#hes on my team always i just have to log in 2 see him. in fact i did log in today to see him. i played for ~6 hours and he was there

[tardis--dreams]

I actually realized i hate work. Won't be putting any effort into this anymore ♡

[kaeyapilled]

i miss kaeya

[fangirl-dot-com]

Chapter 20 - Backstreet's Back - All Right!

Why this sat in the drafts for so long, I do not know so I apologize to everyone! I've been super busy with college and haven't had time to write much...but here we are

Today was an ABSOLUTE fever dream and we all need a little somethin somethin. So I present to you - the backstreet boys (formula 1 edition)

RACES SKIPPED ARE CANADA AND SPAIN (side note - Arthur hasn't been able to be at a race since Monaco)

Haven't been able to say this in a while but I hope you enjoy! Remember that comments, questions, concerns, reblogs, and likes are always appreciated!! Love you all :D

TAG LIST IS CLOSED

You had gotten to the paddock super early once again. But that was only because Lando and Oscar has asked you to hang out, and you’d never skip out on some good times with your papaya friends. Andrea loved you and often let you sit in his office if you were bored. Actually, all of the team principals seemed to do that. 

Even Toto, which was weird considering you stole on of his driver’s car with his other driver. 

Like always, you found yourself killing some time by playing Subway Surfers. You were about to get a new high score when two shadows covered your screen, making your character get arrested. 

“Hey, you made me lose my score!” 

You were about to tear them a new one, but your face had a shocked look once you finally pointed your head up. 

“What the f-!” 

“Has anyone seen the kid?” was a question that Max did not imagine that he’d hear first thing in the morning when he arrived on Sunday. 

His eyes glanced to the corner that you were almost always in, listening to music. But, the corner was void of any rookie teammate. He looked toward Christian, who asked the initial question. 

“Have you checked her driver’s room?” 

The Brit sighed, “We checked her room, your room, hospitality, and even the Ferrari garage, Williams garage, and McLaren garage. No one has seen her, yet the log says that she’s already here because she tapped in at the entrance.” 

Well, Max was stumped. And he knew why Christian was wanting to see you. They were finally in the Red Bull Ring, the home race for the entire team. It was a big deal, and Christian didn’t want you to get overwhelmed. There was a lot on their shoulders. Charles had pole, but Max was right behind him. Charles was always strong in the Red Bull Ring, almost winning in 2019 and then winning in 2022. The Ferraris had done well the last two races, and you two needed to hold them off. Thankfully, you were right behind Max in P3, but Carlos was behind you in P4. A Ferrari sandwich if you will. 

Everyone was kind of counting on the both of you for a Red Bull 1-2. 

“Have you seen Vito or Mitch?” 

“We’re right here.”

The Dutchman turned around to see your race engineer and manager, but you were nowhere to be found. He opened his mouth to say something but Vito held out a hand. 

“Yes, we’ve already tried to call her and Arthur. Both phones went to voicemail.” 

“Oh god.” Max shivered. If you weren’t picking up, and your boyfriend wasn’t picking up. Well, he didn’t want to imagine what you were up to. Just as he was about to suggest looking in the garages again, Lando popped his head in. 

“Have any of you seen Bug? She was supposed to meet up with me and Oscar earlier and she never showed up!” the curly-haired Brit whined. 

Now, that had Max even more worried. You never skipped hanging out with your favorite Brit (after Christian) or Aussie. Before he was about to start getting a search party together, Mitch suddenly made a weird face. 

“Do any of you hear that?” 

The five went silent to try to hear whatever Mitch had heard. 

Lando’s face scrunched. “Sounds like the Backstreet Boys?” 

The group quickly walked over to the opening and didn’t know whether to be relived or just upright confused. 

Because there you were, holding a giant boombox (God only knows where you got that) with sunglasses on, with Arthur to your right and one Ollie Bearman to your left. The soundtrack was indeed Backstreet Boys, namely the 1997 hit song “Everybody.” 

As Max learned at Vegas, you definitely knew how to make an entrance. By now, most of the drivers had walked out of their garages to see the commotion. 

And much to Max’s surprise, Nico Rosberg, Mark Webber, and Jensen Button walked up to the three of you, giant smiles on their faces. The song had ended a bit ago, and you handed the now silent boombox back to the German. The Australian of the group gave both Ollie and Arthur pretty big hugs. 

“Well, Oscar lost his grid dad,” Lando said, earning a hit from said Aussie. 

“Hey! He was never my grid dad in the first place.” 

The now group of six made their way to the giant group of drivers, including but not limited to: Max, Lando, Charles, Carlos, Logan, Lewis, George, and Oscar (in no particular order). Arthur’s hand was behind your back as you enthusiastically talked to the very tall British brunet dressed in Ferrari red. 

“I cannot believe that you come here, apparently to see me, and say that you need to be in the Ferrari garage! Arthur’s even going to be in the Red Bull one!” they heard you whine as the group got closer. 

Ollie rolled his eyes. “That’s only because he’s your boy-oof. You did NOT have to hit me.” He glared down at you as he rubbed his side. 

“Yes I did.” Your arms crossed as you finally stopped in front of the giant group, who were all staring at you. “Hey guys, what’s up?” 

Lando mirrored your stance, even popping his hip out. “What’s up?” he jokingly mocking. “We were supposed to go to breakfast?” He pointed between him and Oscar. 

A look of realization glossed over your face as you looked at the papaya drivers. 

“Oooohhhh, yeah. Sorry. Uh, their fault?” You pointed at Ollie and Arthur, who both looked betrayed. 

“Our fault?” Ollie squawked. “You were the one who dragged us to breakfast!” 

“You had breakfast?” 

“Yes Lando, I had breakfast.” 

The younger Monegasque silenced you. “The big boys are talking. And then you dragged us to find Nico because you thought  he had a boombox.” 

“The big boys? Seriously Thur? I can take you any day.” You glared up at him. 

“Oh yeah?” He cocked an eyebrow and smirked down at you, getting in your face to really show the height difference. 

That’s it.

You suddenly jumped on him, bring him to the floor. The Max and Charles jumped into action, trying to get you separated. Ollie just watched with a giant grin on his face, laughing at the two of you. 

“Ollie, kindly shut up?” 

“Yes mom.”

The two of you were separated quickly, because you really didn’t have much malice toward your boyfriend. 

“I totally won.” 

“Kid, you lost horribly.” 

“Max, has anyone ever told you that you don’t have to say everything that comes to your mind?” 

Charles, Lewis, Lando, Oscar, Logan, and George all nodded in agreement while Max stared at them with wide eyes. 

“You all agree?!” 

“Can I have my drivers back please?!” Christian suddenly yelled, making everyone look at him. 

“Please take her. She’s rabid.” Arthur pushed you forward, making you take a swing at him (that he was ready for and dodged rather easily). 

You stuck your tongue out at him, before giving Ollie a hug and gently guiding him to Charles. 

Your finger pointed at the red-clad driver. “Take care of my son please, even if you are the enemy. He likes his sandwiches without the crust and needs a nap with his blanket in 5 hours.” 

“Gosse?”

“Aw you brought my blanket?” 

Ollie’s face flushed red as he realized everyone’s eyes were on him. Charles just looked worried as though someone just handed him an actual child and told him “good luck.” 

You turned to follow your team principal, who was muttering something about you giving him even more gray hairs every weekend. “By Ollie! Have fun!” 

The parade went by smoothly. You laughed a lot when Nico brought the boombox to the interviews. He had a lot of questions for you and Max, since it was the team race today, which made your anxiety skyrocket just a bit.

You and Arthur were able to have just a few minutes of alone time back in your driver’s room. 

Because this was a surprise race, Arthur didn’t have to work or be with his brother. So, he was all yours for the entirety of Sunday. However, your excitement didn’t last long as he told you that he had to go back to Switzerland for more testing right after. 

You sighed as you pressed your head against his chest, his arms around you. “If I had known that you’d be gone so much, I wouldn’t have called Seb and just have kept you as my WAG.” 

Arthur sadly smiled down at you. “I know chéri, but I like testing. It gives me a purpose.” 

Another sigh escaped your lips as you finally met his gaze. He cooed as he saw tears forming in your eyes. 

“What is wrong mon fille jolie?” 

You let a few tears escape, but they didn’t get very far as Arthur wiped them off as quickly as they fell. 

“I just miss you and I miss home,” you confessed, hiding your face in his neck as you stepped closer. Arthur gently brought you over to the couch and readjusted you so that you were just lying on his front. 

His hands gently ran through your hair. He knew you needed to be in the car soon, but he wouldn’t let you go without trying to console you. 

You continued, “And I know that we just had summer break not too long ago, but it wasn’t enough.” 

Arthur just listened, know you needed to spill to feel better. 

“Everyone is counting on me to bring in a 1-2 since it’s the home race. But the last two races weren’t the best. I barely got any points.” You muttered the last part, “I’m never going to win a race by now.” 

“Hey, none of that.” Arthur lifted your face so that you could look in his eyes. His were filled with determination. “Do you know how amazing you are? You podiumed at your first race and are fourth in the championship. As a rookie! You are incredible. Parfois j’aimerais que tu te voies comme je te vois.” (translation: Sometimes I wish you saw yourself as I see you.)

You huffed. “I still can’t understand you, but I’m hoping that was a compliment.” 

“It was.” 

He moved his head down to place a gentle kiss on your lips. At the contact, a sigh expelled from your nose. 

It felt so good to be so loved. 

If someone was to write a poem, about how Arthur looked at you and how you looked at Arthur, their pens would be void of ink and the stars would be shadowed by their words. 

The two of you were so lost in each other that a knock at the door scared you both and ended up with you on the floor. 

Mitch poked her head in before shaking it slightly. 

“I don’t even want to know what you were up to, but Y/n needs to get in the car.” 

You quickly stood, with Arthur’s help, and grabbed your helmet, making your way back into the garage. Like clockwork, the Monegasque took your headpiece and gently made sure that it was safely secure. And, with a kiss on the “forehead,” he sent you off. He could tell that you didn’t really want to get in the car. Which was understandable. It wasn’t very often that Arthur saw you not want to drive. But he knew that you were going to be amazing today. 

Starting Grid: 

Charles Leclerc 

Max Verstappen 

Y/n L/n 

Carlos Sainz 

Oscar Piastri 

Pierre Gasly 

Daniel Ricciardo 

Lewis Hamilton 

Yuki Tsunoda 

Alex Albon 

Lando Norris 

Logan Sargeant 

Valtteri Bottas 

Fernando Alonso 

George Russell 

Lance Stroll 

Zhou Guanyu 

Kevin Magnussen 

Esteban Ocon 

Nico Hulkenberg 

You rolled your tires as you waited for the lights to go out. They were tense, but that helped you be ready to press the accelerator. If you weren’t tense, you knew there’d be something wrong. If you felt high-strung outside of the car, inside was 10 times worse. 

All the pressure, all the doubts, all the hopes and dreams – were on your shoulders. 

And you weren’t going to let them down. 

“And it’s lights out and away we go for the 2024 Austrian Grand Prix! Charles Leclerc has a strong start in the initial few seconds, but Max Verstappen seems to be on a mission to turn this into a win. Verstappen gets down the inside and pushes Leclerc a bit wide to gain a position on the pole sitter. We both know that he will probably start to bolt in just a few corners. 

“His rookie teammate Y/n L/n seems to also have the upper hand against the other Ferrari of Carlos Sainz as she seems to do what she does best – go around the outside on that initial turn 1 and somehow make it out in front. 

“Now the track is a bit rainy, and we saw what happened the last time that happened, so we’ll keep an eye on our Red Bull number 2.” 

You felt water droplets fall into your visor as you were picking up speed on the Ferrari in front of you. You knew that this “dirty air” would be much worse than regular, since it was contaminated with water as well. 

You pressed your radio button when it seemed almost impossible to catch up to the red car. The rain had also stopped so your intermediates were getting dangerous to drive with. 

“Mitch what is the plan because I cannot catch up to Leclerc in these conditions.” 

“Do you think you can go the rest of the way in mediums?” 

You thought for a moment. You couldn’t go the rest of the way on softs, as they would degrade too quickly. And hards took forever to warm up. 

“Yeah. I can do that.” 

“Then box ahead of Max. You’ll come out right behind him. So, he’ll give you a tow and then when he boxes, you’ll do the same. Max has priority.” 

“Copy.” 

You quickly pitted the next lap. The Red Bull team seemed to be on fire as you were in and out in a few seconds. You didn’t know, but they somehow set the record for a new pit stop – 1.789 seconds. 

The crowd got excited as you suddenly appeared behind Max and in front of the number sixteen car. 

With Max in front of you, the tow was very helpful as you started to build bigger gap. You guessed that Ferrari must have messed up Charles’s pit stop as Lando’s papaya car was now behind you, instead of Charles. 

You felt bad, but that’s on his team. 

However, Lando was on much fresher tyres that you were, and he was gaining in the last ten laps of the race. You really tried to not let him overtake, but he did…with five laps to go.

Mitch suddenly came over the radio. “Don’t push it like last time. We don’t need another Suzuka. Third place will be just fine.” 

But you weren’t having any of that. You never responded and just kept at the pace you were going, trying to get the maximum out of the car. 

You hadn’t noticed, but everyone else in the garages could see that you were surprisingly gaining on Lando. Ollie watched as you were making qualifying times per lap. The crew was holding on to each other, cheering you on. With each tenth gained, the noise grew louder. 

You saw the last lap flag, and you knew you had to keep your elbows out. 

“And we are coming up on the last lap and L/n has somehow made it back into Norris’s DRS. She tried to get around the outside on the first turn, but is not successful. Yet, she’s keeping herself well in the DRS and doesn’t make try to make a move on the straights. 

“Here comes the last real corner of the circuit and only a small straight for an overtake. 

“SHE’S GOING FOR IT!

“IT’S A PHOTO FINISH…DO WE HAVE RESULTS?” 

You slowed down your car as you drove around for the cool down lap. Your finger was jamming the radio button. 

“Do we have it!?” 

Arthur was biting his fingernails as everyone in the garage was waiting for the results. The mechanics were happy with another P1 finish from Max, but they were on baited breath to see if you had almost done the impossible and finished in a 1-2 sequence. A steward walked over to the pit wall and gave Christian the paper with the results.

A giant smile crossed his face as he was the one to give you the news. 

“Congrats kid. It’s a 1-2 finish.” 

Race Results 

Max Verstappen – 25 points 

Y/n L/n – 18 points 

Lando Norris – 15 points 

Charles Leclerc – 12 points 

Carlos Sainz – 11 points 

Pierre Gasly + fastest lap – 9 points  

Oscar Piastri – 6 points 

Lewis Hamilton – 4 points 

Yuki Tsunoda – 2 points  

Alex Albon – 1 point 

Logan Sargeant 

George Russell 

Lance Stroll 

Fernando Alonso 

Nico Hulkenberg 

Valtteri Bottas 

Esteban Ocon 

Kevin Magnussen 

Zhou Guanyu 

Daniel Ricciardo 

Champions Standings

Max Verstappen – 244 points 

Charles Leclerc – 201 points 

Y/n L/n – 124 points 

Lando Norris – 115 points 

Carlos Sainz – 91 points 

Lewis Hamilton – 70 points 

Oscar Piastri – 68 points 

Alex Albon – 39 points 

George Russell – 36 points

Fernando Alonso – 35 points 

Logan Sargeant – 29 points  

Daniel Ricciardo – 23 points

Lance Stroll – 15 points 

Pierre Gasly – 12 points 

Yuki Tsunoda – 8 points 

Nico Hulkenberg 

Kevin Magnussen 

Zhou Guanyu 

Valtteri Bottas 

Esteban Ocon 

Constructors Standings 

Red Bull – 383 points 

Ferrari – 292 points 

McLaren – 194 points 

Mercedes – 106 points 

Aston Martin – 50 points 

Williams – 41 points 

Alpha Tauri – 31 points 

Alpine – 12 points 

Alpha Romeo 

Haas 

“OH YEAH BABY. LET’S GO!” you yelled over your radio. The crew in the garage stood up from their seats and began to hug each other. 

“Oh man, that was, wow! Can’t believe that. Great job everyone. Is this what winning feels like?” you asked as you took the cooldown lap, yet there was no answer. Everyone was too busy watching that final overtake and celebrating about it. 

Arthur just watched your car take a lap on the screen. He softly whispered, “I knew you could do it.” The love in his eyes could have poured out if love was a physical thing. 

Mitch came over the radio as you were beginning to pull in. “And congrats kid. You have surpassed Lewis Hamilton’s rookie point record.” 

“LET’S GO! THAT'S THE SHIT!” 

“You really need to stop hanging out with Max all the time. He’s teaching you bad words.” 

You smirked under your helmet. “I’m a girl whose friends are dominantly male. Mitch you even curse over the radio.” 

Max almost didn’t want to look at whatever car was in the second place spot. He knew you’d be devastated if you weren’t there. Last he knew, Lando was behind him with you on his tail. It was your helmet that caught his attention. His body turned to see you standing on your car in the P2 spot. 

