antlerqueer]

Okay so on the whole 'if you survive you live' thing, I've actually been thinking about that being connected to the locket. Like maybe they're giving it to whoever's about to be hunted because of the 'now your untouchable' thing in a 'if the forest wants them to survive than they'll survive' kind of way? I saw people say that maybe the locket goes to whoever is going to be next, and maybe it's just the way I read it, but it implied that the person gets it like ahead of time, like before the ritual comes up, which again just feels like it doesn't fit? Because I can honestly not imagine a single one of those girls finding out that after months of struggle, a necklace is what's going to decide their fate, and being okay with it, unless it takes a super depressed angle where one of the girls just like, embraces it.

But I also wonder where it is today? Was it left in the woods as like a final goodbye? Did someone bring it home? Did Lottie bring it back and start using it with the cult and/or currently has it and will have to use it with her cult/the others as like a final ritual? If they sacrificed wilderness baby then did they maybe leave it with him?

Is javi maybe alive in modern day and just like, dipped on everybody after they got rescued (this one doesn't seem too likely to me), did he maybe stay in the forest if he is alive? Did him and the baby possibly stay behind?

Is the dripping supposed to foreshadow maris death? Just the fact that a death will happen soon? Does it work like during the seance when Lottie heard the dirt tell her to spill some blood? Is there a chance that maybe mari is the one that either kills the next person (and like the dripping suddenly stops like the second after she does) or suggests that the next person to die (or even just christen if they find her body) should get eaten, maybe she becomes the person to kind of like officially start the rituals or even just being the one that gives them their biggest push in that direction?

Also the vision of how the plane almost crashed, is this like the dirt gods saying they saved them so now they owe them back for the mercy, is it a show of the power they have like theyre powerfull enough to stop the plane crashing that way, or maybe a show in the sense that the way the plane crashed was the natural way and the dirt gods had the power to have made the crash even worse if they had chosen to intervene? Is it a sign that maybe the dirt gods chose to save them for a specific purpose and not just an act of mercy?

Anyway, a lot of these were a lot less likely than some of the other ones but honestly, atp I'm just shooting at everything and the first thing that lands is what I'm gonna call the target😆

Thanks for your patience on me answering - long messages are harder for me to reply to on mobile and I wanna give it my full attention!

In my opinion, if it is part of a ritual sacrifice, it's given to whomever has to live through the night right before they run. They play like hide and seek rules, give them to 100 to get a head start, then the chase begins.

The question about where it is today is really good - honestly, would Shauna return it to Jackie until it's time for it to come back? Maybe? But I don't see Shauna wearing it constantly after it's used for the sacrifice stuff.

I don't know what's up with Mari and the dripping, tbh. I think we may not know until the end of the season what's up with that, based on it just being teased lightly for the past two episodes. That's one thing I don't have any ideas on, because I keep thinking of the promo where Coach Scott is like smacking his head to stop hearing something? So maybe he ends up hearing it, too? Maybe more people start hearing it? I don't know.

I think since the vision was during Nat's OD it isn't a message from the wilderness as much as it is from within Natalie; therefore, if the darkness is within them, then the darkness within Natalie brought forth that message. She may think the darkness saved them from their untimely fate, but I don't think the wilderness necessarily saved their lives. Because why would the wilderness save their lives and then ask for more blood, yknow? Saving them just to kill them? So it seems more like a reflection from Natalie's subconscious - she'd rather have died in that crash than do what they needed to do to survive, she'd rather have died than let that darkness into her, and now she has to live with these consequences. The darkness inside her, inside them all, makes her wish she never got out - and let's be real, did they really get out when it's inside them?

[dearreader]

OKAY my big brain moment

in midnights taylor uses a voice distorter on a few songs (midnight rain, labyrinth, dear reader). i made a post previously highlighting how when taylor uses it she does it in a way to highlight how because of her fame she’s not seen as a person; the distortion in midnight rain highlighting how she chose this path and lost her humanity from fame because of that while the boy she loved is happy and never changed, in dear reader it directly talks about how she has two sides and no one sees the real her breaking (specifically the 1989 tour speeches but the whole era). but as i was driving i thought about how taylor is harmonizing with this voice distortion and realized it’s her realizing that joe actually likes her for her. how at first it’s her and she’s feeling like the planes going to crash but then he stops it and she shocked. and then during the next chorus she starts singing about more specific limelight stuff which is when she starts inner mixing her voice with the distortion. showing that even in these moments where she doesn’t seem like a person but more a thing, yet even in this moment her real voice is there to show he actually sees her for her and loves her (the line ‘you would break your back to make me break a smile’ says it directly but just go with me).

and its just that like initially she thought he wouldn’t stay and she was just going to never be able to get over him but then he does stay. and then the world finds out and she’s terrified he’ll leave, that this is the final straw this time. but even then he stays and shows her it’s not ending. the planes not crashing. he’s still there and he will be.

[hebuiltfive]

Oblivion: A NCS Story

Chapter One: Waiting Captain Scarlet was used to dying. Everyone around him was used to his retro-metabolism. But that didn't make it any easier to watch, nor did it mean his indestructibility came without a cost.

Rating: Mature Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Additional Tags: Character Death, descriptions of injuries, mentions of plane crash, dark themes, Mentions of the afterlife, or the Mysteron Version at least, even in death scarlet cannot escape black

Notes: This idea came to me when I was reading Captain Scarlet and the Silent Saboteur, where Doctor Fawn asks Scarlet if he dreams in death. That simple question opened up a whole world of possibility and I chose to run with it. I will just preface this by saying there is no concrete plan for this story. I'm just seeing where the writing takes me. For that reason, I have no idea how long it will be either.

Disclaimers to say I don't own the Captain Scarlet franchise or the characters. The only thing I own is the words to this story.

Read it below or on AO3 here.

Waiting.

The waiting was the worst part. 

It never got easier.

Waiting.

Nothing to do, watching as the seconds ticked by on their watches.

Waiting.

Destiny always tried to be present. 

She always tried to be there for him when he woke up. Unless she was out on a mission, it didn’t matter where she was or what she had been doing. She was there. At his bedside. In the medical bay.

Waiting. 

It was torture having to wait, but it was important for Paul to have people he knew, loved and trusted around him when he came back from the land of the dead. At least, that’s what Doctor Gold had said.

Adam often waited with Destiny for that reason. 

Together, they sat patiently.

Waiting.

The seconds would turn into minutes and, more often than not, the minutes turned into hours. 

Once, they had both experienced the close call of truly losing Paul, despite his retrometabolism. It was a harrowing day, but it was the day both Adam and Destiny had decided to be present together, not only for Paul’s sake but for each other. 

Because the waiting was always the worst part.

Everyone on Skybase knew Captain Scarlet was indestructible. He’d become Spectrum’s most valuable asset against their war against the Mysterons.

Captain Scarlet was indestructible,��but Destiny still found herself worrying.

Would that luck of his eventually run out?

A cat only has nine lives and, given the fact they new little about how the Mysterons’ retrometabolism worked, would Paul eventually succumb to the Great Sleep before they were ready to say goodbye to him? 

Destiny didn’t want to imagine having to say goodbye to him permanently. Again. The memories from the first time still haunted her. So many people had been the victim of the Mysterons war against them. Paul couldn’t be one. Not again.

She knew Adam probably held the same concerns too.

Shared those same worries.

They were unspoken, but Destiny could feel it. They both shared those thoughts as they sat there.

Waiting.

The worries were always quickly ousted from Destiny’s mind, however. They were thoughts she couldn’t bear to think about when she sat at Paul’s quiet bedside. 

It was always quiet in the medical rooms.

A small blessing.

Doctor Gold appeared every now and then to check in on his patient, and to give the two sitting vigil the updates they so badly needed on Paul’s condition.

