#cs champion

[chained-spirits]

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Shorter update, but at least it is an update

I’ve felt like a zombie for days now soooo sleepy, but hopefully motivation will return :)

[thenmichael]

5/12

I know I’m being inconsistent, but I wanna get all refs out and THEN focus on making them look nice

[chained-spirits]

+bonus doodles I did right after reading this :D

Ill At Ease

LOZ AU Gift Exchange fic for @thenmichael based on his Links Meet AU @chained-spirits!!! :D

Summary: Reaper, Champion, and Picori fight a battle. Reaper tries to help Picori with his injury even though Picori does not want to accept his help. Warnings: monster battle, mild injury, remembering pain. None of it is too graphic. 1.5k, action and hurt/comfort.

Also, I made a little discord emoji art of Champion as a tbh emoji since Champion is autistic hehe.

Fic and art both under the cut :D

Picori froze so suddenly that Reaper nearly ran into him. Reaper had to skid to a stop, and he held an arm out behind him to keep Champion from running into him. He should have known not to bother, though. Champion liked to keep his distance. 

Picori’s ears twitched, both angling forwards. Reaper glanced at the ground to make sure he wouldn’t step on anything loud as he moved next to Picori. 

“What is it?” Reaper whispered.

Picori’s hand moved to his sword. “I hear something. Something big.”

Reaper reached over his shoulder and unhooked his shield. He glanced at Champion, but he was looking off into the forest.

Reaper clicked his tongue to get Champion’s attention then mouthed, “Monsters ahead.”

Champion nodded and drew his sword. Reaper couldn’t hold back a cringe at the weapon’s quality. It looked like it had never seen a day of maintenance. Knowing Champion, he probably pulled it from a monster camp.

Crack.

Reaper whipped around. The sound of the branch breaking echoed in the forest, close enough that Reaper and Champion could hear now. More cracks and rustles followed; it was a horde of monsters. 

“Weapons ready,” Reaper said quietly.

Picori pulled his boomerang out of his bag and drew his sword. Reaper drew his, readied his shield, and stepped in front of Picori. He heard Picori huff in disdain, but as always, he ignored it. Leaves rustled just out of sight, and birds screeched as they flocked into the air. Reaper twisted his sword, crouching easily into his battle stance. 

Monsters poured out of the forest, screeching a battle cry. Picori’s arm twitched like he wanted to cover his ears, but there was no time. Reaper matched their battle cry with a yell of his own and he swung his sword in an attack. The first bokoblin fell easily, nearly sliced in half. It was the smallest of the bunch, shoved onto the front lines as a distraction, Reaper theorized. 

The dozen monsters were a mixture of bokoblins and moblins, wielding weapons from pristine swords to wooden clubs. In the back of the pack, an enormous moblin held a wooden shield and a spear taller than Reaper. On either side of him, Champion and Picori were already pitted against two bokoblins each. As much as he wanted to keep half an eye on them both, he forced his gaze to narrow on the moblin charging him. Reaper snarled, and dove into the fray. 

The moblin swung its sword at Reaper, aimed for his throat. The movement was sloppy but strong, and Reaper’s arm vibrated with the force of blocking the sword. He dug his heels into the ground and he pushed the sword away with his shield. The moblin recoiled, knocked off balance, and Reaper lunged forward. He bashed the moblin with his shield then unleashed a flurry of powerful sword strikes. The moblin collapsed at his feet, dead before it hit the ground.

A bokoblin screeched. Instinct took over and Reaper rolled to the side as its club hit the ground where he had been standing. Reaper used his momentum to land on his feet and slash at the bokoblin’s back. It fell forward, then Reaper leapt and landed with his sword in its chest. It sputtered, then faded to dust. 

A sharp pain engulfed Reaper’s arm as he was knocked to the ground. A moblin snarled above him, rearing back to smash its club on his head. Reaper flipped up to his feet and raised his sword, but his muscles screamed in pain. He quickly dropped his shield and tossed his sword to his right hand in time to spin attack the moblin. As he finished the spin he jumped away and scooped up his shield with his left hand, ignoring the throbbing pain in his arm. 

Seemingly out of nowhere, Champion leapt onto the back of the moblin and stabbed it in the neck. He left the sword in as he flipped away and grabbed a discarded club as he landed, then rushed away to finish off the last of the bokoblins. 

Reaper spared a moment to scan the battle. Champion was fighting the remaining bokoblin, and Picori was darting between two moblins, never slowing long enough for either to land a hit. He threw his boomerang to stun one while he slashed the other, then stabbed the first as he picked up his boomerang. He had them covered. Reaper tore his gaze away.

The largest moblin screamed, spit flying from its mouth as it charged him. Reaper quickly analyzed; it was too tall to jump over, so he couldn’t do the Helm Splitter, and its shield would block most of his other attacks. He tightened his grip on his shield and baited the moblin, waiting for it to strike with its spear. It eventually thrust forward, and Reaper quickly rolled to the side and slashed its back. 

He screeched and arched forward, but quickly recovered and swung around, shield up. Reaper was patient, and waited for the perfect moment to strike each time. It took so many attacks that Reaper lost count by the time the moblin finally collapsed into a heap in the dirt. 

Reaper’s chest heaved, the battle adrenaline fading as he looked across the forest and found it blissfully empty of monsters. He sheathed his sword and rehooked his shield, then his gaze went immediately to his companions. 

Champion was surveying the forest, sword and pot lid shield still held in a white-knuckled grip. It was a new sword, taken off of one of the enemies, but in no better condition. He glanced at Reaper, then Picori, then hastily signed, “Scout for others,” and vaulted into the forest. 

“Champion, wait!” Reaper lifted an arm towards him in reflex, but gasped in pain and let his arm fall back to his side. He didn’t know if Champion meant he was scouting for more monsters, or going to check on the others. Either way, Reaper was going to have to have another talk with him about going off on his own. That was not how their group should function. 

Somewhere behind him, there was a sharp intake of breath. Reaper whipped around, uninjured arm darting to the hilt of his sword. Picori was crouched on the ground, sword and boomerang discarded haphazardly on the ground. He was hesitantly poking his thigh, where a long gash was slowly leaking beads of blood. 

Reaper was by his side in a second. “Picori! Are you okay? What happened?”

Picori flinched away and landed on his hip with one hand thrown out for balance. “Stop screaming!” He snapped. 

Reaper bit back his automatic response of I wasn’t screaming and took a deep breath. “Sorry. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Leave me alone.”

Reaper felt the urge to roll his eyes. He should’ve known better than to ask the kid that, really. Undeterred, he slung his back around to his front–ignoring the twinge of pain in his arm–and dug for a potion, bandages, and the special bottle of alcohol he kept for disinfecting wounds. 

He shuddered, remembering the feverish haze and the searing, burning pain as he had stumbled through the forest with an infected wound on his arm, back in the days of his first adventure. He remembered Midna guiding him and blindly following her instruction, then waking up in a bed in Kakariko three days later, with Colin’s teary eyes staring down at him. His cheeks burned with shame. That was not a time he liked to remember, and he wasn’t willing to repeat it. 

Reaper shook his head and brought himself back to the present, forcefully steering his thoughts away from Midna. Picori was here, right in front of him, and needed his help. He put the bottle of alcohol next to the bandages, and the potion just out of Picori’s reach. 

“Are you hurt anywhere else?” Reaper asked.

“No.”  

“Good,” Reaper said. He uncorked the bottle of alcohol. Picori’s ears twitched and turned around and saw the bottle, then scowled and crossed his arms. 

“We need to disinfect the wound,” Reaper explained. 

“I don’t need your advice. Or your help!” 

Reaper sighed, but kept his frown off his face. Picori was so small, huddled up on the dirt. He was such a capable fighter, but he was still a kid. He shouldn’t have to be a fighter, he shouldn’t have to be sitting on the ground in pain, he should be home and safe. 

“Let me help you. Please. It’ll make me feel better.”

Picori’s ears wiggled as he glanced at Reaper out of the corner of his eye. His frown was clearly visible on his face, but after a moment of silence he reluctantly nodded. Reaper’s face broke into a smile and he felt some of the tension leave his shoulders. 