His heart dropped, but in a good way. He watched you jump off and jump into the arms of the crew. Head pats were definitely deserved as you tried to touch as much of the team as possible. He laughed when you purposefully hung off the banner, just to get closer to the crew who were a bit further back. 

He watched you and Mitch hold out your arms (kind of like Lando and Carlos at the Singapore Grand Prix), mirror each other, and then hug it out. He swears he saw the older lady wipe away a few tears. 

Next was Christian, who gave you a big hug as Max finally made his way to the wall of crew. It was his turn for hugs, high-fives, and helmet pats. 

You had just gotten to Arthur, who held onto you a bit longer than everyone else. 

Just for the two of you, he whispered, “If you didn’t have you helmet on, I’d kiss you right here in front of all these people.” 

Your cheeks were bright red under the helmet.

Ollie, who had been able to escape from the prancing horse, had also come to congratulate you. His hug was a tag shorter than Arthur’s, but you knew he did it to make your previous hug not look as suspicious. 

You had been on the podium time and time before, but this felt different. You don’t know if it was the adrenaline, the sun, or the happiness that ran through you veins that made the trophy a bit lighter or the bubbly a bit sweeter: maybe it was all three. 

You were still hungry for a win, starving, but this was just the snack to tide you over.

Down below, Arthur and Ollie had somehow gotten a hand on the boombox once again. You could barely hear it on the podium, but you had a guess. Suddenly, the music screeched to a halt, making everyone confused. You watched as your two boys had a knowing smirk on their faces. The same smirk slowly crept on your face as well. 

You turned to Max and Lando, who looked equally confused. You held your trophy to your lips, as though it were a microphone. You pointed at the two men, and lip-synced the words. 

“BACKSTREET’S BACK -  ALL RIGHT!” 

redbullracing has posted

redbullracing 1-2 in the house! The Red Bull Ring was shining as our drivers carried home two new trophies! Congrats to y/n.89 for her first record as she surpasses Lewis Hamilton's rookie points with 124 points total!

liked by y/n.89, maxverstappen, lewishamilton, and 4,203,893 others

y/n.nation THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT

y/n_on_top that fight for the win will go in the history books mark my words

landonorris please tell your drivers to slow down so the rest of us can have a chance

charles_leclerc I second this y/n.89 idk, you all just sound like misogynists here... maxverstappen1 what she said

lewishamilton I knew someone would have to beat it. congrats kid

y/n.89 thank you Lew! (someone should take notes ahem landonorris) landonorris sure bug, sure

redbullfan 1-2! 1-2! 1-2!

y/n.lover she is legit currently in p3 for the constructor's championship...what do they feed her?

y/n.89 the tears of my enemies (Charles cries a lot) charles_leclerc HEY redbullracing lots of energy drinks and protein!

arthurxy/n Arthur back in the rb garage - too bad ollie couldn't join them

y/n.89 has posted

y/n.89 my boys are BACK

liked by y/n.nation, boxbox_express, change_ur_f-car, and 85,395 others

y/n&co God I've seen what you've done for others

rookiefan I kinda feel bad for her boyfriend...but at the same time Arthur is more than happy to show her off (her bf needs to take notes!!)

olliebearman MOM ON PODIUM

y/n.89 did you have a nice nap? olliebearman yes until charles_leclerc forgot my blanket y/n.89 when I find you charles_leclerc arthur_leclerc Charles you better run charles_leclerc HE'S 18?? WHY DOES HE STILL NEED A BLANKET AND NAP y/n.89 you're 26???? why do you still need to call my teammate goodnight? lestappenlove and I OOP

prema_y/n anywayyyyy the second pic is hilarious

Arthur.nation thur is glowing, wonder if he has a gf??

arthurgirly4life I VOLUNTEER AS TRIBUTE

boxbox_express the trio no one knew we needed, but the trio that we deserve

arthur_leclerc has posted

arthur_leclerc a driver, a reserve driver, and an endurance driver walk into a bar...

liked by thurthur, ferrari_fanfest, porsche, and 102,284 others

arthur4porsche this makes no sense but it's hysterical??

y/n.89 ollie actually smacked his head on the bar

olliebearman YOU SAID YOU WOULDN'T TELL - DAD, MOM IS MAKING FUN OF ME AGAIN arthur_leclerc it was funny? olliebearman grandpa? charles_leclerc yes? olliebearman not you, you forgot my blanket. the better one maxverstappen1 take that Charles

arthur&crew if max and Charles are grandpa...does that make Christian great-grandpa??

christianhorner sadly yes y/n.89 SADLY?? YOU MADE HIM CRYYYY charles_leclerc w o w , could never at Ferrari y/n.89 Charlie, you cried yesterday

redbullracing maybe the driver should become our photographer?

olliebearman has posted

olliebearman why is it that when we're together, we're always eating??

liked by ferrari, y/n.89, logansargeant, and 83,294 others

olliebear WHAT ARE THESE PICTURES I'M DYING

arthur_leclerc blocked and reported for that last picture

olliebearman why? trying to look good for someone?? arthur_leclerc say goodbye to the blanket olliebearman too late, your brother lost it :( arthur.nation HELLO??

y/n.89 I look sexy

olliebearman your boyfriend sure thinks so :D y/n.89 what Arthur said, blocked and reported

prematrio what are these comments??

y/n&co shhhhh just let them

oscarpiastri guess the invites got lost in the mail??

landonorris same here... y/n.89 you weren't in prema? kimi.antonelli thanks for the food mom! olliebearman brother? maxverstappen1 here we go again

change_ur_f-car what a time to be alive

TAG LIST: @fionaschicken @glitterquadricorn @laura-naruto-fan1998 @treehouse-mouse @sam-is-lost @kagatinkita @fangirl125reader @megatrilss1885 @myxticmoon @angsthology @cmleitora @agent-curt-mega @graciewrote @ashy-kit @slutofmultifandom @aexitizen-ln4 @sugarvibez @vellicora @thatgirlthatreadswattpad @cashtons-wife @hoetel-manager @xcharlottemikaelsonx @jayda12 @ilove-tswizzle @justme2042 @itsjustkhaos @nikfigueiredo @stopeatread @cha-hot @sadg3 @iloveyou3000morgan @s4turnsl0ver @alessioayla @torchbearerkyle @leptitlu @awekbachira @shreks-sugar-daddy @v1naco @stan-josie @mellowarcadefun @badassturtle13 @beskardroids @callisposts @poppyalice2001 @juniper-july19

[joeybsversion]

Trouble

Joe Burrow x Reader

Your friends and family aren’t fond of Joe

“Seriously, he’s trouble. I can’t believe you’re going out with him.” Your friend scoffed, turning off the end of the Bengals game.

“He’s not trouble!” You defend him. “Really, he’s a nice guy!”

“Oh really? Is that why you’ve refused to tell your parents you’re dating him?”

“They’re just not big Bengal fans. It has nothing to do with Joe.” You lied as your friend rolled her eyes.

You had been secretly dating Joe Burrow, the Cincinnati Bengals Quarterback for 7 months now. It’s true, most people weren’t fond of Joe. He comes across as cocky, rude, and privileged. Plus his current bad boy edit doesn’t help much. Joe had recently gotten himself into trouble. He’s found a love for partying, blowing his money, and being reckless. All causing excess fame and a negative spotlight, something you wanted to avoid.

“Are you sure it has nothing to do with the fact that he got suspended from games for legal trouble? Or has shown up to practice violently hungover?”

“How’d you hear about that?” You questioned.

She laughed, “It’s all over the news. He’s gonna get himself into some real trouble and not have a career here soon.”

“He’s working on turning things around. Really. I swear.” You do your best to defend him again. You seem to be doing that a lot lately. “Plus we’ve only been seeing each other for a few months. I’m just having fun.”

“I know, and I’m happy for you. I just don’t want to see you get hurt.” She reaches out and takes your hand. “But I know none of that is going to change your mind, so go have fun tonight.”

“I love you. If my mom asks, I’m here!” You remind her and head out the door, “Your pizza should be here soon and I logged into my Netflix account!” You figured if your friend has to spend the night posted up in her room to cover for you, you might as well take care of her.

You hopped into your car and headed over to Joes house, he was throwing a party after the game. Joe’s parties were always fun, usually a little wild, and typically ended with the police kicking people out and shutting things down. As much as Joe was trying to work past his bad boy edit, he couldn’t help it. He’s young and having fun.

The loud music from Joe’s house is rattling your car as you pull into his driveway. He’s outside on the porch with some teammates smoking a cigar.

As you walk through his thick cloud of smoke and clear the air in front of your face with your hand, Joe pulls you into a hug.

“There’s my baby.” His words slurred, you’re unsure if it’s from alcohol or the thick cigar pressed between his lips.

“Hi, Joey.” You wrap your arms around his waste and snuggle into his chest. “Good game, congrats on the win.”

He pulls the cigar from his mouth, “I want you to come to the next one.” He smiles.

“Me? At the game? Isn’t it in a different state?” You question, suddenly nervous. You and Joe had been casually dating, nothing was public yet.

“The next home game.” He laughs, blowing a thick cloud of smoke over your head. “2 weeks.”

“I’ll think about it.” You try and reassure him.

“Think about it?” He asks offended.

“Well, yeah..I don’t… I’m not sure…” you feel his arms drop from around you. “I’m not sure I’m ready to go public yet.” You nervously tell him.

“It’s a football game. Not a red carpet.” He says annoyed.

“I know but…”

He cuts you off “It’s fine. Don’t come.”

“Joe I want to!” You reassure him.

“Seems like it.” He scoffs before heading inside, you following close behind.

“Joe I do! Really, there’s nothing I’d love more! I just still haven’t told many people about us, and you know, you haven’t had the best press lately and I don’t want to mess that up anymore for you and I just worry that-“

He presses the cigar to your mouth “take this.” He laughs cutting you off. “I’m sorry about the press. I’m working on it. Tomorrow I have a fun event at the elementary school. Next week, the high school. And the whole team is volunteering at the blood drive. Nothing but positive press up until the game.”

“Wow, what’s next? Taking a shift at the old folks home? Serving in the soup kitchen?” You tease.

He rolls his eyes, “So are you coming to the game or not?”

“I guess you better find me a Burrow jersey, because I’ll be there.” You smile.

The rest of the night is a blur. Lots of drinks, lots of dancing, too many sweaty bodies, and even louder music. You wake up the next morning tangled up in bed with Joe. His heavy arm around your waste and soft breathing on the backside of your neck. You slowly loosen his grip and start to make your way out of bed.

“Where do you think you’re going?” He grumbles, barely audible.

“Home.” You slip your shoes on. “And you need to get up too. Your elementary school meet and greet starts in 45 minutes.” You sit down on the side of the bed again. “I don’t think the elementary school principal appreciates his guest of honor showing up smelling like a mini bar.”

“You’re probably right.” He slowly starts to sit up. “I’ll reserve some spots for you for the game.” He says. “Any request on where you want to sit?”

All the nerves come back. “Doesn’t matter.” You smile at him, wishing you could avoid the game all together. It’s not that you were ashamed to be with him, you were just anxious about what people, especially your parents will say. “I’m gonna get out of here.” You quickly excuse yourself, not sure if the sudden butterflies in your stomach are from drinking too much, or the next home game.

You call your best friend on your way and tell her all about the game.

“You’re gonna have to tell your parents.”

“I can’t! They will freak if they find out I’ve been dating him!”

“So are you going to keep your relationship a secret forever?”

“I don’t know I haven’t thought that far ahead.”

“Well scratch that thought, it’s not a secret anymore.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Check your phone.”

As you pull in your parents drive way, you pull out your phone to see a news article your friend sent you, a picture of you and Joe is on the front page. “Where did you find this?” You panicked.

“I was just checking E! News. It looks like every major magazine is covering it now!”

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” You sigh, “I have to tell them now. I’ve got to go, but I’ll call you later. I’ll probably need some support.”

“Good luck!” She says and ends the call.

“You’re WHAT?” You dad hollers, slamming down the news paper he was reading.

“Dad, he’s a nice guy. Really I -“

“No. The little romance you guys having going on is over. I can’t believe this. You’re such a good girl, why would you want to be with someone like him?”

“He’s nothing like what the press makes him out to be. He’s actually really kind, and supportive, and is volunteering a lot for the community.”

“I don’t care if he’s the president. You are not being seen with someone like him.”

“About that..”

“What?”

“Well the news got pictures of me at his house last night and leaked a story.” You hide your face in your hands.

“At his house?” Your mom questions. “So you’ve been lying to us? Clearly he’s a bad influence to be hanging around.”

“I lied because I knew you would react like this. You’re not even giving him a chance.”

“I’ve never seen you defend someone like this. What is going on?”

“I’m…”

Your dad crosses his arms across his chest “I’m in love with him. And I’m going to be with him and support him no matter how you feel. You don’t know him like I do.”

“I’ve never seen you fight for someone like this.”

“Because, I love him.”

Your dad sighs, “I don’t know if I like the sound of that. But I’m willing to give him a chance. Why don’t you invite him over.”

“Really?!”

“Like I said,” he pauses, “I’m not crazy about him, but I can tell that you, and for that reason, I want to get to know him.”

A few hours later, Joe shows up on your front porch and confidently knocks on the front door.

“Hi Joey.” You greet him with a smile and hug. “You look great… did you iron your shirt?” You tease him, brushing a hand across his perfectly pressed shirt.

“Steamed it actually.” He smiles, “I wanted to make a good impression.” He nervously takes your hand and follows you into the house.

“Mom, Dad, this is Joe.” You awkwardly present him to your parents.

He politely shakes their hands and takes a seat at the table next to you.

You feel his hand find its way to your thigh, his palms are sweaty, and his fingers are nervously tapping across your leg. You reassuringly take his hand into yours and lightly rub across the top and share a confident smile.

At the end of dinner, you and Joe excuse yourselves and you walk him to the porch.

“They loved you.” You kiss him.

“I’m so relieved.”

“My dad even wants to go to the game with me!”

He laughs, “I’ll get extra tickets.”

Relieved that your parents were pleased with Joe, you walked him out, he kissed you goodnight, and you sent him on his way home.

It’s official and the world knows, you’re in love with Joe Burrow.

[bad268]

The Light Behind Your Eyes (Logan Sargeant X Kirkwood! Reader!)

Fandom: RPF/F1

Requested: Nope (inspired by MCR) Was gonna post this Saturday, but it seems fitting now.

Warnings: mentions Williams being a shitty team

POV: Second Person (You/your)

W.C. 1338

Summary: Logan's eyes seem a little darker this season...

As always, my requests are OPEN

MASTERLIST // HITLIST

~~(^Pinterest)

You hated what this was becoming. Formula 1 was Logan’s dream. It’s always been to get to Formula 1 ever since he was a child and you two met at a karting track. You were there because your brother and Logan raced together. Kyle definitely told Logan he wasn’t allowed to date you, but who listens to that? Yeah, not Logan.

Now, he was happy you were with Logan. Logan told Kyle more about the Williams situation than you simply because 1) Kyle is his best friend and 2) because he knew you would say something. Kyle is usually just there for Logan to vent.

What Logan didn’t know was that Kyle has loose lips and can’t keep his mouth shut. You asked Kyle one time if he was planning to meet up with Logan anytime soon and he spilled everything. You didn’t even pry! Kyle just let everything out.

How alone Logan felt on the grid to how the mistreatment and lack of confidence from his own team have been beating down on him negatively. Kyle also told you about how Logan didn’t want you involved because he did not want to hurt your feelings or make you feel like you weren't enough. 

Of course, you were going to take it into your own hands at this point. You decided to talk with some people who happened to be looking for a new driver for 2025, and you may or may not have planted an idea in their heads. It actually did not take too much convincing since they were already thinking about it.

One day, after another bad race where the team made him switch places with Alex when Logan was on course to get points, you decided to talk to Logan about it.

“Logs?” You asked as you peeked into the bedroom. You two had made it back to the hotel, and you left him alone for a few minutes just to calm down a little before this talk. “Can I tell you something?”

“Yeah, sure,” he sighs, rubbing his eyes harshly before sitting up and making room for you. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

“I’m worried,” You started as you sat in front of him and held his hands. “You’re not telling me everything.”

“What do you mean? I’m fine,” Logan dismissed without making eye contact. “It was just a bad race-”

“No, it’s a bad team and a bad season,” You interrupted, moving your hands up to his face. You looked into his stormy eyes as they glossed over. “I can see it in your eyes. Logan, you’re losing the light in your eyes. You’re not having fun racing anymore, and it’s killing me just watching you force yourself. You don’t have to go through this alone. Please let me help you.”

“I don't know what else I can do, babe,” He muttered, trying to regain his composure. “They’ve made it pretty fucking clear that they don’t trust me. They take any opportunity to tear me down and bring up the fact that they have replacements on standby. I don’t know what else there is for me to do.”

“You don't have to have the answer, Logs,” You comforted as you ran your fingers through his blonde hair.  “Just let me take care of you for once. I can’t have them take the light behind your eyes.”

“I just-” He hesitated, but you encouraged him to go on.

“You can be honest, Logs,” You prompted as you moved to seat yourself on his lap to hold him in your arms. “I’m here to listen.”

