#i had a break after finishing s1

[thefrogdalorian]

Star Wars really gave us a mysterious, helmeted bounty hunter with a deep gravelly voice and formidable reputation, who - despite being a great fighter - has a calmness and gentleness about him (and a slutty waist) and then on top of that made him a greAT FATHER??

I mean how could we not fall in love... Din Djarin you are everything!!!

[renegadeontherunn]

guys i’m on spring break you know what that means!

yes i’m starting a new season of dimension 20 KAJDJAJKFKA

[wibble-wobbegong]

rubbing my hands together grinning evilly as i work on breaking down lucas’ importance to mike for the six billionth time because i’m obsessed with how important lucas is in mike’s journey to becoming himself

[weathertheraine]

Pirate AU!! Thank you @stringofturtles for watching OFMD S1 with me and re-igniting my Pirate Emotions so I had the motivation to finish this. The first sketches have been sitting in my files for months so please forgive the fact that they look different skdfjh.

More fleshed out AU details under the cut !! :D

- The kids are a little older than canon - the third years in their early 20s - but the story still starts with the second and third years as an established crew who then pick up the first years and the coaches.

- Daichi as a Captain is of course very much like he is in canon. He works very hard to take care of his crew and takes on a huge responsibility for providing for them (as well as making sure they don’t die in idiotic ways). Suga is First Mate so it’s his job to make sure DAICHI is okay and not worrying himself to death. He also has a good handle on morale/the emotional state of the crew.

- Asahi is the first line of offence when dealing with other ships. He doesn’t like actually hurting people, but he’s good at breaking ranks and barrelling through defences to get hold of whatever Karasuno needs. He was ‘off the team’ and out of commission for a little while after he lost his hand (not seeing combat while he was in recovery, and needing to build up his courage again). Noya played a huge part in helping him back onto his feet, and has been kind of protective ever since.

- Noya’s job is to make sure the ship isn’t boarded, so he very rarely leaves it.

- Ennoshita and Kiyoko work together as navigators and managing the little money the crew has. Ennoshita is the only crew member in the beginning who can kind-of read (Kiyoko can only read a little), and they work a lot with maps and planning out journeys.

- Tanaka is great at intimidating opponents. His eyepatch is totally for show - he thinks it makes him look cooler and scarier. His parrot doesn’t often co-operate with him.

- Narita and Kinoshita take care of maintenance and supplies and making sure there isn’t gunpowder anywhere there shouldn’t be, as well as things like fraying rigging and rotting boards/canons secure and the like. Of course, things like that are everyone’s responsibility, but these two consider is theirs particularly. It’s thankless work but the boat would definitely have burned down by now if not for them.

- Enter the first years!

- Kageyama is a prodigy swordsman with a huge reputation as a lethal pirate, although most people who spread those rumours don’t realise he’s as young as he is. He was marooned by his previous crew for being a controlling Captain (who should never have been captain in the first place, having only his fighting talent as the real reason).

- Hinata recently ran away from home to “become a pirate” without much of an idea what that actually entailed, and ran into Kageyama without knowing his reputation. All he knew was that this guy was incredible fighter, and he demanded that he teach him to fight! He now won’t leave him alone.

- Tsukishima ran away as a very young child in an attempt to find Akiteru, whose sailing ship was attacked and lost at sea. He fell in with pirates along with Yamaguchi (who was picked up after surviving a shipwreck), and the pair ended up sticking together as they bounced from ship to ship, ready to run whenever it seemed like tensions were getting high. They (read: tsukki) are going to need to break this habit, if they’re going to be a real part of this new crew.

- Tsukishima and Yamaguchi can’t sleep if they’re not in the same hammock. Embarrassing. The reason Yamaguchi was so tiny as a little kid is that he didn’t get enough food. Tsukishima still tries to sneak him extra (and gets in trouble with Daichi).

- Tadashi ends up as a sharpshooter, one of the few kids who’s confident using a pistol

- Hinata and Kageyama spar together all the time. It’s GOING to end in a make-out the first time Hinata successfully beats him.

- Neither of them have noticed that Tanaka’s eyepatch switches sides.

- Yachi is picked up when the crew stop in a bar in her town. She’s a better-off girl, about to be talked into an politically advantageous marriage, and desperately wants to get out of her situation. “Running away with pirates” was admittedly pretty drastic, but anything sounds like a good idea when Hinata suggests it so sincerely!!

- Ukai is a washed up older pirate, without a crew. Takeda is a very unlucky literature teacher who just happened to be on a sea voyage. They both ended up taken as hostages by the same (meaner) pirate crew, who were then stolen by the Karasuno kids. Although, it’s kind of unclear at this point whether they’re actually prisoners… They’re being treated very nicely (especially Sensei) and are in danger of getting attached…

[reiding-writing]

may i request getting stuck in an elevator with early season Spence after hours at the BAU and the lights go out and obviously him being terrified of the dark he starts panicking and reader has to comfort him until he eventually explains his fear of the dark in relation to something happening in his childhood. just some angst and hurt/comfort ig? I live and breathe your content <3

malfunction [ s.r ]

Summary:

You and Spencer end up staying late to finish some paperwork after a case, when you finally vacate into the elevator to leave it breaks down, revealing some secrets harboured by both of you and strengthening your relationship in the process.

WARNINGS: claustrophobia, nyctophobia, arachnophobia, mentions of spencer’s bullying

pairing: s1!spencer x gn!reader

genre: hurt/comfort

wc: 3.2k

masterlist!!

a/n: glad i’ve curated an audience of angst and hurt/comfort enjoyers <33

It was late.

12:06AM to be exact.

Silence riddled the bullpen, making the usually bustling office stand completely still.

You might’ve found it a little disturbing if not for Spencer sat a few desks down from you, his mere presence stopping your mind from running rampant with irrational fears of ghosts or demons that might lurk in the dark corners of the room.

It was a little stupid sure, your lanky book-genius of a coworker held no chance of being able to physically protect you from whatever your brain could conjure up, but the mind works in wonderous ways, and he offered you an unintentional blanket of security nonetheless.

You could hear the loose papers of his files rustle as he closed the manilla folder, rubbing his eyes underneath his glasses with a sigh.

Looks like Spencer was done for the night. And by that logic, so were you.

You mirror Spencer as you shut your file, packing it away in your messenger bag and tucking your chair under your desk as you stand, the two of you silently acknowledging each other’s presence as you reach the elevator.

You could practically feel the fatigue surrounding the both of you as you stepped inside, your tiredness bouncing off each other and making you more desperate to crawl into bed and knock out for the night.

It didn’t last for very long.

A loud clunking sound echoed through the metal walls of the elevator, followed by it jolting to a stop, and you had to grip onto the metal bar lining the wall so you didn’t lose your balance.

Your eyes turn first to the small screen above the door, flickering between the numbers 2 and 3 as if it can’t decide what floor you’re currently on.

Then they turn to Spencer.

Spencer's breathing is uneven and his body tense, eyes darting around the tiny enclosed space with a distinct air of panic.

“Reid? Are you alright?” You raise an eyebrow at him, your expression a mix of curiosity and concern.

"N-No, no! I am not alright! This is my worst nightmare come to life." Spencer presses himself against the far wall, as if plastering himself to it will make him part of the elevator and therefore unable to be injured if something goes wrong.

“You do know how unlikely it is to actually get any sort of injury from an elevator accident right?”

"One out of ten point five million. I know that. But this isn't about logic this is about fear." He turns away as he speaks, taking a few breaths in an attempt to calm himself down. "I'm-I'm claustrophobic. And this is not helping."

“Okay- okay- let’s just calm down for a second,” You hold up a hand in Spencer’s direction. You never took him as somebody to have irrational fears like this. You always figured that he’d just use his knowledge to rationalise what was happening and move on. Apparently not.

Spencer looks back at you and nods, taking in another deep breath.

“I'm trying. It's just-“ The elevator makes a rumbling sound that elicits what you can only classify as a whimper to leave his throat. “I can't do this. I can't be stuck in this tiny space for an unknown amount of time. I can't. I just can't. Please. Please, someone. Someone has to know we're in here. They have to.”

“Reid- Calm down.”

You let go of the bar you were holding onto to walk over to Spencer, placing your hands cautiously on his shoulders.

"I-I'm trying. I'm trying."

But he doesn't actually seem to be any better than he was before. His body is shaking, his breaths shaking and uneven.

He's getting very close to having a full blown panic attack.

“Sit down,” You push gently against his shoulders to encourage him to sit, following after him yourself to sit in front of him with your legs crossed underneath you.

Spencer lets out a trembling breath. "What if we die in here? What if no one comes? What if something goes wrong?"

“We’re going to be fine,”

You hold out a hand palm up in your lap as open invitation for him to take it if he needs to.“just take slow breaths Reid,”

"I-I'm trying." He looks down at your hand and almost reaches out for you, but hesitates before yanking his hand back.

He looks away and forces his breath to slow down again. "What if we're in here for hours?"

“Elevators have failsafes Reid, it’ll sort itself out don’t worry,”

Spencer takes a shuddered breath in through his nose, closing his eyes as he repeats your words in his head.

It’ll sort itself out. He doesn’t need to worry.

He meets your eyes with a small nod and you sigh, giving him a sympathetic smile that reassures him he’s going to be fine.

Unfortunately, all of your efforts to calm him down are quickly reversed as the lights cut out, sending the elevator into complete darkness.

His sudden blindness brings a startled cry from Spencer, his body instinctively trying to protect himself and in that split second of shock he grabs your hand.

He clutches at it tightly, eyes squeezed shut.

“Everything’s fine-“ You return his startled grip with a light squeeze of your own.

The grip around your hand feels firm and shaky but the contact helps to ground him, bringing some of his panic down a notch or two.

“It's not f-fine. It's dark. I don’t like the dark . I hate it.”

“You’re scared of the dark?” You sound more surprised than you mean to, and although you can’t pinpoint all of his features in the shadows, you’re sure you can see his eyebrows knit together.

“11% of the US adult population is afraid of the dark.” His tone carries an air of defensiveness through his fear, although he doesn’t seem offended enough at your comment to sacrifice the physical comfort that your hand is offering in his.

“Oh- no- I didn’t mean it as a bad thing-“ You shake your head despite the fact that he can’t see you, tightening your hold on his hand as an offer of reassurance. “I just- didn’t see you as somebody to have a fear of the dark is all-“

“What’s that supposed to mean?” You can hear the slight waver in his voice as he speaks, clearly trying to distract himself in your questions so he doesn’t have to think about his current situation.