Those updates never got easier.

The updates usually ended with Doctor Gold repeating the same two sentences he always did.

“You both should get some rest. He won’t be awake for a few hours yet.”  

Neither Destiny nor Adam ever moved from those seats though, even when Gold ended his shift and turned in for the night. They always remained, flanking the unconscious Paul, with Destiny sitting on one side of the bed and Adam on the other.

Waiting.

Always waiting.

The time it took for Paul to reawaken varied. Usually it was six hours. Sometimes it was twelve. They had found it depended on the severity of his injuries. 

The bruises and cuts rarely remained, but occasionally Paul could be left paralysed for a few days.

Seeing their indestructible friend confined to a wheelchair was always a sight.

Indestructible he may have been, but it was a stark reminder that he could still be hurt. 

Wounded.

A reminder that, although he may have woken up, Paul had still been dead.

Destiny often found herself wondering what went on in Paul’s mind during those hours of infinite slumber. Did he dream? Was he aware of anything?

She wasn’t sure if knowing the answers would have made her feel more easy with the situation.

She doubted it.

When Doctor Gold had finished his shift for the night and Doctor Fawn had taken over, Adam filled Destiny in.

On the mission. 

The Mysteron agent. 

The plane crash.

Paul had ejected from the doomed craft just a second too late.

Today’s death came from being caught up in the tail end of the explosion.

He had been torn to shreds.

Adam had pulled him from the wreckage. It hadn’t been a pretty sight.

It rarely was.

The internal damage Paul had sustained was extensive, according to Doctor Gold’s initial scans. He estimated Paul wouldn’t be awake until at least the morning.

Possibly early afternoon.

Destiny didn’t care. 

By the look of it, neither did Adam. 

They’d wait for as long as it took. 

Paul continuously put himself in so many situations, he made sacrifice after sacrifice so that the world — so they, his friends — could continue living.

Waiting half a day for him to wake up was the least they could do for him.

No matter how much the waiting hurt.

Neither Destiny or Adam slept that night.

Sometimes they sat in silence, the only sound coming from the beeping machines that were hooked up to Paul. 

Sometimes they shared stories about their day. 

Sometimes they made jokes in a feeble attempt to lighten the mood. 

It never worked. The solemn feelings remained hanging over their heads.

Those feelings wouldn’t lift until they knew Paul was home.

Just after dawn had broken over the landscape 60,000 feet below Skybase, Paul’s eyes slowly flickered open.

Their waiting was over.

Destiny was the first to notice.

She was the first to jump to her feet. 

Adam followed her lead once he’d noticed. 

He called back to the Medical Office. “Doc, he’s awake!”

Paul tried to sit himself up, grunting as he did. He still looked like death.

Destiny pushed past the uneasy churning of her stomach. “How do you feel?” 

He stopped his attempt at sitting, hand rising to rest against his forehead. 

“Woozy.” Paul admitted whilst lying himself back down again. His voice was weak. Hoarse. “How long was I out?”

Adam flicked his wrist to check his watch face. “Almost thirteen hours.” 

He sounded relieved. His friend was okay. He was awake. 

He was alive.

Destiny understood that feeling.

Had felt it wash over her only moments ago too.

“Take it easy.” Adam gently held Paul by his shoulder as he tried to sit himself up again. “Gold said you took quite the beating in that explosion.”

Doctor Gold appeared as if on cue.

He was followed by two more medical officers.

With a scanner in his hand, Doctor Gold shooed Adam and Destiny away from the bedside.

“Why don’t you two go and grab some coffees, or something?”

They’d heard those words before too. They knew it was Doctor Gold’s code for ‘get out, let us work and catch up later’.

Adam offered Paul a wave, Destiny a quick kiss to his cheek, and they finally left the MediBay.

Once they had freshened up and changed their clothes, they met in the canteen.

Gold’s suggestion of a coffee had been too tempting to ignore.

Their vigil was over.

Until the next time.

But they’d be there.

They’d always be there.

At his side.

Waiting.

[ebdanon]

Hey Allie, sorry I'm so late with this I caught a cold and basically passed out when I got back home yesterday. I'm feeling a bit better now, so here's the wedding lore. I don't remember some chunks of it because it was downright traumatic so I apologize for any gaps. (part 1)

My husband ordered a ring during the pandemic. As soon as it arrived he told me about it and made me look away while he tried putting it on my finger to check if it fits (no one knows this btw). He told his parents he got a ring and how they should start preparing for a wedding. He told me he was not proposing until we moved out of our hometown (we both lived with our parents - it's normal in our culture) because he didn't want me to deal with the crazy in his house. A year and a half later, we had moved out and he proposed 6 months into our living together. We'd booked a vacation and were leaving the morning after he proposed. However, when we shared with our parents where we were going and when, my parents made sure to book a vacation around the same time, in the same location, in a hotel 20 minutes away from ours. And so the drama began. Engaged, we called parents and siblings, and since my parents were already on their vacation, they promised to visit our hotel once we arrived the next day to congratulate us in person, which I asked them not to do as we would be exhausted. This made my husband's parents upset, and they created a whole conspiracy that my parents knew about the proposal ahead of time, which is why they booked that vacation there. Even though they knew about the ring a year and a half in advance, they found a reason to be upset. So the trip takes around 8 hours but it's during the night so when we get there, we just eat and crash in our room. To our surprise, the front desk woke us up with a phone call a couple of hours later saying we had "guests in the lobby", which were, of course, my parents. They were on a video call with my soon-to-be-in-laws, showing us entering the lobby, and then giving us gifts, and showing the ring. They spent about an hour with us and went back to their hotel and thank god, we didn't see each other again until the plane ride back to our country. Now, COVID was still a bit of a thing back then, but many people had stopped caring, including my parents. On the plane, my husband and I were the only ones with masks on. But I'm getting ahead of myself. For that week-long vacation that we took after years of being locked up at home to protect ourselves and our families (we still got COVID 4 months before the engagement, from a coworker who refused to isolate or wear a mask), we were bombarded with phone calls from both sets of parents and the grandparents about "what we were planning on doing about the wedding". To every question, the answer was "We plan on relaxing during the first vacation in three years, stop asking" which no one respected. The situation started escalating as our parents started calling each other trying to figure out who knows/knew what, and to push their own wedding ideas on the others. It blew up when I got a call from my sister a couple of days in, saying my narcissistic grandma booked a church for me. This woman went to the church, picked out a time and date, and put only MY name down because she didn't know my in-laws or anything. The date she chose worked for her, as her son would be in town. What she didn't know was that her son was already scheduled to attend a wedding on that date. This woman also managed to somehow find my MIL's phone number, call her, and also tell her the church was handled, which of course set her off, so she called me and just said "Handle your grandmother" and hung up. What my husband and I learned later, after chatting to his sister, was that my dad actually asked his mom to do all that shit. Our parents had also been going back and forth on the guests they were going to be inviting, and wanted to outdo each other. So when we learned all this, we called up everyone and told them there would be no wedding, there would be nothing, we would just get a marriage certificate and be done with it because they were out of control. They calmed down for all of two days, and by that time we were on the way back home.

hi bitey sorry im just getting to this now work is rough today :/ will post my full response to part 2 hehe

[rocketonthemoon]

so did anyone else get that Kara’s trial of courage was to be seen as Kara Zor El and not Supergirl or did I wildly misinterpret that?

