#he won nationals everyone else go home!

[eggplantgifs]

Kosho Oshima: The Super Mario Bros. Movie » 2023 Japanese Nationals

[bunny-jpeg]

shut up and put your money where your mouth is

max verstappen

tags: smut/pwp, driver!reader, rivals au, bickering/fighting, married in vegas, drinking, doggy style, rough sex, dirty talk, hangovers, 2.5k words

a/n: happy las vegas gp everyone!

wheel to wheel. toe to toe. cheek to cheek.

this was the dance you did with the three time world champion. the rivalry that put mclaren and red bull up against one another. and in the lead up to the las vegas grand prix, it was you and max's world and everyone else was just living in it.

"you should smile more." he said at the bar in one of the casinos on the strip. he pinched your cheek and you wanted to bite him.

you replied shortly, "i'll smile when you give me something to smile about. don't think i forgot the last race." you were barely edging max in points with the season wrapping up.

he just smiled, "i know you'll be smiling when i bring it all home in a few weeks. don't you worry." then pinched your cheek once more.

damn max verstappen.

the rivarly started years ago. max was the youngest rookie and you were a few months older than him. along with being the first female in far too long. the hype around your arrivals to the sport caused you two to step on each other's toes. both of you felt an overbearing responsibility to be the best. your father breathed down your neck on the track just as much as max's did down his.

and even after years in the game, you were both painfully in each other's orbit. so much so that your dear teammate oscar once said, "i'm pretty sure if you two weren't in formula one you'd be married by now!"

you replied with a laugh, "oh please, i'd never! not in a million years." but last vegas was the city of opportunity, and before an exciting weekend you went out for a few drinks with your rival. and as much as the city has opportunity, it was still sin city.

enough gin and tonics for max to feel a little more relaxed. and enough cranberry-vodkas to leave you feeling warm all over. what sent you over the edge with him was his flushed face and him undoing the first few buttons of his shirt. your eyes raked over his almost exposed collarbones and you shifted in your seat.

you swallowed and took another hearty drink, which only fueled a sexual fire in your belly. you felt something hot run through you at the sight of him. you looked away to try and not think too hard about it. you played with the gold chain around your neck.

max leaned forward and narrowed his eyes at your neck, "did i buy that for you?" he put his arms on the table and his expression was drunken as he said, "wearing what i bought you?" he laughed, "if i know you'd wear it. i would've bought you a ring."

you felt heat rise in your cheeks more, "i think people would get the wrong idea. we're supposed to hate each other. the headlines would be insane, max verstappen buys ring for his rival."

he chuckled, "well, you are my favourite." he swallowed and darted his gaze quickly, "my favourite rival." then took another hearty sip of his drink.

you licked your lips, "just a rival?" you asked softly. the liquor emboldened you and you let go of your necklace. in a moment of weakness you reached for his hand and asked, "not even friends?"

max swallowed, "not friends."

you felt ice wash through your core at his words. a tightness in your chest prevented any words from coming out.

max realized in his drunken haze that he only said half of the sentence. when you pulled your hand away, he was desperate to grab it back. shock crossed his expression, "no, no! not like that!" liquid courage made him say the words, "not a friend. a lover."

the words tumbled out of your mouth, "verstappen... i'm saying this on the most certain terms... take me. fuck me. do whatever you want to me." you swallowed.

-

you held the trophy over your head. you beamed with pride after your country's national anthem. you did it, you won the first race of many. as max then sprayed you with champagne, there was a single thing on his mind.

you'd be his one day.

-

you made it to the elevator with max in tow. you were headed to his room. you held his shoulders who he held you to kiss you deeply.

"as good at kissing as you are at racing." you giggled.

"oh, are you giving me a compliment? never heard that before." he smiled at you. he had you by the waist.

"don't get used to it. if you don't make me cum, then i'll never let you live it down." you held his face for a moment, "i will tell everyone that the great max verstappen can't make a woman cum."

he pressed you further against the wall of the elevator, "oh don't worry, i'll make you feel good."

the elevator dinged and you both stumbled out of it. max trapped you against the door while he loomed over you and tried to open it. it was hard to kiss your heated skin and open a door at the same time. on top of being drunk.

"focus on one thing." you groaned.

"if i do then i'll be fucking you in the hallway. and wouldn't that be the scandal of the season." his words struck something in you and when the door was opened, you were pushed inside.

when you caught your footing, you got your heels off. max wrapped his arms around your waist and picked you up. while you weren't stick thing (couldn't be in formula one, not with all that force), but max was simply stronger. he got you both over to the bedroom before he cornered you. you squirmed and he said, "stop moving or i'll drop you." and soon got you onto the king sized hotel bed.

he undid al the bottoms of the shirt and got his belt off as well, he stripped those from himself along with his slacks. in just an undershirt and his briefs in the end, he got onto the bed with you. the dress would've been torn off of you if you weren't fast enough. max groaned when he shoved his face between your soon bare breasts.

"just like i imagined." he groaned. his hands were at the waistband of your panties, "fuck. i need more." and while he got your panties off, you got your bra off.

"you really are excited." you shuddered as your hand up under his shirt. his shoulders were framed by the straps of the undershirt. he looked a little more domineering, which only raised the heat in your body.

"how could i not be? look at you!" he purred before he got the white undershirt off along with his dark briefs.

both of you were naked and tumbled fully onto the bed together. you kissed him once more until you ended up on your stomach with your face in the pillows. max admired your strong back. being a driver meant exhibiting a strength which you presented in spades. strong in so many ways, which was an aspect that pulled max in.

enamored was a term he could use. but that implied it was casual, but max's feelings were far from casual. you were next to the blood in his veins. the spark in his life, the heat in his soul.

he lined his cock up against your soaked cunt. he felt drawn to you, like a siren's call. he couldn't help it, he had been needing this for a long, long time. he sank into you and you felt the excitement of pleasure rush through you as you laid out in the bed.

"at least a decade in the making." he groaned, "ten years, ten years i've been wanting you." he felt a moan leave his lips. two drunks fucking in an expensive hotel room. two multi-million dollar drivers rutted together with a hot passion between you two.

"fuck, don't make me feel old." you buried your face further into the covers and arched your back further. pleasure bloomed through you. you could never truly hate max. it wasn't in you.

max leaned in to kiss you on the centre of your back as he moved against you. his hot breath against you warm back, he felt the thrill of pleasure as he worked you slick cunt. your pussy felt like a dream, while drunk, you still felt perfect. you let out a soft moan as he moved.

"fuck."

"please, max."

"i know."

you were near certain that this was what the entire grid was hoping for. you knew that people shipped you two together. you see the edits, the reddit threads, the fan art, the fan fiction. and you knew the paddock talked.

you gripped the soft pillow under your face and you whined a little bit. the wooden headboard rocked against the white wall of the bedroom. you hoped that checo's room wasn't on the other side. you'd never hear the end of it.

max wrapped his strong arms around your middle and continued to fuck you. he moved against you. his cock bullied against your g-spot and you were left breathless. you wanted him, you wanted him in ways you never thought you'd ever admit.

max lit a fire in you. to push yourself harder an further, you were only as strong as your ability to match max. and your rival made you the best. you clutched onto the pillow and felt a stagger in your heart. your mind was filled with pleasure, but also the liquor. in some way, vodka only made things feel more intense.

you felt it race through your body as the two of you fucked on the soft bed. the slogan from vegas was true, anyone could get lucky here. and you got rather lucky with max.

he held onto you tighter, his strong arm around your middle as he rutted against you. it was a protective feeling to you and you loved the feeling. you guessed that he was a protective force in your life, no one bothered you with max around.

you hissed into the pillow and you felt the surge of intense want. this was a feeling you wanted to feel again, again, and again. you held on tightly and the immense heat just dragged you into the depths of pleasure.

"please, max. i want you. fuck, i didn't know i could want a rival so badly. you're as much in my soul as the engine of my car. ever since we met, i knew you'd be a force in my life. i need you more than i need anyone else. fuck." you rambled, muffled by the covers, and max loved it.

you were always delicate with your words and to hear profanity leave your lips so freely made max run hotter. the way you spoke as you lost all rationality in your head.

he had an effect on you, even on the grid and you wanted to kill him. you never did, not when he looked at you with those beautiful blue eyes. he was your weakness, hence why you were rivals. the pleasure continued to mount, the feeling was electric. it made you hold on tightly, your back arched as he worked your body. you felt on cloud nine, not a care in the world. the want rolled through you and you moaned his name out loud once more.

"fuck, max!" you came around his cock with your nails dug into the pillow. he pressed himself up against your back and continued to fuck you with a feverish face.

the bed creaked under the both of you and the over stimulation made your head swim. you felt the heavy rush and he only kept moving against you. sweaty chest up against your sweaty back. thrusting against you, the pleasure built up in his brain.

the pleasure reached its peak and max slammed his cock as deep into you. he tried to get as deep as he could get and it made you climax once more. he rode out his orgasm, and soon he slowed to a stop. he felt racing in his chest. he wiped sweat from his forehead then kissed your back.

"max."

he pulled out and laid out next to you. he wrapped his arms around you and pulled you close to his chest. he peppered your face with sloppy kisses and you melted at his tender touch. even with his caring touch, his words caught you off guard, "fuck, let's get married."

and as you got lost in his eyes, you nodded, "sure."

-

the sun come morning burned and you turned over to look away from the window. you cracked open your eyes and the hangover weighed on you like a heavy blanket. you were met face to face with max, who was asleep beside you.

your eyes went wide and you pulled away from him. your chest tightened as you pulled the sheets closer to your chest. your heart leapt and you swallowed. when you looked down at your shaky hands, you saw a ring at your left hand. a shocked noise left your lips at the sight of it.

the ring was a gold band with a small diamond. you swallowed, there was no doubt what it was. you got very drunk and you got married. a nagging feeling of who you married was soon answered when you saw max shift and he had a matching gold band on his ring finger.

this was only confirmed when you opened instagram. and the post you were greeted with was of your hastily put together wedding. you looked happy as you kissed him. it felt like the rest of the platform was in a tizzy over this sudden wedding.

a sports reporting outlet had the caption, "mclaren's princess has tamed the bull!!" with a photo of you at the alter, your lips against max's. the next post read, "verstappen ties the knot with long time rival before the las vegas grand prix." you stomach sank and the reality was a cold splash of water.

post after post, reactions from what felt like everyone. you only came back to focus when you felt max's arm drape around your waist.

"max, we're in trouble..." you swallowed.

he slowly opened his eyes. he held onto you tightly for a moment before he kissed at your side. his expression was dreamy, still asleep as he let go of you. his expression changed suddenly when he noticed the ring on his finger. his eyes went wide before he took your hand and saw your ring.

"oh..."

"max, say something." you tried again, your voice tight. you felt the immense anxiety through you. what would the fia say? what would the press say? what would every other goddamn driver say?

it was bad enough people speculated for years about you two, but to have it come to reality was terrifying. but max didn't seem as scared as you.

he looked at you, only to shift closer. he kissed your side once more then said, "well, good morning then, mrs. verstappen." <3

[dreamsteddie]

Other things that happen when Eddie takes Steve to be on the Price is Right

Steve does what he does at home which is yell at the TV very loudly. When they get home and watch their episode everyone can clearly hear him shouting out numbers and booing. It both frightened and turned Eddie on in the moment.

During one of the breaks, while Steve is in the contestant's row Bob asks Steve where he's from and he says Hawkins Indiana which garners quite a reaction from the audience because Hawkins was in the news so much for the government coverups, missing persons, mall fire, murders, and earthquakes. Steve regularly forgets that that's not just normal life for everyone and kind of just shrugs when people give him their condolences.

Before they play the Clock Game Bob asks if there's a lucky lady waiting for him at home to which Steve says 'yes' and Eddie blushes and hides behind his hair a little assuming Steve is talking about him. Steve was thinking about Robin.

Steve's guess for the showcase was only $250 away from the actual retail price and he won't let it go. When they change the margin to $250 instead of $100 to win both showcases in 98' Steve throws a massive fit.

One of the models flirts with Steve at the end of the show and Eddie is spitting and hissing at her in his head. He's still riding the high of Steve saying he's taken on national TV (again, he was talking about Robin but Eddie doesn't know that) and is feeling very possessive.

Wayne actually tears up a little when he sees his boys on his favorite show. He talks about it to his drinking buddies and work friends way too much. The recliner Steve won becomes his most prized possession.

Someone else got to play Plinko on Steve's episode and he's so mad about it because he swears there's a way to finesse it.

After the adoption dates of his kids, the day he got married to Eddie, and Robin's graduation ceremony from her PhD program, Steve rates that day as one of the best of his life.

On their way home and even after they get back Steve will not let it go that Eddie sprung this on him without letting him pick a better outfit. He bitches and moans about it so much that Eddie gets kind of irritated and asks "Ok, what would you have worn then?!" which is apparently exactly what Steve wanted as he immediately starts pulling stuff out of the closet and goes to change in the bathroom. It's almost exactly the same outfit he had on.

[crabberman]

First Kiss

“Tobio!”

The man in question whips his head around, lips forming into a tiny, barely there smile when he lays his eyes on the person who shouted his name. Today was a big match, the prefectural finals against Shiratorizawa. If Karasuno won this they’d be headed off to nationals. Kageyama had been stretching, putting all of his focus into the match ahead of him before he heard his name called.

When he looks up he sees you, standing in the front section of Karasuno’s cheering section waving like an idiot. He squints his eyes, staring at your shirt. It was his alternate jersey. Where did you get it? Kageyama could have sworn he had it in his bag… Through his confusion a soft blush reaches his face. You were cheering him on, wearing his jersey and screaming his name. The peaceful bliss of the moment is interrupted when Hinata appears behind him.

“Woah Kageyama, who's that? Why do they have your jersey?�� Hinata sounds surprised.

Kageyama glares at the shorter boy, pushing him away. “Shut up idiot! Why do you even care?”

“Because you’re smiling and it’s freaky!”

Kageyama turns to begin yelling at Hinata when he hears his name again. This time when he looks up he’s met with you making a heart with your hands.

“Tobio! Good luck!” His smile returns as well as the blush. Maybe he didn’t mind everyone seeing. He gives a small wave before the teams are called to their benches, game about to begin.

After 5 long and grueling sets Karasuno came out on top. They were going to nationals. After long bouts of crying and celebrations on the court the team finally decided to leave. As they exit the gym Kageyama feels a tug on his arm. Irritated, he turns aggressively to tell off whoever grabbed him when he sees your face smiling at him. He is quickly engulfed into a hug that he returns after a moment of shock, smiling himself.

“Oh my god Tobio you were amazing! I’m so proud of you I knew you would win!” Kageyama stares at you while you excitedly ramble about his performance on the court. He still didn’t understand why you came. Sure you had asked him out a few months prior and were dating but he couldn’t quite wrap his head around why you would even want to come to his games.

“Why are you here?” He finally asks, cutting you off. You give him a confused look.

“Why wouldn’t I come? You’re my boyfriend and I like watching you play. I wanted to support you.” Kageyama’s confusion still stands, though another emotion rises. One he doesn’t quite know what to do with. He’s filled with a strong urge to kiss you, he doesn’t understand why though. You notice his stare, shooting him your own confused look.

“You okay babe?” When Kageyama registers the nickname he feels the urge to kiss you grow tenfold until  he can no longer hold himself back.

“Can I kiss you?” He awkwardly blubbers the words out. He feels embarrassed. Why did he say that? His mind swirls and swirls, not even registering how close you had gotten until he feels your lips on his. He freezes for a moment, eyes with shock, before he kisses back. His movements are awkward, just like everything else he does outside of volleyball, but they aren’t unwelcome. Once you pull back he looks stunned while you just smile and laugh.

“Tobio, I think your team is waiting for you. Call me when you get home okay?” He watches you walk away, face red as he brings a hand to his mouth. He can’t believe that he kissed you. It felt good, he wanted to do it again. His thoughts are cut off by Daichi yelling for him to hurry up and get on the bus. He looks in the direction you left one last time before turning to join his team on the bus. Once he sits down he pulls out his phone to text you.

