#he passed it though his own family because they were buddies

[science-lings]

You cannot tell me that Simon 'twisted samurai' Blackquill, LA's resident vaguely british man and total weeb with a special interest in swords, would not recognize Karuma on sight. I just imagine that Phoenix has it displayed in his office because of its historical and specifically lawyer-related significance and Blackquill comes in because he lost the rock-paper-scissors match against the other prosecutors to run their errands for the day and he sees that katana and has an autism moment.

There's also the lore behind the von Karma name that makes the idea that Phoenix ends up with the Asogi clan's heirloom very funny to me.

[ceilidho]

imagine running from a horde of zombies after you were caught off guard and sprinting through a forest, hopeless and desperate because you can't seem to shake off this horde that seems to be growing in numbers, until finally you come across a shelter carefully concealed in the pinewood, almost blending into the surrounding landscape.

the man living there must have seen you running in the distance because when you pass by, the door opens and shuts like a spider's trap, and he drags you inside and holds you to his chest so you don't so much as twitch until you hear the horde pass by. and it's large. hundreds of undead groaning and rushing by, almost clambering over one another, still thinking that they're in pursuit of you. your heart is smashing against your ribcage because you realize now that there's no way you could've outrun them or gotten away - the man at your back is the only thing standing between you and certain death.

he introduces himself as Gaz and tells you that you can spend however long you'd like with him. he's been living in the woods since the outbreak and he's been stockpiling food and water since long before. one of his old army buddies bought the bunker almost a decade back - a real prepper-type, though he passed well before the apocalypse and left the property to Gaz in the absence of any family.

you're so appreciative of his help and you aren't one to look a gift horse in the mouth, so obviously you take him up on his offer and spend the week.

only when days go by and you mention that you're thinking of heading out now that the horde has long passed, he talks you out of it. seems concerned about what'll happen to you if you're on your own out there. you let him convince you to stay a little longer, but sure enough, after another few days you start to get jittery, anxious to get back out on the road because the last thing you want to do is overstay your welcome.

then you see the locks on the door. it's padlocked shut, the key nowhere to be found. you don't remember there being locks on the inside. that's the only thing you can think when Gaz comes up from behind you, planting both of his hands on your shoulders, almost as if to offer you reassurance.

"don't worry, love," he murmurs, bending low so his voice is right in your ear. "i'm gonna keep you safe. you won't ever have one of them chase you again."

[methoughtsphantom]

Jason “my family doesn’t know im alive” Todd and Danny “my family doesn’t know I’m dead” Fenton going alongside each of their plans my beloved. like Danny will absolutely go head-to-head with all of Gotham to support his new best friend on all his crime lord endeavors while he drags Jason to also attend collage with him. They are roommates and there never seems to a mention of family from either side. It’s an unspoken understanding they have. They met because Crime alley as a ghost lair thrummed with so much loneliness, it was at first the perfect place for Danny to hide his ecto signature in. But then he saw the dumbass whose lair it was lean his motorcycle just a tad too much when making a sharp turn to an alley, he sweeped the floor through a lifted chain link that passed his body but not his helmet. Yep that’s right the red thing got stuck. Danny who at the moment happened to be watching through his window snorted. Much to his horror because if not a ghost that dude could’ve gotten his head flung off.

Still, the scene was ridiculous.

On a whim he irrationally sees the police closing in on the guy and panicked at the thought of the guy using intangibility to free himself so Danny phased them both through his apartment wall and left the guy sprawled in his couch. Jason didn’t freak out but that’s normal when one’s got a concussion, one the guy immediately denied having as Danny laid out the medical supplies. The idiot proceeded to almost flatten four steps to the door with his stubbornness. He also said “I’m asexual” in the most deadpan voice as Danny dropped him back in the couch.

Danny sighed. Clearly though, he’d done so too early in the night because the guy kept trying to go, kept trying to knock Danny out, kept trying to slash him with knifes Danny didn’t know he had stashed. He’d only disarmed the guy from his guns. The visible ones apparently, cause at one point the guy did take out a gun and shoot until the ammo ran out and then teetered the thing like it was an art prop and hit his moon lamp.

Danny "yeah you aren’t officially my friend until you’ve tried to kill me" fenton my guys.

Anyways both keep having the same argument over if Danny technically kidnapped Jason or not. Danny holds the fact that the police at least didn’t see the guy make the ridicule. Jason argued that happened cause he was sporting a concussion. Danny argued he got that after.

Jason at first thinks the guy's a meta, but no. Danny introduces himself, sheepily now that he recognizes this is who the lair he invaded is from. He bandages him and tries to cook for him. If Danny didn’t have ice powers he most certainly would’ve burned the apartment. Jason then proceeds to kick him out of his own kitchen and make them both enchiladas. It’s the most normal both had in a while with another person and the air seems oddly settled. From then on, Jason constantly invited himself over, under the pretense that this was his territory and therefore he could drop in unannounced. Danny who has actual powers says he only allows this because Jason cooks very well.

Danny stays away from the crime fighting business unless his buddy is in deep shit he can’t get himself out. Also it’s Danny’s turn to cover for his vigilante friend which Sam and Tucker give him so much shit for. (but also advice)

And they were roommates. (omg) Danny effectively derails Jason’s big comeback plans by casually dropping ghost lore every two days. Like,

Jason, talking about how he doesn’t want Bats snooping on his territory:

Danny: Just don’t let them in

Jason: ??

Danny: yeah!! Hasn’t Batman died and got revived??? You can totally kick out death touched people you don’t want entering on your lair.

Jason: …I can?

Danny: Yep dude, your lair’s supposed to feel safe.

Jason: wait does that mean I can kick you out?

Danny: First this is my apartment. Second, im dead, not dead touched. Third, it’s too late to get rid of me. bitch.

Anyways Jason is super excited. You mean to tell him he can actually deny people over to his territory haunt?? (Yes it’s only to people who have died and came back but still!! The sample size is exactly the type of people he doesn’t want to see—!)

Joker my beloathed can’t step foot in Crime Alley.

(Jason’d feel a lot safer if the clown was dead but the possibility of his murderer turning into a ghost and their little loophole not applying on the clown is too scary to contemplate.)

Anyways, Jason loves experimenting with the power. It can go from simply making people shudder and not want to enter crime Alley to straight up not letting them enter like there’s an invisible wall blocking the way.

Jason because he’s hurt that Bruce never even patrols Crime Alley and also because he’s petty put B under the category of “invisible wall” blacklist. His reasoning is that the man doesn’t even attempt to enter Crime Alley. To him it’s surely just a place shadowed in tragedy. (anyways that’s it’s the place he met Jason)

Ironically, Jason totally forgets that Batman does venture into Crime Alley one day in the whole year. The day he met Jason.

Okay. He didn’t forget at first. The first year Jason remembers cause it was only a few months till then but then the next— Jason forgets that today’s the anniversary of the day’s Bruce’s parents died. He forgets to allow B in when he feels a slight tug and dismiss the feeling that prompts Bruce to investigate because he literally can’t enter Crime Alley. He starts the trialsTM, he scouts on the very edge and sees people the whole day enter and get out and cross with no problem but Bruce can’t.

It’s literally just Bruce.

Time to call Constantine, i guess.

[spiderb00bs]

- YOU'RE MINE

Cairo Sweet x (g!p) reader  (request)

“You were Cairo's new obsession, and even if you didn't know it, you were already hers” 

Genre – smut    Warnings –  daddy kink, reader is three years older than cairo  MDI

Now playing – MUSTANG BABY, by Nessa Barrett Ft. ARTEMAS 

You were never very attached to material things, the moments you kept in your mind being much more important than any material possession you might own. That said, it wasn't too difficult for you to get rid of most of your things in order to move to a quieter place.  

Moving from New York to the suburbs of Tennessee was a rather drastic change for you, but after your grandmother passed away, you thought it was the best decision you could make right now. You never had cousins, your mother was an only child and you had no siblings, and as much as your mother was out there somewhere on the globe, it still came as a surprise when you received a call saying that your grandmother had left her old house to you in her will.   

Your family had always been cold, never showing much love, and you knew that part of it was because they were such a stingy family, and all they cared about was money. But with your grandmother, things were always different. Your grandma was the only person in that family who made you feel loved, and even though you grew up a bit away from her, you always seemed to be connected, and you loved that feeling.   

Getting out of your truck, you looked around, it wasn't bad, but it wasn't a housing estate either. At one point it was quiet, but if you looked a little closer it seemed almost weird. You could see a house right in front of your grandmother's old house, but it was the only one. You wondered if anyone lived there, your grandmother had never complained about neighbors, so you hoped you wouldn't have a problem with that either.   

The barking of Robin, your dog, brought you back to the real world, you smiled at him, stroking his ears, before taking one of the boxes out of the back of your truck. You used to have a room to yourself in your grandmother's house, and you knew it was still intact, and since this move wasn't final, you thought the usual small room might be more than enough for you.   

Holding the box with your left arm, you took the door keys out of your pocket, hearing Robin's bark echoing through the trees. Looking back, you saw him chasing a butterfly. Laughing, you shook your hair slightly, hoping that the neighbors next door wouldn't mind your dog's antics.  

 Your grandmother's old television was still working fine, and the sofa was very comfortable for the amount of time it was supposed to be used, but everything worked very well. You wouldn't say you were adapted to everything, but you certainly weren't uncomfortable with the idea of spending a few months here. The night had fallen nicely, the breeze was a bit chilly, but the heaters did a good job of warming you up, everything there had a lot of potential. You knew you'd have a lot of work to do, starting tomorrow, but you were happy to put a bit of manual work on your agenda and renovate your grandmother's old house.   

With a sigh, you got up from the sofa, snapping your back and picking up the empty beer bottle from the coffee table. The moment you stood up, Robin's ears mirrored your movement, the dog paying close attention to your next move, and if you said the right words, he'd get up in a hurry.   

“All right buddy, do you want to go outside for a bit before you go to bed?” Bingo.   

Rising in a leap, the dog hurried to the front door, waiting for you to open it so he could relieve himself before getting a very good night's sleep.   

“All right, don't go too far.” You said, causing the dog to lunge when you opened the door.   

Leaning against the doorframe, you took a closer look at your surroundings, the night painting the trees a darker shade, and you've watched enough horror movies to know that it shouldn't be 100% safe. It could just be your head playing tricks on you, but you could swear you felt eyes watching your every move. Deciding it was better to be safe than sorry, you leaned a little further out of the house, ready to send Robin in.   

“ROBIN, COME ON BOY!” You shouted, expecting him to come to you as he always did.  

Your answer was only the swaying of the trees, and as much as you knew that your dog was always distracted by sticks, you also knew that he never neglected your call.  

“ROBIN, HERE!” You shouted again, still without an answer.   

Ready to go after the dog, you grabbed your house keys, closing the door and preparing to go down the stairs in front of the small porch, but something in the darkness made you freeze for a minute. A small being moved among the bushes and trees, and you could only wonder who was walking through the forest so late at night.   

The relief you felt when you saw Robin next to the shadow was fleeting, you were happy to see the dog, but who the hell was that creature?  

“Can I help you?” You asked, discreetly signaling to Robin, causing the dog to come running to your side.   

“You must be the new neighbor...”   

Coming out of the shadows, the figure you demonized so much was actually a girl, not a child, more like a teenager? Maybe a young woman? She looked small, certainly much shorter and a little younger than you. Her hair was beautiful and cascaded over her shoulders, and even though she wasn't that close to you, you could still notice the mesmerizing eyes she had. What was she doing alone in the middle of the woods?   

“I'm Cairo, Cairo Sweet.” The woman said, coming closer and positioning herself comfortably on the railing of the porch steps, just four steps from where you were standing. “I live here in front.”   

Sighing, you felt all the tension disappear from your shoulders, she was just your neighbor, she wasn't going to hurt you.   

“Sorry, it's just that you scared me a bit.” You said, laughing slightly, making Cairo mirror your actions. “I'm Yn.”  

“It's nice to meet you, Yn. I saw a new car arriving yesterday and I was curious.” Cairo said, the way she looked at you made you feel strange, it was almost as if she wanted to see through you. “And then I saw this little guy while I was out here and I connected the dots.”   

“It was a last-minute decision, my grandmother lived here.” You said, trying not to give away too many details about this teenager you'd just met.   

“I saw her on the porch sometimes, but she was very private. I'm sorry about what happened.” Cairo said, climbing a step closer to you, her right hand slowly climbing the railing, her head tilted to the left. All you wanted to know was why she was looking at you like that?   

“It's okay, I have good memories of her.” You said, discreetly swaying your body as you tried to regain that same distance between you and Cairo.   

“So, you're in high school?” Her eyes could really hypnotize someone, they were the most beautiful shade of brown you'd ever seen.  

“College.”   

“You look like a mathematician.”   

“Music.”   

“I should know, you musicians are all beautiful.” Cairo said with a smile on her face, which I'm sure she tried to hide by turning her head away.  

Looking towards her house, Cairo descended the step she had climbed, taking one last look at you.  

“Good night, music girl.” 

Unable to say a word, you just waved, making Cairo laugh - probably at your weirdness - and turn around again before disappearing into the mansion where she lived.   

“Why the hell did I talk so much?” You asked, looking at Robin.  

I mean, you didn't want to talk about your college, you didn't even want her to come up the steps of your house. She was beautiful, her eyes were beautiful, she asked if you were at school? How old is that girl? You certainly said more than you should have. 

The sun seemed to be hotter than ever, making a layer of sweat cover your body, it was almost as if the water you drank had no effect on cooling you down. Putting the hammer down and picking up the saw, you cut out the piece of wood you would use to replace the old furniture, taking care not to get the measurements wrong.   

“I didn't know musicians also took carpentry classes at college.”  

The startle of a new voice in the quiet surroundings made you jump, sending a shiver through your body hair as you almost let the saw slip through your fingers. Turning around, you saw Cairo standing in front of the stairs, sunglasses covering her pretty eyes, the girl was wearing a denim jacket with a white blouse underneath, her skirt went down to her mid-thighs, while a pair of socks hugged the rest of her legs.   

“Do you always walk in quietly?” You asked, examining your hand to make sure everything was in place.   

Laughing at your question, Cairo repeated the movement she made last night, climbing a step and tilting her head to look at what you were doing. You couldn't see the look on her face, but if you could see through the glasses, you might be uncomfortable.   

At first, Cairo even looked at all the tools lying around, but that led her to look at your hands, which were dirty and had some veins protruding from them. The veins ran up your arms, which were bare, as you were wearing a white T-shirt. Cairo continued to look up, checking out your muscles, seeing how your biceps showed when you made the slightest effort, and how your shoulders were tense, perhaps still from the fright.   

“It's a very good skill.” Cairo said, smiling at you. That smile made it seem as if you didn't know many things, as if you were a layman, as if she knew something that you would never, not in a million years.   

“So, you were in the woods again?” You asked, hoping Cairo wouldn't notice the sarcastic tone you used.   

“Actually, I have to go to class.”   

 “College?” You asked, taking the hammer from the toolbox.   

“Senior year of high school.” Cairo said, putting his right foot on the second step.   

“Holy shit! How old are you? Seventeen?” You asked, a playful tone in your speech. If you had been more attentive, you would have seen Cairo take her foot off the second step.   

“Eighteen.”   

Cairo's serious tone caught your attention, making you turn your body completely towards her.  

“Got it.”   

“How old are you?” Cairo crossed her arms as she climbed - now with both feet - onto the second step, it was almost as if she was daring you to say your age.   

“Twenty-one.”   

Giving you a smile, Cairo looked at you over her glasses, giving you a glimpse of that look that had stuck in your mind.   

“Bye, Yn.”   

Watching the girl disappear into the forest, you became more intrigued. Why was this girl so enigmatic to you? What did she mean by all those questions? With all her cool-girl looks? She's just a teenager, maybe a young woman?   

Why was she able to get into your head so much? 

It had been almost a week since you and Cairo had last spoken, your schedules didn't seem to match up and you were always too busy renovating the house. You hadn't seen Cairo since that day, but Cairo couldn't say the same about you.  

Sitting at the window, the brown-haired girl watched you, she had just seen you arrive with new things in the back of your truck, T-shirt and jeans dirty from the heavy work you did alone. Cairo already knew that your next steps would be straight to the bathroom. It was as if she already knew your whole routine, it was as if she was slowly getting into your routine, but still too far away to share her knowledge with you.  

The Sweet girl's body warmed up, watching you take your shirt off, unbuckle your old belt and pull down your pants in one swift movement. The muscles in the right places, your breasts trapped in the bra, the way your boxer shorts fit perfectly to your body, the way she could see the outline of your cock, your round ass held up by the fabric, your thick legs, everything made Cairo want to jump out of the window and fall on top of you.    

Desire and libido surged through the girl's body faster than the speed of light, sending heat to the middle of the Sweet girl's legs, who watched your every move as you rubbed your thighs together. Unfortunately for Cairo, you went into the bathroom before taking off all your clothes, but that didn't stop the girl from imagining whatever she wanted with you.   

“Baby, are you coming to join me?” Your voice echoed off the walls of her mind, the noise of the shower loud in her ears, and Cairo could swear she could smell the soap. 