[amor-immortalem]

An Alternate Path

Genre: Angst

A/N: Originally this was supposed to be a two-part mini fic but people asked about a part three. I wasn’t sure where else to exactly go from there since the end of the second part felt so final for me. But then, inspired by a comment on the 2nd part, I began to think about how it would have gone if Arella hadn’t been revived with Mammon’s blood. Think of this as the bad end to the AU. This is the final part.

obviously spoilers for the lesson 16 incident and for lesson 50 (i think… correct me if Im wrong)

Replaced part 1

The Good/True End

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He sits in his room starting at the dried blood on his hands, heart aching from the loss of his mate. It had only been mere hours since Barbatos had taken her body to prepare for funeral rites but to the Avatar of Greed, it had felt like centuries. Why? He’s asked himself this question over and over. Why didn’t you check on her sooner? Why didn’t you call or text? Why didn’t you notice? Why didn’t you feel something was wrong through your pact?

As much as he wants to, Mammon has no more tears left to cry. His human is gone, never to return and it was the fault of him and his brother. He should have been there sooner. Should have reminded her how much he cared. Should have done a lot of things. He had every opportunity to, but he squandered all of it.

He rakes his hands through his hair as they whys replay in his head. The demon doesn’t have an answer for them- none that would satisfy them, at least. He lets out a yell as grief turns to rage and nothing of value is spared from his violence. Items and trinkets knock from their shelves, furniture overturned, by time the second-born was done, his room looked like a war zone.

It’s only then that Mammon collapses to his knees and lets out a broken wail as he can hear the restless cawing of his crows outside.

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

Levi is alone in his room, having shut himself away hours ago. Laying in his bathtub bed, the Avatar of Envy loses himself to his thoughts and the view of the water above him. He can’t help but think about what would have happened if he had put his foot down when Asmo approached him to recruit him in helping his little matchmaking plan for Melissa and Satan.

And then his thoughts focus in on the other human. If she had never come, if they had never welcomed her into their lives through the exchange programme... Arella would still be alive. She’d still be sitting here, playing video games and helping him decide which anime he should choose to watch when there was a conflict of time slots. They’d still be talking about their Husbandos and Waifus just as they always had. But she’s not here. She never will be anymore. All because he didn’t have the spine to act like the older brother and tell Asmo no. Because he allowed his younger brother to monopolize his time.

His best friend is gone and he was part of the problem that led up to that. Levi has never felt so much self-hatred before and, just like with Lilith, he doesn’t know how to come to terms with the loss of another person so dear to him. For now, he’ll just lay here and waste away like the filthy, yucky otaku he is, wishing there was a way he could go back and undo it all or hoping that this was all just some horrible nightmare that his brain has conjured up.

“She’ll be back in the morning... right? She’s just sleeping over at the castle, right?!”

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Beel just eats. He eats and eats and eats to make the pain go away but just like his endless hunger, the pain never stops. He feels so empty inside that the only other option is to gorge himself until he physically can’t hold it anymore and vomits before he goes back for more until the cycle repeats and he runs out of food. The loss of their favorite human is killing him now- the grief of it squeezing his heart like an anaconda.

If he would have just gone to invite her to that new café she had wanted to visit with him only an hour sooner, this could have been stopped. But he didn’t. He didn’t and that’s what cuts deepest. He should have noticed when she stopped coming to dinner, or skipping breakfast, or not joining the student council for lunch day after day. He should have realized something was wrong then. But he chose to ignore it, thinking it was just one of those ‘moods’ Arella had told him about human women experiencing at certain times of the month. He thought he was helping by giving her space these last few weeks but Beel knows now that he was dead wrong.

Who would be his food buddy now? Who would let him drag them all over town in order to try out restaurant after restaurant, café and café? Sure, he had Belphie to take with him but his younger twin never really showed the same excitement when it came to trying out all the different food and drink options on the menu. The demon doesn’t realize he’s crying until the tear drops hit his hands. She only needed one of them to take a moment to see her and none of them could be bothered do just that.

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

Belphegor only wants to sleep. He wants to sleep and never wake up again. In his dreams is where Arella is, happy, smiling, laughing. That laugh will haunt his waking moments forever as he realizes that for the second time, the Avatar of Sloth has caused her death. Belphie was only one of two brothers who rejected Asmo when they asked him to help with that damn plan of his. It had been too long since he and Arella had napped together after school or plotted something with Satan as part of the Anti-Lucifer league. How he missed those days.

He can feel the tears pool in his eyes as he curls up into a ball on the bed in the attic. He wonders if he had just stayed up here forever instead of trying to trick Arella into setting him free, would this hole in his chest disappear? As he buries his face into the body pillow Arella had gifted him for his birthday this year, he cries himself to sleep- indulges himself in all the good memories they had made together after she had forgiven him for everything he had done to her.

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Asmodeus is lost. They stare and stare at their skincare products trying to will themself to start their nightly skincare routine. How could they have been so foolish? The passage of time is so different to humans than it is to demons. They had only meant to take a month to match Satan and Melissa up so how had it turned to eleven already?! The Avatar of Lust wants to scream. Both at themself and no one at all. Hot tears still sting their eyes as they shapeshift. They change and they change and they change forms- any number of features forming and then shifting away as they try to find a look that they won’t recognize themself in but it doesn’t work. Asmo’s not able to look themself in the mirror for the rest of the night as they just crash down on their bed. They want to mark up their beautiful body into some hideous to match the feelings crushing their heart. Asmo wants to do something- anything- to themself to experience even a fraction of the pain Arella must have felt but all the demon feels now is just hollowness.

Their phone is vibrating on the bed next to them- a call from Solomon. No doubt he could feel Asmo’s distress through the pact they share but the Avatar of Lust is too tired from hours of ugly crying and most certainly not in the mood to speak to anyone- pact master or otherwise. The phone goes unanswered.

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Satan has his head buried in the books. He’s been at this for hours- there must be a way to bring her back to them! Melissa is with him, bringing whatever books he asks for in his search as she too is eager to bring the lost human back to this plane of existence. There was so much they wanted to do with her. From watching cheesy mystery dramas together to forming a small book club consisting of just the three of them, none of that would come to pass now.

As book after book turns up dead ends, the demon just buries his head in his hands. It feels pointless now. Who was he to play God with life and death? The thought of never seeing his friend alive once more is enough to break the Avatar of Wrath as his shoulders shake with violent sobs. He wants to go on a rampage- destroy the whole city but what would that fix? It certainly wouldn’t bring her back.

As the demon continues to cry, Melissa only wraps her arms around him and he returns the gesture. She runs her fingers through his blonde hair in an effort to calm him and it seems to work, if only for a little while. She pulls a chair up to sit next to him as she holds his hand in hers.

“Tell me about your favorite memories with her,” They girl begins, “We can’t undo what was done, but we can keep her memory alive by sharing the good times.”

And so, they talk late into the night, Satan smiling at all the memories of Arella that he holds close to his heart.

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“Hi this is Arella! I’m sorry I can’t get to the phone right now but leave a message after the beep.... Beeeeeeeeeep”

The sound of his brother’s laughter followed by Mammon calling Arella a dork in the background can be heard at the end of the greeting on her D.D.D.’s voicemail. The Avatar of Pride can only smile with tear-stained cheeks. He was beyond intoxicated, having just finished his fourth bottle of demonus for the night. He can feel the anguish his brothers have been going through all night and it only makes his sorrow deeper.

When Arella first arrived, all Lucifer cared about was keeping her alive long enough to make it through the year. She was unimportant to him outside of the viability of the exchange programme. Back then, he would have laughed at himself for the state he was in currently. She was just a human. Why did it matter if she lived or died if it didn’t affect the exchange programme?

But she wasn’t just a human. She was their human. She was special to him. And now she was gone. There was no second chance. There would be no merging of timelines to keep her alive. Fate was cruel, but sometimes Diavolo could be crueler.

Lucifer knew his longtime friend had a reason for this. He was teaching the brothers a lesson with her death. As much as it hurt now to lose another part of this family, things would get easier as the years went on regardless of how horribly they all would miss her. This was a lesson he and his brothers would not soon forget.

