#hill climb racing 2

[r0sylem0ns]

now i don't go use the new account, cuz i am... 😭 i dont wanna get this closed for no reason

old fanarts of mobilegames here

(actually i am active at newgrounds and insta, so heh, js)

[fingerbill]

Scary Alert

Who is in my back

[dietcokeluvr6969]

my life is like a video game, trying hard to beat the stage

[fancypantsrecords]

Game Music Collective - Restart: Finnish Game Music Revised | Self-released | 2023 | Black

[placeinthemiddleofnowhere]

Keep Moving Forward

Pairing: König x Reader

Summary: You're determined to find out why everyone thinks König is so scary, afterall he's just some guy that's taller than most people right? He's probably harmless! Well, he's a little scary, but you still like him anyway.

(No use of y/n or mention of gender/race)

AN: Just want to say a massive thank you for everyones lovely comments on the last part, I can't believe how many notes that has now 😱 I've got a taglist so if you want to be added or removed (I just stuck down everyone that commented or reblogged the last one with tags/comments) lemme know! Also I've got my own version of what König looks like and I've been including details so hopefully you like my thoughts on him 🥰

Part 2 of A Rocky Start - Full Masterlist Here

-☠️-

A forbidden crush, a whole unit of men watching out for any missteps and a job that required you to be on your A game - it all sounded a bit like a bonkers netflix plot, but no this was your life now. You were desperately trying to hide your little (massive) König crush, while trying to get through your days and it was going horribly. The universe was working against you. 

König kept appearing for one. Now that he knew you weren’t talking to him just to fuck with him, you’d been meeting more and more and talking for longer each time. In fact, you’d come to learn a lot about the man in the short amount of time you’d spent together and unfortunately for you, nothing about any of it turned you off.  In fact, you were only falling harder for him. 

Every touch, every grazed hand when you were reaching for mugs and brushed sides when you sat together on the couch - they were driving you crazy. Not to mention catching little details about him here and there, painting a mental picture that rivalled the mona lisa. 

You’d caught a glimpse of a scar that snaked up from his lip and a few that marred his hands and arms, you’d noted bruises that carried back from missions and most of all you couldn’t help but think of the little birthmark on his left hip that he’d exposed when he’d been reaching for tea. You thought about running your fingers along them often, kissing them all better. 

You’d learned that it was pretty much pointless to make movie references to König because he barely took time to watch them. He was much more of a doer, he didn’t like to sit still for long and most film runtimes were over an hour and a half, which was no good for him. And so you’d slowly gotten a peek into his more active hobbies. Hiking, rock climbing and skiing, only to name a few. The man was an athlete that rivalled most of the soldiers you knew.  

“And this was the view from top!” he’d proudly said after he showed you another picture from one of his hikes.

“Woah, no wonder your legs are like tree trunks,” you’d murmured, raking your eyes over his thick thighs.

“What was that?”

“Oh! Just- you must get a good workout climbing all those hills.”

Just one of the many times you’d let your appreciation for him slip. You could barely help it most of the time, he had your words fizzling out like some kind of mentos and coke explosion. The highly trained soldier in you died the minute you were in a room with him. 

It was when he grabbed you that you finally went stupid for him. König was - as Captain Price had described him - a mammoth in many regards. You’d already taken note of his verging on monstrous height, but you’d come to learn a lot more about his strength. He could lift you like you were little more than a lap dog.

How had you come to find this out? Well -

“Watch out!”

Your head had been completely in the clouds, busy catching up with messages from your family, when suddenly you were in the air. You gasped as you felt a pair of hulking arms pick you like an apple from a low hanging branch and squeaked when you looked down and came to notice the pile of vomit that lurked below your flailing feet. Gross. 

Then you’d come to the slow realisation of exactly whose arms were wrapped around you. Suddenly the rising feeling of nausea was replaced by hordes of stirred up butterflies.

“Are you ok?” 

You blinked, still shocked that König was holding you like you were nothing.

“Uh- ah- yeah! Yup! All good, big guy!”

You’d hurried out your reply, sputtering out your words like a leaky tap. You felt like an idiot. Then the feeling intensified when he put you down and turned you to face him. In fact, you felt like someone had placed a heat pad to your face after running a marathon.

If he could lift you that easy when you were limp, imagine how easy he could lift you up against the wall and-

“Are you sure you’re ok? You look…not so good?.”

You gulped and offered him what you hoped was a reassuring smile and then - to make matters worse - a double thumbs up (who did that???). You silently cursed in your mind, but covered up your embarrassment by staring back at the sick pile for a second and then facing König again.

“Ew…thanks for saving me from that! I would’ve been throwing up as well if I’d had to clean that outta my shoes.”

“Any time, friend!”

Friend.

It stung a little, but then you had to remind yourself you were both supposed to be acting professionally, this was a base afterall, and quickly righted yourself. Friend would do fine in a setting where Price would have your head for even looking at König a little flirtily. Especially when the resident gossips had continued to grass you in for any interactions they caught. 

-☠️-

“That was some amount of whitey those new recruits left all over the hallways yesterday,” Soap had remarked after finishing a set of pull ups. 

You hummed in agreement, remembering back to being lifted and growing quiet as you thought about Königs bulging arms. It had been a recurring thought for the whole twenty two hours since it had happened. Not that you were counting or anything, especially not being obsessive by any means. It was just that the electricity that had been sparked by that touch had been racing around your body and now you were stuck replaying the scene over and over in your head like an accursed rerun. 

“English, Soap,” Ghost grunted, from a nearby bench. 

“There was a lot of puke all over the place yesterday,” Soap sighed, rolling his eyes at the Lieutenant. 

“Oh yeah, I heard about that. Did you hear sneaky almost stepped in it?”

“Ooft, that’d be a shite shift cleaning that off.”

“I know. Luckily little sneak got airlifted to safety,” Ghost said slyly, giving you a pointed look. “Got snatched away by a certain giant before they stepped right in it.”

You froze in your spot, just about to curl a weight upwards before letting it crash out of your hands and onto the floor. That fucking, no good old dear prick! How had he heard about that? You hadn’t thought anyone else had been around when it had happened. 

“Careful, sneak. The German’s not here to stop that from stubbing your toe,” Ghost chuckled.

“He’s Austrian actually…And how did you know about that?”

“Oooh! Austrian,” Soap snickered.

“Well I do apologise. You should know by now that I hear about everything when it comes to our unit, sweetheart.”

You hated that. Whenever Ghost patronisingly called you sweetheart it made your blood boil and clouded your thoughts like a thick red mist. Though, there was nothing you could do about it. He wasn’t someone you could wage revenge on without being thoroughly outgunned in all respects. Plus, it would only make you look more guilty. 

“Well, you didn’t even know what nationality König was so you don’t know everything,” you muttered.

“Well, now that you’ve filled me in, I can go tell Price you were getting lifted up by the big Austrian cunt that he told you to stay away from,” he countered smugly. 

“What! I can’t help who snatches me out of the air from nowhere,” you hissed. “Have you seen the size of him? I can’t exactly stop him.”

He tisked. 

“Well then, soldier. Sounds like you need more training. C’mere, we’ll practise getting out of holds!”

You yelped as Ghost had come crashing toward you and dove out of the way just in time to miss his outstretched arms. Even if he was smaller than your new companion, Ghost was still built like a tank - and he would pin you down like a mouse under the wheel of a 4x4 if he caught you. 

“Stay away from me!” you’d squealed, running away from the gym. 

“Oh now you’re suddenly averse to getting grabbed!”

-☠️-

Essentially, you were discovering a new level of hell every day. Your entire unit had cottoned on to your little thing with König and now there was no escape from the jokes they made. Well that is until Price came along and no one was quite enough of an asshole to mention your activities to him. You all knew the consequences of getting his back up and it wasn’t worth the stress for anyone. 

Though, not everyone was aware of that - König himself for one. Unluckily for you, you’d found yourself in the kitchen with Price and Soap and just as the kettle was put to the boil, who should walk in but the Austrian giant himself. 

“Evening,” he murmured, barely loud enough to be heard over the kettle. 

Soap looked up from his phone as he noticed König and widened his eyes before searching you out and giving you a sly smile. Oh lord. You knew he was going to love watching you squirm. 

Suddenly your heart was thudding like a samba drum and your mind was racing to find your self restraint. Don’t let Price see you turn into a nervous fucking wreck! You repeated that over and over like a mantra, turning it over in the sands of your mind as if you might find some calm that way. 

“Evenin’” you smiled, feeling your voice lilt.

Oh god. 

You smiled at König as he approached the counter and promptly scampered away to the table, hoping that by keeping some distance you wouldn’t be so transparent. Fat chance considering the stupid smirk that was all over Soap’s face as he pretended to batter his eye lashes behind Price’s back. Asshole!

You knew you looked guilty as hell, even if you were walking away from König. However, any chance of not being caught ogling by Price was worth taking. So you figured you’d stare at your phone instead and prayed to all the gods you knew of that König was busy and he’d have to leave again after getting himself something to drink. 

Why didn’t he ever go out for food? There was a perfectly nice pub just over the road and he could easily go there instead of looking over you all the time - putting you in grievous danger of toilet duty. You’d have to tell him about it sometime, and hope that he’d ask to go with you. 

“Anyone else want a brew?” Price offered, in the midst of pouring his own cup. 

You looked up from your phone screen, darting your eyes over to the captain. Answer him! Speak normally!

“Oh! Yes, me please.”

Maybe that was a little more polite and nicey-nice than usual, but at least you were coherent. That was something, a small victory.

“Coffee for me, Price,” Soap grinned. 

You breathed out a small sigh now that Price was distracted by Soap and let your eyes wander over to König, resting your chin in your hand. He was so big, he towered over the two other men by a few heads at least. He could pin you down like a lion and there’d be nothing you could do about it, nothing you’d want to do about it. 

“That’s the wrong one.”