“I don’t know who I am without racing,” Logan whispered as his voice cracked. He pulled back a little to look you in the eyes, and almost all of the light was gone. This was all because of one team. “I don’t know where else I can go if I don’t have a place in F1.”

“Sometimes we must grow stronger, and you can’t be strong in the dark. Williams is proving to be the darkest cave, and they’re pulling you deeper every time they degrade you,” you ranted before stopping to take a deep breath. “When I’m here, you can always lean on me. Let me take some of the burden because I’m here for you, Logs. I have a plan, but we need to work as a team, and you need to trust me on this. Even if it means abandoning a contract.”

“You’re plan is for me to leave F1?” Logan asked, not as shocked as you thought he would be, but genuinely curious nonetheless. 

“I have something lined up, but I’m waiting to hear a final decision,” You answered vaguely.

“Can I know what series or team?”

“All I’ll say is you should go back to your roots,” You answered again just as vaguely. 

It wasn’t for another month that you heard anything back, and it was not from your contact. 

“Tell me how you got Logan on the grid,” Kyle cornered you as soon as you walked into your family home.

“Hello. Good afternoon. Wonderful day we’re having. How are you? I haven't seen you in a while, What’s happened to your manners, Kirkwood?” You said sarcastically as you brushed past him to greet the rest of your family.

“Hello, oh favorite sibling of mine, how are you on this fine day when Logan Sargeant announced he was leaving Williams immediately and signed with Prema for next year in Indycar,” Kyle said sarcastically at first before dissolving into shouts.

“Oh, did he already sign?” You asked confused before muttering to yourself, “Last I heard, they were still discussing.”

“So you do admit that was your plan?” Kyle pointed out as he followed you around the kitchen. “How did you convince him?”

“I technically didn’t,” You admitted. “I asked him to let me help and he never really answered, but I had already talked to Rene about it. He was already planning on talking to Logan about it. I just kinda pushed it to happen sooner rather than later. On the bright side, Logan and I can go with you to the last few races of the season.”

“I don't want to see my sibling and best friend making out in my garage,” Kyle cringed as he walked up beside you and threw his arm over your shoulder. “Thanks for looking out for him though. Maybe being home will be better.”

“Being home? I also thought about him knowing more than one person on the grid,” You chuckled.

When St. Petersberg came around, energy was high again, and Logan was looking like his old self again. He was happy to be around Kyle more often. He got back in touch with Pietro Fittipaldi, Marcus Armstrong, Callum Ilott, Christian Lundgaard, and Theo Pourchaire since he knew them back in F2 and F3. 

As the pre-race was heating up, you stood on the track beside Logan while the national anthem played. You glanced at his face, and he looked so much more relaxed and relieved than he did a mere six months ago. Things were finally looking up for him.

After the flyover, you moved about and helped Logan get ready for the race. You quickly grabbed his helmet and Hans device, assisting him in putting them on. 

“Any last pieces of encouragement you have for me?” Logan smirked as he put in his headphones and balaclava.

“Race hard, have fun, and never let them take the light behind your eyes, you hear me?” You jokingly commanded as you helped him put his helmet on, your new engagement ring shining in the sunlight. The broadcast got a clear shot of that.

“I hear you loud and clear,” He responded with a smirk. “Thank you, I’ll win this for you. I love you.”