“Fine,” Picori said. 

“Thank you,” Reaper mutters. 

“But I’m not drinking that whole potion. I saw you get hit in the arm.”

“Wha–” Reaper sputtered, then huffed a laugh. “Okay, okay, that’s fair. Brace, this’ll sting.”

Picori curled one arm around himself, the other gripping a small tuft of grass by his side. 

The kid needed a distraction. Reaper smirked. “Nice to know you care, under all that snark.”

Picori’s head whipped around, wide eyes boring into him. “What? No! I just… You’re… Rrg!”

Reaper chuckled as Picori tried to come up with a defense, but nothing could hide the pink tinge on the tips of his ears.

[wyvernity]

wip posting just to get something out there, and it's def a mixed bag!! the only thing more inconsistent than my posting schedule is my art style RIP

[smurny]

Visander: everyone is making fun of me

Therapist: what are they saying?

Visander: that i fucked a horse

Therapist: *sputters* d..did you?

Visander: ya but it was consensual

Therapist: how do u know?

Visander: he spoke in my head

[justapastetic-humanbeing]

1:37 am and cant help thinking back to the fact that to Phillip, the abyss- in which there is only darkness, everything is cold and the sky is starless whilst your hand wouldn’t even be visible in front of your face, and all hope would be lost in the world- is better than his man-wife on an average day (who he has interacted with for only a handful of days).

[canadachronicles]

Fit for the Queen!!

It would be nice if it lasted more than one night, though. Christine Sinclair Place has a nice ring to it, and she certainly deserves it, eh?

[crystalelemental]

Champion Stadium has updated, and now it's time for Kanto CS.  Kinda glad we're starting with an easier one, because this upgrade?  This one...does some stuff.

General Overview Oh that's right, we're having dialogue about this.  15k meta is interesting, in that its impacts depend on your tendency.  If you're clearing on-type, this is effectively a return to the 10k meta.  The inclusion of parameters under 12.5k made on-type easier, thanks to the Physical/Special reduction, and standard damage reduction.  This includes stall, as the inclusion of these parameters made Stall better than it had ever been.  The 15k meta is therefore just...add Strength +2 and Strength +3 back in, and adjust those for any shenanigans a team might pull.  I'm completely serious, it's just the 10k meta again, no distinction.

Off-typing, however, has no such benefit.  300 of those free 400 on-type points needed re-allocated, and it meant off-typing became harder while on-typing became easier.  Generally, this was a fine move.  I actually think it speaks well to DeNA's ability to balance this game mode, as the increase in points continues to apply pressure on off-type clears, while making on-type easier.  Stall suffered greatly under the 10k meta, and so the return to that for Stall keeps a fairly busted strategy under better control.

That said, off-typing is not impossible, just very very hard to do.  Depending on your angle.  Offensive parameter off-typing, I believe, is borderline dead.  Barring the obscenely heavy-hitters of the modern age, off-type suffers from having to put even more points into bulk.  Unless you're willing to pack -2 sync cooldown, which is a problem in and of itself given the approach of denials, your options are playing to extreme gimmicks like Five Stats Up/Down 3, No Stat Reduction, No Field Effects, etc.  And note, the field effect used to be the thing to switch on when you needed to lower offenses +5 to sustain better; that option no longer exists.  I say all this to point out, off-typing with offensive parameters?  Now takes +HP.  And that puts a lot of pressure on denial-focused clears.  To give an idea: none of these teams cleared under offensive parameters.  Not a single one.  Fire team might have been able to.  Might.  Grass team definitely could because SS Lyra.  But the others would not.

But it turns out, HP focused off-type?  Not that bad.  Taking strength to supplement HP is really not a bad plan of attack at all, and you get enough out of it that the only offensive boosts you'll need to take are either Sync Buff +5 or Power On Hit +1.  You can even take both if you need both forms of damage, and be fine.  I found this much, much easier to manage on the whole, although I will not, some fights were uh.  They were still tough.  The opponent's sync nuke, against teams that aren't designed to have better bulk for survival, will still KO sides.  The only thing you really need to keep in mind is to never ever select Gradual Healing At Start.  They will just heal off all your damage.  And I do mean all of it.

I'll put in a little bit extra at the end, but let's talk about the fights themselves.

Vs. Agatha Agatha starts us off, and I decided to take in Psychic Team for this one.  I'm not sure why, Bede didn't have Natural Remedy on him so this was not wise.  But I digress.  This team did alright, actually.  Caitlin's sync is still quite respectable, Anni May's Sp Atk debuffs are great for survival, and NC Bede is great for rotating Free Moves for Caitlin's sync and for setting up defensive buffs via his Buddy move.  They do quite well together, with NC Bede only going down due to poison, which also served me well because I got some extra hits in by preventing the opponent from queueing a move during a self-knockout.

Vs. Lance Fire Gals are absurdly strong, and honestly, if you thought NC Leaf was bonkers under offense parameters, wait til you get a load of HP parameters.  When Leaf can actually take hits, she's an actually fantastic tank.  Giving her the Support Cake is now honestly on my priority list, this is great.  SS Hilda is still primary damage dealer, while SS May has tremendous debuffing potential, fast-ramping, and speed control for the team.  They're all wonderful.

Vs. Bruno The hardest fight shown by a pretty wide margin.  Bruno has Impervious, which makes the debuff thing with Irida rough.  Moreover, he boosts his attack pretty sharply, and Glacia is not a defensive support.  Meaning that his sync takes down BP Candice in one shot with zero issue.  Yes, even full HP and EX, she drops.  It's not great!  Irida barely survived, which I appreciate.  Ice is a little rough over here, not going to lie.

Vs. Lorelei I mean look, until the point total is "all of them at once," SS Lyra is a win condition on her own.  So long as Interference Immunity isn't up, she's going to flinch lock the game.  Adaman is absurdly powerful, and SS Acerola helps skyrocket damage for an efficient clear.  These three are busted.

Vs. Blue So if I'd paid any attention to the parameters of these stages, the Irida fight would've been #4, for the coveted permanent field effects.  Once I realized that was there, I knew what I had to do.  It's H!Caitlin time.  Specifically, Goth Gals.  Anni Lillie has been relegated to the bench for a while now and it makes me sad.  Turns out, HP parameters with something as nonsense as permanent field effects makes H!Caitlin untouchable, and Lillie's Healthy Benefits 5 essentially means she'll weather any sync.  I think she took double-digits.  That's how hard she can take that hit under these conditions.  Renegade Cynthia, by comparison...kinda suffers here.  One of the things I had recently put together in the 12.5k meta was two-turn moves used for denials.  That doesn't work here.  HP is way too high for a two-turn move to ever seriously deal damage, so it's just all downside.  And Cynthia is pretty bad on gauges.  This team is literally held together by H!Caitlin's speed buffs.

Final Thoughts The clears were successful, with some shenanigans.  I don't know that Goth Gals would've cleared without permanent field effects, and personally think using SS Lyra is cheating.  Aside from that, nothing too major.

What I've noticed about HP parameters, however, is pretty stark.  Certain things just don't work out as well.  Tech nukes being a bit one.  Single-target nukes are all well and good, but AoE spam from sides are not appealing.  They tend to need DPS.  As a result, Sprint feels borderline useless here.  It might not be, I shouldn't be critical, but I'm specifically thinking of Nemona's approach and going...that will not work here.  That will not work here in the slightest.  Her bursts are just far, far too weak to seriously beat these threats back.  Supports also have to be a bit more selective.  If you can't buff defenses, you need offense debuffing, or the Strength stacking still poses a significant risk.  The EX is also fairly demanded, as you're called on to take a lot more hits, and the team desperately needs the firepower long-term for a safe clear.  Interesting, Field pairs seem fine.  No fight lasted through a second sync from the opponent, meaning the extended duration from a Field pair is...perfectly acceptable.  Strike is the big money winner, as it always has been for 3v3.  The spread damage on a good sync nuke is divine.  Which is gonna be real sad for Clair.