You jumped as König’s accented voice interrupted the thankful silence and widened your eyes as you watched him turn to Price. What was he doing? You sucked in a breath and watched as the two men became locked into an exchange and silently hoped a rogue sniper might take you out. 

“Sorry, what was that?” Price asked, frowning deeply as he stared at the masked man.

“That’s the wrong tea,” König supplied helpfully. “Sneaky likes this one.”

As if correcting Price on his choice of tea wasn’t enough, König went to the lengths of picking a bag of your herbal stuff out. He dropped it into the mug and stuck the other bag back in the back, tilting his head as Price stared at him with a raised eyebrow. 

“Well then…thanks for the advice,” he finally said, turning to stare you down. “It’s never nice when you expect one thing and get the other.”

You were in deep shit. 

He was giving you the ‘I’ve killed before and I’ll do it again’ look. You gulped and slumped in your chair, feeling like a tiny child that was about to get reprimanded. Price was going to learn all about your involvement with König soon, the game was up. 

“Oh yeah, no problem!” König said, sounding like he was smiling under his mask. 

That idiot! 

Though, in fairness to him he knew nothing about the toilet duty thing. He didn’t even have any idea that you weren’t supposed to be interacting with him, especially when you’d gone so out of your way to do it over the past month. It wasn’t his fault, but at the same time you could strangle his beautiful massive neck for what he’d done. 

“Sneak, would you mind coming with me for a moment? I think we should have a little chat,” Price smiled. “I’ll bring your tea.”

He was probably omitting that he was going to dump it over your stupid head, you thought worriedly. This wasn’t good at all. 

You gulped and nodded at him, slinking out of your chair like a dog about to take a beating. Though, you continued to follow behind him just as dutifully - Ignoring Soap as he gave you a little wave off and a snarky smile. You knew as soon as you’d left that he was messaging the group chat right then, and the whole 141 would know that you were getting pulled up for speaking to König. 

He lead you down the hall and into an empty meeting room, setting the two mugs down on the table, they hit the wood like death knells, and pointed to the chair in front of him. It all felt very formal, like this was going to be one of the worst telling offs of your life. 

“Don’t look so scared, kid.”

You bit your tongue and chanced a look in his eyes, seeing the glint that lingered within them. He didn’t look furious, but he didn’t look like he was going to offer you a cuddle and kind words either. It made you sweat a little less, but you weren’t dumb enough to completely untense your body yet. 

“Y-you’re not annoyed that I’ve been speaking to König?” You asked, chancing your luck.

“Oh, I’m annoyed, but I’m not going to kill you for it,” he laughed humorlessly, leaning back in his chair. “You look like you’re going to shit yourself.”

“I think I might,” you said, biting your lip and fastening your shaky hands around your warm tea cup. 

“See, that’s why I’m concerned about this…relationship you’re building with König. I worry about you.”

You frowned, thoroughly surprised by his reaction. He was being a damn sight more sympathetic than you were expecting. This wasn’t a bollocking, this was an intervention. 

“You don’t have to worry. We’re just friends - strictly platonic! We talk and have tea together, nothing more than that,” you explain breathily, hoping it’ll appease the captain.

He strokes a hand through his beard and eyes you warily. He’s clearly unconvinced. His jaw is set into a worried line. 

“Hmm.”

He doesn’t give much away. 

“Really, I’m not trying to take things f-further.”

You stutter like a liar. Really, that is what you’re doing if you’re honest with yourself. You might not be asking König out on dates and braiding flowers into his gear, but you have been shamelessly flirting with him and getting into close proximity with him at the slightest chance. Plus, Price practically knows you better than your own parents, he’d be able to tell when you were acting differently, like you were in terminal stages of puppy love. 

“Look, he’s not part of our unit, so really it’s none of my business, I can’t actually do anything about it - as much as I’d like to,” he says, glowering for a moment. “I just think that he’s dangerous and I don’t like the thought of you getting close to him. For all I know, he’s nice enough to you, but when he’s on the field that man’s an animal. There’s something wrong with him.” 

You gasp a little as he says it, shocked that he’d say something like that to you. What did he mean there was something wrong with König? Sure, you thought, he was quiet and intimidating but he was so polite and cheerful when you’d gotten to know him more. It’s not like most people were their best selves on a battlefield - it was in your training to leave all that behind. It was hypocritical to judge Königs actions given your experience with the 141 out on missions. 

“What do you mean there’s something wrong with him?” You finally asked, curious to know just what Price meant. 

“He takes too much pleasure in the work he does. He’s sick when he’s out there- like letting a rabid dog out of its cage. I worry about you getting involved with him and being at the mercy of a man like that. You wouldn’t have any chance against him, Sneak. I’ve seen him crush bones like they’re twigs, he’d snap you like a toothpick.”

You can feel your pulse in your ears, can hear it working away like a jackhammer. You don’t know how to respond. The fact that Price is this worried for you really does concern you, but on the other hand König has never given you any reason to be scared of him beyond that first encounter you’d had with him. Then again, you reasoned that that surely wasn’t the real him - that was guarded walled up version of him. Right? 

“I see,” you sighed, not able to come out with more. 

“I know you won’t want to take my word for it, and you’re going to keep doing whatever it is you're actually doing. I just want to know that you’ve been warned and you’re going to be careful.”

You took a breath and looked away, roving your eyes over the assortment of chairs on the other side of the room. Sure, you could take his warning on. Though, it didn’t feel like it was going to stick, not when you thought back to his arms wrapped around you and making you feel like a precious gem. 

“I’ll keep what you’ve said in mind,” you acquiesced. 

“Good soldier,” Price smiled, leaning over and patting your shoulder.

You swallowed thickly and stood up, feeling your breathing return back to normal. Well that was it then. You weren’t going to be killed on sight and you didn’t have to worry about staring down the bowl of a toilet for the rest of your miserable life. 

You both stepped out the doorway and into the light of the hall. You felt dizzy on your feet, but relieved that you were getting away without any punishment. Well, other than the fact that König might be someone to worry about rattling around in the back of your mind, that is. Then again, you had a sneaking suspicion that you’d forget all about it as soon as you were in his company again…

“Remember what I said, Sneaky! Otherwise I’ll let you think about it some more while you’re on your knees scrubbing toilets,” Price said over his shoulder, taking an indulgent sip of his coffee afterwards. 

You stopped in your tracks and shared a look with Soap, who’d poked his head out of the kitchen to check on you. Well, maybe you weren’t going to completely forget Price’s warning. His lingering threat would keep you on your toes. 

-☠️-

“It seems a little late for you to be out walking,” you noted.

You watched as König whirled around, and went wide eyed when he looked like he might hit you. His fist was drawn back and just when it looked like he was about to swing it - he stopped and let it fall flatly to his side. As soon as he’d scanned his eyes over your shrinking form he went limp immediately. 

“Scheiße! Where the hell did you come from?” he cursed.

You took a moment to recover but eventually found your heartbeat returning to its regular rhythm and swallowed, relaxing your shoulders soon after. That was close. You assumed he’d have known you were sitting there on the wall, he always seemed to have a hyper awareness of you as if he was some kind of bat. Though his echolocation must have failed for once, you’d been too obscured by the untrimmed tree branches that had surrounded you, most likely.  

“I-I come out and sit here sometimes, its nice to look at the stars.”

König regarded the wall you were sitting on, just a low down thing made of worn stone and his head followed where it stretched down the road. It cut off the pavement from the small scatty park inside. Then when he looked back at you with his twinkling azure eyes, those eyes that had you forgetting all about the near miss that just happened, you finally got to take him in properly. You watched him as he settled next to you on your makeshift seat. 

Two things struck you all at once. Firstly, König was wearing a neck warmer instead of his usual sniper hood, probably so he wouldn’t scare any civilians more than a hulking giant like himself normally would, it was drawn way up to the bridge of his nose, but nevertheless you knew it was him under there. And next - the mess of shaggy dirty-blonde hair on top of his head. You had to fight the urge not to ask if you could run your hands through it. It was like putting a moth in front of a thousand watt bulb. You ached to feel the fuzz of his faded sides and get to rearrange the chaotic locks above that sprawled in every direction.

“You’re staring.”

You bit your lip as he said it, and looked away guiltily. Oh fuck. It’s not like it could be helped though, this was the most you’d gotten to see of him. He was always so covered up and burdened by gear you could barely make out the man from the material - and now you were getting to see what was basically a visual buffet of König. It wasn’t fair. You could look at every inch of him that he’d let you see all day. 

“Sorry,” you finally breathed out. “I just- uh was surprised is all.”

“Why?” he smirked, eyes crinkling as he stared right back. 

“Didn’t think you’d be blonde,” you say, thinking blessedly quickly. 

“What is it they say? Blondes have more fun?” he chuckled, coming to sit on the wall next to you. 

You snorted and looked away from him again. Even though you’d been talking for a while now, his silly humour could still surprise you, especially when you recalled the way everyone acted around him, as if he’d bite them if they got too close. It was like getting to see a tiger roll onto his stomach when no one else was around. 

“How come you don’t wear that around the base?” you asked, tilting your head at him.

“Why would I? I can wear my hood there without getting questioned about it.”

“But isn’t it less stuffy with the neck warmer?” You ask, crinkling your nose at the thought of being trapped under that heavy material all day. 

“Yes, but it’s as though I can physically feel people's eyes cutting into me when I wear this - or nothing. The staring is too much.” 

You pause for a second and laugh at yourself, feeling a little more embarrassed.

“...Like I was just doing to you there.”

König laughs a little with you, but after a second he shakes his head and breaths out into the frigid night air. The skies had been dark for a little while by that point and the light of the moon was bright and shiny, reflecting in König’s eyes like a gleaming pearl. It was probably the first time you ever recalled admiring the moon that much. 

“I didn't feel like I was being dissected by you, no.”

You felt a little tingle run rogue down your arm. So he didn’t mind you looking at him? You smiled a little wider to yourself and tried to conceal it with a scratch of your cheek. 