“As long as you’re safe, I’ll be proud,” You patted his helmet and headed over to the box as Logan got situated in the car and prepared to start his engine for the next chapter.

~~~~~

© BAD268 2024. DO NOT REPOST WITHOUT PERMISSION.

[noctivagant-corvid]

part 2 of my prime defenders dash simulator (pt 1, pt 3, pt 4)

🪼mackleless Follow i make a post asking for tide x wavelength rpf fics. the post semi blows up. tidalwave(WE HAVE A SHIP NAME????) now has 300 fics. guys.

🪼mackleless Follow not complaining though. you guys are making the old guys fuck nasty and cry, and i’m here for it

5,231 notes

🤺tearfulatthefalling Follow my college is haunted by a emo kid

🍋 forscoreandsixyearsago Follow TEARS????? ELABORATE?????

🤺tearfulatthefalling Follow ALRIGHT GATHER ROUND LITTLE CHILDREN LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT THE EMO BOY WHO HAUNTS MY CAMPUS. around a year ago, people started seeing a pale boy with a strip of white hair and blue raccoon tails, along with little blue fires floating around him. he would appear, stare at the person who saw him, then disappear, along with his little fires. he wears a black hoodie with some weird text and sweatpants. he is almost always in the freshman boy’s dorm- except for twice people saw him in the library. he hasnt done anything but theres a tall kid with purple hair whos name i dont know who wore his sweatshirt once, so he might be fucking a ghost.

🍋forscoreandsixyearsago Follow tears what the fuck

👾bonemarroni Follow reblog if you are a kid with purple hair who might be fucking a ghost

12,374 notes

🪐plutoisaplanetish Follow some days you are the hero putting a giant sword through a space meatball. other days you are the space meatball getting a giant sword put through you.

🪐plutoisaplanetish Follow stop making this post about sex

287 notes

🪷locustlotus Follow shout out to lightspeed, the patron saint of lesbians. a roller derby queen.

🌜crescentshendo Follow [[ ALT TEXT: An image of superhero Lightspeed from two years ago, posing with a college roller derby team after a match. She's very sweaty. End id. ]] here's an image for all the women likers :3

🌜crescentshendo Follow [[ ALT TEXT: A screenshot of various tags left under the previous post, reading "#HOFOSGOS. #HOLY SHIT." , "#wwomen heart eyes" , "#i am. a lesbian!!!!!!" , and "#LORD IN HEAVEN FORGIVE ME FOR MY THOUGHTS." . End id. ]] glad we're all on the same page

8,674 notes

👁‍🗨darlingsos Follow DCs hair is red bc red has more positive associations than negative ones

🍭sweetlikevinegar Follow LET THE JOKE DIEEEE

👁‍🗨darlingsos Follow NEVERRRR

23 notes

🧿untimelyprophetess Follow do you guys think the heroes know they have fanfic

🧿untimelyprophetess Follow does bacon man sit down at home and decide to look through his ao3 tag (which has. 25k works.)

🧿untimelyprophetess Follow AND SOME OF THEM HAVE CHILDREN,,,, imagine you log on to ao3 and your dad is trending with either x readers or fucking his coworkers. horrifying.

🧿untimelyprophetess Follow [[ ALT TEXT: A screenshot reading "ASHES2ASHES liked your post: do you guys think th..". End id. ]] ASHES TWO ASHES ??????????

765 notes

🧶handsupplayingmysong Follow there's two kids on the train next to me and they're both wearing those big, over the ear Autism headphones and clearly overstimulated. theyre also holding hands. a great day for the gay community

17 notes

☄tapedtogetherhope Follow one of my friends grew up in deadwood and they will just say. the most concerning shit. at any given time.

☄tapedtogetherhope Follow examples of this: 1. "you know, the part in the forest where all the blood is." 2. "everyone's got the old man on the outskirts of town who might eat people." 3. "if you see a rabbit with too many eyes you just keep walking! same goes for a wall leaking black liquid." 4. "sometimes people just disappear. usually one every year. the highway is hungry. or maybe it's the forest." 5. "sometimes if you walk near the cliffs at night you feel like something's leading you to the edge." also how to skin and gut a deer but im not putting that here

🦌letheliketheriver Follow i think youre actually the weird one hope. this is all very normal

☄tapedtogetherhope Follow I GUARANTEE YOU IT IS NOT.

21,079 notes

[auspicioustidings]

Ae Fond Kiss - Part 1

Winsome Wee Thing

Summary: This is the start of a story from this concept. You fall in love and you learn loss more ways than one. Words: 3.9k TWs: major character death (temporary), miscarriage

Parts: 1 2 3

You and your boyfriend's Lieutenant disliked one another immensely and immediately. 

For you it wasn’t so much that the hulking idiot was in a balaclava, although you found the skull pattern so teenage boy edgy that it caused a cringe deep enough to feel right through your molars, it was the obvious dismissal he had for you. For Simon it wasn’t so much that Johnny’s newest pretty little bit was a smart arse, although he could practically feel the ‘not like other girls’ radiating off of you in waves, it was the obvious disdain you had for him. The first impression set the tone for what became a horrid relationship.

–

“This is my Lieutenant, they call him Ghost but I believe he prefers to be called-”

“That’ll do.”

There was something about the way he cut the puppy dog that was your boyfriend off that riled you a little. 

“Nice to meet you, Ghost. Is that your gamer tag or something?”

“Never been one for games. You a gamer girl?”

“Not enough to have such a cool nickname.”

“Oh I’m sure we could come up with a nickname that would suit you princess.”

Gaz, who you did like, spent the rest of the night meditating while Johnny remained clueless to the simmering hostility between the two of you. Price didn’t really seem to know what to make of it all, but you found you had a natural respect for the Captain and as time went on, he was the one that could always tell you and Ghost to knock it off if he could see a fight brewing.

–

Johnny had been so excited to introduce you to his team and his team to you and the only thing you and bonehead could seem to agree on was that you would pretend to be civil when Johnny was around. So the jokes were underhanded but could be brushed off as humour, the vitriol was kept for when his back was turned, the eventual birthday presents were tactfully meant to appear innocent but actually be biting insults and the all out war that was had around a pool table was played off as healthy competition. 

If it has been anyone but John MacTavish you’d have dumped him purely so you would never have to see Simon Riley again, but fuck you fell hard and fast for Johnny. You didn’t even fully remember your first meeting. It had been a blind date and you thought you had been stood up so got well past merrily drunk at the bar of a nice restaurant. You had not been stood up, your date had broken down in the snow and in the hours you had been drinking the flurries had become a full blizzard. But that wasn’t going to stop Johnny. In the middle of a backroad with a blizzard beating down and no signal to call he had hiked his ass all the way to you, getting there just in time to catch you wobbling out the door. 

He had been a gentleman, hadn’t taken advantage. You woke up the next day with a handsome man bringing you breakfast in bed and apologising profusely for the whole thing. He had slept on your couch and admitted sheepishly that he had walked you home. From what little you did remember, you had made it difficult by starting a snowball fight and wanting to make snow angels every 5 minutes. You remembered the scent of pine and a roaring fire that enveloped you when he had bundled you in his jacket, breathing in and being transported to a log cabin in the Scottish highlands in winter, safe and drinking something warm with a hint of whiskey. 

If you hadn’t already been falling for him after his bashful teasing that morning, you were flung head first into it when you spent the next week looking after him when his gallantry earned him the worst cold known to man. He was a big baby when he was sick and that combined with the terrible sense of humour that he had made you desperate to learn more about him. 

–

“Ye cannae be mean tae me, I’m naw long for this world!”

For such a large man, he really was like a little kid bundled up in blankets and whining.

“Uh huh, that’s very valid and very sad but you still need to take your medicine.”

“I was never any good at swallowing, maybe ye can give it tae me as a suppository.”

Ridiculous man.

“Aww come on, swallow like a good boy and maybe we can talk about that suppository when you’re better.”

“Fuck, where have ye been all my life?”

His loopy grin nearly made you plant a kiss on his lips regardless of how ill he was, but instead you just ruffled his hair when he knocked back the pills and wondered how you were ever going to keep from loving this man.

–

The second date he had left you with a fond kiss at the doorstep after a wild night of earning enough tickets at the arcade to win him a little plush skull toy. He had been obsessed with it when he had first seen it, had told you he needed to win it for his Lieutenant. You thought that was adorable and had put your frankly suspiciously good reflexes to work absolutely rinsing the whack a mole for every ticket you could get from it. Of course had you known then that Simon Riley was the biggest ass on the planet you’d have hoarded your tickets and gotten 300 packets of Haribo instead (or so you’d like to think, but you knew deep down you could never have denied Johnny knowing how bright he smiled when he had traded the tickets for that stupid plush).

By the third date you wanted him so badly that you felt like a bitch in heat. You started to think that maybe you were making a fool of yourself with how calm he seemed whenever you sneaked a touch or whispered a filthy promise. God you liked him so much, it was killing you that maybe he didn’t feel the same. You needn’t have worried as it turned out, date number 3 was when John MacTavish had completely ruined you in a way you had not expected.

–

“This was really nice” you said, a bit embarrassed if you were honest and avoiding his eyes after he walked you to your front door.

You had been a menace the whole evening. You had never been some sex kitten but fuck he just brought it out in you without even trying. He probably thought you were ridiculous now with how you had tried to be all sultry the whole way through dinner. Fuck, your hands had wandered something awful during the movie as well and you felt the humiliation from it burn from your ears to your toes. He didn’t want you the way you wanted him and you had pathetically thrown yourself at him. He probably couldn’t wait to lose your number. 

“Open the door.”

Shit. He sounded almost angry. The first guy you had really liked in a long time, maybe ever, and you had totally blown it by being over eager. You shakily unlocked your door and blew out a breath, prepared to go inside and cry over a glass of wine. Instead you were grabbed by the waist and slammed against the door to close it behind you so fast it made your head spin. 

John MacTavish’s tongue was down your throat and he had your wrists pinned above your head in a bruising vice grip. You had only just found the sense to kiss back when his lips were gone and instead his teeth were sinking into the delicate skin of your throat. The whine you made at that was all animal, as was his answering growl. 

“Next time ye misbehave like that I’m going tae bend ye over the dinner table and fuck ye hard and proper in front of all those nice, fancy people.”

Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck. You had never gotten so wet so fast in your life. The nice lace panties you had on under this dress were soaked right through. He bit off a curse and your legs nearly gave out when he suddenly let you go and backed right off, dragging a hand roughly through his hair. 

“Fuck, sorry. Dinnae hate me, I wanted tae… our first time I mean, I had it all planned oot. Which makes me sound like a creepy, presumptuous bawbag. And now I’m being a fucking reprobate and pinning you tae the door without even asking first.”

Oh my God. You could not just fall in love with a man after 3 dates. And yet looking at his blown out eyes, how his body thrummed with barely contained lust for you and how he nearly vibrated with the effort of holding himself back because he wanted to treat you right… you had fallen in love with a man after 3 dates. 

“I thought…” you said, your hand coming to rest on your flushed chest as you tried to find the words. “I mean at dinner and then at the movie, I um… well I wanted you to, you know. I thought maybe you didn’t want to? Which is fine obviously. I mean if you didn’t want to.”

The whiplash from going from lust to humiliation to lust and back to embarrassment was not something you were enjoying. You looked at him, he looked at you and after a few long moment the two of you burst into laughter. What a bloody pair you made. He came over and wrapped you in his arms, that wonderful scent that just gave you a feeling of contentment deep in your bones sinking into you.

“I want to. Was hard for the whole film, couldnae move that popcorn bucket or someone was getting an eye oot. Wanted tae spank ye red raw for all that teasing” he confessed into your hair, so sincere and blunt about it that you weren’t sure your pussy was likely to forgive you if you didn’t go out of your way to tease him next time. 

“Wanted?”

He laughed, probably because you sounded somewhat like a petulant child, and leaned back, hands going to gently cup your face. Looking into his eyes felt like a gentle falling. Falling into a warm bed on a cold morning after a hot coffee, falling into the first fresh powdery snow of the year, falling in love with a man you hardly knew but felt so much like coming home. 

“Was planning on asking ye tae come with me up North. Got a nice cabin in the Highlands that I usually rent oot since my Captain is always going on about having a backup plan. Want it tae be perfect.”

“You don’t have to go to all that trouble.”

Nobody ever had before. In your somewhat limited experience men wanted to get to fucking as soon as they could and while a few had made sure you came first, none had ever put much thought into getting you into bed in the first place. It just sort of happened. You would never have said you were insecure, but at that moment you felt the crushing weight of feeling that you didn’t deserve this man making such a grand gesture just to get inside you. You already wanted him. And there was no way he wasn’t experienced, how would you ever be good enough to warrant all the effort he was going to?

“Hey, look at me beautiful” he said quietly, thumbs rubbing soothingly across your cheekbones and coaxing your eyes back to his. “I really like you.”

Those four words ruined you entirely. John MacTavish put his heart out there with such simplicity that it stunned you. He could have thrown you on the bed and fucked you rough and savage and you’d have enjoyed it, but instead here he was butting his forehead lightly on yours in affection despite his evident arousal because he wanted more than that. 

“I really like you too.”

Instead of fucking, he held you while you cried like a baby, overwhelmed by the care he took with you. He only made it worse when he whispered to you how you deserved to be treated with adoration. He called you beautiful, bonnie thing, mo leannan, winsome wee thing (that one made you laugh). He refused gently when you wanted to take care of him that night, instead laying you down softly on the pillows and lapping between your legs to bring you to slow orgasm after slow orgasm until you were boneless and sated, slurring your speech as he bundled you in his arms and you spoke about everything from your childhood pets to your great hopes and dreams until you drifted off into the best sleep of your life.

–

Your first time with him inside you was in that cabin like he had wanted and it had been the most perfect few days of your life. He had made sure you felt safe and comfortable, insisting you gave the location to your friends and going over maps of the area with you, pointing out where you’d need to go to get signal to check in with them. He bought ingredients for all of your favourite meals and stopped for a snack run on the way to boot. He showed you his test results but stressed that he was putting no pressure on you either way and if you did want to have sex he would have condoms if you preferred. And after all that he made it clear that you did not have to have sex with him if you didn’t feel like it. Johnny would be happy to just hold you for a weekend. As soon as you arrived he taught you how to use the sat phone if there was an emergency. The voice on the other end was gruff but soothing somehow, safe sounding (that at least was something that never changed about Simon, despite not liking the man, you always felt safe with him).

You were ready to explode by the time he finally laid you in bed. He stroked deep and slow inside of you, steady and solid and torturous. You understood then the difference between fucking and making love. It was the first time anyone had ever shown you the latter. 

He then proceeded to show you the former in great detail on every surface inside the cabin and on quite a few outside. Your pussy was battered and your clit bruised in the most delicious ways. Your throat was raw from screaming and from being fucked. After a lifetime of swearing up and down it was never something you were interested in, you wound up practically begging for his cock in your ass because there was not one part of you that you did not want dripping with him. And of course he was only too happy to make sure you understood everything he would do to prep you by letting you do it to him first. You couldn’t fucking sit down for a full day after he had indeed spanked you red raw for the teasing you had done on that 3rd date.

A week later you met his family, the week after that his brothers in arms. And then he was gone and you were so worried about him that you constantly felt nauseous. It took years for you to be able to settle when he was deployed, to not spend the whole time imagining him not coming home to you. Because by that time that was what you had built together, a home.

You and Kyle became friends throughout the years. You really did like him, he was easy going and would laugh and let you bitch about Simon whenever you wanted. Captain Price came to feel like an older brother. He was there whenever you needed him, whether it be a car breakdown or because you were in a panic about a handsy coworker (poor guy had broken both hands in an accident the next weekend). And Simon? Well not too much changed there, you dealt with each other when you had to and were it not for your shared love of Johnny you suspected you’d have killed one another. 

At least until Las Almas.

–

You didn’t know how you were going to tell Johnny. In fact, you probably wouldn’t. What good would it do? It had sorted itself out. That was how you tried to think about it. Food poisoning had made the pill ineffective for a day, you had gotten pregnant unplanned and unwanted and had lost the baby before you’d even started showing. It didn’t matter that while Johnny was somewhere being a hero you had heard a tiny heartbeat at the doctors. You told yourself over and over again that you didn’t want it anyway. You tried to think about how awful everything felt all the time. The morning sickness, the fatigue, the mood swings. 

It was probably just the shock of it, waking up wet from the blood and thinking you were dying. If your first thought had been that you’d rather you die and the baby lived then you tried not to dwell on that. She would have had Johnny’s eyes. He would have wanted a mohawk so he could match his daddy. You forced an image of you telling Johnny and him being upset and not wanting a baby. It was useless. You knew that man. You loved that man. And that man would have gently made sure you wanted to keep it before bursting into happy tears and kissing you senseless.

You couldn’t tell him. You couldn’t break his heart the way the last few months had broken yours. Maybe it was selfish, to want to keep this pain for yourself when you knew beyond a doubt that he’d be desperate to share it, to take as much as he could from you and turn it to gentle comfort the way he always did when you were hurting. But you wanted to be selfish over this.

It was a whole new pain when you answered the door and Ghost was standing there. Your knees went from under you and you collapsed with the weight of why he would be at your door. Why would he be here without your Johnny? It was the first time Simon Riley caught you. 

You never spoke about the way he held you gently and told you that Johnny was ok, he was alive but injured. He made you laugh through your tears and snot by telling you what a bad patient Johnny was being, how he was about ready to beat up every medic on base to get back to you because “I dinnae need fucking morphine I need tae eat my bird’s pussy”. His Scottish accent on that impersonation was truly dreadful. 

Simon never thought he would find himself comforting you. He didn’t like you, he never had. Johnny had never been so serious about anyone and it drove him nuts that you made him so happy. Happiness like that was an easy thing to ruin and you could ruin it if you wanted, that scared the shit out of him. It was even scarier when Johnny had shown him the ring he was planning to offer you. 

He never told Johnny how you had broke in his arms that night. How you had told him about the miscarriage in the dark, bled your pain all over him and let it sink into his skin. He had taken it gladly. In the light of the morning you went back to your dislike of one another, but something had changed in the dark.

–

You never did tell Johnny. You and Simon settled then on some sort of begrudging respect for one another. You still argued and bit at each other, but with the knowledge that now you would be part of one another's lives forever through Johnny given that only a few days after he came home he had slid a ring onto your finger.

Frankly you were fucking terrified when you came off of the pill. The only thing that got you through it was, unbelievably, Simon mumbling to you in the pub over a game of pool that you were going to be good parents. Of course Johnny had told him you were trying, but you found you didn’t really mind as you grumbled back an awkward thank you. 

You could have strangled Johnny for having such strong fucking swimmers. You hadn't expected to get pregnant almost as soon as you were off birth control and it meant your wedding dress had to be altered to account for the small bump there. The bump he could not keep his hands off. Honestly the man was already insatiable, but fuck he loved you pregnant. He was already talking about more kids and you hadn’t even had the first one, he fucked you and groaned about wanting you pregnant all the time. 

Your husband, something you thought you’d never get sick of saying, drove you mad once again in the late stages. You were hornier than ever and he was determined to treat you like you were made of glass all of a sudden. He certainly still gave you as many orgasms as you demanded, but gone was any rough and feral fucking. You loved making love with Johnny, but fuck if you didn’t miss the fucking. 