“I was waiting for you to ask me.”   

Walking to the bathroom, Cairo leaned against the doorframe, admiring your silhouette through the blurry shower. Taking off her clothes piece by piece without wasting any time, the brunette approached the glass, opening the door and finding herself facing your back.   

Moving closer to you, Cairo began distributing kisses under your shoulder blades, her hands running from your breasts down your abdomen and reaching what she so desperately wanted. You moaned as Cairo's hands reached your cock, the sensation of her movements making you slightly dizzy. 

Cairo's eyes watched you, her head tilted slightly to the right, allowing her to see a little of your side profile. Accelerating the movement of her hand, Cairo saw you throw your head forward, resting it against the bathroom tiles. The moan you let out sent a shiver through Cairo's body, she loved that you had that reaction to her touch, that only she could make you feel that way, that only she had you in her hands, that only she had you. 

Cairo had learned all about your behavior, how your body reacted to everything, and she could tell with conviction how close to cumming you were. You kept one hand on the wall in front of you, while the other rested comfortably around Cairo's wrist. Your moans echoed off the bathroom walls, the brunette behind you could feel your cock throbbing in her hand.   

The sound of your car driving off made Cairo open her eyes, quickly removing her hand from between her legs and looking out of the window at your car, which was now driving off down the dirt road.   

Sighing, Cairo got up from her window seat and walked over to the bed before throwing herself down. It wasn't the first time Cairo had had such thoughts about you, and she was sure it wouldn't be the last. But she was even more certain that the “waking dream” she had been having would come true. You were hers, and even if you couldn't see it, she would make you see it.   

The doorbell rang throughout the large house. Outside, Cairo waited patiently for you to answer it. The girl had two cups of coffee with her and she was hoping to spend some time with you, ready to put her plan into action by moving up another stage with you.   

Unfortunately for Cairo, she didn't recognize who opened the door. She certainly didn't recognize the blonde hair, or the delicate hands that gripped the handle, or the blue eyes, or the short stature. Who was that woman?  

“Hi, what can I do for you?” Her hair was slightly messy, she looked like she'd just woken up and she was wearing a shirt that was clearly too big for her.   

Cairo could count, and she definitely knew that 2 + 2 = 4.  

“Is Yn here?”   

“She's kind of busy right now...”   

“I bet she is...” Cairo said, leaving an uncomfortable silence in the air as she analyzed the woman in front of her.   

“Do you want me to say something to her?” The blonde asked. Her voice made Cairo want to vomit.  

“No.”   

Descending the steps, Cairo disappeared into the woods, leaving the slightly confused woman at the door. Cairo didn't care, she didn't even look back, whatever this woman was doing to you had to end now. Immediately! 

Sitting on the front steps, you sipped your beer while watching the sunset. With no plans for today, you had decided to just relax while you let Robin run wild. Things had been quiet since you'd moved in, it was almost a month and if you'd known how quiet the small town was, you would have moved in sooner.  

Hearing footsteps in the silence, you saw Cairo approaching, the girl coming out of the vast woods, as always, walking slowly along the strange paths she made a point of following. It had been a while since you'd seen the girl, you'd never met, unlike before when she'd practically come to your door. It was almost as if she was avoiding you, but why would she do that?  

“Do you always choose the strangest paths?” You asked, looking at the girl before taking another sip of your beer.   

“I like walking through the woods, it's exciting.” Cairo replied, approaching you with a slight smile on her face. She seemed happy to see you, or maybe she was just having a good day.   

“You've been kind of missing, haven't you?” Cairo approached the steps.  

“Why? Did you miss me?” A teasing smile appeared on her face as she climbed the first step.   

“I just thought it was strange that you'd disappeared. Anne had told me that a girl knocked on the door the other day, and I knew it was you.” You said, your head tilting slightly upwards to look into Cairo's eyes.   

“Anne? So that's her name?” Cairo asked, climbing the second step and taking the small backpack she was carrying off her back.   

“Annlynn. I met her at the market, she's a nice girl.” You said, taking another sip of your beer while trying to hide your smile as you spoke of the blonde girl. “Very bossy at times, but nice.”   

“Are you two dating?” Cairo asked, climbing the third step as she grabbed the beer from your hand and took a long sip.   

“Hey! You can't drink.” You said, trying to take your beer from her hand, only to receive a slap on the hand and a giggle from Cairo.   

“Don't be a party pooper. I bet you drank when you were a teenager.” Cairo said, finally reaching the fourth step and sitting down next to you.   

“No, I didn't.” You said, looking at Cairo who was staring at you as if he doubted what you had just said.   

You stared back at her, trying to be as serious as possible while the girl tried to get the truth out of you with her eyes. Those beautiful eyes.  

Faced with that situation, you found yourself laughing, making Cairo join you. It was obvious that it was a lie, but there was something about sharing it with Cairo that made you feel lighter, something you couldn't quite identify.  

“Okay, fine, maybe I drank once or twice when I was a teenager.” Laughing, Cairo bumped you with her elbow.  

“I knew it, I know you're not a saint.”   

Smiling at her, you nodded, looking towards the trees as you thought about how troubled your adolescence had been. “No one is a saint. And anyone who says they are is certainly lying.”   

Feeling Cairo look deeply at your profile, you turned your head towards the girl. Her eyes looked at you as if they could see into your soul, deep and questioning, it was as if she wanted to know everything you were thinking.  

“You have a beautiful head.” The silence of the night began to echo louder, as the sun gave way to the moon, which grew larger and larger.   

“No one has ever said that to me.” You answered jokingly, but Cairo's eyes quickly told her you were serious.   

“You don't have to do that all the time. It was a real compliment, I like how your mind works.”  

You were never very good at receiving compliments, your family was never very good at giving compliments. But you tried to cover it up most of the time. But with Cairo, it didn't work, she seemed to know you more than you knew yourself, she seemed to have the power to read your mind. Maybe she had opened your brain while you were asleep and sewn it back together before you woke up, because that was the only explanation for her being able to get so far into your head.  

“You're a smart girl, Cairo.” You say, making the girl come closer to you, your thighs touching, and as sudden as the closeness was, you didn't want to move away, you didn't move away.   

“Is that how you see me? As a girl?” Looking straight into your eyes, Cairo hypnotized you. She had managed to leave you speechless with a simple question. And as much as you thought the answer was also simple, your mind was screaming questions and the different meanings that question could have.  

“How should I see you?” Your faces were close together, Cairo's eyes seemed to scrutinize every feature of your face, while you did the same with hers. The silence was no longer so reassuring, in fact, now the silence reminded you that it was just you and Cairo there, no one else was around and that gave you a strange feeling in your chest.  

“You'll find out.” With a smile, Cairo took another sip of your beer, handing the empty bottle back to you as she got up and started walking to her house.   

With a sigh, you looked at the empty bottle, succumbing to the urge to put your lips to the bottleneck just to seal what Cairo had already sealed. “Good night.”  

Without looking back, Cairo continued walking. And as much as you didn't want to, all you could do was notice how her ass looked in that black dress. “Dream with me, Cowboy.”   

“Cowboy?” you questioned.   

Looking back for the first time, Cairo smiled. You hated that irritatingly beautiful smile, it was as if she knew something you didn't yet know, but that she was dying to tell you.   

“Like I said, you'll find out.” 

Things seemed to be going well for you, you and Anne were still trying to do something – which neither of you classified as a relationship – legal, the house was getting more beautiful every day, and your friendship with Cairo seemed to blossom a little more every day.  

Cairo intrigued you, how smart she was, how she could make you open up effortlessly, how she had much more emotional intelligence than many adults you've ever met. Sometimes you would even joke, asking her if she had ever managed to manipulate a bearded adult, she never answered, only casting a look that pierced your soul. 

The nights went by faster now, and the days were nicer. With all your routine, you still found time to talk to Cairo about random things, and even though she was almost always quite cryptic, you enjoyed the time you spent together. You'd never admit it out loud, but at times you found yourself genuinely attracted to Cairo, fooled by all the beautiful and mysterious words that came out of her mouth.  

Every night was surprising, and it was never different. Just like every other night, you heard the doorbell ringing through the walls of the large, newly refurbished house. Getting up from the armchair in the living room, you shouted that you were coming, opening the door immediately only to see Cairo standing there in a white dress.  

“I didn't see Robin running through the trees, so I decided to check if everything was all right.” Cairo said as soon as the door opened. You still didn't know what it was, but there was certainly something different about the look in her eyes.   

Scratching the back of your neck, you looked into the house, making Cairo follow your gaze, only for her to see the dog lying on the carpet near the stairs leading upstairs. “I took him into town today, he's pretty tired.”   

“So that means you're not going out either?” Cairo asked, her gaze almost begging you to give her some of your attention.   

You and Cairo used to talk casually in front of the door, sitting on the fourth step from the front of the house. You had never invited Cairo in, but Cairo had invited you to her house, which you refused because you always had something to do.   

“No, I'm sorry.” Ready to convince you, Cairo didn't have time to open her mouth, your voice spoke over it. “But you can come in if you want.”  

Cairo's eyes sparkled, almost as if she were a child in a candy store. Unable to contain the smile that escaped, Cairo nodded positively, making you step aside, giving her the space to enter.  

Your house was beautiful, cozy, Cairo looked at every detail as if she were in love. She didn't know what your grandmother's house had looked like before, but she knew you had done a good job. The large bookcase in the living room was definitely what caught the Sweet girl's eye, and in that minute she thought about what it would be like if she lived there with you.   

Waking up every morning next to you, wrapped up in you, the sheets falling to her hips, exposing her naked body from the previous night's activities. Her waking up to your kisses on her neck and your hands massaging her breasts, making her moan sleepily. Your mouth between her legs would be your breakfast, and then after she'd finished, she'd go to the kitchen to prepare coffee for you so you could fuck her while she tried not to burn the pancakes.   

She imagines herself complaining to you about the noise you're making putting together the crib for your baby while she's trying to write the sequel to the book she'd released before she got pregnant. It was perfect.   

“Cairo!” You called out, rousing the girl from the trance she had fallen into. “ Is everything all right in there? I've been calling you for a few minutes.” You said, walking into the kitchen, Cairo sitting on the sofa. 

“Yes, I'm just admiring the books, sorry.” Cairo said, seeing you come back with two glasses of wine in your hands.  

“Oh, that's fine. Some of them were my grandmother's, others I brought with me.” You said, sitting down next to her and handing the glass of wine to the brunette.   

Taking a sip of the wine, Cairo groaned at the taste, having never tasted anything so good. “Wow, this is good.”  

“Really? I don't know much about wine. Anne gave me the bottle last time she was here.”  

Despite not wanting to hear Anne's name, Cairo took your comment in stride, at least it was her you were drinking that expensive wine with, and not that dumb blonde.   

“Does she still come here?” Cairo knew the answer, she saw you and Anne through the window constantly, having to put up with every moan the blonde let out just so she could watch you fuck her.   

“Sometimes, I mean, she's nice.” You reply, taking a sip of your wine.  

“I bet she is.” Cairo says, using a sarcastic tone that passes you by. “I bet you have some very interesting conversations with her.” Bringing the glass up to her lips, Cairo looks at you over the glass object.   

“Talking isn't on the list of things we do...” You say embarrassedly, Cairo could tell how embarrassed you were to talk about the blonde. “I try, but she never wants to spend more time than necessary, if you know what I mean.”   

Looking at you, Cairo tilts her head to the left, making you look into her eyes. You didn't understand how, but every time she did this you got a little lost, her eyes were a window that pulled you out of your zone, every time.  

“Maybe she's not the right girl for you.” Cairo says, her eyes were mesmerizing, and still conveyed that same enigmatic sparkle as when she first appeared on your doorstep. “Maybe you're looking in the wrong place.”   

But there was something else, her eyes shone in a bigger way today, almost as if her pupils were all her eyes had. Leaving the cup on the table, Cairo moved closer to you on the sofa, taking your hand in hers.  

“Don't you think someone else might be waiting for you, Yn?”  

You couldn't answer, completely mesmerized by the way Cairo spoke, how she moved, how the tone of her voice danced in your ears. Was it the beer? The wine you're drinking, why did Cairo's mouth look so beautiful from your view?  

It was always like that with Cairo, everything was an enigma, a mystery, the way she spoke, the way she walked, her touch, and the way your mouth was simply stuck to hers now, everything was a mystery.   

Cairo was a witch, that's what your mind was screaming, because that was the only explanation why your mouth was now on the Sweet girl's. Your lips were moving in sync with hers, her hands were tangled in your hair, her perfume was making you dizzy, and it felt like you were falling off an abyss. And as soon as you landed on the ground, you pulled away.   

“Cairo, I... I'm sorry-”   

Cut off by Cairo's lips, you quickly let yourself go. The Sweet girl climbed on top of you, her thighs on either side of your body, pinning you to the sofa, while your hands timidly ran around her waist. Taking your hands in hers, Cairo guided them to her ass, your brain sending information to the rest of your body.   

Your hands squeezed Cairo's ass, the younger girl moaning and rolling her hips on top of you. Your cock starting to show signs of life, making you remember to think a little with your head up.   

“Cairo... we can't...” You tried to speak between gasps, as Cairo's mouth continued to do a great job on your neck. “You're too young.”   

Cairo's kisses went down to your neck, and you tried to push the girl off you only to hear a sneer come out of her mouth “Don't be stupid Yn. I'm old enough to say what I want and don't want to do. And I want you!”   

Kissing your neck, Cairo slipped her hands under the fabric of your shirt, grabbing the hem and pulling the garment off your body. With a smile, Cairo observed your muscles, getting even happier when she realized you weren't wearing a bra.   

“God, it was almost as if you were prepared for this.” Cairo said, attacking your lips without even giving you a chance to say anything.   

Your mind was screaming no, but your body was screaming yes. You were lost, you were three years older than Cairo, and for a moment it didn't seem right. But when you remembered all the deep conversations, the looks you exchanged, the smiles, the legs touching, all the intimacy, you couldn't resist.  

“I've been waiting for this for so long...” Cairo said, trailing kisses down your collarbone and down to your breasts.   

“You have?” The sensation of her kisses around your nipple was wonderful, almost as if you were in heaven.   

Letting out a moan when Cairo put your nipple in her mouth, you threw your head back, holding onto the brunette's hair so she could get on with the job.  

“Ever since I first saw you, Yn. I want you, no matter how old you are, it's only three years.” Cairo said, looking at you before starting to unbutton the buttons of your pants. “Nobody's a saint, right?!”   

Shaking your head negatively, you moaned as Cairo's hand began to make light movements on your cock over the fabric of your boxers. “Then let me make you feel good, daddy.”   

Your pupils dilated, Cairo's words piercing your eardrums like a heavy rock song. Your hands quickly reached for the hem of her dress, pulling it off her body in one swift movement. Cairo's breasts were free of any bra, just as she had found yours, and her warm skin in your hands made you feel that it was all right.  

“God, you're so hot.” You said, running your hands over Cairo's breasts before putting the right nipple in your mouth.  

Feeling the hairs on her body stand on end, Cairo pushed your head closer to her body, moaning loudly and rolling on top of you. “Let me ride you, baby.” Nodding your head, you gently placed Cairo on the sofa, reaching up and pulling your pants and boxers off your body.   

Cairo looked at you with hunger in her eyes, calling you with her finger, the girl made you kneel in front of her, grabbing your head and combing through your strands of hair. “Take it off for me, daddy.”   

With unregulated breathing, you pulled Cairo's panties down her legs, kissing the girl's thighs as she smiled at you. Now that smile made sense to you, now everything she hid beneath that smile was brought to light. You could finally look at Cairo more intimately, in every sense of the word.   

Taking your chin in her hand, Cairo pulled you into a lustful kiss, full of intentions and directions of where this night would end up. “Let me ride you, Cowboy.”   

 Winking at you, Cairo smiled, tilting her head and motioning for you to sit on the sofa again. You obeyed her as if Cairo's word was a law that couldn't be broken.  

 “Wait, I have to get a condom.” You said, trying to get up, only to be pushed by Cairo back to where you were.   

“I trust you, daddy.” Cairo said, as she put one leg on either side of your body. “In fact, it's not like you're going to want anyone else after this.”   

Guiding your cock into her pussy, Cairo relaxed her body onto you. You both moaned as your bodies fit together, feeling as if you were made for it. You had never felt so good with any other girl, and Cairo didn't even think about past experiences, she knew you were made for each other.   

Starting to move up and down quickly, Cairo grabbed your hair, making you look into the same mesmerizing eyes you've been looking into since you moved in. The way her hips rock on top of you is taking you to a completely new state, the sensation is completely magnificent, and you swear you've never felt like this before.  

“Do you like fucking your little girl, daddy?” Cairo asked, stopping her movements on top of you when you didn't answer. “Admit it, daddy...”  

Your head was screaming danger, maybe this was her way of getting what she'd always wanted, you, completely for herself. “I love fucking you, babygirl.”  

Fuck it. 

Giving you a genuine smile, Cairo resumed her hip thrusts, increasing the speed as she began to feel close to cumming. “Fuck, daddy. Are you feeling it too?” Shaking your head, you agreed with Cairo, your hands going down to her ass and impaling her even more on your cock.   