I think the upgrade has definitely put some things in an interesting position.  Specifically, on-typing is still fairly easy, and most pairs can handle that no sweat.  But off-typing has now become incredibly challenging.  I've got Nemona on the brain for no real reason, but her pair comes to mind as a very significant loser of this transition.  The burst damage she deals is nowhere near sufficient.  I had trouble getting her to really hit that hard in 300 Strength High Score, which is less HP than this.  The new 15k meta has absolutely ruined pairs like her, with limited burst potential and poor DPS.  So all she's left with is on-type.  Which is really, really easy for her.  I think that's the issue.  I'm not convinced the severe discrepancy between on-type and off-type leaves a lot of wiggle room for pairs who on-type with easy, used to off-type with difficulty, and now may not off-type at all.  Time will tell the overall impact, but it's...not my favorite at this exact second.

[etoile-gracieuse]

me when i get into new content and immediately have six wips rotating in my brain at all times

[charles-leclerizz]

🥂 the f1 boys... getting spoiled by them

MEET THE CAST. CL 16 ◦ CS 55 ◦ LN 4 ◦ MV 1

VIDEO DESC. this one was requested by a lovely reader ! thank you so much for requesting and i hope you enjoy !! my inbox is almost always open so please don't hesitate to drop by. rules for requesting are here . [ note! currently just burned through this while feeling a bit under the weather, if there are spelling mistakes, trust that i'll fix them in the morning. ]

SHOUT OUTS. [@vroomvroomcircuit, @disneyprincemuke, @verstappen-cult, @starkwlkr, @sailing-with-100-ships, @foreveralbon, @lorarri], [@dallaavv, @nichmeddar, @sisinever] IF YOU WANT TO BE TAGGED, PLEASE SEND IN AN ASK, AND MUTUALS LET ME KNOW IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE REMOVED ON PRIV !

ᡣ𐭩 ⎯⎯ CHARLES LECLERC 16 " he who buys out entire stores for you " spoilt in riches

"mon amour ! " [ my love ] the sound of your boyfriends chirpy voice made you smile and place your book down on the side table by the sofa.

" in here . "you reply, walking over to the living room entryway, prepared to welcome him back with a hug, but as you approached him and opened your arms, a sharp jab hit your ribs which made you stumble back.

"charles ?" you arch your brow at him, planting your hands on your hips as he grinned wider, showing off the multiple, high-end bags that hung from his enclosed fists, " what is this ? "

Charles crossed over to the center table, placing down the bags with little care and turned to finally loop and arm around your waist, " well, y'know how alex had asked me and the guys to help with anniversary shopping for Lily ?"

you hummed, finally tearing your eyes away from the silk and lace that peeked out of the thick cardboard, " honey..." you began warnigly, already knowing where this was going.

" ce n'est pas ma faute ! " [ it isn't my fault. ] he defended, his eyes darting to the front door anxiously bouncing between your face and the already opening hallway, " we just kept going and going and going- " he enunciated with his hands, rolling them over eachother, "and going, it was too tempting. "

Charles held his hands up and watched, amused, as you sifted through the shopping, eyes widening comically as you got a peak at the price tags, " Charles ! " you hissed.

" what ? " he answered back, more focussed on his friends who were barrelling into the apartment, each of them carrying atleast 5 bags each.

Max was the first to plumet the boutique carriers down, hufffing whilst flopping onto the couch, " man, charles, you- " he weazed, "- you have a problem. i think i tore something . " he whined, holding his side.

charles blew air through his lips and flipped his hand at the dutchman, " you're a world champion. walk it off. "

you grimaced at max, who just stared at your boyfriend with an open mouth, " he's right darling, this is too much. "

Lando, Carlos and Alex all followed soon after, added to the pile with multiple trips back and forth to what you assumed to be an armed tank full of your boyfriend's precarious spending.

"charles- it's still going..." you huffed, offering a lemon water bottle to a certain spaniard who was drentched in sweat and sniffing his fingers.

carlos smiled at you briefly, chugging the electrolyte before gasping and slumping back, "dammit, maldito infierno, my hands smell like all those tuity fruity shops you dragged us to. " [ fucking hell ]

"you're a millionare, buy some hand wash. " charles answered back, shrugging his shoulders. he lifted carlos up and pushed him out the door to retrieve more bags.

" charlie, tell me how many more bags there are ? " you gestured around your space, already overtaken with more than millions of euros worth of shopping, " i mean, this is excessive. there's jewellery, shoes, dresses, tops. where should i wear all of this ? "

charles stuck his tongue out at you with faux-confusion before cupping your cheeks and planted a wet kiss on your nose, " we'll just have to go out more often. "

rolling your eyes, you returned his affection, winding your hands around his waist before reaching up and plucking absent-mindedly at his shirt, " yeah- now you got a good excuse ... " you trailed off, biting your lip, " but it bothers me, i can afford this too y'know. it feels so.. odd. "

" what's odd about it ? dis-moi, je vais le réparer " [ tell me, i'll fix it ] his thumbs rubbed comfortingly at your cheeks.

" i don't know- this is all your money, it makes me feel indebted to you, almost guilty . " you bite your lip and grasp his wrists, not wanting him to be hurt by your words and pull away entirely.

though, to your surprise, charles hummed and pulled your closer, resting his chin on your head whilst peppering his lips across your hair, " i understand mon chéri, but, i like spoiling you, it's my way of showing you that i love you. i would never expect something back from you, not this way atleast. " [ my daring ] he paused and looked around him, "think of it as a personifaction of my love ? "

you bit your lip and nodded up at him, your chest warming at the content glint in his eye and enamoured smile he wore, he brought his thumb up to your chin and pulled your lip free before leaning down and brushed his mouth against yours.

his lips worked in tandem with yours, pouring his affection into his movements whilst his hands came up to brush through your hair and pull you impossibly closer.

" - ehm ehm "

" oh come on, how come they get to sex it up here, while we're hauling ass ? "

" - SIMP ! "

a miriad of complaints erupted behind the pair of you, forcing you both apart with a surprised jolt. charles groaned and dropped his hands away from you, gearing up to whip his friends into shape, that was until you put a hand up to stop him and appraoched the trio yourself.

" come on guys, i'm sorry about all this ... " you apologised and smiled brightly, " i really owe you one ! "

a choked sound came from charles, who stood in awe at how these seasoned professionals melted at your sunny expression and merely walked into the house to drop the last of the bags in with not one complaint.

" bye guys, thank you so much ! " you thanked them, waiting until the electronic beep of the lock secured the door closed and allowed you to stare at the final salad heap of the shopping.

charles walked up behind you, ensnaring your waist with his hands before pressing your back against his chest, "show me your ways, princesse , they never listen to me. " [ princess ] he kissed a line up and down the column of your neck, smirking against your skin when you shivered and leaned your head against his shoulder.

" i could show you something else.." you mumurred, placing your hands over his fingers that laid flat against your stomach before lacing them together, "... i could show my love for you, in a different way . " you blinked coquetteishly up at him, fluttering your eyelashes as he growled playfully and coaxed a delighted squeal from you when he picked you up, legs flailing in the air.

ᡣ𐭩 ⎯⎯ CARLOS SAINZ 55 " he who showers you in emotion " spoilt in vehemence

" Te amo querida " carlos whispers against your cheek, his hand resting on your hip as you leaned into his hold and watched his back when he detached to walk away, towards his motorhome. He turned around and smiled at you, blowing a kiss dramatically.

" god, you guys are so cute... " alexandra mumurred, grinning like a cheshire as you returned his dramatics with an over the top play of his kiss shooting you in the heart.

" yeah... " you agreed, blinking your eyes quickly to exit the rosy haze that overtook your eyes.

" i wish charles would be so open with his love ... " she twirled the straw in her cup as her chin dug into her palm, eyes tranfixed on her own parter who felt her gaze and smiled shyly at her.

you tilted your head at her, " we're not that open . "

alex arched a brow, " really ? "

flashback # 1

the bass boost of the club made your ears ring and lean into carlos' chest, hands slapped over the sides of your face.