Tobio <3: Can we do that again? 

Tobio <3: Also you have my jersey

Tobio <3: I need that back

[fire-bugged]

Hello gang!

How are you on this fine day? Hope you are fine. Well today is my birthday!!! 🎉 I wanted to know how the mercs would celebrate with us. I'm fine you writing any merc so go crazy 😼

Anyways, take care and remember to stay hydrated 😈

Happy Birthday, Anon! I hope you had a wonderful birthday, and I hope you enjoy these headcanons!

Mercenaries Celebrate Your Birthday

Scout

- Probably forgot it was your birthday. But when someone else (or you) remind him, he’s immediately excited.

- Whips out one of his Ma’s birthday cake recipes from when he was a little kid. It’s a simple cake, just one layer with some frosting slathered on top, but it’s still pretty good!

- As for gifts, he gets you something a few days later. He’ll get you some snacks that you love, but are difficult to find in New Mexico. It’s not much, but he still hopes you’ll enjoy it.

Soldier

- Soldier is insanely good at remembering important dates, including birthdays.

- Instead of the usual trumpet-blaring and shouting the USA national anthem to wake everyone up in the morning, he’s yell-singing “Happy Birthday” at the top of his lungs

- Gives you a strong pat on the back and congratulates you on another year of fighting the good fight. Now go forth and beat the crap out of whatever the next year of your life is going to throw at you!

- At the end of the day, you find a box in your room with a note attached that simply says “Use it well”. Inside, you find a worn, but still very sharp shovel. Perfect for beating people over the head with.

Pyro

- They absolutely remember your birthday, and they are very excited about it.

- They make you some cupcakes that are only slightly overcooked, as well as covered in mountains of frosting and sprinkles. They give them to you while mumbling to the tune of “happy birthday”.

- As for presents, they like giving lots of small trinkets. Whether you like pretty rocks, silly pens, trading cards, plushies, miniature figures, anything of that sort. They’ll always be able to find a bunch of small things you’ll like!

Demoman

- He gets pretty excited when he realizes your birthday is coming up. When he was a kid, he never really got to celebrate his birthday all that much due to spending his childhood an orphan. But now he loves celebrating them regardless of whose birthday it is.

- Sets up a bunch of things at a good bar near the base. There’s darts, pool, foosball, beer pong, and of course, plenty of drinks and good food to go around. He makes sure the whole team is there, celebrating with you and having a good time.

- You mean a lot to him, and he wants to make sure you have a birthday you’ll always look back fondly on.

Heavy

- He remembers birthdays very well, as they are important in his family. To Heavy, you are close enough to be considered family.

- Back home, birthdays were often celebrated with lots of food and good drinks, and he’ll do the same for you. He gets together with a few of the other members of the team that you’re close with, and they all work to make a lot of rich, filling dishes that he knows you’ll enjoy.

- He also sets up Poker with the entire team. Jokes are made, drinks are had, money is won and lost, and it’s a great time for all.

- You are surrounded by friends, and you are loved. That is the best gift he can possibly give to you.

Engineer

- He knew your birthday was coming up, and he made sure to prepare ahead of time.

- He works for most of the day, so you don’t see him much until the evening. He cooks your favorite meal for dinner, complete with delicious side dishes that complement it perfectly. He makes sure to make more than enough for there to be leftovers, allowing you to enjoy the food for the next couple of days, as well.

- If you have any creative hobbies (or have been wanting to start a new hobby) he will gift you the supplies needed for it, as well as tools of his own making. He built them himself with specific measurements and materials to best suit you.

Medic

- Always remembers birthdays. Being the team’s doctor, it’s important for him to remember these sorts of details!

- He wouldn’t be able to do much, due to the fact that he still has to work. Today being your birthday won’t prevent someone from getting shot or blown up, after all. But he will still cheerfully wish you a happy birthday when he sees you.

- If you take any medications, he’ll tie a little bow on your refill when he gives it to you. But when you open it up later to take your medication, you find a little note inside:

- “Happy birthday mein freunde! Wishing you another year of good health! :)”

Sniper

- Pretty chill about birthdays, doesn’t take them too seriously.

- When he finds out it’s your birthday, he’ll give you a nod and a smile, wishing you “happy birthday, mate”.

- Towards the end of the day, he’ll come to you with a couple of drinks you like and just hang out. You’ll just have a good ol’ time sitting back in some lawn chairs and chatting about whatever while watching the sun go down.

Spy

- Doesn’t really share the excitement surrounding birthdays. Nonetheless, he still remembers when they occur, and that includes yours.

- If you mention it to him, he’ll give you a curt “Happy Birthday”, and won’t say anything else about it.

- But later in the day, a small box will appear on your bedside table. There’s no note to reveal who had left it there or what it was for, but deep down, you knew the answer to both of these questions. Inside is a small, but very expensive and high quality accessory that you’ve always wanted. You never told anyone about it, but it seems you didn’t need to.

- The first time you wear it, you swear you see the tiniest trace of a smile on Spy’s face.

[malk1ns]

december 28 @ islanders, 6-3 loss

playing this team is so fucking BORINGGGGGGG oh my god.

i received confirmation this season that geno is still the penguins' finemaster (click here for more info on what that entails) and is just as much of a cheerful bully about it as you'd expect him to be.

Losses are always deflating. Nobody who’s made it to the National Hockey League is ever okay with losing a game, any game, even if they’ve gotten better at processing how they feel about it.

Some games are definitely easier than others, though, and a road game after Christmas break definitely qualifies, especially when Sid feels like perhaps the final score doesn’t quite reflect their quality of play. Plus, they have a chance to get their own back in less than 24 hours.

He keeps an eye on the team as he changes out of his gear, but the mood is light—seems like most of the guys feel the same as he does.

“Hey!” Geno calls, standing on the bench and banging on the side of his stall. “Hey, assholes, quiet. I’m nice all month, okay, know you all need to buy good gifts for your wives because you’re not nice—” there’s an eruption of jeers and teasing at this, which Geno allows for a second before banging on his locker again, “—I’m not make you pay your fines all December. But it’s new year soon, need to balance the books, and I have list.” He waves his phone in the air.

“Fuck,” Bunts mutters from down the row. Sid stifles a smile as he hangs up his shoulder pads, patting OC on the shoulder as he drops into his seat.

Geno’s been finemaster since Sid was out with his concussion and neck issues. He shared duties the season after they won their first Cup, but the season before the lockout he took over full-time, and he does this every year—gets lax with assigning fines as they approach the holidays, takes IOUs and deferrals without any argument at all, but the whole time he keeps a ledger, noting down who hasn’t paid and who’s still committing fineable offenses.

Kris learned about Krampus a few years ago. Geno protests when Kris calls him that, but Sid knows he likes it.

Geno’s recitation of fines owed starts on the shuttle to the airport and is still going when the plane touches down in Pittsburgh. He goes easy on the younger guys, he always does, but the vets are hit especially hard this year—even the most minor case of tape-hoarding earned a spot on Geno’s naughty list.

Once they’re ready to de-board, Geno heads off the plane first, making a show of plugging in his Square card reader amid the team’s groans. He stands at the bottom of the stairs, holding everyone up until they either fork over the cash or swipe their card to pay what they owe.

Sid takes his time getting his stuff together, smiling blandly when Kris shoots him a disgusted scowl as he makes his way to the front of the plane.

Kris knows about him and Geno. Sid doesn’t remember how exactly he found out, but he’s kept their secret for years now. Being trustworthy, though, doesn’t stop him from being nosy, and then acting like the intimate details he’s cajoled out of Sid or Geno after encouraging them to get tipsy and spill their secrets are some disgusting burden he’s stuck with.

It’s his own fault that he knows the game Sid and Geno play when the end-of-year fines are collected.

Sid ends up shivering in the sharp breeze halfway down the stairs as Karl tries to argue his way out of one of his infractions at the base. Geno holds firm, though, brandishing his phone and scrolling rapidly through his photo album with some sort of evidence, and eventually Karl relents, digging out his wallet and counting cash into Geno’s waiting palm.

Nobody else puts up a fight, and by the time Sid reaches the bottom of the staircase, the rest of the team has scattered, heading home to rest and recharge before tomorrow’s game.

“Well, Crosby? Cash or card?” Geno says, holding up his phone and waggling it in Sid’s direction. On the screen is a notes app list of all of Sid’s crimes over the last four weeks. It’s a lot longer than what Geno read out in the locker room on Long Island.

Sid looks up at Geno through his eyelashes. “I don’t have any cash on me, and my card got frozen—fraud,” he murmurs, quietly enough that Geno has to bend closer to hear him. “Isn’t there any other way I can work off my debt?”

Geno frowns at him. “Sid,” he chastises, tucking his phone into his jacket pocket. “What’s the guys say if they’re find out I’m not make you pay? Not fair, you know.”

“C’mon,” Sid wheedles, shifting closer to Geno so their body heat bleeds together. “I’ll make it worth your while.” He slides his hand into Geno’s jacket and down, groping over where his dick is half-hard in his suit pants.

Geno shudders, pretending to think about it. “Don’t know, Sid, you’re owe a lot of money,” he points out, and Sid breaks character for a minute to glare—he knows he didn’t do that much to get fined over this month. Geno smirks back at him.

Glancing around to make sure they’re alone, Sid leans up and puts his mouth to Geno’s ear. “I’ll make it worth your while,” he says huskily, smiling when Geno shivers.

—

They drop the act in the car ride home. Geno complains about the refs calling back that goal, and Sid gets out some cathartic bitching about Cizikas. They spend more time talking through what went right in the second period than anything else—the coaches will go over the bad stuff and breakdowns in video tomorrow morning.

That continues into the house, where they grimace at each other in the kitchen as they choke down the protein shakes the trainers assigned them this season, all the way up into the bedroom where they go through their nighttime routines.

When Sid emerges from the bathroom after brushing his teeth, Geno’s leaning against the wall across from their bed. He’s naked, and still mostly soft, but he’s playing with himself, and Sid zeroes in on his hand where it’s stroking slowly over his dick. “Time to pay up,” Geno says, and when Sid jerks his gaze up to meet Geno’s eyes, Geno’s smirking. Smug bastard.

Sid’s mouth waters. “I could blow you,” he rushes out, crossing the room towards Geno. “Let me…” But before he can get too close, before he can drop to his knees between Geno’s legs and get his mouth on him, Geno puts out his free hand and stops Sid in his tracks, nodding over at the mattress.

Sid looks over his shoulder, just now noticing the lube out on the nightstand, the open bottom drawer where they keep their toys.

“You owe lots this year, Sid,” Geno says, gently pushing Sid backwards. “You want to suck me? Fine, okay, maybe that’s part. But it’s not enough. For the rest, you get on the bed, touch yourself, show me what you like. Then maybe you work off enough to get my dick.”

“Fuck,” Sid mutters, palming himself where he’s getting hard. Geno’s voice is even, almost bored, like this is any other fine transaction. When Sid looks at him, he arches an eyebrow.

It’s a challenge. And Sid always rises to a challenge.

Geno wants him to prove himself, to earn it? Sid can do that.

It takes him a little bit to settle when he gets onto the mattress. This isn’t something they do, really—Sid’s never been much of an exhibitionist, and Geno’s always so eager to get his hands or mouth on Sid that he’s never really asked for this.

Sid feels exposed, leaning back against their pillows with his thighs parted as he pours lube into his palm and takes himself in hand. Geno’s staring at him, eyes half-closed as he lazily touches himself, and Sid matches his pace at first, breathing in through his nose and out through his mouth.

It doesn’t take long to sink into it. Geno’s gaze feels good, the sharp intakes of breath Sid can hear from across the room as Sid starts to show off a little, tries to make it look hot only egging him on.

Geno likes a lot of lube, likes to make them messy, so Sid pours more onto his hand, slicking up his fingers so that every stroke sounds loud in the room.

Sid gets all the way hard pretty quick, and the way he’s spread out for Geno makes him itchy. His hand on his dick isn’t enough, not even when he starts playing with his balls too, tugging at them meanly like Geno usually does.

He shifts his hips, and Geno notices. “Put pillow,” he says hoarsely, “and get from drawer.”

Sid whines, but he does what Geno says, rolling to his side and groping through their nightstand until his hand closes around a familiar toy—nothing too big, he’s not sure he has the patience it would take to open himself up for some of the stuff they have, but one with a curve that hits him just right.

His hand shakes as he spills lube over it, and Geno makes a strangled sound when Sid tucks a pillow under his hips, spreads his legs, and pushes the tip into himself.

He’s going too fast, especially since they have a game tomorrow, but he feels desperate, and when he opens his eyes Geno’s touching himself in earnest now, hand moving over his dick steadily.

“Please,” Sid gets out, licking his lips as he works the toy further into himself, hissing when it hits his prostate too hard. “Have I—is this enough, please can I blow you now, Geno—”

“No,” Geno says, working himself over with little grunts that Sid can practically feel, all the way from across the room. “Not enough. Fuck yourself, Sid, let me see it.”

Sid moans as he sinks the toy in further, twisting it so the curved tip rubs over his prostate with every thrust. It’s too much too fast, and he’s going to be sore tomorrow, but Geno wants a show, and Sid’s going to give it to him.

He loses track of the game as warmth builds low in his stomach. The hand on his dick slows as he gets into the feeling of fucking himself, clenching his thighs as they start to shake with every pass over his prostate. He can’t always come just from penetration, but this is really doing it for him, being spread out like Geno’s personal porn, and he thinks he can get himself there.

Sid can feel it building, arches his back and clenches around the toy as he speeds up his pace. Yeah, this is gonna be a good one.

“Stop,” Geno’s voice is shaky and turned-on, but Sid jolts, hand going still almost on instinct. “Sid, stop, come suck me off, now.”

Sid moans, but this is what Geno wants, so he pulls the toy out and staggers across the room, dropping to his knees between Geno’s thighs and opening his mouth.

Geno feeds Sid his dick, and Sid lets his eyes drift closed. He’s keyed up, trembling slightly from how close he was to coming, but he knows how to do this, knows how to relax his jaw and angle his head to let Geno’s dick slip into his throat, knows how to keep his lips and tongue soft so that when Geno finally thrusts into him, he groans long and loud above Sid.

“So good,” he praises, threading his fingers into Sid’s hair and holding his head still. “Baby, so hot, fuck, take it—” He trails off into Russian, and Sid lets the sound wash over him, sucking when he can and laving his tongue around the shaft when Geno presses deep and holds Sid’s face against his groin for long moments, fighting back his gag reflex.

It doesn’t take long. Geno clearly liked what he saw, had gotten himself halfway there before he called Sid over; all Sid has to do is breathe through his nose and let Geno hold him steady, until Geno’s coming down his throat with a loud moan.

Sid swallows, pulling back and blinking his eyes open. He’s dizzy, still so hard it almost hurts, and he clenches around nothing against the feeling of emptiness. His balls hurt. He needs to come.

All he can do is stare up at Geno, mouth open as he tries to catch his breath.

Geno’s still panting when he pulls Sid to his feet and tugs him back to the bed. He gets Sid on his back, and before Sid can even think of anything to ask for, he slides three fingers into Sid’s hole and bites down on his nipple.

Sid comes so hard every muscle in his body locks up. It’s so intense it almost doesn’t even feel good. There are tears running down his cheeks into his ears as he tosses his head back and forth.

Geno shushes him, keeps his fingers inside Sid as he gentles him down, only sliding them out when Sid gets oversensitive and tries to squirm away.

“Shit,” he finally sighs, rolling his shoulders back into the mattress. He feels like a bruise, hole throbbing and dick still twitching a little. His knees hurt.

It’s awesome.

Geno hums, pressing his palm down on Sid’s stomach. His hand is sticky with Sid’s come, but Sid can’t even bring himself to care about how gross he’s going to be. “Debt paid,” he half-slurs. “Good job.”