You’d never tell Simon it had been your suggestion, not under pain of death. Neither of you had been attached to any name in particular, but you knew how much Johnny loved his Lieutenant. He was his best friend and they owed one another their lives several times over. There was a good chance that you owed him your life. Your husband had kissed you with so much love when you had asked if he’d like to call your son Joseph and after talking about it late into the night you had agreed that the little human inside you was your wee Joey. 

A wee fucking bruiser is what he was, coming into the world kicking and screaming. Ten perfect fingers and ten perfect toes. You joked that he must have screamed so loud he had damaged his own ears when he was referred to the audiology clinic after a second newborn hearing test. They stressed that you shouldn’t worry over it, but you hadn’t been anyway. Joseph was the strongest most wonderful thing you had ever seen, whatever came of it he had two parents who were going to make sure it never made his life anything less than a grand happy adventure.

Johnny had hated leaving him. Price had hated to ask it, had sent you enough flowers to start your own florist in apology. You understood though, your husband was off saving the world after all. Your heart was in your throat when he kissed Joey’s head and then kissed you soundly. Something felt off with him. The kiss felt different somehow, mournful. Maybe it was just a trick of your memory, hindsight tainting what you hadn’t known was the last time you would see your husband.

–

Simon Riley caught you a second time. John MacTavish was dead.

[absolutebl]

47 BLs Announced for 2024

Here are the BLs I have logged on the Spreadsheet of Doom (TM) as announced for 2024 (with supporting evidence, so not just options or acquisitions) as of the beginning of the year. Bold are the ones I'm most intrigued by .

JAPAN

Although I Love You and You AKA Sukiyanen Kedo Do Yaro ka

From YTV releasing 1/11 about Soga, who, after a divorce and relocation to Osaka, seeks solace in dining at 26-year-old Sakae's restaurant. Unbeknownst to Soga, Sakae sees him as more than just a regular customer.

Ossan's Love Season 2

Five years later, will anything have changed? This is Japan, so probubly not. More here.

Perfect Propose

Fuji TV (the Pornographer series) adapting Mayo Tsurakame’s manga, production team includes Tadaaki Horai (My Love Mix-Up!) and Takeshi Miyamoto (scriptwriter for “Old Fashion Cupcake”). Hiro’s so stressed at work he barely has time to eat so he passes out on the sidewalk. An unfamiliar face saves him and insists that they once promised to marry each other.

KOREA

Love For Love's Sake

Based on the Manhwa Love Supremacy Zone by Hwacha, this will star actors Lee Tae Vin, Cha Jun Wan, Oh Min Su and Cha Woon Ki. The plot of the drama is based on Tae Myung Ha, a young man who is dropped into a game based off of a novel that he knows. His mission is to make another player, Cha Yeo Woon happy. Cha Yeo Woon is Myung-Has favourite character in the novel. But then the game starts going completely different from the novel.

Love in the Big City

Movie adaptation of Booker nominated famous coming of age novel ‘Love in The Big City’ by Park Sang-Young. A cynical yet fun loving student writer name Young pinballs from home, to class, to Tinder matches. He and Jaehee, his female best friend and roommate, frequent nearby bars where they push away their worries about life, love, and money with soju and Marlboros. But as time passes Jaehee settles down and leaves Young to face his problems on his own, finding comfort in the arms of the series of men, including one whose handsomeness is matched by his coldness and another who might be the great love of his life. Not really BL. To star Kim Go-eun (The King: Eternal Monarch), Noh Sang-hyun (aka Steve Sanghyun as Young) and Nam Yoon Su (The King’s Affection). More here.

TAIWAN

Anti Reset AKA Anti-Reset AKA Antireset

From Vidol to air on 2/2/2024 about a human and robot find love.

THAILAND

1000 Years Old

From Feel Good Bangkok this is one of many gay vampire BLs coming in 2024. Stars Shane (My Engineer) and fresh face Opal, directed by Champ (2gether). More here.

A Secretly Love

Khonprot, a third-year head hazer of the engineering faculty, has a secret crush on Pluem, a tsundere fourth-year head hazer. Over the years, he's seen Pluem cycle through many girlfriends. Recently, after a public breakup, however, Khonprot thinks things may be different.

Addicted Heroin (Thai version)

From the producers of Love Stage!!

Bad Guy My Boss

Assistant to a player boss who is in love with his boss decides to quit to save himself. The boos then makes a move. (A gay "What's up with Secretary Kim"?)

Born to be Y

announced 9/23

City of Stars AKA Fueangnakorn

Star Hunter started filming this 12/23 about an actor falls in love with a programmer and the narrative intends to “explore the ramifications of being public figure in the social network era who must endure critics, bullying, and defamation.” Looks like another Lovely Writer, Call It What You Want sort of thing.

Four Ever You Project AKA Fourever You Project

Sampler pack BL series from Wabi Sabi stars Bas (Gen Y), Earth (UWMA, 12%). Four stories, four couples, all adapted under the Fourever You Project.

I Saw You in My Dream

DeeHupHouse for WeTV based on the novel of the same name by Afterday. The story portrays Aya, a young man who has prophetic dreams. Everything he dreams always comes true. He doesn’t have a problem with it until he starts to dream of dating the guy next door. But the guy next door is in a serious relationship with a girl he’s known since high school.

Iridescent Love

Got nothing.

Harikarn Solution (the Chains of Heart people - boo) stars Gun (Khom in Unforgotten Night) opposite fresh face but cast includes familiar faces from other pulps. Ordinary office worker kinda recluse dork but who at night however, has an only fans account. Then he meets the guy next door.

Jack & Joker (YinWar)

DeHup brings us be gay, do crimes. Yin, War, Mark and a few other familiar faces doing Leverage but gayer. Yes, thank you, I will have that.

Kidnap

GMMTV Ohm Pawat is back but there is some question over whether this is BL or not.

Knock-Knock Boys

Kongthup for WeTV airing 4/2024 Four college friends who conspire to help their friend lose his virginity. stars Seng Wichai, Best Vittswin, Nokia Chinnawat and Jaonine Jiraphat.

Lost On The River

Another Sammon story

Love Sea (FortPeat)

MAME warning, stars same couple as LITA2, but new characters to the Mameverse. While travelling a writer has a one night stand with a very irritating man.

Love Sick AKA Lovesick remake

Remake of the original. No thank you.

Love Upon a Time (NetJames)

Domundi announced for 6/7/2023 then delayed to 2024. NetJames in a historical BL! Also feat Tonnam(Dr Sing from Triage).

Lovely Addict

9NAA brings us a hotel set, high heat, features same pair as Venus In Sky.

Lover Merman

Fantasy BL about a man who falls in love with a merman.

Me and Who

Domundi for WeTV brings this adaptation of Wickedwish’s novel of the same name. it depicts a young man who dies and is reborn into the body of a billionaire heir. The heir happens to be engaged to a handsome man.

Monster Next Door

WeTV Adapted from the novel Godzilla Next Door by Jiwinil. It portrays an introvert who lives mostly in his room, until an extrovert moves in next door. He is loud, frantic and annoying. Do opposites really attract? Will they find a way to get along?

My Golden Blood

GMMTV. Okay, I do find Joss very watchable but this looks very bad and also very like Kissable Lips. But at least land is finally giving us the trashy gay vampires we richly deserve?

My Love Mix-Up Thai Remake (GemniForth)

GMMTV. Hum, well I do love this pair and I did like the original and maybe this time these characters will actually kiss? I'm actually fine with this pick-up. I kind of enjoy seeing different countries remake the same IP. Especially if it's IP I'm mostly unfazed by.

My Stand-In AKA My Stand In

Chinese IP ALERT! Adapted from the novel Professional Body Double (职业替身) by Shui Qiang Cheng (水千丞) stars Up (Lovely Writer) and Poom (Bake Me Please).

OMG Vampire AKA OMG! Vampire (LeeFrank)

Frank and Lee Long Shi are back only vampires now. So many vampires.

Only Boo!

New main pair in an idol romance about a boy who dances good and a food stand vendor. Other side of the tracks, grumpy/sunshine pair who fall deeply in love but, of course, to become an idol baby boy can't date. Boyband but from GMMTV? Control your singing and I'm game.

Ossan‘s Love Thai Remake (EarthMix

Ugh, why?!?!

Red Peafowl

More Thai mafia stuffs.

Spare Me Your Mercy

Increased rates of deaths in terminal patients has a police captain investigating the palliative care doctor with whom he's fallen in love. Their relationship deepens but the mystery persists, driven by mistrust. Adapted from the novel Euthanasia by Sammon (Triage, Manner of Death) stars some old guard BL actors: Tor Thanapob from Hormones as the doctor and (fuck me YES) Jaylerr from Great Men Academy and goddamn Grean Fictions as the captain!

Spirit Reborn AKA Kemjira Will Survive

Star Hunter (of all studios) adapting supposedly the scariest BL. Khem is born cursed. A daughter would be safe but a son dies at 20 so Khem’s mother cleverly gives him a girl’s name, Khemjira “forever safe.” But Knem is baout to turn 20 and he doesn't think it's working so he seeks the help of a cursebreaker, turns out to be his great love from a prvious life.

Star Scope

Wabi Sabi trailer here. Looks sad, one of them is terminally ill, abandons his bf in high school them meet again in uni.

The Boy Next World (BossNoeul)

Same couple as LITA, this is the backstory of Cirrus & Phugun from TharnType 2 played by different actors.

The Hell Guards AKA Hey Don't Mess With My Heart

Boy wakes up from a coma and becomes a messenger between grim reapers and the underworld. Oh will it be... bureaucratic? I think it WILL.

The Hidden Moon

Casting happened 9/23. This is a supernatural romance (my ghost boyfriend trope) ‘เดือนพราง’ by Violet Rain. A Bangkok writer is hired to write an article about an old mansion in Chiang Mai which is being converted into a café. He gets into an accident and nearly dies on his way there. After that, he sees the ghosts of people who died at the mansion, one boy catches his attention. Stars Benjamin Brasier (2 Moons 2) and Folk Touch Inthirat from Brothers. Trailer here.

The Next Prince (ZeeNew)

Domundi brings us more ZeeNew in a fantasy/historical set in a palace where Zee plays a knight and Nu a prince - FUCK YES PLEASE. I did not expect this pair to stick so I really hope this happens. Trailer here.

The Rebound (MeenPing)

VIU Basketball based romance staring Meen (a national basketball player, so yay for that).

The Trainee (OffGun)

GMMTV Office set, may not be BL. Trailer here.

Time the series

MFlow Entertainment for Gaga, WeTV, Channel 3 trailer here. Airs 1/9 After witnessing the death of his beloved Chris from a gunshot wound, the heartbroken actor Foam is given a pocket watch that allows him to go back in time and discover the truth… Can Foam take the chance to set things right and bring Chris back from the brink of death? Only time will tell…

To Be Continued

High school sweethearts who had a bad break up reunite when both of them have full times jobs but coming out is still a problem. Trailer here.

Vampire Project (BounPrem)

Wabi Sabi's My Broccoli only now... vampires.

Wandee Godday

GMMTV and AllThis Entertainment producing a very pulp offering for GMMTV with new pair GreatInn doing high heat Boxer meets surgeon. It features a one night stand, fake relationship, and all the cheesiest of tropes. Also features Drake, Podd, and Thor+ pretty boy (be still my heart). This is totally my kind of BL even if it actually isn't GMMTV's style of BL, so I'm intrigued. Trailer here.

We Are (PondPhuwin)

GMMTV's university friendship Bl featuring PondPhuwin, WinnySatang, AouBoom, MarcPawin - basically ALL in the good kind of messy friendship group (so more My Engineer and less Only Friends). Looks a bit like the Kiss series but everyone is gay. I'm IN! Trailer here.

A reminder we had c. 136 BLs release in 2023 but c. 55 that did not get made.

That seems about right.

Of those announced we seem to get about 2/3 actually released for the year we are told they'll release in.

(source)

[lucifer-is-a-bag-of-dicks]

when I took a month off work I was lowkey worried I'd come back and find everyone had been fine without me and I wasn't needed at all (because being terrible at every previous job I've had did some ✨damage✨ to my self confidence)

but that is not what happened

I have never encountered someone so fucking happy to see me as my boss' wife was on my first day back, her face lit up like it was christmas, she was practically jumping for joy because now that I'm back she doesn't have to do the ops team's fucking timesheets anymore

I have been told by one of the ops guys that my leave of absence had caused a genuine rift in the boss' marriage because his wife hated doing my job so much they were actively fighting about it

to be clear, his wife is lovely, she doesn't usually throw a shit fit about just anything, it was just that my job is just so fucking annoying that she hated every second of it, and that was the most validating shit I have ever experienced in my LIFE

and the reason she was pissed off at my boss/her husband about it is because he's too soft on his crew and doesn't make them all report their hours for the week

which, as you can imagine, makes building their timesheets extremely fucking difficult

it basically turns the whole process into a puzzle that I have to solve using roughly three different sources of information, one of which is the boss himself who isn't always easy to get ahold of when he's on a site

this puzzle is made even more difficult by the fact that a glitch in our form system keeps messing up the dates on the timecards, so I have to cross reference the time cards from the two (2) ops team members, who actually DO fill out their forms, with the roster, but my boss often changes the roster at the last minute without telling me or noting it down, so then I have to cross reference with the reports they have to submit for certain ongoing jobs because they'll have correct dates and also a list of who was present (if they were doing one off smalltime jobs that week I'll have no physical records and will rely entirely on the boss' memory to confirm dates and staff numbers, unless I can get ahold of one of the ops team members themselves and there's only one who will reliably communicate with me but only when he's not currently on a site)

I tried to explain this process to boss' wife before I left and, looking horrified, she asked me 'is there no way to streamline this?' I replied 'this is streamlined'

as far as I'm aware, as long as I've worked there, there has only been a handful of times people were paid incorrectly, and it was because I was not given correct information by the boss, in the time I was gone, his wife told me that she had incorrectly logged several pays because of this broken ass system

so, as you could imagine, my ego is through the fucking roof right now, I am GOOD at this bullshit job, I took an impossible system and made it work, I am playing on hard mode and killing it, in a field I had zero experience in before taking this job other than a natural inclination for organising and scheduling

and to be clear, I love this job, the boss is too soft on his staff but he's a good guy, he makes us all feel valued and appreciated, he paid me above my award rate, he's absurdly accommodating, and I have an insane amount of freedom to do what I want with company files

I may be working with a bullshit system but I can take naps in the office whenever I want and tell my boss off when he's being too soft (one time his wife literally started clapping when I told him off for sending clients their reports before they'd paid for them) and I get to control when I work, and whether I work from home or the office (which is GREAT when my back flares up)

I might not get many hours (only 16 hours per week) because the company is so small and I run out of things to do because I've streamlined everything (boss literally called me TOO EFFICIENT), but he'll give me those 16 even if I spend half of it playing solitaire and watching youtube

so just, yeah, it feels so good to be confident in my work, to feel valued and appreciated and like I'm actually successful at something after being handed dud jobs for years that I wasn't cut out for, and now knowing that what I'm doing is actually genuinely hard but I've been doing it anyway without fail, makes me feel good!

so tldr; taking a month off work taught me I have phenomenal job security because if my boss ever fires me his wife might actually fucking kill him

[destinygoldenstar]

☀️Reality TV’s Stupidest Alliance☀️ - Total Drama Viewer Reacts to Disventure Camp Season 1 Episode 2 “Logged & Loaded”

What am I predicting for eliminations?

Uh… how many people are here? 14?

So I’d say… 7 mergers?

Pre-Merge boots I’m guessing… I said Alec last post cause of Fiore. And I said Lilly cause she’s good at the game so they’d want to get rid of her. So… others…?

Will, Drew (forgot him in the last post), Dan, and Grett. I can see Grett being a Pre-Merge villain and getting booted right before the merge.

And… one more… I guess Miriam. Idk why, but if I had to choose out of the ones left.

I think the alliance of 4 is gonna lose half its members. I see Nick getting character development. I see Fiore being an antagonist. And Ashley… she’s nice. I just like her and hope she goes far. Jake & Tom have a thing going on that the opening spoiled so they’re both merging. Then Gabby is being set up for character development as well.

I forgot Ellie. I forgot she was on the purple team… she’s gonna be the teams swing vote, isn’t she? That sucks.

This is what the dynamic between her and Gabby are alluding to? They’re both on opposite teams but they both have major setbacks and disadvantages to their game. Gabby cause no one likes her and she’s allied with Grett, and Ellie cause she’s stuck in the middle of her team and will be screwed if she doesn’t play… less than pure, I guess. But they become besties and it trumps those issues.

That’s what I’m predicting anyway.

So… let’s start this episode.

I got the SAME AD AGAIN. WTF?!

"Is that recycled paper?"

How does he write that fast? That's impressive. Gimme that skill.

"I want to talk to her but she scares me a little."

What did she do to you?

"She reminds me a little of my grandmother. How she walks, how she talks... I miss her."

"She's been sick for months and she can't have visitors."

Oh my god...

Is that why he's competing? Medical bills to help her?

Well geez, keep that up and I might actually root for you to win.

"Yeah, she was often cranky, but she was the only one that really understood me."

You on the spectrum?

"Jake... I don't know what to say, but if you need to talk to someone, I'm always here."

D'aaaaawwww 💗

That face.

He was eyeing Tom all of last episode too and I just didn't bring it up.

YOU ARE NOT SUBTLE, SIR

So we have how many characters with motives and reasons to be here now? Fiore got dumped by her parents, Nick wants to prove himself, Jake wants to help his grandma.

I'm really liking that they're giving these characters REASONS to be on the show and why they want to win.

Cause in Total Drama we don't get a lot of their backgrounds outside of the game, and only a handful explained their motives for winning. I think of Gen 1 the only one that really had a motive aside from 'I want to be rich' is Alejandro.

I like what they're doing here.

"If our team fails, you'd be the one to blame."

Pretty sure that's not how that works.

Mostly it's a social challenge. If they think you're the one at fault for the loss, just say "Whoa whoa whoa! You don't want to vote me! You want to vote that guy!"

I obviously would suck at Survival.

So... actually I like Grett's game move here. Be on good terms with the leader, and... do what I said basically.

"WHOA WHOA GUYS! You don't want to vote Tom! Let's vote that glasses guy instead! That's a much better game move! TRUST ME."

Oh these two...

They're like "Oh shit. We're the outliers here, aren't we?"

"What makes you think you'll get far? Have you seen how fast the others are getting close to each other?"

"I've noticed. That's a problem."

Oh they're actually addressing it. Cool. They're not stupid.

"You're not going to walk thirty minutes over there."

"Sure I can. I love to walk."

She just like me fr

"That fat girl made you look stupid."

Huh?

...what???

"I love your coat my the way! I own a similar one!"

Do you have a split personality?! WHAT IS HAPPENING?!

She was talking to herself...

And it was such a massive fourth wall break that it gave me an ad on body spray. XD

"Today's reward will be a complete fishing kit. That will make it easier to find food."

I guess... but you can also make cages or nets to catch fish. I know that's something that's possible.

There's not any wildlife they're killing, is there?

"An immunity totem has been hidden somewhere in the forest."

OH. ALREADY?!?!

We got an idol in play!

I wish Total Drama used Immunity Idols more. It's such a cool game mechanic in Survivor. (At least, in the clips I've seen of people playing them)

Yeah I know the Reboot did in Season 2. We don't talk about that.

"That totem could save me from the unfavorable position I find myself in."

Yes. Yes it would.

Actually, no, let me predict for a sec. Either him or Ellie find that idol, and they save themselves with it, causing a member from the 4 alliance to get the boot. And that's how that alliance breaks.

I mean, you're not gonna get them any other way I feel.

Awwww, look at Ashley carrying the demon child. 💗

"I heard how Grett spoke to you. You shouldn't let her talk to you like that."

Boy, I agree with you and I get you're nice. Grett is in hearing range and WILL gun for you.

My case and my point. Grett gunned you.

Cause it looks to me like otherwise, you tripped on NOTHING.

"I'm really curious what you look like without it."

...

EXCUSE ME?!?! O_O

BOY. YOU JUST MET.

"I'm a little scared to have to slide down from up here."

Oh for the love of drama-

Pull a Leshawna. THROW HIM OFF.

"Ellie, Alec, you go on that one. Nick, Ashley, and I can take the next one."

*does the math*

Hey wait so you're gonna leave him with the child after he JUST confessed to being scared?!

Listen to your alliance teammates! You're in hearing range, right?!

Why can't Lilly go with Fiore? Wouldn't that make more sense cause she's the one cutting?

OOOOOOOOOHHHHHH.

Grett's gonna steal that from Gabby, isn't she?

But either way, Gabby's immune, LET'S GO!

"By the way, have you started streaming the episodes yet?"

YOU THINK YOU'RE SOOOOOOO SMUG, HUH?!?! I SEE YOU.