He glanced down at you, " you okay, mi vida ? " [ my life ]

you nodded, leaning forward cheekily to take the straw of his drink into your mouth and sip the alcoholic drink with a satisfied hiss, " so good . " thumbs up-ing him.

locking his eyes on your dazed, flushed face, his gaze softened when you laughed loudly at a joke that kika had just drunkenly attempted to tell.

" you're staring . " you shout over the music after you had caught your breathe, " someone would think that you're weird . "

carlos hummed thoughtfully, fingers pinching your chin gently as he leaned down to brush his lips against your cheek , " let them, i'm sure they'll understand when they see how beautiful you look tonight. "

arching away from his mouth you roll your eyes and loop your arms around his neck, pulling him towards you, " yeah yeah- i think you're prettier, Que guapo eres " [ how handsome you are ]

flashback #2

you stared at yourself in the mirror, twisting on your spot whilst watching the silky fabric skim your ankles and flow like liquid gold from your hips.

" honey, estas lista ? " [ are you ready ] carlos loomed into the walk in wadrobe, eyes widening at your reflection, his hand slipped briefly from its spot planted ont the white wood door of the room until he caught himself and cleared his throat.

you giggled at his reeaction, hands running along the length of the apparrel before coming up to your neck and adjusting the dainty necklace that slinked down to your cleavage that lay exposed from the deep ' v ' cut.

" do i look okay ? " you tilted your head at him in the mirror, humming contently when he came up from behind and bunched his hands up on your hips, fingers swimming in the slinky fabric.

" Pareces una diosa, caída de una gota de sol y regalada desde el cielo. " [ you look like a goddess, fallen from a drop of sunshine and gifted to me from the heavens ] he twirled you around, hand raised high above your head, guiding you in delicate circles and bringing you closer to his chest before linking your hands together. he stared down at you, chuckling when you displayed the shimmery glitter on your eyelids.

your chin rested on his button down shirt as you snorted and began to fiddle with his fingers, " you flatter me , señor . "

" rightfully so, señora " he bumped your noses together, smiling widely.

" yeah okay, we are open . " you grumbled.

alex chuckled at your expression, pinching your cheek playfully before sighing, " lucky you ."

" hey, " you rested a hand on hers that sat on the table, " charles loves you, i've seen it alex, it's like you hung the moon and stars when he looks at you ."

she brightened at you words, flipping her palm to hold you hand and squeeze it hopefully, " really ? "

nodding, you squeezed back " yeah, really . "

" it's nothing like you two though, it's so... surreal to watch him fall in love with you, every time he looks at you . " alexandra gushed.

you blushed and waved a hand infront of your face, " then we both got lucky . "

" we really did ."

ᡣ𐭩 ⎯⎯ LANDO NORRIS 4 " he who attaches you at the hip " spoilt in prescence

" damn man, you can let her breathe . " oscar leans to the side, eyebrows jumping up his forehead as he takes in the scene before him.

Lando, arms wrapped like an anaconda around your neck and in turn tucking your head into his chest whilst you had your hands burried beneath his t-shirt, wrapped around his bare waist.

" no " you protested, already snuggling closer to him, " i need him in my veins ."

oscar huffed out a laugh, rubbing the back of his head as lando nodded definitevely and patted your head, " ya'll are on some other crack . "

" whatever floats your boat oscie . " you call out as the driver walks away from the pair of you.

" in your veins, huh ? " lando smirked down at you, tucking his chin back to lay his forehead against yours.

" yeah ." you harrumph, biting his noise, " you got a problem with that ? "

" no ma'am ."

" good"

" you guys need to let it up . " a third voice interupted your bickering. Lando's pr manager stood to the side of you, arms crossed over one another.

" aw come on glenda, it's not that bad ." lando pouted, laying his cheek on your head.

" it's constant. "

you snorted at her, " well thats a bit unne- "

" constant . "

lando stood taller, " okay then, smarty pants, give us 2 reasons why we should stop being affectionate. i mean you've seen all the other couples, i don't see why you- "

" number 1 " glenda interrupted again with a singular finger pointed up.

instance #1

" so lando, todays race obviously went well, with you coming P3 and the ferrari's scoring a 1-2 finish. can you walk as through what exactly was going on during the battle for 3 rd with perez ? "

lando nodded, grinning cheerfully as he wiped some sweat from his upper lip, " right, well, the race did you amazingly well- umph !"

he surged backwards from the force that had come into contact with his chest.

" i'm so proud of you lando, " you jumped up and down in his dizzy hold as he shook his head and attempted to steady himself. though, you ignored that when you burried your hands in his hair and dragged his mouth to yours, kissing him passionately.

just as your tongue came to run over the seam of his lips and his hands tightened around your waist, the interviewer tapped lando cautiously on the shoulder and sheepishly requested that they continue.

you sighed and detached from lando, who was also blinking back into reality. you laced your arm around his waist and leaned into his side, prompting the blushing interviewer to continue.

"- so you're just gonna stay like that ? "

both you and lando looked at one another and looked at the man infront of you.

" okay then. " he conceded and listened to lando's response.

" oh come on glenda, mark didn't even care ." you whined, stomping your feet.

" he had a nosebleed. "

lando snorted, " he has the structural integrity of wet seaweed, mark should never be trusted not to get a nosebleed. "

" stop shitting on mark. " glenda deadpanned, " number 2"

instance #2

" the aerodynamics on turn 2 were absolutly of the charts, how did you do that ? " an engineer turned away from the computer to glance at lando, who was leaned against a table but had got up to approach the data.

" i'm not sure.. but has anyone seen my girlfriend ? " lando wondered out loud, looking down at his phone.

" she left a few minutes ago, " another passing worker commented before walking away towards the other side of the garage.

" what ? why didn't anyone tell me ? she's a small human, it's easy for her to get hurt ? or fall down a man hole, or any hole in general, holes are the enemy here. " he rambled, already calling your cell hurriedly.

" why are we talking about holes ? " you call out, picking at your nails.

lando perked up and ran at you, arms wrapping around your chest as he picked you up and instictively you locked your legs around his waist.

" oh god, you're safe. "

" i went to take a shit lando ." you tapped his head comfortingly nonetheless.

" take me next time. " he mumbled into your chest.

" what ? "

" i don't see a problem with it glenda" lando shrugged

" we had to call HR, you said 'holes' 5 times" glenda gestured to your intertwined limbs and flicked her hand at the two of you.

" well holes are dangerous, especially for me, broke my nose cause of a hole once. " you defended, unravelling from your defeated boyfriend.

" yeah holes are super dangerous, who's going to protect her from all the holes in the world ? the world's holes are dangerous, glenda. "

" someone call steve from HR ! "

ᡣ𐭩 ⎯⎯ MAX VERSTAPPEN 1 " he who demonstrates his affection " spoilt in action

" i'm home ! " you call out, dropping your bag onto the floor and groaning as you kick off your heels.

max padded out to the living room, grimacing as your shoulders popped before approaching you and kissing your cheek, "hoe gaat het met je mijn liefste ? " [ how are you my love ] he stroked your face gently before taking your hand in his and began to run his thumb up and down your knuckles.

" i feel like a bus hit me, " you laid your head on his sturdy shoulder, " then backed up on me, and then a pack of rabid wolves humped my head ."

" creative ." max hummed, chuckling when you pouted at him, " i..." he started, cheeks heating up precariously, " i did something for you, cause i know that work has been hard lately. "

cooing, you let him guide you out of the living room and into your bedroom, " here. "

he handed you a soft robe, " you gotta take off your clothes. "

" yeah, i know ." you snickered, gesturing for him to unbotton your shirt as you worked on your long slacks.

Max's fingeerr's shook against your freshly exposed skin when he pushed the shirt off, despite this, he trailed kisses along your shoulders, moving from the left towards your sternum before reaching your right side.

your breathing slowed, body finally relaxing against his gentle motions as you brought a hand up to thread through his hair. he dragged down your bra strap whilst dancing one of his hands up from the back of your waist to pop open the clasp, and although his eyes darkened at the sight of your breasts, the fingers that trailed down your skin were gentle and caring, kneading the tension out of them.

eventually, you were so relaxed that your eyes had fluttered shut and max had to coax the robe onto your slumped shoulder to usher you into the bathroom.