It takes Sid a minute. He’d completely forgotten their game.

[dailydoseoflhs]

03: Request

It isn't like Lucille wanted to do this but she doesn't have a choice but to give in to the request of her dearest friend.

"Come and lets go watch the livestreaming Monza grand prix with me." Her dearest friend, Julia told her.

Lucille knew better, her friend was trying to set her up on a date with a fellow F1 fan.

"Fine but only if you buy the food and drink." She answered her friend with a teasing smile.

"Ugh fine!" Her friend has nothing to say or else Lucille would have backed out.

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withlove_lucille updated her story 3mins ago●

It was like a dream watching the Ferrari takes the pole and win a race in Italy.

It feel like she is one of the Tifosis in Monza right now, proudly singing the national anthem while waving the color of rosso corsa.

The feeling of 2019 Monza win just being back and repeated again. It was surreal.

Seeing Charles be so happy at the podium, spraying champagne at the crowd below and smiling ear to ear.

Lucille couldn't help but smile too seeing her favorite driver be so happy despite the tragic of his lovelife.

Indeed, he is the Il predestinato they call him.

Dragging that tractor car across the circuit around 53 laps, she applaud both Charles and Carlos for doing well.

It was a win not only to Charles and Ferrari but to the whole Italy and Ferrari fans.

EARLIER (at the middle of the race)

Lucille sits beside Julia in one of the barcade that hosts the livestreaming for Monza grand prix.

Both of the girls anxiously watch the race alongsidw with the fellow fans.

The fans wearing their team favorite merch while Lucille opts for a Ferrari jacket and Julia for a Ferrari cap.

Julia make herself feel like a supportive WAG making Lucille laugh but supports her best friend.

The last lap actions always gets everyone on the edge of their seats.

But

"The Tifosis are roaring him home! And for the second time in his career! Charles Leclerc is the winner of the Italian Grand Prix!"

The whole barcade shouts in joy and jump from their seat to celebrate a meaningful win for Ferrari and for Charles.

Lucille and Julia hugs each other, happy.

"He won!" Lucille said

"He did!" Julia answered

Proud is an understatement.

withlove_lucille

🎵 G-Eazy ft. Christopher Andersson • Tumblr Girls

Liked by hs_l, julia_pvrt, and 20 others

withlove_lucille kinda feeling like a WAG? Congrats on your win! @charles_leclerc

view all 9 comments

hs_l he won didn't he?

withlove_lucille of course he did!

ouou_g you should be a WAG🤔🤔

withlove_lucille you should be my stylist then

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Author's note

Sorry for the LATEEEEE update, deadlines are turning into DEADline. Anyways, I still haven't the issues with the tagging. So NO taglist YET.

🏎🆑️🏁❤️

[welldonebeca]

Happier Than Ever: Year 0 (1/2)

I'm starting to think I'm stuck in a dream, cause we're young and we don't know better.

Summary: Cato comes home from winning the 74th Hunger Games, and Luna has to adapt to how such a thing changes not only their once-peaceful life, but Cato himself. WC: 6.5k words. Warnings: Canon divengence - Cato wins the 74th Hunger Games. Tension. Pregnancy. Luna is autistic, and we deal with quite a bit of autistic overstimulation here. A little bit of angst because of that.

Luna squirmed on her spot in the crowd, rubbing the palm of her hand uncomfortably as she tried not to flinch at the people getting too close time and time again.

They had not notion of personal space, honestly.

Everyone was too excited to be quiet or not push themselves into a good spot to see the train arriving – but if they wanted to be so close, why not just get down from the tall balcony? Then she wouldn’t have to be squirming away from elbows and shoulders.

She was meant to wait up there.

The cameras wanted a big scene for the moment Cato saw her again – like a long lost love coming back to life. Luna just wanted to go home.

The earplugs did the job for the sounds. While the people in the balcony were pushers, they weren’t screamers like the ones behind the barrier, which was at least nice.

Was it always going to be like that? So loud and full of attention?

Lyme seemed to live a peaceful life, and people left her be – though everyone knew who she was. Brutus and Enobaria were fawned over a bit, to be fair.

She hadn’t seen Wade since he won, of course, so she had no measure for a recent victor.

“There comes the train,” the reporter at the station announced. “Let’s roll the cameras.”

The officials and adjacent voices quieted down and straightened up, giving her some space and Luna tried to keep her back straight and her face from showing discomfort – he’d asked for her not to cry very firmly before he left and there were no cameras there.

Cato wouldn’t be happy if she was not only seen but filmed by cameras meant to air them to the whole nation acting like a child being scolded just because she disliked the noise.

Besides, he was finally coming home.

The train moved slowly into the station and she squeezed the cool metal railing of the balcony, wishing time to move faster.

The doors opened, and it was like a brand new set of perfect lungs were put inside her body, and inflated with the cleanest air.

It was one thing to see him on TV, to hear that he was alright, but seeing was completely different.

Her shoulders lightened like the weight of the world had left them.

He was alive.

No, not only alive. He was alive, with both legs and both arms, and all ten fingers if she could count, and not a single hair of his head was missing from where she could see him.

Cato was well. He was alive and safe.

Her throat tightened as he shook hands with the reporter and, grinning, always so charming, and she blinked fast, trying to keep herself steady.

Luna’s hands squeezed the railing more, waiting for him.

She wasn’t going to cry. There was makeup on her face, everyone was looking at her and he had asked her not to cry. His wife would not be seen crying.

She blinked her wet eyes as he shook hands with the mayor, a blurry mess away just a few steps from the train as Brutus and Enobaria got their well deserved congratulations and minutes of boosting.

Someone put a hand on her back and she jumped away, confused and uncomfortable, but a woman just grinned up at her.

“Go on,” she coached her, her tone overly syrupy. “It’s your turn now.”

Luna was glad Lyme had stopped them from making her wear heels, or else she would have tripped completely and made a fool of herself as she walked down the 16 steps from the balcony to the lower station, with not only lights pointed at her but cameras filming and photographing her right there.

Cato was smiling so largely she couldn’t keep herself from tearing up more when he came to her, and in a second his arms were around her body and she was tucked into his chest, hiding from all of them and wetting his shirt.

“It’s okay,” he rubbed her back. “I’m home. I told you I would be home.”

She felt her stomach tightening as she held a sob.

Of course he did! But everyone who went into the games said they would be home, and yet only one person out of 24 came back.

“I know,” she hissed, squeezing him, her voice completely gone.

Cato pressed a kiss to her temple.

“Come on, they want to see us,” he coached her softly. “Won’t you let me look at you? I haven’t seen you weeks.”

The second phrase convinced her more than the first.

He was right.

She’d been watching him in her living room since he left, but he was just as far away from her as she was from him.

Luna looked up, trying to blink her eyes dry as the cool tears fell down her cheeks, looking up at him.

"There’s my girl,” he touched her face, leaning in and giving her lips a kiss.

It was a performative kiss, she knew. For the cameras and the people. Still, it was quite a comfort for a brief second, when he his lips touched hers and she could feel him right there again.

Until it didn’t quite match what she remembered.

Cato’s lips were… harder? Well, not harder but… it was hard to describe it. Cato’s lips were always thin, and soft but with some bits of bitten skin. Everything of that was gone. The skin was soft, yes, but the flesh was… off.

Luna pulled back, bewildered, and he was smiling when he rested his forehead on hers, and she couldn’t even the way her hands travelled up to his face.

She knew his face, she had spent months sculpting his face, watching him sleep, studying him as a subject and in her bed. She had seen him for at least a year closely, and she knew him.

They had changed him.

His lips were bigger now. Slightly, just a bit really, but enough.

And when she ran her thumbs over his jaw, they didn’t find the usual path – the asymmetry she’d worked so hard into carving into marble. When her eyes looked at his skin, it was clean and perfectly white. There wasn’t a single remain of the freckles she’s spent her early mornings counting.

“It’s okay,” he whispered.

Did he know?

Was it make up?

But it didn’t feel like make up when she ran her fingers over his skin.

Cato’s hand came to her wrist, cupping hers with a firm look in his eyes.

“It’s okay,” he repeated.

She looked down on his lips, but she was caught on his nose.

His nose, with the slight widened bridge right between his eyes, with that beautiful crook… it wasn’t there. None of what she remembered was there.

Cato squeezed her hand, lowering his head, chasing her eyes with his as he took her hand and kissed her palm.

“It’s okay,” he repeated, his voice very firm.

Well, that one was the same.

She let him push her hands down – after kisses to both her palms – and guide her right to her spot down to the grinning reporter. It shocked her even more for a second – as minor as it was – that his hands were perfectly smooth. The callused bits of his palms, from the weights and the weapons, weren’t there, it was like touching her mother’s skin – completely untouched by anything that would hurt it.

“Luna,” the man greeted, too familiar with her name, as if he had said it hundreds of times.

Cato slipped a hand to her back and she straightened herself up, ready to blink her tears away, but there weren’t any, she was just shocked.

“It’s a pleasure to see you again,” the man told her, offering a hand to shake.

She froze for a moment.

Again?

They’d never seen one another.

Lyme didn’t say she had to talk to people.

“Hi,” she mumbled.

He pushed the microphone closer to her face, and she would have flinched away if Cato wasn’t holding her right in place.

“I’m sure you’re very happy to see Cato back,” the reporter nudged. “I’m sure you got so many things to share with him, news from when he was away.”

She turned to Cato, lost. Wasn’t her interview before enough. What did they need her to say now?

“Yes,” she stuttered, swallowing down, feeling like a deer in headlights. “I’m… very happy to have him back.”

Luna looked at her husband again, and he was just grinning at the men.

“Well, we all know Caesar spoiled the best of the surprises,” he affirmed, her answer completely irrelevant for his next words. “But I’m sure you two have a lot to talk about now that he is back, I’m sure you are so happy to see her again.”

She glanced at the people with the cameras, quickly taking her eyes to Cato again, still shocked.

They’d changed him. Why had they changed him? He hadn’t broken his nose or his jaw, there was no need to fix them.

“I was counting the hours to come back home to her,” Cato affirmed, very firmly. “I’m glad to finally have her.”

The reporter grinned more, turning to look at her, and Luna tucked her eyes down, uncomfortable as he turned to the camera.

“Cato,” she whispered.

He grabbed her hand squeezing it.

“Not now,” he spoke between gritted teeth.

“-And we have a wonderful day before us with our favourite new victor together, Panem, so let’s go.”

He kept talking, but she paid no attention, startled when she was simply pushed away and Cato caught her in time just to take her to the big car waiting for them.

There was a parade that was going to happen tomorrow and she wouldn’t have to attend it, but Luna was not informed of anything that was going to happen after the platform. She never watched the programs with victors after the games were over. Mum always turned the TV off for days straight after the games, so they could decompress from it.

Someone practically shoved her into the seat and closed the door, stunning her back, and she turned her head quickly when Cato sat right by her side, her words loss in her throat.

He shot her a hard chilling look.

“Just wait,” he told her roughly. “Smile and wave to them.”

He was the victor, why did she have to wave with him?

But he grabbed her hand and squeezed it tightly, and she put on her best attempt at a smile as she waved off to people who probably didn’t care for who she was as the car drove off into the justice building in a line with other government cars, probably with much more important people than she would ever be.

The crowd was endless, so much so that Luna wondered if people were moving from spot to spot to follow them or if they had travelled from different towns to be there to see him.

Still, the streets were full as they all arrived not at the justice building – where she thought they would be –but at Victor’s Village, past Lyme’s very own house and to the last of the twelve houses to the right and parked up.

Someone opened the door for Cato and then to her, but he was already being guided away to a door with the mayor, and someone pushed her back.

“You stay here,” a woman told her. “You’re had your moment, we want to capture our victor.”

Luna bit down a snap of an answer – she didn’t want her own moment. She didn’t want cameras on her face or people pushing her!

"Yes,” she mumbled, anyway, stepping back.

Cato looked into the crowd, trying to find her and meeting her eyes right before someone simply blocked her view of him – and probably his of her.

Luna circled the crowd of elites. Cato looked smaller now, thinner. Of course, it wasn’t surprising – he’d spent weeks in an arena with limited food, fighting for his life.

“-your first gift from the Capitol, your very own house at Victor’s Village,” the reporter announced to the camera, standing by his side. “Tell me, Cato-”

His hair had been cut from the time he spent in the arena, back to the usual short style. The colour looked the same – very blonde, with the tips a bit lighter.

He was still wearing the bracelet she had given him, and he had lost his tan from the usual summer sun – but she couldn’t know if it was something they did or just a reflex from the arena. It was closed, it had no sun.

From afar, he looked like himself.

And yet, when Luna looked at his face, it was like she was seeing a painting of a painting. A picture of a picture.

All faces, she learnt with her sculpting, had flaws. Luna’s right eye was slightly taller than her other eye, and so was her eyebrow. Actually, the whole left side of her face was a bit higher than her right.

Juno’s hairline was wonky. Jupiter’s lips spread less to the right than to the left. Cato’s jaw and nose were a bit crooked to the right in a way – they used to be.

No one is meant to look perfect. People were meant to have things that looked different when their faces were parted in a way.

He looked perfect, and that was horrible. Terrifying, in a way.

A woman slipped right in front of Luna to a man’s arms, and she caught sight of Lyme walking to the group to join her, breathing out in relief at the sight of a familiar face and ready to join her when she heard the sound of her name.

“With Luna, of course!” Cato exclaimed.

She turned her head to him, and the pair in front of her stepped away from their spot.

She was less spooked when he strode through the flower-covered yard, reaching out his hand to her, and she took without even thinking, feeling every pair of eyes on her.

“It’s our house,” Cato looked into her eyes.

And oh, maybe his face looked a bit different, and his freckled were gone, but those were his eyes.

She would never forget his eyes. They would never change.

Luna squeezed his fingers and he guided her right to the door of the house.

Their house.

It was huge. The door itself could walk three people in easily, the size of it was extraordinary and completely unnecessary.

“This is the moment we all love to see,” the reporter announced behind them. “Our beloved victor stepping into his house and his new role and life as one of our country’s greatest heroes.”

Cato was about to take her along when a woman came right to him, dressed and practically painted in red with her make up and hair to stop him.

“Go on and pick her up, it’s going to be very romantic!” she whispered, suddenly reaching for Luna to adjust her hair. “Who did your hair, darling, why does it look so flat?”

She flinched away.

“That won’t be-”

Necessary, she was going to say.

But she couldn’t. Cato moved down, putting his arm under her knees and hoisting her up, and she braced herself on his shoulders, looking at his face.

He looked so tired. How long had the cameras been following him? They could be recording in the train, they were probably recording him in the Capitol as well.

“Just for the cameras,” he told her, his voice very soft.

Luna didn’t fight him, just nodding a bit.

It was almost like the day they got married. He’d carried her inside her little studio.

A camera came to their side and she kept her eyes on him when the door opened slowly.

Just this and the day would be over, right?

“And three… two...” someone counted. “Go in.”

Her husband complied, holding her close to him as he stepped over the threshold of their new house, and the inside was a welcome silence for the three seconds it took people to follow them in.

It was a huge house. The living room was as tall as maybe two whole floors, and she could see a long staircase to a balcony of sorts to the second floor.

“A remarkable place indeed,” the reporter introduced as Cato set her down. “An extensive living room, twelve bedrooms, two offices, six full bathrooms and two half bathrooms, and a kitchen that can feed a battalion! And you know what our dear Victor said, this baby is going to be the first of many to join their family.”

Luna’s neck snapped to look at him, and she looked away at the sight of the camera.

The baby. They hadn’t even talked about the baby yet.

They hadn’t talked about anything at all!

Cato’s hand sneaked to her belly to rest on it, and Luna softened, covering it with his.

“Caesar told me,” he whispered. “When did you find out?”

She felt her face flushing.

It was one of her biggest grievances, having to tell Caesar Flickerman about a baby she herself wasn’t ready to address.