Cracking open his fifth bottle of demonus, the first-born scrolls through devilgram, saving pictures on her profile to be used in the memorial service. One of Arella with each of his brothers and himself and multiple pictures she’d taken with all eight of them from their adventures throughout the years that they’d all been together.

He lets his mind wander back over the last eleven months. All the red flags he had missed with his rose-colored glasses. They all made sense to him now. All the time she spent isolating herself from them, skipping meals, leaving either incredibly early for school or incredibly late for school. She was trying to get them to notice her over Melissa. He regrets their last interaction from a few months back. The way there had clearly been something wrong, yet he chose to lecture her about attending RAD on time as to not disgrace Diavolo. How he wishes he could take it back.

As the only brother save for Belphegor not conscripted to help Asmo in his ridiculous plan, Lucifer should have been the first to reach out to her. He may have been buried under paperwork, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t just sit and talk while he worked. He regrets not calling or checking up on her.

A video plays on her devilgram. It was from one of the nights they had spent up in the human world last summer.

“Awww, come one, Lucifer. It won’t be that bad. We’ll have those flowers from the fairy rings and make it back in one piece. I promise to keep Mammon under control so we won’t cause any trouble.”

The Avatar of Pride clicks out of the app as he feels more tears gather in his eyes. He can’t do this right now. Not tonight.

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Her service was beautiful- Or at least that’s what Lucifer tells Mammon as he and the rest of their brothers return home. Mammon wanted to go, he really did, but with it only being a few days removed from her death, the second-born couldn’t bring himself to go. It wasn’t because he didn’t love her or didn’t want to celebrate his mate’s life but it was still far too painful for him.

Part of him was still in denial over it too. Somehow, he’d managed to convince himself that she wasn’t gone. She was just stuck up in the human world and had forgotten her D.D.D here so he couldn’t call her. The logical side of him knew it wasn’t the case and every time he was reminded of it, it threw the Avatar of Greed into a deeper pit of despair. He’d spent some nights since she’d passed alone, crying himself to sleep begging for his human to come back to him others he would just lie awake, tracing over where her mark from their pact had been etched into his chest, set right over his heart.

Suddenly years have gone by now. His brothers have made peace with her passing but Mammon cannot. Visiting her grave never helps to ease the pain either, but still he goes. If Arella’s spirit still lingers, no doubt she would be upset if he didn’t go. It would only serve to prove her dying thoughts true when they couldn’t have been further from the truth.

“Hey, Treasure... Miss me?” There’s no one here but Mammon and a tombstone. “I miss you... everyday... So much changes every year... Both Asmo, Levi, ‘n Satan got kids now... little girls for them and Levi has a boy...” He pauses to take a shuddering breath as the cold wind blows. “Can ya believe it? The first kids born ta this family and their both girls and then we got a boy... sweet little things too- alla ‘em.  I wish ya coulda been there ta meet them... Actually, looking at my brothers with their kids, it makes me wonder what ours woulda been like, ya know? And I wish none of this woulda happened... you deserved so much better than me ‘n I knew that. We all knew that. But ya chose me anyway and look where it got ya... Six feet under... If I could go back and do it all over again I would. I woulda told ya what was goin’ on. I woulda spent more time with ya. I woulda... woulda proposed... made sure you knew how much I loved ya everyday... I know ya probably can’t hear me, but I’m so sorry... for everything! I love you so much that I can’t move on and I won’t. If I die single then that’s fine by me.”

As he cries, thinking he’s alone, Arella watches from her seat on her tombstone. None of the brothers knew it but she’d been watching all this time. It wasn’t until she passed that she realized how deep their feelings ran and part of her wishes she would have waited just a bit longer before leaving for the human world that night.

She tries her best to let them know she’s there- that she loves them and is watching over them with Lilith, but she’s not strong enough to do more than move small objects around. She hopes that they’d notice but they never do.

As she hops off of her tombstone, Arella crouches down next to her mate. The best she can do for him is conjure a warm breeze as her spirit leans over to press a kiss that he’ll never feel to his cheek. Upon the breeze, he can hear a soft whisper of a reply.

“I love you too.”

And it's that reply that reassures him she’s there and she always will be. He hopes maybe in another life they’ll meet again and get to have the happy ending they never got to have in this one.

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

taglist: @gayassfuckinghomosexual @joyvlee

find more on my masterlist

[isamiral-soulwolf]

So how are you? I'm well thank you. I just - I'm so shook lol because I didn't realise how deep into the Isamira fandom I was until I had a freaking dream of it. So I just wanted to share the love and tell you how it went.

____________

The dream was kind of a modern day, no gifts AU where everyone was in their 20s and the Madrigals still live with Abuela in Casita, that is everyone except Mirabel whose job remains a mystery to the familia and the only one who has a house elsewhere. She dissapears for months at a time, which causes worry for the family and upsets Abuela who likes making sure the family is around but they don't say much since Mirabel earns a lot of money through her job, even financially contributing to expanding Casita.

One day, Isabela has to go to the same city where Mirabel lives for her work, I guess in horticulture so the family ask Mirabel to let her stay since it will take a few weeks to months to be done. Mirabel agrees because she can't say no to her family.

Now this is where the interesting part starts. It's been a few days since Isabela settled into Casa de Mirabel and something is weird. Isabela and Mirabel have always had a distant relationship partyly because of their 6 year age gap but also their difference in personalities and the fact that Isabela has fallen into the oldest child trope of having to live up to abuela's expectations, which is of the utmost importance to her. Therefore, Mirabel who has always done as she pleased, who chose to not even live with her family as soon as she was an adult and most importantly someone who is not in Abuela's good books.

So to make a long story short. Mirabel is basically a spy or something along those lines and an new evil person wants to destroy the city and they are planning to take out Mirabel first but Isabela is living with her so end up getting involved here and wants to help Mirabel. This is Mirabels job and so she refuses and tries to keep Isabela in a safe house but her sister obviously does not listen to the baby of her family and follows after Mirabel anyway. The whole dream commulates in Mirabel swinging from rope connected to a plane where the evil person has Isabela in their grips. Mirabel promises to give up everything if they let Isabela go. The evil person throws Isabela off the plane and Mirabel let's go of the rope and free falls towards Isabela, hugging her close to their body in order to take the brunt of the fall. Luckily a large tree saves them although it does put Mirabel out of commission what with the broken arm and leg she sustained trying to keep Isabela safe. The evil person in all his stupid glory forgot that he's the only one on the plane and it's not on autopilot and ends up crashing into a nearby building.

Isabela goes home and Mirabel shows up at Casita for the first time in a long while and finds Isabela in the crowd, dressed in beautiful brown and green dress. Something Abuela clearly disapproves of.

"You've changed how you look, I almost couldn't recognise you" Mirabel said cupping Isabela's face in her hands.

Isabela leans into the warmth of Mirabels palms, "well I've come to realise that there are more important things in life than expectations of another."

Hello hello! Always a pleasure to see you in my inbox, I'm glad you're doing well! I've... been better, eh. Hopefully it'll pass quickly.

As for the rest, that's one heck of a dream! I'm kind of surprised actually there isn't some kind of Mr & Mrs Smith style Isamira AU now, come to think of it... but this was a neat read! Thank you for sharing, you always have some really cool ideas and I enjoy reading them.

[bitchassbucky]

Ｂａｃｋ Ｔｏ Ｙｏｕ (Ｓａｍ Ｗｉｌｓｏｎ ｘ Ｆ!Ｒｅａｄｅｒ)

📎Word Count: 1.5k

📎Warning/s: some heckin’ words. Bucky’s in this, he’s a bit annoying (affectionately) <3 MINORS DNI.