" oh max," you gasped, taking in the transformed space, aroma therapy candles littered the free surafaces, wafting a sweet pungent scent into the air that mixed into a melodious fusion of smells that escaped froom the steaming bathtub, the water within stained a sleepy blue.

he had set up a simple projector onto thee ceiling, producing relaxing views of a nebula onto the once plastered, white area.

" its so lovely, you're amazing, " you pulled him close and kissed his similng mouth, pouring yourr adoration into the melding of your lips together.

" you deserve it, mijn perfecte vrouw" [ my perfect woman ] max replied, sitting you down on the chair that laid perfectly infront of the mirror, he leant forward aand retrieved your brush before stroking the bristles through your hair with the utmost care.

he took his time, de-tangling your chaotic mane until it calmed down to a tamed waterful, running down your back, " wow, your hair is so smooth ." he commented, bringing his head down to run his nose through the silky strands. chuckling, you splayed your hand against the back of his neck.

"next step," he whispered to himself, takinng another familiar bottle from the coounter, " you use this hair oil, right ? "

"when did you get to know this ? " you mock-gasped, " it was my best kept secret."

" i called my sister. "

" yeah that checks out."

max took the oil onto his fingers, heating up the liquid between the pads of them before running his hands against your scalp to massage in the nutrients.

after the numerous steps that had to be completed to perfection, he moved you towards the still steaming bath.

" you're getting in too right ? " you asked, as if it were obvious whilst tugging at the bow that wasa tied lazily around your waist.

"well... i didn't plan on it." max shrugged.

" i want you to," you stepped towards him, pushing away the robe from your shoulders and let the material pool at your feet, " please ? "

" you play dirty, Schatje " [ sweetheart ] max groaned, letting you pull at his clothes until he was in the same state of undress that you were in.

giggling, you take his hand and let him submerge you into the water, " yeah, but you love it, " you stick your tongue out at him.

" yes, i do, " he conceeded, pressing his lips against your forehead as he joined you in the warmth, snuggling behind you and pulling your hips up- into his lap, " but i'm washing your hair, i did not let my sister yap my ear off for nothing. "

you rest your head against his shoulder, neck tilted so you could admire his face, bringing a hand up you trace his side profile softly, " i would expect nothing less. " you whisper.

[chained-spirits]

<<Prev Next>>

They call me the king of an inconsistent style

[thenmichael]

I haven’t posted in a while, so take this wip

[mrslestappen]

formula one ✩ m.list

# ᴄʜᴀʀʟᴇꜱ ʟᴇᴄʟᴇʀᴄ :: cl¹⁶

ᴏɴᴇꜱʜᴏᴛ

ꜱᴇʀɪᴇꜱ

ᴍᴇꜱꜱᴀɢᴇ ɪɴ ᴀ ʙᴏᴛᴛʟᴇ :: Finally feeling familiar with the heartbreak and love songs she has composed, the world's golden girl discovers that love is trickier than it looks—even more so when it comes in the form of a green-eyed Monégasque.

ᴅɪꜱᴇᴀꜱᴇ : ᴘᴀʀᴀɴᴏɪᴅ :: The fact that you have to work as a Formula One driver's assistant for your final college grade is not the worst of your problems; the true issue is that no one told you that you would become a emotional support human for him.

ᴛʜᴇ ᴀʀᴛ ᴏꜰ ʙʟᴏᴏᴅ :: Monaco is the jewel in the crown, a world of expensive cars, casinos, and sheer luxury that conceals the true reason for its name; who imagined that a night of joy would finish with blood on your hands.

# ᴄᴀʀʟᴏꜱ ꜱᴀɪɴᴢ :: cs⁵⁵

ᴏɴᴇꜱʜᴏᴛ

ꜱᴇʀɪᴇꜱ

# ᴍᴀx ᴠᴇʀꜱᴛᴀᴘᴘᴇɴ :: mv¹

ᴏɴᴇꜱʜᴏᴛ

ꜱᴇʀɪᴇꜱ

ᴅɪꜱᴇᴀꜱᴇ : ᴡʀᴀᴛʜ :: Who would have thought that a mistake on your application could cost you your dream job? And that in the end you would end up as an assistant to a one time world champion struggling to control his anger issues.

# ᴅᴀɴɪᴇʟ ʀɪᴄᴄɪᴀʀᴅᴏ :: dr³

ᴏɴᴇꜱʜᴏᴛ

ꜱᴇʀɪᴇꜱ

# ʟᴀɴᴅᴏ ɴᴏʀʀɪꜱ :: ln⁴

ᴏɴᴇꜱʜᴏᴛ

ꜱᴇʀɪᴇꜱ

ʏᴏᴜ ʙᴇʟᴏɴɢ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴍᴇ :: After discovering that he is in love with his best friend, Lando is determined and will do everything he can to prove to her that he is the right man for her. [ coming soon ]

ᴅɪꜱᴇᴀꜱᴇ : ʟᴜꜱᴛ :: After graduating from college, you land a job assisting a Formula One driver, but nobody told you that this particular driver would be an absolute nightmare and that your job would basically consist of babysitting him.

# ᴏꜱᴄᴀʀ ᴘɪᴀꜱᴛʀɪ :: op⁸¹

ᴏɴᴇꜱʜᴏᴛ

ꜱᴇʀɪᴇꜱ

ᴅɪꜱᴇᴀꜱᴇ : ᴘʀɪᴅᴇ :: Being hired as his assistant to help him during his second year in Formula One, you discover that the reason he has trouble expressing what he wants is not that he lacks the ability to do so, but that he is too prideful to do so.

# ʟᴇᴡɪꜱ ʜᴀᴍɪʟᴛᴏɴ :: lh⁴⁴

ᴏɴᴇꜱʜᴏᴛ

ꜱᴇʀɪᴇꜱ

# ɢᴇᴏʀɢᴇ ʀ���ꜱꜱᴇʟʟ :: gr⁶³

ᴏɴᴇꜱʜᴏᴛ

ꜱᴇʀɪᴇꜱ

# ᴘɪᴇʀʀᴇ ɢᴀꜱʟʏ :: pg¹⁰

ᴏɴᴇꜱʜᴏᴛ

ꜱᴇʀɪᴇꜱ

# ꜱᴇʙᴀꜱᴛɪᴀɴ ᴠᴇᴛᴛᴇʟ :: sv⁵

ᴏɴᴇꜱʜᴏᴛ

ꜱᴇʀɪᴇꜱ

# ᴍɪᴄᴋ ꜱᴄʜᴜᴍᴀᴄʜᴇʀ :: ms⁴⁷

ᴏɴᴇꜱʜᴏᴛ

ꜱᴇʀɪᴇꜱ

# ᴀʟᴇx ᴀʟʙᴏɴ :: aa²³

ᴏɴᴇꜱʜᴏᴛ

ꜱᴇʀɪᴇꜱ

ᴛᴇᴀᴍ ʀᴀᴅɪᴏ :: the disease series! all drivers have one, and the reader is always an assistant!

© mrslestappen :: please do not copy my work!

[livetogether--diealone]

while the dudebros on f1twt will be busy jerking off to this mid performance from cs i'm gonna pat on the back charles who always tries to make the most of bad situations during races and not cry on the radio every other lap, if Austria 22 and Bahrain 24 where he respectively won the race with a throttle issue and finished the race only losing 2 positions with a brake issue don't tell you how much this guy works hard and who is the real champion material idk what would, bravo charles

[kats-fic-recs]

The Best Haikyuu fics I read in 2022

Iwaoi

Lost in Translation

Because misfortune come in threes, Iwaizumi Hajime starts his Thursday having a screaming fight with Shittykawa, spends his lunch break listening to the UCI women's volleyball team gossiping about how Ushijima Wakatoshi had gone public about his longtime love affair with Oikawa Tooru, and closes out the day by drunkenly dropping his phone into a sewer grate.

just hear me out

To stimulate Japan's low birthrates and take most of the guesswork out of dating, a beeper system was biologically developed in people's wrists, an audible confirmation to show romantic compatibility.

Iwaizumi's beeper has been going off for Oikawa since they've been kids. Oikawa's has only ever been silent.