“Really? Why’s that?” You asked, feeling a little brave. 

“You stare at me all the time, I’m used to it.”

Instantly it felt as if the air had caught fire and was charring you into oblivion. He’d caught you? Why hadn’t he said anything before? You opened your mouth ready to come up with some kind of silly excuse, too flustered to think of something good. Though he interrupts you before you can get a sound out. 

“I didn't mean to embarrass you, I find it endearing,” he soothed.

“What? Why?” you ask dumbly.

“The way you look - with your wide doe eyes…” he says trailing off. 

Now he cant look at you. His head turns away. You can't speak either, so you're both left frozen in place.

“The way you’re looking at me now,” he finally says.

“Maybe I just can’t stop staring at your messy hair,” you chuckle, trying to awkwardly change the subject. “Someone should fix that for you.”

“Does someone want to?” he asks, his brows setting as he tilts his chin. 

Oh no. You bite your lip feeling like your body’s going to astrally project onto another planet. Was this really happening? Did he actually just give you permission to touch him, no, run your hands through his hair? 

Part of you wants to laugh him off and prevent any embarrassment when he turns around and says he was kidding, says you’re a weirdo for wanting to touch him like that. Your mind starts going down avenues of all the awful things he could say about the little freak that looks at him too much, but then the sane part of your mind kicks and acts as a buffer stop, halting the run away anxiety train. König would never do that to you. 

You were far too used to dealing with Ghost and Soap, and all of their stupid teasing. But even then, not even they would do something so cruel. 

“I do,” you murmur. 

König nods and leans forward and closes his eyes, giving you what little advantage he can with the amount of height he has on you. At first, you’re incredulous that you’re in a real life scenario and not locked into a fantasy seven layers deep, but you quickly give up that idea and decide to tentatively reach out. You’re too excited not to take the opportunity. 

Your hand shakes a little at first as you make contact with his soft hair, and immediately you think of the devil dog your neighbour used to have when you were a kid. It was a huge old thing that barked like a foghorn, but once it got to know you, it would roll over and present its downy fur and you could spend hours at a time running your hands through it. Now, though, it’s not the scary shepherd you’re taming, it’s König. 

He sits perfectly still while you sort through all the strands, smoothing them back and fixing them into place. You swear you can hear soft groans coming from him, but they’re so quiet you could be mistaken. That, and you’re too mesmerised by the task at hand, forming his hood mussed hair into a style. 

When you’re done and his hair is mostly settled - apart from a small cow lick you can’t seem to fix - you can’t help but run your fingers over the fuzz on the side of his head. Immediately he shivers like a harsh breeze has rolled in, surprising you, but when he snaps his eyes open they don’t look annoyed like you worry he is, instead he looks ready to pin you down and take you right there against the wall.

“That felt very nice,” he said softly, blown out pupils shifting away from you as he straightened.

You’re not sure what to say, you just smile and bite your lip, keeping your eyes fixed on him. You know rightly that your pupils are just as wide as his, you can practically feel the explosion that’s going on. You want him. 

“König I… I uh-“ 

Footsteps sounding from nearby, crunching up the leaf littered pavement, interrupt all your thoughts and both of you turn your heads as someone walks up to you both. You hold in a breath, feeling like you’d scream otherwise and watch as a face comes into view from out of the shadows. 

Mercifully it’s not Ghost or Soap that marches up to you, it’s Gaz.He’d been the only one not to completely batter the dead ‘Sneaky and König up a tree’ horse. He stops when he sees you both and his eyes widen as he spots König, probably just as shocked as you were when he realised he can see his face. Though, he quickly averts his eyes and looks at you instead, awkwardly shifting his hands in his hoodie pocket. 

“Captain said to tell you we’ve got an early start tomorrow,” he says looking at you pointedly , “we’ve got a briefing at four. Said you best get all the sleep you can.” 

“Oh…do you know anything about it?” You ask, still feeling a bit breathless from before.

“From what I gather, the 141 and KorTac are heading out together, but I don’t know much beyond that,” he shrugs. 

You give a sideways glance to König and watch as he regards you the same way. That meant you’d be working together for the first time. You take a breath and look back at Gaz, finally nodding your head.

“Thanks for coming to let me know, I’ll head in in a minute,” you assure him. 

Gaz nods back curtly and turns on his heel, retreating to the base again and leaving you alone in the only silence. You finally look back at König, only once you’re sure there’s no one lurking around and looking to catch you with him, and smile softly. 

“Looks like we’ll be working together then,” you laugh awkwardly.

“Seems like it,” he replies, lowering his head. “Perhaps we should listen to the captain’s advice and head in.”

You feel a stab of disappointment tear through your heart immediately. You’d wanted to resume things from where you’d left off. You wanted to pull back the cloth from his face and kiss him under the stars as if they were watching and you were the only ones there. There were fireworks and sparklers going off in your mind, but now they were being snuffed out as you watched König stand up from your not so secret spot. 

“Come on, you need your rest,” he insists, holding out his hand. 

You raise your eyebrows, but put your hand in his and rise as he guides you up. Even with you standing, he towers above you. It’s especially noticeable as you stand so close to him, almost pressed to his big wide chest. There’s a snapping creature in your mind that distantly wishes to jump onto him and kiss him, but you beat the thought back and look away from König instead.

“Hey,” he says softly, tilting your head back with his rough gloved fingers. “I want to pick things back up too, but…not before a mission. We can do this again after all that. Yeah?” 

You gulp, feeling your spine light on fire with tingles. Did he just acknowledge that things were about to go further there? So he definitely felt the same as you…

“Makes sense,” you murmur, feeling your desperation roll off you in waves. 

He is speaking sense, but you don’t want him to be. 

“You can fix my hair for me again when we get back,” he teases, rubbing his finger against your jaw again. “I’m sure it will be very messy.”

“Am I your stylist now?” You smirk, feeling your mood lift. 

“Amongst other things,” he says, eyes showing the smile that was surely on his lips. 

You raise your eyebrows and just as you’re about to ask what things, he silences you with what he does next. He leans down and brings his lips to your cheek, and through his mask, kisses you. 

You freeze in place, your heart thudding like it’ll explode and close your eyes. You can’t believe what just happened. You laugh a little to yourself - letting loose a giggle and open your eyes, watching as he smiles back at you and gestures his hand back to base. 

“To be continued,” you whisper to yourself.

-☠-

Next Part Here

[siriuslysmoking]

Villian and Violent

SPOILER WARNING ! SPOILER WARNING ! SPOILER WARNING!

If you haven't watched Outer Banks season 4 part 2, DO NOT I REPEAT DO NOT READ THIS

AN: this fic is strictly for @jlovesjj, I DO NOT write for Rafe <3, she is just a very very sad girl, in light of the recent events, I am trying to provide her with any comfort so she can stop crying. Thank you and good day.

Pairing: Rafe x Reader, bsf!JJ x reader

Warnings: It's sad, angst, death, violence, not edited (She's impatient)

You all look up to the statue that the crown was hopefully in. All you you could barely see due to the sand storm enclosing you all.

"Hey! I'm gonna go up and scope it out!" Rafe shouts over the deafening wind in your ears.

"I'm not leaving it up to him!" JJ shouts back to the group, you can practically feel Rafe rolling his eyes as he grabs your hand. Like hell is he letting you leave his sight.

"No, I'm with you!" Kiara says, joining JJ. You look back and barely see Sarah and John B struggling, She doesn't look okay, so you hear JJ shout to them.

"Hey! John B, you two sit this one out, okay? We'll find the crown..." That's the last you heard as you and Rafe make your way up the hill. Once you make it to the top of the hill, you and Rafe both meet each other's eyes. Then he starts trying to climb up the statue, he doesn't get three feet up, before the wind knocks him back down, You look at him and realise once he stands back up that it wasn't just the wind it was also his hand still bothering him. He holds it close you his chest, looking at you as both Kiara and JJ come racing up the hill.

"Hey! I can't get up there, not with this hand!" He shouts at JJ and Kie. You see them both have a conversation that you can't hear, even with them a few feet away, it's hard to hear yourself think.

"Right now this is our chance! They've taken everything away from us. They're not gonna take this too!" He pulls down his mouth covering so Kiara can hear him better. "I gotta do this, I gotta do this for all of us. I mean, hey, it was my fault to begin with. So, I mean, I should be the one to fix it."

They hug each other and JJ moves over to you and Rafe, getting ready to climb. You step up to him and say, "Hey, you're my best friend, so don't do anything stupid."

He hugs you and speaks, "I'll try."

He lets you go and looks to Rafe, Rafe helps him step up onto the platform, "You got it!"

"Hey! You'll get your cut!" JJ yells, before beginning his climb up. Rafe and you both climb down to stand with Kie and watch JJ as he moves up the statue. You hold Kiara's hand as you watch some of the old loose rocks fall around him. Suddenly he's only hanging on by one hand. You gasp as Kiara shouts his name.

Once he finally gets himself to the large platform you feel as though you can finally take a breath. As you watch JJ you hear a voice. "They have to be up here!"

You all meet each others eyes, Rafe speaks first, "Shit, here they come."

Kie shouts to JJ, trying to get his attention, but he seems confident that he can get the crown in time. "Hey! You stay here. I'll go down and buy us some time."

Kiara nods as you step to go with Rafe, "What? Rafe, are you crazy? They'll kill you!"

"I'm a killer too, I've got nothing to lose." He shouts then looks at you, "You're staying here."

"You can't make me." You yells back firmly. He knows that there is no use in fighting and you're losing time. he makes his way down the hill with you trailing behind him.

Rafe makes you stay back as you approach the group of Mercenaries, he has the luck of the storm not his side, so that they don't see him coming. He goes and cuts the man from behind, as he works with that man you see one heading your way. You're by the man's side so while he looks through the scope of his gun you shove the barrel down and jam the butt of the gun into his jaw. It knocks him down for a second before you step back and he grabs your ankle, tripping you. You stumble as he gets up and he makes his way towards you. Without any weapon, you're out of luck, he's already grabbed his gun, so you make a run for it.