You’d also wager he has his eyes shut, as ironic as it is.

“I just meant- you know- your brain rationalises everything so quickly that I figured you just wouldn’t have fears like this?”

He chuckles nervously, the sound echoing in the darkness. "Well, even the most rational minds have their quirks, I suppose. Fear doesn't always follow logic." The tension in his voice begins to ease, and he opens up a bit more.

“Is there a reason you have a fear of the dark?” You could understand his claustrophobia to a certain level, but nyctophobia wasn’t something very common in adults, especially ones who work as field agents for the FBI.

“I uh- it was just something that happened when I was younger, it’s stupid really-” Spencer skirts your question with a half-truth, not divulging any details of his seemingly irrational fear of the dark.

He shifts slightly, adjusting to find a more comfortable position on the floor, his hand tugging yours and in the process forcing you to change your seating position as well.

You squeeze his hand gently. "Do you wanna talk about it? People usually find it easier to rationalise their fears if they voice them to another person,” You use Spencer’s own intelligence against him in the hope that it’ll get him to open up.

As much as you had learned about him in the past two years, you still knew surprisingly little about Dr. Spencer Reid and his life outside of the office.

You knew all about his academics, how he liked his coffee with as much sugar as humanely possible, how under normal circumstances he would rather lick a toilet seat than shake someone’s hand.

But you didn’t really know him; And you figured this might be a good place to start.

“I… It’s not something I like to dwell on,” He tries to shut down your questioning once more, clearing his throat to try and rid of the lump that forms when he thinks back to the origins of his fears. “It’s not exactly a nice thing to remember,”

“I get that, some of my childhood memories aren’t the best either,” You let out a breath that could almost constitute as a laugh of exasperation. “But it might help, and i’m sure that just getting it off your chest will give you piece of mind nonetheless,”

You can hear Spencer take in a breath through his nose, and through the small adaptation your eyes had made to the darkness you could just barely see his lips purse into a line, debating whether or not to divulge his childhood to you.

It’s not like he didn’t trust you with it. Quite the opposite. He’d come to enjoy your presence over the time you’d spent working together.

You didn’t judge his intelligence, nor did you reduce him to it. You just saw him as another person and it was something that he was incredibly grateful for.

He knew you wouldn’t make fun of him if he told you, but he wasn’t worried about that. He was worried that you’d pity him.

That you’d treat him like some fragile object that would break if you spoke too loudly in its presence.

That’s something that he’d never want.

“I- don’t want you to think of me differently…” His voice was still laced with fear as he spoke, but this time it wasn’t a fear of the dark metal box he was trapped in; It was a fear of how your view of him would change.

“Reid…”

“I don’t want to be pitied or have people walk on eggshells for the sake of hurting my feelings…” You can practically feel his apprehension through the way his hand tenses in yours.

“Reid-“

“I’ve just managed to get people to treat me normally and I don’t want all of that to go down the drain-“

“Spencer.”

You can see his eyes snap upwards towards yours as you raise your voice, and you pull his left hand into your own to hold both of them in your lap, eyes chasing his in the darkness to maintain eye contact. “You’re human. Humans have fears and they have bad memories, and it’s not going to change anything about how I treat you.”

“Tell you what,” You give his hands a squeeze, leaning forwards slightly towards him to try and get a better look at his face. “I’ll tell you one of my childhood tragedies if you tell me yours, deal?”

He goes silent as he ponders your offer, ending with a small nod that you can only half see. “Okay…”

“Okay,” You return his nod with your own, running your thumbs over the backs of his hands. “So, i’ll go first,”

“When I was eight, my cousin thought it’d be a good idea to let his pet tarantula crawl all over my face whilst I was sleeping, and I woke up with it half in my mouth,” You practically shudder at the memory. “Needless to say I developed arachnophobia after that,”

You laugh breathily, shaking your head slightly. “It was not very fun,”

“Why would he do that?”

You shrug slightly, arms moving enough that he can feel it where your fingers connect. “He was a bit of a bully if i’m honest, but he’s matured since then thank god,”

“Are you- still afraid of spiders?” Spencer’s eyes practically shine in the darkness, big, round and glistening with curiosity as they scan your face from beneath his glasses.

“Promise not to make fun of me?” Your question is answer enough, but he still nods softly nonetheless. “I think they’re terrifying,”

“Almost 20% of the US population has arachnophobia, it’s a very common fear to have,”

“So is a fear of the dark,” You bring the conversation back to Spencer’s fear once more. “Willing to tell me its origin story yet?”

Spencer sighs, his shoulders slumping and his head leaning back against the wall of the elevator. “It’s-“ He exhales through his nose, his eyes diverting from yours to stare at your interconnected hands.

“When I was in school I was bullied a lot…” He purses his lips and you nod. As sad as it is you’re not exactly surprised.

Someone as insanely intelligent as him was unfortunately bound to be tormented by those who were academically inferior to him, it’s a by-product of jealousy.

“They uh… stripped me down and tied me to a goal post, and- then they just left me there-“ Spencer’s throat catches as he speaks, and you can see through the way his eyes flicker around that he’s replaying the memory in his head.

“I- managed to untie myself after a while, but I spent over an hour searching for all of my clothes and ended up walking home in the dark half dressed…” Spencer’s lip quivers as he reaches the end of his explanation.

“I don’t think i’ve ever been more scared in my life…”

“I’m so sorry they did that to you…” Your eyebrows furrow with sympathy, and you shift your hold on his hands to intertwine your fingers with his. “Nobody should have to experience that…”

Spencer exhales, and you can hear the shake in his breath. “I thought if I just buried it that i’d forget, but I still remember it like it happened yesterday…”

The curse of an eidetic memory you suppose. Destined to remember every detail of the worst experiences you’d ever had.

Although you’re sure that Spencer wouldn’t need an eidetic memory to have what happened to him burned into his brain.

“Spencer…”

“I’m sorry-“ Spencer shakes his head, attempting to pull his hands out of yours. “I told you it was stupid-“

“Hey. No.” You close your hands around his to stop him from pulling away. “That is in no way stupid at all.”

“You went through something awful and developed a fear because of it. That is the furthest thing from stupid Reid,”

“I just-”

You cut off Spencer’s attempt at a rebuttal with a pull of your hands in his, separating them only to wrap your arms around him in a hug. “No excuses.”

Spencer is stiff in your embrace, unsure of what exactly he should be doing. Should he hug you back? Should he pull away to regain his personal space?

He wasn’t exactly sure. He did however, feel like he was going to cry.

He could feel the tears welling up behind his eyelids, squeezing his eyes shut to stop them from falling down his face and hiding his face against the curve of your shoulder so that you wouldn’t be able to see the shadow of his expression.

God he was pathetic.

Sat in his coworkers embrace because he was scared of the goddamn dark.

On the verge of tears because of something that happened twelve years ago.

A twenty four year old man. A fully grown adult.

His shoulders begin to tremble as he thinks about it, and you can feel the way his breath catches in his throat as you bring your hand to the back of his head to hold him closer to you.

“This is pathetic i’m sorry…” He shakes his head against your shoulder, hindered slightly by the way his glasses sit on the bridge of his nose.

“Shhh,” You shake your head in tandem with his, leaning your cheek against the side of his head as you rub your hand over his back. “Don’t be silly,”

"You're not pathetic, Spencer," You reassure him, your voice gentle. "Everyone has their own fears and struggles. It takes strength to open up about them."

He takes a deep, shaky breath, trying to compose himself. "I just never thought I'd be so affected by it for this long."

"Trauma doesn't have a set expiration date," you say softly. "It's okay to still be working through things. And you don't have to face it alone."

Spencer finally relaxes a bit in your embrace, allowing himself to accept the comfort you're offering. "Thank you," he mumbles, his voice barely audible against the fabric of your shirt.

“No problem-“ You don’t finish your sentence before the lights come back on, causing you to squint from the sudden brightness.

The sudden light flooding the elevator exposes the position the two of you had found yourself in, your legs tangled together as Spencer sits in your embrace with your arms around his torso and his hands resting limply by your waist.

“See?” You pull his face away from your shoulder gently, leaning back to finally get a fully clear view of his face. “Nothing to worry about,”

“Yeah…” He nods softly, eyes still a little red from holding back his tears, and he sniffles as he pulls away from you properly when the elevator starts moving downwards again.

“Do you want a ride home?” Your invitation is obvious as you two of you pick yourselves up from the floor, your eyes silently encouraging him to accept your proposal.

“I-“ The elevator came to another halt, this time thankfully opening its doors on the ground for the two of you to leave.

He had his train ticket in his pocket, but he was willing to forget it for now.

“That would be great, thank you…”

“No problem Spencer, let’s get outta here,”

He tries to brush aside the way he feels when you call him by his first name, nodding softly with pursed lips.

“Yeah, let’s get out of here…”

[keerysfreckles]

homesick — steve harrington

pairing: steve harrington x fem!reader

summary: steve drives to y/n's house after an alley fight with jonathan byers

warnings: s1 steve, some cursing, not proofread!

a/n: this is for aly and aly only if you're not aly pls look away rn ! @keerysbrowneyes (also ignore the date the song came out at the end i just wanted to use it)

masterlist !

⋆ ˚ ｡ ⋆ ୨୧ ˚

to say y/n had a long day would be putting it lightly. her job at radioshack started off smoothly two weeks ago, but now almost every customer has been pissing her off.

she's tried to be a good employee, wanting to empress her boss bob newby. but when every person she's dealt with does nothing but complain to her, and tell her how she should do her job, y/n started thinking about putting in her two weeks notice.

every day this week y/n's gone home to an empty house at 4 pm. her parents were visiting her relatives in california, but y/n said missing two weeks of school and work would be complete hell. which explains why she's been home alone for 5 days.

her daily routine was finishing normally as she pulled into her driveway, throwing her radioshack nametag in her glove compartment, before grabbing her backpack.

she sighed stepping into the quiet house. it was just her, her mother and her father, so it was normal the house was quiet. but knowing no one was there to greet her put a damper in her mood.

after throwing her backpack somewhere in the living room, y/n managed to find two slices of pizza from god knows where.

a car pulling up in her driveway took her focus away from the microwave. her parents weren't supposed to be home till next week, so who could be the mystery driver?

a familiar red bmw was crookedly parked in front of y/n's house.

y/n opened the door just as the driver went to knock, his curled hand frozen in the air.