“A bit after the chariot ride,” she covered his hand with hers. "Mum made me get a test.”

His eyes looked down at his hand, looking both awed and lost.

He pulled his hand away suddenly, stiffening up, and she turned right to the side when he did so, finding the camera already approaching them again.

“And I’m sure the future Mrs Hadley is going to love the sight of her new kitchen,” he spoke up, approaching the two of them. “We all know you love working with your hands.”

Luna blinked, stunned. She was a sculptor, not a cook. Mum had to chase her away from the kitchen sometimes.

But a woman grabbed her hand before she could eve think of what to say, hoisting it up and holding her fingers like he was meant to guide her off, and she couldn’t even squirm away from her.

A camera remained with Cato, but another followed the two of them right away as she let herself be guided away.

The kitchen was indeed gigantic. It felt like someone had tore down the wall between her parents’ kitchen and dinning room and turned into a single room.

“As you can see,” the woman started speaking, sounding extremely excited as she tugged her into the middle of the room. “You’ll have a fridge especially for meats, as we all know how much a victor and mentor as strong as Cato needs his protein.”

The woman pointed at the first fridge, with a huge pair of doors.

“It gets to lower degrees and it is primed for the conservation of raw protein. And your main fridge-”

Luna looked around, still a bit stunned.

It was just the two of them. Yes, three in a few months, but they could easily live off of a house smaller than even her parents’. And she understood that Cato was a victor and he would have his house anyway – it was a very generous gift from the Capitol – but it unsettled her belly anyway.

“We took the liberty of filling it up already, of course,” the woman laughed, opening the doors. “With the best of everything there is, for our favourite victor.”

The woman moved a hand to her back, turning her around to the isles without even caring to look at her.

“All of the utilities are hidden to preserve the beauty of the place,” she continued, running her fingers under the marble rimming of the counters. “Here you’ll find a button to reveal the dishwasher...”

Luna was ready to bend down to look, but the woman held her arm.

“Buttons, dear.”

Her face felt hot, and reached for the buttons, a bit confused.

Finally, the dishwasher appeared – big enough to fit dishes of three meals inside it.

“The cycles are silent and especially adjusted for the capitol plates, isn’t the marvellous?” she asked.

But Luna couldn’t even open her mouth to answer.

It was weird, actually.

“And here is your sink, you have hot and cold water,” she continued explaining. “You can control the water jets and this button on the wall will start the internal processor, so do not get your pretty finger inside the hole or you might lose it!” she giggled.

Luna’s eyes widened. What?!

“The cupboards are self-cleaning,” she continued. “An internal system that gets rids of the dust particles, very recently invented and patented by the Capitol. Don’t you love the sight of sparkling clean crystal?”

She looked up.

Was it any different from normal glass?

“The oven is centre piece of the kitchen,” the woman continued, very dramatic. “But you will have the privilege of having not one, but two of them.”

Luna blinked.

“Why would I need two ovens?”

The woman turned to her, looking surprised, as if she didn’t expect her to speak.

“For so many reasons!” she laughed.

Why was she laughing?

“Oh, you are indeed so adorable,” she sighed dreamily. “This is the first one, a conventional oven, for those quick every day meals.” she continued, and the camera focused right on it.

She continued explaining without a care, over specifications that meant nothing – numbers and names Luna couldn’t find half a reason for.

The woman talked about steaming, toasting, baking… smoking?

It was a long tour for a single room, and she guessed it was… a nice room? Pretty. And it had a nice table too, so it was convenient.

“We are so excited to show you the rooms upstairs as well,” she exclaimed. “Let’s go back and join the main crew.”

Luna exhaled, relaxing. Good, they would probably focus on Cato now.

And yet, the moment the crews met again, Cato’s hand came to grab hers and squeeze them tightly.

“They have a surprise for you,” he told her.

She moved on her feet, uncomfortable.

"Is it another kitchen?” she mumbled back.

Cato snorted out a laugh, sounding shocked, and everyone turned to them right before he stiffened up again, though smiling.

That made Luna relax. Well, at least she could still make him smile in that stupid full day.

“It’s something nice,” he told her quietly, kissing her knuckles. “I know you’ll like it.”

She breathed out. Well, that was good, then.

“Now, our future married pair are set to get married in, spoilers, September,” the reporter spoke out, filling the room, and she turned right to him, wide eyed.

September?

“It’s going to be a lovely occasion, I’m certain,” he approached them. “But we decided that we would give Cato’s bride a little… engagement gift.”

She was still stunned.

They were getting married in September? When? Where?

Of course, they’d gotten married in secret before, but it was just a cultural ceremony, and Cato said the Capitol would probably want to make their wedding into a big show, but wouldn’t they at least speak to her about it first?

“This way, come with us.”

Cato tugged her along the way quietly.

“We have a couple of guest rooms downstairs for those family visits, as far from the master bedroom as possible, I assure you,” he joked, leading the crew. “And here… come here, my dearest.”

Someone pushed her, making Luna stumble up, and the reporter assistant who’d dragged her through the kitchen grabbed her hand again.

This time, though, she quickly snatched it away – though no one seemed to care. She wasn’t a child, she didn’t need to be tugged along.

“Here is probably the best gift you’ve ever received in your whole life!” his voice cracked, as if he was about to cry about her feelings.

He pushed the door open and Luna was pushed inside without a care, but the sight of the machine inside made her freeze in shock.

It was a stone cutting machine.

No, it wasn’t only a stone cutting machine, it was the best one that was out there in the market!

“We all heard of your lovely sculpting hobby, and we are all very excited to have busts and sculptures of our favourite victor to ourselves,” the reporter explained, mischievous. “And now we all know where to source it from.”

She was so frozen she didn’t even think to correct him – it wasn’t a hobby, it was her work!

Luna stepped up to the machine, hovering her hands over it. She would have to work twenty years straight to purchase anything near its quality.

She couldn’t even touch it – what if she broke it?!

“Who better to give us the most accurate works than someone who sleeps right beside him on his bed, am I right?” the reporter joked. “If you go around, you can see how we’ve also given you the best new sculpting tools money can buy.”

Luna turned to look at them, still shocked.

“Oh, don’t look at me,” he told her. “Look at your future husband, he’s the one who arranged all of it.”

She looked at Cato, shocked, and he simply smiled, walking to her.

“Surprise,” he whispered.

He leaned in and pressed a kiss to her cheek.

“You don’t have to sculpt me,” Cato teased her gently. “It’s yours. You do what you want with it.”

She squeezed his hand, genuinely excited.

It was such a nice surprise! It was much better than whatever that kitchen was.

“Now, we can go ahead and show you the bedrooms!” the man continued. “They are all made for guests now...” he exclaimed, and then giggled, obviously winking at the camera. “But with time, you are certainly going to be able to decorate them for your growing family.”

Cato tugged her along out to the corridor, and Luna tried not to deflate. She hadn’t even seen her tools yet! Or the manual for the machine.

They left and walked through the corridor, and she was still thinking back on the machine when they saw the guest rooms – all very standard, pretty much like the rooms in Lyme’s house when she stayed with her.

The man kept talking, and she just watched everything. Were they going to take much longer? They were at that for… two hours already?

“And now, we go to the top floor of the house,” the reporter explained. “Careful with the stairs. Come, Cato.”

Cato complied, taking her right with him.

Three levels. Twelve bedrooms.

Who in the world needed twelve bedrooms? Who had a family big enough to fill up twelve bedrooms and still be part of the elite?

Luna had seen those people growing up. It was very rare that someone from the higher classes had more than two kids. Even in her own circles, the biggest group of siblings she had seen were composed of five of them.

With Peacekeepers almost always being shipped to different districts with such short visits to their home and families, most people kept their families smaller. It was the lower classes that had more children, the people who mined the stones and did the manual labour – they needed all the help they could get.

“This is where the magic happens,” the reported grinned. “After your wedding, obviously. Let’s get inside.”

He entered with the cameras before Cato did, and it was good that they had gone first, so she could look around the bedroom.

It was the size of her whole little flat - with the bedroom and the bathroom. Actually, it looked even bigger.

The bed could fit maybe eight people her size. Maybe three of her with three of Cato in there. It was family sized, somehow – it had to be as big as a bedroom. Who would sleep on something so big?

“Here we have your bathroom,” he continued, moving to film the bathroom, but she didn’t follow them, still a bit shocked.

A holographic projector for the television, she’d only seen those in school.

And so many couches. Why would they need couches in their bedroom? It was a bedroom! It was made for sleep.

“Right beside it is his closet,” she heard as the crew moved, and they looked right to look at Cato, right by her side. “Completely made by your stylist, come you’re going to love it!”

Cato tugged on Luna’s hand, but she didn’t let herself be taken by him.

“It’s your closet,” she reminded him softly, the last word catching in her throat. “You should… go.”

The word ‘alone’ was unsaid, but still there. Honestly, the thought of being in a room without cameras for a minute sounded too delightful to pass.

He stared at her for a moment, wide eyed, as if he was caught in a trap.

“I’ll be here,” she assured him. “Sat down. Please.”

Just one minute, she just needed one minute.

Cato didn’t say anything, but released her hand stiffly, walking out with his shoulders so tense it looked like he was trying to pose.

Luna looked around, suddenly feeling her feet hurting and her whole body just screaming for a minute.

Maybe she could just walk out. Leave him with his interview crew, and just go.

But when she looked at the door, the people following around them were all piling outside, looking into the room with curiosity like a barrier was keeping them stuck in their place.

She swallowed down, feeling like an animal trapped into a cage, and looked at her feet before sitting down on the nearest chair, trying to make herself as small as possible, and the fabric of her dress was rough when she took it between her fingers, rubbing it as she tried to keep herself from tensing too much or getting overwhelmed.

Just this last bedroom and they would leave them be, right?

Or at least leave her be.

She wasn’t important. Cato was the star. The victor.

Luna pushed her hair behind her ears, shifting uncomfortably, looking back at the door again.

It was just a short walk to Lyme’s house, and she didn’t bother her at all when she was at her house.

Luna rubbed her wrist as she looked out the window. It was so far away from her town, though. Why would they put Cato so far away from where he initially lived? And it was a five hour drive from her parents’ house!

Surely it wouldn’t be a nuisance to put Cato in the Victor’s Village there?! They’d been there before, there were empty houses they could give to Cato!

“And now, a surprise from our very own crew to our dear victor,” the reporter’s voice caught her attention again, and Luna’s neck snapped to look up at him. “When Caesar heard about the wonderful news from your bride herself, he wanted to give the two of you something.”

She stood up, a bit weary. They were talking about the baby.

“And, of course, we all poured into it,” he continued, grinning.

Cato came to her right away, grabbing her hand, looking at her face and squeezing her fingers, and she just knew he knew her too well to fall for any attempt of hers to pretend she was alright.

Luna didn’t even hear the words the man was speaking to the camera as Cato walked her off, trying to focus on keeping herself breathing and not just digging a hole to hide away in.

Why had they given her a dress with such big sleeves. It was August. Who wore sleeves in August?

The reporter opened the door, and Cato ushered them inside, and she froze at the sight of what was inside.

A nursery.

The bright electric colours were all she could see at first — the walls, the bedding, the curtains. Everything loud and overwhelming. A bunch of weird toys cluttered the space, and it looked like something out of a Capitol showroom rather than a nursery.

“What do you think?” the reporter turned to them expectantly, his smile widening.

She looked away from them, not trusting herself to give them an answer. Her throat tightened, and she swallowed down the sharp sting of tears. This was supposed to be their child’s room. Their nursery. Their choices! The colours, the crib, the details — they should’ve picked everything themselves! Wasn’t that part of it? The excitement, the joy of creating a space together for the baby they were expecting?

But even that had been taken from them, stripped of meaning and turned into some TV spectacle!

She felt Cato’s fingers squeezing hers, urging her to meet his gaze, and his eyes searched her face as she she shook her head, her lower lip trembling despite her efforts to hold it all in.

If she said even a word, she could fall into tears. He had to know.

Cato sighed softly, and Luna caught the brief flicker of annoyance in his eyes before he pulled her into his chest. She buried her face against him without hesitation, trying to block out the room, the cameras, the eyes on her.

She just wanted to disappear.

“Oh, look at her!” the reporter cooed, his voice dripping with fake sympathy as if he were talking to a shy toddler. “Oh, darling, there’s no need to cry. The poor thing…”

Luna flinched as she felt a stranger's hand brush her back, but before she could pull away, Cato’s hand replaced it, holding her closer.

“She’s just overwhelmed,” Cato said smoothly, his voice so fake she couldn’t even recognise it, the perfect mask of politeness. “We had such a long day, with so many surprises. This is… so beautiful and so nice. The gifts we’ve received, the wonderful people we met…”

She tried to focus on the sound of him under her – his voice echoing in his chest, the sound of his heart under her ear, as loud and fast as her own.

“This is so wonderful,” Cato continued, his tone as hollow as the words he spoke. “I never once thought returning home would be so… joyful.”

Joyful. Had he ever used that word? Well, no. It wasn’t Cato speaking; it was a script. A line fed to him, polished and memorized for a moment like this.

“We are so glad to be part of this, you have no idea,” the reporter affirmed, like he was talking about a fairytale of sorts.

Cato’s hand rubbed soothing circles on her back, but the motion felt mechanical, his hand gentle but nothing close to the usual affection.

“And cut,” the assistant called out cheerfully, clapping her hands. “Now we’ll take a photo for Caesar and wrap everything up at the garden — it’s going to be majestic!”

Cato stiffened as he pulled away from Luna, his motions rigid, mechanical and she kept her eyes down as everyone around them began to move, chatting and arranging things, but she couldn’t even look at the damn room!

They weren’t going to set up the nursery there! They weren’t even doing to stay in that damn room, who would willingly sleep at the 3rd floor of a house that size?!

“Let’s just get a that photo quick,” someone said loudly, grabbing her attention.

She froze for a moment. Couldn’t they have a moment?

Before she could process it, the woman in red—heels clacking against the vivid green carpet— rushed toward her, hands already reaching out.

“Oh, you are a mess,” she exclaimed, suddenly reaching for her face and taking her hair from behind her ears. “Who let you wear your hair like that? You needed curls!”

Luna froze, staring at her, motionless.

Why was she touching her face? Her face!

No.

No, no, no. That was it.

She stepped away from the woman, feeling as stiff as a cut of marble, with her hands in front of her body, looking for the way out of the room without thinking.

“Luna,” Cato called again, the irritation she knew he was feeling sipping into his voice.

But she didn’t stop or even looked at him, her legs moved before her brain could catch up. She burst into the bedroom, then the first door she could find, her fingers trembling as she slammed it shut behind her, locking it with a desperate twist.

She could barely breathe when she practically crawled into a corner, ignoring the fabrics and clothes, tucking herself into a squared space she wouldn’t know how to name in the dark, heart pounding in her ears and dress itching her back. She didn’t even think before her fingers fumbled with the buttons at the back of her neck, pulling the dress down off her shoulders. It bunched awkwardly around her belly as she hugged her knees to her chest, curling into herself.

There was a noise of chatter outside that overwhelmed even her earplugs, and she covered her ears without even thinking, flinching when a knock on the door echoed through the empty room.

“Luna,” Cato’s voice followed, cold and deliberate, and every word felt like it was being spat out. “Come out.”

She closed her eyes, tucking her head down, unable to even speak any words.

“They want to take a picture of us and film our garden."

But they had already taken so many pictures. Why did they need more? Couldn’t they just use one of the hundreds they’d already taken the whole day?

“Please,” his voice dropped into a near-hiss, his frustration seeping through the door . “You’re making a scene.”

The words hit her like a whip, stinging. A scene. She didn’t want to be causing a scene, she wasn’t trying to make things difficult, he had to know that.

Cato knew her. She didn’t like loud noises, she didn’t like scratchy clothes, and she didn’t like being touched by strangers! He knew all of that — he knew it since the very first day they’d met!