“Keep going, baby. Please.” Listening to your begging, Cairo continued rolling and bouncing on your lap, the orgasms of the two of you getting closer.  

Your hands fit perfectly on Cairo's curves, but now they were shaking, announcing how close you were to getting your jollies. Cairo was trapped in her own world, not even listening when you announced that you were close.   

With her eyes closed, the girl continued to roll her hips wonderfully on top of you. Her moans were getting louder and louder, just like yours, and you could feel exactly when she finally came. Her inner walls tightening around your cock, making you unable to hold back any longer.   

“Cairo, I'm going to...” Even though you tried, you couldn't get the girl off you. Feeling the jets of your hot seed gushing inside her was like heaven for Cairo, it was as if she had finally won the prize she had been chasing for so long. Happiness hung over her face, and the smile on her face would stay there for days to come. 

“Have I been a good girl to you, daddy?” Kissing your lips, Cairo looked into your eyes, the mischievous glint now transformed into pride.  

“You didn't let me leave, Cairo.” Your tone was weary, accepting that you had lost the war, the battle, everything. You were hers.   

“It's all right, my love. It just proves how much you're mine.” 

OMG, this took forever to be ready, but I did it!

you guys saw what I did with Anne, Annlynn... Sabrina Annlynn Carpenter... Anyway, I just wanted to make a reference to my girl cause I'm so proud of her. 

The Grammys? The hug she and Olivia exchanged??? Oh, I've been blessed for the rest of my life.

Well, that's it. I hope you enjoyed the fic, stay safe, drink water

xoxo, spider.

[maretinelli]

A NON-SEPARATION

Dad!Lewis Hamilton X Mom!fem!reader

Summary: When things get tough in their marriage, they decide to take a break, but of course they still have feelings, especially when they have two beautiful girls.

Words: 4.9K+

Warnings: Anguish, mention of separation, cute daughters, cute (because of the girls), crying.

Author: English is not my first language so sorry for any mistakes that may be in the story. I finally got the courage to write an anguish from start to finish hahaha And there will be a part 2.

Marie: 6 years — Pietra: 4 years

Part 2

MASTERLIST

The silence in that house had lasted three weeks. Three weeks since the fight. Three weeks since Lewis picked up his bags and decided it was best to take a break. Three weeks since their love was on hold, not knowing where to go.

Lewis didn't go to a hotel or a rented apartment. He went to his mother, Carmen's, house.

Even though Ferrari offered him a beautiful home in Maranello, when Hamilton joined the team he never considered leaving the UK. His priority was always his family, and he wanted his girls to grow up close to their grandmother, in the city where they had always lived.

But now the house was different. He no longer slept in that bed next to Y/n, he no longer heard his daughters' laughter every morning, nor the sound of Roscoe's paws on the floor. He saw the girls almost every day, but it wasn't the same. Nothing was.

In the house where they used to live together, Y/n was finishing washing the dishes. She and the girls had made a cake earlier, and now Marie, the oldest girl of the couple - 6 years old and Pietra, the youngest - 4 years old, were in the room, finishing packing to spend the weekend with Lewis.

The sound of children's voices and giggles echoed from upstairs, and Y/n smiled at the sound. That sound was one of the only things that still brought her some comfort during these difficult days. She looked down at the floor, where Roscoe lay, snoring softly, and smiled again.

Lewis had left the dog there because he knew how attached the girls were to him. He would still walk Roscoe when he came to pick up his daughters, which created a funny situation. The shared custody was not just for the girls. It was for three children: Marie, Pietra and Roscoe.

As she dried her hands on the dish towel, Y/n found herself thinking about everything that had happened in the past few weeks. But before she could get lost in her own thoughts, the doorbell rang.

She frowned and looked at the clock on the wall. Lewis wouldn't be picking up the girls for another 40 minutes, and her best friend wouldn't be home until the evening.

Passing by the stairs, she could still hear the children's voices upstairs. She smiled and felt her heart warm, Y/n knew how her girls were so attached to each other.

And then she opened the door, and there he was. Lewis. He was standing there, looking as handsome as ever, holding two small bouquets and a box of chocolates. For the girls, of course.

But Y/n's chest tightened. Before, there were three bouquets. One for Marie, one for Pietra, and one for her. Now, there were only two left.

The thought of knowing that he no longer loved her and wanted a divorce crossed her mind. She blinked a few times, feeling the tears welling up, but she smiled and made room for him to enter.

"Hi, come in..."

Lewis kept his gaze on her for a few seconds before crossing the door. The familiar air of the house hit him hard. Nothing had changed. But at the same time, everything was different.

"The girls are still packing," Y/n said, closing the door. "I didn't think you'd come so soon."

"I was nearby," he replied, walking beside her. "And I wanted to spend more time with them before the evening flight."

Lewis followed his wife into the kitchen, where she had been before. Without saying another word, he smiled when he saw Roscoe lying in front of the refrigerator, sleeping without a care in the world.

"Hey, buddy!" The pilot crouches down in front of the dog and strokes his ears, causing Roscoe to lift his head and wag his tail.

Lewis's cheerful tone made Y/n smile. She walked back to the sink, picking up the dish towel and rolling it between her fingers.

"I know you're taking the girls to the GP," she said lightly, but hesitated before continuing. "For the first time... without me..." The last words came out softly, as if they hurt too much to say out loud. And they hurt Lewis too. "But please don't leave them with just anyone in the garage."

He stood up and smiled, trying to hide his feelings. "My mother is coming along to help me. It's going to be okay." Lewis left the small bouquets and the box of chocolates on the counter.

As he passed Y/n to sit on one of the high stools in the kitchen, he lightly touched her arm. It was a simple touch. Familiar.

Y/n felt a lump in her throat. Her heart tightened. It was still the same Lewis. The same man she had shared her life with for over eight years. Eight years of marriage and four more years of dating. She didn't remember what life was like without him anymore, and that hurt, because that was exactly what had been happening these past few weeks.

Lewis noticed that tears had come to the woman's eyes, and to ease the tension, he changed the subject.

"How's work?"

"Well...we hired a few more people for the clinic, to ease the workload of those who were already there." She replied, biting her lips a little, trying to emphasize the sentence.

Because that's exactly what made them both take a break. Work. Work and work. Lewis was in Maranello almost all the time and Y/n was in the office. And she knew. that he had to do something if he wanted Lewis back.

"Good...very good" Lewis smiles a little.

Silence fell between them. Lewis leaned over and picked Roscoe up, petting the dog, while Y/n rested her hands on the counter.

Then she took a deep breath before saying, "If... if you happen to bring anyone else to the race... you know, like, any women... don't let the girls see. They're still pretty shaken up about not having you here and it would be too much for them..."

Lewis’s chest tightened. The idea that Y/n thought he was already moving on broke his heart. He blinked a few times, but couldn’t stop the silent tears that fell.

"Hey!" He cleared his throat and looked at his wife. "Don't think I don't love you anymore, Y/n. That... that hurt me. Hearing you say I'm with someone else when all I want... all I love... is still you." Y/n swallowed hard, starting to cry and staring at her painted nails. "I know we fought badly. And we're taking a break. But I don't want a divorce. I want you. Just you. And our girls."

She nodded slowly, biting her lower lip. "I'm sorry...I shouldn't have said that... I'm sorry." She whispered, trying to control her tears.

Lewis watched as she dried her eyes. Wanting to get closer to her, to shower her with kisses, hugs and sweet words that told her everything would be okay and that they would return to their normal, loving routine.

Before they could say anything else, Y'n stepped away from the kitchen sink and walked towards the stairs. Trying to push all the bad thoughts out of her head before speaking to her daughters. "Girls! Let's go!"

"Coming soon, Mommy!" Marie shouted from above.

"Daddy is here waiting for you!"

An excited scream came from Pietra upstairs, and Y/n returned to the kitchen smiling and Lewis laughed out loud at his youngest daughter's action.

"P is daddy's little girl, have you noticed?" Y/n commented, smiling.

"I noticed," he replied, laughing too. Looking at his wife and taking the opportunity to admire the woman he loved.

The girls' hurried footsteps approached the stairs upstairs. And before they appeared, Y/n leaned slightly on the counter in front of Lewis and whispered, "Hey, just don't comment on Marie's hair..."

Lewis raised his eyebrows, smiling curiously. "Why?"

Y/n just smiled. "Wait. You'll see..."

Seconds later, Marie and Pietra entered the kitchen excitedly, wearing matching outfits. They both wore long summer dresses that Carmen gave them on their last vacation. Marie's was lilac; Pietra's, yellow.

And then Lewis noticed something different. Marie's bangs were crooked. Someone had cut them.

She herself had done this trick last night, saying that she had too much hair on her face. And before her mother could argue, the scissors had passed through her brown locks.

Lewis looked at his wife, who was holding back a laugh. She knew exactly what he was thinking. Their daughter’s hair looked very strange.

The pilot took a deep breath, trying to control his laughter and ignore his daughter's funny hair.

The two girls were almost identical to their father, but had details of their mother. The biggest difference was that Marie had inherited Y/n's straight hair, while Pietra had curls identical to Lewis's. And now, Marie had a...questionable fringe cut.

Lewis got up from the bench and bent down, opening his arms to his daughters, who ran to him with joy.

"My princesses!" He said, pulling them into a tight hug.

Y/n felt a tightness in her chest when she saw the scene and heard him say in a choked voice: "I missed you so much." Lewis's voice was muffled because he was hugging the two girls.

Marie smiled, snuggling into her father's embrace, while Pietra squeezed her eyes shut, holding his arms. "I wish daddy would come home..." The youngest said softly.

Lewis closed his eyes, taking a deep breath before hugging them even tighter. "I know, my love... It's going to be okay."

Y/n turned around quickly, biting her lower lip to hold back the tears that threatened to fall. She reached out to grab the dishes from the cupboard, trying to concentrate on the task and ignore the pain it caused her.

Then he heard Lewis say in a lighter tone, "I brought you something."

The girls moved away a little, curious. Lewis stood up and took the two small bouquets from the counter and handed them to his daughters.

Marie's eyes widened as she took the flowers and smiled, smelling them fondly. "Thank you, Daddy! They're beautiful and smell great!"

She hugged her father's neck, and Lewis smiled, kissing the top of her head, looking closely at her crooked bangs.

Pietra held the bouquet, studying the flowers before commenting with a thoughtful expression. "I wish they were yellow to match my dress... But they're beautiful anyway."

Y/n chuckled softly at her daughter's comment, while Lewis laughed out loud. "Okay, boss. I'll be making a note in my diary to buy it next time," he joked.

Y/n placed the plates on the counter and picked up the cake she had made with the girls, placing it next to the cutlery. When her eyes fell on the box of chocolates Lewis had brought, she frowned, but didn't say anything. Thinking that she had forgotten to give them to the girls.

Marie, still clutching the bouquet, pointed discreetly to the box on the counter. "What's this, Daddy?"

Lewis looked in his daughter's direction, then turned to Y/n and smiled before picking up the box from the counter and walking around to face his wife.

"Chocolates for Mom. Her favorites."

Y/n's eyes widened, taking the box hesitantly. Her fingers trembled slightly, and Lewis saw that her face was still streaked with the tears she had tried to hide.

She smiled, even shyly, and murmured a thank you. Then, without thinking much, she ran her hand over his biceps, an unconscious gesture, but one that made Lewis feel something inside him straighten out. As if, finally, things were getting back on track.

She placed the box on the counter, sighing. "I'll leave it here and eat it after dinner."

The girls laughed, and Lewis smiled. "You always need something sweet after dinner, don't you?"

Y/n rolled her eyes with a shy smile and looked at the cake. "Oh, you know!" She shrugged and Lewis chuckled softly. "I'm going upstairs to get the girls' bags. The cake has cooled down, you can eat it."

The girls let out an excited scream and run to the table to sit down. Y/n smiles as she watches the two little girls run past her.

Lewis smiles before his wife leaves the room and begins helping the girls serve themselves.

Y/n walked up the stairs slowly, feeling the weight of everything that had happened in the last few minutes. When she entered the girls' room, the environment carried their innocence and sweetness - beds made with themed blankets, stuffed animals scattered around and small details that told the story of the childhood that she and Lewis were building for their daughters.

She picked up the two suitcases on wheels, which had been packed since the night before, and took a deep breath before leaving the room. As she walked down the hallway, her eyes fell on the photographs hanging on the wall—memories of a time that seemed so long ago, but that still lived on in every detail of that house.

There was a photo of her and Lewis, still young, with wide smiles and eyes shining with happiness, at one of the first GPs they had attended together. In another, they were hugging in the living room of that same house, with moving boxes in the background, their faces full of anticipation for the new phase of their lives. And then, a photo of Marie, newborn, in Lewis's arms, who was smiling as if she had just discovered the meaning of the universe.

There were so many others, but Y/n couldn't look and remember that it was all distant now.

Y/n felt her chest tighten and tears welled up without her being able to stop them. But she kept walking anyway. When she reached the top of the stairs, she saw Lewis approaching and climbing a few steps to help her. He picked up the bags easily, without any effort, and placed them on the floor. But before Y/n could get down, he noticed her face wet with tears.

Downstairs, the daughters' voices still echoed in the kitchen, excited about the cake. However, at that moment, there was only Lewis there, standing in front of her, his brown eyes meeting hers with an intensity that made her feel stripped of all the barriers she tried to maintain.

For a second, no one said anything. And then, without warning, Y/n threw herself into his arms.

She wrapped her arms around Lewis’s neck, clinging to him as if her body had acted on its own. The sobs came loud, deep, full of everything she had held in for the past few weeks. The sobs were intense, painful, the sound tearing at Lewis’s heart.

He held her tightly, running his hands down her back, feeling her shoulders tremble. The smell of her perfume mixed with her tears made him close his eyes and swallow the lump in his throat.

Lewis pressed his face into Y/n's hair and, even without meaning to, let a few tears escape. He hated seeing her like this. I hated being away from them.

He carefully walked down the last few steps with Y/n crying in his arms and took her to the living room. Time seemed to stand still until a childish voice snapped them out of their trance.

"Can I have another piece?" Marie appeared in the doorway of the room with a smile on her face, but lost it when she saw the scene. Her eyes widened. "Is Mommy okay?"

Y/n quickly pulled away from her husband's arms, wiping away her tears in a hurry while Lewis was still caressing her back, trying to comfort her.

“Mommy… Mommy’s fine.” She forced a smile, walking over to her daughter and bending down to her level. “Just work stuff.”

Marie tilted her head and frowned, but soon hugged her mother. Y/n closed her eyes and ran her fingers through her daughter's hair, feeling her heart melt at the gesture.

Lewis watched this and for a moment, everything inside him screamed that this was the family he should never have left.

"WOW, WHERE IS EVERYONE?!" Pietra shouted from the kitchen, impatient.

Laughter escaped Y/n and Lewis’s lips at the same time. Even Marie rolled her eyes. “I have to get P to stop screaming,” Marie muttered, crossing her arms. “If not, she’ll spend the whole weekend screaming in the paddock and scaring the fans.”

Lewis laughed and ran his hand through his daughter's hair. "We'll figure it out, don't worry."

He went to the kitchen in search of the youngest, leaving his wife and Marie alone. Y/n observed her oldest daughter, who now looked at her in a different way.

"You wanted more cake, right?"

Marie hesitated, then shook her head. “Not now, I just…” Her dark eyes, like her father’s, searched her mother’s face, as if searching for something. “Were you crying because of Dad?”

Y/n stopped messing with the girl's unruly bangs and frowned. "What, daughter?"

"You. Crying because of Daddy," Marie said matter-of-factly. "I know he left because you two fought a while ago. And I also hear you crying softly in your room at dawn. It's because of him, isn't it?"

Y/n's chest tightened. The air felt heavier. She felt vulnerable, as if she had been caught off guard, not knowing how to respond.

"Yeah..." She swallowed and smiled softly, placing her hands on her daughter's little face. "But don't worry, sweetie, it's going to be okay, okay? I want you to have fun with Grandma and Daddy at the race." She stood up.

Marie nodded, but before letting go of her mother, she hugged her legs, squeezing tightly. "Okay... But I want you to stay right here too."

Y/n closed her eyes and sighed, caressing her daughter's back. Marie had always been like this: sweet, calm, understanding. She had a natural patience and a keen sensitivity, always picking up on emotions that not even Y/n could hide. She was the type who noticed when someone was sad and would stay by that person's side in silence, offering comfort with just her presence.

Y/n smiled and ran her fingers through her hair. "I'll be fine. Auntie Anne is coming to spend the days with Mommy."

Marie's face lit up when she heard her mother's best friend's name. "Aunt Anne is nice. Tell her I said hi."

"I will say yes," Y/n assured, laughing.

It was at that moment that Lewis returned to the room with Pietra on his lap. They both had the same mischievous smile, they were identical. Pietra had some cake frosting on her face, making Y/n laugh and move closer.

"Oh my God, P, you're all dirty!" She began to wipe her daughter's cheek.

Pietra laughed and shook in her father's lap. "I'm a walking cake!" They laughed.

Pietra was the complete opposite of Marie. She was a burst of energy in the form of a child. Always on the move, talkative and full of crazy ideas. Her laugh was loud and contagious, and her ability to make jokes in any situation made everyone around her laugh—even Marie, who pretended to be annoyed, but deep down she adored her little sister.