📎A/N: omg my first Sam fic! i wanna thank my boo @babyboibucky for enabling me hsakjdhak ily! this is for you, bee!

📎Masterlist || Ask || AFTERDARK

📎 Follow the story: Back To You, Dimples, Inked

“Are you even listening to me?” Bucky says, annoyed that Sam has been looking down on his phone, remotely giving attention to their conversation.

Sam grins, fingers dancing over the keyboard on the screen, “Yeah, yeah. Something about motel rooms—or beds.”

“I said that they gave us two beds in one room,” the former spots their door number, quickly walking to it. The tactical bag swinging over his cybernetic arm freely.

The night was warm, the air blew the ocean mist towards the town. The parking lot is empty save for a black sedan that’s already been through a lot. They chose to stay low instead of getting a room at a decent hotel close by–something about them not likening the crowd.

Once inside, both men cleared the room in 30 seconds flat. The window opens out, the door stays closed and locked. The TV has to be on but kept on low volume. The beds are made, it’s clean; beats the flat beds on the plane.

Sam throws his bag over to the bed closest to the window, calling dibs. “Hey, you got headphones?” He asks.

“No,” Bucky answers, settling his things below the foot of the bed, “why?” He catches Sam again smiling giddily over something, “what you got a girl there or something?” 

“It’s none of your business,” Sam retorts, quirking his eyebrow upwards, “well? Do you have headphones?”

“If you listened to me, you would’ve heard me say ‘no.’”

Bucky should’ve had brought headphones. Sam has been droning on and on with a ‘friend’ over on a video call.

Not that he’s eavesdropping and nosy but he saw how Sam lit up when a voice came in from his phone.

“Hey, Sammy! I finally get to see your face.” You say, your voice crackling over Sam’s speakers, “am I on speaker right now?”

Sam smiles, focusing on your background and seeing pictures and posters plastered on the wall, “oh, yeah. Sorry, I forgot my earphones somewhere.”

“What? Old man Barnes rubbing off on you?” You laugh, your glasses reflecting your laptop’s screen. Your joke sending Sam into a laughing fit.

“You know he’s in the room, right?” Sam clarifies as he turns the camera to Bucky, much to the former’s dismay. But despite himself, Bucky waves to the camera.

“Heard a lot about you, Barnes! Hope you’re ready for frequent bathroom trips from this one.”

Sam faces you again, a mischievous glint shining in his eyes, “Shut up or I’m gonna drop the call.”

You quickly send him an emoji via text, Sam rolling his eyes as you giggle. “Anyway, since you can’t join in on the fun, you’ll be my audience tonight.”

Sam gives you a confused look, a hint of crease appearing between his brows. “Tonight? What’s tonight?”

A fake gasp and an overdramatic show of hurt had him chuckling, “You already forgot the karaoke night you promised me, didn’t you?”

He grins apologetically and looks at the camera, as if looking into your eyes, “I’m sorry. Been busy these past few weeks.”

You smile softly, the imagery giving Sam a burst of butterflies in his tummy, “it’s okay. I was just being dramatic. I got that from you, you know.”

You are not a good singer. But you confidently belt out the highest of notes like one. Complete with hand gestures, you hold out the last note of the song.

“Thank you,” you bow down to your imaginary crowd off-camera, “I’ll be here all night.”

“On god, please don’t,” Sam interjects with a tender smile and soft eyes.

“Sammy!” Your eyes glazing over your screen, a deep pang of homesickness hitting you, “I missed this. I missed you.”

He nods, his lips pressed tightly as he tries to find the words to respond, “I missed you too, bub.” 

A soft note of a love song sounds over your speaker, traveling to his, “you love this song.”

Sam nods, reminiscing the moments he had with you during college. The one time you almost kissed—where are these memories and feelings coming from?! “Yeah, and---”

The doorbell rings on your end. Your eyes glinting as you stand up. Food delivery!

“Hold that thought, Sammy. My food’s here,” you say, your voice faint as you’re practically halfway through the door.

“She is a god-awful singer,” Bucky expresses, “but you love her, don’t you?”

“What?” Sam quickly taps a button on his screen—stupid Bucky and his stupid mouth. He covers his phone’s mouthpiece as if that could help, “shut the hell up.”

Sam’s changed demeanor confirms Bucky’s growing suspicion, “so you do love her!”

The latter glances at the empty screen, hoping you didn’t hear anything. Or maybe, he does?

The only sign of life from your end is the sound of various utensils cluttering and a metal bowl falling to the floor, making both men wince at the sudden noise.

Sam lowers the volume of his phone, facing Bucky from their respective beds.

“Shit,” Sam exclaims, running a hand over his handsome face, “maybe I do.”

This time, he finally lets himself go through the memories you made together before he left for the military.

The coffee dates, the late-night calls, the breakfast hangouts, the study sessions. You light up even the most boring of things. The texture of your skin, the sound of your laugh, the twinkle in your eyes bring Sam into a warm place.

You make him feel enough. You see him through and through.

Oh shit, he is in love with you.

Bucky just looks at him, boring holes in his face, as if this was the most obvious thing in the world. “You really just realized, just now?” Sam’s not sure if it’s a rhetorical question.

“The way you talk about her. The way you talk to her. You see her and the things she like everywhere we go and you realize it just now?” So, it is a rhetorical question.

The revelation leaves Sam amused but unable to form words, “I… Do–I do love her. I’m in love with my best friend.”

A silent beat drops in the room—save for the faint hello? coming from Sam’s phone.

Ah, fuck.

Bucky put on his jacket planning to head out (to the motel’s ice machine) to give you two privacy. He bids Sam good luck and you a good night before walking towards the door.

As soon as the door shuts, Sam increases the volume on his phone again.

“Sam?” You call out, “I can’t see you, your cam’s off.”

In panic, he realizes that he tapped the wrong button—maybe Old Man Barnes had rubbed off on him.

You smile and sat up a little bit straighter when his face lights up your screen again.

“So… how much did you hear about the whole thing?” Sam wants to tread carefully around the subject, the first time he feels uncomfortable opening up to you.

He fully expects you to dismiss the topic, turn in for the night, and leave him lamenting about his feelings. And he’s somehow okay with it.

“Kinda, everything.” You confess, there’s nothing holding you back now, “I, you know-- I’m glad you got ‘round it. Even if it took you years.”

Another pin drops inside Sam’s head, “what do you mean?”

“Look, I confessed to you before we graduated but you never acknowledged it. So, I never brought it up again.” Even miles apart, Sam’s presence was around you. The bracelet he gave you during junior year, his favorite mug you borrowed from him, a ton of his shirts and hoodies that he gave to you before moving out after graduation. 

“You confessed to me? When?” Sam racks his brain for the smallest of details, for the quietest of whispers.

“I wrote you a letter. Remember? I slipped it under your door after finals week.”

After all these years, Sam never quite found out who wrote him that letter, “you never signed it.”

Sam didn’t expect you to laugh, to double over such a serious conversation, “dude, I did, I signed it. Why would I send you a deep proclamation of love without signing it?”

“It was written on pink paper, right? I still have it. You wanna bet that you don’t have your name on it?”

Your eyes widen in embarrassment, heat creeping up your cheeks, “oh my god, are you serious? I didn’t sign it?”

Sam laughs softly, his eyes crinkling the same way. There are lines decorating his eyes but he was still your Sam.

“No, ma’am.” He declares, the air somehow lighter now, “if you did, I would’ve said something.”

A hum escapes your lips, curling into a gentle smile, “good to know.”

The comfortable silence envelops the room, years of yearning and pining finally coming to end.

“Hey, after this mission - I was thinking if you want to go out. Catch up and you know, finally, talk in person.” Sam asks, there’s still a tiny voice inside his head not believing the talk that had transpired.