"Remember to cut any scenes I'm in."

*Stares intensely at him*

...okay.

"What if we fall?!"

That's kinda the point.

IT'S A HILL.

*chokes on breath*

YOU GO KID. BITCH SLAP HIM.

A six year old is bitch slapping a grown man, this is not a drill.

"What was that?"

I mean, let's be honest... she just said facts.

Yeah the slap was wrong, but it's not as bad as it could've been. She just told the truth.

"You're costing us this challenge and everyone will know it."

Yes but he has something you don't. NUMBERS.

Well your point just went down the drain, cause that's YOUR fault.

WHY DIDN'T YOU GRAB TWO?!?!

The 'yay' card, aww that's so cute... 😄

"She does have a point, yeah? She's got the flags and Will's got no."

Okay, that's stupid.

1) You guys can SEE the top of the hill, right?! If you couldn't, that wasn't established.

2) You saw the position of the two on the log. Fiore was standing on top of him! OF COURSE HE COULDN'T GET A FLAG

3) Would you guys seriously DITCH your alliance?! It WILL cause you the entire long game and you know it! DON'T BLOW THAT

Oh and 4 as a bonus) You never even listened to your ally! You KNEW he was scared, and yet you left him with a KID

"Maybe this was all a misunderstanding."

Ashley. I get it's hard to not side with a child. Use your brain.

"I wish I could believe you, but I know a little girl would never do those things."

Oh my god, you've never seen a child for more than two seconds your entire life. Not every kid is a saint! Toddlers are bratty as shit! They do that to get it out of their system!

(From this point on, I will put a 'Keep Reading' mark on the Tribal Council segments so I don't spoil the eliminations for my followers)

Oh we actually SEE who votes who!

YES!! THANK YOU! I WANTED THIS!!!

This is like Survivor much more, cause they flip these cards over to share the names, and you can see what the numbers were.

I always imagine what the eliminations in Total Drama would look like if they did that as well.

Okay Lilly's being smart.

WAIT CAUSE ASHLEY THREW HER VOTE WILL'S GONNA LEAVE, OH GOD...

YOU DIDN'T TALK TO YOUR ALLIANCE ABOUT THIS?!?! YOU COULD'VE VOTED OUT ALEC TOGETHER, AND YOU'D BE FINE.

That's Ashley's vote

That's not Lilly's handwriting. Is that Will or Nick?

That's Lilly's.

Not Alec's writing... Fiore's?

Alec, Fiore... Ellie?

And that's it.

RIP

NICK IS THE TRAITOR. OMG

YOU ARE REALITY TV'S STUPIDIEST ALLIANCE

(Unless Will voted himself)

I mean I don't really care about his character, but that could've so easily been avoided.

Tom, what ninja stuff are you getting into??

If you guys want me to continue these reactions, be sure to let me know.

[blackbloodteeth]

13th Sentence Game

@bcbdrums linked me this post (about sharing the 13th sentence from any WIP), and then ended up spurring me into sharing them from all my WIPs. I hope this chaos is what you wanted.

While this is mostly everything, I've skipped some WIPs for reasons such as maybe ending up as potential Resbangs™, but otherwise enjoy this absurdly long list I've put together over the course of like three hours.

You can play along and try to guess what each one's about, if you want hahaha

1, "2021 July 15"* You're sitting up, sweating like crazy, all you can focus on is taking in air.

*Technically my first fic, but it was scrapped. Never really posted it because it's too confusing and now outdated.

2. "2021 Sep 24"* As the previously stated unpredictable behaviour has led to only a small number of assessments on combat, the full extent of his abilities remain undocumented.

*Was originally for an event, but I've considering expanding upon it.

3. "(WIP) TBN" It was like the world here at DWMA was some kind of grand show, and he was just some background character.

4. Inner Strings They all called him the Soul Eater.

5. "be crime do gay" Just. Not like that.

6. Scythes don't make for practical weapons He had no idea if he was going to be able to make friends at all, let alone find a meister, someone willing to accept him for himself and actually be able to use him effectively.

7. "(simple au)" He had an odd combo of red eyes with white hair and tan skin, sharp teeth pulled into a defiant scowl, and a black jacket hunched over a frame that didn't look to understand posture for shit.

8. When Death City snows over "Come on, I doubt it'll actually snow; that shit never happens here."

9. I ain't Feline fine She gets him to stand in the center of the spell zone while instructing Maka to keep behind her, eagerly fixing her hat with her paws before starting.

10. Teeth So he'd take to his now familiar hideaway, a piano tucked away in a sparsely used room.

11. Happy Birthday, Soul Not even Maka.

12. "cursed hall" Given they've gotten to know each other to some degree before now, he was already pretty adjusted to seeing the two other members of this makeshift team: Soul and, well, Soul.

13. It's been a long night for my entire life There was always work to be done and he couldn't wait to get started.

14. One Word* Seeing all those intertwined neighbors, how easily they all sent signals together, that part of him craving to connect and belong made him feel hollow, made him wish he could have that just like everybody else.

*Let it be known that this is the notorious development hell WIP.

15. It was a dark and stormy night Of course with her literary weapon and the sudden jolt of her appearance, the figure seems to have been startled enough to give an auditory following to their jumping back, dull gleaming red blinking wildly back at her tense confusion while- Wait, Soul??

16. Ride by night only [6:19 PM] Kinda with him actually, why are you in a hurry then lol

17. The Very Hungry Soul “Well if the very hungry caterpillar would like to make sure we’re not late, he should hurry up and get dressed before I eat his breakfast for him before it gets cold.”

18. See you on the other side "Soul?"

19. The Dragon and The Moth He’s stopped entirely in his tracks when she abruptly goes in for a hug, snout nuzzling against his chest with a much softened sweetness.

20. Draconic Upon further noting its smooth surface he soon realized it wasn’t a star but in fact some sort of rock, blandly opaque like that of salt despite its odd moonlit shimmers, which even stranger still became steadily see-through in the absorbed heat of his fingertips.

21. "(wings made of arms)" Could it... really be......?

22. The Unknown Caller Caller unknown. But for him that was a lie.

23. The Exchange [8th] "Drink?"

24. Don't Escape Making his way around the back, his eyes glide along the sides until he reaches the pile of small logs, the ax resting up against them exactly as he’d left it.

25. The 42nd Story (Ch. 2)* The muffled talking of a woman, determined to be coming from a nearby room.

*As stated in The Ramble Room, this entire story was scrapped. While I didn't share the second and only other chapter despite it being finished, the first chapter was still shared.

26. "2023july11" He proceeds with actually cleaning himself up, a faint smile keeping him still awake and upright.

27. "(Aug31)" Her smile fades a little as she looks him over, a different sense of intrigue making her face bunch up funnily.

28. "hand pun" Her horrid fascination grew to the point of needing a new name for it (morbid curiosity, that's a classic) as the guy turns the hand around while it signs to him, eyes impossibly wide when she notices the similar skin tone under his hood and the missing space in his left jacket sleeve and the red of his eyes when he suddenly looks directly at her.

29. "WereWeek prompt 3" There's this girl – new student who moved in this year – who is so bossy.

30. "trees"* So much on his mind that he can't hold at bay and he can't even walk about it.

*Technically a small one-shot collection, but it's all going to be in the same fic.

31. "here and now"* His fingers stretch out from his palms in front of the glass, hurriedly ruffling through his hair, his tongue sticking out and then grinning ear-to-ear at her again with all the sunlight in the world.

*My current WIP! It's been slow-going, but I can't wait to see it through to the end haha

The rest are unsorted WIPs in my "drabble zone (2024)" doc:

32. 'Cause you are more than just a dream There's an odd look he pauses on her with after hopping off that she can really only describe as him expecting her to feel like he just sealed her in with a wild animal.

33. "blacksmith au" While his body shown well the signs of having dedicated much of his life to his craft, there was a strange affliction splitting much of it in twain, diagonally from hip to shoulder as if sliced by the very heavens itself in warning.

34. Devils don't go to Heaven (working title) “...Where is this?”

Anything else is so disorganized or only a small handful of sentences that I'm just gonna go ahead and stop it here haha

Thanks for tuning in, hope this was at least entertaining, or possibly even enlightening to the sheer amount of WIPs I've manged to collect over the past few years. I do want to go back to them eventually, but one step at a time, eh?

[redrydersrequiem]

Reunited chapter 1

Ok ive been reading ALOT of avatar fanfiction lately and i like many other am obsessed with miles Quartich. So heres a fic for him. Again this is just for my own sanity i think of stuff and i have to write them down or they’ll never leave my head. Love all yall who actually read this again everyone be kind none of this is prof’d. Also just warning for language and I am constantly adding stuff to these because I am always re-reading them and finding issues so again just hang in there with me I like to use gifs/videos and pics to make the story more theatrical in my mind

Updated this 5/2/23

Next chapter

Ok video log 230 My name is y/n y/l/n I was a Corporal for the RDA. I went to Pandora for one reason.

I needed the money

My only living relative, my aunt, was sick. Terminally sick and the regular military benefits were not working. That’s when the RDA swooped in and found me. A young former soldier with experience who needed financial backing, yeah, I see now I was an easy target for them. Anyway getting to Pandora I was placed on the one and only Colonel Miles Quaritchs team. Luckily or maybe not now that I look back I was strictly security for hell's gate. While the others did more field work I was dealing with perimeter checks,Hot headed soldiers fighting, Fixing up my team whenever they didn’t want to deal with the science quacks, and a shit ton of unnecessary paperwork. You know Basic duties, until I was assigned to start helping the scientists out more.

They wanted to start going back out into the forest more often and after watching the beauty of it from the window all the time, I was all for joining them. Even though I was a soldier it didn’t mean I was one of the inhumane jug heads like some. I had passions and loved nature and music, culture, literally devouring anything I could. Grace actually kind of liked me which is why I started spending a lot of time with them despite my unit's protests.

Now don’t get me wrong I loved my unit. After getting past some of their personal walls, all of them were amazing. Loyal to one another. Funny, goofy and everything in between. They were my family, the Lovable brothers and sisters I had never had albeit VERY rough around the edges. It's actually funny now how close i am to everyone and how protective they are over me cause when I first showed up they all almost laughed me out the door. All thinking i was just a young gun that wouldn’t amount to anything just their cute little doctor but after they saw me take down a drunk guy twice my size from another team with vicious savagery,during a night off for all of us, in heels might i add, they all started looking at me in a new light.

(Think something like this clip)

Once comfortable everyone really showed me their true colors.Lyle, as annoying as he was, was also very funny. Just straight up class clown behind closed doors. They are the kind of brother that just comes up to you randomly to mess with you for like a second and then runs away.( his intrusive thoughts when a lot) but he was always my go to to hang out with just cause he would make you forget about the stress of the job.

Zdinarsk was the annoying older sister, beautiful but playful, a piece of candy in every pocket she had, but always willing to share. She also likes to playfully pick on me all the time, but if someone else says something. God help them.

Mansks was more the silent but deadly brother. Always watching out for me, especially when I am out in the field. His eyes trained everywhere you just can’t see it from behind all those sunglasses he owns. He would back up z whenever they heard someone say shit about me, those people never came within my vicinity again. But he also had a softer side, like being an incredible cook. We all call him the grill master, and live for the days he decides he wants to cook. We eat well those days. Ja, brown and prager were like the three stooges together. Sometimes I honestly wondered if they all shared a brain cell. Lopez was cool. He would teach me a bunch of Spanish, mostly curse words but still would teach me. And anytime some music would come on he would be the one to dance with me.

Sorry I'm rambling. All in all I was very close to everyone in our squad of thirteen rowdy marines but it was my home. Now while the others were family Miles was much more.

As soon as I met the colonel I was enamored. It was hard to even describe why or how it happened. At first you think of him as just some hard ass old geezer who would never look twice at you and then you catch him helping his fellow members in tasks. Checking up on them like a dad almost. Learning how I liked my coffee so he can bring it to me in early meetings. While everyone simply thought of him as some hard ass to the book soldier, I thought of him as a trusted leader that has and will continue to bend over backwards to help the people he's loyal to.

Simply put I I fell in love

Despite his rough figure and reputation. I fell in love with him. With the warm smile he only showed when we were alone. With how he knew I loved the plants and things of pandora and would occasionally bring me non threatening flowers when he found them while in the field. How he actually would listen to me ramble to everyone about the stuff I had learned from grace without complaining or zoning out of the confirmation like the others.Stuff like that all garnered points in my heart towards my colonel It wasn’t until almost two years later when I confessed to Miles and to my absolute surprise he reciprocated. Even though he thought he was way too old for me I didn’t care. I had been surrounded by death my whole life so I quickly learned to seize any moment I could never know if that person would be there the next day. It wasn't until a year later that he proposed. That was the same year that Jake Sully arrived.

Jake Sully was granted access I would have killed for. To be an avatar.

Jake was cool, another fellow marine who even though he tried not to show it, was fascinated with the world of Pandora and everything he was learning. A strong and independent person that despite his personal and physical trauma was such a goof. Miles liked him, I could tell. He respected jake for not letting his physical issues take him out. He liked people who persevered through issues. So it was no surprise that Jake was working with grace and i but he was still under the command of Miles.

When Grace decided to take her norm, Max, Jake and others out to the old shack to work instead of hell's gate I was given the option to go with them. Unfortunately I couldn't stay all the time. I wanted to be with my family and closer to better medical help for the life that was now growing inside me.Grace understood that but I for sure could feel the divide that was happening between the two groups of people I found myself Entangled in especially as Jake got to know more and more about the omaticaya clan.

You see, I saw something on both sides. The RDA was all about money and with the way the economy and everything was back on earth money was a necessary evil. While I don't agree with what they were doing, I understood why. With grace, norm, and Jake I saw the beauty of pandora. How much different she was from our own planet that is now no more than dust and metal it feels but here in the plush forests of color it was amazing. I could understand why the natives were so protective over it, myself slowly joining them. A little while into Jake's expedition I even got to meet Neytiri.

She had shown up to the little shack at Jake's persistence to meet me,and norm and to reconnect with grace since she had known her from before. Jake was trying to show her that not all humans were bad, which I can’t say he fully succeeded on but she respected all of us. I mean she was definitely standoffish at first with me, but once she saw my pregnant belly I could see something in her shift. She asked me about human babies and if they were very different from Navi ones. And she asked me about our family’s and about nature and we even bonded over teasing Jake which I found great, much to his detriment. Neytiri was great honestly. She was beautiful and strong and when it all came down to it we found we had more in common than not. I truly started considering her a friend and her doing the same with me.

Unfortunately when I got later in my pregnancy I could no longer fly out to the old shack anymore Miles being a worry wart. Actually all of the team were worriers but I just took it in stride. I knew how much they all loved me and I was happy to stay put to give them peace of mind. The only thing I wish I could do was get them to all stop taking Parker’s orders. It was like we weren’t even soldiers anymore, more like Parker and the RDAs hunting dogs. Even though I tried every day to tell them that the RDA was wrong. I know they were all loyal to a fault but I thought that loyalty was to each other over the RDA. Some would listen to me and agree with some of the things i said but some would just shake their heads at me and tell me we have to do the best we can for our own before trying to change the subject. Hard headed soldiers every last one of them but none more so than miles. No matter how much i speak and i know he listens hes loyal to the rda almost to a fault.

But I didn’t have a lot of more time to try and convince him that the shit Parker was whispering in his ear was all bullshit. It was late evening right before the eclipse that my water broke. God was that fun. 13 hours of labor and my son is finally welcomed into the world. He was so small. Beautiful light blond hair on his head, and his fathers eyes. It was unfair how I carried him for 9 months and he came out looking just like his dad. Everyone was so excited about him though our little Miles Lyle l/n quartich

*(couldn't find if spider had a middle name so just went with they made Lyle his god dad and named him that)

I had just taken the baby to the nurses unit to get his one month evaluation. It’s nice to get out again after being on bed rest for the last month. Everyone’s been very hush hush about any missions and stuff that have happened recently and it's not until I saw Miles and the others in a lab with Parker, that my interest was peaked, since they all would rather die than come over to this section. Walking through the doors everyone went a little quiet. Like teeenagers trying not to be caught in a lie. That was red flag number two.

I see miles talking into a camera and ask what he’s doing. He sates my curiosity by telling me Parker is making the team catch up on their logs so that the RDA has a good view of what's been happening. I know he is lying to me and he’s lucky I'm tired from staying up with our son or I would call him on his bullshit but that will be a conversation for later. He pushed me off to go get some sleep while baby miles was at his check up and that daddy would pick him up and they would join us later and i agreed. Placing a kiss on his lips i make my way out of the lab and towards our shared courtiers

Unbeknownst to him I learned what they were really doing video logs for. After leaving the lab I heard other soldiers talking about how sick it was seeing that big tree go up in flames. And I froze in my spot. No, I couldn't have heard that right. After pulling rank on them they told me what happened and to say I was pissed was an understatement, then being told that the others were now going to attack the omaticaya clan. I was seething. I immediately called Jake and the others knowing grace would tell me what's been happening without sugar coating anything,but found that they were no longer there. That's not good at all. I quickly made my way to the research sector and try to find max or really anyone. Bursting in the labs side room i see max running around like a chicken without a head

“Max where are they whats going on”

“y/n. You shouldn’t be here”

“Max what’s happening the others aren't answering and i just learned Parker wants to declare all out war basically”

“I'm sorry y/n. You’ve missed a lot since you’ve been out with the baby.”

“Well quickly fill me the fuck in.”

Max quiets me and takes me over to a side office shutting the door securely behind us. That’s when he tells me what happened. Tells me how the RDA had attacked Hometree and were now trying to take over the Forest. How Jake and the others tried to help the Navi and were caught and labeled traitors. How he and Trudy helped them escape. Each piece of info was like a knife to my heart. Everything pierced through me, when I asked about what had happened to them All he could tell me is that Jake was trying to get all the clans together to stop the RDA and that the board had somehow been set with jake neytiri and the natives on one side and my love and family on the other being pawns for the rda.

There’s no way. There was no way the people who would come see me and my baby and gush every time they saw him would lie to me. There’s no way the man I loved would lie to me and tell me everything was fine. No I, it couldn't be. I couldn't be stopped as I ran from the room. Once back in my own quarters I empty my stomach in the toilet almost shaking from rage and disappointment when I hear miles come in.

“Mamas your boys are home” Miles comes into the bedroom seeing me sitting on the bed looking pissed.

“What’s wrong darlin.”

“Don’t call me that right now miles.”

“Darlin?”

“DONT.! I got to know miles where do you and the others get off lying to my face.”

“Whatcha talking about”

“I know miles I know about the attack on hometree. I know about Jake and the others I KNOW.” I say screaming. Little miles now crying as I storm over and take him from his father, lulling him back to sleep and putting him in his little room while his predecessor tries to figure out what to say to me.

“Darlin now.”

“No miles this is wrong. I thought we understood each other I thought we agreed that we”

“Well you thought wrong. Darlin. We are not here to make friends with the natives, we are here for the rock in the ground.”