"steve?"

y/n looks up at her old friend, bruised and beaten. blood dried around his eye, nose and lips, his eyebrows are furrowed in what she could only guess was hurt and anger.

y/n and steve haven't gotten along the best ever since he stopped being her friend. he'd rather hang out with tommy hagan and carol perkins. it was more than a stab in the heart to y/n when he ditched her on the first day of their sophomore year, over a year ago.

"what are- shit are you okay?" y/n leans forward to hold his head in her hands, examining the damage done to his skin.

"i didn't know where else to go," his voice sounds as fragile as a glass bottle. it could break any moment and he was worried no one would be there to pick up the pieces.

y/n noticed the waver in his words, causing the girl to bring him into a tight hug.

her arms wrapped around his neck, embracing him as he held her waist. he shoved his face into her neck, muffling the light cries falling from his eyes.

"you're okay, you're okay steve," y/n mumbles into the air, as she runs her fingers over the hair at the base of his neck.

steve shook softly in her arms. y/n does nothing but hold him closer.

she doesn't care that her front door is open. she doesn't care if people from her neighborhood are staring. she doesn't care if she has to stay like this all night.

all she wanted was for steve to be okay.

after minutes, steve let go of y/n. he wiped he eyes, before remembering one of them was severely injured. he hisses at the pain his touch causes.

y/n lets him inside, shutting the door behind the pair.

"you go ahead and shower. wash some of the blood out of your hair, okay?" y/n's voice is calm as steve nods.

he knows her house like the back of his hand. after being here so many times in the past, he walks down the hall to the last room on the right, immediately turning on the shower.

y/n's quick to grab a towel before walking to her room. she pulls open the all too familiar drawer.

the drawer filled with steve's clothes.

ever since freshman year, whenever steve stayed over he always ended up leaving an article of clothing almost every time he left. so over the span of two years, there were about five and a half different outfits in the bottom drawer of y/n's grey dresser.

she grabbed a pair of sweatpants and old gym tshirt, hoping they'd fit him.

hearing the water still running, she quietly opens the door, placing both the towel and clean clothes onto the counter.

minutes pass before steve turns off the water. his heart warms at the sight of clean clothes on the counter, and he notices his dirty clothes were gone off the floor.

he's extra careful when drying off his hair, and makes sure to be gentle around his face.

a knock makes him jump slightly.

"are you alright?" y/n asks, "i uh- found some medical supplies from my parents room. i think i can help with your cuts."

steve opens the door, and he swears his heart melts again at the sight of y/n. she's holding a small container filled with medical supplies just like she said. she had a certain look in her eyes, one steve couldn't quite recognize.

"do you-" steve let his question trail off as he pointed from the bathroom then towards her room.

"bathroom's fine," she replies, watching as he sits down on the closed toilet.

she starts sifting through the box of supplies, hoping to find at least one thing that could help with steve's injuries.

"so what did you do to get yourself all beat up?" y/n finally asks.

steve doesn't look at her, instead focusing on the tiled floor beneath his feet.

"i said shit that made jonathan pissed," steve doesn't even have to look at y/n to know she's sending him a scolding look. "if i could take back what i said i would."

y/n starts taking a wipe to get off any dried blood steve missed in the shower. she holds his face, making him look up at her.

"would you take it back if he never heard it? or would you just take it back since you told him?"

steve's silence is the only answer y/n needs to prove her point.

she hears small sounds coming from steve as she finishes wiping the blood. she continues apologizing, not wanting to hurt him more fhan he already is.

"why are you being so nice to me?"

his question catches y/n off gaurd. her movements pause as her hand hovers over his face with a bandaid for his nose.

"you came to me when you were hurting. is it so bad i want to help you?"

y/n continues working to patch up steve's face, while his silence gives her the answer she needs once more.

just as she places the last bandaid on his chin, steve speaks up.

"thank you, really. i don't know anyone else who would help me with this."

"of course steve," she sends him a soft smile. she checks one last time over his face, making sure she didn't miss anything.

y/n throws any trash on the counter away, letting steve stand and inspect her work in the mirror.

as y/n walks back to the bathroom, she pokes her head in the doorframe. she studies his face for a moment. watching his fingers trace over the fresh bandaids. she watched as his hair slightly moved with every turn of his head.

steve notices the girl standing behind him, making a switch flip in her head, suddenly reminding her what she was going to ask.

"do you want to stay for a little? i could try and find an ice pack for your eye."

steve nods, making y/n lead him towards the living room. he's quick to sit in the couch, finally feeling the stress and worry leave his shoulders.

he starts picking at his fingernails, looking around the all too familiar living room. there were still pictures up of y/n as a baby. even a few more pictures were added as she went through high school.

"okay i don't have any ice packs, but i found this," steve turns his head, chuckling at the bright red coca cola can in her hands.

steve lets his eyes stay on y/n. he notices her hairs gotten slightly darker in the past year. her freckles are less prominent. her eyes seem more dull.

he looks up at her hoping she can notice he wants to be saved. wants to be saved by her. saved from the assholes he hangs out with now. saved from the stress of high school. saved from it all.

as steve hasn't taken the can, y/n sits beside him on the couch and holds it gently over the bandaid around his eye.

a small blush creeps its way onto steve's cheeks. y/n notices.

the two sit in a comfortable silence, as y/n turns the can from time to time so the coldest part is always on steve's bruised face.

"i think you kind of deserved it."

steve's eyebrows furrow as he turns to look at y/n. her monotone expression only confuses him more.

"what?"

"losing the fight to jonathan."

"i never said i lost–"

y/n simply ignores him, "maybe his punches finally knocked some sense into you."

steve might consider himself an idiot sometimes, but he knew what y/n meant. he curses at himself every day for why he ditched the girl sitting next to him.

"i don't even know why i did it."

y/n's silence made him continue.

"i guess i hated feeling so small in school. so i started talking to the people i thought were cool. it's dumb believe me, i know," steve leans forward to run his hand through his hair.

it's a nervous tick steve picked up over the years. one y/n recognized.

she simply reached her other hand to his own, rubbing her thumb over his palm.

"you're still the same steve i know," y/n's voice is quiet. "you may have a bigger ego and be an asshole sometimes. but you're still the boy who danced with me at the snow ball when no one else would."

"you know," steve's voice seemed brighter as an idea popped into his head. "i still owe you a full dance."

"what do you mean?" y/n laughed, "you already danced with me. at the snow ball."

"not for the whole thing. if i can recall i swooped in to save the day probably halfway through the song."

y/n can only laugh again while watching steve start searching through the limited record selection in the living room.

"what are you even looking for?"

steve holds out his pointer finger, before running towards y/n's room, not satisfied with any choices from the living room.

seconds pass until steve's back in the living room, with a record in hand.

y/n tries peering over his arm to see which one he grabbed, before he slid the disc out and put it into the record player.

the familiar beginning to our last summer by abba began playing.

"steve, this isn't even a slow dance type of song," y/n tries to argue, but steve only grabs her hands to pull her up off the couch.

"i don't care, i still owe you a dance," he then places both hands on her hips. "plus i know this is one of your favorite songs."

y/n smiles up at him while holding onto his shoulders as the two sway side to side.

"you remember that?"

steve nods, "of course. i could never forget anything about you."

y/n feels the blush brushing her cheeks now as she looks down at her feet, trying to hide her nerves.

as the song progressed, steve and y/n continued swaying slowly. after seconds of internally debating to herself, y/n leans forward to press her head against his chest.

she lets all the anger and hurt for steve seep out of her. each sway the boy creates, a pound of regret leaves y/n's body.

she swears she can hear his heartbeat pick up at their close contact, but she doesn't mention this, only smiling to herself.

steve's breath quickens for a split second as y/n's head rests on him. he reaches his hand up to hold the back of her head, rubbing his thumb slightly. he kisses the top of her head, only making y/n wish it was humanly possible to become closer to steve.

"y/n," steve's voice is low a rough, he worries she didn't hear it.

she removes her head from his chest to look up at him. his hand stays on the back of her head, pushing only slightly, giving her the reason to back up if she pleases.

she doesn't back up. in fact she leans foward whether it be because of steve's touch or not. she doesn't want to back up.

in a matter of seconds steve's lip press against y/n's. the cut on his bottom lip stings slightly, but he couldn't care less about the pain. if kissing y/n made his lip sting, he would still kiss her a thousand times.

y/n's hands grip his shoulders tighter, trying to push him closer as they both deepen the kiss.

y/n begins to pull back, needing a second to regain her lost breath that was stolen by steve. however the brunette doesn't allow it, pulling the girl back in for another kiss.

her hands move to his neck. her fingers begin pulling at the hair, eliciting a small breathy moan from steve.

it caught y/n off gaurd, making her pull away again.

the two silently share eye contact. their panted breaths are mingling with each others.

steve leans forward to kiss her again. his way of telling y/n he wants nothing more than her.

he can only guess she gets the idea, when she giggles at the feeling of steve picking her up off the ground to carry her to her own room.

y/n laugh is cut off by steve slamming her bedroom door behind the two, "you know no one's here right? you didn't have to close the door."

steve simply shrugs as he lays down on the bed above y/n.

their fourth kiss of many for the night begin to become more and more passionate.

y/n would be lying if she said she didn't want to sleep with steve. and steve vice versa with y/n. but they weren't about to admit that tonight.

[mouseymilkovich]

Speechless | Carmy x Reader Fic

masterlist | playlist | pinterest board | next chapter

Fic Summary: You and Sydney have been best friends for years, now you get to watch her start her new adventure at The Beef with a chef she's long revered, Carmen Berzatto. Everything is fine - until you find yourself falling for the mysterious, closed off man. But Syd is your best friend first - hoes before bros, right?

Chapter Summary: It's a new start for your best friend, Sydney Adamu, and evidently for you, as you meet her new boss, Carmen Berzatto. He seems... odd. Yet attractive. You can't quite put your finger on it... | Carmy Berzatto x fem/afab reader (using they/them pronouns)

Important Info: established friendship of reader and Sydney, will generally take place during s1, (for texting) green = sydney, pink = reader

Content Tags: Carmy smokes duh, this is in the timeline of S1 so most of The Beef staff are mean/difficult with Sydney, Richie being Richie generally

Chapter One: Old Friends, New Beginnings

Word Count: 1.7k

Lil A/N: hey shout out to Maggie for the chapter title!! it was a fic title suggestion but I thought it'd be nice as the title for the first chapter!! she also gave it a read before I posted <3 thanks pookie

You were a longtime friend of Sydney Adamu... well, best friends, if you guys were completely honest. So, when you heard she was finished staging for The Beef and that she was actually hired, you decided to come surprise her on her first official day. The main reason you hadn't during her staging week was that you knew she revered chef Carmen Berzatto, you distracting her could've cost her everything.