“I’d love that, Sam.”

The sentiment crashes and closes in on itself as Bucky barges into the room, holding a bucket of ice in one hand and a pack of beer in the other, “congratulations, idiots.”

[all-my-love-for-harry]

Delicate. — Part 1.

word count: 2.6k

a/n: Here we are fam, i gotta be honest with y’all, this is heavily inspired in the fact that i watched Miss Americana twice this month, what resulted in me going through my taylor swfit phase again. Pls bare with me, i haven’t written anything like this before.

catch up here!

They said artists become what they are because deep down they are as insecure if not more than normal people. Because they craved constant validation in what they do. 

At least it was the case for Y/n. 

A girl who has built an entire system around being accepted by the public, someone who their major source of happiness is provided by strangers all around the world. When you are living from the approval of strangers and that is where you drive all your joy and fulfillment, one bad thing can cause everything to go down. Y/n has spent her whole life trying to please the world so they would like her, so what she has achieved over the years would last. 

When the world turned their back on her, Y/n had no choice but to disappear, because she thought that was what everyone wanted. Even then, she made her choices around what she thought would make them happy.

Y/n knew she could not hide forever, but for now, it was a necessary evil she had to take. Deciding to take a break from everything was the healthiest decision she has ever made, shutting down her social media, getting out of the city and going back home with her family was exactly what she needed. 

"Mom was sad she couldn't pick you up from the airport."

Seventeen-year-old Jensen, whose driving license was still new and fresh, was the one who picked Y/n up when her flight landed. In complete honesty, she did not like using a private plane, but she could not risk someone seeing where she was going. Jensen was good at driving, well, he has not crashed into a tree yet, so they were safe. 

"She would've brought Chase and scare Pandora and Lizzie." 

Jensen chuckled. "She's obsessed with him. I haven't started college yet and she's already thinking about turning my room into Chase's." 

Her parents’ house was a gated property away from others since it was safer that way. Y/n would not stay there the whole time since she had her own apartment a little closer to town. Her luggage, as well as her cats, were picked up separately and taken to her home, she would go there after lunch with her family. Jensen parked next to a black range rover that belonged to their dad, meaning both of their parents were home. 

Y/n threw her backpack over her shoulder as she stepped out of the car, eager to finally reunite with her family, especially her mother. She is in desperate need of a tight hug, a mug of hot chocolate and a shoulder to cry on. Y/n did not realize how mentally drained she was until she saw her mother open the front door. 

"My baby!" Louise exclaimed, embracing her daughter in a tight hug. "How was the flight?" 

"It was fine. I'm starving though." 

They walked into the living room and Louise closed the door behind them. Y/n dropped her backpack on one of the couches and sighed in relief. “Where’s dad?” Jensen went straight to the kitchen and opened the fridge.

“Get the white wine.” Y/n told him.

“It’s too early to drink that.” Louise took the bottle from Jensen’s hands and put it back in the fridge. “Dad’s outside. We bought some roses that will look beautiful by the pool.”

“You’re buying a lot of plants lately.” Y/n pointed a big vase full of daisies, her mom’s favorites, on the kitchen’s island. 

“I like supporting local business.” She shrugged.

“That and she’s obsessed with the owner of the flower shop.” Jensen chuckled, cracking open a water bottle. 

“Hey! That’s not true.” 

“Mom, you there like… every day. Who needs new flowers every day?”

“Shush.” The elder woman faked offense then gigged. “Handsome young man, he is. I’ll take you tomorrow.” She turned to Y/n. 

“Oh, no, mom. I’m going to lock myself in my apartment and try to write.” She said, making Louise scoff. “I’m serious!”

“I know you are. But living like a hermit is not going to do you any good.”

“I agree, sis.” 

Y/n rolled her eyes, knowing they were right as always but did not want to admit it. The truth was, she wanted to write some songs, so badly, but could not find the right words. She was hoping to get some peace and quiet to get her ideas and emotions in order again. Before any of them could say anything else, David entered the kitchen while taking off his gardening gloves and smiled widely when he spotted Y/n.

“And who do we have here?”

“Hi, dad.” Y/n smiled at him brightly before wrapping her arms around her dad, who hugged her back just as tight. 

“Good to have you home, darling.” 

The family of four sat on the kitchen island and started to catch up. Jensen talked about his different college options and how he was considering getting a summer job this year. Louise kept talking about how nice the owner of this flower shop was, making emphasis on how he was also single. Y/n didn’t know what she was trying to do, but she didn’t pay much attention either. 

Overall it was nice for Y/n to get out of her head for a little bit, and her family was always a great help for that. She knew she still had a lot to deal with, and she would probably get a call from her publicist and a lot of other people soon, but for now, she just wanted to think about anything else that wasn't the whole world hating on her. 

"How are you doing, Y/n? Be honest." Her mom asked after they stayed alone in the kitchen.

"Been better." She sighed. "I don't want to think about it, mom."

"You have to talk to someone, sweetie. I know your team cares for you and is trying to handle the situation, but you can still talk to me."

"I know, thank you. I'm just trying to figure it what I'm going to do."

Louise sighed. "You sure you don't want to stay here? You have your room and everything."

"Thanks for the offer, mom. But I sort of want to be on my own." She said. "But I'll come for lunch every day, I promise."

Although Louise wasn't convinced by her daughter's words, she chose to not push it. She knew Y/n had her own ways to express her feelings, and she'd talk whenever she felt like it. So she let her go, making her promise she'd come to visit soon.

"Do you need a ride? I'm going to town anyway." Jensen offered, taking the keys of his car from the little plate they kept on the table beside the front door. 

"Yes, please."

The drive to her apartment wasn't a long one, and in less than ten minutes she was opening her front door and being greeted by her two beautiful cats rubbing themselves on her legs. Y/n sighed, thinking about how much she needed to unpack now that she was here. The truth was, she didn't know for how long she'd be staying here, but she figured it'd be a long time so she packed a lot. Now she kind of regretted it because she would probably be in her pajamas all day anyway. 

After cleaning Pandora and Lizzie's sandbox, Y/n decided to grab an acoustic guitar and try to come up with some melodies. She wasn't quite sure about any lyrics yet, but it was always good to have a little something to start a song. 

She went from playing the guitar to play the piano, hoping she'd get more inspirations somewhere. But she had nothing. Not even one decent note. She was empty. 

"Don't pretend is... mhmm. Think about the... No." She groaned and slammed the palm of her hands on the keyboard, growing frustrated. Why all of a sudden she couldn't even rhyme? Maybe she needed a break, or perhaps she was tired from her flight and tomorrow she'd be able to write something.

//

Turns out her writer's block was here to stay. A week has passed since her arrival and Y/n hasn't been able to finish one single song. Everything she started ended up being erased or in the middle of her living room after the ripped the page off her journal. 

"I told you, you shouldn't hurry. Inspiration will come eventually, it always does."

"I guess. I just have nothing else to do other than play scrabble with you and write songs, or at least try to."

"Let me take out then." Louise started and Y/n shakes her head. "C'mon, let's eat somewhere or buy groceries and I'll cock at your place." Y/n looked at her mom and realized she wouldn't stop until she accepted, so Y/n offered Louise a nod. "Marvelous. There's this little café that I absolutely love. You'll love the owner."

"What is it with you and the owners of local shops?"

"They're my friends. Oh! We could drop by Blossom House. You could use some flowers around your house so it would look like somebody actually lives there."

"Stop dragging me, woman."

Louise drove them to this café called Furry Cakes, which turned out to be a cat café. Y/n obviously lost it as soon as they walked in, and nearly cried when she saw all the kittens, and absolutely shed a tear when the girl behind the register said every kitty except for one named Chaster was up for adoption. She felt like a little girl all over again when her mom told her she couldn't take every single kitty home. 