“Fuck that rock miles fuck the RDA the Navi are people they have emotions they have families just like us what makes us so much better to them to do this. They did nothing to us beside try and protect their home the same we would if the roles are reversed”

“Darlin, I think you forget who you're talking to.”

“No, I know exactly who I'm talking to. I'm talking to the man I thought was the love of my life but with every word is slowly proving to me he’s just as bad as everyone originally said.

Miles just grits his teeth as I get in his face. Just because I had a baby did not mean I wasn’t still a soldier. And he was about to relearn that real quick.

“y/n this is the mission i knew i should have pulled you from hanging out with those scientists sooner i knew you were getting too mushy for that natives.”

“Mushy miles what the fuck.”

“ENOUGH! He yells silencing my rant. “At the end of the day i am Colonel Quartich, at the end of the day i'm doing my duty to the human race, and i will not compromise that for anyone.”

“I'm not anyone, I'm your fiancé, the mother of your child. Im”

“You're still a soldier. A soldier under the RDA. Now I think it's time you take a little bit to remember whose side you’re actually on. Our or the savages outside.”

“The only savage I see right now is all of you.” I say as I throw my ring at him before snatching up baby miles things and locking ourselves in the spare bedroom.

I don't see that Miles breathes heavily, clutching his head as he tries not to punch a hole in the wall. I don't see how he reaches down and picks up my ring and pockets it or how he leaves and locks me and the baby in our quarters with strict orders to make sure we are taken good care of. Making sure i stay there while the next mission is about to commence, cause he knows deep down he'll lose me if i go out there.

But like miles said i am a soldier and even though i just had a baby i was not about to let my lover fuck everything up.

It took me most of the next day to get out of the room. But once i finally wired the room door to open I was met with no one there thank god most being called to the front lines. I run to the lab to find Max and others still there trying to figure out what to do. I run over and grab max

“y/n what are you doing”

“Max i dont have time. I have to stop this.”

“y/n there’s nothing you can do now”

“No stop there is always time ok. I need you to help me though i need y’all to look after my baby”

“What y/n no”

“Max, I swear to eywa right now help me.!”

He just puts his hands up and relents one of the female scientists Abby comes over in all her goth glory and takes little miles from Mac promising she would help look after him. I trusted her, she had a good head on her soldiers and was constantly coming to see the baby. She called him her ray of sunshine in the lab. I kiss Miles' little head breathing him in as he smiles up at me, his beautiful little blue eyes the picture of his father.

“I love you my baby. And I pray we are reunited. But I have to go knock some sense into your papa first. Please take care of him.”

“We will y/n. We promise, go give them hell.”

All I can do is nod as I rush away. Leaving half my heart behind in hells gate as the other is lost in the forest. Take one of the new roving speeders and hustle to try and get to the shack its a god ways way but the pilot having my gun to his head helped speed thing along. That is until an arrow comes flying in disabling the copter hurtling us down. The landing was definitely rough and my pilot was dead but i was close enough I could make it on foot. I start rushing through the forest making my way when out of nowhere Dickson comes into my view

He was a fellow soldier. Was on the same transport as me when we first arrived on Pandora but like his last name implied he was a massive dick.Misogynistic, self absorbed, everything wrong with a guy he had wrapped up in a package.

“Well ill be damned the rumors where true”

“And what rumors would that be.”

“That you turned your back on the colonel and the others from some blue dick.” I just grimace at his stupid face waiting to see what move he would make

“I know quartich said not to harm you but if your turning ass and hanging with the tree fuckers then you deserve to die here and now.”

“Then do it you punk ass bitch.” I say before coming at the soldier with gusto. My life is on the line, my son's life. The life of my friends. I have everything to lose and I won't let some gung ho jackass soldier take it all away from me. I need to get to Jake and the others I got to get somewhere to stop miles. Gun shots ring out as I ditch my gun to rush Dickerson. My knife meeting his chest multiple times effectively ending his existence. So long to bad rubbish

I don’t even look back, It wasn’t until I was finally speeding to the old shack that I felt the burning in my side. Shit. I yell out. I have nothing to stop the large hole in my side but I can’t let that stop me now. I'm almost there. I almost have everything I need in the palm of my hands. I know seeing me will stop miles I know I could get him to stand down.

Finally getting to the old shack I see Miles and Jake are going at it, both not backing down from the situation at hand. All I can do is clutch my side trying to stop the bleeding caused from that bitchs gun. I finally get into the clearing yelling out to the both of them.

“MILES, JAKE PLEASE STOP”

They both look over toward me seeing me stumble into the clearing. Jake is all done up in his warrior garb war paint on his face. He has a couple of cuts and nicks all over him. Miles wasn’t any better i dont know what happened to his amp suit but it now had no glass protection. Just miles with a exo mask over his face. The face that briefly looked upon me with worry and anxiety before his colonel mask came back up.

“Y/n get out of here it is not save”

“You don't speak to her sully”. Miles turns slightly to me still keeping jake in his peripheral vision

“Darlin what are you doing here you should be hooded up somewhere with the baby

“This needs to stop, Miles, this is wrong. You know that

“Darlin, I don't have the time to argue with you right now. I have to make sure this deserter piece off trash gets what’s coming to him

“Miles please, he just ignores me turning back to jake fully

“Jake i don't know how you and those scientists took here away from me but ill make sure you regret it

“Miles, listen to me please Jake has nothing to do with this. This is me please, I say trying to stumble further in front of jake. Him trying to reach out to me being shot back by the amp suit taking a giant step.

“Miles don't do this, let's just walk away please. We have little miles we have each other, everyone else that is left from our squad we can all stand down and go be real people, we can all be at peace with the Navi and have our own family. We don't need to fight.

“Darlin i know you aren’t telling me to turn my back on humanity

“No im telling you to choose your family and the people that matter over orders fro people who give two fucks if you lived or died today. Im begging you miles

I see his eyes cloud over with indecision. But I also saw Neytiri. I hadn’t noticed her before, preoccupied with my own wound and trying to save my family.

“Darlin you're right I.” “Neytiri NO.”

But everything is too late. Her arrows pierce through the air just as her battle cry does. All finding their target in my fiancés chest, as he and his suit go crashing into the pandorian forest floor

“NO!!!!!” I scream fumbling over to Miles exo suit.

“NO NO NO no come on miles please please please.”

He is still awake choking on the blood now filling his lungs. His eyes come over to me and he tries to lift his hand to cradle my face

“Miles please no”

“I'm sorry darlin”

“No don't be sorry I'm sorry please don't leave me. I love you so much. Please”

‘Darlin i love you tell miles I love him to”

“No you have to live to tell him yourself please.”

All i can do is clutch his hand against my face praying to whoever i can to save him. But it does nothing as the light leaves his eyes

“y/n”. I hear jake say behind me Gently coming up to me

“y/n”?

“No, leave us alone.”

“y/n come on it's not safe out here”

“It’s too late Jake please.”

Jake doesn’t listen to me and comes up kneeling next to me. Placing his giant blue hand on my shoulder I finally turned into him, letting him envelope me in the hug I oh so needed. Momentarily forgetting I was bleeding out and my love just died in my arms

“y/n I'm so sorry” he says but as he comes up to pull me away and look at me does he notice the blood now staining his hand “Shit y/n are you hit?.” he starts looking over me seeing the gaping wound in my stomach. He gently sits me to lie back on the ground trying to find something around us he can stop the bleeding with.

“Yeah one of those bitchs shot me.”

“It’s ok y/n will get you cleaned up ok Neytiri.” He yells but I just put my hand on his face to bring his attention back to me.

“Jake, I need you to do something for me ok.

“What y/n no you’ll be fine.”

Jake please i'm a soldier i know when a wound is bad. Neytiri please just stop. Neytiri now joins her mate next to me. She looks over me with a sad look in her eyes her ears pinned down almost guiltily but I didn’t blame her

I'm sorry, tiri i'm sorry for everything that has happened to you because of humans but I must ask you. Ask you both a few more favors.

I want you to take care of miles. He's just a baby. He's not his father, he's not me, he's the perfect mix of both. He will be a wonderful human, I know it in my heart. Please don't let him suffer. Please

“We will y/n i swear.” neytiri says next to me, taking my other hand in hers, placing it against her cheek.

I have something else to ask jake. Please give these to miles too.” I hand Jake my dog tags with my ring on them as well as quartichs tags with his.

Please tell him his father wasn’t a monster. He was just lost, and I failed to lead him out. Please

“We will y/n I promise”,

“Tell him I'm sorry I couldn't stay with him but I know he will be better off on Pandora instead of earth.”

They both just nod to me, tears filling their eyes. My body has long since gone cold and I know my time is near.

“My final request for you is to bury us both somewhere nice.

What? Jake asks solumely

“Yeah somewhere beautiful, somewhere in the sun together, maybe then we will be together in the next life.” They both promise me and watch as the rain begins to drop slowly the light finally leaves me and they both just look down in shame and saddens neytiri hugging my small body to her saying prayers to eywa for mine and miles soul. How could she refuse her friend's wishes? She may have not agreed with who her friend's love was but love was sacred. Her and jake would follow the women’s wishes

After the fighting was over Jake, Neytiri and the other avatars and people that had known followed my wishes. Neytiri draped me in a beautiful fabric covered with flowers. Miles was given the same treatment given a warriors garb. Both of us positioned next to each other for the rest of eternity. The omaticaya tell stories of the butcher of the hometree and how he wasn’t evil, just misguided and how it takes those around you to help each other find the right way. The story is really becoming an essential teaching lesson for all children. Miles or spider as he likes to go by now grows alongside the other sully children. Jake and Neytiri really stepped up to be parents to him along with the others who were allowed to stay alongside the Navi after the humans' mass exit. He was definitely wild but very much loved. He knew who his birth parents were and he learned how much they had loved him. Every year he and the others all go out to the grave site to pay their respects.

Everything is perfect for 16 years until one night more stars than usual fill the pandorian night sky.

[rosainta]

Day 3 of Rosain Quivan’s Daily Logs

Started December 9th, 2023 at 8:28PM, Home

Finished December 9th, 2023 at 11:33PM, Home

Log #3

Author’s Notes: Thank you for your support on the last log! I'm happy you enjoyed it, as unrefined as it was, but hopefully you'll enjoy this next one too. I want to keep these A/N's short as to have more time to write, and also to practice being more concise since that has been one of the challenges I've had with writing for a while now, so I'll just head straight on with it. This next one is an attempt at writing a chapter of an atmospheric story revolving around Medic and Heavy, of their blossoming friendship and maybe something more... up to you to decide! ;-) (The next log will be a Part Two to this, as the idea I have in mind is quite long, but feel free to leave your predictions down below!)

Title: King of Hearts (Part One) Fandom: Team Fortress 2 New Mexico, Badlands, Teufort City, The Cap Point 6:30PM, sometime during the Gravel War

"Ah, and here we are!"

The ambulance backs up into an empty lot, sealing its usual spot in the sea of other vehicles. Though the unusual choice of transport was initially an oddity, its frequent visits to this particular establishment had become so normal that no one bothered to question its presence anymore. The engine sputters to a stop, and its two unorthodox passengers hop out; the stalwart Heavy and the eccentric Medic, the iconic, unconventional yet unstoppable duo of the Badlands.

"Is good to be back, " the burly Russian exclaims, giving his comrade a hearty pat on the back as he slams the door of the ambulance. The latter grins, returning the gesture and slamming his own equally as loud.

"Yes, and it is good to have you back, mein friend! I don't doubt that the others will think ze same."

Heavy leads the way, the duo making their way towards the side of the building. Its dim neon lights glimmer in the darkening sky, creating a mixed atmosphere of class and risky fun. With the nighttime wind chills slowly falling upon them, the two quicken their pace and turn the corner. In front of them in big, shining yellow letters is a sign that reads: "The Cap Point - Teufort City's Best Bar & Tabletop Game Experience"

Heavy stops in place for a moment, looking up at the glowing signage above them. "Do you think little lady will be there?", he asks quietly.

"Pauling? Oh, I highly doubt it. Poor woman, always so busy with her work all ze time", the doctor replies, shaking his head.

"Is shame. Would have liked to challenge woman at poker; she always knows when I am bluffing", the big man chuckles to himself.

"Hah! Maybe it's because you can barely keep a straight face when you lie; your eyebrows always seem to lift up like springs, a bit like zis;"

Medic's eyes furrow, then arch into an exaggerated expression of surprise, mouth slightly agape for emphasis. Heavy scoffs, a smirk playing at his lips as he playfully crosses his arms.

"Now is doktor's turn to bluff; Heavy does not do that when lying. Heavy has excellent poker face, see?"

Heavy's face deadpans, his amused face suddenly turning cold. Medic's face, however, only grins with mischief, like that of a Cheshire cat.

"Is zat so? Well then, can you tell me where the whereabouts of my strudel from last night might be?", he asks teasingly.

Heavy's deadpan expression falters and, well, don't you know, so do his eyebrows, lifting themselves high enough they could touch the stars. Abashed, Heavy looks away to the doorways of the building, speedily turning to walk away from the sly practitioner.

"Heavy knows nothing of that, apologies", he says finally, quickly walking through the doorway. Medic laughs, satisfied with himself, and trails behind him.

As soon as they enter the establishment, they are greeted with the familiar, loud, cozy atmosphere of the bar. Various customers fill the many tables placed around the room, the bartop buzzing with animated chatter and cheery banter. Tom Jones's infamous "Sexbomb" booms on the radios, and a game of billiards is being played with such vigour at the back that you could hear the yells of the players resonate throughout the entire building. As usual, it emanates from its typical suspects.

"You've gotta be freakin' kiddin' me! What the hell is wrong with you?", a high, brash voice cries out.

"Scout, it isn't my fault that your embarassing lack of competence at breaking has made it difficult for either of us to score a point", a lower voice replies with a nasty sneer.

"Oh yeah? Well, how do you explain that the drunkest person on Earth and a wannabe American hero have scored more than you have the entire night?"

"Maybe because they had some sense to not stay on a team with a man in his twenties who can barely read!"

"Crikey, would the both of you just stop bloody bickerin'? Some of us here are actually tryin' to enjoy the game," a third gruff individual reacts.

"Shut up, this doesn't concern you!", the first two voices yell back.

Heavy laughs softly. "Looks like little men are having fun."

"Ja, why don't we go join in on ze experience?"

The two make stride across the bar, the shorter of the two men happily waving to the bartender on their way there. When they get there, the argument dies down and is instead replaced with curious excitement.

"Ey, long time no see, fat man!", Scout, the supposed incompetent breaker, exclaims.

"Ah, Heavy, it is a pleasure to see you again", Spy, the snarky Frenchman, says. "How was your trip to Siberia?"

"Was good, thank you. Is always good to see family."

Heavy takes a seat at the table next to Sniper, the attempted argument breaker, and signals for a waitress. Medic strikes up a conversation with Soldier and Demoman in the corner, excitedly babbling on about human heads, to which both of them join in without hesitation.

"One vodka", he orders, "and one sparkling water for doktor, please. Don't worry, I pay."

The lady smiles and nods, walking away to retrieve their drinks. Sniper smirks, surprised.

"Just got back and you're already feeling charitable, mate? Didn't your trip cost you enough?", Sniper laughs.

"Heavy does not mind. Doktor was there to meet Heavy at airport and buy him favourite food, so Heavy pay doktor back", he replies, matter-of-factly.

Sniper shifts in his seat, his smirk converting to a genuine smile of admiration. "Wow, it must be pretty nice havin' a good chum like the doc, huh?"

"Yes, is nice. Medic and I always nice together", Heavy says, returning the smile and turn to his friend.

From the corner of his view, he sees the Medic return his gaze and nod, a slight smile on his face and a grateful expression, before he returns to his own discussion.

The Australian takes a gulp of his martini and leans backwards in his chair, allowing himself to ease up in the comfort of the seat. He notices Heavy still looking at his friend in the corner, his expression content like that of one in a warm blanket. He scratches at the slight stubble on his chin, still observing him with intrigue.

"Say, why don't you tell me more about your friendship with our happy healer here? Seems like you two get along better than the rest of us mercs," Sniper says, adjusting his hat to better glimpse at the gentle giant before him.

Heavy looks back at the Australian and chortles, sliding his hand over the back of his head. "Ah, is very long story. Dok and I go way back, even before we became mercenary. You sure you want to hear all of it?"

"Sure, let's have a go at it. Probably be a lot more entertainin' than watching these two buggers argue the entire night", he sighs, loosely gesturing at the father-son duo as the tension begins to spark the flame of another petty anger-fest.

Heavy nods, understanding. He puts his bulky arms on the table and fully faces the marksman, inadvertedly causing the table and the fragile martini glass on it to shake a little, but neither seem to notice.

"Well", he begins, "it all starts when I first begin to live in Siberian Mountains with family, after escaping shoot-out in Gulag..."

To be continued in RQDL 4...

Credits: Team Fortress 2 by Valve Image source: Team Fortress 2 Written by Rosain Quivan Cross posted on Amino ( Rosain Quivan )

[year2000electronics]

i'm pressing u, please elaborate if u haven't already. like i'm 90% sure i know what u mean and agree w u but i wanna hear ur thoughts

OK so like i was talking w my friends about this but like. i used sonic 2 as an example. there are a lot of deleted scenes in sonic 2 where adding them to the movie does not change the canon of the movie. ie there's a character (wade) who gets his car stolen and we hard-cut to him in his garage with a bike. it's always going to be implied that wade is using his bike for the weekend, but there's a deleted scene that actually tells us he is fixing his broken bike, he lives with his mom, and likes ants on a log. so accepting that deleted scene as canon doesnt actually change the game. its dubiously canon because its not in the final product but still exists in the same universe and doesnt contradict canon.

look at like, kingdom of the sun vs emperor's new groove though. none of the deleted songs in kingdom of the sun were able to get into emperors new groove because that would destroy the tone and lore of the movie. snuff out the light is about yzma wanting to bring about an eternal night, but it can't be added to the movie because in emperor's new groove, yzma doesn't WANT to do that

so like. two types of deleted scenes. ones that you can add to canon without meddling with them, and ones where they cant be canon or else things would be worse or itd meddle with canon

and thats why i take the full streams as having a deleted scenes esque canonicity, because there is information in them thats just like. basic gags. bubby has an ipod. tommy says they fucked up the billboards. gordon's suit j- uh- nevermind.

but then you see in stuff like the commentaries that, like, some stuff was consciously LEFT OUT because it made canon worse or make less sense. like wayne cutting out his actual response to dr coomers 'what if it was fake' question, and wayne having to cut moments where he talks directly to chat and the science team responds to the chat dialogue (ie. cutting out the context of 'gordon, i need spices')

tldr i dont automatically accept the full streams as canon specifically because there's a 'final product' that exists in the edited videos, so im more inclined to not pay attention to full streams information because a lot of them had a very good reason for not being included. but also a lot of them were cut for scene so id be willing to slot them into my belief system

[knotty-pink-hair]

Pikmin Fanfiction

Log 2…“Harvest Area 63: Giants’ Garden”

“You’re not going to hurt it,” Klark said. He had his arms crossed. The squad of 14 rockmin stood next to him. Their beady eyes watched me with enthusiasm.

I reached out and gripped the stem of the single rockmin in front of me. A chill blistered in my chest—it felt wrong.

“I won’t hurt it,” I said to myself.

I reached back and threw it. The rockmin soared past the pink honeywisp, missing. [a harmless, flying insect that carries an egg]

“Hurry, the wisp is gettin’ away,” Klark snorted. The piebald egg slowly passed over our heads as the creature flew above us.

I whistled the single rockmin back to me; took its stem in my hands once again and pulled back. This time I managed to hit the wisp, and it sped away with a sharp cry. The rockmin swarmed on the dropped nectar. I watched in amazement as several leafheads rapidly bloomed into purple flowers.