So, there you were on your way to The Beef with a dish of cookie-brownies you'd made to celebrate Syd. Out of the corner of your eye, you caught the man your friend admired so, outside in the alley, having a cigarette. He didn't seem to notice you, engrossed in whatever he was scrolling on his phone.

The same love Sydney had for The Beef was one you also shared, you remembered at one point when the pair of you came with her father for lunch. It was a good place.

You just carried on your walk towards the door, entering into the restaurant and hearing some bickering amongst the staff. Sydney had gotten permission for you to come in a bit before doors, so you could contribute your dessert to their family meal.

"No hablo Inglés." You heard a woman say as she walked past Sydney, who just sighed.

"I know you speak English, Tina, you spoke English like 10 seconds ago!" She groaned, but then smiled once she saw you. "Thank fuck."

You laughed a little, going over to Syd, then gave her a tight hug after you sat the cookie-brownies on the counter. "Hey, how's the first official day going?"

"Awful. Carmy wants to do a brigade, and it's... well, nobody loves the idea of me being in charge." She muttered with a sigh.

"Hey, you'll do great, I know you will. Besides, chef Carmen must be pretty impressed with you to have you in charge like that, right?" You were trying to cheer her up, but there was absolute truth behind your words. You knew Sydney was incredibly talented.

"You can just call me Carmy, y'know. Only need to be addressed as chef in the kitchen."

The appearance made you and Sydney both turn around, there he was, the chef in question, back from his smoke break.

"Oh, Carm! This is an old friend of mine. We've known each other forever, pretty much." Syd said, introducing you with a smile.

Carmy held his hand out to you politely, and you extend yours, just a light hand shake. You're not about to make a fool of yourself in front of Sydney's new boss, you knew better than that.

"Oh, um, I brought these to contribute to family. Syd said it was okay with you." You told him with a polite smile, grabbing the tray of cookie-brownies.

Carmy rubbed his forehead for a moment. "Right. Forgot about that... you can stay for it this once, if you want."

"Really? Wow, um, thanks, I'd love to." Of course you accepted, you knew Sydney was making it, you'd never turn down an opportunity to eat something she made.

"Yeah, just, uh, hang around, I guess." Carmy nodded, then looked at Sydney, motioning for her to follow him. "Chef."

As they disappeared into the kitchen, you made yourself comfortable at a table. Some yelling from the kitchen startled you, it sounded like Carmy. You couldn't entirely make it out, but whatever it was, he sounded pissed.

A tall man came out from the kitchen, two middle fingers pointed towards the door. "Take a fuckin' chill pill, cousin!"

You laughed a little, not really intending for him to hear you. You assume this must be Richie, who Syd had briefly told you about. Her description of him was a loud, tall, pain in the ass.

"Hey there, sweetheart. You must be Sydney's friend- sorry, I don't mean anything by sweetheart, just how I talk."

"Oh, yeah, no worries." You nodded, understanding why he was apologizing but it didn't bother you much. You'd been called worse things. "Yeah, I'm Syd's friend. I'm gonna take a guess and say you're Richie?"

"Ah shit, kid's been talkin' about me, huh?" He muttered with a small grin.

You laughed a bit at his reaction, but you decided to tell a white lie so it didn't start shit. "Briefly, yeah."

"Well, nice to meet'cha. You stayin' for family?"

You nodded. "Nice to meet you too. Yeah, Syd somewhat invited me but Carmy said it was okay. So, I assume I've been accepted around here."

Richie laughed a bit at that. "Maybe. Carm doesn't even let fuckin' Fak join us for family."

"Fak?" You asked with a little laugh. The name sounded a little familiar, Sydney had brought it up very briefly.

"Right here!" A man approached from the other dining room, where the arcade games sat.

"We didn't call you, jagoff." Richie snorted.

"But you said my name!" You assumed this must be Fak. He looked a bit like a sad teddy bear.

Richie grabbed the bridge of his nose, sighing a bit. "Anyways, Fak, this is Syd's friend."

"Ooh, cookie-brownies!" Fak gasped, reaching for your dessert on the table before Richie smacked his hand away.

"That's for family, dipshit!" He scolded.

"So they can be part of family but not me?" Fak pouted.

"Carmy said just this once, I brought these to celebrate Sydney's first official day." You explained, hoping Fak wasn't too offended.

Finally, came time for the family meal. You'd enjoyed your bit of chatter with Richie and Fak, but listening to them argue got exhausting at some point. When you sat down, Sydney introduced you to the staff you hadn't met yet. Tina seemed uninterested, Sweeps seemed nonchalant, Manny and Angel seemed pretty indifferent to your presence, but Marcus and Ebra both seemed sweet.

As Sydney served her dish, you noticed Carmy was nowhere to be seen. Until he came hustling through the door - when the hell did he leave? Why did he leave, when apparently the staff was supposed to be doing prep? But, in truth, that was really none of your business.

He took a seat across from you, Syd sat next to you, all the while Fak pouted while playing one of the arcade games in the background. It was a little awkward, since despite staging the week prior, not everybody was used to Syd being a part of things yet. You could forgive the awkwardness though, the meal was fantastic, you knew your best friend was ridiculously talented and deserved every opportunity that came her way.

Once the meal was finished, and your tray of cookie-brownies was being passed around, you stood up.

"I just wanted to say how incredibly proud I am of Syd. We've really watched each other go through some shit, and I always love seeing her grow and thrive..." You said, then glanced at Sydney with a smile. "I can't wait to support you through your new journey, man, you deserve the fucking world."

When she got up to hug you, you noticed out of the corner of your eye, Carmy cracking a smile. Something about that smile sent a flutter to your heart, but you ignored that, it must've just been nerves from your little speech... that's all it was.

Your cookie-brownies were a hit, considering you were just a baker as a hobby that made you pretty happy.

"I gotta grab this recipe off you and try it." Marcus commented, looking over at you.

You laughed a little at that. "Oh, it's just some online recipe, it's nothing special."

"They only started baking to try to keep up with me. But we did start a tradition eventually for our get togethers! I make dinner, they make dessert." Syd told her coworkers with a little grin.

"Hey, not too bad for casual." Carmy muttered, and that caught you completely off guard.

Eventually, after cleanup, the restaurant was about to open for lunch and you had to go.

"You got this. I know you do." You reassured Syd gently as she walked you to the door. The two of you shared another hug.

"Thanks. I'll text you when I get home... assuming I don't pass out." She joked.

"Hey, I expect a text at least in the next 24 hours. Reasonable?" You laughed.

"Reasonable. Alright, get outta here before this place goes nuts." She said, laughing as well.

One last hug, and you were out the door. You noticed again, Carmy in the alleyway - but this time, he was pacing and on the phone. You didn't eavesdrop, but you did hear him talking to someone apparently named Sugar. The call seemed to be ending, he hung up then noticed you.

"Hey, uh, thanks. For bringing dessert." He muttered, walking over to you as he smoked his cigarette.

"Oh, it's no problem, really. I wanted to celebrate Syd, yknow? I'm really proud of her." Your voice was so genuine, because you were truly proud of her.

"Yeah, uh, she's a great chef. I'm looking forward to working with her s'more." He nodded, taking a long drag of his cigarette.

"She is. She's dedicated, and talented-"

You were cut off by Carmy laughing a bit. "She's already got the job, don't gotta convince me."

"Right... sorry, I just brag about her like a mom sometimes." You muttered with an awkward laugh.

"Well, uh, it was nice meetin' you today. Bet I'll see you around here more since Syd's permanent."

You laughed a little bit. "I promise I'll be a paying customer too, I won't just be there to bug Syd."

He smiled a little, stomping out his cigarette butt. "Right. Well, see ya."

You waved a bit as he headed back inside. Was he basically inviting you back to The Beef, or were you just overthinking it? Probably overthinking, you did that a lot. You decided to shake it off as you headed for home.

By the time The Beef was closed for the night, you heard from Syd, while you laid on your couch as a movie played.

a little hectic but i think it went well!

that's awesome :) i'm so fuckin proud of u

love u bestie!!!

You decided that was probably your cue to go get ready for bed. As you did, you thought again about what Carmy said about you hanging around, about his smile... it clouded your now sleepy brain.

As you settled into bed, you decided that'd be a worry for tomorrow. You'd be okay with it for now.

⋆ ˚｡ ⋆୨���୧⋆ ˚｡ ⋆

wanna be tagged in any future speechless trilogy updates? leave 🫢 + an @ to tag in my askbox !

[avelera]

I’m dying for your thoughts on what is going on in Dubai with the triangulation of Armand and Daniel in Dubai because nothing in 2.05 explain ms what they(beddeath vampires) could want him to tell them as referenced earlier in the season or warrant all the Rashid pageantry. Especially not with how Armand looks at Daniel like he just got home from the wars.

Your takes are exquisite and I’d love to hear them.

Ok, I THINK you're asking what the hell is going on with Daniel and Armand and Louis and the longing looks Armand keeps shooting Daniel and I might be missing some nuance to your question but that is the question I'm gonna answer because I can't stop thinking about it.

Ok. Ok, ok, SO!! The biggest question I think we're facing as of 2.05 is did the Devil's Minion chapter of Queen of the Damned ever happen?

For the uninitiated (LOTS of BOOK SPOILERS but like the books have been out for decades, sorry): Louis/Armand is like... not a thing. At least, it's not one of the big love affairs of the series compared to Louis/Lestat. I mean they've had a situationship but they're definitely not a long devoted love affair going right up to the beginning of the events of Vampire Lestat/Queen of the Damned, which is where the show seems to take place. They traveled together for a bit after the events of Interview with the Vampire but then parted ways because What Happened In Paris changed Louis irrevocably.

The big love of Armand's life in the books is Daniel.

And we learn this in the chapter of Queen of the Damned called the Devil's Minion.

Because Armand stumbles upon "The Interviewer" and falls in love and they have this fucked up whirlwind torrid romance where Daniel teaches Armand about the modern world and basically "how to be fascinating" and Daniel begs over and over to be made into a vampire.