Y/n was wearing a hoodie that was twice her size, plus some big sunglasses she refused to take off, even inside of the café. She was praying she wouldn't get recognized as she knew people were dying for a picture of her, see how she was after the entire world canceled her. 

"We'll leave the car parked here, the flower shop is just around the corner." Louise pulled from Y/n's hand to make her walk faster. There weren't a lot of people on the streets and she was grateful for that, she hasn't gotten a proper walk in what felt like ages. 

They stopped outside a modern-looking building with a big, bright sign that read 'The Blossom House'. It was simple yet cute. The pair stepped in and a little bell ringed. Y/n looked around, admiring how everything looked like it was straight out of a fairytale. There were little pots hanging from the ceiling and she looked up, she saw the ceiling was pure glass, which made the whole place brighter. Flowers weren't really her thing as she could barely keep them alive, but seeing this amount of flowers all in the same place... made her somewhat happy and warm inside. 

She was so deep in thought she didn't even realize her mom left her and was nowhere to be found. It doesn't look like it from outside, but the shop was actually big and very spacious. It was also empty right now, not even an employee was around, so she decided to have a look on her own. It looked like they had all kinds of flowers in here, which made her even more excited because that meant they had-

"Azaleas? They're also my favorites." A deep voice interrupted her thoughts. She jumped on her place as she wasn't expecting it, which made the person behind her chuckle. "I didn't mean to scare you, sorry."

"It's okay..." She turned around and it was fair to say that was she saw stunned her right away.

In front of her, a gorgeous looking man was standing there with a bright smile on his face. She noticed the two dimples poking at each side of his face, making his smile even more beautiful. His emerald green eyes were the greenest eyes she has ever seen in her life, she believed. He had crinkles by his eyes due to his smile being wide. But to her, the icing of the cake was the beautiful mop of chocolate curls he had on the top of his head. She suddenly felt the insane urge to run her hands through it just to see if they were as soft as they looked. 

"Harry, darling!" Louise appeared out of nowhere and wrapped her arms around the man, who only chuckled while reciprocating the greeting.

"Hello, Louise. What's it gonna be today? Tulips? More daisies?" Oh God, he's British. Y/n thought to herself. 

"Gosh, you know me so well. I'm actually here just to look around, I see you found my daughter though." She smirked.

"I surely did. I'm Harry, nice to meet you, love." He offered her a hand for her to shake.

Y/n was a little surprised by the pet name but took his hand nonetheless. "I'm Y/n, nice to meet you too."

"I want her to get some plants for her house." Louise spoke again.

"Well, you're in the right place then." He said. "Do you want them for your garden?"

"No, uhm... I don't have one. I live in an apartment."

"Personally, my favorite to keep indoors are Begonias." Harry guided the two women to a different section of the flower shop and pointed to some pretty ones in pink color. "But I also enjoy Daylilies, although they're a little harder to maintain."

"Yeah, maybe not those then. I'm not very good at keeping plants alive."

"She killed a cactus once." Louise mentioned. 

"No way." 

"I didn't know they'd drown if I watered them more than once a week!" Y/n defended herself. 

"Amateur mistake." He joked. 

The truth was Y/n was too busy to have a garden, she was always traveling and didn't stay too long in one place so even if she tries to have one, it'd be dead by the end of the month. 

"What plants are cat friendly? I have two at home."

"Bromeliads are cat friendly, they're easy to maintain too."

They looked around for a little bit. Harry said a fun fact about every type of flower Y/n pointed out, never failing to make her laugh. The funny thing was, it didn't look like Harry knew who she was. Either he hasn't recognized her, or he didn't know about her. Which by the way, not to be a narcissist, would be highly unlikely.

She ended up taking a couple of new plants home, starting to grow excited about them. It was true, her apartment could use a little more life to it, and now she was sure her new plants would do that for her. Harry was wrapping everything for them while he stood behind the counter.

"Oh, here. This one's on the house." Harry handed her a pot with some beautiful blue Azaleas. She took them with a growing blush on her face, a blush that went deeper when their hands brushed with each other. "Try to not kill them though." He teased.

Y/n rolled her eyes as her mom chuckled behind her. "I'll report their aliveness back to you, you'll see."

"You better. Have a nice day, ladies. I'm guessing I'll see you around, Y/n?"

"Sure, I'm uh... I'm living here right now."

Harry smiled at them one last time before they exited the shop. After the door closed behind them, Louise turned to Y/n. "He likes you."

"Don't be ridiculous."

"What do you say if we invite him for dinner sometime?"

"Like, at your house?" She asked surprised.

"Yeah, why not?"

"I have to keep a low profile, mother. For all I know he could be tweeting about I just exited his shop."

"Don't let the paranoia ruin the possibility of forming new friendships... or more." Louise sent her a wink.

"Okay, that's enough."

Y/n brushed her off, trying not to think much about it. A new friendship sounded impossible at this point of her life, let alone pursuing a new relationship with someone. She had made up her mind, she was better off being alone.

[xivedgerunner]

The Wayhaven Chronicles | Ask Game

Got this from @Houndedfangs! ---

1. What's their name?

Max Luna

2. How do they look?

Max is 6′4″ with very fair skin and a gymnast’s build. His hair is near-black dark brown with a streak of stress silver in the bangs. Light blue eyes. I sort of describe him as having a perpetual neutral expression bordering on a scowl that makes some folks perceive him as unfriendly.

3. Do they have any piercings/ tattoos/ scars?

Max has a scar on his neck from where Murphy bit him during the final encounter. The only piercing he has is a silver stud in his left ear.

4. What is their personality like?

Max is quiet, reserved and stoic. He prefers relying on logic and reason over emotions and, as such, is incredibly cool under pressure. He prefers his own company to the company of others and tends to have little patience for those that act emotionally. He had been content to live a solitary life outside of his role as Wayhaven’s Detective, but that all changed when Unit Bravo came crashing through his town.

5. What is their favourite animal?

Owls

6. Do they own a pet?

Max has a black cat named Boot

7. Do they have any fears?

Max isn’t a big fan of planes and doesn’t do well in overly crowded or small spaces. He’s also not great with deep water/oceans.

8. What do they think of Unit Bravo?

Max spent a lot of time getting good with his own company what with Rebecca being gone for most of his life. His apartment only had a single arm chair in the livingroom, his bed is just a twin bed, and in lieu of a dining room table he just ate his meals at the kitchen bar or on the window seat--his entire life was designed around the idea that he was going to spend it alone. So when Bravo arrives and he’s stuck with them and their bullheaded Commanding Agent, he wasn’t exactly having the time of his life. But Unit Bravo *chose* him, in the end. They stayed. They want to be involved in his life and want him involved in theirs, and for someone that’s felt fairly unwanted their whole life that was probably the most touching thing anyone could have done. So now, even if they *do* get on his nerves from time to time, he considers them family.

9. What is their relationship with their mother like?

Gonna post a thingy I wrote in my Book 1 expanded stuff:

"After my dad died, Rebecca may as well have disappeared,"  Max said, turning to level his eyes with Nat. "She couldn’t even be bothered to show up when I got hurt or when I stole a car. She wasn't there when I was grieving for my father, she wasn't there when I had my heart broken for the first time, she wasn't there when I had to teach myself how to shave and how to drive, she wasn't there when I came out, she wasn't there when I graduated, and now, when my entire life is dedicated to the protection of others, she finally shows up just to hold me back while others die on my watch and then claims it's out of love." Max shook his head, his usual mask of complete neutrality cracking into the slightest scowl. "Rebecca hasn't loved me a day in her life."

10. What about their hobbies?

Max doesn’t really have any. He reads, when he has free time, and when he was backpacking Europe and Asia he really got into nature photography. But he works as often as he’s allowed.