In Defense of Reptiles (and Other Gross Things)

In their seventh year, Oikawa is chosen to be the Hogwarts champion in the Triwizard Tournament, and Iwaizumi suffers.

to be first, to be best

Hajime is apparently something of a masochist, and as he stares down at the tie-dyed AREA51 T-shirt in his hands, he thinks “I’m totally in love with this asshole, aren't I?”

evergreen

It’s exhausting to realize that he still knows Oikawa. He has no idea what stores Oikawa shops at anymore, which bands he’s been listening to lately, whether he still keeps plants in his apartment and whether they’re dying without Iwaizumi around to remind him to water them. But he knows how rain tastes on Oikawa’s lips in the summer and the drumbeat baseline of Oikawa’s heart under his palm, and there are some people you never really grow out of no matter how many other things change.

“When you left,” Iwaizumi says, swallowing against a scratchy throat, “I tried hard, for a long time, not to need you. You can’t blame me for being angry that it was easier for you to leave than it was for me to let you go.”

Ten years after he rejected Iwaizumi's marriage proposal, Oikawa is back in Sendai.

no love like your love

It happens when Daniel is rushing from the food court to the CS building, juggling his phone and a water bottle and a Panda Express takeout container. His lunch date with the cute girl from French class had gone longer than it should have, and he’s too worried about being late to pay any mind to the incoming call that flashes across his screen. Beyond noting that the number is international, he thinks nothing of it, declines, and moves on.

The person calls again, though, in the middle of the lecture, and he has to scramble to silence his phone before his professor can single him out.

By the time the period is over, he has five more missed calls and a text.

From: +81-XXX-XXX-XXXX

is this daniel? iwa-chan’s roommate? call me back when you’re available!!

Sometimes a love is so bright that those outside it can't help but bear witness.

Or: Iwaizumi and Oikawa from 5 + 1 points of view through the years.

heaven is a place in my head

For Iwaizumi, it’s a relief to be able to linger in the cocoon of this intermediate summer, blanketed from the buffeting winds of adulthood and responsibility and real decisionmaking. He would love nothing more than for it to stretch out and out and out, like a bubblegum bubble that spreads itself thin around the air trapped inside it until it pops.

But Oikawa has never liked having nothing to do. He gets restless if he’s bored for too long, starts feeling like he’s running out of time or something dumb like that. So Iwaizumi is almost expecting it when Oikawa barges into his room the afternoon of a heavy summer shower, overgrown bangs dripping rainwater into his eyes, a waterlogged piece of paper crumpled in his fist and a familiar hopeful gleam in his eyes.

When Oikawa convinces Iwaizumi to spend their last summer in Japan as camp counselors, Iwaizumi is prepared for bug bites, sunburns, and rowdy children.

He’s not prepared to spend two weeks kissing his best friend in what might just be the worst thought-out summer fling in existence.

— with melting wax and loosened strings

"If Oikawa is Hajime’s home — is Japan — then this room is his shrine. And Oikawa stands in the centre of it, eyes wide and mouth agape."

Hajime is a visual artist. He's been in love with Oikawa for such a long time that his hands know every curve and bend to Oikawa's figure. But now, with thousands of kilometres and hours between them, Iwaizumi is starting to forget Oikawa's features. It's enough to send him spiralling.

Or, 'Devotion, (2020, colourised)'.

Look For Him

She laughs gently. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so heartbroken before, Hajime.”

Iwaizumi sighs and prods at the mackerel with a chopstick. “Sorry. I can’t help it. It’s just different, you know? Like Oikawa pissed me off so much that now he’s not here I don’t know what to do with myself.”

“But you weren’t always annoyed with him, were you?” his grandmother smiles serenely and takes a sip of her tea. “My, my, Hajime, old women see everything. I saw you out there with my finches, when you were kissing Tooru’s nose. Your mother and father used to do the very same thing, you know, when they were younger. And look how long they’ve lasted. I hope you and Tooru last, Hajime. He’s very good for you.”

-

Oikawa has kissed Iwaizumi more times than either of them can count; it’s a constant thing, their lips never really leaving the other’s skin. There are, however, times when they’ve kissed that are burned into their memories. Eight of them, to be precise.

Cup of sugar

After about a month of his time in Irvine, the first package arrives. It’s standing there, on the table, big and heavy and exuding a familiarity that nearly brings tears to Hajime’s eyes.

“That’s really sweet,” Kevin says, eyeing Hajime’s valiant attempts to cut into the cardboard with a knife, “from your family?”

“My boyfriend,” Hajime clarifies, eyes not even straying to the return address. “That idiot’s the only one who would send me something after one month of being apart.”

Tooru and Hajime go long-distance, and Hajime contemplates whether he's accidentally become a sugar baby.

iwaizumi hajime has a ring

Iwaizumi Hajime has a ring on his finger.

A simple gold band with modest silver trimming resting snuggly on the fourth finger of his left hand.

Hajime is only 23 years old, is only in the midst of the second year of his post-graduate degree, and to Charlie’s apparently outdated knowledge, has been single at the very least since his move to America a little over a year ago.

Imagine his surprise when the dude came waltzing back after a month-long break, with a wedding ring on his finger, legally wed, and not speaking a word about it.

In which Hajime gets married and his friends in California have no idea who the lucky woman is.

KuroKen

And if you leave, will you promise you'll find your way back to me?

“Then it’s settled,” Kuroo says. “I’m going to call you every day, until you get sick of me.”

I could never get sick of you, Kenma thinks but doesn’t say. I think it’s going to be the other way around.

Or: the one where Kuroo goes to university and Kenma tries to deal with missing him, perhaps more than one should miss their best friend.

Show A Little Faith

“Why are you sending me a singing Valentine telegram?" Kenma asks, mouth flattened. "It’s six months until Valentine’s Day.”

“I bought a dwarf over the summer to use as cupid.” Kuroo says. “I figured he could use some practice.”

-

Presenting Kenma as the Boy-Who-Lived, whose living becomes a lot more interesting when Ravenclaw Prince Kuroo Tetsurou starts sending him singing telegrams about defeating the Dark Lord.

you're the brake lines failing (as my car swerves off the freeway)

Kenma thinks that Kuroo looks ugly with his head bent against the arm of the couch like that. Then Kenma thinks that he wants to marry him, and is promptly thrown into the 5 stages of grief.

the book of love is long and boring

“Since when did you become the all-knowing authority on love,” Kuroo teases as he rests his chin on Kenma’s bed, and Kenma bristles before a frown mars his face.

Because it’s not like Kuroo’s wrong.

-

Kenma's never really thought much about love, until an assignment from class forces him to. And then suddenly, it's the only thing that's on his mind.

teach me the way home

Don’t go far off, not even for a day, because —

because — I don’t know how to say it: a day is long

and I will be waiting for you, as in an empty station

when the trains are parked off somewhere else, asleep.

Kuroo and Kenma grow up in transit.

My Nameless World (I’ll Let You In)

It’s a modest two-bedroom in the western suburbs, far enough from the bustling crowds to be affordable but still counting, technically, as Tokyo. They’re noisy before they sleep but quiet when they rise, shuffling mutedly out of the door for joint morning runs before bursting back into the apartment for joint morning showers. Shouyou cooks breakfast while Kageyama packs their lunch and gym bags, and they never share a goodbye kiss because they always leave together.

It’s warm and cozy and disgustingly domestic, and it’s probably everything Shouyou’s ever dreamed of.

Except, Kenma thinks irately, Kageyama doesn’t actually live here.

===

Shouyou moves in with Kenma when he ends up in Tokyo for college. Kenma subsequently realizes that half the things in Shouyou’s boxes are actually Kageyama’s because he should have fucking known.

Kagehina

well, maybe i'm a crook

The thing is-- Hinata is in love with Kageyama and everyone knows it, including Kageyama.

by this time next year

"I got offers from two universities," Kageyama announces, pointing at his chest with his thumb. "I'm going to play volleyball at Keio this spring."

"You still have to pass an exam, even if it's an easy one," Takeda-sensei hurries to add, although he is beaming and bursting with pride at his fluffy little crow chick taking off to play volleyball at a university level.