Lots of stuff happens between them but short, TRAGIC version is that Armand does make Daniel into a vampire and it breaks Daniel's mind. He's not a cool powerful vampire once he's turned, he's basically a vegetable, he loses his mind and becomes a hollow husk of himself. (Ironically, insane-new-vampire!Daniel is left in the care of Marius of all people lol)

SO, from the book reader perspective, I shot upright on my couch when I saw old Daniel. Because Old Daniel means we're in... some flavor of happy AU? We're in an AU where Armand did the "responsible" thing and didn't give Daniel the Dark Gift, so Daniel got to grow old and actually be a person instead of being the Devil's Minion where Armand became his whole personality and then he lost his mind.

Thing is, since S1, I've been assuming, like others I think, that we're in an AU where the Devil's Minion didn't happen at all. That Daniel did the interview, he and Louis parted ways, and now he's back to finish it. It seemed neat, clear, if a little confusing for book fans because Daniel/Armand is one of THE great love affairs and it seems like it just got skipped entirely, which kind of makes sense since no other film version has really delved into it, right?

WRONG. OK, so with the longing looks that begin RIGHT when Armand finally reveals himself, the whole mic drop moment of "Armand, the love of my life" while Armand stares at Daniel, almost seeming to plead with his eyes "GET ME AWAY FROM HIM" and looking at Daniel with such longing, going into SEASON 2 where we learn that ok, the 1970s beat was WAY more complicated than it seems, Louis' memory is very faulty, Armand has actively tampered with both of them and we DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH....?

So my current theory is: the Devil's Minion DID happen.

Armand and Daniel had their love affair, but instead of turning Daniel, which by the way he had to be talked into doing because of Daniel's suicide attempt basically, Armand set him free. But CLEARLY he continued to stalk and pine after Daniel, if he was there at Daniel's fucking engagement reading his girlfriend's mind enough to tell Daniel what she was really thinking then. Armand was definitely still OBSESSIVELY IN LOVE. And, IMO, has been the whole time.

Now, what does this mean going forward? What do I think is going on?

Armand wants out of his relationship with Louis but he's chronically, pathologically, incapable of breaking up with anyone. He used Lestat to break up the Children of Darkness, he used Louis to break up the Theatre des Vampires, and now he's using Daniel to end this fucked up marriage he and Louis are in.

Armand is doing this first by consenting to renew the interview, Louis gets a walk down memory lane, remembers how much he loves Lestat. Not to solidify their bond with how good things are now, but to break it up with nostalgia.

Armand is also going to reveal things he's hidden from Louis, I think. Like the fact Armand killed Claudia. I think right now they're both operating under the excuse that Santiago and the coven did it in defiance of Armand but that is simply not true, Armand ordered her death to get Louis all to himself. But (book canon) her death broke Louis so basically Armand destroyed what he wanted in Louis in the gaining of him.

Armand also misses Daniel. He's doing the classic passive lover thing, using the next lover to get rid of the current one. That's why he picked Daniel specifically as the vehicle of his liberation. Boy wants to get white knighted in the most fucked up way possible. Evidence: every single painfully longing, puppy dog look he shoots Daniel's way and how those looks only get more intense the more Louis waxes poetic about how great the Loumand relationship is.

Armand appears as Rashid in order to establish for plausible deniability for Louis that he DIDN'T have a relationship with Daniel OR, if Louis knows about it, that he really did do as promised and wiped Daniel's mind. Look, Daniel doesn't even remember him! When he's standing right there! Pretending to be Rashid! He definitely didn't summon his former lover here to break up Louis and him, obviously this is JUST about Louis' desire to do the interview haha, definitely not trying to bring his old ex to break up his current relationship the guy doesn't even remember who he is.

In conclusion: Armand still wants to fuck that boy old man. And he wants to get rid of Louis by making Louis break up with him because that's how Armand rolls. And that's why this whole ridiculous pantomime is happening, because Armand will never, ever be the active party in the breakup because the boy is way, way too fucked up by his supremely fucked up life up to this point to ever be the initiator. Instead he will always, always manipulate those around him to do what he wants.

[epicbuddieficrecs]

Weekly Recap | January 29th-February 4th 2024

Ao3 history still fucked :/

Repeating again: if I've ever reblogged one of your WIP fics, consider this my permission to tag me in them!!

Complete

🔥 Say You Were Made to Be Mine by ElvenSorceress/ @elvensorceress (Canon Divergent - Different First Meeting, Soulmarks AU | 11K | Teen): It's Valentine's Day 2018, and Eddie saves a man from choking to death in the middle of a restaurant. It's only after the man is rushed away by paramedics that Eddie realizes his hands are green. The man he saved is his soulmate. And he doesn't even know his name let alone how to find him.

For hope I'd give my everything by dragon_rider/ @evanbdiaz (Post S1, CW: Eating Disorders | 8K | Mature): After the disaster of his first date with Abby, Buck’s relationship with food changes rather dramatically.

where would you rather die by tempestaurora/ @tempestaurora (Pacific Rim AU | 4K | Teen): “Care to explain why you’ve brought a child to a military base?” Bobby asked when they returned. The base was alight with celebration; the day had been saved, the world was safe for a little longer. “Uh.” Buck glanced back at Christopher, currently talking to Karen Wilson from the research division. “He was an unaccompanied minor?” “So we leave him with the social workers, with first responders,” Bobby said, a pointedly raised eyebrow in his direction. “His dad’s a cadet at the PPDC,” Buck replied. “And his grandmother probably died in the attack, so it just felt… I don’t know, morally right?”

i've been dying to catch you dizzy by diazbegins/ @evanbegins (Esablished Buddie, Fluff | 2K | Teen): Eddie and Buck go ice-skating. Oh, and Chris is there too!

🔥 The Aftermath of Liberation and Love Confessions by ElvenSorceress/ @elvensorceress (Post-S5E9, Getting Together | 17K | Teen): Still, Buck says, “Yeah, Eddie. Why don’t you teach us. What would you say if you were professing your love?” You mean something besides, “In the event of my untimely death, I made you legal guardian of my child”? ~ In which Eddie comes out, sexuality is complicated but coffee is not, Buck makes an excessive salad and is also roasted, everyone has a love confession, and December is the most dramatic time of year.

let the choir bells sing by foxwatson/ @eddiediazes (Madney Wedding, Getting Together | 3K | Teen): All at once, Eddie has an idea. It’s definitely the stupidest idea he’s ever had in his entire life, but he has it all the same, and there’s no time to come up with a better one. He puts his hands on Buck’s elbows, tugs him in closer, and says, “Kiss me.”

When You Broke Her Heart, I'm Watching it Burn by ElvenSorceress/ @elvensorceress (Post-S5E11, Buck/Taylor Break-Up | 4K | General): When Buck confesses he kissed someone, Taylor makes an assumption about who. Eddie deals with what all of it means for his own future while picking up the pieces for both Buck and Taylor.

🔥Plus or Minus by ElvenSorceress/ @elvensorceress (S5 | 10K | General): “Why are you cleaning out the kitchen? Why is my stuff in boxes?” Eddie slows, then stops. “Figured you’d want it back.” It’s quieter. Pained. When he says it. “I haven’t decided anything. So unless you’re kicking me out—” “Buck. Come on.” He’s not angry or snapping. It’s still quiet, and somehow that hurts even more. He’s resigned and defeated, and Buck is a scooped out, gutted, hollow shell. “I know how this ends the same way you do. You want to be loved, you want to be married. You’re going to leave. Might as well…” His voice cracks before he can finish and get it under control. “Shouldn’t drag it out.” ~ Taylor is offered a job across the country and asks Buck to go with her. Buck has to figure out if he wants to start over or if he has a reason to stay right where he is.

Color Him Father, Color Him Love by ElvenSorceress/ @elvensorceress (Post-S6E12 | 3K | General): “Connor was worried he wouldn’t feel like it’s really his kid. But I put him back in Connor’s arms, and I could see the way his face changed. The way he lit up and teared up and might have cried because that is his son. And all I could think was that I know that feeling. I know what it feels like to hold a kid and care about them and want to protect them. But it’s so different when it feels like they’re yours. It’s so much more. Even if you didn’t— Even if it’s not biological and you’re not. You’re not really the father. Because I hold Chris— I hold him and I feel like he is part of me.” ~ Buck has a revelation about what he is to Chris. And to Eddie.

turns out freedom ain’t nothing but missing you by Daffi_990_ao3/ @daffi-990 (Post-S6, Getting Together | 4K | Not rated): To protect his heart, Eddie pulls away from Buck when he starts dating Natalia. When he decides to move to B-shift, Buck finally confronts him and certain feelings finally come to light.

with blood in my nose by hammersmiths/ @henswilsons (Canon Divergent, S4E14: Survivors | 9K | Teen): The spray of blood hits him, first. And then Buck drops like a fucking stone. or, Buck is the one who gets shot instead of Eddie.

🔥 3 Men 1 Baby by Tizniz/ @tizniz (Canon Divergent, Accidental Baby Acquisition | 21K | General): It’s a good thing the groceries have made it to the table, because the eggs would certainly have cracked from Eddie dropping the bags to the floor. Because Evan Buckley was standing there holding a baby. A baby. OR: Buck, Eddie, and Chim get a baby. Here's what happens.

you can see it with the lights out (you are in love) by wikiangela/ @wikiangela (Post-S6, Love Confessions | 5K | General): Turns out, Natalia does see Buck, though maybe not in the way he expected. In which Natalia realizes Buck's in love with Eddie and help him see it, too.

we could be corny by devirnis/ @devirnis (Established Buddie | 1,6K | General): Or, Chim and Maddie have Buck and Eddie over for their first official couples’ game night.

🔥 Facets of a Diamond by countrygirlsfun/ @acountrygirlsfun (Canon S1-S2 | 35K | Teen): Southern California is where Buck has spent the most time since leaving Pennsylvania. Of all the places he’s lived and worked over the last few years, this place is where he decided to stay. It’s why he picked LAFD: to put down some roots. It’s warm, has the ocean, and it’s the opposite coast of his parents. So if he’s going to be here for a while, he thinks he’ll need to make an effort to let people in.

a little of that human touch by devirnis/ @devirnis (Established Buddie, Secret relationship | 1,5K | General): Buck closes his book and places it on the coffee table, pushing himself up a little more as Eddie trudges over to him. “Couldn’t sleep either?” Buck asks quietly. He wanders over to the far end of the couch and Buck moves his feet out of the way so Eddie can sit down. “Woke up and you were gone,” Eddie murmurs, pulling Buck’s feet into his lap.

you kiss me in a way that's gonna screw me up forever by heartbeatdiaz/ @loserdiaz (Getting Together, Valentine's Day | 2K | Teen): The LAFD throws a Valentine's Day charity event, there's a kissing booth and Eddie is definitely not going insane with jealousy.