You head into the small village, trying to outrun the guy. You stumble into a deserted house and looks for anything that could be considered a weapon.

"Come out you little bitch!" he shouts, by the door frame of the house, she sees the barrel of the gun and jumps out for the behind the wall and slams a stone to his head. Blood starts flowing from the top of his head, but that only slowed him down and made him more angry. He did happen to drop his gun of the impact, you grab it and slam the butt of the gun to his forehead before you can even think about what you're doing. he falls to the ground with a heavy 'thump', and you finally take a breath. You hang onto the gun, just for safekeeping, as you set a mission to find Rafe. That's when you hear a soft gunshot in the distance, you immediately perk up and try to run to the source, but with this wind and all the walls that carried it, it could be from anywhere. You head down different passageways and alleys and houses.

Once you travel far enough and the storm starts slowing down, you can finally hear something. You think it's Rafe, your worst fear is him being hurt or worse but what you come upon is much worse than anything you can imagine. You can now recognize that the sounds you heard was not in fact Rafe, it was Kie, she was leaning onto JJ's legs, crying, then you realise the small movements of JJ's chest is gone, that he sits there lifeless. You drop the heavy gun and start to tear up, Kiara doesn't even look your way, you don't think she even cares about anything other than JJ in this moment.

You start to feel your knees buckle before strong arms wrap around your middle, You'd try to get them off but you realise you have no more fight left in your body, after the days of being on the run with lack of food and water, it's finally caught up to you, and all it took was seeing your best friends body lifeless on the ground. You move a little, mumbling something about getting off of you and then you hear a whisper, "It's me, It's me."

At the sound of you boyfriends soft you, you finally let yourself fall, letting out a horrendous sound out of the back of your mouth. Rafe lets his back fall down the wall with you in his arms. You both sit the on the stone in each others arms as he rocks you back and forth.

You can't even think, a life without your best friend in it's not a life worth living.

Rafe shushes you, saying soft words into your ears. You don't even notice when the rest of the group stumbles upon you guys, you don't think you even care.

You feel pathetic as Rafe carries you back, he has to set you down to go up a large sand dune, but he doesn't let go of your hand at any point. You sit next to him as he buries a grave for JJ's body, you watch him as he lowers it into the sand, you shake as he slowly covers it back up with sand.

You sit with your back to his front as you sit before the fire. You have cried all your tears, your eyes feel dry and body feels weak, as Rafe supports your body. Your eyes get heavy as Rafe whispers to you, "you'll be alright, I promise."

You don't believe him, you think he's lying, but it was nice to hear anyways.

Likes and Reblogs are appreciated

[abbysimsfun]

Sims In Bloom: Generation 2 Pt. 100 (Conrad Puts a Ring on It!)

A fresh fluttering of snowflakes coated the stones beneath Heather's feet. Gord's paws left prints in the cold white powder as they climbed the small hill from Dachshund's Creek back to their home on Sable Square. She spotted the police detail who'd hovered in the neighbourhood since the body turned up at the docks, but she wouldn't let their presence dampen her spirit tonight.

The air was peaceful, with families gathered indoors to celebrate the night before Winterfest. Gord shook off crystals from his long fur, and Heather kicked the snow from her boots before heading back inside.

The house was peaceful, too, and she took off her outdoor gear to head back upstairs. She found Conrad perfecting the decorations on the tree. "Are they both asleep?"

"Lavender's out at least until she's hungry again, and Ash knows the sooner he goes to sleep the sooner he can open more presents." Conrad chuckled. "But I doubt he's actually sleeping."

"Thanks for getting them both down. I thought maybe we could watch Devin Villareal's new movie, Winterfest to the Rafters, on Simflix. At least until I fall asleep on the sofa... Why are you looking at me like that?"

"We can watch whatever you want," he said. " But I want to say something first."

He dropped to one knee, opening the ring box in his hand. "Oh my Watcher! Conrad!" Heather tried to keep her excited voice low, afraid to wake the kids.

"The night I asked you to marry me was a whirlwind. I meant everything I said, but I didn't plan it right, and we've been through enough together that I should have. We're probably not going to do everything traditionally, but my dad told me 'a ring says you're ready for forever.' And I should've done this the night I asked because I've been ready for forever with you from our first date in the city. I'm ready for forever with all of us."

Heather was practically speechless as she tried on the gorgeous rose gold diamond ring. "It's beautiful, Conrad. But you know I didn't need a ring for me to trust your commitment to us. No matter what we go through, you show us every day."

"Tell me we'll spend the rest of our lives living up to the promise of that ring, and that's all I'll ever need."

"I promise." She pulled him in for a kiss, the ring adding weight to her hand as she wrapped her arms around his back. The ring felt new and she'd have to get used to it, but the real weight of the ring wasn't in ounces and carats. Like Conrad said, it meant forever. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

"Can I come out now?" Ash's muffled voice behind his bedroom door interrupted their embrace, and he raced out to see the ring. "Do you like it, mommy? I said you would!"

Heather laughed. "You were right. I really love it!"

Ash turned to Conrad with an excited grin, reaching up his arms for a hug. "I told you she'd love it!"

"You're the smartest kid I know, buddy. I never doubted you."

"Can I stay up and watch a Winterfest movie with you tonight?"

Heather shook her head. "What happened to going to sleep so you can wake up to open presents sooner? You don't want to be tired tomorrow. After we have breakfast we're going to Henford, and I have it on good authority Father Clement has your grandparents' house on his route, too."

"But I'm too excited to sleep!"

Behind the door to Lavender's room, they heard her stirring. She never woke in a bad mood, but she babbled for help from her crib. Heather turned to Conrad with a smile. "She's hungry, I'll feed her."

"And I'll help Ash count z's 'til he's asleep," said Conrad, shuffling him back to bed while Heather entered her daughter's room. Lavender nursed quietly, staring at the bright lights on the tree with keen interest. The quiet moment gave Heather time to stare at her ring as she stroked her daughter's hair.

It took effort to get Lavender back to sleep. She could probably sense the excitement, and as a wiggly infant she always wanted to be where the action was.

But Lavender was so good. Sweet and happy. Maybe that's just how Conrad made babies. They'd have to have another for Heather to know for sure... She pulled herself back from her meandering thoughts. She worked too much, and he was climbing the ranks at the station. Ash and Lavender needed all their free time.

And then, of course, there was Ximena, wherever she was tonight.

She entered Ash's room to find him passed out above the covers. Conrad sat up next to him, with Queen Cupcake sleeping soundly at his feet. He stifled a yawn, smiling when she came in.

"He was reading The Giving Tree to me this time, but he didn't even make it to the part where the boy grows up and builds the house."

Heather smiled. "We've all had a big day," she said, tucking her son under the covers. "Are you still up for a movie?"

"Of course. Winterfest to the Rafters it is."

They got up to head downstairs to the family room, but Ash spoke up from his bed before they closed the door behind them.

"Good night mommy. Good night Conrad. Happy Winterfest Eve!"

Heather would never admit it to her son for fear of setting the wrong example, but by some stroke of wonderful fate, her decision to hack Landgraab Systems had brought Conrad into their lives.

It felt like the best decision she'd ever made. ->

<- Previous Chapter | Gen 2 Start | Gen 1 Summary | Gen 1 Start

Thank you @changingplumbob for brainstorming Devin's new Winterfest movie for this lil' cross/mention when I sprang the idea on you literally yesterday! 🙏

WCIF Poses and Rings? From Proposing Poses by Atashi77. The Soloriya ring box accessory is also available for download from the linked Patreon page for the creator, in case you have some sims getting engaged soon!

BUT I downloaded a different cc ring box to get Heather's actual engagement ring, which she never takes off. This functional wedding ring by Maru is really nice, and I know there are feelings about CurseForge but this is where I found it! It's so persistent (as advertised!) Heather even wears it over gloves, which I hate, but not enough to change it up or remove her gloves in freezing Brindleton Bay. Winter will end eventually!

I also used a pose to get Ash 'asleep' on the same bed with Conrad relaxing (and Queen Cupcake just showed up at Conrad's feet like she knew I wanted the most perfectly blissful action shot of all time and promptly fell asleep against his warm feet. Thank you Queen!!!). The pose itself is from Akiyumi's Child with a Fever poses, which are excellent. Ash is fine of course. He just looks like he fell asleep above the covers, which is all I wanted!

[cy-cyborg]

Hi, I was wondering what sort of leg prosthetic would work well in a fight? I'm designing a magical girl OC with a prosthetic leg and want to incorporate a rather more pink and sparkly one into her magical girl form. I know you can get blades for running, but would those be better than a normal prosthetic for running and leaping around while bonking monsters with a magic stick?

Hey there, I think I remember seeing your question on my old account right? I'm so sorry it's taken me so long to get back to you!

So a blade probably wouldn't be ideal, but a hybrid might.

Blade prosthetics are very good for running, but are absolutely terrible for literally everything else, including standing or walking. Essentially, blade prosthetics are modeled off of digitigrade legs. For the non-furries on my page, digitigrade legs are what cats and dogs have on their back legs where it bends at the knee, then bends back the other way at a second joint before their feet.

[ID 1: A pair of black running blade prosthetics with yellow edges. Their wearer is out of frame but we can see they are running along a track. /end ID] [ID 2: A photo of a cheetah from the side. In the photo we can clearly see the structure of its legs, as described above. /End ID]

This is actually their ankle, and their "foot" is their toes. This arrangement makes these animals really fast and nimble, but it comes at the cost of lower balance. That's not an issue when you have another two legs to help keep you steady, but when you put that onto a human we start having issues. This is why if you watch any races where the competitors are using these prosthetics, they almost always fall over, especially the double leg amputees. Essentially, the shape and springiness of a blade gives you a massive speed advantage (so much so that amputee runner Oscar Pistorius had to be given disadvantages in order to compete in the Olympics with able-bodied runners) but it essentially moves the ankle joint and heel - the one our brains automatically know to weight bare through - up off the ground. The closest an able bodied person could get to the feeling of running on a blade would be to wear a pair of stilleto heels with the heal removed, and a spring on the bottom.