11. What's their favourite food/ drink?

Curry and black coffee

12. Favourite colour?

Grey

13. What do they think of the Agency?

He doesn’t quite know what to think. He thinks they have a lot of power, and power corrupts, so he doesn’t entirely trust them as a whole. But he thinks that there are a lot of people within the Agency that are doing what they can to make this all work, which is good enough for him. He’s *mega* sus of Elidor, though. After his lab results got leaked and the guy conveniently showed up right as two trappers were trying to nab him? Yeah doesn’t trust him at all.

14. Who do they romance?

Ava, though after rhe Book 3 demo I consider him kinda hardened. He can't deny that he has strong feelings for her, but he's been abandoned and hurt by too many people to keep giving her opportunities to hurt him. If she wants to be with him, she'll have to work for it now. He's kinda done. Though honestly almost as important as the romance I think is his bromance with Mason.

15. Would they have reacted to Falk's flirting, if given the opportunity?

No. Max is *very* demisexual, so flirting doesn’t really do it for him.

16. Did they want to become detective?

Yes and no. Max is a hard worker, so when he became an officer it was just sort of natural progression for him to climb up to Detective.

17. How did they join the Police?

He never planned on joining Wayhaven PD, but his old med school roommate Solomon Verda practically begged him to consider it with how lazy the Captain and Reele were.

18. Do they prefer savoury/ sweet/ spicy?

Max isn’t big on sweets and he admittedly can’t handle super spicy food, so I guess if he had to pick from the three savoury would be his.

19/20. Can they cook/bake? Do they enjoy it?

Max can cook and bake, but it’s nothing stellar. It’s more self-sufficiency than it is him busting out amazing home cooked meals.

21. What does their apartment look like?

I wish I could combine minimalist and dark in-game, so I just headcanon it that way lol. Not a lot of decorations, very understated, scant furniture all in dark colours.

22. Did they have a relationship before meeting UB (Bobby/ others)?

Nope. Max has never been on a date in his life. Never been kissed. Never held hands. Ava is a lot of firsts for him.

23. How are they with children?

Not great lol. Max just tries to ignore them when they’re around. He’ll never be ‘fun uncle Max’ to Verda’s kids, that’s for sure lol

24. Do they have any keepsakes from their father?

No. Max is very head over heart so while there might have been things Rebecca held on for him to have someday, Max doesn’t really feel any connection to them. Even if he *does* miss and love his dad.

 25. How do they handle the reveal of the Supernatural?

Max had put two and two together that *something* was up with Unit Bravo before the reveal. He had been thinking something along the lines of super soldiers or something to that effect, but he wasn’t the least bit surprised to find out that they were something other than human.

26. If given the choice, would they become a vampire?

I don’t think the thought ever really crossed his mind until he had to choose between saving Ava or Sanja. Being unable to save them both (really, just being unable to save Ava) hit him hard, to the point that I absolutely headcanon he asked Mason about turning him after that.

27. Game wise: What are their stats?

Charming: 57%

Cautious: 54%

Sarcastic: 66%

Stoic: 55%

Stubborn: 65%

Mind: 84%

Optimist: 65%

Team Player: 74%

28. Did they get into trouble as a child/ teen (in school or otherwise)?

Oh yeah big time. Talked about it above, but he really just wanted Rebecca to come home. His dad died and he was sort of just left alone with nannies and sitters until he was old enough to be on his own. It didn’t work so he turned things around.

29. If they could have chosen a different profession, what would it be?

Probably a photographer for National Geographic.

30. Any funfacts about them you'd like to add?

Mentioned it a little bit above, but Mason is his ride or die bff and it’s just such an unlikely pair. They’re so similar while being so wildly different. But Max understands Mason, as best as someone like him can, and vice versa. They help and support each other in their own detached ways. From a side thing I wrote about them (takes place after rescuing Sanja while Ava is recovering):

The open space for sparring and training still remained in the middle of the collection of equipment and Max was quick to cross the room to it. Mason shrugged off his jacket and tossed it aside before flicking the stub of his cigarette away. "Not gonna go easy on you," said Mason as he stepped into the makeshift ring.

"That's why I asked for you," said Max matter-of-factly. He tugged the black framed glasses off from over his eyes and tossed them. Mason gave the gesture a quizzical look, as if to say 'thought those were expensive, but whatever'. The room shifted out of focus and Mason's edges became a smeared blur. Max blinked, trying to adjust. He might not have been able to see his sparring partner clearly anymore, but there was something else that remained in perfect focus.

Mason didn't wait for Max to square up. He moved forward in a flash. Max tried to side-step the blow but felt an unpadded fist slam into his ribs, the force of the blow sending him to his back.  -*A dozen Trappers encircling Ava. More. Flashes of light as those prods sliced into her...*-

Max began to push himself to his feet. "Again," he said, and before he could recover he felt the hard sole of a boot stomp into his solar plexus. -*Ava's wounds open and refusing to heal*-

Max gasped for breath, half feeling like his lungs were threatening to collapse from the blow. He pushed himself up to his knees, the entire room falling out of focus. “Ag–” he began to say before he felt the distinct shape of Mason’s fist connect with the side of his head.  -*Max furiously rolling up his sleeve to present his wrist to Ava so she could drink and heal*-

Max spun from the force of the blow and his vision filled with spots of sharpened colour. His body already ached but now it was near on excruciating. His temples throbbed, each pulse coming with white flashes of pain. His bones ached with sprains and bruises. His mouth tasted like iron which he thankfully had the foresight enough to swallow instead of spit. He would feel it tomorrow. He would feel it for a week. But he could tell Mason was pulling his punches. He’d been hit by the full force of the vampire before. Max drew in a ragged breath. “Again.”  -*Nat telling him she had to get her out, but his fingers were intertwined with Ava’s shirt, terrified that if he let go he would never see her again. Why had he been so slow? Why had he chosen to save Sanja? He abandoned Ava, how could he hav*-

“Max,” Mason’s voice was forceful, like a blow from another fist to the detective’s senses. Max pushed himself once again to his feet, his fingers curling into weakened fists.

“Just do it, Mason,” said the detective. “Finish the spar. I’m still standing.”

“You are,” said Mason. Max felt two hands collide with his chest and it took all he had left to keep from toppling over, instead slamming into the wall behind him. He moved to use his weight to pivot off of the wall, but an impossibly strong hand pinned him there by the shoulder. “If you’re still standing,” Mason continued. “Then you can get better. You can get stronger. This isn’t the last fight we’re gonna be in, not by a long shot. So instead of looking for a beating to make yourself feel better, how about you *actually* get better.”

Max’s hands remained in loose fists, balled now against Mason’s chest. He heaved a breath. He heaved another; this time a shuddering one. “I…I can’t lose her, Mason.”

“You won’t,” said the vampire. Max felt Mason’s strong hands slip into his own to pry his fists apart. Something light and plastic was set into them; Max turned his glasses around and set them back over his eyes. The slightly shorter man came back into focus, a strange shadow of remote gentleness in his scowling eyes. “If you actually wanna train, we’ll do it after you’ve gotten some rest.”

“Alright,” said Max. He let his weight sag back against the wall. “Thank you,” his throat felt like sandpaper, so his voice came out as more of a croak. “For,” he gestured between them.” This.”

“Yeah, well,” Mason said, his lips already closing around a new cigarette. “I'd be a shitty teammate if I didn't tell you when you were being an idiot. Even if you don’t wanna hear it.”

Max’s pained but neutral expression cracked into the slightest smirk. “You know another word for that is ‘friend’.”

Mason scoffed, an erratic billow of smoke escaping from behind his lips. But there was a smile there, however small. “Night.”

“Goodnight,” said Max, and with that, both men left the room in silence.