"That would explain a lot..." Y/n joked, wiping away the last traces of frosting.

Lewis watched the scene, his heart heavy. This was his family. His world. And in that moment, all he wanted to do was fight to never be away from them again.

The Ferrari driver glanced at the watch on his wrist and sighed softly, knowing it was time to go. "Alright, girls, let's go," he announced, looking at Marie, who nodded quickly before turning to grab her suitcase.

In his lap, Pietra began to shake, restless as ever. "I need to get something from my room!" She suddenly announced, before slipping out of her father's arms and running towards the stairs.

"Pietra, be careful on the stairs!" Lewis and Y/n said at the same time, in perfect sync.

The two looked at each other, surprised to have spoken together, and an involuntary smile appeared on both their lips. It was one of those spontaneous moments, where the connection between them still felt so natural after all.

Roscoe appeared in the room at that moment, yawning and walking slowly towards Lewis, his sleepy expression revealing that he had just woken up from one of his long naps. Lewis bent down to scratch the dog's head, a small smile on his face.

"Will you miss them, champ? I'll bring the girls back, I promise."

Y/n, already more relieved after the tension of the previous moment, crossed her arms and tilted her head, looking at Roscoe.

"I think he'll enjoy this little vacation... He'll be able to sleep without being woken up by someone yelling in his ear."

Lewis laughed at the comment, knowing it was true. Pietra especially loved to involve Roscoe in her games, and the dog patiently endured everything from strange hairstyles to impromptu parades around the yard.

However, minutes passed and Pietra still hadn’t returned. Lewis frowned and stood up. “I’ll help Marie carry the suitcase to the car.”

Marie smiled in thanks, and Y/n handed her another backpack that was on the couch.

The two followed Lewis to the door, Yin walking beside her eldest daughter and placing a gentle hand on her back. Marie walked a little further out of the house to hand the backpack to her father, who took it with a fond smile.

"Thank you, my sunshine," he said, before leaning down and kissing the top of his daughter's head.

Marie smiled shyly and walked back to her mother. But then, before she could say anything, Pietra finally appeared.

Y/n blinked a few times, holding back a laugh at the sight. Pietra was holding a princess dress up, making sure it didn't drag on the ground, and on her feet were a pair of shiny children's heels, which made a funny noise on the sidewalk with each step.

Marie looked at her sister with an expression of pure confusion before shooting a look at her mother, as if asking for some explanation.

Meanwhile, Lewis, distracted by packing his bags in the trunk, still hadn't noticed. He stood up and looked around.

"And where is Pi..." He stopped mid-sentence as he saw her approaching in her sparkling dress and shoes, her face pure with determination.

Y/n crossed her arms and laughed softly, tilting her head, while Marie continued to be confused. Lewis gave an amused smile.

Pietra handed him the dress and declared, with all seriousness in the world: "I thought it would be interesting to wear this dress. I'll be a hit in the paddock."

The silence lasted for half a second before Y/n couldn't hold back her laughter any longer. She laughed out loud, throwing her head back, the sound echoing through the entrance of the house.

Lewis, Marie and Pietra turned to her, surprised by her unexpected reaction.

Lewis couldn't remember the last time he had heard Y/n laugh like that. A genuine laugh, the kind that comes out without control, without holding back. It was a sound he missed-and realizing it hurt more than he cared to admit.

Y/n tried to catch her breath, waving her hands.

"Okay, okay... Sorry, P."

Pietra just shrugged, unaffected, and walked over to her mother and sister, while Lewis still smiled, shaking his head.

"Well, if anyone in the paddock complains, we already know that Pietra has a fashion plan B," Lewis joked as he closed the trunk.

He opened the car doors for the girls, who ran to Y/n before getting in. Marie and Pietra hugged their mother at the same time, their little arms squeezing her affectionately.

"Behave with grandma, okay? And have a lot of fun with daddy at the race" Y/n asked, kissing each of their foreheads.

"Yes, Mommy," they both replied in unison.

Y/n knew they would be fine. Marie was the sweetest and most responsible child, and Pietra, as ecstatic as she was, had a huge heart and an easy way of making anyone smile. They were the easiest and most wonderful children to take care of.

She gave each of them a tight hug before letting them run to their father's car. Marie got in first and settled into the seat, while Pietra, still holding her princess dress, climbed into the car seat with excitement.

Y/n stood at the door, watching Lewis fasten their belts and chatting animatedly. He was joking with Pietra, laughing at something she said, while Marie was already settling herself comfortably, calm as always.

He was an incredible father, present, who did everything for them. And Y/n knew that no matter how complicated their relationship was at the moment, their daughters were the most beautiful and strongest part they shared.

Lewis carefully closed the backseat doors and then turned to Y/n. She was standing there, hands in her jeans pocket, watching him with an unreadable expression.

She watched as he began to approach and, unable to help it, she frowned a little. Her heart skipped a beat in her chest, as it did every time he smiled at her in that sweet way, since the beginning of their relationship.

The pilot stopped right in front of her, placing his hands on her shoulders. His gaze fell on her face, taking in every detail, noticing the dried tear marks on her skin. But now she was smiling. Even if it was a questioning smile, even if there was a heaviness in the air, it was a smile.

Lewis took a deep breath before saying softly, "I'll take good care of our girls."

Y/n nodded, still feeling the warmth of his hands on her shoulders. "I know. You're an amazing father... and an amazing husband too."

She said the last part quietly, but Lewis heard it. His chest tightened as he realized there was still a thread of hope between them. A way back.

Lewis stared at her for a few more seconds, trying to absorb the moment, to commit it to memory. Then, in a more serious tone, he asked, "Can we talk after I get back from the race?"

Y/n's heart raced. The weight of the conversation that awaited them was unavoidable, but the way Lewis was handling everything made her feel less scared. She nodded.

"Of course, we need to."

Before he could say anything else, a little scream came from the car: "Daddy, kiss Mommy! Kiss Mommy!"

Pietra had rolled down the window and was looking at them excitedly, making Lewis and Y/n laugh awkwardly. Inside the car, Marie rolled her eyes and scolded her sister.

Lewis turned to Y/n with a playful look. "A kiss?"

She laughed. "On the cheek..."

He smiled, knowing that this small gesture was already a step forward. Then, he leaned in and placed a soft kiss on her cheek. Y/n closed her eyes for a brief moment, feeling a shiver run down her spine. When she opened her eyes again, she realized that she was smiling involuntarily.

"Yay!" Pietra shouted from the car, clapping her hands.

Marie sighed and asked her sister to close the window, as her parents were 'having an important moment.

The couple laughed and Lewis looked at his daughters, shaking his head. "They're so different from each other... so unique."

"Don't even tell me. But that's what makes them so special," Y/n replied, crossing her arms.

He smiled and started walking away, heading to the car. "See you in a few days then?"

"Yes," Y/n nodded, a small smile still on her lips.

Lewis got into the car and started the engine. Before leaving, Marie and Pietra waved excitedly through the window. Y/n returned the gesture, watching the car drive away down the street until it disappeared through the gate of the condominium.

She stood there for a few seconds, absorbing the feeling that was taking over her chest. Of course, they needed to talk. There were things that needed to be said, scars that needed to be healed.

But as she remembered his words: 'But I don't want a divorce. I want you. Only you. And our girls.' A sense of relief washed over her.

That thought made her take a deep breath. The weight she was carrying felt a little lighter now, even though the tears threatened to come back.

Sighing, Y/n went back inside the house and closed the door. Roscoe came towards her, still sleepy, and she smiled, running her hand over his head. "You'll have a few days of peace, friend. Without the girls running after you."

The dog just wagged his tail, heading to his bed.

Y/n went to the kitchen and grabbed her phone, unlocking the screen. The lock screen was still a picture of her and Lewis. With him kissing her cheek on the beach, while her arms were around her husband's neck.

And then there was a new message from her best friend. 'Catching the last connection, I'll be there in two hours. Get the wine and gossip ready!'

Y/n laughs as she reads the message and responds with something quick and sweet.

That weekend would bring some emotions, but she felt that in the end, things would be okay again.

[cowgurrrl]

She’s A Gun

Pairing: Joel Miller x fem!reader

Author’s note: *John Mulaney voice* My wife is a bitch and I love her SO much (gif by @salome-c) I also didn’t know how to end this so sorry

Summary: Somebody didn’t give the new guy a heads up about talking about Joel Miller’s family [1.6k]

Warnings: idiots in love, a quick mention of a queer slur, I can’t think of anything else!!

You catch him looking at you across the room as you sip some new whiskey Tommy traded for. He looks young and fresh-faced without many scars or littering the surface of his skin. His eyes are bright when they meet yours, and you give him a polite smile before returning to your drink. Unsurprisingly, he bellies up to the bar a few minutes later. You glance at the door, and the man follows your gaze. 

"You meeting someone?" He asks. The bartender, a kind man named Nick, flashes you a look, but you wave him off, turning to the younger man, who is dead set on making his presence known. 

"You must be new." You say, and he laughs as he holds out his hand. 

"You got me. I'm Luke," He says. You meet him halfway and shake his hand, giving him your name. "Where are you from?"

"I came here from Boston."

"You're a long way from home. What brought you here?" 

"Long story."

"Is it longer than the time it would take to get you another drink?" 

"I can get my own drink, but thank you."

"'Course," he says but doesn't move from his place next to you. "What do you do here in Jackson?" He asks, and you open your mouth to say something, but he cuts you off. "Let me guess. School teacher. No, a nurse."

"I work patrols, but good guess."

"Oh, I'm going to work patrols, too. I actually just signed up for my first shift tomorrow. Speaking of which, do you know anything about this guy… Miller, I think, is his name. I heard he's a hard ass."

"Joel or Tommy?"

"There's multiple?" He asks, and you smirk as you sip your drink.

"There's a few of 'em hanging around, yeah. What did they say? Maybe I can," you shrug and try to hide the amusement in your voice. "Help you figure it out."

"Well, this guy, Seth, said Miller shouldn't even be in Jackson. Something about him killing people to get by before coming here, but he gets to stay because he's buddies with Maria. Apparently, he's a hell of a shot, though. I heard a rumor that he once shot an Infected from a mile away, but I'll believe it when I see it." He says, and you nod. 

You remember that day well. Tommy had been bragging about his marksmanship, mostly telling big fish stories, and you finally got sick of it. Joel told you to leave it, but you had to see. When you went on patrol the next day, you and Tommy had a competition to see how far he could actually shoot. You passed the gun back and forth to see who could hit accurately and how far. You were the one holding the gun when the Infected bound his way up the hill and quickly went down as the bullet buried in his skull. You didn't think that story would've made the rounds, though. 

"What else did Seth say?" You ask, and he puffs his cheeks out as he shakes his head.

"He told me to stay away from him. Something about not fucking with people like that because he's ruthless, especially when it comes to his kid. He said Miller yelled at him last week because he said something to her. Just... totally lost his mind like a crazy person." It wasn't just something. He called my daughter a dyke, you think to yourself. Joel may have pushed him and made him leave, but you threatened to ruin his fucking life. If you ever hear him say something like that to Ellie again, you'll make Joel look like the poster child for forgiveness. You bite the inside of your cheek and save that information for later. 

Seth wasn't warning Luke about Joel. He was warning him about you.

"And you're sure he was talking about a man?"

"Pretty sure. I mean, I know people do lots of shitty things to stay alive, but I can't imagine a woman instilling that much fear in a man like Seth," He says, and you hum. "No offense."

"None taken." You smile and watch his guard come down just enough for him to feel comfortable reaching for your arm.

"I wish I had known they let women as beautiful as you out on patrol. I would've signed up with you instead of Miller." He says, and you almost gag. Joel's hand skims your lower back almost as if on cue, and you turn to face him. He kisses you a second too long before looking over your shoulder to face the stranger who looks embarrassed. His arm wraps protectively around your middle, and he's close enough that you can smell his shampoo over the bar’s stench of stale beer.

"Great timing. This is Luke. He's starting patrols tomorrow," You say. Joel reaches across the space to shake his hand, and Luke winces at his too-tight grip. "Luke, this is my husband, Joel Miller," you wish you had a camera to take a picture of the stunned look on his face when he hears the last name. "Joel, we were just talking about the last time I was on patrol with Tommy."

"You're Miller?" Luke asks, suddenly looking pale. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"Oh, I thought I mentioned it. I'm sorry, I'm probably losing my mind." You echo Seth's words and smack yourself on the forehead dramatically. Luke drains his drink before glancing around the room.

"It was great to meet you, man. Um, I'm gonna run to the bathroom really fast." He says and takes several steps away from the bar. 

"Oh, so soon? I was hoping you and Joel could talk about routes."

"Maybe later." He says, and with that, he's gone. You smile and turn in Joel's arms to face him.

"Jesus, I thought he was going to have a heart attack. What did you say to him?" 

"Seth was warning him about the mercenary who's buddies with Maria and shot an Infected from a mile away, asked if I knew anything about the guy."

"Seth should learn to keep his fuckin' mouth shut." He grumbles, and you nod.

"It didn't help his case that he tried flirting with me. Even asked if I was a school teacher." You say, and he gives you a look. His warm fingers reach under your shirt collar to pull out the chain with your wedding band on it.

"Maybe if you actually wore this, that wouldn't happen so often."

"C'mon, everybody knows I'm yours. It's not my fault no one gave him the run down," you say, and he tugs on the chain to kiss you, his big hands moving to hold your jaw. He swallows your gasp when he licks into your mouth, sending a zing of electricity down your spine. He's a touch too handsy for a public space, but you're not complaining. "I don't see you wearing yours out on patrol either." You say, pulling away before he can start something he can't finish, at least not in public. Still, his hand slips into your back pocket, squeezing your ass through the denim.

"Don't want to lose a finger. Besides, everybody knows I'm yours," he parrots, and you smile. A familiar, old country song plays over the speakers, and Joel lights up at the first few chords. "Will you dance with me?" He asks, pressing light kisses to your jaw to butter you up. You lock your arms around his shoulders and let yourself forget about everyone else in the bar. 

"And to think there was a time when you hated PDA."

"That was before someone tried hittin' on my wife," he says, and you feel like your face will get stuck from smiling so much. It's been three months since the small backyard wedding officiated by Tommy and Maria. Ellie walked you down the aisle— more of a patch of grass than anything else— and acted as your maid of honor. When Tommy asked if she agreed to give you to Joel, she said, "it's not like she's fucking property, but sure." She beamed so brightly when she realized you each included her in your vows, promising to love and protect her as much as you love and protect each other. It wasn't planned, but the unexpected matching further proved that you three are a family. Still, you don't know if you'll ever get used to hearing Joel call you his wife. "Dance with me, please." He pouts into your neck, and you finally give in, grabbing his hand and leading him to the dance floor. 

He pulls you close, and you bury your face in his neck as you slowly dance to Tanya Tucker's voice. He sings along for only you to hear, his accent getting stronger as he does. You could stay like this forever, wrapped up in him and listening to him sing the same song you used to sing along to while driving on backroads. You would marry him again if you could. You think you would marry him in every lifetime.

Scary rumors of mercenaries and blood on your hands fade from your mind. To men like Seth and Luke, you are a subversion of their holy mother. You are bloody and broken, a monster beyond saving. You are a warzone with a heartbeat.

But to Joel, you are the most sacred thing he's ever held. It's not enough to erase the rumors and nightmares about you, but it's enough to knock the wind out of you and make you love your husband that much more. That has to count for something. 

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Tag list: @evyiione

[headkiss]

hello! a summer request for my sweet hotch, maybe him taking care of reader's allergies or a cute picnic date (jack included)

hope you have a lovely day sweetheart 🩷

hiii tysm for your request!! hope you’re having a lovely day too angel 🫶 so sorry it’s not summer anymore but hopefully you still enjoy! | 0.8k words of fluff!!

Aaron is not known to take many days off, but summer seems to get him out of the office more than any other season. Even more so ever since he met you.

More again as soon as he introduced you to Jack, to the most important person in his life. Jack liked you immediately, and he never stops asking when he’ll see you next. Though there’s a void left behind by Haley that will never quite be filled, you all know it, but your presence in both of the Hotchner’s lives has brightened them in ways Aaron doesn’t think you could understand.

It’s why, today, he’s taken the day off on purpose. He’d even gone as far as to tell the team not to call him unless absolutely necessary. He trusts them, and they bug him to take breaks more than anyone, anyways.

There’s a classic red and white gingham blanket spread beneath you on the grass, the sun bright in the sky and saturating the park around you.

Aaron’s barely unpacked the snacks before Jack is jumping up and asking his dad for permission to go play.

“Only where I can see you,” Hotch says, “okay, buddy?”

“I know, dad!” Jack’s already running off before you can even tell him to have fun.

Aaron watches his son go, squinting in the sun, keeping an eye on Jack until he’s made it to a small group of other kids by the slide before turning back to you.

You’re scrunching your nose and rubbing at your eyes when he does, and Aaron frowns a little when you sniffle.

Always far too observant, he tilts his head at you and asks, “You okay, honey?”

You nod, because you really are.

