#i have been needing to refresh this for a while

[luvstappen]

pairing: oscar piastri x fewtrell!reader, lando norris x fewtrell!reader

summary: not even oscar’s birthday party stops lando from stirring up some drama

word count: 1.4k

warnings: swearing, angst, love triangle chaos, oscar suffering in silence

a/n: surprise! here’s the first little bonus chapter from the INTAF series, revealing exactly what happened on the balcony in part 19! hope you like it <3

masterlist

Oscar wasn’t the type to enjoy big parties. You knew that better than anyone else.

He could be charming when needed, of course. The polite smiles, the quiet nods, the well-timed remarks that made people think he was more engaged than he actually was. He was good at it. But you also knew that none of it came naturally. That socialising in rooms like these drained him in a way racing never did.

And tonight was no different.

His team had put this party together, and while the gesture was nice, it wasn’t for him. It was for the sponsors, the PR, the endless parade of people who wanted a piece of him now. Oscar wasn’t the type to demand attention, and this was the exact kind of thing he’d never choose for himself.

And yet here he was, stuck in the thick of it, listening to someone ramble about something that, judging by the slightly glazed-over look in his eyes, he couldn’t have cared less about. His expression was neutral, but you recognized the subtle signs of discomfort—the slightly tightened jaw, the way his fingers fidgeted with the cuff of his sleeve.

You were different from him in that way. Where Oscar preferred to blend in, you thrived in crowds. You could talk to anyone about anything. You never shied away from the attention.

And if you were here, standing next to him, he wouldn’t feel like he was fucking suffocating. But you weren’t. Instead, you were across the room, laughing at a joke someone had said, completely at ease.

Then, as if he could feel your gaze on him, his eyes flicked across the room and landed on you. For the briefest moment, something in his expression softened. A quiet plea.

You grinned at him, excusing yourself from the conversation as you set your drink down and slipped through the crowd. When you finally reached Oscar, you leaned in with a wide smile. “Mind if I steal the birthday boy for a second?”

The woman he’d been speaking to blinked in surprise, caught mid-sentence. “Oh. Sure.”

Oscar didn’t hesitate. Relief flashed across his face as he turned to you, already stepping away before she could even finish speaking. You grabbed his wrist, tugging him with you as you led him toward the balcony.

“You looked like you were about to die over there.”

“I think I was,” he admitted with a quiet chuckle.

The moment you stepped outside, the cool air hit you, sharp and refreshing. The night was calm and peaceful, the distant hum of music and chatter fading behind the glass door.

You leaned against the railing, closing your eyes briefly as you let the fresh air clear your head. “Better?” you asked, glancing at him.

Oscar didn’t answer immediately. He took a deep breath as he watched you, illuminated by the city lights.

Then, without warning, he stepped closer and hugged you.

This caught you off guard. Not because Oscar never hugged you, but because this felt different. Longer. A little tighter. Like he just needed it.

Your stomach flipped.

“Osc?” you murmured, surprised.

He exhaled softly. “Just... thanks for coming.”

Something in the way he said it made your chest ache. You blinked, taken aback, but slowly wrapped your arms around him, letting your chin rest on his shoulder.

“Of course I came,” you said, voice quieter now. “You know that.”

"I know," he murmured, pulling back slightly.

His hands lingered on your shoulders as his gaze searched yours.

“It just means a lot to me.” He smiled softly. “You mean a lot to me.”

Your breath hitched. Oscar wasn’t usually this effusive, so his words took you by surprise. He must’ve had a couple of drinks, surely.

Before you could say anything, the sound of a door opening behind you made you both turn.

“Am I interrupting something?” Lando’s light voice sliced through the air.

He leaned against the doorway, hands casually tucked into his pockets, smirking with his usual ease, but you knew him better than that. His eyes were unreadable and sharp, almost reproachful. They flicked between you and Oscar, assessing, calculating.

You stepped back from Oscar too quickly, like you’d been caught doing something you weren’t supposed to. And Lando noticed.

“No,” you said, too fast. “We were just… talking.”

Beside you, Oscar’s posture had shifted. His hands dropped from your shoulders, his usual composure returning like a well-rehearsed act. “Needed some air,” he added.

Lando hummed, his head tilting just slightly, as if he didn’t quite believe it. “Right,” he said, the corner of his mouth twitching up, but that sharp gaze never wavered. “Well, I’m heading back to the hotel. Thought I’d let you know.”

Your chest tightened. “Already?” You hated how careful your voice sounded. How calm you were forcing yourself to be.

Lando shrugged. “Yeah. Long day.”

But his eyes weren’t on you anymore. They were locked on Oscar. A fraction too long.

Oscar, who just stood there, still and silent.