🔥 Winter Prayer by Daisies_and_Briars/ @cal-daisies-and-briars (Road Trip, Buck&Bobby&May | 18K | General): When a work conflict prevents Athena from accompanying Bobby to Minnesota for the ten year anniversary of his family dying, Buck and May offer to go instead. Over the course of the trip, they all learn more about each other, and Bobby faces his grief.

Fractals from the Lightning Bolt by letmetellyouaboutmyfeels/ @letmetellyouaboutmyfeels (One Shots Collection | 47/54 | 87K | Not Rated): A collection of oneshots, some originally posted on tumblr. Each chapter is individually rated.

47. But What if They Were Secret Dating (S4, Explicit)

You Can't Surprise Evan Buckley by Daisies_and_Briars/ @cal-daisies-and-briars (Established Buddie, Fluff | 5K | Mature): Ten months into their relationship, Eddie has not been able to execute a romantic surprise for Buck. But on Buck's birthday, things are about to change. (Part 2 of Birthday Surprises & Other Shenanigans)

WIP

because we'll all arrive in heaven alive by callmenewbie/ @puppyboybuckley (Post-S6, Disaster Fic | 1/9 | 7K | Explicit): During a search and rescue, Eddie disappears without a trace, leaving Buck to grapple with the sudden possibility of a life without him.

🔥 Things We're All Too Young to Know by Daisies_and_Briar / @cal-daisies-and-briars (Canon, S1 through S6 | 111/? | 315K | Mature): This is a love story. Even if it doesn’t always look like it. Even if it doesn’t always feel like it. A look back on Eddie and Buck's lives up to now, and what led them to each other, interpreted from the current 9-1-1 canon.

🔥 A Minor Delay by rainbow_nerds/ @rainbow-nerdss (Post-S6/S7 Spec | 6/11 | 21K | Mature): Almost a year after the bridge collapse, a lot has changed. The team are scattered—Bobby and Athena on their Honeymoon, Hen on adoptive parent's leave, and Buck and Eddie... They may still work together, still have movie nights with Chris whenever they can, but things have changed. With Maddie and Chimney's wedding around the corner, Buck tries to make it perfect. And maybe, along the way, he might figure out why everything still feels... wrong.

if i need to rearrange my particles — i will for you. by dylaesthetics (Post-S6, Social Media fic | 1/16 | 4K | Teen): OR Buck joins a support app for first responders and matches with a firefighter who has PTSD and a kid who likes giraffes, apparently.

[morganwrites12672]

Tim Bradford x Reader

Warnings/Tags: Spoilers for S1 finale, spoilers for S2E1, officer!reader, female!reader, established relationship

.............................................................................................

"We can ask for a few more days off," you tell Tim as he grabs the keys. After everything that happened you two have finally finished the two weeks of administrative leave.

"Babe, I'm fine," he says. You didn't know if he was telling the truth or not. But you did know you weren't. You had come far to close to losing him.

"You stayed in a room with a man who had a highly contagious hemorrhagic fever for an hour. You were injected with an experimental vaccine and went into anaphylactic shock because of it." You raise your voice. Tim was to stubborn to admit if something was wrong.

"I can see your concern, but I promise you, I will be more careful," he says and gives you a kiss. He felt truly horrible for what had happened. He couldn't imagine what it was like for you.

"I swear to God, if you take any calls you know are going to be very dangerous," you don't have to finish your threat. Tim knows.

You couldn't lose him. Tim Bradford might be a bit of an asshole, but he was your asshole. But being truthful he wasn't near as much of an asshole to you.

Tim hated that two weeks of spending every second of every day with you was over. He also hated that he wouldn't be able to protect you. He knew you could handle yourself, that didn't stop him from worrying.

"I will be careful, but I want you to be careful too," Tim says and begins to move out the door. You follow.

"I will, love you," you say and get in the car. This day was going to be hell. Both of you were so used to being able to see the other whenever. Now it was back to seeing each other during breaks.

"Love you to," Tim says as he pulls out of the driveway.

[gojosbf]

there are a lot of complains about Jjk ending being 'rushed' and some fans are hating on gege, tbh I think the reason Gege wants to end Jjk so soon because he's tired of these "fans", I mean people are saying death threats to him for killing their fav characters (which he created) like Jjk wouldn't exist without him, maybe he didn't get to write what he actually wants to write because of frustration and that's why he "lose" interest of the series, for me I am satisfied with what we currently got, because megs and nobara is alive and they are all back together. I hope gege have a great day after the series ends, I mean he created one of the most interesting Manga series ever. I like him alot

I agree, gege himself has admitted that there were many times he did not utilise characters to their fullest and regrets that and also how he wants to end the manga sooner. I think he's tired of all the hate and just wants to finish his job as mangaka as soon as possible. This is probably because he did not expect jjk to get this level of popularity, attention and pressure, now everyone has a complaint and he knows he'll never satisfy them all so might as well not care about it and just finish however he wants to.

I have already come to terms with the fact that the ending is going to be rushed with many questions left answered but as you said I hope atleast the trio are happy and together. That's the only hope I am holding onto, a bit more happy ending (including saving yuuta). Though I joke about bringing back gojo I think it's better for him to stay dead, atleast that way we'll be able to save rest of the cast. It's not much but I imagine the ending to be one with the students from s1 ++ yuuta, I think I will be fine with that.

Gege should definitely be proud of his series, the characters he's designed, the world he has created that managed to enamour such a big population. Whether the manga is good or bad is a different question but no one can deny the impact jjk had all over the world it's truly insane and regardless of the fact that whether he fumbled many characters I want him to be proud of himself too because this is his creation, he's touched so many people through it, he's done masterful job for the most part. From the interviews I've read I have seen how he's too critical of himself and I just wish he could be proud of his work too. He did a great job, there many mistakes too but that's okay people break under pressure, our complaints don't mean we do not appreciate him and the manga and I really hope he knows that.

[ask-whitepearl-and-steven]

Ahahaha..haha...ha I just binge read the entirety of your comic...

What the heck dude! You're ridiculously good at drawing and writing this comic. And by god, you started out posting DAILY???? how!? I may have misunderstood, but it sure as shit sounded like you were posting daily in s1. Like bro, even if you were posting weekly, I'm impressed. And especially with the quality!

You truly deserve a pat on the head. And pull yourself a little more slack. You've been updating this comic for 6 YEARS! Like, the dedication! Like, I would have got bored and quite after 1 year! (If I got that far at all.)

This is truly some of the best fan content I've consumed in a while.

Hey, thanks for your kind words!

To be fair, when I was posting daily, the drawings I put out were a lot more rudimentary and the content was minimal - just enough to answer an ask. 3-4 panels. If someone had 3-4 post-it notes and a piece of paper, that's totally doable for most people. :)

These days, my posting schedule reflects the amount of time it takes me to put out a comic. I definitely work much harder on it at this point in time.

And don't worry - the slack is coming. I am keeping up my posting for now, but I'll likely be taking a break after episode 10 finishes up.

But hey, I appreciate you (and everyone else) who reads and leaves me kind words!

[lordandladywhistledown]

The way this little clip of Colin running after Penelope is giving me the will to live until I find someone like that...

Cause it's what Luke said in the interview: in S1 and 2, Colin would usually leave Penelope after they finished their conversation, perhaps because he had other "more important" people to talk to but in S3, my boy is not only getting away from said people to rather go to Penelope, but he's fucking RUNNING TO HER. RUSHING. SPRINTING, even. He's so in love his first instinct is to go after her when he sees she's upset, not caring about what others would think (when have Polin ever cared about them breaking the social norms, anyway?)

If S1 Pen would witness that, I'm sure she would die on the spot. Colin Bridgerton, the guy who legit friendzoned her and almost married her own cousin, running after her when she left the ball upset??? She wouldn't dream of that in her wildest fantasies (😛😏)

Anyway, I cannot wait for the super angsty, slowed down edits with sad songs in the background of that scene cause it's just pure romance 🤌

[jae-bummer]

The Intervention

Prompt: Hi ✨ I just found your blog and I'm reading through My Idol s2 after finishing s1. It's so much fun! Can I request prompt #16 with Monsta X?

16) Going out to dinner with your bias group and it is growing increasingly obvious that someone at the table has a crush.

Pairing: Monsta X SURPRISE x Reader

Genre: Fluff

Song rec as you read: Got My Number - Monsta X

.

"Y/N," Hyungwon said solemnly, guiding you toward a seat. "I didn't want to be the one to say this, but-"

"I'll say it," Changkyun gasped. "We hate your boyfriend. This is an intervention."

"I-" you paused, your mouth falling open as you actually took in Changkyun's words. "You what?"

Hyungwon pushed you into the chair and patted you lightly on the shoulder. "Let's get you a drink."

"Hold on," you said furrowing your brows. "What do you mean you hate Jun? You said you liked Jun!"

"We lied," Kihyun said shortly, shoving a complimentary chip covered in salsa into his mouth. "Next question."

"So...you brought me...to a restaurant...to tell me you hate my boyfriend?" you hissed, trying to tap down your annoyance.

"We thought it was best to pick a public place," Jooheon nodded. "So there wouldn't be a scene."

"This isn't real," you grumbled. "You ambushed me."

"They'll have a strawberry margarita," Minhyuk confirmed from your left as the waiter reappeared. "Sugar instead of salt, probably best if you make it a double."

"And a water," Kihyun piped in. "You should stay hydrated."

"Thanks," you managed, teeth barred. "So considerate of you."

"I thought so," Kihyun hummed with an award winning smile. "Salsa?"

Shaking your head, you heaved a sigh. "What exactly do you not like?"

"Oh, ripping the band-aid right off then, okay," Changkyun said, straightening. "Well, first off, he's fucking weird."

"Oh, if that's not the pot calling the kettle black," you muttered.

"No, I'm weird in a quirky, artistic way," Changkyun insisted. "He's weird in a, I wonder if there's a woman being held captive in his basement, type of way."

Your eyes widened. "What is that even supposed to mean?"

"I thought it was fairly clear," Changkyun huffed.

"Shownu," Minhyuk said, poking the leader of their small gang of bullies. "Are you going to contribute anything?"