You’ve had allergies for most of your life, you think, so it’s nothing to worry about. It’s just annoying. You’d woken up and could already tell it was a bad day for them, less air passing through your nose, your eyes itchy.

But days like these—the ones with Aaron and Jack and beautiful weather and nobody working—are rare, and you’d never be caught giving up time with your people just because of some allergies.

“I’m fine, just my allergies.” You smile at him and grab a nacho from the spread, dipping it into the layered salsa from the grocery store and popping it into your mouth.

“Why didn’t you tell me they were acting up?” Hotch asks, thumb wiping a bit of salsa from the corner of your mouth gently without a thought. Sweet and subconscious.

“Because you would’ve made me stay in bed and bring me soup like it was the flu,” you say, knee bumping his. “I’m out of meds, but I didn’t wanna miss this. Jack was so excited and I was, too. I love being with you guys.”

And fuck, Aaron’s heart squeezes in his chest at the way you speak so fondly about him and Jack, like they’re your own family. At how you’re willing to be uncomfortable just to keep plans intact.

He trails a knuckle down your bare arm, all the way down until he catches your hand and gives it a squeeze. “We don’t have to stay long.”

“I know,” you scoot closer and drop your head against his shoulder.

It’s only twenty minutes later, and after many sneezes (and ‘bless you’s from Aaron), he’s packing up the picnic and not letting you argue it. Your eyes are reddened and watery, and he can hear how stuffy your nose is by your voice, and he doesn’t want you to feel worse.

And maybe he likes the idea of getting to take care of you over something small like this. How domestic it is.

“Alright, let’s go home, yeah?” Aaron pats your thigh softly. “I know you wanted to tough it out, but i can tell it’s bugging you. There’s a pharmacy down the street, we’ll stop for meds.”

There’s no sense fighting him when your allergies are bugging you, when he’s so stubborn with his plans, with how kind the tone of his voice is.

“Okay. Maybe we can watch a movie when we get back? Jack can pick since we’re making him leave early.”

“You sure?” Aaron raises his eyebrows. “He’s gonna make us watch Big Hero 6 for the hundredth time, you know?”

“I know that you secretly love that movie.”

“That wore off at the tenth watch, honey.”

You laugh, then sneeze, and Aaron shakes his head at you fondly before calling Jack back over and promising to buy him a candy bar at the pharmacy for cutting his game short.

The candy bar is long gone by the time you’re all settled on the Hotchner’s couch to watch Big Hero 6 again, and you and Aaron share a secret smile when Jack announces it as his pick.

[lovecla]

IF YOU LOVE ME, LET ME KNOW | jack hughes.

chapter two:

<last chapter> <next chapter>

➴ warnings: none <3

➴ word count: 2.5k

➴ author’s note: this is pure fluffiness, the calm before the storm, the hughes being the best family in the world and jack making my heart MELT (i literally wrote him). i hope u guys enjoy this too. let me know what u think of this one:))

“AND that, my loves, it’s a wrap on ‘rip to my feelings’!” Grace yelled, and everyone yelled too.

You were in your studio with all of your producers and song-writers, plus Grace, and you had just finished recording the last song on your album.

You were beyond happy. Finishing this meant getting over everything Harris did to you. It was like closure. It was like restarting again.

“Guys, I’m so fucking happy, I love you all so much I could kiss you on the mouth right now,” you said, hugging John— the main producer.

“Don’t think Jack would appreciate that,” Grace mumbled when you hugged her, and you smacked her butt.

Jack.

You had sent him the demo of the album as soon as it was sent to your phone, not really sure why. You just wanted his opinion, that’s all.

Not much fuck buddy of you but whatever!

“Fuck off, Grace Morgan,” you fake whispered, laughing.

You all celebrated and laughed for hours, the time passing quickly whenever you spent it with the people you loved. You were grateful for having so many amazing people in your life, helping you to make your dreams come true.

Your phone rang, and you picked it up, unlocking it and smiling when you saw who had texted: Jack.

It was funny seeing how he complimented you in his own little, weird way. It made your heart beat in the wrong— right— way all over again.

“Did he just ask you on a date?” Grace whispered, probably reading your texts over your shoulder. Everyone else had already left— it was late, after all— and only Grace was left. You were sure she was probably going to sleep at your place anyway.

“I guess? We never just ‘hanged out’ before.” You sighed, replying to Jack’s texts.

“Woah,” she whistled, sitting back on the couch, looking at you funny. “Are you in love?”

“What?” You laughed, locking your phone. “What do you mean, we’ve been fucking for six months only. Chill.”

“Girl, like time matters to you!” She raised her arms. “You fell in love with that piece of shit in like three weeks, imagine with Jack, who fucks you every other week and treats you like you’re the most precious thing ever.”

“Excuse me? Are we talking about the same Jack?” You scoffed, crossing your arms. “Jack doesn’t treat anyone differently. Besides his family, that is.”

“Like the shit he does for you isn’t anything special, right? Like knowing your Five Guys order, or your favorite movies, or how you eat apple pie before your concerts,” she started listing those things on her fingers.

“He doesn’t know those things!” You raised your voice, trying to convince both you and her.

“Girl, I love you but stop playing dumb. He knows and you know he does! Why are you pretending that he doesn’t care about you? He just asked you on a date, for fuck’s sake.” She rolled her eyes.

“First of all,” you started, mentally listing your reasons. “We don’t know if it’s a date. He just said: dinner. He didn’t say ‘I wanna take you out on a date’. Second of all, I’m not denying anything, but I think I would know if I was in love with him, wouldn’t I?”

Actually. The answer was probably no. Harris fucked up your perception of love, and even though it’s been more than a year that you broke up with him, you still feel like you can’t really trust anyone anymore.

So you wouldn’t exactly be able to tell if you are in love or not. At least, you don’t think so.

But talking about love with your fuck buddy? Hell. No.

“You piss me off.” Grace bickered, turning the TV on. “Go change to your little date. I’ll be here, all alone and sad.”

“Pff, shut up. You’re just alone because you and Nico are dumbasses.” You said like it was a matter of fact and left the leaving room, leaving a very pink Grace behind.

Changing didn’t take long, and applying a light makeup didn’t either. You weren’t going to do anything special because, let’s be real, if you and Jack decided to be reckless and fuck somewhere, that makeup wouldn’t last long. So, why bother?

You left your house, saying goodbye to Grace and kissing her cheek. Jack’s fancy ass car was in front of your garage and you smiled, entering it.

“Hi, Jackie boy,” you greeted him, noticing how fucking good he looked, wearing his burgundy suit. Thank god to whoever created the suit rule in hockey. You’ll forever be grateful.

“Hey.” He greeted back, and did something surprising. He kissed you. Softly, and not like any other kiss you’ve shared in the past.

And that didn’t do anything to help the little cardiac arrest you had every time you were around him.

“Are we ready to rock our lasagna?” You asked, half embarrassed and half confused with what you were feeling. Food always made it better though.

“We sure are.” He smiled before starting the car again.

The silence was comfortable but your thoughts were too loud so you took the liberty of turning the radio on, scaring yourself with how loud the music playing was. And, shockingly, your music. Already Over was blasting through the speakers.

You looked at him, and he just shrugged, cheeks red.

“Were you listening to my music on the way to my place?”

“Yeah, why not? It’s good,” he blushes so cutely you find yourself wanting to chomp a piece of his cheek.

“You’re so cute, Jackie. Thanks, means a lot,” you had a feeling you were blushing too, and you thanked God he wasn’t looking at you. “I’m excited to release it.”

“When are you doing it?” He asked, making a U turn.

“Beginning of the next month. Now I have to take pictures and set up the concept for it. It’s my favourite part.”

“Are you doing any music videos with a guy dying?” He asked and you stared at him, once again surprised. Had he been watching your music videos? All of them? “What?”

“Are you a fan?” You giggled, genuinely happy. Harris hated to talk about your work, and he never listened to your songs for more than ten minutes.

“Nico forces us to listen to your songs and watch your music videos,” he answered, nonchalantly. You smiled, nodding your head. “Don’t look at me like that.”

“Like what?” You played dumb.

“Like that. You have this little minx stare that you do whenever you’re plotting something.” He smiled this time, and God if the sight didn’t make you feel full.

“You’re no fun,” you sighed, looking at the view. “Also, where is this restaurant? We’ve been driving for at least twenty minutes and nothing in Jersey takes more than that.”

“The restaurant is actually my parents’ house.” He says, like it’s nothing.

“What?!” You yelled, turning your head in his direction. “What do you mean you’re taking me to your fucking parents’?”

“Yeah. Ma’s making lasagna for you.”

Your cheeks were burning hot and you had this bubbly feeling inside of you. You were feeling something really weird and you started to wonder if Grace was right and—

“Soph?” You heard his voice, gentle and soft. You looked at him, noticing that he wasn’t driving anymore, and that the car was now parked in front of a big, beautiful, colonial house. His parents’ house. “We can go back if you want to, baby. Ma won’t be angry or anything like that.”

Stop making me want to trust you, Jack.

He caressed your cheek, and you snapped out of it. “No, it’s fine. I just… you could’ve said something, y’know? I’m wearing sweatpants.” You tried to make a joke, smiling. He smiled too.

“I’ll put on some sweatpants too, so we’re matching,”

“Right.”

You left the car, taking a deep breath. It was just his parents. You weren’t even dating so it would be fine.

Wait.

“What did you tell them? That you’re bringing one of the girls you’re fucking home?” You asked just before you walked in their property.

He raised an eyebrow at you, scowling. “First of all, I’m not fucking anyone else. It’s just you. Second of all, I told them I’m bringing a friend.”

You nodded, not trusting yourself to do anything else.

He’s not fucking anyone else? Jack Hughes? The man whore of the NJ Devils?

Yikes, sure.

You both walked into the house, Jack not bothering knocking before entering it. A delicious smell of fresh tomato sauce and herbs reached your nose and you could swear your mouth was watering.

“Ma, we’re here!” Jack yelled, making you jump a little bit. You eyed him before facing the woman in front of you, who was absolutely gorgeous. She looked so fucking young and pretty, and you were biting your tongue, trying not to say something stupid. “Hi, Ma, this is Soph. Soph, that’s Ellen, Ma Hughes,”

“Hi, Mrs. Hughes. Nice to meet you.” You said, certain that your cheeks were on flame.

Ellen took a step closer, smiling. “Hi, darlin’. No need for formalities, dear, it’s just Ellen. I would hug you but,” she pointed at her apron and shrugged. “A bit dirty.”

“Thank you for having me.”

“No, thank you for making this guy over here visit me,” she slapped Jack’s shoulder, both of them smiling together. “He only called because he said you wanted to eat lasagna and he loves mine so that’s why he’s here.”

If your face wasn’t going to melt before, it definitely was now. You were going to kill Jack. For real this time.

“Come on, Ma, I can’t be worse than Luke and Quinn. They don’t even remember your address anymore,” was Jack actually pouting? Jesus. Your heart was not ready to see that.

“Stop throwing us under the bus, dickhead.” Luke’s voice was heard and you and Jack both watched as both Quinn and Luke entered the room. “‘Sup, Soph.”

“Hi, Luke. Hi, Quinn,” you greeted them with cheek kisses, not even wanting to acknowledge that you had actually missed them. “Long time no see.”

“Hey, Soph,” Quinn quietly answered, not a single thought behind those eyes. “Great to see you.”

“I hope you’re all hungry because your mom outdid herself tonight,” Jim, the dad, said, smiling when he noticed you. “Hello there. I’m Jim.”

“Hi,” you whispered, mortified with all the attention you were getting. Some would think that performing for big crowds would make you less anxious to meet people. Nope. “I’m Sophia. Thank you for having me.”

“It’s fine, as my baby was saying, we do need our son to visit more.”

As they discussed why Jack didn’t visit them more frequently, you felt Jack’s arms around your waist and his mouth on the tip of your ear. You froze. “Yeah, they call each other baby and honey. Sorry about that.”

You managed to smile, trying not to get his family’s attention. They certainly wouldn’t understand why he was this close to a friend.

“I think it’s cute.”

The dinner went awesomely well. The lasagna was amazing and Ellen and Jim were the cutest couple ever, you could see how they’ve raised three amazing men.

They asked questions about what being a postar meant nowadays, and what was it like during your tours, and how could someone sing and dance at the same time, and have you ever met Adele?

They’re great people. Even Quinn and Luke, who had talked to you before on different occasions, made sure you were included in every topic, and Luke even asked for a signed cap so he could wear it at UMich.

“Do you guys know what we should definitely do?” Ellen started, after forcing all of the boys to organize the kitchen and do the dishes, while you sat with her drinking wine. Yeah, you loved her. “Karaoke. Let Soph here show us how good she is.”

“Maa,” you could hear Luke whining, while running his hands through his beautiful curls. “You do this every time.”

“You’ll make her work on her day off? That’s wild, Ma.” Jack joked, putting his arms around your shoulder. You froze again, looking at the expressions of his family, trying to picture anything out of place.

No one was looking at you weirdly, besides Ellen who plastered the most gorgeous smile you’ve ever seen, which made you smile too.

“I don’t mind singing…” you said, softly.

“Perfect!” Ellen stood up from her seat, pouring more wine on her glass. “Jim, set the karaoke thing on.”

“It’s called YouTube, Ma.” Jack rolled his eyes.

“Leave your mom alone, ugly face,” Jim called him out, on his way to do exactly what Ellen asked. “Sophia, can you sing some Elvis?”

“Yes, ‘course.” You also got up, discussing with Jim which song he wanted you to sing.

“Tell her to sing our song, honey!” Ellen yelled from the dinner table.

“Ah, yes, yes.”

Turns out that their song is Can’t Help Falling in Love, which was so freaking sweet. You sang the romantic lyrics while Jim and Ellen danced with each other, swinging slowly and delicately.

Quinn and Luke were recording themselves with you singing in the background, while you waved happily to the camera.

Jack was sitting on the couch, watching you sing. You could feel his eyes on you, observing your every move, smiling whenever you’d hit a high note or change the song’s rhythm.

It was nice. So, so nice. The Hughes were such nice people and you felt so safe and adored around them. They asked you to sing more songs and when you noticed, you were singing an upbeat song with Jim and dancing between Quinn and Luke while Ellen filmed everything. Until Jack grabbed you again and made you sing in front of him, for him. And boy, how you wanted to kiss him. His blue eyes were shining brightly and he looked just as happy as you felt.

You ended the singing when it was around midnight, everyone exhausted and sweaty— even if it was winter.

You started saying your goodbyes and thanking Ellen and Jim for the best lasagna you’ve ever eaten and for the hospitality too.

“I hope you come back soon.” Ellen whispered in your ear when you were hugging her, and you held her slightly tighter.

When you left the house with Jack, you couldn’t contain your happiness inside you. Grabbing his arm, you pulled him until you were near his car, and standing on your tiptoes, you kissed him.

He wrapped his arms around your waist, pulling you impossibly closer, both of you moaning inside each other’s mouth. His tongue made its way inside your mouth, pillowy and so soft. You were finally melting into Jack’s arms and nothing could be better.

Until you realized what was going on.

You had just had dinner with Jack’s family, sang and danced with them, and now you were in the middle of the street of a fancy neighborhood, with Jack Hughes holding you close to his chest, while devouring your mouth.

And instead of not feeling anything, instead of keeping things casual, you were feeling everything. Each tiny part of every emotion there is in this world were making their way into your heart and, unfortunately, you didn’t want to take them out.

Because for the first time in more than one year, you wanted to feel.

[delewlew]

i'll kick your ass, verstappen: max verstappen x black fem! reader

request: HEYYYYYYY could you do a max x fem reader when he gets jealous really bad over one of your male friends please. Love your stories keep going 🤍🤍

warnings: jealousy, slight swearing, google translated dutch

author's note: i hope you like this, i lowkey fried my brain trying to make sure i was confident enough to post this...still trying to convince myself. also the title isn't as cute cuz my gradient thingie wasn't working so it'll be plain...sorry bout that. as always, reblogs and comments are always appreciated as well <3

you were in second grade when you met your best friend, nikolaas, after he moved to your school. you were assigned to be his class buddy to help him get comfortable at the new school. the two of you attended the same school all the up to university so you weren't ever really apart from one another. the two of you learned to swim and ride bikes together as little kids. he was there when you went on your first date with the cute guy in your calculus class at the ice rink near your home, and he was there to take you to the hospital when you broke your ankle right after. you were there to help him learn to slow dance before he went to his first formal dance with a girl that wasn't you. he was there to teach you how to walk in that pair of So Kate's you bought without realizing maybe there was a reason nobody but zendaya dared to wear those godforsaken heels. you were there to coach him through confessing his feelings to his first boyfriend. the two of you had experienced so much of your lives beside one another that your relationship wasn't shaken when it was time to move away from home. years passed and he was a professional model travelling the world while you were working as an architect, living in monaco.

since living in monaco you'd been promoted, moved to a nicer apartment, completed a huge project with your team, and met your boyfriend. you met max at an event you'd been invited to courtesy of your own personal connections. from the moment he laid eyes on you, he knew you there was something different about you from other women he's met in the past. that night, you both exchanged numbers and he'd convinced you to go on a date with him shortly after.