“Happy birthday, mate,” Lando finally said.

Oscar gave him a small nod, lips pressing together. “Thanks.”

Lando hesitated. Just for a second.

Then, he made a deliberate step forward. And another.

His hand clapped lightly on Oscar’s shoulder, friendly, easy. But the way his fingers curled just a little tighter than necessary felt anything but friendly.

And then, just as easily, he turned back to you with a grin. His gaze swept over you, slow, lingering. Considering.

You knew that look very well.

And before you could even react, his fingers, soft and deliberate, brushed against yours.

The contact sent a jolt of electricity up your arm. You stiffened, inhaling sharply as his touch trailed up, brushing over your wrist, before tilting your chin up with the lightest touch of his warm fingertips.

Your breath caught. You knew what was coming. And you should have pulled away.

But you didn’t.

Because this was Lando. And you never could. Resisting him had never been something you were good at.

His lips met yours, soft at first, but there was nothing hesitant about it. And then it deepened, his hand slid to the small of your back, pulling you against him, like he wasn’t just kissing you. As Gigi would say, it was like he was staking a claim. Like he was making a statement.

Your heart pounded, but not just from the kiss. It was the weight of the silence behind you.

And Oscar. Just standing there. Watching.

You should have stopped. Should have pushed him away.

But you didn’t.

And Lando knew it. He knew you wouldn’t.

When he finally pulled back, his lips barely ghosted over yours, like he wasn’t quite ready to let go.

“See you later,” he murmured, voice low, meant only for you.

Your throat was dry, your mind racing. Because what the fuck was that?

Lando’s gaze flicked to Oscar, just for a second. Long enough to make it clear. To finish his statement.

Then he turned and disappeared back inside, the door clicking shut behind him.

And just like that, the quiet became unbearable.

You couldn’t believe what just happened. You swallowed hard, forcing yourself to look at Oscar.

He wasn’t looking at you. He was staring at the skyline, hands shoved into his pockets. Not moving. Not speaking. Just standing there.

And something about that hurt more than anything.

You weren’t sure what to say, but the longer the silence stretched, the worse it felt. Finally, you cleared your throat, desperate to break the silence. “Well. That was… um.”

Oscar let out a quiet, breathy chuckle, but it was empty and didn’t really reach his eyes. “Yeah.”

Your fingers curled around the railing. This wasn’t like you. You weren’t someone who struggled for words.

You shifted awkwardly. “I, uh—I should probably—” 

“You don’t have to explain,” he said quickly, finally looking at you. His voice was quiet and carefully even. It pained you.

“It’s not—” He exhaled through his nose, shaking his head slightly. “It’s none of my business.”

The words landed like a slap.

And for the first time tonight, you finally saw it. A flicker of something in his expression—raw, vulnerable, something that twisted in your chest and made it ache.

Your fingers twitched at your sides before you reached for his hand, squeezing it lightly. “Hey,” you murmured. “You okay?”

Oscar’s lips quivered, as if he wanted to smile but couldn’t quite manage it. “Yeah.”

Liar.

But you didn’t call him out on it.

[mewhenimanangel]

need that, hamzahthefantastic

prev pt 3*

—synopsis. hamzah invites you over to be in their new video

—warnings!: freaky uti, dry humping, undressing

notes 🫧: the fight was so tuff, i’m a die hard noob

—🐞

you parked your car outside hamzah’s house, fixing your lip gloss and zipping up your sweater before going to knock on his door.

him and martin invited you to be in one of their sims videos since mandy was on vacation and they knew you played as well.

it’s been around two weeks since you and hamzah made out in his car. since then, you’d been texting a lot more and you hung out twice with mandy and martin. though, you haven’t done anything to continue what he started.

hamzah answered the door with a grin, “come on in boi, we haven’t started playing yet. martin’s still connecting the camera and the mic” he closed the door behind you.

you felt something brush against your leg, looking down to see his cat rubbing itself on your leg. “awwww he’s so cute” you reached down to see if he’d let you pick him up.

when he did you held him in your arms and rubbed behind its ear. “which one is this?” you asked hamzah. “this is blue. red’s probably upstairs somewhere clawing at something.” he said, reaching over your arm to pet blue.

“i had to put a child lock on my fridge cause they figured out how to open it bruh” he shook his head.

you giggled looking at him with a smile.

“oh hey y/n, didn’t know you were here already. i just finished setting up the camera” martin said. “heyy” you put blue down on the floor, following martin.

“you ready to get your sims on?” he asked. “try freaking born ready” you giggled, hamzah following behind you.

you sat off to the side on the couch in hamzah’s office while they started the video. “hello everynyan-” hamzah interrupted him “dude what” “it’s like a meme like have you ever seen it? it’s like oh my gahhh” martin awkwardly repeated the video, hamzah stifling a laugh. “anyways we’re back and better than frigging ever” martin started off.