Shownu looked up from the menu, a bit lost. "Have you noticed that he smells mildly like kimchi? But like...not in a good way?"

"Okay, I'm leaving," you snapped, slowly sliding your chair away from the table, only for Hyungwon to catch the back and hold you in place.

"Nope," he said, shaking his head. "You're not allowed to leave until you hear our solution."

"Before there is any type of solution," you hissed. "I'm going to need some valid reasons for why I should not be dating him."

The silence around you grew heavy. It seemed like none of them wanted to break the news to you.

Taking a deep breath, Minhyuk took your hands into his. "Y/N, love, you don't even like him."

You opened your mouth only to close it again. He wasn't entirely wrong. Jun was not the easiest person to be with and he was a bit odd. In general, you had fun with him, but there wasn't a whole lot past that surface level.

"I'm happy!" you found yourself arguing nonetheless. "I'm totally happy!"

Minhyuk quirked a brow.

"It's fine," you grimaced. "Totally could get better in time."

"I know you've only been dating for like five minutes," Kihyun sighed, crossing his arms. "But it may be best to cut your losses."

"Why do you guys care?" you groaned. "You haven't interfered before!"

"That you know of," Hyungwon muttered. Spinning around in the opposite direction, you eyed him.

"Don't look at me!" he gasped, shooting a look toward Changkyun.

You directed your gaze toward the youngest man.

Making a point to look away, he cleared his throat. "There may have been that one time."

"Changkyun," you whispered, using his name as a warning.

"It was for the greater good!" he gasped. "I promise."

"And what exactly is this greater good? And who was it?!"

"Well, if you insist on getting the truth today," he muttered, crossing his arms. "One of us-"

"We just want to see you happy," Jooheon cut in, giving his fellow rapper an elbow to the side.

You furrowed your brows. "But-"

"Which brings us to our solution!" Hyungwon chirped happily. "Minhyuk, if you will?"

"So our solution," Minhyuk said, radiating excitement about their master plan.

"You date one of us," Changkyun interrupted, nodded proudly.

"What?" you croaked.

Looking to each boy in turn, they all wore proud expressions, as if this was the best possible idea you could be presented with.

"I'm sorry," you groaned. "I think I just hallucinated."

"Kihyun was the first to volunteer," Minhyuk nodded. "But honestly, a few of us are willing to step up."

Your focus switched over to the boy in question, the tips of his ears a bright red.

"Not in any kind of permanent sense," Jooheon rushed out. "Just enough to create the ruse of a love triangle and give you reason to break up with the guy."

"I dunno," Shownu managed around a mouth full of food. "I think Kihyun thought it was in a permanent sense."

"No," Kihyun chirped. "I mean - If it were - I mean - I"

"I also volunteered," Changkyun nodded. "But so did Hyungwon and if you want to really make a guy feel bad about himself, you should leave him for Hyungwon."

"He is the ideal physical specimen," Minhyuk nodded solemnly.

"And I'm not?!" Kihyun gasped, a hand on his chest. "I think I'm incredibly easy on the eyes."

"Obviously you're good looking and approachable enough to become an idol, but -"

"End the sentence there please," Kihyun snapped.

You sat in stunned silence.

"Y/N?" Kihyun asked, unfurrowing his brows as he looked to you. His eyes softened. "Are you okay?"

"I'm not fake dating one of you," you snapped. "That's-"

"Then real date one of us," Jooheon said simply.

Maybe you were slow on the uptake. "Huh?"

"Real date one of us," Minhyuk repeated. His eyes swept from Hyungwon to Kihyun and then finally landed on Changkyun.

"You say that like it's the easiest thing in the world," you exhaled.

"Isn't it?" Changkyun said quietly, avoiding eye contact. "I know...one of us..."

The room suddenly felt much too small and the air much too thick. You could tell that the guys were speaking to you, but you couldn't hear a word.

Okay, so maybe you were on board with breaking up with Jun. You recognized that if it took this small of an argument for you to consider it, it likely wasn't meant to be in the first place, but...

Date one of them? One of your best friends? Changkyun alluded to someone in the group having a crush on you for some time, so how did you not see it? Did you just ignore the signs all of these years?

How could you date one of the monstas without the fear of something going wrong and messing up the whole group dynamic? No, it was much safer being totally platonic.

"I can't," you broke through your thoughts. "I'm...I'm sorry guys."

Before anyone could stop you, you pushed away from the table and slid around Hyungwon. His narrow frame attempted to block your exit, but you managed to sidestep away. While heading toward the door, you couldn't ignore the sound of breaking glass behind you.

The waiter had finally returned with your drink...just when the boys had surged forward to follow you.

Well, shit.

Unsure if you were going to laugh or cry, you made the safe choice to continue outside in case it was the latter. Turning the corner, you nestled yourself in an alley between the restaurant and the shop next door. Heaving in deep breaths as if you had been drowning, you leaned against the cool brick building. The cold cut through the thin fabric of your top, causing you to shiver.

"Y/N!" you heard several voices call. "Y/N?"

Closing your eyes, you tried to focus on your breathing. They would find you and then what?

"Y/N," a familiar voice huffed, relief evident in its tone.

Peeking out of one eye, then the other, you slowly tilted your face up to address a margarita-red and dripping Kihyun.

"Hey," you said softly, feeling a smirk tug at the corner of your lips. He looked ridiculous.

"You can laugh," he grinned. "Our waiter has exquisite timing."

"Apparently," you chuckled, shaking your head. This whole thing was insanity.

"Y/N," he sighed, the grin on his face replaced with a stern expression. "None of us wanted to pressure you. Usually when we bring up an idea you don't like, you shut us down, tell us we're idiots, and we all go about our day. Why was this any different?"

"Because this wasn't a plan to skydive in our underwear," you muttered. "This was me DATING one of you."

Kihyun winced. "Well, when you put it like that."

"Yeah," you grumbled. "See where I'm coming from?"

After a few moments of silence, Kihyun pursed his lips. "You could've said you don't have feelings for me. It would have sucked, but I would've been able to take it."

Your attention shot back to his face. "I'm sorry, did I miss a chapter?"

"I...I thought," he trailed, tilting his head as his brow furrowed. "I thought Changkyun and Shownu's comments made it pretty obvious-"

"No!" you gasped. "At no time during that lunch did I assume it was you, Ki."

"Oh," he chirped, his face turning a nice shade of pink. "Well...uh...in that case...um...disregard all of that?"

It was Kihyun. Kihyun had a crush on you, and you had never seen it...

You tried to go into your brain's way back machine and think back to any intimate moments the two of you had shared. Sure, you had cuddled a time or two on a movie night, but which of them hadn't you cuddled at this point? He teased you, he made sure you were taken care of, and he cooked for you constantly. You thought he was just being nice.

Glancing toward Kihyun, you considered him - like, really, considered him. He was absolutely adorable, you had always known that. It was the way the tips of his ears turned red when he was embarrassed. Or the way when he smiled, his cheeks dented a little bit with unique laugh lines you had never seen before. Or maybe it was his smile itself that was so refreshing. Earning a smile from him was better than any compliment you could receive.

It was more than possible to fall in love with him and the fact that it had snuck up on you like this...was terrifying.

"Okay," you said quietly, nodding more to yourself than to him.

"Okay?" he asked. "We're good?"

"Yes," you hummed, still trying to parse out your thoughts. "I mean no, I mean...yes we are good, but no, not in that way."

He crossed his arms. "Explain."

"Okay," you said simply. "Let's do this."

"Do what...exactly?"

"Date," you nodded. "But if you mess this up Yoo Kihyun, you do not get our friends in the breakup."

"Guess we just won't break up then." he said, a smile now fighting to overtake his lips. "But Y/N...just one thing?"

"Hm?"

"You should probably break up with your boyfriend first."

[oh-saints]

anything with max please! but please make it happy ending?

taking a little break from footballers, shall we?

you

despite all the success and achievements max verstappen has secured in his bag, there's still one thing he wishes to have but knows he can't.

max verstappen x doctor!reader

note: this is inspired by one of the scene from one of my favourite kdrama; hospital playlist (s1; 2020). i hope i do the drama some justice for its amazing rollercoaster ride (#spoiler) so max can be humbled for a minute. but this time, i happen to write during my family trip so this is not proof-read yet.

when the name of his very bestfriend popped up, max couldn't hold back from smiling.

he'd previously told her that he's coming back tonight and asked if she was free for a catch up session. due to the nature of their jobs, the two friends couldn't see each other as much as they'd love to.

if he had his way, she wouldn't be working as hard as she is now. nothing in this world can make max's life better—and this was saying a lot when he's achieved everything earthly possible—than to have her at every race. win or lose, max knows there's always someone waiting on him to cross the finish line, as long as he's safe and sound.

nobody ever asks that of him. it's always wins, titles. no matter the cost, no matter the consequence of this very dangerous sport.

"hi—"

"can you come over tonight?"

max's heart immediately took a free dive.

＊✿❀○❀✿＊＊✿❀○❀✿＊＊✿❀○❀✿＊

"so sorry i called you very late into the night,"

she didn't let him express how much he'd missed seeing her. as soon as she opened the door, she strode back inside of her apartment. her hands immediately reached for the white pristine coat hanging on the wall as she passed by.

"i got a call from the hospital but my nanny's not picking up,"

max was still silent. they'd fallen into the habit of her saying the same thing and he'd remembered them all by now. after this, she'd cited her usual justification. "sorry, i forgot telling you about it because there's always someone calling me when i want to do that."

"sorry, i forgot to tell you—"

"i know, i understand," and max truly does. with how little monaco is, he understands she becomes a well-sought surgeon here. he's actually rather proud, if anything. "go save the world."

she looked up at him from behind the kitchen counter, and max swore she looked dashing as ever, with the gentle yellow lighting highlighting her features. she is one of the rare kind, one who never needs an elaborative piece of clothing to enhance her beauty. she is inner beauty personified—at least per max's standard, but supposedly it says a lot because max isn't kidding when he said he'd seen the bests of the world.

"thank you, max. you don't know how grateful i am of you," and that smile right there, radiating gentleness and calmness and pure yet gratitude, is the very reason why he always heeds to her whims. "but my kid's burning right now so can you do things i've listed down here while i'm gone?"

"sure."

there went another of max's resolution, even before he knows what she'd asked of him. he's so puny in her hands that his father once gaslighted him with her as a bait. so different to the cold, ruthless max verstappen everyone labels him to be.

after running through everything on the list together and making sure max understood them once more, for she wouldn't be able to be contacted for at least the next 3 hours, she finally put her arms to the coat hanging on her shoulder proudly. she reached for her bag, and when she was about to pick up the car keys, max halted her hand.