༘˚⋆𐙚｡⋆𖦹.✧˚

for the first time since you'd moved to monaco, your best friend had finally been able to take time to come visit you. he'd flown in two days ago and was staying at your apartment for a bit longer before flying out to korea for some event he was invited to. you sat on your bed and he sat across from you painting a fresh coat of nail polish over his nails since the ocean water chipped it off earlier today. his hand shook slightly as he painted his fingers and your voice cut through the silence, "nikko i swear to god if you get black nail polish on my bed i'll kill you." he looked up through his long, thick, black eyelashes and muttered, "je bent letterlijk de meest dramatische persoon die ik ooit heb ontmoet." you rolled your eyes and huffed, "whatever you love me and you know it." he cracked a smile through the focused glare he held while looking at his fingers, "yeah yeah...speaking of love, how's your man?" [you're literally the most dramatic person i've ever met]

you smiled at the thought of max and answered, "he's really good. the season has treated him well for the most part and he's happy with how things are. we're going back home for his next race so i'm excited i'll be able to see both of our families, and i'm gonna try to stop by your place to see your mom if she's there." he shook his head while keeping his eyes on his nails, "m'ma is in suriname until september because she's visiting granm'ma and granp'pa." your frowned and asked, "were you supposed to go home with her?" nikko nodded and shrugged, "it's alright though, i think i'll be able to make it down there for christmas so it's fine. plus you can see her in september when she comes back." a smile tugged on his lips and he continued, "that is if you want to come see me walk at new york, paris, milan, or london fashion week this year." you nearly tackled him into a hug and screeched, "NO FUCKING WAY- NIKKO?! YOU BOOKED ALL FOUR?!" he laughed and wrapped his arm around you in a hug, "yup i'm booked and busy this year!"

you immediately promised, "i'm going to be at every single show." your best friend nodded, "already reserved your tickets for everything." there was a beat of silence before he asked, "wait isn't max still racing in september- i don't want to make you miss those especially because you missed miami for the met gala with me." this was true, you'd flown to new york city to be nikko's plus one for the met gala but max told you he didn't mind and was happy you were going. without a second thought, only thinking of how exciting this was for your best friend, you waved off his worry, "it'll be fine. besides max likes you."

༘˚⋆𐙚｡⋆𖦹.✧˚

"i don't fucking like this guy." max huffed as he scrolled though his instagram because you posted something. he looked at his screen and clenched his jaw seeing the post you'd made with your best friend.

therealyn

liked by nikko, maxverstappen1, and 643,943 others

therealyn baby's first time in monaco <3

read all 5,423 comments

nikko i wish i could stay longer :(

⤷ therealyn don't forget me when ur famous

sza cuties

⤷ therealyn omg i love you

username1 why is he so close?

⤷ username2 they've been friends since they were 7 and nikko moved to the netherlands from suriname. y/n was his first friend and they've grown up together. don't try to start something out of nothing.

⤷ username3 GET EM SIS

⤷ username4 ngl i kinda see what username1 means...if you look back at some other posts they've made with each other they're way closer than i'd consider to be best friends. i mean i personally wouldn't be that close with my guy bsf knowing i have a man.

⤷ username4 that man is a walking pride flag be so fr rn

⤷ username1 im just saying he's a little close to her. plus she's already missed a race so she can go see him, and i guarantee you she'll do the same again when fashion week comes around.

༘˚⋆𐙚｡⋆𖦹.✧˚

reading the comments didn't ease max's mind whatsoever but he did catch a few that did make him realize that maybe you were just being a supportive best friend. he'd had friends go to things to support him in the past and he's done the same for them so why does he feel so...weird when you do the same? he'd managed brush off the feelings he had until he checked your story and clicked on the post you'd shared:

nikko

liked by therealyn, gucci, and 1,235,099 others

nikko but none of them will ever love you the way i do it's me and you

view all 10,302 comments

therealyn and as the years go by our friendship will never die

kendalljenner beauties

username6 ...why is he holding her like that.

⤷ username7 i think they're together? i always saw their posts together and assumed

⤷ username8 NO THEY'RE NOT TOGETHER THEY'RE BEST FRIENDS PLS DON'T START RUMORS SHE IS DATING MAX VERSTAPPEN

username9 this look a little....

username10 yall are so weird. literally every interaction nikko has with a girl looks like this, look it up and you'll see he's holding everyone's hand, wrapping their arms around them. it's just how he is pipe down.

username11 THE CAPTION? NIKOLAAS UR BOLD FOR THAT ONE

username12 ngl i kinda wanna see them as a couple

༘˚⋆𐙚｡⋆𖦹.✧˚

max fought to control his facial expressions when you called him excited to tell him about going to support nikko at the big 4 fashion weeks. he watched as your eyes sparkled, "he's already reserved the seat in my name at all of his shows too! this is so great he's always wanted to walk in these shows and now he's got the chance. i want september to already be here." max frowned at the mention of the month, "schat- i'm still racing in september though?" you explained, "well yeah it's just singapore and azerbaijan that i'll have to miss but i'll be at the rest." max bit the inside of his cheek, "didn't you already see him walk in new york back in may? you missed miami for it remember?" you smiled, "babe that was the met gala, that was different. this is actual fashion shows not a red carpet."

when max was still silent you asked, "why don't you seem happy doe nikko?" he took a small exhale to not raise his voice or seem too annoyed, "it's good for the guy i mean this is a big deal as a model. i just...sometimes i think he's just a little too close?" you frowned and you asked, "what do you mean? you've never had a problem with him before?" max sighed and admitted, "i'm just saying there's no reason why other people should be questioning our relationship status when you're with other people. why is he holding you like i hold you?" you couldn't even find the right words for a moment, "i- i- he....max you've seen the way he acts around everyone. he's a touchy guy and he always has been. why are you now bothered that he holds me? it's nothing new."

max let out another annoyed huff and snapped, "just tell him to watch himself." you couldn't even say anything before he hung up the phone on you and left you stunned to a silence. just then your phone pinged and it was another instagram notification:

nikko just posted a story!

there wasn't even a point in trying to ask nikolaas to delete the story because he was on a flight to korea right now which means he just posted it before the plane took off. so all you had to do was hope maybe max wouldn't see it because although you had no issue with the photo, you knew right now your boyfriend would.

༘˚⋆𐙚｡⋆𖦹.✧˚

the instagram story made it's way to his eyes in less than 5 minutes after it was posted. so, max didn't hesitate to open his own photo gallery and select a few pictures before posting them himself, he pasted a caption from the ones you'd saved in his notes and posted it before turning off his phone.

maxverstappen1

liked by charles_leclerc, f1wags, and 649,779 others

maxverstappen1 mijn

view all 3,402 comments

therealyn answer your phone

username13 HE'S MAD HE SEEN THE POSTS

username14 max....

charles_leclerc mate, you posted on your main

⤷ maxverstappen1 i know.

⤷ charlesleclerc oh!

oscarpiastri i feel like i wasn't supposed to see some of these

⤷alex_albon i don't think any of us were...

⤷ therealyn you werent.

༘˚⋆𐙚｡⋆𖦹.✧˚

hot tears stung the corners of your eyes as you stared at your phone knowing full well why max posted the photos he did. you knew that he got jealous every now and again but he'd never done anything like this, especially when it came to nikolaas because he knew how close he was to you. max wasn't answering your phone calls or text messages so you had no way to actually call him.

meanwhile max was in his apartment on his sim when he heard a knock at his door. when he opened it he saw lando standing on his doorstep before he pushed his way into his apartment. max asked, "why are you in my apartment?" lando shook his head and countered, "why are you posting shit like this online?" a smug grin tugged at max's lips and he answered, "you know why."

lando sat on max's couch and responded, "i don't know why. what i do know is your girlfriend called me crying asking me why you weren't answering her calls." max huffed, "she's busy playing with that guy." lando ran a hand through his curls, "you're jealous of her best fucking friend? are you being serious right now?" max rolled his eyes and lando continued, "the guy wears nail polish and face glitter and you think something is going on between them?" when there was silence lando continued, "mate he literally flirted with charles and asked for his number when he came to zandvoort last year. then told alex that she had good taste because he wanted to quote 'drink him up and sop up the rest with a biscuit. and you think there's any way that something is happening with y/n? you can be jealous but if your girlfriend says there's no reason to worry then you should trust her. you need to fix this before something actually happens that can't be fixed." lando slapped max on the shoulder before walking out the door and heading back to his apartment.

༘˚⋆𐙚｡⋆𖦹.✧˚

it was nearly 3 am when max unlocked the front door to your apartment and slipped in quietly, kicking off his shoes and leaving them by your front door. he pulled back the door and grabbed one of his t shirts and took off his pants before climbing in your bed. he pulled you closer to him and wrapped his arm around your torso. when you moved his arm off of you he knew you were awake so he mumbled, "schat..." you answered plainly, "wat wil je, max?" your boyfriend pressed a kiss to your shoulder and responded, "i'm sorry. i was wrong and i was immature and posting those pictures knowing you had them in our private folder was wrong." there was a momentary silence before you asked, "waarom heb je het dan gedaan?" he let out a deep sigh as he admitted, "i was jealous and only thinking about myself in the moment instead of thinking about how my actions would affect you as well. i never want to hurt you or be the reason for your pain, but i was so i'm sorry." [what do you want, max? // then, why did you do it?]

you felt his hand run over your arm gently as you asked, "wat ga je doen om het te repareren?" max answered, "well i deleted the post first and came here to apologize second. also i'd love to see you go to london, paris, new york, and milan to support nikko in september. i'll be waiting at home for you the minute you get back." you turned to face him and opened your eyes, finding his gaze in the darkness. bringing your hand to his cheek you asked, "i never want you to think that anyone stands a chance at competing with you for my heart, maxie. you are my person and i only love you this way, i only want to be with you. there's only you in my heart and i need you to trust me when i say that, okay?" max leaned into your touch and nodded, before you pressed a gentle kiss to his lips, "i love you." he pulled you to his chest and tangled his legs with yours as he replied, "ik houd ook van jou." you nuzzled closer to him and brought a hand to his chest, tracing small patterns over his heart. both of you began to drift off to sleep, your voice cut through the silence, "but do that shit again and i'm kicking your ass, verstappen." max let out a small chuckle and admitted, "i don't doubt that, but you don't have to worry about it happening again." [what are you going to do to fix it?//i love you too.]

༘˚⋆𐙚｡⋆𖦹.✧˚

the end.

[chuusheartattck]

THAT’S THAT ME ESPRESSO (TTME)

Chapter 5- Party O’ Clock ☕️

As you, Hu Tao, and Ayaka were done getting ready, you all piled up in the Kamisato family car. Which happens to be a Rolls Royce. These damn rich people and their fancy cars.

Ayato, Ayaka’s brother, was designated driver. Ayaka has yet to acquire her license.

“Damn girl!” Hu Tao looked around the car with amazement, “If you would’ve told me you had one of these I would have been coming over every day.”

Ayaka only giggled. You felt like an actual celebrity in this car. Not like you aren’t one, it just never hit you till now. You’re going to one of the biggest parties in the entertainment industry that was kept on the low from the public.

It all felt so surreal. As you were having this realization, Ayaka handed her phone to you to play some music. You stared at her phone trying to come up with something to play.

A moment passes and still being indecisive, you handed the phone to Hu Tao. You can be aux in someone’s car another day.

Hu Tao was always good at aux. She selected Sundress by Asap Rocky first. Hu Tao then queued up a few more songs before handing the phone back to Ayaka.

The car ride was mostly filled with Ayaka and Hu Tao talking. You or Ayato would sometimes chime in. Usually you’re a yapper, however, you had this sense of dread in you.

You didn’t know what it was. Was it because it was your first time going to one of these things? Or was it because you knew you were going to have to encounter the one person you wish you wouldn’t have to see after high school.

Lost in your thoughts, you didn’t notice the car had stopped. It was only when Hu Tao tapped your shoulder that you realized you had arrived.

You stepped out of the car and got a good look at the place. A giant manor appeared in front of you. A beautiful fountain made out of marble centered in the middle. Greenery hugged the perimeter. How was THIS kept from the public? Furina must’ve used your Espresso money to pay for all this.

Honesty, it felt like you didn’t belong here.

Hu Tao grabbed your hand and led you inside. A lot of high end celebrities were here. Some of them you were a big fan of. Nonetheless, this wasn’t the place to be asking them for pictures. In the corner you spotted Lyney, Lynette, and Mona who were all at the bar.

“There you guys are!” Mona exclaimed.

She hugged you, Hu Tao, and Ayaka.

“Can we take some shots already??” Hu Tao questioned.

She was very eager to get wasted. Ironic because she was telling you not to a few days ago.

The bartender poured everyone a shot of Soju.

Then another.

Another.

One more.

Now you, Hu Tao, Lyney, and Mona were all four shots deep. Lynette doesn’t drink and Ayaka only had one since she’s a lightweight. You could handle a few more but you didn’t want to get blackout hammered. Hu Tao’s warning was still in the back of your mind. You only picked up a White Claw to be drinking throughout the night.

You left your friends at the bar and decided to explore on your own. That was, until you noticed a familiar orange hair in the distance.

It seemed to notice you to.

“Holy shit! Is that Y/n?” It was Childe. Who appeared to be very drunk already.

“Holy shit! Is that my prom mosh pit buddy?” You responded. He couldn’t help but laugh.

During your senior prom you spent the entire time in the dance circle/mosh pit with Childe. It was fun but very unexpected.

You and Childe exchanged a reunion hug. He smelled of alcohol and sweat.

“Dude how many shots have you taken?” You begin to ask. It was a bit concerning he was already fucked up this early.

“Uhh only like 7??” Childe chuckled. His speech slurring a bit.

“What the fuck?” It impressed you.

“How have you been though? We barely spoke at the grad party. Your new song is honestly really good.” Childe commented on. He was always nice to you. Never had any malicious intent, which was surprising considering who his friends are.

You hesitated before responding, “I’ve been good. I barely saw you at the party that was my bad! I liked your movie with Lumine. Anyone but You right?”

“Thank you! I had a fun time filming it. I didn’t know you watched my movies.” Childe simply responded. He always had a flirty tone whenever he talked to people.

Childe then pulled out a geek bar and took a hit. The smell of candy filled the air. He then offered it to you.

You stared at it for a moment. Fuck it. You took a hit of the blowpop flavored vape. Of course you inhaled wrong and began coughing up a storm. Childe started laughing his ass off.

“This is why I hate nic. Fucking fein.” You barely formed the sentence. Hacking and coughing up your lungs. You took a sip of your White Claw to bring back moisture to your throat.

“Y/n, you good?” Childe asked while continuing to laugh.

Before you could even respond, he was whisked away by Venti. You both said your goodbyes and you were on your own once again.

Sipping your White Claw you began to feel a little tipsy, so you decide to sit down somewhere. You always underestimate alcohol. As soon as you sat down, it felt like the whole world was spinning. You felt dizzy but in a good way. It felt good to be drunk.

It took you a minute to notice someone was next to you, until you smelled a joint being sparked up. Obviously you turned to the source of the smell.

It was none other than Xiao and the singer Albedo from Mondstadt Entertainment. How did they know each other? Who knows. Albedo was the first one to notice you though.

“Hello. Aren’t you Y/n?” He questioned.

You got a little shy. It was weird to have one of your favorite artists know your existence. Damn. No more parasocial relationships for you.

Xiao responded for you, “They’re the one who has a twitter feud with Scaramouche.”

“You didn’t have to tell him all that.” You responded with embarrassment. It was true though, currently you’re trending for fighting with the most popular person under Inazuma Entertainment.

“Shits funny though. We always laugh about it in the group chat.” Xiao mentioned as he took a hit from the joint.

They talk about you in the Inazuma group chat?

“Oh so am I like a household name there?” You joked. You were always intimidated by him. Xiao always looks so mad. However, the alcohol is making your fears go away.

“Yeah kinda. By the way, do you smoke?” Xiao asked nonchalantly, his body shifted to look at you. It felt like his eyes were piercing through your soul.

This caught you off guard, “I sometimes do when I have stuff.”

Xiao then handed you the joint and you took a long hit. You didn’t cough this time. If you were being honest, you preferred weed over nicotine, It doesn’t smell as great but it also doesn’t make you feel sick.

You passed it to Albedo, who took a long inhale. This could be seen as a dream blunt rotation or a nightmare blunt rotation. However, it wasn’t until the end where you felt the weed hit. Mix with the alcohol, you began to feel crossed. You began to feel so giggly and everything moved so slow.

You turned to the both of them, “What the hell was in this?”

“Don’t worry it’s not laced. It’s just weed imported from Snezhnaya. My plug is from there.” Albedo reassured you.

“You have a plug?” Your question came out more of a surprise than you have intended.

“Yes. He’s the best. Here let me give you my number so we can smoke again. Xiao give them yours too.” Albedo grabbed your phone from you to type in his number. Xiao then grabbed the phone from Albedo and typed in his number as well.

You felt proud of yourself for scoring two hot guy’s numbers. Were you actually going to text them? Who knows!

The more you sat down, the more you realized how stuffy and hot the place was becoming. You excused yourself and went out onto the balcony to get some fresh air.