“Huh,” I said.

“Well done. Your rockmin is unharmed, and you gave the wisp a concussion.” Klark plucked the rockmin and handed it to me. Looking into its face, I didn’t see any fear.

“I don’t understand why it trusts me.”

“You must not overthink these things,” Klark said. He whistled loudly, charged the squad toward a cluster of pellet posies. The new flowerheads rushed ahead of the leafheads, overtook the stems with violence.

I kept pace with Klark. “The pikmin only met me yesterday. We’ve built no bond yet.”

“Nah, no, don’t need it,” he said. “Pikmin are much simpler than that.” He pointed at his antenna as he jogged. “They think we have stems just like them and that’s good enough. We look like family. They instinctively trust us.”

“But…the antenna glow?”

“All the more exciting to pikmin. Like radiating blossoms.”

We stopped short at one of the large, red boulders [bricks]. Klark tapped on his kopad. In a second, the S.S. Fledgling and the onion soared over our heads, landed nearby. Klark blew his whistle again, signaling. The rockmin ran back and forth from the red boulder wall to the Fledgling, their little arms outstretched to carry clay. We would need them to construct a mound to reach the top of the wall where a cluster of fruits rested—12 to collect all before sunset. The number of enemies over the wall was something like 43.

I glared at the mound. My first battles laid ahead of me.  

We stood and observed the rockmin. Next to us, partially buried, rested another monolithic object left behind from the Giants. It had a metal head and a soft handle [trowel]. When the rockmin completed the construction of the mound, Klark divided the squad into two units. I set my rockmin to excavate the object in the ground. Klark left my side; disappeared into a patch of black corral bells. 

Nearby, Zileke rode atop of Yew holding tight to the dog’s collar. Her squad of yellow pikmin tore away at an electric wall. I flinched watching the sparks fly. I could hear her over the comm system snapping at them to hurry up.

Zileke would be over the red boulder wall before us, which meant I needed to get ahead of her to clear the path. I wished she’d slow down. This was my first day on the field. Was she always going to be like this?

I checked my kopad to track our progress, felt a jolt of fear as I saw a local harvest team encounter a massive enemy. I hadn’t seen any enemies comparable to this size; this beast dwarfed them all. Little by little the dots representing pikmin winked out. Something was eating them.

Total annihilation. That could happen to us.

A rockmin blurred as it shot past my head. I snapped to attention. Klark continued to hurl them toward me. The rockmin impacted on the ground, screamed as foliage suddenly moved; red eyes appeared, and serrated forelegs. One of the leaves wrapped its forelegs around a rockmin, worked its mandibles, and pulled the victim into its mouth with alarming speed. This rockmin, already half-consumed, wailed with deafening desperation; petals flew off its stem in a flurry of violence. I charged forward and grabbed the rockmin by its stem, attempting to wrench it from the creature’s mouth.

Rockmin rained down from above and crushed the creatures—desiccated skitter leaves—causing them to drop stiffly. I fell backward with the single rockmin in my arms. It was reduced to a leafhead once more. Its face was severely scratched so that it could only see out of one eye.

I thought it was trembling with fear as well. It took me a moment to realize it was my own arms that were trembling. The rockmin winked at me as if nothing had happened.

Klark gave me such a look of impatience. He said in an even voice, “Put down the rockmin. Get to your feet. With me, now.”

We stopped at the now completed mound. Klark looked at me, simply motioned with his hand for me to take up the whole squad of 15 rockmin. There was a piece of fruit just beyond us, and I assumed that’s what he wanted me to collect.

I nodded, whistled the rockmin to my side.   

How could I let those skitter leaves sneak up on us? I didn’t notice—damn it. Okay. Move on. Clear the path for Yew and Zileke. You can do this. Eliminate all enemies.

I crossed my arms to stop their shaking. We climbed up the mound and entered a valley with soft, loamy soil. No enemies present. A cluster of dusk pustules [purple grapes] lie on the ground before us. I charged the rockmin toward it.

Klark was frustrated with me. Is that why he commanded me up here on my own? He thinks I’m weak.  

The rockmin stood around the pustules and took turns ripping them from the vine. Hup hup hup they chanted as they marched back toward me each carrying one pustule.

I checked the map on my kopad, taking my eyes off the rockmin, being careful to make sure we were safe. Then I saw a blur of white in my peripheral vision.  

We were ambushed by two whiptongue bulborbs. [large two-legged ladybugs with spindly tongues]  

***

I returned to Klark with only three rockmin and 40% damage to my suit. My helmet contained fractals of hairline cracks from the beasts’ tongues. I hyperventilated, panicked, tried to rip off my helmet. Such a stupid thing to do. Just like when new divers panic underwater and try to remove their masks.

Klark ripped my arms away from my helmet.

“You killed the two whiptongues?” He asked.

“I lost so many pikmin!” I shouted at him, breathless. “No! No!”

He whistled a squad of redmin up the mound to collect the bulborb corpses and the pustules. My three remaining rockmin stood around me, emotionless expressions on their little black faces.

Why didn’t it bother them to see their siblings die? Didn’t they understand?

“Thistle, you’re our security officer,” Klark said calmly. He kneeled and looked me in the eye. “You will see a great deal more of this, of death. Get used to it. Those bulborb corpses will be used to make seedlings. You’ll have more rockmin tomorrow—”

“We had it—we—”

“—and they’ll blindly follow your every command just like the last squad did. They’d follow you right into a pool of water and drown if you commanded them.”

“—didn’t show up on the radar. Why weren’t the whiptongues on the radar—we weren’t ready—I didn’t know.” I swallowed a few times.

Klark deliberated a moment, added, “That’s because I took the whiptongues off the radar before I sent you up.”

I panted, staring wide-eyed at him.

“You what?” I whispered.

Klark replied, “You need to overcome the shock of all this. You know what your job is. And if you like, I will send you back to Koppai and your juice plant. Maybe you’re better suited for that.”

My rapid breathing caused steam to fog up the inside of my helmet.

“No—no, I will not do that,” I said, though it turned into a growl.

“The reason I tested you, Thistle, is because there are certain circumstances where enemies may not appear on your radar. Technology is fallible. You need to be prepared for the unexpected. It’s as simple as that, and I don’t care that it’s your first day. Understand?”  

I nodded, kept my mouth shut. My mind raced with images from the attack: the blur of the pink tongues cutting through the air, the wet sheen of the bulborbs’ massive eyes. I had made eye contact with one of them, felt this awful stiff feeling on the surface of my skin, of hair standing up on my arms, some kind of animal instinct within me feeling the closeness of death.

Klark observed the redmin as they marched by carrying the two enormous whiptongues. Their spindly tongues dragged on the ground.

Hup hup hup the redmin chanted.

“Heavy bastards,” Klark said. He gave me a moment to get my breathing under control; my kopad chirped over my spiked cortisol levels. Then Klark pointed toward the redmin. He was singling out an individual, but through the cracks in my helmet it appeared to be multiple redmin. It followed behind the others, kept stopping to look around, to look at us, as if it was thinking.

“You see that?” Klark asked me.

“Yes. Is it confused?” I asked and got to my feet.

“Mmm,” Klark mumbled. “I want Axiom to look at that one. Something’s not right there.”

My legs still trembled. A blurry memory of last night passed through my mind—the one redmin sitting beneath the onion, staring at our ship.

Had I dreamt that?

***

Back at basecamp, Yew slumbered on the floor next to our dining table. Zileke sat on the couch applying an ointment to her abdominal muscles. Her half-drank juice bottle rested next to her. Klark was outside setting the perimeter motion sensors.

“Already need a new helmet, huh?” Zileke asked. I noticed a bruise on her side.

“Yes,” I said quietly. Are you going to antagonize me now?

“Pssh. Tough break. Sorry to hear it.” She popped the cap back onto the ointment. “Glad it wasn’t me though.” Zileke took a brush from the counter and sat on the floor. She ran it through Yew’s fur, and the fat lump rolled onto her back. “Don’t go breathing in too much oxygen, Thistle. You might turn into a leafling,” she said without looking at me.

We said nothing for several minutes.

Then I said to her, “My transport ship went through an electric field before we landed here. We briefly lost control of everything. Is that what causes all of the castaways on this planet?” Zileke nodded, kept running the brush over Yew’s belly.  “Don’t they know that? Why does it keep happening?”

She shrugged. “A little electric field isn’t going to scare off rich citizens from traveling where they want to. They just have to pay taxes to the Rescue Corps to come and get them. Easy.” She pulled a bramble from Yew’s fur, but the dog did not react whatsoever. “None of our problems are their problems, Thistle. You know the rich families on Koppai don’t experience famine. There is always juice for them. And there are always harvesters to collect that juice.”

She eyed the gloves I was wearing. I slid them off my hands and drank deeply from my bottle—freshly squeezed juice from the dusk pustules.

A reward after so much death.

I remembered the rockmin I pulled from the skitter leaf’s mouth. Had I saved it only for it to be eaten later by the whiptongue? From the mouth of one beast to the mouth of another.

Maybe Klark was right. I shouldn’t think so deeply about these things.

I stood up, one hand on my head. I began to walk toward the sleeping quarters when Zileke spoke over her shoulder.

“Don’t get too comfortable. Klark wants to juice all of the harvest before turning in for the night.”

I turned around and looked at her.

“Hey,” she said. “It’s in accordance with crisis procedures. If I die, Klark dies, you die, you know, whoever is left needs to juice the fruit for pickup. Otherwise, people starve back at home. Even if you’re dead, there’s work to be done. Get it?”

I nodded, came back, and sat at the table again.

“Zileke?” I said.

“What?” She looked up at me. Yew also opened her eyes and looked up.

“We are visiting the S.S. Sentinel in a few days to meet Axiom.”

She pulled a clump of fur from the brush. “Yes, it’s another part of crisis procedures. You need to know how to run night expeditions and collect glow sap in case too many teammates eat shit.” She gave Yew’s belly a smack. “You’ll make cure vials with Axiom’s apprentice Vivette. You know there have to be procedures for this type of scenario. If everyone around you is turned into a leafling and…incapacitated…you’ll need to produce and administer cure.” She snorted. “Trust me, if we ever got to that point, you should just hunker down in the ship and wait. Let the Rescue Corps deal with it.” She took a long drink from her bottle.

“Mmm, that’s not what I wanted to ask you about,” I said quietly.

She stopped short, licked her lips. “Eh? Then what do you want to know?”

“Have you noticed the one redmin behaving strangely? How can Axiom help it?”

A pause.

“Oh, not this again—it’s just a pikmin!” She shouted. “They don’t behave strangely. They listen. They work. They make a lot of little noises. Klark is on his bullshit don’t listen to him.” She paused, drained the rest of her juice from her bottle. “I don’t want two of you filling my ears with conspiracy theories. This kind of work is already conducive to insanity.”

She called for Yew, and they both disappeared into the sleeping quarters. I picked up her bottle and mine to wash them in the sink. Outside the window, Klark stood in the moonlight with his hands on his hips staring up at the onion.

How on earth does he know one specific redmin is acting strangely? How can he tell it’s the same one every time? They all look the same.

“We’d have to mark it somehow,” I said to myself. Tie a ribbon around its stem or give it a collar. Something like that. I went to my sleeping quarters to rifle through my belongings.

***

I stood next to Klark, half-asleep, with a giant empty bottle in my arms. He clicked away on a screen. A green zest bomb [lime] dropped into the feeder tube and then the pusher crushed it against the juicing cone. Green pulpy liquid poured into a bottle and then another, filling them. The aroma of citrus flooded the room. My mouth watered.

“Thistle,” Klark said firmly.

I flinched. “Ye-yes?” I asked.

“I said put that bottle over there. I over-estimated. We won’t need it.”

“Okay.”

I placed the bottle on an open shelf next to the refrigeration units. Klark pushed past me and retrieved a half-filled bottle of juice left over from a tremendous sniffer [pear]. He fitted it into the machine and let the remainder of the bottle fill with the last of the zest bomb. The resulting liquid was electric, cloudy green.

We loaded the bottle into the fridge. I imagined Aster back at home putting her chapped lips to it, drinking deeply. I’d rest my head on her shoulder, breathing her in. She’d take some of her ivory ribbon and thread it through my hair. She liked my hair better when it was down, she’d say, and I’d mumble something about shaving it all off so it wouldn’t get in my face.

“But if you shave off all your hair, you’ll be ugly,” Aster would say.

“I was ugly when you met me, first of all,” I’d say. That always made her laugh.

She was asleep by now. I hoped she remembered to submit for additional rations next month for the twins. I always had to do it; she’d never remember to do it.

“Thistle,” Klark said.  I flinched again. “Let me talk to you a moment.”

We walked to the kitchen and sat down. I tried to sit upright and appear alert despite my exhaustion. I hoped like hell this conversation wouldn’t take long. I was afraid I’d nod off in the middle of him talking.

“Recount to me the day’s work,” he said. “Everything completed after the whiptongue attack. Be brief.”

I did as he asked. Construction of two bridges over lakes. Elimination of all 43 enemies in the harvest area. Collection of 12 treasures. Sparklium converted to fuel—fuel gauge at ¾ full. Discovered and logged coordinates of two caves. Received communication from adjacent team KoCo Freight 3433 to supply 212 units of raw material. Supply run approved. Scouted basecamp boundaries for enemies. Provided security for Zileke to complete pup training—Yew learned skill Swim II. Team reported back to basecamp.

I waved my hand.

“Sunset, juiced the harvest. I will file an incident report for my helmet,” I added.

“Hmm,” Klark offered.

I reached into my pocket and pulled out a spool of ivory ribbon.

“I can tie some of this around the redmin’s stem so we can keep track of it.”

“Hmm.”

“You don’t think that will work?”

“It will untie it. Tried that three different ways already.”

I folded my fingers together.

“I’m surprised it would do that.”

“Hmm.”

“Is it sick?”

“Could be.”

“So then Axiom will look at it?”

“He might observe it for a few days before performing an autopsy.”

“Oh.”

“Most likely a fungal infection in the brain affecting neural activity. It hasn’t tried climbing at all, but I suspect cordyceps.”

I shivered.

“Thistle,” Klark said. This time he looked me in the eyes.

“Yeah.”

“This isn’t easy for me to say, but you’ve surprised me. I had you sorted out in my mind. Now I’ve had to change my initial impression. You know, new recruits face their first battle and depending on their reaction, I can immediately tell if they will make it as a security officer.” He leaned back in his chair. “Your interaction with the desiccated skitter leaves concerned me. They were even able to sneak up on you.”

“Ehh,” I offered.

“And you seemed afraid of hurting your pikmin, which is an inherent risk of harvesting. Then you went up to get the dusk pustules, and you faced off against the two whiptongue bulborbs. The battle went poorly. Twelve rockmin lost. You were emotionally incapacitated and did not retrieve your prey or fruit.”

It sounds awful hearing it all laid out like that.

He paused. “And yet I was astonished at your rebound from the incidents of this morning. You completed excellent work for your first day. That feral way you have about you came back out. All of the enemies you faced after the whiptongues did not cause you to hesitate. You engaged, you commanded your rockmin. I feel as though I’ve seen two different recruits today.”

Oh.

He paused again, picked up the ribbon to admire it. “Zileke and I will escort you to the S.S. Sentinel for your five days of training. During this time, Axiom will observe the redmin. I will expect you to euthanize it when the time comes. This is usually how these things play out. Can’t have infection spreading to the onion.”

“Okay,” I answered. “How do I—”

“You’ll feed it some medicated nectar and then wait for it to fall asleep. Its heart will stop within a few minutes of consumption.”

We both walked to the sleeping quarters. We said goodnight. I stood in the doorway to my room for a long time thinking about the day, remembering the bruise on Zileke’s ribs. Yew had kicked her when they’d been in the water training for Swim II. I had guarded them during the time, observing them now and again, and I could tell the dog had a fear of diving. She hated putting her head underwater—a necessary skill for Yew if she was to keep advancing. Zileke appeared to be in denial of this and went on swimming beside Yew, talking to her, giving commands. I thought it was a waste of time, but I knew better than to give my opinion.

I took a shower, nearly fell asleep standing upright.

Back in my sleeping quarters and wrapped in a towel, I stood in the middle of the room dripping onto the floor. A sense of malaise had set in. Aster theorized my bouts of discomfort meant I was murdered in a previous life.

I didn’t like the idea of living numerous lifetimes and facing starvation in each of them. 

I laid in bed staring at my cracked helmet that rested on the bedside table, thought of the duplicating images of the redmin.

***

That night I dreamt I was a pikmin. I ran with the others in my squad, heard the sharp cry of the charge horn as we rushed toward a pile of gold. Some of us collected it, ran it back to the S.S. Fledgling while some of us faced off against some unknown enemy. It was a bloated, furry thing with two legs or sometimes six; a long neck, a white head with a false mouth. The real mouth was at the base of the neck, hidden in the fur. Keratin plates on its back flapped up and down in a hypnotic display. The horn sounded out: charge the enemy! Charge the enemy!

My squad cheered as they advanced, myself among them, the sound of our breathing loud and steaming in this cold place; and I looked up at the creature, felt fear sharply lodged in my chest, but a hysteric fervor ignited my being, our victory was certain. And as the front line latched onto the beast’s fur, beginning to climb, there was a hot release of gas from its body; this hit our faces, and stopped me dead in my tracks; too quickly, instantly it seemed, the beast teetered backward, its belly bloating and stretching the skin to translucence, and the abdominal cavity burst open flooding the battlefield with hot viscera. Pikmin slid, collided with each other, screamed hysterically as the wave of acidic blood washed over them and began dissolving their bodies. In only a few seconds, the battlefield went quiet as the last of the survivors—all molten scarlet bodies—collapsed and went still.

And I felt the heat of all of it on my skin. I panted, my breath rising in this cold place. I was alone. When the body of the beast collapsed in its own entrails, I peered into the open abdominal cavity. I could hear something inside, something chewing.

[violentdelightsandviolentends]

guess who just logged in!!! yes its me 🏁 anon!!! its like you summoned me fr. im sorry, i started my summer class and have been having to do stupid school work and i want to end it all BUT i have been seeing all the drama and am suffering being a mclaren fan now. its really embarrassing how mclaren acted over those radios, they need to get it together! who do they think they are?? ferrari ??? still so proud of the 1-2, they ate that up, and oscars win!!! it sucks that its getting overshadowed but all this mess (all mclarens fault, no blame on the drivers) but my best friend is coming to visit me this weekend and i havent seen her in forever (its been 2 months) we are planning on watching the race this weekend and im hoping that things are better this weekend. ANYWAY, how are you queen, how are you feeling about all this icky drama ?? - 🏁 anon <3

hi angel!! don’t ever apologise for being a boss and working hard <3

yeah I am one of many very embarrassed mclaren fans right now. just so… unnecessary. uncalled for. out of line. let’s hope spa is better (or else i’m going to have to evaluate my life choices lmao)

the thing that has gotten under my skin the most is the manipulation of lando and their lack of faith in him. I knew from the minute they asked that he’d give the place back, and I don’t even know the guy. he’s been a loyal teammate, always a team player, he’s been nothing but devoted to that team, and he really genuinely seems to respect oscar. he’s not going to mess that up, he never was. he was simply making a point and teaching them a lesson, which was deserved

but the way will was begging him, the way andrea was telling will what to say, all that shit about the sunday morning meetings and I know you’ll do the right thing… that was manipulative. the guilt tripping really did upset me actually, because they put lando in that position in the first place. he’s been nothing but loyal to that team and now they’re playing mind games because they made a mistake? yeah I hated it

also hated that what should have been the biggest moment of oscar’s career got overshadowed by drama that was avoidable. it’s a real shame for him honestly, but still so so happy for him

also I am so sick of this “lando didn’t spray oscar with champagne on the podium because he was bitter” narrative I am seeing all over twitter. lando didn’t spray oscar because oscar was busy holding onto the trophy for dear life while lando did his champagne pop. they were both clearly thinking about the trophies, so lando sprayed lewis instead. twitter always makes lando the bad guy, and i’m not saying he hasn’t made mistakes in the past because by god he definitely has. but he really does get hated on for breathing on that app

omg i’m so sorry for all this. think I needed to get it off my chest lmao, i’m still raging apparently