"please use taxi," he said, and she wondered why. "for my sanity sake, knowing you'll make it safe there."

she wanted to argue that there was no guarantee she'd make it safe with a taxi, no different than driving on her own, but she nodded wordlessly. she'd asked max to come down here in short notice, not long after he told her he was in town and only to make him babysit her kid, but he'd come with no question asked. taking taxi was the least she could do for him.

it seemed like the kid knew she left their home, for the cry ensued not long after, like a chick looking for the hen. thankfully it wasn't max's first rodeo, more over when his girlfriend has her kid of her own.

unfortunately.

"hey, hey," he cooed gently, and the little one scratched the teary eyes, crying stopped at the sight of max. he was always the favourite in this household, always coming here with something in his hands the kid doesn't know it exists. toys, actions figures, you name it. "are you okay?"

"maxie?" suddenly he remembered his sister's comment about his father instinct spiking whenever this particular kid was around. he'd even let them call him by his first name, no specific title else needed. so unlike him, when he taught leo and luka to call him by "oom maxie" or uncle maxie in dutch.

"thirsty or hungry, schatje?" max immediately picked up the split version of his best friend, and the feeling of being hugged back affectionately by his best friend's entire world contended the best feeling in the world for him. it was as if the little treasure was trying to get a hold of him entirely with their little arms and hands, like he meant the world for them.

like he is the world to them as much as the kid means the world to him. oh, if only they knew...

the kid passionately shook their head as soon as they tucked themselves comfortably against the crook of his neck. max paced back and forth for them, in hope his bouncy steps would calm them down.

"alright, lieve. you let me know when you do, okay?"

but he was only met by soft snores.

he peered down at his best friend's entire world, the axis to her existence, the reason behind her juggling her personal and professional world just to make sure they get only the best of both worlds. for that alone, max had already loved the kid like his own.

and he'd love to have them as his own, providing everything the kid's heart desire, knowing he could give them everything of it at a heartbeat. knowing he could give them what they deserve, after being deprived of a proper, fatherly love for so long.

if only she let him. if only she saw him as one.

but max knew it all boiled down to him. if only he'd denied her desire to get married to that good-for-nothing that turned out to be a cheating bastard she called her ex-husband, she wouldn't have to suffer everything of this on her own. the child didn't have to go through all the mess life would bring to someone so early in their age.

it pained him that he never let out the "marry me instead" that was poking the tip of his tongue when she'd asked you to be her men of honour. it hurt max verstappen to the point of no return, more than being robbed a championship win, that he could've had the smart kid with her instead from a long time ago, and a life he'd always dreamed of building.

with her, and no one else.

because he knew that whatever he was feeling right now, as he was holding her entire life in the home she built so hard despite the single-mother stigma, is the closest thing to right in this life that feels so wrong.

not even his multiple championship titles he had in his bag. not even the feeling of winning a race so many he'd grown accustomed to. per max verstappen's standard, that was given; with so much hard work he'd been putting since he could walk, thanks to his father.

his phone dinged, breaking his train of thought. it was the alarm that he'd set up to remind him of the checklist she'd made for him. the sound stirred the child in their sleep, and as they noticed him walking away from the room, they whined, "please stay, maxie."

like the effect of the mother had on him, he succumbed to the whim. but good lord, my goodness, there had never been something as liberating as that. it was a paradoxic feeling where you don't feel weak as you surrender yourself, instead it grew so much on him that someone needed him. it feels so damn good to be needed by someone, his heart soared so high as the revelation hit him.

maybe that was what max verstappen had been yearning for.

that one piece in his life that anyone around him didn't know how to fill the void. a home to go back to, he thought, as he fell asleep in such a ridiculous position to fit the crib's size.

but due to his lightning reflex towards every sound and movement around him, max jolted up when he heard a click of the door closing. it was small; he deducted it wasn't mean to be disturbing.

that could only be her checking up on him.

the kid was now drenched in sweat in his embrace, so he decided to change the pajamas first before heading out of the nursery. he did it as fast as he could because he knew she was making his favourite mushroom soup outside from the smell of it.

the pang on his chest came back as he got out of the child's room, only to be met by his best friend's back from the kitchen, busy scooping her signature delicacy to a bowl matching the set only designated for her and her child—his bowl—because it looked so domestic. they looked so domestic like this. they looked like they'd make a great family.

yes, it wasn't the first time they did this, but that was what made it hurt all the same everytime he came over.

"how was the surgery?"

just in time when she turned her body to him. she smiled immediately, both at the sight of a disheveled max and at the question thrown at her. max looked so bulky in the house full of her delicate touch, so different yet not out of touch, for his question brought warmth to her chest.

it'd been a while since someone had asked the question—the simplest question of asking how she'd been holding up at work—that didn't come out from her child's mouth. from someone who actually knew how hard it was to make a living. from someone who was genuinely interested at what she did. from someone all of the above.

"got a bleeding out of hand but all's good now," she'd spare the bloody detail later. right now, she just wanted to bask how peaceful their rhythms are as the f1 winner took a seat on the other end of the kitchen counter. "i hope my kid's not a hassle for you."

"you and your kid can never be a hassle to me," max made sure to stare down at her as he replied her, wanting her to know he wasn't kidding. "i love spending time with you two."

and it scared her deep down to see max so set on what he said. she could only hope he wasn't implying anything else behind his words, for she was afraid it would bring unattained hope to her heart.

despite her strong display she'd paraded around the town, she is only a human with two hands and feet and a heart. and she is a woman, first and foremost, who was once in love in max verstappen.

the real max verstappen before all the achievements, the fame, the titles. when max verstappen had eyes only for the glory, and never hungry for anything else.

but the one-sided journey could be so lonely, she never realised that. it resulted her finding love in a hopeless place. at least that was was she thought, love, until she discovered her ex was cheating with one of her fellow doctors.

so she knew she had to extinguish every kind of sparks before it grew stronger. especially now, where every of her decision doesn't only affect her, but her child also.

"spend your time for something else, max," she smiled bitterly now and max already hated whatever her mind fed her just seconds ago. "tell me, what's your favourite thing to do in your spare time? going for a vacation?"

"whatever it is we're doing now," max replied, soup still untouched. it frightened her that the eyes were not just set anymore; she'd recognised that winning determination anywhere. "wanna know why?"

she sat down, eyes trying to hold his, ignoring the fluttering feeling inside of her and set her mind to simply wanting to know the words he had in mind. max took it as an invitation to might as well break it down.

"because it's you. it's always been you."

[accirax]

initial thoughts on DCAS episode 19

Emily has really been going full villain mode these past couple of episodes, huh? while I'm overall not a huge fan of how many women have been portrayed as rude/unreasonable as compared to their male counterparts, i do love an evil queen. i support women's wrongs.

oh, Gabby. how many people wish that were true. (very cute gabellie content as usual)

i wonder if this is a soft confirmation that we'll never see Gabby or Ellie compete again.

this is so important. also, Hunter, the heart is on Ally's pajamas, not her casual look with the jacket. unless he just drew that there because he loves Ally so much :D

glad that Tom can finally admit that he is a terrible liar. truly, the person Tom and Jake should blame is the hiring manager who hired Tom in the first place.

if you loved him this whole time then why did you lie to him about having another boyfriend, Tom? ,':/ (/lh) (i know that he was explaining in this scene that it's because he was afraid, i'm just saying that the extent of his fears is something that shouldn't be swept under the rug, and that i feel it wasn't properly set up enough in s1 or DCAS as a replacement. yes it was showcased in DCAS but we never got an explanation as to Tom's thought process between seasons that would change his mind to make him more fearful.)

*several people are typing*

we NEED to see jaiden teaching Miriam a tiktok dance.

this is your daily reminder to not take anything that's said in a greeting too seriously.

c'mon, Fiore, a true gen Alpha-er would know that the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell without having to look it up. unless, oh god, is that too much of a gen-Z reference for gen Alpha to understand...?

HE'S SUCH A DAD I LOVE THEM

this was probably my favorite line of the episode.

this was a really cute detail! even though they were both the archetypal "old person" of their season, Connor is still, like, 20 years younger than Miriam. it totally make sense that she'd still call him kiddo! just, not grandkiddo.

literally even Ellie is rooting for them to finish this plotline already. or maybe she's just feeling guilty for separating them in the first place, and she's lowkey hoping that the damage wasn't that severe.

that's... that's a crime? you can't just burn people, even if they're terrible??? i guess that, given Riya attempting to kill Aiden and directly breaking Connor's leg further, the definition of what counts as a crime is pretty lax in this universe. unless it's about destroying the environment. thanks, Tom! (/j)

also, why is Yul's scar so damn low res?

MCDONALD'S ELLIE ISN'T CANON??? D:

i wonder if this season is going to end with Grett giving Ellie a job/helping Ellie get a job. i could see fitness influencer and fashion designer working together well, as long as Ellie is okay designing athleticwear.

on one hand, i don't like that we don't get to have the finalists pick the people that they're closest with help them in the finale. this feels rather random, and in terms of real-world fairness, having a finalist get stuck with terrible help isn't very fair (i cite Top Chef season 4 as my example). however, i do appreciate how Disventure Camp always mixes the endgame up. it's not very fair in a real-world perspective, but given that it isn't a real game i appreciate the variety.

i also think that this is a nice fix to really incentivize whoever is helping the finalist after (in-universe) we had two really unpopular finalists, Fiore and James, who struggled to get any help. it feels like a reasonable decision that the in-universe showrunners would make.

don't distract him during the finale, you fool!

the Romber strategy!!! wow, and it's even in the first All Stars season, too :D

THE YUL CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT IS BACK ON?!?!?!?!

FIORE FINALE CONTENT! FIORE FINALE CONTENT!

ain't no way she's actually winning and of that $100K though, lol.

y'know, this might as well happen.

Riya and Yul really are perfect for each other (platonic) because every time that either of them gets a chance to either repent and be a good person or double down and keep relentlessly chasing their goals, they both always choose the latter. they're gonna get punished in the finale big time for sure... to the extent that Yul hasn't already been punished by getting that scar(?) to the face. like, seriously, that could be even more damage to his career.

once again, i missed the real Hunter so much :,)

while i love the roast here, does Fiore actually have anyone's respect...?

that's a wrap, folks! the most important character arc of the season is over!