"I'll pass," Kageyama says with the same kind of confidence he uses when he tells Hinata he'll get the toss to him. He looks straight at Hinata, and Hinata jerks and turns red, wondering if maybe Kageyama knew he was daydreaming about something as stupid as the way Kageyama talks to him during a game. But then Kageyama just points at him and says, "You'd better get in, too."

Hinata, stupid, naive, idiot that he is, grins wide and nods and says, "Yeah!"

He doesn't know what he's in for.

Bokuaka

daisy rings and frivolous things (i am deliriously in love with you)

Akaashi Keiji is in love. Bokuto Koutarou is a star. Everyone on Fukurodani has a gambling problem.

paper rings

Akaashi Keiji knows his relationship with Bokuto Koutarou has an expiration date. It was inevitable. Even the best things must end. Especially with Bokuto's dreams of volleyball stardom on the line, they don't have any other choice. Akaashi has made his peace with that.

Bokuto has other ideas.

surfacing

Keiji’s boyfriend has been cheating on him. During their public confrontation, he ends up walking out with the other man - Bokuto Koutarou. They strike up an unlikely friendship born from the bond of heartbreak, and, eventually, help one another to heal parts of themselves they perhaps hadn't even known were broken.

Alternatively: Bokuto tries to set Akaashi up with a rebound to make up for being “the other man.” It both does and does not go according to plan.

notice me kouhai

This was definitely, somehow, Bokuto's fault.

the strange music of your heart

"Hey," Konoha says, tone hushed, one day after practice when he and Bokuto end up staying behind together. "Akaashi likes you, you know?"

Bokuto is in the process of putting on a clean shirt. "Of course he does," he says, voice too close to his ears under the fabric. "We're friends!" He pulls the shirt down, freeing his head. "What," he says, suddenly self-conscious, "does someone not like me?"

in which akaashi falls for bokuto first.

Miscellaneous

Experimental Probability

Atsumu stares blankly back at him. "So, let me get this straight. Ya want me to kiss ya so you can tell whether or not yer in love with my brother?"

Rin winces at his word choice. "Not exactly how I would have phrased it, but yeah, pretty much."

Or: Suna Rintarou is not in love with his best friend. Scientific evidence would suggest otherwise.

Close to the Chest

It takes Yahaba thirteen years to realize he's different from the other kids, one to figure out how to hide it, and two more to learn to be happy just the way he is. Yahaba's journey ft. an extremely annoyed Kyoutani, best friend in the world Watari, and loads and loads of good senpai Oikawa.

seam-ripper

Asahi’s life is prone to falling apart at the very seams, something he has been aware of since his unfortunate birth approximately sixteen long, hard years ago. Due to the infallible accuracy of this fact, Asahi begins his second year of high school by getting involved in his very first physical altercation; he is subsequently subjected to what might be considered the most embarrassing social situation of the decade. And to top it all off with the perfect catastrophe cherry on the disaster sundae that is Asahi’s miserable existence, Suga is laughing at him.

Or, the story of Asahi and Nishinoya’s near-disastrous get-together.

hair smell

“Actually,” Takahiro starts, uncharacteristically serious. “You… Your hair smells nice.”

“My hair?” Issei blinks.

Takahiro nods. “Yeah.” He reaches a hand up, but doesn’t run his fingers through the curls—instead, he pushes them in at his scalp and scratches. He’s clearly very careful not to ruin the frizzy tangles on Issei’s head that are only achievable by means of product, air drying, and then sleeping-but-not-really on rough cotton pillowcases. The gesture is personal; it worms its way into Issei’s heart and takes root there, squeezing tight, pulsing in time with each of his heartbeats.

“I don’t know what it is,” Takahiro confesses. His face is still serious, but the line of his brow is definitely easing. “Your product? Conditioner?”

Issei shrugs. He didn’t even know about his hair smell until just now.

“But, anyway,” Takahiro continues, and he maintains steady eye contact, although his voice is suddenly small. “Sometimes I’ll smell it on someone else, and it makes me think of you.”

“Oh,” Issei says.

the inherent romance of classical conditioning (or, the fine art of emotional recognition)

It's stupid. Atsumu isn't a romantic, no matter how many times he's imagined laying Sakusa out and finally really touching him.

So there's no explanation for why Atsumu is constantly stuck thinking about brushing his fingertips against the meat of Sakusa's palms or the prominent tendons in his freaky wrists.

There's no explanation for why doing dishes sets off a warm burn in his ribcage, or why when he smells disinfectant he inhales like he's walking past a bakery.

Yer doin' this to me, he thinks furiously, as Sakusa derails his thoughts with kisses that come more and more frequently now. Yer conditionin' me, and I can't stop it.

Tending to a Wounded Heart

“Now, Iwaizumi-san, while I am flattered by your interest and must admit you’re very attractive, I must inform you my heart belongs to another, and I’m not sure your dear captain Oikaw-“ Satori wasn’t even able to finish his jest, as a fuming Iwaizumi interrupted him. A blush blooming from his hairline down to his neck.

“I’M NOT HITTING ON YOU, DUMBASS!”

...

After being discovered in the midst of breakdown in the bathroom of Seijoh, Tendou Satori strikes up an unusual friendship with Iwaizumi who seems keen on helping Tendou navigate his own unrequited feelings, despite ignoring his own.

All the while Tendou's teammates are becoming more and more concerned with their blocker's new behavior and mysterious texting buddy.

No more time to waste

Tsukishima Kei has a theory: crushes were originally conceived as a cosmic torture device. Now, he doesn’t exactly have a broad sample size to study, being completely unwilling to engage with either Hinata or Kuroo’s pining for their resolutely-stoic best friends, but it’s true from his experience. He has it worse than them, at any rate. His best friend is the furthest thing imaginable from stoic.

Tsukishima suffers through training camp in a heatwave. His infuriatingly attractive best friend does absolutely nothing to help.

my heart beats for contract law

"You had an emotional breakdown in a McDonalds drive-through."

"Mmm."

"And proposed to me."

"Shhh."

"In a McDonalds drive-through, Hiro."

Takahiro huffs out a nervous laugh, keeping his eyes closed. "You love it," he repeats, nuzzling closer.

Mint and Pine

Yahaba yanks at Kyoutani’s uniform in the club room and ties his tie so tight after morning practice that sometimes Kyoutani thinks he’s trying to fucking strangle him.

don't bother checking my work (i've never cared for math anyway)

It isn’t until Shirabu’s back at LOCCENT that it really sinks in. Forty-eight wins? An impressive number, true, and a definite sign of Ushijima’s strength, especially compared to Tendou. But in anyone else, an unbalanced score like that would indicate a depressingly low chance of drift compatibility.

Drifting with Ushijima was simple statistically, but potentially deadly realistically. And drifting with Tendou? A veritable nightmare. If not for Washijou’s insistence, Shirabu would have dropped him long ago.

Still, something is calling to him. Something beyond numbers and data projections.

Because Ushijima may have knocked Tendou down forty-eight times. But that means there were forty-nine times he got back up.

Overflow

He laid his palm flat over Asahi’s jaw, almost shivering when the sparks fluttered up his arm and settled in his chest. His thumb came to rest in the little dip below Asahi’s lower lip, the skin there quivering with the tremble of Asahi’s mouth.

Glancing away from where he’d been intently watching the path of his fingers, Yuu found Asahi’s eyes wide open, with terror or awe it was hard to tell. And it hit him then what he’d just been doing.

Well, not really hit him. It sank into him, slow and staticky and warm and anxious—the realization that he’d never touched anybody like this before.

[nicolesainz]

Lover (CS 55)

Carlos Sainz x reader

Warnings: can’t get fluffier than this

Note: Carlos and reader here are 17 and 18

Summary: being the birthday girl doesn’t necessarily mean being surrounded by happiness and laughs. although a friend is all one may need to have the comfort they seek

I look at my phone, it’s still 6:30 in the morning. I attempt to go back to sleep when I finally notice a dim light sparking with someone moving it lightly around.