The cold air stung as you had exited the warm party. It quickly felt nice though. As you hung your head over the balcony, you heard footsteps approaching behind you.

Turning around, you saw the person you wanted to avoid the most tonight. Scara fucking mouche.

As you guys made eye contact he scoffed and looked away. He looked the same as ever. Fortunately, still good looking. Unfortunately, still short.

There was a bit of awkward silence before you began to spoke.

“Can’t you see I was here first?” Alcohol makes you appear more bolder.

“How fucking drunk are you?” Scara asked in a harsh tone. “And are you high too? You smell like weed.”

“That’s none of your business.” You retorted.

He rolled his eyes, “You don’t change do you?”

He walked next to you on the balcony. There was still a decent amount of space between you guys. You glanced over to him. Scara’s hair looks grown out but still healthy, despite often dying it purple. His violet eyes were looking out into the outside portion of the party. If you didn’t know better, you’d think he’d be someone who’s the opposite of what he actually is.

Scara then took out a pack of cigarettes and began lighting one. You stared at it hoping he’d offer it to you. You love smoking cigs when drunk. For someone who sings, you sure do smoke a lot.

“You’re not sharing this with me.” Scara said plainly. Not even glancing at you.

“Wasn’t planning on it.” You looked away from him. The cool air felt pleasant against your skin. You could hear the music blaring from the inside and the people mingling down below. It was better than any other party you had attended.

There was another long silence between you guys. It didn’t feel awkward anymore. It was more nostalgic and comforting than anything. So you began to talk once again.

“Do you still talk to Aether or Kazuha?” The question always lingered in your mind. Those were some of the mutual friends you guys had shared. You haven’t spoken to either of them since graduation.

“Yes, sometimes” Scara responded in a monotone voice. He didn’t seem interested to talk to you. You didn’t care though.

There was yet again another long silence. This time, he stuck out his hand to you. Offering the cigarette.

“Take it before I change my mind.” He mumbled.

You took the cigarette from his hand, now sharing it with him. You were too out of it to notice the bitter taste. Perhaps, it was the liquor masking the true taste of the cigarette. Perhaps, it was the liquor that was the real reason you were feeling more bold to ask this certain question. One that has been lingering in your mind the longest. The question you were worried about the answer the most.

“Did you ever like talking to me?”

The question shifted the tension in the air.

Scara was calculating his response. The longer he took to respond, the more anxious you felt.

“You were a nice friend to talk to.” He finally answered.

The answer disappointed you.

Just a friend? Seriously? After all those nights on facetime, him listening to you rant, him getting upset when you took too long to respond, him sending you over 20 tiktoks a day, him recommending you songs or movies, and him getting jealous over random guys. That was just him being a friend?

“Are you fucking serious right now?” You snapped at him. You turned your body to face his.

“What??” Scara retorted, barely glancing in your direction.

“If I was just a friend then why were you so ashamed of me? Why did you never tell anyone we would talk on the daily?” You began to press into him.

“You never told anyone either! You barely even told Hu Tao.” Scara argued back, finally facing you.

“And you only told Childe! I didn’t know what we were. You always seemed embarrassed to talk to me at school. We rarely hung out outside of school. And you let your friends harass me.” Your feelings from the past year gushed out of you. You weren’t holding back.

“Yeah you’re right. I was embarrassed of you. Everyone at school made fun of you because you were a trainee. Your personality made it unbearable and that’s why you only had a few friends. Anyone associated with you was questioned and also made fun of. I at least wanted to keep my connections.” Scara’s words felt like a knife to the heart.

Deep down, you knew that most people around you felt like you were a burden for pursuing your idol dreams. Everytime you would apologize for flaking because you were practicing, how you would talk about what happened at practice, and how hard you tried to fit in. It never seemed good enough for people. You tried your best being friendly but people often thought you were fake. It just hurt coming from someone you thought cared about you.

“You seriously considered how people felt? I thought you didn’t care what people thought about you. I thought you were different.” Your voice cracked as you tried to hold back tears.

“It’s different when it came to you. You were the joke of the grade. You may have had some friends but did you ever wonder what people thought of them? For being associated with you?” His questions grilled into you like an interrogation.

Your friends always comforted you. Not once did they ever mention their image getting tarnished. Sure they would sometimes get teased for even speaking to you, but they never seemed to care. Right?

“Then what about Childe?” You finally argued back, “He was always nice to me. I don’t recall anyone teasing him for texting or speaking to me.”

“That’s because he’s respected enough. No one dared to bully him or even say anything to him about his friends.” Scara replied nonchalantly.

It was irritating to see him not care about how his words would affect you. You had enough.

“Whatever. Fuck you and fuck your friend group. You never deserved me or everything I did for you, you little ungrateful cunt. You’re dead to me.“ Those were your final words to him before storming off. All the emotions began to pour out of you as you began to walk away.

As Scara saw you walk off, he turned back to face the night sky. “What a dramatic bitch.” He muttered before finally finishing the cigarette you two had shared. As he threw it on the ground, he felt a sort of guilt. Did he really need to tell you all that?

Whatever.

You deserved to know.

Scara looked around at the people in attendance. He then noticed something in the corner of his eye. Someone was throwing up in a bush. Someone familiar….for fucks sake it’s Venti. Kokomi at his side comforting him. Scara groaned not believing what he is seeing. He walked back into the party so he could help his somewhat friend.

Meanwhile, you were trying your best to find your friends. You wanted to leave this party asap. You dialed Ayaka’s number and luckily she picked up. They were by the snack table. You hurriedly met up with them.

When you got there, Lyney, Mona, and Hu Tao were wasted out of their minds. It was an amusing sight.

What wasn’t an amusing sight, was you visibly shaken up. Naturally, it didn’t take long before they noticed.

“Hey Y/n are you alright?” Lynette asked. She always had a keen eye for people’s body language.

“Honestly, I don’t know. I ran into Scaramouche and we had this giant argument.” You hesitated in answering. Nervous on how the others might react.

“YOU WHAT? NAH where is he?! Lemme go beat his ass!” Hu Tao tried standing up but she fell on top of Lyney.

“Get your fat ass off of me!” Lyney slurred.

“Y/n do you want to leave? We were about to head out right now and text you.” Ayaka mentioned.

You nodded. This party was fun until you had a run in with him.

“Lynette, do you and the others want to sleepover at my place with us?” Ayaka offered.

Lynette glanced over at Lyney and Mona, who were fighting over the last cookie. She then looked at Ayaka and nodded.

Lynette, Lyney, and Mona got into Lynette’s car meanwhile you, Hu Tao, Ayaka, and Ayato got into the car you arrived in. The car ride was silent. You were still drunk and angry at what had happened earlier so you whipped out your phone to send a few texts.

You closed your eyes for the remainder of the car ride. When you opened them, had finally arrived to the Kamisato Estate. It’s as big inside as it is outside.

Ayaka showed you all to your rooms and you all began to unwind for the night. You immediately collapsed onto the bed. The world still spinning around you and memories from the party flood your brain. You tried your best to repress those thoughts and fall asleep.

Masterlist II Previous II Next

A/N: Chapter 5 done!! This is my first written chapter so I apologize if it’s really long. I was too lazy to split it up into two parts. (That’s pretty much why I lowk rushed the ending) I know this chapter was a bit dramatic but I lowk had a fun time writing it. This isn’t even all the lore between Scara and Y/n 🤫 Also let’s pretend the Kamisato Estate is close to where the party is being held 💔 I’m bad at geography.

ALSOOO lmk if you guys want your users to be added to this au and i’ll make you a twitter user :)

Synopsis: You’re a new idol that just debuted under ‘Fontaine Entertainment’ with your new single ‘Espresso.’ You just graduated high school which means all your classmates are shocked to see you into stardom. Including your old situationship, who happens to be an actor.

Taglist: @skyoverkill1 @quacking-simp @lolmeowing @astro-stars @kaitfae @sl-vega @veekoko @scarawiki @yuminako @samyayaya @skyvella @kur0kki @practicoi @kukikoooo @scaraenthusiast1 @shutingstar @lloovvv @moonjellyfishie @miy-svz @xionri @lalalaloveallmydays @hearts4lizzzz @kathiwis @state-of-grac3

[pinkeos]

Aventurine, Dr Ratio, Jing Yuan, Blade when you bring home/adopt a puppy

Warning/s: None

Notes: i'm a dog person so🧍

aventurine already has three cat cake critters and he loves them, but when you bring home a puppy, asking him with pleading eyes if you could keep it (he swore the pup was also giving him puppy eyes), he couldn't say no.

he'd be so enthusiastic with pets, like he'd buy matching accessories for the critters and your puppy. he wouldn't hold back in buying essentials like the best food and most comfortable beds

aventurine is the type that would send you numerous pictures of your pets, especially when he catches them sleeping in the cutest positions or doing the silliest things

he'd be worried at first if the critters would adapt well with the addition of the puppy, so imagine how happy he is when he sees them all buddy buddy

he bought them their own beds and all, but he'd still allow them to sleep on your shared bed with the both of you. you once had to hold yourself back from laughing when he pouted at you, your puppy sleeping between you two which didn't let him cuddle with you. he ended up cuddling with the puppy anyway

whenever none of you could stay at home due to work, he'd hire only the best pet sitters in town to take care of his babies and he'd ask for updates almost every hour

ratio, straight up, the ‘keep that dog away from me’ but is so close with the dog after a few weeks type

like, when you first brought the dog home, you had to convince him that you should keep it and that you could take good care of it, promising that it wouldn't get in the way of his work

he's reluctant, even nagging you that you'd have to be extra responsible with the animal, but agreeing nonetheless

you didn't know how it happened, but it just did, ratio’s now closer to your dog than you were for some reason. it'd sleep by his feet whenever he was in his home office reading or grading his student’s papers, which was news because he initially forbid the dog to go anywhere near his office

for someone who claimed to not want the dog, he's quite hands on with taking care of it. he'd make a schedule for when it should eat, sleep, and play even though it wouldn't be followed most of the time

he'd also discuss with you about which food is best for the new member of the family like it was some sort of research paper, he'll make sure that the dog will have a good and balanced diet and that it stays healthy

he’d be the type to keep a close eye on his dog when he takes it to a pet salon, making sure the staff doesn't hurt it or make it uncomfortable

jing yuan isn't opposed to having pets, he's got mimi. plus how could he resist the whines and coos from the puppy you held?

he'd introduce your puppy to mimi ever so gently, making sure they got along so you'd have no problem with the two coexisting in the same house

puppies are more often hyper than cats, but it must be jing yuan's influence rubbing on them, because him, the puppy, and mimi could often be seen napping together

like, it'd be so cute to see jing yuan sleeping with a soft smile, leaning back on the white lion and holding the puppy to his chest like it was his child. you have several pictures of them three just sleeping in your phone

yanqing loved to play with the puppy too. whenever the boy’s practice was over, he'd play with it, running around the general’s backyard with the puppy in tow as he led it like a general leading his soldiers to battle

whenever you’re both busy, he'd volunteer to take the puppy to his office so it'd be a common sight to see the general briefing some of the cloud knights while a puppy playfully bit and tugged at his coat

blade would appear nonchalant when you first proposed to adopt a puppy, telling you to do whatever you want

at first, he'd steer clear of the puppy when it first arrived in the house, but as the days passed, the puppy would linger around him. he'd gently nudge it away from him, telling it to run along but the puppy would only wag its tail and bark happily up at him

the little dog would follow him around the house, and he'd stare at it for a while, then go back to whatever he's doing. the day he finally crouched down and gave the puppy a pat on the head was the day he knew he couldn't keep ignoring the fluffy animal any longer

he's so chill with the dog, watching it silently as it tries to pull the toy from his hand in a game of tug of war, rubbing its belly and feeding it treats behind your back when you tell him it's had enough for the day

when he's out on a mission, he'd subtly ask about the puppy and what it's up to, ignoring the snicker he received from silver wolf at the way he intently and fondly watched the video you sent him of his puppy

he's so chill with his dog but the moment someone tries to hurt or look at it badly, he'd give them a deadly glare to make them back off

there was a time when he sat on the couch, muddled thoughts of the past making its way back into his mind. he didn't want it to cloud his mind, to make the mara resurface yet again especially when he's in your shared home and he could hurt you and the puppy

but those thoughts were cut off when he heard a whine. looking down, the puppy sat next to him, placing its muzzle on top of his thigh as it looked up at him as if worried. it was as if it could understand what he was feeling and it wanted to comfort him. if you saw him embracing the dog, you didn't speak about it

[writing-funsies]

OP characters as besties p.5

p.1 | p.2 | p.3 | p.4 | p.5

characters: Ace, Shanks, Mihawk

warnings: mentions of alcohol, light cussing

notes: all platonic hc's

Ace

will share his food with you

but won't let you take any off his plate

falls asleep on you all the time

uses you as his personal pillow

and will make fun of you if you freak out when riding with him on Striker

despite the fact that it's designed for only one person

but I digress

also uses you as a napkin if needed

sometimes shoots little flames at you to see your reaction

talks about Luffy nonstop

like that's the only thing he ever talks about

by the time you actually meet his little brother

you're ready to strangle both of them

not really

but you could spot the kid a mile away

before you ever actually got to know him

Ace and you working together to become more confident

always teasing each other

you having to fish him out of the ocean when he falls in

drinking contests

staring contests

fighting contests

eating contests

just competing over everything and anything possible

training together

he may be really strong and have a devil fruit power

but he won't hesitate to practice his hand-to-hand combat with you

especially if you need it

will tease you about it though

so you just push him overboard again

long talks about your lives

your pasts

your families

where you see yourselves in a year

five years

maybe even ten years

your goals

and aspirations

just talks about life

he tells you about his dad

and is relieved when you tell him that just because he was his father's son doesn't mean that'll be his legacy 

you two would die for each other

nothing will ever tear you apart

besties for the resties

9/10

super sweet and funny

but won't bathe no matter how much you beg

Shanks

party boy™

genuinely doesn't give a fuck

he's here to have fun

and protect his family

that's it

tells you the corniest jokes you've ever heard

also laughs at everything you say

like Luffy, laughs even when you're being serious

uses his missing arm as an excuse if you ever try to get him to do his duties as captain

sometimes struggles with phantom pains

but assures you they'll go away on their own

drinking contests

if he's got a drink in hand

then everyone's gonna have a good time

100% threw up on your shoes once before passing out

laughed like it was the funniest thing he'd ever heard when you told him

quickly stifles his laughter when he sees how mad you are

offers to let you throw up on his shoes to make it even

you just stare at his sandals for a moment before walking away

watching Luffy's progress through the news together

bragging about the kid as if he were your own

the antics you two get up to guarantee that Ben will have a constant headache

the rest of the crew finds your dynamic duo to be hilarious

the sheer power of this crew is near unimaginable

so if the two of you ever actually fight enemies

they don't stand a chance

if anyone ever targeted you

and hurt you

Shanks would have his crew capture your attacker

and then show them exactly why no one messes with the Red Hair Pirates

8/10

always provides a good time

but will laugh at you if you fall 

Mihawk

I ain't ever seen two pretty best friends

until now

you are probably a little more lively than this warlord

he just doesn't care for drama

which means it's up to you to keep him in the loop

yet somehow he has the truly juicy details you could only wish to find on your own

y'all have a small book club

it's just the two of you

you tried to invite Perona to join

but she thought that your reading selection was so not cute

you even tried to invite Shanks once

all that accomplished was you gaining a new drinking buddy

which Mihawk begrudgingly allowed to happen

basically, the book club is just you two sipping on wine while discussing every mistake that the author made while writing your current read

salty bitches™

you're one of the only people alive who can get Mihawk to laugh

which is your favorite party trick

except that he's never laughed at the parties you both went to

(ie visiting Shanks and getting roped into a night of drinking)

he airs out all of the other warlords' dirty laundry to you

will talk mad shit about them

well at least most of them

he finds that no matter how powerful they may be

they're all idiots in his eyes

they can't see the big picture

he trusts that you have enough common sense to use the information sparingly

and you do

for the most part

it's giving rich single wine aunt meets vodka mom (but without the kids)

9/10

knows how to relax in style

but will not let you play with his sword no matter how many times you ask

[bemusedlybespectacled]

since @sketchy-scribs-n-doods asked why birth certificates are racist:

preface: read this post about eugenics so that I don't have to write that overview again.

anywho! the very very short version is that there was a guy named Walter Ashby Plecker (hereafter "the Plecker fucker") who was a doctor in Virginia in the late 1800s/early 1900s. like he was born right around when the Civil War ended and his family owned slaves, if you want to get an idea of the time and place we're talking about.

the Plecker fucker, along with a couple of his good buddies John Powell and Ernest Sevier Cox(1) from the Anglo-Saxon Club(2), wrote and lobbied for a law called the Racial Integrity Act (incidentally, one of the blueprints the Nazis used for their own laws), which did a couple of things:

it legally categorized every person into either "white" or "colored," with "white" being only people with a completely unbroken and provable white European heritage – with a teeny tiny exception for people who were less than 1/16th Native American that he was bullied into including(3) – and "colored" being literally everything else, with no specificity as to whether it meant Black or Asian or Native American or whatever;

it prohibited white people from marrying colored people (though notably not banning having sex with them: we're talking about a guy whose family owned slaves here, so you can do the math on that)

it allowed for the sterilization of certain undesirable people, such as the mentally ill; and, most importantly for our purpose:

it required all births and marriages to be registered in a big state-wide database, with the races of all parties listed.

and he also set himself up as the first guy in charge of that registry, so that it would be done exactly the way he wanted it.

prior to this, if you could get away with passing as white, you were (generally) treated as white. this was to prevent any white-passing mixed race people from marrying into white society (because their birth certificate records would show that their parents had nonwhite heritage), and eventually eliminate mixed race people, period.

now, obviously birth certificates weren't in common use before this law, so at least the first wave of people affected by the law could still (in theory) lie about their ethnicity and establish themselves as white on their birth certificates, thus allowing them to continue marrying "real" white people.

not a problem! the Plecker fucker fancied himself a bit of a genealogist (meaning he thought everyone with the same last name was related, somehow), so he'd just go in and edit people's records to say "colored," invalidating their marriages in the process, and ordered all of the people under him to do the same. like, there's a letter he sent out to the county-level people that was like, "anyone with the last name Collins [yes, really] is actually mixed race, DO NOT LET THEM GET MARRIED TO WHITE PEOPLE, EDIT ALL THEIR RECORDS."(4)

outside of the obvious negative effects of the law in general not allowing interracial marriages (until it was overturned by Loving v. Virginia in 19-fucking-67) and sterilizing anyone disabled or "feebleminded," him going in and literally erasing Native heritage from records has prevented Virginian Native Americans from being able to claim federal tribal recognition, because it's all just "white" or "colored," which could mean anything nonwhite.

anyway, that's why birth certificates are racist. they were made up by a racist guy to do more racism. and then that racist guy got hit by a car and died.