Hybrid feet though are a combination of blade feet and the regular feet amputees usually get. They are like tiny blades, but they usually have a foot-shell on the outside so you don't see it. These hybrid feet give you some of the extra padding and suspension you'd get from a running blade (which makes running/jumping etc more comfortable) as well as a bit of a speed boost, though not as much as the big ones, and they don't come at the cost of your balance, which you'r character will need when fighting.

Ossur's Flex foot range are a good one to look at for refeance, I used them when I was doing martial arts, as do a few friends of mine who are still doing it. This is a link to their website, it's got pictures of what they look like both internally and when people are using them, and I beleive theirs a booklet you can download on the page as well if you want to read into them a bit more. This isn't the only one of course, but it's the one I've used before:

I'm planning to do a breakdown in a little bit more detail about the different types of prosthetic feet and what they're good for eventually, but for what you described, I think this is what would work best.

[luchitohamilton]

lewis being interview by margot laffite for canal+ at the qatar gp '23

I act like a kid all the time. I’m not embarrassed about it; I love having fun. So that’s why, you know, I’m always skydiving, surfing or I’m skiing or I’m riding my bike or whatever might be, that’s me being a kid. And that’s something I refuse to ever let go.

transcript below :-)

So Lewis. I don't want today to talk about the World champion, the Formula 1 driver, I would like to talk about Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton, if you don’t mind. Can you describe the kind of kid you were at home and at school? What kind of kid were you?

[Smiling] Did you ever had a show called Dennis the Menace?

Oh yes of course.

You did?

Of that kind, yeah. Denis la Malice.

I was like Dennis the Menace 2.0. [laughs] I was climbing trees, I was just always riding my bike down the fastest hill. Naturally super competitive in everything that I did and, uhm, my dad helped me concentrate that energy into racing and that’s where stability came.

We know you were a huge fan of Ayrton Senna, but did you watch like every single F1 race, documentaries about F1?

No, when I was a kid I only watched documentaries on Ayrton Senna, read his books. Anything to do with Ayrton I would have it, whether it was a coffee mug or, not that I drink coffee as a kid, but I was watching Gran Prix from like since I was like 4 with my dad on the weekends. Yeah, Sunday sitting with my dad watching races was one of the best times, I remember.

If you could go back in time, where and when would it be?

It would probably be when I was living with my mum, before I was 8, so, yeah.

You are running the world so, how difficult is it to build friendships?

Yeah, it’s definitely not the easiest I would say. My two closest friends are from school, yeah, they are my brothers. Places where I’ve found good friendships are obviously on my job, and then when I’m doing music, when I’m working with musicians, it’s just like a different realm and there I’ve built some incredible relationships also.

What does being a grown up mean to you? Is it like tiresome to be more conscious of the impact you have on things and people, rather than the pleasant innocence of being a child?

I act like a kid all the time. I’m not embarrassed about it; I love having fun. So that’s why, you know, I’m always skydiving, surfing or I’m skiing or I’m riding my bike or whatever might be, that’s me being a kid. And that’s something I refuse to ever let go.

When you play a game with some children, maybe your family, nieces and nephews, do you let them win?

No, I try to win! I just [laughs] and they are good, they are getting good, so I have to get my wins while I can. But, my dad never let me win anything when I was a kid. I think is good to learn how to lose anyways, so [laughs]

Are you always on time or sometimes you’re late?

No, I’m always late. The only time I’m ever on time is when I’m getting in the car to race. But like if I’m going for a flight, I’m always late. I don’t know, I like the limit, yeah. [jokingly] I like getting there around the limit, I like the rush.

What are your thoughts and feelings about Max Verstappen? The man he is, the kind of champion.

He’s done an exceptional job. I think the team has done an amazing job. Collectively they truly deserve the success. Max has been faultless this year, he’s not made any mistakes. I only hope that there’s a time when I’ll be able to put up a fight for him.

When you quit F1 would you still want race like Dakar or the 24 Hours of Le Mans?

I currently don't really have any, like, zero, like, feelings to do those things. I love motorbikes, I’ve always loved Moto GP, still love it today. I have 2 super bikes. I think I probably always just gonna take my bikes out. I won’t compete professionally in anything ever again. It takes 10,000 hours to be, you know, a master of something else. I wanna spend that 10,000 hours on being the best dad or something like that, you know, or running my businesses in the best way I can. Where all my energy and focus will go to. For now, I’ll continue to skydive, I’ll continue to surf, those are probably the, riding the bikes, surfing and skydiving, those are the 3 fun things that I’ll make sure I always do.

Merci Beaucoup, Lewis.

Merci.

It was a pleasure as always. Thank you.

[kifkay]

a midnight run to 7/11: Winx edition

Aisha: sneaks the girls out of Alfea and helps them climb over the fence. entices the group into making 3728292 detours (originally, they went to buy a tub of ice cream and cokes) to prolong the adventure. falls asleep first and has to be carried back.

Bloom: to everyone’s surprise and despite her mother hen reputation, she is being really chill. gets kinda horny midway but Sky doesn’t want to make out. otherwise, just hangs out.

Musa and Stella: are really excited at the prospect of being out past curfew. they try to get involved in as many shenanigans as they can, including but not limited to: sneaking shopping carts out of the mall and having a hill race. call others “boring” for not joining, but eventually get into an argument and don’t talk the rest of the night.

Riven, Nabu and Helia: get into a really profound and deep conversation in fantasy Denny’s parking lot at 2 AM, while the rest of the group waits for them inside to start their meal. (they make their friends wait another thirty minutes)

Flora: “pspspspspps”’s at every stray she sees; the group has to beg her to leave them alone. weirdly knowledgeable about which establishments are open at night.

Brandon and Sky: start the night by daring each other to stupid competitions. as time drags on, get weirdly intense and serious about it. despite not being involved in their bets, somehow Riven gets his arm broken and has to spend the morning in medbay?

Tecna and Timmy: make the group check out a 24/7 gaming store they frequent. mostly hang back and talk between each other, coming up with a bajillion of inside jokes.

they get back to Alfea and Red Fountain only around 3-4 AM, by which time Codatorta had already declared them dead and missing.

[jasonsiceberglounge]

THE HILLS HAVE EYES pt. 2

warnings: general rough content, blood mention, gun mention, 18+ content (not nsfw)

1st person chap/not beta read

TLDR, there was a huge fucking bullet hole in my leg. it didn't hurt that much, granted, adrenaline coursed through my veins whilst having a nightmare, it probably coated my adrenal gland at this point.

i never quite reached the level of nimble pretty boy dick was, clearly, according to my failure to dodge this pinheads bullet. he stood almost abashedly, amazed he drew blood from a bat symbol. i doubt he actually knew i only bore the semblance of the logo to weed out the cowards, bruce wasn't necessarily happy with me brandishing it so... harmfully.

then again, since when did i care about what he thought? torturing him was my middle name.

now back to that troglodyte staring me down like i was to be consumed. he had no clue, not a single one.

the surprise on his face was almost delectable as my wounded leg came in contact with his throat, the palpable choke, the air knocked out of his throat. my spine screamed in response, almost angrily, i would throw my body into hell with him if it meant one less plague crawled amongst the streets of the innocents. the wind cracked as he replied, the click of his gun sounding once again, an all familiar sound in gotham. the bullet ricocheted closely to my ear, my hands retaliated at the threat.

you could never beat this fucking feeling, i had about approximately 3-ish minutes until my leg became a dead weight, deciding i should do something about this i snapped my good knee upwards into his pelvis, the loud groan of agony making my blood hum. with as much momentum as my dummy leg could muster, a force came down onto his kneecap, encouraging the tendon inwards. not a pretty sight, but man was it a pretty sound. tears flew out of his eyes, the scarecrow goon not anticipating my indisposition for a fair fight.

the scum actually had the audacity to roll around in pain as if he wasn't dishing out a one way vial to the depths to kids who couldn't even write. let alone imagine. he thrashed around in pain, music to my ears as he let out every insult his caveman brain could muster.

i knelt down awkwardly, my leg refusing to bend properly, the pain slowly seeping it's way back into my mind. mental, pain is mental, pain will always be mental, i whispered to my inner thoughts, praying it carried the tune through the chorus. balancing my hands on the ground near his face, i whispered towards him.

"they always say you take an eye for an eye, but i'd much rather take your ability to waddle home to mommy. see you next week? or maybe in a couple months we can do this again, maybe i'll take your sight next time."

my eye twitched as i felt something wet drench my face, my eyes took a moment to readjust back in their rightful place.

he actually fucking spat on me.

i sighed, using my shoulder strength to force myself up, my injured leg sadly hanging at an awkward angle, i probably don't look too threatening right now, but why would that matter?

cold metal graced my index finger as i put a bullet in his mouth.

"guess i won't see you next week?"

a chill raced down my spine seeing crimson leak from every orifice he was unfortunately graced with, however, something else was bothering me. sickness climbed my limbs as i felt a scrying eye piercing me, someone was watching me, someone who was graceful enough to watch me get shot.

i peered upwards, the glint of red causing my brow to raise. pain seeped higher and higher, i really needed to get out of here. a woosh threw me off, the loud thud of metal to ground.

"that can't be good for your knees."

the stranger huffed almost in amazement.

"you're one to talk, peg-leg." he gestured towards the hole gracing my thigh, blood slowly beginning to coagulate.

i snorted, spots creeping their way into my peripherals. i actually really needed to get the fuck out of here. the masked man was a lot larger than my previous assailant, actually, too damn large for a normal man. whatever normal was in gotham.