Cato’s knock came again, louder and sharper this time, making her flinch, and Luna curled into herself even more.

There was a sigh from the other side of the door—heavy and full of forced patience.

“We can proceed without my bride,” Cato’s voice announced, loud and clear, his words filled with a performative politeness. “She is terribly emotional because of the baby and the wonderful gifts we received today. We should give her a minute.

Luna bit down on her lip hard, her hands clutching her hair for a moment.

Because of the baby. Of course, it was always because of the baby. She was too emotional, too fragile to handle anything anymore, as if she hadn’t been surrounded by people she didn’t know as they pushed and shoved her and ogled her like a zoo animal the whole day.

The voices outside the door started to fade. They must have believed Cato’s explanation. The sounds of footsteps grew distant, and after a few minutes, silence finally fell over the room.

[passionateseadruid]

broken beyond repair?

Summary:

It had been 65 years since you died and six months earlier you'd killed your husband. About 67 years ago you'd married the man who'd come to be known as Vox.

Notes:

Okay a few things: It has a slow intro but I promise it get's good. Not historically accurate also it takes place 2022 (Hazbin Hotel I'll say takes place 2024)

Cw: Abusive relationships, older man/younger woman, misogyny (well, it is from the 50s), pre canon, Vox’s (theorized) human name, also Valentino is mentioned.

Your parents smile at you as you look over the ticket to the set of JacxBox News. JaxcBox has several different television/radio shows but your favorite by far was the news channel. Now, don't get it twisted, the news is boring as hell (even back then (Back now?)); But the host has a sexy voice and the pictures of him in the newspaper made him look like an Adonis.

"Thank you Mama! Thank you Daddy!" You hug you parents (specifically your father).

"Molly Mayberry's parents had the idea to send you two girls to the see the live show." Your mother explains to you. Molly Mayberry; heiress to the Mayberry country club. She's been your best friend since you were five.

Your parents both worked to be able to afford the private school you went to, raising scorn and mockery from the rest of the community. See, you weren't rich but you were determined to change that. Someday you were going to marry a banker or a stock broker and you'd be able to set your parents up in a nice home maybe somewhere on the coast, and when they'd grow old you'd get them the nicest nurse your future husband's money could pay for.

"You mind if I call Molls? She's gonna be so jazzed." They nod and you flop down into the couch. You dial her number on the rotary, and hear it ring. "Hey! My parents just told me! So what are we gonna wear? Are we gonna match?" 

"Who cares about that! My daddy says we can use his new blue fliptop! Hummy and Angie are going to be so jealous when we see them at tennis." Angie "Hummy" Drew and Eliana Pheen make up the rest of your little clique. Hummy is a sweet girl but she isn't very bright (at least that's what everyone else says); she's often humming to herself as a way to calm herself or focus her mind on the task at hand. Her parents have tried everything they can to "fix" her, with no shortage of funds coming from her fathers jewelry company. Eliana on the other hand is the strongest and tallest girl in the graduating class of '53; her dad was a world-famous tennis player for the national Spain tennis team in his youth and won gold for them in the 1936 Olympics. Her dad had to take her mom’s last name when he came over to live here.

"Sounds like a jam."

"I know! I'm gonna meet Vincent Audire! Now don't be jealous when he absolutely falls for me." Molly giggles. She was the leader of your guys little clique and if she liked a boy the other girls weren't allowed to pursue him. Your pretty sure that every time you liked a guy she tried to snatch him away. Your not sure why you were friends. 

"He'll just adore you." You say supportively, despite the fact that it breaks your heart.

"Duh! Who wouldn't."

////////////////////////////////////////

It was a few days later and You and Molly sit in the audience and watch as the news is being recorded both on film and over the radio.

Vincent was a handsome man with dark, almost jet black, hair. He had there piercing blue eyes and a stunningly white smile. Your heart skips a beat every time he looks over at you two. Before the show he even winked in your direction. Of course Molly's sure it's for her. Why wouldn't it be. She's the one dressed to the nines in jewelry and a nice cherry red wiggle dress. She lent you some accessories to go with the dress you'd converted from an old poodle skirt Molly gave you into a petticoat. 

After the show was over Molly sent you away to "get her something from the snack table in the lounge" so she could go cozy up to Vincent.

It didn't work apparently because he shows up in the lounge 50 seconds after you finish scooping something up for Molly. 

"Hello sir." You smile at him.

"Hey doll. You come with that lady in the slim red dress? You two are rather young aren't you?"

"I don't s'pose so sir. We graduated just last week. Neither of us really fancy College. Molly's father prolly' gonna make her go to Radcliffe to meet one of those Harvard men. She's far more interested in you though sir."

"Oh really? What about you doll?"

"Me?" You ask surprised. "Well I s'pose I won't gonna go to college. I'll just marry one of Molly's father's friend's sons. Be a cute lil housewife, for a handsome rich man." You bat your lashes at him.

"Well that's probable for the best. Being a trophy wife suits someone of your skillset better than a housewife."

"And what do you mean by that sir?" You hesitate to ask. Oh if Molly saw you now she'd rip your head off.

"No one's being fooled by the botch job done on your dress. An old poodle skirt to a petticoat? You'd be better off using that pretty face of yours to please your husband." He ran one of his warm pale hands against your cheek. His knuckle feels alien yet comforting against you. "Doll. You wouldn't happen to be free tomorrow night would you?"

"I am."

"Would you want to go to my favorite restaurant with me? We could meet earlier and go get you something presentable."

"I'd love that, sir."

"Please Doll. Call me Vincent." He kisses your knuckles and walks off. "I'll meet you on boardwalk by the pier at noon." he says looking back. You nod and rush back to Molly with her snack.

////////////////////////////////////////

The next day he brought you around to a few fancy shops and bought you a tiki dress for dinner. He brought you out to this cute little Hawaiian Restaurant.  

Later that night as he was walking you back to your front door he leaned down and kissed you straight on the lips.

"How forward of you Vincent!" You blush. He chuckles and hands you the bags from the shopping trip.

"Here's my number. Call me tomorrow to set up our next date doll." He kisses your cheek and walks back to his car.

"Okay. Have a good night Vincent."

After your second date he asked you to go steady. He takes you out every weekend. This went on for a while and your friend noticed.

"Alright, what's going on?" Molly asks almost annoyed.

"I'm going steady with a boy." You smiled dreamily.

"Hm? What's he like?" Hummy bounces her leg as she asks interested.

"Get your head out of la la land and focus on the game!" Eliana shouts from across the court.

"Don't see why you're upset. You two are winning." Molly snarks. "She's right though. I wanna win this game."

"Molly, no one's ever won against Eliana." You point out.

"Papa has!" Eliana exclaims.

"Oh thank you Eliana, for correcting me that the only person who's ever beaten you is the world famous tennis champion who taught you." You roll your eyes.

////////////////////////////////////////

It had been about six months of going steady and no one has been aware of it. But one day he went on the news channel, his smile slightly forced as he announced that in about two months he'd be taking two weeks off to go on his honeymoon. He called you onto the set with him and introduced you to the world.

You don't fail to notice the tight grip he kept around your shoulder. You don't think that he's all to pleased about what you told him just the night before.

Neither was Molly when she saw you on the news channel that evening. She was screaming, throwing things around her room, and according to Hummy she even assaulted one of the help. 

You haven't seen Molly since you went on TV, but that wouldn't last long. She found you when you were out one day with Vincent.

"HOW COULD YOU!!" She charges at you and your Fiancé's bodyguard, Parker, steps in to protect you.

"Go back to the car Vincent I'll be there in a moment." He rolls his eyes but does as you say.

"You tramp! You knew how much I loved him!" Molly cries as tears stream down her face.

"I'm sorry Molly, but Vincent wants me."

"You... you really are dense! He doesn't want you! He wants an easy girl. He'll have his fun with you but in the end rich men will marry the daughters of other rich men."

"That's where you're wrong. I'm having his baby, that's why he put this rock on my hand."

She screams. She goes to pull on your hair but Parker steps up and in between the two of you. He escorts you back to the unpleased man in the black car.

////////////////////////////////////////

A year later you were living with a baby boy who absolutely adores you; and a husband how tosses you around like a used sock.

So here you sit. In the kitchen of your husband's mansion, feeding your beautiful baby; seeing as the help having the day off. 

Your husband Vincent isn't exactly the nicest man. You have no idea what happened to him. The day before you told him you were pregnant he was buying you flowers and dresses, taking you out for dinner and spoon feeding you 100 dollar parfaits. then the second you told him his mood shifted.

Molly was right, you know that now. Vincent wasn't the marrying type. However, if you'd gone public with the news of your pregnancy his carrier would be over. He had no choice but the marry you.

"Hello Junior, how's my big man today?" Vincent asks, ruffling the boys black locks. As much as he now hates you you're glad to see he holds no resentment towards his son. It almost made up for the times he'd get drunk and throw things, complaining how you'd ruined his life (though thankfully there were no mentions of his son in those arguments), or all the nights he'd leave you cold and alone in bed, coming home with tacky shades of lipstick all over him. Yes he loves his son, but his wife on the other hand...

"Doll. Where's my drink? I told you I wanted one an hour ago." His demanding voice cut you out of your thoughts.

"You're not getting a drink. I'm done being your servant." You mumble, gritting your teeth.

He rolls his eyes and snorts, "Okay. Doll get me my-" He cut himself off as he felt a searing blinding pain in his side. He looks back at you, the silver knife in your hands now stained with crimson. He pushed you to the floor and headed into the living room. He tripped as you locked the door to the patio and closed the blinds.

"Honey... let's..." he pants, "lets talk about this, okay? You don't have to do this. I'm... I'm so sorry. Look love, you don't have to worry... I won't tell anyone. We'll say a tripped and fell onto a blade in the garage. I still love you, doll."

You grab the whisky from the drink you were supposed to fix him and splash it all over him.

"For what it's worth, I'll always love you Vincent." You tip the TV over on him and watch as it shorted out and caught fire. You quickly grabbed your son and the two emergency bags you'd packed the night before for the two of you and snag the keys to the car. You'll get the hell out of dodge, wait for the fire to spread and come back to put on the helpless wife routine.

////////////////////////////////////////

You s'pose karma has a was of coming back to bite you in in the ass.

Only six month after you'd killed your husband your old friend Molly broke in and stabs you. Luckily Junior was away with your parents for the weekend.

////////////////////////////////////////

When you awoke in hell you woke up to simple jabbing pain in your arm. "Ow." You see a few kids poking at you with forks. they had gray skin and black eyes.

Instinctually you pulled a needle out of your hair and pointed it at them. You hit it straight into the ground which caught the attention of some adults. 

Some of them came up to you and you grab one and held the needle to their neck. "Everyone stay back, or the creepo gets it!" About five minutes later of you holding this man hostage and demanding safe passage to a safe haven a tall woman popped through the small crowd that formed. 

"What's going on here?" She asks clearly unpleased.

"Where am I? Who are you? What's going on?" You ask voice breaking as you speak, from fear or frustrated tears you're not sure. 

"Shouldn't I be the one asking that? You come to my town and start making demands like this, threatening my people."

"I don't want to! Those kids were poking me with a fork! I just... fear and adrenaline overtook me and now we're here. I just want to go home! I just want to see my baby boy again." Tears flowed from your eyes. 

"Tina, Tommy! We do not play with or pick at our food. And we also do not eat living people. 'Kay darlin', just let Frankie go and we can talk." You did as the taller woman asks. 

You still held the needle out just in case. "Darlin' I'm an overlord. A measly needle won't do you much good. The names Rosie. From what my people told me you got fast reflexes, and an itchin' to stab. We could use someone like that here." She wraps her arm around you. "You poor, poor thing. It's gonna be okay. Let Aunty Rosie take care of this mess. I'll explain everything to you but you gotta come with me. There are eyes and ears everywhere."

"You can say that again." She giggles at your little comment.

"Alastor will just adored you."

////////////////////////////////////////

It had been 65 years since you died and you'd been working for Rosie every day. You'd met Alastor on a handful of occasions and only briefly had conversations with him when you saw him. He was a nice enough fellow, albeit a bit spooky. Anyway back to your job for Rosie. You'd get requests from the cannibals and you'd go out and get them the meats they requested. Your Demonic power allowed you enhanced battle reflexes and speed as well as seeing where to get tools for different modes of murder and the steps to kill in different ways. Yes it was morbid but it kept a roof over your head and the sinners always grew back so it's not like it was really hurting anyone. While you hadn't sold your soul to her she basically owned you and protected you. It was nice to have someone who actually cared for you.

But that all came to a stop when you saw an add one day while walking back with your freshest orders. VoxTek with their signature slogan "Trust us... with your safety." The man on the screen, the voice telling you to trust him...

"Oh Vincent, what happened to you?" You stood there almost entranced as a voice called out form behind you.

"You happened to me." He placed his hands on your shoulders and you spun around and elbowed him in the stomach. "Oof! Okay doll, I see you wanna play rough." He hoisted you over his shoulder and Teleported you both through a street camera to a nice looking building.

"Valentino and Velvette are gonna kill me. Val especially."

"Let go of me!" You squirm and tried to hit him with your needles in your hair but neither make a dent.

He threw you onto a bed and paced back and forth in the room. The bed itself was nice. Prussian blue silk sheets and rose red and royal blue comforters sat on top of the bed. 

"This is bad." Vincent, no, Vox paces back and forth. "This is really bad."

'You can say that again.' You think as you look around the room to see if anything can help you escape. You could take the comforters and sheets and wrap them around his head or his neck. You could...

"This is all your fault!" He shouted at you.

"My fault?! How is this my fault?!"

"You just had to stab me and end up down here didn't you!"

"Are you seriously going to blame me? Firstly We got together when I was 18 and you were 33 the blame should not be on me in that situation, and secondly You were the one who plopped down and took me back here!"

"You could have refused!" He defended. 

"I did! I said I didn’t want to go with you when you kidnapped me!" You retorted.

"I meant every time we had sex! Every time we kissed! You weren’t complaining when you got a nice dress out of it! What, you think I wanted you to stab me? I begged you not to, I said we could talk, I told you I still loved you and would forgive you!" He grabbed your arm.

"Oh you loved me? Did you love me when you hit me? Did you think of me when you were fucking those prostitutes with that tacky orange lipstick? Were you jumping for joy on the inside while scowling at me when I told you I was pregnant? Did you ever love me or did you just love my holes? Huh? Did you?" You push and hit his chest. 

He grasps both of your hands. "Of course I did! But you just made it so hard!"

"Oh did I?" You asked sarcastically.

"Yes, you did! If you hated it so much why didn’t you leave?"

"It was the 50's Vox! If I asked you for a divorce I'd never be able to see my son again, I wasn't willing to lose him!" Tears form in your eyes.

"But you were willing to loose me?"

"I really don't believe you were ever mine." Tears fully streamed down your cheeks.

"Oh and you're such a saint? The woman who said she'd always love me turned her back on me and tried to flee to live with the best friend of my greatest enemy."

"I said that I'd always love Vincent, not Vox."

"Are you Fucking kidding me? We're literally the same person!"

"Oh really? Vincent wouldn't hurt others to get what he wants."

"It's Hell babe." He rolls his eyes.

"Vincent wouldn't have kidnapped me." You point out.

"Vincent also wouldn't want his ex-wife to be able to spread rumors about him and ruin his image. Neither does Vox."

"I had a good thing going "Vox"! I had a job and I haven't thought of you once!" You screamed at him.

"Yeah well I'm more well off than you could ever imagine. I have a wonderful Boyfriend and we have a wonderful platonic friend who lives with us!"

" Okay, we worked out our problems, I won't spread any rumors about you and your harem or whatever. Can you please let me go now? I really don't care who you're fucking. It was till death do us part remember?"

"I can't let you go. What if you tell someone. I'll need some insurance."

"What do you want then?"

"I want your soul." He grins sinisterly.

"What...?"