I stg this is the short version. the longer version was idk how many pages before I melted into a depressed puddle of goo and almost flunked out of my senior year of college.

(1) Ernest Sevier Cox was a weird fucking dude in that he was really good friends with Marcus motherfucking Garvey, to the point that they attended each other's events, dedicated books to each other, and wrote each other a lot of letters even after Garvey was deported to Jamaica (and Cox personally tried to get Garvey released from jail when he was imprisoned for mail fraud). This was partly because white nationalism and black separatism accomplished the same ultimate goals (i.e. Black people leaving the US) from different angles, but I think they just also genuinely liked each other? For some reason??

(2) Basically the KKK but for genteel, refined, upper-class people instead of violent, disorderly peasants (yes, they legit disliked the KKK because it was a poor person thing). Also, I can't find it again, but at one point when I was researching all this in college, I was looking through old school newspapers and either William & Lee or William & Mary had a junior Anglo-Saxon Club, sort of like a Young Republicans, and one of their contributions to the student newspaper was a piece about how they definitely weren't racist and how dare they be accused of racism, they just didn't want blacks or whites mixing! How is that racist? (Yes, they used the word "racist," and I have no idea what their definition of racism was, if it wasn't what they were doing) Anyway, I think about that a lot.

(3) This is informally called the Pocahontas Exception, because a lot of really, really influential, prominent and rich Virginians actually took a lot of pride in claiming to be descended from Pocahontas and John Rolfe (even if they weren't), and without the exception, they'd all be classified as "colored." Plecker didn't want any exceptions at all (he was, at the very least, not a hypocrite about what he thought "white" meant), but given that some of the people the law would make "colored" would potentially be voting on the law, he had to include the exception or risk it not being passed at all.

(4) The reason I even got into this subject in the first place is that one of my family tree names is on that list and we're pretty sure they moved to Kentucky because of it, but it doesn't necessarily mean they're related to us OR that they were white-passing mixed-race people: they could well have been just plain white people who happened to have the same surname.

[maychorian]

Found Family Anime Recs

I recently reblogged a list of found family anime recs and was a bit surprised by how many reblogs and likes it got. I had really reblogged it just so I can find it later to watch the shows I hadn't already seen on the list, but apparently I have a lot of followers who are interested in this topic! Well, I've watched a lot of anime, so here are ten found family anime shows that I absolutely love. These are in no particular order.

Buddy Daddies

This show is similar enough to Spy X Family that you might be tempted to call it a rip-off. It's really quite different though. There's a lot less comedy (though there's still SOME comedy) and a lot more healing from past trauma. The animation is gorgeous, and the relationships really tug at my heart. It's more realistic than Spy X Family, in some ways, though it's still pretty ridiculous. The melodrama in the last couple of episodes did annoy me a bit, but it's still a very satisfying show. It's like a fanfiction I would write, which is really the highest recommendation I can give, haha, because that means it's exactly the kind of story I would like. 

2. Samurai Champloo

This show was made by much of the same team that created Cowboy Bebop, but for some reason it never got the same cult status, which is really too bad. I love Cowboy Bebop, but I love Samurai Champloo more. It's about two ronin and a teenage girl traveling through Edo-era Japan to find someone the girl is looking for. Throughout the series, the three form a very strong bond, despite all of their communication difficulties and past traumas. I've rewatched this show probably more than any other anime. It's brutal at times, but so very satisfying.

3. Natsume Yuujin-cho

Natsume lost his parents as a young child and was passed around from relative to relative, most of whom couldn't deal with him because his ability to see yokai (Japanese folk spirits) made him a freak in their eyes. As the series starts, he's finally taken in by an older couple in a rural village who actually want him, and he's finally able to start forming connections with other people and find a support system with his new caretakers, his peers, and the yokai he tries to help. It's a very sweet, sad series, much more sentimental than the first two entries on this list, but a very soothing and lovely watch when you are in need of some relaxation. Warning, though, the flashbacks to Natsume's past families can be truly gutwrenching. He was not treated well for a very long time, and it's hard to stomach.

4. Barakamon

Handa is a calligrapher who gets essentially exiled to a remote island after causing problems on purpose. He has a hard time connecting with people and is struggling with his art. Over the course of the story, he forms relationships with his neighbors, especially an adorable child with possibly the best child voice-acting I've ever heard, and slowly rediscovers his joy in creation again. It's cute and funny and beautiful, and it makes me want to live on a remote Japanese island.

5. My Roommate Is a Cat

Subaru is a young novelist who recently lost his parents, who were pretty much his only connection to humanity. While trying to recover from this massive loss, he adopts a stray cat who quickly becomes the most important creature in his life. Through the cat, he begins to form relationships with other people, as well. The show is unique in that the first half of each episode is from the human's POV and the second half is from the cat's POV. It's a very lovely and soothing show. Pets are family, too!

6. Haikyuu

Haikyuu was the show that opened my eyes to the aspect of found family in sports anime. I know a lot of tumblr enjoys Haikyuu for the shipping, but to me it's more satisfying to view it through the lens of found family. Each team is essentially their own found family, in their own unique way, and the relationships are particularly realistic and well-depicted by this mangaka. I love Tanaka being a big brother to the first years, Kuroo and Kenma's mutual protectiveness and support, all of it. 

7. Kuroko no Basuke

This is the silly basketball show, and in my opinion it's not as good as Haikyuu, but I love the relationships here as well. Especially between Kuroko and Kagami, of course. Their mutual protectiveness is just chef's kiss. But the whole Seirin team is really great. I love them so much. The teamy goodness is what makes the silliness watchable for me.

8. One Piece

What is there to say about One Piece? This is, like, the ultimate found family show. All of the pirate crews with any kind of goodness at their core are found families, but especially the Strawhats. Luffy is just going around looking at people and declaring, "Okay, you're in my family (on my crew) now." If you've never watched One Piece before, I'm going to make an unorthodox recommendation and suggest you watch the live action Netflix adaption first. It does a really good job of capturing the feel and aesthetic and just pure loveliness of this story in a much more compact and approachable way than the anime. However, if you like it, I do recommend that you watch the anime from the beginning, because there is a lot of expansion on the themes there, and the characterization is slightly different. Usopp in particular kinda got shorted in the live action, so you'll understand him a lot more if you watch his introduction arc in the anime. But honestly both versions are great. I'm on my third rewatch of the live action version already, and I will watch and rewatch the anime until I die, probably. One of my favorite stories of all time.

9. The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash

I found this one slightly annoying in how it was obviously carefully designed to tug at my heartstrings, but it's working, so I don't have much right to complain. It's about a little kid driven out of her home who gradually gathers a found family of both monsters she tames and adult adventurers and guardsmen who take one look at this lonely child and go, "Well, guess I have a baby now." The isekai element is very lowkey, in that she basically just has a voice in her head giving her advice, and I like that it's about fighting local corruption instead of a demon army or what have you. I want more shows like this and less shows like every other generic isekai, haha.

10. Dungeon Meshi

This show is blowing up tumblr right now, so you've probably already seen it a billion times, but I'm going to make one more appeal for you to watch/read this story. It is so, so so good. And in my opinion, it is much MUCH more about family, both born and found, than it is about shipping. I could write a whole essay about Marcille and Falin's relationship that has nothing to do with romance, as I could for any other two (or three or four) characters in the main party, plus those outside. There is a LOT going on. I've been playing RPGs and LARPs for twenty years, and one reason I love the hobby so much is for the joy of creating found families with my best friends in new and different worlds, over and over again. This is the first piece of fiction I've found that really captures that particular aspect of party-based fantasy stories, the relationships that form and grow, the tight-knit bonds that keep everyone moving forward despite the monsters you must face (and consume). 

[transsexualhamlet]

insanely specific tolkien thought of the day: linguistic shift in Quenya

or: Aragorn's no-good very-bad five dialect Quenya soup

I have often found the concept of how language changes over time when its speakers are immortal quite ridiculously interesting (for example, if Finwe and Thingol were brought together during the years of the trees, would it be the absurd equivalent of watching ur grandpa reunite with his childhood buddy and all of a sudden start speaking incomprehensible old english, what it would be like to spend hundreds of years writing with a system that your cousin/brother/child came up with when he was a teenager, things like this).

It's clear that despite the undying nature of its speakers during the years of the trees, there was still enough of a linguistic shift between Sindarin and Quenya during the Years of the Trees that they became completely different languages, so I was sent on somewhat of a thought experiment of how the language was changed over time and how ridiculously comedic that change can be when dealing with immortal beings.

So my thought is that following the return of the Noldor to Beleriand, Quenya began to be split into a few different dialects, which over time because of the immortal nature of Only Elves, created some strange occurrences. These were the three types of Quenya which arose:

Mainland Quenya in Aman. Although there are probably some dialectical differences between for example, the Vanyar and the Teleri on Tol Eressea, but in general it seems to act as a whole due to the ease of travel between places. As this is the only language spoken on Aman other than Valarin, and it has basically zero contact with the outside world, all its interior changes are probably sort of strange and incomprehensible tumblr speak to outsiders.

Noldor Quenya in Middle Earth. It would start out the same as Mainland Quenya, but obviously as soon as it is cut off the changes become different. It firstly took all Feanorian influence with it, which I imagine due to his insanity was basically its own dialect already. Then, there came the changes due to its being outlawed by Thingol and very rarely spoken for like. 400 years. In this case, even those survivors that managed to escape unscathed from the war of the jewels probably lost some of the original way they spoke the language, and most children born during or even after the ban were probably not taught to be fluent in Quenya, or even taught at all. After Thingol's death, Quenya could be spoken again, but those who learned it afterwards from old texts would have little context as native Sindarin speakers basically never learned Quenya, and by the beginning of the second age, most of the Quenya spoken in Middle Earth is likely a sort of pigdin between Sindarin and a now-antiquated half-remembered version of Quenya with a heavy Feanorian bias.

Numenorean / Dunedain Quenya. The Numenoreans actually have a much more recent connection with Mainland Quenya, as for much of the second age there was good communication between at least the Tol Eressea dialect of Mainland Quenya, as well as the Vanyar's dialect (equivalent I imagine of the Queen's English) as they were also visited by Eonwe. This dialect was then cut off by the later line of Numenorean kings, and the Numenorean's knowledge of that version of Quenya was then reliquated to a few families and texts that were destroyed in the fall of Numenor. This knowledge was then passed down through the lines of the Dunedain, though I imagine over time became corrupted with influence from Gondorian and Westron as the Dunedain were not immortal. At the same time though, it may not have changed as much, as it was treated like the equivalent of Latin where it was used only for naming and ceremonial purposes and not surviving as anyone's first language.

This to me is extremely humorous, because as immortal holdouts of various versions of the language continue to exist, you imagine several things:

Aragorn, being raised in Rivendell by Elrond, speaking Elrond's bastardized Feanorian Quenya, being baffled by his own Dunedain line's Quenya texts, as well as jumpscaring Galadriel and being vaguely unintelligible to the average Noldo born after the first age

Moriquendi who studied up on Quenya before sailing to Valinor realizing that they cannot understand anyone at all upon arriving there, and Galadriel cannot help them

The Istari by the third age remembering a different version of Quenya than literally anyone else on Arda

[yrrtyrrtwhenihrrthrrt]

More hot takes about People's Opinions Regarding Vander and Silco's Respective Parenting of Powder/Jinx (everyone is wrong but me)

So I've talked a bit about how I've seen people be, in my opinion, unfairly critical of Vander's parenting of Vi and Powder (children he didn't choose to have under a brutally oppressive regime and a completely different cultural setting) so I'm gonna expand on that, but first it's Silco's turn to have me as his unlicensed defense attorney (I'm working on the degree buddy dw)

I see a lot of people villainize Silco for his parenting, which... Besties he's already the villain lmao. Like let me be clear, he was NOT a great dad like objectively, but I think people are assigning malicious intent out of nowhere and, like with Vander, being completely unfair about it.

First off I'm not even gonna address the allegations that he was a groomer/pedophile or that his relationship with Jinx was in any way inappropriate. I too got uncomfy the first time I watched the scene where she first gives him the injections, but it's SUPPOSED to be uncomfy, not to imply that they're FUCKING EACH OTHER (???????) but to show that she is locked in a very childish state of mind, as most teenagers would feel embarrassed to be climbing all over their dad. He does not touch her, interact with her, or speak to her in a way that implies sexual pretense AT ALL at any point in the story, he does not deviate from Regular Dad Interactions in that regard.

Now one thing he does get a lot of shit for that has a bit more credence to it (although I still disagree) is accusations of (non-sexual) grooming her into a weapon. So here's my take: I do not believe that he intended to groom her into a weapon for Zaun. I do, however, believe he intended to raise her to be a soldier for Zaun. And this is because he thought everyone should be a soldier for Zaun! He took extreme pride in the undercity and wanted independence for it and wanted to pass those values to his adopted daughter. Everyone who has children does this, I would hardly call it grooming.

H o w e v e r

The reason I say he wasn't a great parent is that he absolutely projected his own trauma onto his child and effectively tried to imprint the trust issues he got from that trauma onto her. This is entirely fair to criticize, this is NOT a good parent move, however I think it's unfair to assume malicious intent. I truly believe that he thought he was helping or protecting Jinx by doing this. I think he fully believed if she reunited with Vi, Vi would betray her and hurt her like Vander did him and he didn't want her to go through that mental and/or physical anguish. I don't think he did it to keep her under his "control." I mean, she isn't under his control lmao did we watch the same show? She constantly does whatever she wants causing him immense issues, but she's his daughter and he loves her and respects her freedom. I believe his actions were not in the interest of manipulating her, but protecting her, even though they were misguided and did her harm, and I believe the narrative supports this conclusion and assuming he's a monster who just wanted to use her is a complete mischaracterization.

Now the last thing I'll say is about Vander. I've noticed a lot of my fellow Silco enjoyers lamenting the fact that Jinx was so invested in Vander/Warwick and calls him dad, but we don't get to properly see her grieve or miss Silco or call him her dad despite him being much more of a father figure to her. First off, I absolutely agree. With the second part. I'd liked to have seen her lose her mind more over the fact that she killed her family again. I'd liked to have seen her steal Silco's coat in Blisters and Bedrock and put it on and cry and show her sister that, while Silco was a monster, he really did love and mean a great deal to her. I'd like to see Silco discussed as the dad he was to her.

H o w e v e r

I've seen a lot of people saying to this point that she shouldn't care about Vander at all, or at least not much, because he was barely a father figure to her and she'd resent him for what he did to Silco.

Again, did we watch the same show??

Vander raised Powder from roughly the ages of four to ten. These are extremely fundamental years in a child's life. Silco raised her through her adolescence but Vander raised her through her childhood. This means Vander (and also probably Vi a lot of the time) was the one who comforted her when she skinned her knees, and read her bedtime stories, and carried her to bed when she fell asleep at his bar, washed her sheets when she had accidents as are common with (esp traumatized) 4-5 year olds, taught her to read and write, fixed her snacks, and built the foundation for her to feel safe in a world that wanted to destroy her. A person doesn't just forget about that, she would still love him and see him as a parent. With Silco gone and Vi hating her, no fucking wonder she wanted to rescue one last piece of her family!!! And yeah, she knew the backstory with him and Silco, but didn't seem to care very much. The one time she brings it up she's clearly annoyed and borderline mocking Silco about it lmao.

Point is they were both her dads and they both loved her and she loved them even though they weren't perfect thanks for coming to my Ted Talk.