"you fight like a coward." he inched closer towards you, my eyes adjusting to his frame as he came into view.

i gestured to the corpse between my legs.

"so did he, now he's dead and i'm not." my legs began to shake, the blood loss giving me the shivers... surely, it was the blood loss.

something about this man scared me shitless, and that was not easy to do.

he just chuckled in response, analyzing my frame for whatever devious purpose i could come up with in my head.

"need a lift?" he suggested almost as if i needed a savior, no, i were the savior. but who saves god when he needs to be?

"yeah just drop the blood covered vigilante at gotham presbyterian, you're a fuckin' genius." i scoffed, i really was not going to last much longer but i'll be damned if this freaky ass mutant snatches me up and experiments on me.

"then die." he said flatly, without a regard for my wellbeing. granted, how could i expect him to.

i relented, every fiber of my being telling me to run as far as my one leg would take me or so help me god i'll become a robot by tomorrow if he so wished it.

"you g'na experiment on me?" his head cocked, almost in amusement.

"only if you want me to, peg-leg."

mentally i battled between my options, deciding on unfortunately completing my one mission on this earth, i threw my hands up. "fine, take me to your evil lair."

he strutted towards me, amused by my reply. i noticed his footsteps strangely light, trained almost like an assassin more than a vigilante. his arm scooped under my weaker side, the cold feeling of the leather not really helping my escaping body heat at the moment. i trembled in more ways than one, my disorientation becoming apparent.

"you think you can make it on a bike?" he slowly carried me out of the alley, the feeling of his strength threatening enough to never dare me to cross him.

"do i have a choice tin can?" i shot, the pain causing every word to leave my teeth more gritted than the last.

"just shut the fuck up and try not to die before i can fix you." he pursed, almost teasingly. my eyebrow raised at the familiar tone of voice, i remember someone just as... sassy.

one very painful ride later, thankfully gotham's brisk air keeping my mind awake and painfully forced to bare the elements, we arrived at some sham shack of a place.

he slowed down the bike, parking it off into a tucked corner near the entrance. classy.

"can you walk?" he appeared questioned my ability to judge that in the first place. i felt sick, at this point i should have been buried right next to him, but something in me just always, unfortunately, had to keep kicking. my vision slowly being encased by black, before i could let out an answer i-

i woke up to a very apparent smell of antiseptic, and the weight of twenty bricks burying my leg under sand. my surroundings extremely unfamiliar.

'that mother fucker actually kidnapped me huh, never trust a man in a metal chest cage.' i whispered mentally. half-jokingly, half.

my abs tensed as i pushed my body weight up, the sight not as brutal as i expected. i was tucked into a very heavy fleece lined blanket, the pattern as plaid as countryside gets. afraid to see the sight under the strangely weighted fabric, i mustered up the courage to remove my capture bonds. i felt squeamish at the sight.

blue and black splotches kissed all sides of my thigh, hurried bandaging recently re-wrapped encased what i presumed was a ghastly sight, my leg almost looked smaller than the other. i winced at the vulnerability of my current situation.

i am in a strange tin-man's.... not house.

i glanced around, my surroundings less homely than anticipated, but more comfortable than expected. minimal furniture, one extremely old cube for a television which crackled with static once every 16 seconds. a few books of very adventurous literature strewn across the floor, pieces of clothing thrown around as if in a hurry. this place was a studio, everything visible from my central point in this house.

perfectly plotted just in case of, was he really that paranoid?! half of me doesn't necessarily blame him, the other half is horrified as to what causes him to be so god damn afraid.

this shack of an apartment was perfectly laid out to be defend-able almost like a castle. bookshelves perfectly lined under windowsills to be vaulted off of, weaponry carefully placed next to glass, sprinkled grenades like christmas ornaments because what else would anyone expect out of some threatening red vigilante?

i sighed deeply, my first real breath of the day.

'what have you got yourself into babe,' i whispered lowly.

"living another damn day, i guess. you're welcome by the way." he strolled out of the bathroom like a prideful princess.

i rolled my eyes so deeply i prayed they got stuck behind my lids.

this felt like the beginning of something sick.

[whumped-by-glitter]

Chapter 2 Part 1: Mistakes and Backtalk

⚠️CW: Slave Whump, Dehumanization, Angst, Defiant Whumpee, Mention of Minor Whump (barely). If I missed anything, let me know, please!

@3-2-whump's official rating: ‘Dasa’s gonna have a real bad time, as if he wasn’t having a bad time already’

✨️A special thanks to my Beta Readers! I couldn't write a coherent sentence, much less a story without them! @3-2-whump, @generic-whumperz, @aloafofbreadwithanxiety. If you like my work, go check theirs out!

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Story under the cut.

Balor gritted his teeth, watching the great, noble Corvius, his father, go out, down the dirt path, to the slave building yet again to check on that idiot slave he called Boy. His concern for those beasts was humiliating. It was as if the man cared more about those damn slaves than him.

Watching his father preen over the slave made him wish the Drar had actually died, it was sickening. ‘And so what if Boy had died? If four days without food killed him, he deserved death. It certainly wasn't his fault Drar burned through food faster than other races,’ he thought with vitriol.

 That aside, don’t even get him started on that creepy runt he called Dog, the one being taught to consume poisons. Balor did not understand his father’s fascination with that one at all. That slave had more one on one time with his dear father than Balor ever had in his 19 years alive. It was disgusting.

Though, he wasn’t that different he supposed, recalling fondly the first time he’d injured that filthy Mongrel. The sight of the slave struggling against the pain to obey Balor’s own orders not to move, the image filled him with a feeling of absolute power. Power was not something he had obtained yet, despite his privileged birth. Thus having such a complete amount of it over The Dog was intoxicating. It was a small taste of what he hunkered for.

Balor huffed back to his room to get dressed and ready for the day. He put on his usual ruffled shirt, white today, and a pair of trousers. In the mirror he swept his short sandy blonde hair to the side of his round face. After wiping his pale, blue tinged skin, a trait inherent to his race, with a wash rag he met his own cold navy-blue eyes in the mirror. He frowned, seeing how his pudge made the fabric of his shirt strain slightly. His silhouette had been a source of great displeasure lately but he couldn’t bring himself to do anything about it. He pulled on his brown, gold trimmed boots, tightening the laces. Shaking off the depression, he headed out to meet up with his father.

Not finding him in the shabby, filthy, slave house off at the side of the building, Balor went out to the fields a little trek off from the main house. He shifted his blue speckled white wings in annoyance. He hated going out this far, it wasn’t worth the massive energy to fly, but walking the path was drudgery. It was far too much work when he could normally just have a slave bring him everything he needed without ever needing to leave the mansion.

The fields were at harvesting. Theirs were mostly made up of fruit orchards. The yellow-skinned lel fruit dotted the nearest trees. Beyond the lel trees there were rows of grapes climbing up ornate walls built to support the vines.

“You miscounted your yield yesterday!” He heard his father, yell at one of the slaves. The voice came from the grape fields.

He was still too far off to hear the slave’s pathetic reply. He sure as hell heard the subsequent slap though.

“Because of you I now need to go all the way to Xonia to clear up this mess!” Corvius exclaimed, slapping the slave again.

Balor watched the older man storm up the hill towards him and the back entrance of the mansion behind him.

“What happened Father?” Balor asked, trying to keep the glee out of his voice. It was satisfying to watch his father get worked up over some dumb slave.

“Zan, the slave we were brought to train for old man Banks has been messing up his count for months,” Corvius answered with a scowl on his face as he began walking them back towards the mansion. “I now have to go all the way to Xonia to get this straightened out with the merchant there. That means you will be in charge here. Can I trust you not to kill any slaves while I’m gone?”

Balor hid an eye roll, “Of course Father, you can count on me.” He was certain these next few days were going be a drag. The thought of that amount of responsibility made him tired just thinking about it.

Corvius paused walking. “I’m trusting you to run things, you best not disappoint me.”

Balor was certain his father had read his thoughts. He could feel the intrusion. The sensation made him more annoyed. It was considered rude for Tallisians to read each other’s or even Valtens’ thoughts. It added an additional layer of insult knowing his father rarely even intruded on the slaves in this manner. “I can assure you, I won’t,” he mumbled, “You don’t have to treat me like a child, I’m 19 now.”

“If you are no longer a child, why is it you perpetually still act like one?” Balor’s father sighed and shook his head. “This is an opportunity to prove yourself, you shouldn’t look so gloom. I’m leaving Zan’s discipline to you, if you do well discipline will be yours permanently.”

This got Balor’s attention, he finally met the old man’s gaze for the first time since they started talking this morning. He studied his pale blue tinged skin and weathered features. Perhaps he was looking for a hint of approval in those stern features, in which he found none of course. His thoughts turned back to fantasizing, maybe, just maybe, these next few days wouldn’t be such a drag after all.

“You’re engaged to the Crown Princess, it’s high time you start learning leadership and responsibility instead of loafing about.”

His father continued to lecture him, but Balor was hardly paying attention anymore. Instead, his mind was fantasizing about how best to make Zan suffer.

‘I could make him count lashes…. Nah, too simple. A stress position on the frame maybe? That had nothing to do with the infraction though….Forced silence, that would be a good start, I just need to decide how, and what I want to follow that up with…’ Balor’s thoughts continued to spin, musing on the possibilities.

He'd prefer his father’s favorite, The Mutt, the one he’s lived in the shadow of his whole life. Oh, how he’d love to take full control of that dog, that useless object of his father’s attention. Zan would have to do however, at least for now.

“Mongrel!” Corvius yelled as soon as they entered the mansion. A slight echo reverberated off the polished stone of the greeting room.

The Mutt seemed to materialize from shadows, the mask of void Corvius preferred firmly plastered on its face. ‘Creepy beast, it barely counts as a living thing,’ Balor thought as the slave knelt, pressing its forehead on the floor.

“Get my bags packed for five days,” Corvius ordered, barely glancing down at it.

“Yes Master,” The Mutt replied and disappeared up the stairs.