"Think about it. You could continue to hunt people. Do whatever you want. Go wherever you want. Fuck whoever you want. Of course you wouldn't be allowed to live with any other Overlord especially not one that's so close to Alastor, but I'd let you live as far away from me as possible (I'd probably prefer that in all honesty). You could even continue to work for your little girlfriend. I'll get you all set up on the other side of Pentagram City and protect you should anything bad happen. After all, I am far more powerful than your little girlfriend. All this and all you have to do is keep your mouth shut and give me your pretty little soul." He circles you like a shark looking to attack it's prey. "And should you refuse. I'll throw you from the balcony and have someone pick up your splattered remains off of the ground to do it over and over again."

"I can have freedom and ALL you ask is to have me soul in you possession and for me to never speak of you again?"

"Correct... Doll." He chuckles darkly, holding out his hand.

"Deal."

Notes:

I left it open ended in case I ever feel like making a part 2 I also am looking into getting a banner.

[thommi-tomate]

People about Thomas pt3

Sepp Maier:

What impresses you about Thomas Müller?

I'm hugely impressed that he has stayed at FC Bayern for his entire career, just as I did. What more could you ask for? He's won everything there is to win with FC Bayern. Thomas is FC Bayern through and through, and that's the right thing to do. He even played in the club's youth ranks.

You celebrated success with another famous Müller in your team, is Thomas as difficult for a goalkeeper to predict as Gerd was?

Them are two completely different types: Thomas moves all over the field, our Gerd was dangerous inside the box like nobody else. Thomas also makes assists, which wasn't Gerd's specialty, to be honest. But they both have something in common: Thomas belongs to the list of the great FC Bayern players, just like Gerd or Franz Beckenbauer, or whatever they were called in our ероса.

Ron-Robert Zieler:

The first time I played against Bayern München in March 2011, we won with Hannover 96. We left the pitch with a 3-1 victory. I was given Thomas Müller's shirt, whom I'd already known for six or seven years at the time. We had played together under Bernd Stöber in the U-16 national team.

The shirt - Thomas, I hope you'll forgive me - is currently in a storage room that my wife and I have rented. We've moved so many times in the last few years, six in eight years, that we've decided to leave everything we don't need in storage until we have time to unpack everything into a permanent home once our careers are over. Then I will also - I promise - take out the Müller jersey, even though he wasn't exactly my favorite opponent. I conceded 45 goals in games against Bayern Munich. Nine of them came from him. But if there's anyone you can't be angry with for long, it's Thomas Müller.

He was already a dodderer when we met in 2004. Even then he reminded me of a Skydancer, those funny figures that move strangely when a little wind blows on them from below. Thomas is like that too. Unconventional in his movements. He is a horror for goalkeepers. From his movements, it's impossible to know which way his shot will go.

The best goals Thomas scored for me were in Brazil in 2014. In some training sessions he outplayed me; I was there in goal alongside Manuel Neuer and Roman Weidenfeller. But he was good. Maybe I gave him a bit of confidence so that he could score five such unforgettable goals on our way to the World Cup title.

All the best for the future, dear Thomas. And even if you and I never meet again on the pitch (unless the Cup draw dictates otherwise), I invite you to try to score against any other fellow goalkeeper more times than against me. Without complaining, I would let this unglamorous record of goals conceded pass.

Felix Zwayer:

I can't remember how many times I've had the honor of whistling Thomas Müller throughout his career. But it has (almost) always been a great pleasure. Thomas is a true professional, and you can tell that he is also aware of the referee's point of view. That makes for an honest and open dialogue on the pitch.

Last season I had an experience with him that I found very respectful: After losing the game in Leverkusen at the beginning of February, he came to see me despite the huge disappointment, thanked me for the way I had conducted the game and said goodbye in a very polite manner. Not everyone manages to do that in a situation like that. I was very impressed. Overall, I think I've noticed a clear evolution in the league over the years: Before, people just talked, communicated and sometimes complained. Today, the comments are much more professional and also more selective, and the conversations are held at the same level.

What always impresses me most about Thomas when I see him on the field is that he is a great motivator, he leads the way, sets an example and involves his teammates. That also shows as a referee. He is simply a great leader on and off the field.

[gx-gameon]

I wanted to ask how does this AU deal with season 2 when Jaden goes on his solo trip into the ocean to find himself and ultimately meet the Neo Spacians!

This ask really made me realize I need to rewatch Gx again because so many things happened.

Everything in this au is fluid until I can get a true rewatch in, as things will move and shift.

But to do this we need to look back a little.

It’s Jaden’s second year and he calls Yugi on like the first day of classes. And at first Yugi is worried because Jaden just left home, he wasn’t schedualed to call until a week later. Yes he loves his son, and is so excited to hear from him, but he’s also a dad who worries for his baby boy.

But Jaden calls and tells him with all the excitement in the world that he just dueled Aster Phoenix! And he won! And sure it wasn’t Asters real deck, but the duel was so much fun and Jaden can’t wait to duel him again.

He’s talking a mile a minute and Yugi is doing his best to keep up. But wait, Aster Phoenix? Jaden are you sure? Because Yugi knows Aster Phoenix. He’s the duelist prodigy who has taken the Pro-leagues by storm.

Seto hates the kid because he uses Hero cards and he wanted them to be signature cards for Jaden like his Blue-eyes, or Atem’s Dark Magician, or Yugi’s Gandora/Silent Magician. Yugi had stoped him from getting Pegasus to private all the hero cards. Telling Seto Jaden already made his own Archtype and Seto sent them to space (it was before they knew Jaden. And sure Jaden doesnt remember them, but that doesn’t make Seto feel any less guilty, he’s been trying to get them back for years, but hasn’t found the pod yet)

But Yugi is excited for his son. Glad he’s having fun and being safe. But he wonders why Atser would duel Jaden. Let alone do it with a fake deck. Something doesn’t sit right with him.

Yugi, Atem, and Joey go to see Aster’s next match. They were planing to go anyway as it is Zane’s first pro-league duel and they want to see one of Jaden’s friends duel. Plus it’s always nice to check out the Pro-league to see who’s coming up.

I think the dueling community in this world has a tiered pro level. The ‘pro-league’ being in the middle. Think like professional football in England (I’ve been watching Ted Lasso) mainly because I don’t think Zane and Aster are at the same level as the DM crew yet. They would be dueling at the top level, we’ll call it the premier league for now. (But let’s be real Kaiba probably named it the Blue-eye’s League, or something like that)

And they watch Zane Lose. Badly. Joey feel bad for the kid. Knowing how he’d feel if his little sister and all of her friends watched him lose his first match on national television. That’s rough.

Atem is not a fan of Aster. The way he talks to his opponent does not sit well with him. Even less so since this is one of Jaden’s friends.

Yugi agrees with both of them. He’s planning to call Jaden after the match to check on him and how his friends are doing after watching that. And he doesn’t want to admit it, but Seto was right. It feels wrong to watch someone else duel with the cards he’s always associated with his son. Especially with the way Aster uses them.

The three are about to leave, Joey suggesting a group call with Jaden, as he misses his littlest buddy, when they hear it. They hear Aster call out Jaden on national television. Saying Jaden copied his deck and a bunch of other nasty things about their boy.

Yugi’s furious, because how dare this boy. He doesn’t even know Jaden. His son has used those cards since they came out. Far before Aster made them popular. But with one interview he’s screwed Jaden’s professional career. If Jaden goes to the pro-league right out of Duel Academy with his hero deck, all anyone will talk about is this interview. He’ll face an up hill battle to prove to everyone he isn’t copying Aster’s deck.

Plus it just isn’t true. Because Jaden loves those cards. He can communicate with their spirits. Something Yugi is pretty sure Aster cannot do.

But Yugi’s trying to keep it together. Because on his right is Atem full of righteous fury and all the holier than though energy that his life as a Pharaoh filled him with. The man’s ready to march down there and challenge Aster to a duel. And on his left is Joey ‘You mess with my friends you mess with me’ Wheeler. Joey who hands have been rated E for everyone since before Yugi and him were even friends. He’s just as likely to march himself down there and punch the kid as he is to duel him.

And as much as Yugi wants to defend his son, his first priority is Jaden’s safety. Because how could we explain why we want to challenge Aster (a 14/15 year old) to a duel? Without revealing our connection to Jaden? Nothing the Kid said should upset them. After all Jaden Yuki has no relation to Yugi Mouto or Seto Kaiba. Jaden doesn’t want people knowing who he is yet, and it’s dangerous to reveal Jaden to the world like that. How many people would try to hurt him to get to Seto? Or Yugi himself?

He’s able to reason with his two rightfully angry companions. He’s just grateful his husband didn’t come. There would have been no stopping Seto from dueling Aster into the ground for daring to say such bold faced lies about their son.

They call Jaden afterwards and he tells them that while he’s sad Zane lost and it kind sucked to have Aster call him a copy cat, he’s still excited to duel Aster again. A hero on hero fight sounds so fun. And Yugi is so proud of his son. How he’s excited to duel and become friends with Aster. Joey rolls his eyes and mutters something about Muto men and befriending rich snobs.

Yugi relaying the call to Seto is the only thing that stops Seto from ruining Aster’s life.

Now on to the main event

Aster comes and challenges Jaden to a duel and this one he wins with his Destiny hero’s. But that’s not all. Jaden can no longer see his cards. He can’t see any card.

He calls his Dad in a panic that night and tells him all about the duel and how he can’t see any cards. Even Winged Kuriboh abandoned him. And he’s in tears because this is his Dad. He can’t let his friends know how bad this is hurting him but his Dad has always been there for him. Has always been his shelter.

And Yugi’s heart breaks. He’s coming. He doesn’t care anymore he’s coming. He tells Jaden to wait it out for a day or two while he gets some things sorted out and then he’ll come get him. (He’s trying to figure out how to quietly pick up Jaden, without a Kaiba-copter) he also doesn’t want Jaden to drop out. They can figure this out together.

He tells the rest of the DM crew and they all want to come, but Yugi doesn’t want to overwhelm Jaden. He’s going to go alone. Seto wants to come to but realizes that his own anger at Aster and the situation won’t help Jaden. The best he can do right now is support Jaden and Yugi. (And dig up all the dirt he can on Aster Phoenix) if Jaden decides to drop out, he’s over hauling the school, he’s got to make those plans as well. The Slifer dorm needs some updates (wait till he finds out Crowler and Bonaparte are trying to tear down Jaden’s dorm.)

But he can’t let Yugi go completely alone. Not when Jaden needs them. So they take the yachts out. (Look me in the eyes and tell me Kaiba doesn’t have a yacht) the DM crew are all aboard. They want to be there for Jaden.

The plan is Yugi will take one of the smaller life boats to duel academy and meet up with Jaden. The two can sail out and have a talk. If Jaden feels better and wants to go back to school great! But if he wants a longer break then they can head back to the yacht and meet up with the rest of the family. Jaden will be surrounded by support while they figure this out.

So Yugi heads out to meet up with Jaden. The pick up goes great. It’s late at night, Jaden sneaks out no problem (something for Yugi to worry over later) and the two head out.

What they aren’t expecting is to get hit by a “falling star” and get transported to the duel spirit world.

Yugi is protective at first. Jaden’s going through it right now. He doesn’t even have his deck! So when they are challenged by the dueling alien-robot thing. Yugi’s ready to kick it to kingdom come for messing with his kid. He’s got a lot of pent up rage at this point from feeling helpless to protect his boy. (He’s still having problems with the fact Jaden fought the Sacred Beasts last year)

But Aquos steps in and tells them it has to be Jaden. And Yugi’s about it to tell this duel spirit to take its opinion and destiny and shove it where the sun don’t shine. He’s been in this rat race to long to be bullied by ‘destiny’ he’s changed it enough times to know it’s not set in stone. He’s protecting his son.

Or he was until Aquos point out the Kaiba Corp Satellite to them. And inside, would you believe it? It’s the cards Jaden made as a kid. The cards Seto sent to space and has been look for like a mad man ever since he and Yugi found out they were Jaden’s cards.

‘So this is why Seto never found them.’ Yugi thinks. ‘That tech of his that got him to the afterlife to battle Atem must have been in these Satellites as well. After all they shot themselves into another dimension. And while he’s trilled that Jaden has those cards again, and he can see them, and Jaden’s smiling again. He can’t help but worry about where Jaden’s other card is. If his deck ended up in this dimension. Where had his spirit protector, Yubel, ended up?

But it’s something to worry about later. Jaden duels the alien robot thing. Yugi knows this is Jaden’s true deck. If anything is going to get him back on his feet it’s this duel. So he encourages his son and supports him through the duel, the same way Yugi’s friends always supported him.

After Jaden wins the two wake up back on their boat. They’re groggy and disoriented, when they hear a voice calling out to them. They look up and the Kaiba Yacht is heading their way. (They all got worried when Yugi didn’t come back)

Jaden gets to spend some time with his family. It helps a lot. His new cards have given him the boost he needed. But it’s even nicer to have his family around. He stays with them for a few days. (Seto sends a message to the school as one Mr. Yuki. Stating that they have picked up their son for a family emergency. No one can say Jaden is skipping class. But the staff does not pass this message on to Jaden’s friends. They think Jaden ran away or is missing)

While he’s away all the other events still happen. He arrives just in time to duel Aster again. Winning with his new deck and convincing Aster that he’s not only strong, but that destiny is crap, and he should join Duel Academy (Téa is so proud of her nephew and the power of friendship he’s using on this lonely little teenager. Aster should be good friends with Jaden and cannon is a coward for not doing more with them after season 2. They’re going to be good friends by season 3 in this au)

I always thought throwing Jaden on a remote part of the island to remove him from the plot was wild. Like I get it and it’s fun, but in this Au he’s having family time and getting to know his new deck.

[olympeline]

FrUK FACE family Parent Trap AU, part 2! (Part 1)

So, last time we left off with Alfred and Matthew meeting at summer camp and developing an instant, burning dislike. Which is unusual for both of them, tbh. Alfred is normally too happy-go-lucky to hate anyone for long, and Mattie is too gentle and sweet natured. But something about the other boy just grinds on both their tempers. It’s visceral, they can’t explain it, but it’s instant and cuts deep. Particularly when someone points out how similar they look, which happened often until both made it clear how much they hated the comparison

At first, they get put in different cabins so their interactions are limited to meals and camp activities. The general rule I’m going with is that old world nations = adults, new world = kids. So Alfred is rooming with *Insert Human Name Here* Mexico, Brazil, and Argentina. Meanwhile Canada gets Cuba, Australia, and New Zealand. Many an evening is spent gossiping/bitching about the other twin, especially on Alfred’s end. Eventually, his cabin mates get so sick of listening to “Why Matthew Bonnefoy sucks” that they dare him to put his money where his mouth is and do something about it. Alfred Kirkland never turns down a challenge

He watches his prey and plots, like some totally badass secret agent type guy. Alfred notices Matthew always chooses pancakes for breakfast and drowns them in maple syrup (Ha! Loser! Everyone knows chocolate is where it’s at!). Alfred gets a wonderful idea. He gets a wonderful, awful idea. His dad sent him to camp with a box of homemade snacks/crimes against humanity. Including a bottle of dipping sauce: just as inedible as anything else. Alfred planned to bury them somewhere before going home but now he has a better idea. The next morning, he makes sure to spike the canuck nerd’s syrup and then sits back and watches the hilarity. Even better, he switches the bottles back when the camp counsellor comes to check after Matthew runs to the bathroom to throw up! LOOOL! Alfred, ten billion: Nerd, zero!