I rub my eyes and wear my glasses only to witness a happy Carlos, holding a small cupcake with the number 17 on it. My heart fills with appreciation towards him.

“Feliz cumpleaños cariño!” He softly whispers as he lands a kiss on my cheek.

“Go, make a wish. But don’t tell. It won’t come true” he winked at me playfully, waiting for me.

I instantly blow the candles with my eyes shut, mumbling the wish underneath my breath.

I don't really have fond memories from my past birthdays, although I treasure every little sweet gesture of Carlos's like it's the last one ever. He is the reason I find this day slightly more enjoyable.

"Did you wish for something good?" his eyes stop sparkling, but his smile is as wide as always.

"I did. Thank you for this Carlos. You shouldn't have! It is too much" he places down the cake, before I let him jump on my bed to give him a big hug.

His embrace has forever been my safe place. Somewhere I know I will never be hurt. Somewhere that I will always feel loved.

"You deserve it corazón. In fact, Ana and Blanca helped me with a cake. Another indication that it's in fact 'not too much'."

"You disturbed your sleep Carlos and you have a race in a few hours. Please rest." I said worryingly, knowing it’s his first time racing in Formula 1 at his home Grand Prix

“Don’t worry about me! Practice and Quali went alright, so if something is to happen, it will”

“You will thrive! I have no doubts. At points you were even faster than the Ferrari’s! That indicates something!”

“That someday I’ll end up a Ferrari driver?”

“Who knows what the future may hold? I believe that this is very possible. Carlos Sainz, Grand Prix winner, Ferrari driver”

“The day this happens, I will owe you my life. And a kiss too.”

“Alright champion. For now, go to sleep. And thank you for the surprise. You surely found a beautiful way to start my day”

“Una mujer hermosa merece tener un día hermoso” (A beautiful woman deserves to have a beautiful day)

Carlos’s arms were wrapped around my torso, hugging me firmly. Part of his face was buried on my neck, with his hot breath hitting me, causing butterflies to flutter on my stomach.

“No sé qué haría sin ti, Carlos” (I don’t know what I would do without you) I mumbled underneath his soft snores, which were echoing in my ear. It was a big day for him as well. I didn’t want to ruin it for him.

Two hours later, I woke up alone again, with the small cake sat next to me and a basket of gifts alongside.

The basket had a birthday card, my paddock pass, two candles with the number 17, five daisies and lots of candies.

Carlos wasn’t a man who expressed his feelings like this or was used to such gestures but for some reason, those started becoming even more common as time went by.

He’d take me on car rides whenever I was feeling blue or make up stories to help me fall asleep, even sacrificing his own resting time.

As I went down the stairs, I saw an empty, silent house, with only the birds sounding from outside an open window.

Suddenly, my mother burst through the front door, with her hands full of groceries. I reach out to her and help her, only to be greeted with continuous yelling.

“Buenos días mamá” is all I manage to say before she breakdown starts.

“Te dije que limpiaras la cocina, pero al parecer eres demasiado perezoso para eso también.” (I told you to clean the kitchen but apparently you’re too lazy for that as well)

Not even a ‘happy birthday first’ or ‘sweet 17’.

“Acabo de despertarme, lo haré ahora mismo.” (I just woke up, I will do it right now) I bluntly replied to her.

“Esperas que lo haga todo aquí. ¡No soy tu esclava!” (You expect me to do everything around here. I’m not your slave). The woman was clearly going insane at 8 am in the morning and I wasn’t having it on my special day.

“Mamá, nadie te llamó esclava. Te ayudaré. Por favor, cálmate.” (Mom, no one called you a slave. I will help you. Please calm down). I motioned with my hands but apparently that didn’t work either. Okay, she doesn’t need pampering.

“Cuanto más viejo te haces, más inútil te vuelves para mí. Haz otra cosa, no me importa.” (The older you get, the more useless you become to me. Do something else, I don’t care.)

Surely no one enjoys being called useless by their own mother on their birthday. But mine did it. And I hoped that no other person had to listen to this ever in their life. It was truly heartbreaking.

I went upstairs, got dressed, grabbed my paddock pass and was soon out of the house, without my mother noticing anything. She didn’t even question my absence, as I got no calls or texts from her.

All I wanted, was to spend my birthday around the only person that could appreciate me truly. And that was only Carlos. I put the fakest but best smile I have in front of his sisters and family, so I wouldn’t ruin the happy and exciting atmosphere.

Being with the Sainz's was one of the few times I felt welcomed in a family. They were extremely vibrant and happy people. I loved them all dearly, although their son, was the one who had captured my heart.

I always say Carlos with a different perspective. He always took care of me and wanted to spend time together, even though he could have hung out with his school or karting friends. I may knew very few things about formula one, but I would let him talk for endless hours, saying how much he loves this sport and how it would be a dream of his to race alongside his hero, Fernando Alonso.

Now, he gets to finally do that. Fulfil his biggest dream. And the road ahead of his is quite long. He is determined to succeed. Confident in him, I know he will achieve that as well.

As we were watching the race unfolding from the Toro Rosso garage, an unknown blonde woman, close to my age, sat next to me. She looked very cute and sweet. She certainly wasn't English or Spanish, as her accent was quite unfamiliar to my ears.

"Hi, I am Victoria, Max's sister. You must be Y/N, right?" she asked me politely, offering me a handshake.

"Yes indeed. Very nice to meet you Victoria! Although, how do you know my name?" I give her a soft smile and raise playfully my eyebrows.

"Well, you don't look nothing like him, first of all, unlike his sisters, and secondly, he was so happy about you attending today that couldn't stop talking about it" I receive a playful wink from Victoria and my cheeks instantly turn into a light maroon shade of red.

"He did huh? Well, we have been friends since forever and it's the first race of his that I attend. It's really exciting."

"I find it hard to believe that you are only friends. I bet he likes you. Max says that Carlos mentions you even more regularly than his sisters. He does seem to be smitten with you"

Does Carlos like me? Is this real? Seems very unrealistic to me. We are very close but not to the point that we become something more. Victoria must have gotten something wrong here.

"Well, we are only friends. We are neighbours and go to the same school but no, simply friends. No romance between us"

"In the future, he will surely confess his feelings. I have never met a boy speaking so fondly and lovingly of a girl who is considered as an 'only friend'"

"It's up to fate. But even though we love each other very much, it's pure friendship. We've been raised like siblings to one another. We are this close."

"Well, mark my words, because I tend to be right, no matter what Max says, he is always wrong. Between us, I am the better Verstappen sibling."

We laugh along at her words and continue to have a fruitful conversation, whilst watching the race. In the end, we were both proud of the result, because it ended with Max winning his first ever race and Carlos scoring points for the team.

It didn’t matter that he didn’t get a podium position or a win. He still was the new Spanish hero and successor of Fernando Alonso. People knew that he’d become a big thing in the following years.

My happiness couldn’t be contained when I straight up jumped into his arms, whilst he was still kinda sweaty and full blown red faced. He joyfully accepted my hug and embraced me even tighter.

“Nos has hecho sentir muy orgullosos. Una carrera increíble, Carlos. Su conducción es muy impresionante” (You made us all so proud. Amazing race. Your driving is extremely impressive) I say as my eyes are sparkling at the sight of him.

“Esto significa mucho, viniendo de ti, cariño. Espero que lo hayas disfrutado.” (This means a lot, coming from you darling. I hope you enjoyed it.) his smile wouldn’t leave his face. I wish we could stay in this position forever. It was where I felt the safest.

Before another word managed to leave my mouth, I felt his soft lips on mine, tangling beautifully, gifting me the best possible feeling, which was love. In that moment, I realized I love Carlos. And I always would.

My breathing had gotten heavier, whilst Carlos deepened the kiss and my heart beating faster than ever. My first kiss was with a man who truly loved me, cared for me and knew me better than anyone else.

“Te amaré hasta que el tiempo se detenga, cariño, este es mi regalo por tu cumpleaños. Espero que podamos celebrar más de ellos juntos, para poder hacerte regalos aún más”

(I’ll love you until time stops, darling, this is my gift for your birthday. Hope we can celebrate more of those together, so I can gift you with even greater presents.)