Corvius led his son into the parlor and sat him down. “Now before I go I need to give you some instructions. First, you are not allowed to maim, kill or permanently injured Zan in any way. Second, you will be giving The Mongrel its poison doses every day.”

This further interested Balor. He loved slipping the slave some Divinity’s Downfall for the entertainment of his friends. He was owed that much from it.

“Understood Father,” Balor replied, barely containing his excitement.

“You may have friends over and do as you please, but so help me if I come back to a wreck, you will be paying for it. You need to prove to me that you can manage these slaves. Show me that you can be King, consider this practice.”

His father’s tone was serious. The younger Tallisian knew he meant what he said and shuddered to think what ‘paying for it’ would look like.

“Everything will be in perfect order when you return,” Balor tried to sound confident despite the nerves.

It wasn’t long after the two had fallen into silence when The Dog returned with the packed bags for his Master.

“Everything is there?” Corvius asked with an eyebrow raised.

“Yes, Master,” The Mongrel bowed.

“Very well, don’t just stand there, take them to the carriage,” the Master snapped. “Oh, and Balor, I’ll be taking Ruby and Boy with me,” he added as the three of them began to walk out the front door.

Outside Balor saw that the two slaves had already been harnessed up and ready. He had been a little surprised when his father said he was taking those two, but saw now saw how similar in size the two were, Boy was growing fast.

Once he saw his father off, Balor was finally free. The first thing he wanted to do was to deal with Zan.

“Mutt, go fetch Zan,” Balor ordered.

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**additionally, this is a chapter set to have extra NSFW scenes. If you want the on extended edition taglist, please let me know.

[fingerbill]

Happy Halloween 2024

[oneminutefiftysixseconds]

🌐 You can add one race to the world tour calendar (promoting an existing race or inventing a new one). What do you do?

for everyone that asked me this question i thank you and i will be answering it all at once here because i put WAY too much thought into this. way too much.

Tour Of Britain But It's (Hopefully) Less Shit

Stage 1A: Richmond Park 10km 50m elev.

we open with a 10k lap of Richmond Park -- it's the cycling hotspot of the capital, time trials are a big part of the UK domestic scene, and i like a prologue TT. and it would really piss off london cyclists when whoever wins sets a record time around the park, taking with them the leaders jersey for the first proper road stage later the same day:

Stage 1B: London -> Brighton, 150km 1,000m elev.

a meandering journey to the seaside taking in the Olympics-famous Box Hill and joining the classic London to Brighton route, the first stage winner will likely need to bide their time and hope an attack on Ditchling Beacon gets them enough of a gap to take them to the finish line.

Stage 2: Oxford -> Cambridge, 190km 700m elev.

between the two ancient university towns lies the flat and beautiful Bedfordshire. the peloton will start among the dreaming spires and the sprinters will tough it out on King's Parade, a stone's throw from the apple tree newton supposedly sat under while working on gravitation!

Stage 3: Telford -> Stoke-on-Trent, 220km 1,500m elev.

we loop into Wales for a long but relatively gentle start to the hills... the Clwydian Range might not be the Pyrenees but there are plenty significant climbs in there that indicate today is likely one for the breakaway -- or an audacious solo -- and the notorious welsh weather could lead to all sorts of surprises

Stage 4: Manchester -> Leeds, 160km, 1,800m elev.

heading first south from Manchester into the Peak District and finishing with a city circuit in Leeds, this should be another chance for a breakaway ahead of tomorrow...

Stage 5, the Queen Stage: York -> Hardknott Pass, 280km, 3,500m (!) elev.

i woke up and chose violence. giro mountain stages eat your heart out, it's time for GC action in the North York Moors, Yorkshire Dales, and the Lake District with a summit finish on Hardknott Pass (the steepest road in england, maxing out at an eye-popping 30%). Rosedale Chimney, Buttertubs Pass, and the aptly named Struggle are the key climbs before Hardknott, and the helicopter shots will be superb as the race passes through some of the UK's most beautiful landscapes, finishing within sight of Scafell Pike.

Stage 6: Carlisle -> Glasgow, 180km, 850m elevation.

a border-crossing run into two laps of the iconic 2023 city circuit, this punchy stage will likely favour whichever classics specialist can recover the best from yesterday's efforts

Stage 7: Edinburgh -> Newcastle, 195km, 1,000m elev.

starting in scotland's capital, today is the final opportunity for any GC changes, mostly rolling terrain but enough to make a difference if it's only a few seconds

Stage 8: Peterborough -> Great Yarmouth, 180km 300m elev.

and so the Tour of Britain But It's (Hopefully) Less Shit concludes with a sprint along Great Yarmouth's seafront Golden Mile, bringing to an end a hopefully exciting one-week race in this country that does actually have decent cycling, contrary to what the actual TOB might lead you to believe

[sakura1uvr]

Suprise in Seoul

fluff

A/N: Hi guys i have finally written something 😭 it has been a while but atleast i got out of writers block 🧎‍♂️ also changed my layout abit cuz i found my old one boring asf (i did use some inspo from other people i apologize if you find ours similar 🧍‍♀️)

Synopsis: Being in a long distance relationship was hard but you finally got to meet your girlfriend Haewon

Pairing: Haewon (nmixx) x f!Y/N

Warning: gay shit, reader is japanese

MEN DNI

You have been in a relationship with Haewon for a while now but you guys had no time to meet since you were in a long distance relationship. Well that was until you were moving from tokyo to seoul where Haewon was living. It had been a relentless countdown for the last few months, all the box packing taking up your time and energy. You wanted it to be a surprise for Haewon, a gift for both of you after the long hours spent video calling and counting down the days until you could finally be together again.

As you finally reached your new apartment all you could think about was Haewon. She has been so eager to finally meet up with you but she never had the time to do so because of her busy schedule as a k-pop idol.

You were a huge fan of Nmixx since their debut. Nmixx had some japanese schedules in tokyo so that's how you two met. The rest is history.

You opened your matress up from the plastic it was surrounding it and placed it in your new bedroom. It's gonna take a while to unpack everything but it will be worth it in the end. You have bought some new things before leaving your home in Tokyo so you can have atleast something to live off of till you get a job in Seoul and till everything you ordered arrives.

But your main focus is meeting your girlfriend after 1.5 years of not seeing eachother.

After a quick shower and change of clothes, you grabbed your keys and headed out. You had planned on surprising her at her place since you guys exchanged addresses incase one of you visits. You know she is a huge nerd for games so you know she is probably gaming right now.

You pace to a 7/11. One of the best convinient stores as Haewon describes them. As you buy some food for your girlfriend your phone vibrates. It was Haewon and she sent you a pic and captioned it with "Gimbap with silent hill 2 is the best 🤭"

You chuckle to yourself.

placing the food in a paper bag you head to her place.

When you arrived at her building, your heart raced. Every step felt heavier as you climbed the stairs to her apartment, each one a countdown to seeing her again. You knocked softly, half-expecting her to answer with her ever-cheerful smile.

After a moment, the door swung open, and there she stood in her comfy oversized hoodie, a hair tie keeping her tousled hair back. "What?!" She said before realizing it was you. Her eyes widened in shock before they sparkled with joy. “You’re here?!” she exclaimed, her voice ringing with disbelief.

"Tada!" You chuckle as she hugs you tightly.

As you wrap your arms around her, the world around you fades away. It’s just the two of you; the years of distance evaporating in an instant. “I can’t believe you’re actually here,” she mumbles into your shoulder, her voice muffled with emotion. You can feel her smile against your skin, and it sends a warm rush through you.

“I know! I wanted it to be a surprise,” you say, pulling back just enough to see her face. Her cheeks are flushed with happiness, and those eyes you’ve missed so much glow with joy. You hand her the paper bag with the food you've gotten, watching her curiosity about what’s inside unfold.

“What did you bring?” she asks as she peeks inside, her eyes widening at the sight of her favorite snacks. Pepero, cupped tteokbokki, buldak ramen, banana milk etc.

She looks back up at you with an expression that combines disbelief and pure elation. “You’re seriously here! In Seoul! This is insane!”

You both walk into her house and she brings you into her livingroom. As you already know Haewon is an idol and that means she has money so her apartment is huge. It actually shocks you that it's this huge. You settle down on the couch as she brings you some tea. She sits next to you and begins to speak.

“So, are you officially moving here?” she asks tentatively, her excitement mixed with a hint of apprehension.

You nod, your heart fluttering a bit at the thought of finally cementing this in reality. “Yeah, I am. I’m searching for jobs, too, but… I just wanted to be here with you. It’s been too long, haven’t it?”

Haewon bites her lip, her eyes sparkling with unshed tears. “It really has. I never thought we would make it here, you know? I was worried about you, about us, with all the touring and my schedule.”

“And I was worried too. Missing you felt like an ache that never really went away,” you admit, your voice softening. “I couldn’t bear waiting any longer.”

You share a lingering look, both of you aware that this moment marks a new chapter. No more late-night video calls, no more counting days on a calendar. Just the two of you together, in this little moment.

“Now that you're here, what do you want to do first?” she asks, and it feels like an invitation for both freedom and adventure.

“Honestly? I just want to stay here with you,” you reply, her heart throbing even harder now as her face lits up red.

You start drinking your tea and you both chatter abit. How the idol life works, fans etc.

"Well even tho we are here together nobody should know we are dating so we can't be seen outside alot. Maybe just as friends but nothing more." Haewon sighs. It's the tough idol life she has to live.

"Hey it's okay!! I understand! Aslong as i get to be with you i will never complain." You smile at her and she just looks at you. Like there were hearts in her eyes. You always understood her and that's one of the things she loved about you.

You continue sipping your tea as the conversation flows, punctuated by laughter. Well you have seen your girlfriend in alot of videos and even when you guys are texting she is super funny. Haewon shares stories from her recent schedule, Bae and Jiwoo's antics, and a few amusing encounters with fans. Each moment you spend with her on that couch reminds you just how much you missed these small details—the sound of her laughter, the way her eyes crinkle when she smiles, and the comfort of her presence.