As far as Alfred is concerned, their rivalry is over: he’s won. He never expects Matthew to retaliate and, normally, he’d be right. Normally, gentle, non-confrontational Matthew would just shrug it off and go live his best life. This situation isn’t normal. Mattie can’t let it go, not when it’s Alfred Kirkland. He has to get him back, he just has to. Matthew takes his turn plotting, then he and his cabin mates choose their moment: Alfred is always boasting about how great he is at sports, especially baseball. Their camp is scheduled to play a game with the camp across the lake and Alfred is their star hitter. Matthew and co. lie in wait, then switch out the schedules so Alfred and his cabin get the wrong day. They miss the game and spend the afternoon goofing off by the river instead. Only to come back to furious camp counsellors and a week of trash duty for going off alone and ditching the game. Alfred is horrified, Mattie is smug

Their eyes meet. Matthew winks and mimes a swing and a miss, Alfred seethes. If it was on before, oh boy. Now it’s on. It’s on like Donkey Kong. It’s on like SUPER DONKEY KONG 64!

So begins an all out prank war: Alfred waits till it’s time for swimming lessons, then hides Matthew’s clothes. Matthew sneaks into the camp office and switches Alfred’s name from team sports to needlework and cheerleading. Alfred dips Matthew’s glasses in cooking oil. Matthew sews up the armholes of all Alfred’s shirts. Alfred catches a skunk and releases it in Mattie’s cabin. Matthew takes a leaf out of Alfred’s book and spikes his dinner hamburger and milkshake with enough chilli powder to call Alfred’s own personal space coyote. It goes on like that for a while, back and forth, then evolves into daring each other to do increasingly crazy things. Running through the camp naked, cussing out a counsellor, starting a food fight, go out to the creepiest place in the woods after dark, etc. They just keep going. Alfred never gives up, Matthew won’t either. Even their cabin mates are getting worried by this point. It was fun at first, but now the adults are getting really pissed and the dares keep escalating and are some of them are getting legitimately scary.

Everything comes to a head when Alfred dares Matthew to climb the tallest tree in the camp and hang his (maple print) boxers from the highest branch. Mattie is terrified (the tree is a pine and tall af) but looking a Alfred’s smug face (“Haha! You gonna wimp out, Mattie? Gonna go cry to your pa?”) he can’t bear to back out. It doesn’t go well. Mattie gets halfway up, looks down, and gets the vertigo bad. He freezes up, can’t climb higher or come back down, and is stuck there like a terrified koala. Alfred laughs and jeers at first, then realises oh fudge, this is actually serious. He climbs up to try and help, only to get stuck too. Alfred sees Matthew’s tears and feels a stab of guilt, but then the grown ups turn up with a ladder and they’re both in far too much trouble to think about each other for a while

Both boys are in disgrace, grounded for weeks, and - worst of all - sentenced to be cabin mates. Everyone was sick of their rivalry by then, and it was seen as a necessity. It was either that or the counsellors would email their dads to come get them. Neither Alfred or Matthew wanted that, so they grudgingly agree to the punishment. Either they learn to get along, or camp is over. There’s still the threat of telling their dads if they don’t behave too, which is a total bummer

Alfred moves in with Matthew and they spend their first evening in tense silence. Alfred thinks it will be like this for the rest of summer, which is majorly lame. It might have been, but that night Alfred wakes up to go to the bathroom and hears something that makes him freeze: soft sobs, coming from Matthew’s bunk. He’s got the blankets pulled over his head, but Alfred’s ears are sharp. And he can see the lump in the bed shaking in the dark. Alfred ponders, then goes over and pulls the covers away. Matthew is shocked and dismayed, expecting Alfred to laugh and mock him mercilessly. Instead, Alfred asks him what’s wrong. Gruffly but with no hint of malice

Mattie hesitates - he doesn’t want to give his rival more ammunition - then falteringly tells Alfred he’s scared. Alfred asks if it’s about the tree. Matthew says no, though that was scary, it’s about his papa. Alarm bells ring for Alfred (oh shit, what if the nerd has an abusive dad and that’s why he’s such a dumb wuss?) but Matthew assures him he’s not scared of his dad. He loves Francis more than anything. He’s scared he’s going to disappoint him. Alfred asks why. Mattie tells him that he promised he would do his best to socialise and make some friends. He knows how worried Francis is that he spends so much time either alone or with their dog, so he swore he would do his best to get along with the other campers. But all he’s done is blow everything. Papa will be disappointed in him and, much worse, he broke his word. He could have turned the other cheek and ignored Alfred, but his pride got the best of him and he didn’t

More tears. Alfred watches in silence, and thinks it over for a long moment. Then he pats Mattie on the back and tells him to quit blubbing and being dumb: he hasn’t failed, he made friends with his dumb, nerd cabin mates. And all the pranks and dares have to count as socialising, right? Anyway, if his papa asks, Matthew can just say Alfred is his friend or whatever. So, no need to worry!

After this speech, Matthew is shocked and then stares at Alfred in wonder when he realises he’s serious. Mattie falteringly asks if that’s really okay and Alfred says sure, why not. Then he shoves some ancient, crumpled kleenex at Matthew and decides that, as he’s totally awake now, he might as well have fun. Matthew watches Alfred open in a secret compartment in his luggage and dig out comics and candy bars the adults failed to confiscate. Alfred is about to go back into his bunk when he sees Matthew watching, round eyed. He hesitates, then makes an unknowingly life-changing decision for the second time that night. Instead of getting back into his own bunk, he jumps onto Mattie’s and sits cross legged. Then he offers him a comic and one of his smaller candy bars

A moment, then Matthew accepts. The boys eat chocolate and read comics until the early hours when they both fall asleep. The next day when they’re getting dressed, Matthew dares compliment Alfred on his Iron-Man t-shirt. Alfred grins and shows Matthew the totally sick Avengers, light up sneakers his dad bought him for his birthday. They’re the same shoe size and he says Mattie can even borrow them sometime if he’s careful and doesn’t walk in mud. Mattie thanks him, and smiles. Alfred returns it

There’s a long way to go. They’re still unsure around each other: not best friends, or even ordinary ones, yet. But it’s a start

It’s a start

(Stay tuned for part 3! (´ε｀ )♡)

[l0cked0uttt]

You Can't Just Get Rid Of Them!

Tommyinnit x male reader (can be seen as romantic or platonic) Also possibly Tubbo x male reader (can also be seen as platonic or romantic)

CW: swearing

Angst to (slight) fluff

This takes place right as and after Jschlatt banishes Wilbur and Tommy after the L'manburg election.

M/N will be used (meaning male name)

H/N: Horse's name

"I REVOKE, WILBUR SOOT AND TOMMYINNIT'S CITIZENSHIP!" Schlatt's voice boomed and everyone began to panic with a few people punching and shoving Wilbur and Tommy away. M/N stood there, his body slightly shaking. 'This can't be real, no, Schlatt didn't, he wouldn't.' these thoughts ran rapidly in M/N's mind. He looked over at Tommy and Wilbur their faces looked completely devastated and confused. M/N clenched his fists and ran up and onto the podium where Schlatt and his subordinates were. "JSCHLATT!" M/N yelled, he was held back by Quackity. "You-You can't do that! Wilbur founded L'manburg! And Tommy is his right hand! You can't just get rid of them!"

"Last I checked, M/N, I am the president. Sorry emperor." Schlatt said getting closer to him. "No, no you're just a tyrant, hell bent on destroying this nation! We have fought too long and too hard for you to just throw it all away!" M/N pulled away from Quackity, getting even closer to Schaltt. They stared each other down for a few moments before Jschlatt spoke, turning around to face the crowd. "I suggest you hold your tongue or else you'll be joining them. Now get him out of my sight." Quackity grabbed M/N and threw him off of the podium. It wasn't enough for him to die but he sure as hell took a lot of damage. He could hear Wilbur yelling for Tommy to run, M/N wanted to run with them too but he couldn't as much as he hated Jschaltt he had to be here, for his country, his nation, he wouldn't leave L'manburg, not while Jschlatt was in rule, someone had to keep him from doing something stupid. 'Don't worry Wilbur, Tommy, I will find you guys and I will bring you home.'

Later that night

M/n sat on his bed with a bow in hand and a target across the room. He had already screamed and cried that night but he still had some pent up rage, so he was shooting arrows at a target, pretending it was Jschaltt's head. His door opened and he drew his bow, almost shooting it before he saw who it was. "Tubbo! You scared me." M/N lowered the bow, letting his arms relax. M/N could tell how tense Tubbo looked, the male was looking down at his shoes and fiddling with his fingers, M/N let out a sigh. "If it has something to do with Schlatt just tell me so we can get it over with."

"Schlatt wants to speak to you..." Tubbo's voice was soft and calm, probably trying to avoid M/N's outburst.

"HE-" M/N began to yell but stopped himself taking a deep breath and holding his head in his hands, slouching over. "Fine, Where is he?" M/N stood up.

"Follow me." The two walked out of M/N's house and onto the wooden path.

"Tubbo, if this is a trap, just remember that I will kill you."

"It isn't, I swear! He just told me to get you so you two could talk."

The two continued walking up until they reached a big building, they walked inside and began to climb the mountain of stairs, neither of them saying a word. When they get up to the top Tubbo opens up two big wooden doors and they walk inside. "Ah, M/N your here, welcome, welcome." Schlatt motions for Tubbo to go to him, which he abides by, standing beside Schlatt's desk. "What do you want Schlatt?" M/N says, shooting a glare at the man. "No need to be so hostile, I just want to ask you if you're enjoying Manburg."

"L'manburg." M/N puts emphasis on the L.

"Not anymore, you see this great country doesn't take L's, which seemed to be a reoccurring theme with the last President."

"We won our independence away from the SMP you were not there Schlatt you have no right to-" Jschlatt cut him off.

"You lost the war, the only reason why you even have independence in the first place is because Tommy played the hero and gave his dics to Dream."

Schlatt put his arms up and he had a crooked smile on his face. "But that's besides the point." He walked over to M/N, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"M/N you are an amazing fighter, you have the drive that this country needs in its army."

M/N tensed up and somehow he knew exactly what Schlatt wanted.

"I wanted to ask you to be my commanding officer, you will command Manburg's troops as we expand this great country!"

"Work under you? Ha! You're insane if you think I'll command your army." M/N pushed Schlatts hand off of his shoulder and took a step back from the male.

Jschlatt ran his finger through his hair and sighed. "It's fine, sometimes we all need a little bit of motivation." He snapped his fingers and Quackity walked up behind M/N, using one of his hands to grab onto M/N arm and twist it behind him, while his other hand gripped the back of his neck, pushing on two nerves so he wouldn't try and jerk away.

Jschlatt pulled a netherite axe from his inventory and threw it to George who caught it, grabbing Tubbo by the back of his hair and holding the axe to his throat.

"Tubbo!" M/N yelled and tried to run to him but Quackity pushed on the nerves more making his whole body ache and his eyes water.

"So, M/N! You have two options, You can do as I say, and nothing will happen to Tubbo, OR, you can not do as I say and then not only will you be missing Tommy, but you'll have to explain how you got poor Tubbo killed. So what'll it be." Schlatts smile grew and the tension in the air was thick.

M/N stood there dumbfounded. "You wouldn't.." He mumbled, his eyes narrowing. Tubbo took in a sharp breath as he felt the cold axe press against his throat, drawing a small amount of blood. M/N eyes shot over when he heard Tubbo and for a moment the whole world slowed down as he watched the blood drip farther down.

"Tick Tock, M/N I don't have all night, say, how long do you think it takes for someone to bleed out from the neck, a couple of minutes maybe?" Jschlatt taunted M/N. George's grip on the axe tightened and he went to put more pressure on Tubbo's neck before M/N's voice broke the silence.

"Don't! Just stop! I'll do it! Just don't hurt him!" M/N eyes watered as he looked between Tubbo's scared expression and Schlatt's crazed one. Jschlatt snapped his fingers and George took the axe away from Tubbo's neck and pushed him on the ground. Tubbo let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. Quackity let go of M/N and he fell to his knees before getting up and running over to Tubbo giving him a bear hug. M/N let go and began to inspect Tubbo's face "Oh my god, are you okay, let me see the cut." He lifted up his head only to see that it had stopped bleeding. "M/N, I'm fine." Tubbo's voice was once again calm. M/N helped him up and hugged him again, Schlatt's voice breaking the comfortable silence between the two. "So, M/N I'll see you tomorrow." His voice was still in a mocking tone. "Yeah, sure, whatever makes you happy." M/N said with as much venom as he could muster in his voice.

"Come on Tubbo, let's go." Despite Tubbo needing no assistance to walk, he kept an arm around the boy, looking back at the three as they left the room. The door closed leaving the room in complete silence. George looked at the axe that was still in his hand, the tip slightly covered in blood. "You were prepared to kill Tubbo, right then and there, correct?" George eyed Schlatt who was looking out of a big window that overlooked the newly renamed Manburg. "I was willing to do whatever it took to get that boy to comply."

"You do know that it was a stupid idea to have M/N join, you know how close he is to Tommy, there's no way that he won't try and steal secrets to give to them."

"Of course I know that I'm not dumb! What I need is to be able to keep an eye on him. How can I do that if he isn't working for me?"

"And Tubbo? You don't think he won't try to communicate with Wilbur and Tommy."

"George, Quackity, I am counting on their betrayal."

M/N lightly dabbed disinfectant on Tubbo's neck, him slightly wincing at the contact. "M/N, you don't have to do this, I'll be fine without you helping me."

M/N got up and threw the cloth he used into a cauldron filled with water to be washed later, grabbing a small bandage. "I know you'll be fine without all of this but, I need to, it's my fault that you have this cut in the first place, if I had just said okay to Schlatt instead of being stubborn then maybe that whole fiasco could've been avoided." M/N sat back down, looking at the bandage in his hands.

Tubbo placed a hand on M/N's. "There was no way either of us could've known what Jschlatt was planning, you can't beat yourself up for that. I'm okay, I didn't die, and even if I did I still have another life. I would have been okay."

M/N looked up at Tubbo, his eyes were glossy but he had a small smile on his face. "Still, I started to fix you up, so let me finish." Tubbo let out a small laugh and lifted his chin, allowing M/N to put the bandage on his neck.

M/N looked out his window and saw how dark the clouds began to look in the night sky. "You should probably start to head home now, it looks like it might rain." Tubbo looked out of the window and nodded. The two stood up and M/N led him to the door, opening it up for him and allowing him to step out into the night. "Hey Tubbo?" M/N called out and the boy turned around. "Thank you... for saying that it wasn't my fault, I really needed to hear that."

Tubbo smiled. "You're welcome." M/N walked up to him and gave him one last hug for the night.

"Stay safe okay?"

"Okay, I will."

The two separated and M/N walked back to his house, glancing at Tubbo one last time as he walked further and further down the path. He closed the door to his house and his smile dropped, he walked over to his chest and opened one, pulling out a glowing netherite chest plate. He stared at his reflection for a moment before putting on the chest plate as well as other pieces of armor. M/N grabbed a cloak that was hanging by his bed and put it on, it hid most of the armor as well as the sword that was at his side. He placed his bow on his back and thunder crashed making him look out to his window. It had already started to rain.

M/N walked out of his house and over to his horse that was shaking its head every time too much water would get on (his/her) face. He untied the lead from the horse's reins and hopped on their back. "Come on, H/N, let's go find Tommy and Wilbur."

The two traveled down the path all the way back to the podium where Tommy and Wilbur were declared banished from L'manburg and were shoved out. "Where did you two go." M/N mumbled. M/N pulled the reins making the H/N turn in the direction where he saw them run. "Hiya!" M/N lightly squeezed the sides of H/N making the horse gallop into the woods. The further that M/N got into the woods the denser the trees got, making it nearly impossible to even walk with his horse. M/N pulled out a lead and tied them to a tree making sure to surround the horse in a bit of cobblestone, just as a safety precaution.

He continued the journey on foot, occasionally looking down at the mud to see if he could see any footprints. As he continued walking he saw a small clearing in the woods. Someone was here. He could see the faint outline of the freshly blown out torches. He saw light coming from behind him but before he could turn around a voice spoke. M/N whipped his head around to see Wilbur and Tommy standing in front of him. "M/N?" Wilbur questions upon seeing the boy. "How did you-?" M/N cut him off by running past him and engulfing Tommy in a hug.

"Oh my god, Tommy are you alright?" M/N stopped hugging Tommy but both of his hands were still on his shoulders. "I'm fine, M/N, but how did you find us?"

"I just took off in a straight line from where you two ran." He said with a small laugh. Wilbur cleared his throat, "So I see you only came here to see Tommy?"

M/N let go of Tommy and hugged Wilbur. "No, I just care about him more."

"It's nice to see you again, M/N."

The sound of thunder and lightning flashed in the sky making the three turn their attention to the rain, which was coming down heavier by the minute. "Let's go inside, before the rain comes down even more." Wilbur suggested. The 3 walked into the small dirt shack, Tommy and M/N sitting on the bed and Wilbur leaning against the crafting table.

"Nice little shack you got here." M/N said jokingly

"Hey! Just because Pogtopia is small, doesn't mean that we aren't a great nation."

"Pogtopia?"

"That's what Tommy wanted to name this, he said it was another name for L'manburg, speaking of, what's going on there?"

M/N put his head in his hands, lightly tugging at his hair. "Schlatt has been in power for not even 24 hours and everything has gone to shit, he claims himself to be the emperor, Quackity and George are his vice presidents, Tubbo-" M/N sighs. "Tubbo is his right hand. He can't do or say anything with that asshole's approval!"

Tommy and Wilbur looked at each other with sorrowful eyes. M/N hands drop, his arms resting on his legs. "Tonight... before I came here, Schlatt he-he tried to kill Tubbo."

"What?! Why? Is Tubbo okay?" Tommy questioned raising his voice in distress.

"Tubbo is fine, his neck is cut up a little, that's all."

"What made Schlatt want to kill Tubbo?" Wilbur asked softly.

"He wanted me to be his commanding officer and command his troops as we quote expand this great country. If I didn't say yes, he would've had Tubbo killed with no hesitation, I couldn't let that happen."

Tommy hugged M/N who hugged him back trying not to let the stress tears fall. "It's going to be okay M/N, we'll be okay, we'll get L'manburg back."

M/N let go of Tommy, though his hands still rested on his shoulders. "Tommy, Schlatt changed the name, it's no longer L'manburg, it's Manburg. He said that this country doesn't take L's. Wilbur, he said that it was a reoccurring theme with the last president."

"What? He-he can't do that Wil, can he?"

"He is the elected emperor, technically speaking, yes."

"And what you're just gonna let Schlatt take your name and rake it through the mud?!"

"My name had been through enough-"

"Well I don't have your name and we don't have any time to waste so if you just let me-" Wilbur was the one to cut Tommy off this time.

"No we won't do that, end of discussion.'

The shack went silent for a moment before Wilbur spoke with a small sigh.

"The rain stopped, I think it would be best for you to start heading back M/N before the sun comes up and people get suspicious." M/N nodded and stood up. "I'll walk you out." Tommy said with a small smile.

The two boys walked out of the shack. The smell of rain was still in the air and in the silence you could hear water dripping from the leaves on the trees.

"I'm sorry about what just happened its just-" Tommy was cut off by M/N placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Tommy, It's okay, you both are under a lot of stress and I understand that fights can break out in stressful moments." M/N had a small smile on his face that warmed Tommy's heart.

M/N's hand retracted from Tommy's shoulder and back to his side, M/N went to walk away but Tommy grabbed his wrist.

"Wait!" The two looked at each other for a moment, Tommy fiddled with the hem of his shirt, his hand still wrapped around M/N's wrist.

"Can-Can I ask you something?"

"Go ahead." M/N turned around to face Tommy, whose hand never left M/N's wrist, it wasn't a tight grip but it was comfortable enough that they didn't feel the need to immediately move away.

"I-" he paused for a moment trying to form the right sentence. "The reason why me and Wil got into the fight was because, I want to try and get Technoblade on our side."

M/N was stunned for a moment "The Technoblade? You want him, to help us?" Tommy nodded.

"Do you think he'll do it?" Tommy shrugged. "He's a strong fighter and a great strategist, he could be what we need to help beat Schlatt!" A smile grew on Tommy's face as he spoke.

"I'm assuming Wilbur doesn't like the idea of getting the blade to help?"

"They have beef from the past so I think he's hesitant."

"Tommy, I trust your judgment, if you can convince Technoblade, to be on our side, I'll stand by your decision."

"Seriously?!" M/N nodded. "Yes! I won't let you down M/N! I'll convince him!" Tommy had a huge grin on his face and pulled M/N into another hug, which he reciprocated.

"I have to get back Tommy, I do need sleep for whatever the hell happens tomorrow." M/N said with a light laugh, pulling away from Tommy.

"Alright, get some sleep, I'll see ya later M/N!"

M/N walked away, waving to Tommy until he reached the forest.

"Bye Tommy, and good luck." M/N said softly as he turned around, pulling his hood up and walking deeper into the forest.

********

Wow! First writing done! I hope you all liked it if you got this far, if there are any spelling or grammar mistakes feel free to comment them, I am open to constructive criticism as I do want to improve my writing.

Word Count: 3195

[goddesspharo]

Seems ill-advised, tbqh.

"You don't want to hear the kinds of questions I've got."

#hannix

[Send me the first sentence and a pairing and I'll write the next five.]

"You don't want to hear the kinds of questions I've got."

Natasha rolls her eyes and warns Jake not to make her regret bringing him home for Thanksgiving. She's still not sure that they're quite there yet, but it's not like she can uninvite him now. He had looked so pathetic last week when he told her that "The Seresin Family Hang-sgiving" was canceled this year because his parents needed to use up the tickets to Venice his sister had gifted them two anniversaries ago before December so he was probably going to stick around North Island and hang out at The Hard Deck with all the other lushes who had nowhere else to go. Natasha had been perfectly content to ignore how mopey he looked – after all, wasn't celebrating Thanksgiving akin to getting waterboarded for a dude who tried to stay away from carbs? – but then Bob flashed her a pointed glare like she owed Hangman something just because he'd dragged her to his family's ranch in Austin for The Fourth.

She didn't, of course, because Jake was so Rah Rah Rah about Texas that it wouldn't take much to get an invite to his hometown so he could wax poetic about Longhorns football and fried okra until the cows came home for tipping. But there was the small matter of Jake getting on top of a coffee table before the Summer Seresin Scavenger Hunt began and declaring to his entire extended family that he was "boo'd up" as if the thing that their relationship was missing up until that point was a heavy dose of mortification. Nat still hasn't forgiven Payback for expanding Hangman's musical horizons even though he's probably right that it's better than Jake donning a cowboy hat so he could make a Patsy Cline reference instead. For that alone, Natasha should've let him flounder in California while everyone else went back home, but rather than disappoint Bob and have to hear about it for the next half dozen training sessions, Natasha went against her self-preservation instincts and invited Jake to have turkey with her family in the suburbs of New Jersey.

She knew it was a bad idea the moment she asked and has only doubled down on that impression now when encountering the wild gleam in Jake's eyes as he looks around her childhood bedroom. Natasha's never been happier than at this moment that she took down the extremely embarrassing boy band posters from her walls the first time she came home from college. All that's left now is a cherry-picked altar of her accomplishments. There are honors society certificates on her walls and her diploma from Stanford, medals from swim meets and a gleaming golden soccer ball perched on top of the MVP trophy she got when their team won nationals after the favorites got disqualified on a technicality. Jake takes in the framed pictures spanning Natasha's life and photobooth strips with her friends taken at a mall kiosk when they cut class to go see Step Up. He looks mesmerized as he practically bounces on the balls of his feet while soaking up all these snippets of who she was before he met her.

The quiet gets to be too much so Nat finally relents and says, "You get one question."

Jake looks like Kevin McCallister let loose at Duncan's Toy Chest, unsure of what to do with all this newfound freedom as his eyes trail along from wall to wall before stopping at the picture of Natasha with her date at prom.

"Where's all your debate team stuff?" he finally asks.

Natasha grins. Sucker.

"I wasn't on the debate team."

"Wait a minute. You made it seem—"

"I'm just naturally gifted at arguing with you."

"Flag on play, Trace! I should get another question."

"Should've gone with a sure thing," she says with an unapologetic shrug. "I really thought you'd ask if I still had the outfit from my very brief stint as a cheerleader."

She can feel him grinning when Jake leans in, his breath hot against her ear as he asks with all the excitement of a kid on Christmas morning, "Well, do you?"

Natasha makes a mental note to kill Bob when they get home.

[evita-shelby]

National Anthem

Chapter 11

Cw: mentions of children's illnesses, disabled children and premonitions of death

Taglist: @zablife @thegreatdragonfruta

September 1923

To their credit, the boys don’t cry on their first day of school. Technically it is just kindergarten and they’ll be out by noon giving them no time to miss them, or so he comforts his wife who didn’t bring her handkerchief.

Both are very excited about their new clothes and things and the carefully packed lunches Eva made herself with little handwritten notes that make you think she will never see them again.

Blamed it on the baby, but Jack knows her and will tease her about it for the rest of their lives.

“Oh, don’t tell me you didn’t get a spring in your step when the boys bragged about you to everyone who would listen.” She teases him in return, and he refuses to admit that he did enjoy the clear admiration his boys have for him to anyone else but her.

He can do no wrong, he is the greatest man to walk the earth and they are too young to know it’s the exact opposite. But for now, he will gladly accept their hero worship of him.

“Do you think Rosie might be able to start school next year?” He can’t help but ask her that.

Rosie was different from other kids her age, still had trouble speaking, writing and prone to fits. The new nanny was good with her, she had experience with children like Rosie, but even then being cared for at home was way different from school.

Jack had been bullied for being too tall, too Irish and catholic, Gina hadn’t fared any better at private school. His kids had a foreign mother and he knew how kids like his girl were treated to know it will be bad.

Jack didn’t think being a father would have him like this, most fathers just leave everything to their wives and now he’s here in a car worrying himself to death.

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there, I suppose.”

The boys do better than they expect. In fact, he can’t recall ever being excited for school like they are. So excited they’ve been talking his ear off as he tries to get some work done in the home office.

“They want to go on the bus, tomorrow. They asked me to convince you to let them.” Jack brings forth the twins’ petition in a strange turn of events. It’s always the other way around, Eva being the one to convince him for something they want.

She’s always had a way to ‘convince’ him and now it’s his turn. Not that the kids will ever know their impassioned arguments worked on him because of the nasty, disrespectful sex Jack and Eva have before or after it.

“Let’s see if you can do a better job than me, Mr. Nelson.” Eva teases him, pretending she’s not terrified of letting the boys go on the bus.

Even at the tender age of four, Joey and Junior knew something wasn’t quite right with their mother. They knew she had nightmares, terrible things that left her in a shit state after, and how afraid she was of them being far from her reach.

“I vetted the driver and most of the staff at the school district in August. They’ll be safe from them at least.” He had assumed that had been obvious, but it didn’t help to remind her that.

“I thought you were going to fuck me, Jack.” His wife accepts the new information but still complains at him genuinely trying to make her see reason.

“I will, once you agree to let them go on the bus.”

December 1st, 1924

As far as people will know, they are perfect.

Eva has won over the PTA, Jack’s no longer bothered by the other moms ---and schoolteachers he had a past with--- flirting with him and the children are doing great.

The twins played team sports and Rosie would be allowed to start school later ---the twins had been allowed to start early due to exceptional brightness. Kitty was born well and was reaching milestones at the expected time and just seen her first birthday. They’d even gotten a dog to complete the picture of an all-American family this Christmas.

Everything was perfect.

Even his dealings in the underworld were going great. He owned a stake of the Cotton Club despite how Eva hated how racist it was, the Spiniettas were gearing up for a vendetta with the Shelbys because they got hit when shit hit the fan and Jack was all too ready to sweep in and take it all.

Who would stop them?

“Happy Birthday, Evie.” Jack kissed his wife good morning, the taste of her pussy still on his tongue from the way he woke up the sleeping beauty.

She hates the cold and lucky her, she’s got him to keep her warm.

“How much time do we have before the children wake up?” Eva pulled him back for another kiss and reached for the waistband of his pajama pants, can’t risk getting caught naked by the kids again.

“Enough, I think. It’s a school day.” Two more weeks of school before they spend the holidays down in Florida like they always do. Now they had to come back when winter break ended instead of staying until the worst of winter ended.

They could’ve left this week but the boys were in the Christmas pageant and somehow dressing in itchy costumes for hours was seen as better than Christmas at the beach. Its not like they had any lines anyways, Joey couldn’t remember his and Jack never said his with a straight face.

They don’t get far when Junior knocks insistently saying his throat hurts. Neither Jack nor Eva didn’t expect spending the next sixteen days nursing the boys through Scarlet Fever. A deadly illness without good enough cures yet.

It falls on Jack to care for the girls while Eva quarantines herself in the boys’ room. They pull through, Junior being the one to make them fear the worst.

“I had a dream I died, daddy.” Junior says solemnly when they watch the quarantine posters from the windows burn in their fireplace and leave out the cookies for Santa. “Not like last week, I was a grown up and sitting in the back of a car. My head hurt a lot when I woke up.”

Jack Nelson will never forget those words for as long as he lives, bur for Eva’s sake he will not tell her their son has dreamed of his own death.

[seamayweed]

Hii Sea, I saw in your tags that you associate the color blue with Seon-ho and green with Sung-rok. So, I got curious, do you associate any colors with Hwi and Bang-won (and possibly why)?

Hi Lilja :DDD So clever of you to ask about colors since you know I always have MANY thoughts about that!!

Okay, let's start with Hwi... he may be red-coded and starts to wear it once he starts to work for Bang-won, but that doesn't feel like his true nature and I always think of yellow/gold as his color due to the canon sun symbolism for him, equally capable of nurturing life as destroying it. I also associate that color with his hero narrative and the hero's journey he goes through, taking him from a simple boy with simple dreams who doesn't have an easy life but is nonetheless happy with his small family/home (consisting of Yeon and Seon-ho) to someone who, in the wake of 'betrayal' and war trauma and the loss of his home (all he wants is to go home, but what do you do when you return from war only to find your home is no longer there? that your sister has forgotten you and your friend has become a stranger?), schemes and backstabs as ruthlessly as anyone else in the show in pursuit of his goals and later revenge, uncaring of who he hurts along the way; to finally remember and rediscover his heart again, the simple dreams he once had - that all he ever wanted was a simple, happy life surrounded by his loved ones. That they are his country and he wants to protect them. That he wants to go home. He regrets, repents, tries to understand, forgives and accepts, apologizing to Seon-ho who usually always ended up taking the brunt of his anger and is arguably the one he hurt the most with his schemes/quest for revenge. He will never be that simple, joyful boy in the beginning again and he will never be able to wipe the red from his ledger, neither of them will be able to, but underneath the dirt and blood there's still gold. There always will be. He finally comes home to Seon-ho.

Bang-won is true red for me due to us seeing him in that color from the start and his line about all the blood he spilled for his father seeping into his skin like tattoo ink. He's a hunter and killer and was forced to stain his hands red when killing Poeun to protect his family and his father's revolution, for which he takes the blame. Of course he has his own ambitions as well and his path to the throne and reign as King Taejong are very much drenched in blood to consolidate the work of his predecessors and lay down the unshakable foundation of a five hundred year dynasty. He thinks he's the only one fit to be King and lead Joseon to its first red rising dawn, and sacrifices everything at the altar of the throne, including his own feelings and the people he loves, even family, leaving him in a position where he is above everyone else but also tragically alone, which reminds me of what Haksan tells Ha-seon in The Crowned Clown (ep. 8, 00:18:09) about what it means to be a king that I think describes Bang-won perfectly:

"A king cannot exercise his power as he wishes. The throne he sits on is for an immoral beast, one that feasts on flesh and blood. To protect that seat and the nation, he must sacrifice all he has, even his own heart. That is his cruel destiny."

Thank you for sending me this ask - it was very fun to think about! :D 💙