“Have you thought about what job you want to look for?” she asks, curiosity bubbling in her tone.

You chuckle softly, “Honestly? I just want to find something flexible enough that will let me spend time with you. I could work in a café or something while I figure it out.”

Haewon laughs, shaking her head. “I can totally see you as the cute barista, serving my iced latte every morning. But you’d probably be too busy swooning over me, huh?” She winks.

You roll your eyes playfully, "well i thought we both knew that since i am finally here with you."

Her face brightens with pink as she gazes at you; you love that you can still make her blush after all this time. “Alright then, so would you like to play abit with me? Warning tho i am pretty skilled” she jokes, clearly eager to show you her world.

Your night is spent with playing games together (You beating Haewon and she just stands there shocked), laughter and just a nice time.

You are super glad you got to finally meet up with her.

[clearaeipathy]

Unflurried

Kaeya x reader

_______________________________________

-trigger warnings: mentions of alcohol

-female reader, sorry if the character doesn't really represent you

-plagiarism is absolutely unacceptable, pls let me know first if you're going to write something inspired by my work. If you see anyone plagiarizing my work or with work really similar to mine, i would really appreciate it if you could tell me

-this is part 2 to Unruffled, so please read that first otherwise this won't make sense! Go to my masterlist please

-enjoy! Feedback is appreciated

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Y/N?

Kaeya stares blankly at the girl in front of him. Was he supposed to know-

oh.

He remembers now. Y/N, his and Diluc's childhood friend.

He had been seven when she ran into him, quite literally. He and Diluc had been playing hide and seek in the city when this girl had popped out from nowhere and crashed into him.

Her name was Y/N, and she had been running from angry cats.

Kaeya and Diluc, being the dashing heroes they were at seven, calmed down the snarling monsters, and saved the damsel in distress. And that was how they became friends.

Ironically, this "damsel" was no damsel at all. As Kaeya and Diluc grew up, Y/N grew up with them. They would race each other, challenge each other to climb up the hill the fastest, and trick other people. Kaeya remembers how Diluc used to be so much more energetic, how he himself used to be quieter, and how Y/N was a perfect balance in between.

They would fashion wooden swords and smack each other until they were all sore. Kaeya recalls Diluc's first attempt to brew his own drink, and how he and Y/N got sick from it.

When he was a kid.

For a moment, a genuine smile breaks out on his face.

"So you do remember me, Kaeya," a voice drawls.

Kaeya snaps out of his reverie and studies Y/N again. Purple leather jacket, Electro vision, exotic polearm strapped to her back. He wouldn't have ever thought Y/N would own any of these things eight years ago.

Eight years ago. It's really been a while.

No, Kaeya. On your guard, always.

"Maybe," he smirks. "It's difficult to remember, really. You have to admit, you're an easily forgettable person."

Y/N gasps in mock offense.

Kaeya looks down at the bouquet of Calla Lilies clutched in his left hand. "Why don't I find this a home, and then we go out for drinks? I'm sure we have a lot to catch up on, and you've never lived if you haven't drank at Angel's Share."

Y/N laughs, a clear ringing sound that stirs up butterflies in Kaeya's stomach. "Sure, I'll meet you in fifteen minutes."

Kaeya walks away casually, trying his hardest not to sprint all the way to his house.

Y/N is already sitting at a table by the time he walks in. Kaeya nods toward her and makes his usual order of wine. Tonight, Diluc is working the bar, giving Charles some time off. Kaeya can't help but feel the timing is a bit convenient.

Diluc mutters something under his breath as he passes Kaeya's first glass of wine across the counter. Then he places another glass, more gently, beside Kaeya's wine.

"This is Y/N's. Don't get too drunk in front of her, if you can manage that."

Kaeya chuckles and flashes a coy grin at the red-haired man behind the counter. "And when have I ever disappointed you?"

"Every single time I see you," Diluc grumbles quietly.

Kaeya chooses to ignore Diluc's words and takes both glasses in his hands, making his way towards the table that Y/N sits at.

"Hello, beautiful," Kaeya winks.

Unlike the typical girl, Y/N does not blush and flutter her eyelashes. She slaps Kaeya on the arm instead.

"Ouch." Kaeya cringes away from her hands. Who knew Y/N could slap so hard as to hurt him?

"I bet you're faking it, " Y/N scoffs. "The great Calvary Captain Kaeya would never fall to a measly slap."

Well, maybe. It did sting a bit though.

He downs his glass in one, throwing his head back and tilting the glass. Y/N looks on in amusement, elegantly sipping her own drink.

"So, Y/N, what brings you back to Mondstadt?" Kaeya asks. She really did have a glow-up, he thinks.

"Well, I graduated from the Akademiya as a Ley Line researcher sorta," Y/N muses. "It's more of field work, really, traveling to different nations and observing and clearing out Ley Lines to extract data. The Akademiya knows I'm from Mondstadt, do they stationed me here to observe the Ley Lines in Mondstadt."

"Sounds fascinating," Kaeya says easily. "How long?"

"Until they recall me," Y/N answers.

Kaeya taps the side of the wine glass slowly. "So you're going to be here a while."

"In theory, yes."

Kaeya doesn't know if that's a good thing or bad thing. Anyone would say it's a good thing, reuniting with an old friend. But he would say that too many things have changed for them to remain the same as they were before.

"Your turn, Kaeya," Y/N says, emptying the wine into her mouth. "What happened between you and Diluc when I was gone?"

Shoot. Kaeya forgot how good at reading people Y/N is. Even more so now, probably, having been trained at the legendary Akademiya.

"It's a long story," Kaeya says. He flashes his trademark smirk in hopes of throwing her off. "How's the wine?"

Y/N glares at him but answers the question. "Refreshingly sweet, although a bit too sweet for my taste. Do you want another?"

"How dare you insult the finest wine in all of Teyvat," Kaeya drawls. "I'll take another Death After Noon, please."

Y/N throws him another glare and gets up to order more drinks. Kaeya grins, watching her go over to the bar counter and greet Diluc, who surprisingly gives her a small smile. He murmurs something to her, and she chuckles, and that sort of nonsense goes on.

Kaeya really isn't sure how to feel about Y/N coming back. Sure, he's happy to have a friend back, but he's changed. They've all changed. He has secrets of his own, and so does Diluc. Those secrets are pretty keen to stay locked up.

It'd be nice to have a friend though.

A genuine friend.

No, he has plenty of friends. And still, Y/N could be a threat to Mondstadt. Kaeya can tell that she's changed too, although for the better or worse, he can't say.

Shoot, maybe she's noticed him staring. See, this is why Kaeya is against spacing out.

Y/N sits down at their table and passes another glass of Death After Noon to him. "So, when did you like drinking so much? I just wanna make sure that you're not a drunkard."

"Eh, well, " Kaeya chuckles ruefully, "I do like to drink quite a bit, but I have exceptionally high tolerance. " He smiles at Y/N expectedly.

"You probably drink every night, don't you?" Y/N groans.

"Not at all, not at all," Kaeya lies.

"You liar," Y/N grumbles.

The conversation continues like this. Kaeya finds that he quite enjoys bickering back and forth like this, with someone who sees him as Kaeya. Not the Calvary Captain, not a potential grandson-in-law, just Kaeya.

And quite frankly, he enjoys Y/N's company. She's a bit like Diluc, with that sarcastic tongue and grudging exterior, but a bit like himself, reading how people react and adjusting to make them feel comfortable. Kaeya really does like someone complicated that challenges him, someone who isn't afraid to hit back, but doesn't push too hard.

----->

After a third cup, fourth, fifth, maybe ninth, Kaeya feels a bit lightheaded. Did Diluc make the wine stronger today? Usually he makes it to the thirteenth cup. It's good that the tavern is emptying out. Wait, where was Y/N?

"Y/NNNN," he slurs. "Did you know that Diluc has flower boxers? He got it as a gift from Don-"

"Snap out of it, Kaeya," someone says.

"He's really drunk this time," another voice growls. "When he wakes up tomorrow I will beat him so bad he'll forget about his hangover."

"Calm down, Diluc," that other voice says. "I'll lug him home- wait, I don't know where he lives."

"I've got it," the other person replies. "You don't need to see how messy his home life is. Besides, I'd appreciate it if you helped me out with that bard over there. Goes by the name Venti. Usually doesn't mind sleeping at the tables outside."

"Are you... talking about me?!" someone else exclaims. "Oh, how I lwuveee wine..."

A nod, then shuffling and protests of being dragged outside. Then a shut of a door, and silence.

"You really have a backbone, getting drunk in front of Y/N. Way to make a first impression."

"I don't want her to have an impression," Kaeya mumbles. " I wanna sleep-"

"Alright, alright, I get it! You're lucky she paid for you. Otherwise I would've..." Diluc mutters on about how he would've subjected Kaeya to labor in the winery.

Everything's a bit foggy. Kaeya can't remember how much he drank, but that wine sure was good. He giggles at the thought.

Diluc puts an arm around Kaeya and forces him to stand straight, then grips his arm and leads him out the door.

The air is fresher at night, when there's no one but the twinkling stars of Teyvat. Archons, did he really just think up such a poetic thought? He must be really drunk.

He remembers Y/N's warm eyes. They were sorta like stars.

He stumbles as Diluc turns a corner to Kaeya's house. Kaeya really did enjoy talking with Y/N. Maybe it's not such a bad thing that she's here.

Thirty minutes of grumbling and shoving ensue. By the end of it, Kaeya is dressed in fresh clothes and swaddled up in blankets.

"I'm a lamb," he giggles. "A blue lamb in white blankets."

Diluc groans and slams a door shut.

Kaeya's alone in his house.

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[Edit 8-31-24] Part 3 is here!!

https://www.tumblr.com/clearaeipathy/759825456470130688/unburied?source=share