“now it has been a while-“ “definitely been a while-“ “right, a while since our regularly scheduled programming” hamzah said. “i hope you guys enjoyed the fight, we worked super hard literally for like six months”

“and you may realize we’re not in our usual spot, wanna tell them why that is?” martin said. “yes we are, we’re in my house this time because mandy’s on vacation and martin, feeling like a sad little lonely boy wanted to come over and play with me”

“yes mandy is gone. she is in spain right now because she doesn’t love me anymore. you know what they say, ‘go to spain when your lover’s a pain’. that’s why she hasn’t proposed to me yet in the big year of twenty twenty-five” martin went on. “literally nobody says that”

“but speaking of mandy, today we’re playing the sims. something we haven’t done in a long time and we need a little bit of a refresher” “yes, the sims is a girl game and since we don’t have mandy, we brought back up” hamzah added.

“yes, we obviously cannot play this game ourselves so we brought in another expert” they looked at each other before counting down from 3 and snapping their fingers. you knew they were gonna put some silly transition effect over this.

hamzah got up to get another chair for you “you good?” he asked you, making sure you were comfortable. and you nod your head before sitting between them. “hellurr. yes i am mandy’s back up today. because obviously, they don’t know what they’re doing so im taking over.”

“dude what is it with girls and the sims. only girls know how to play the sims” martin and hamzah riffed while you logged into your sims account.

“now this is your first time on here y/n, how do you feel in the presence of such greatness” martin asked. “well im honored to be on but i don’t know about ‘greatness’” you joked.

after two hours of creating sims and making them kill, cheat, fornicate, and find love, they ended the video. “banger video alert” hamzah turned the computer off. “uhh yeah that was really good if i do say so myself.” you pat yourself on the back.

the three of you lounged around hamzah’s living room for another hour after that. “are you guys hungry?” hamzah asked “i was gonna order some food” “actually i still have some packing to do for my flight tomorrow” martin sighed while playing with red. “oh shit right, i forgot” hamzah shrugged.

“i’m gonna head out now bro i’ll see you next week” he dapped hamzah up before doing the same to you. hamzah followed him out before closing the door behind him.

“i could eat” you shrugged and hamzah smiled. he pulled his phone out and ordered chick-fil-a, adding in your order.

you sat criss crossed on his couch as blue jumped into your lap, snuggling up against you and purring. “his ass definitely likes you” hamzah chuckled.

“do you want one?” he asked, coming back from his bedroom with a little jar of edibles. “sure” you reached to grab one with your nails.

hamzah grabbed one too and you tapped them together in a ‘cheers’ motion before eating them.

you soured your face and gagged “okay these are nasty oh my god” you laughed. “yeah they taste like butt but they do the job. the food should be here in like twenty minutes” he said, joining you on the couch.

you helped him review the footage from the video before he sent it to their editor. by now the edible was beginning to kick in and you were growing hungrier by the minute. his door bell rung and he got up to answer the door.

he came back holding the bags of food up with a smile on his face and plopped down onto the couch, this time much closer to you, legs and arms touching.

“fuck i’m starving. is that shit kicking in for you yet?” he asked, handing you your sandwich and fries. “oh it is” you grinned.

“have you ever had the mac and cheese?” he asked you. “no i usually go for the fries” “okay here you gotta try it.” he took some on his fork and put it in front of your mouth, paying close attention to the way your lips wrapped around the fork. “right?” he nod his head at your reaction.

“wait here, you’ve got some cheese on your mouth” he said, brushing your lip off with a napkin. “oh..oops” you giggled through your slowed words.

the two of you tore through your food, turning on family guy in the background. “that was so fucking good” you looked at him, eyes low and red.

“right…..i’m stuffed.” you slowly sipped on your milkshake. “do you ever think about what they do with the cut out pieces of fries?” you asked, just chatting. “i always wonder but they probably just throw them away.” he added.

you leaned back into the couch, cross legged, knee resting atop of hamzah’s as he put his arm on the back of the chair behind you.

he slowly rubbed your bare shoulder that peeked from under your hoodie that was falling off. you leaned your head back, resting it on his arm before looking at him.

“so, are we just never gonna talk about it again?” you addressed the elephant in the room. “hm?” he looked at you. “the kiss, are we just gonna act like it didn’t happen?”

“no of course not, i just wasn’t sure if i had made you uncomfortable so i didn’t wanna push anything again” he shrugged. “hamzah i kissed you back for a reason. i wanted it” you reassured. “and i still do” you said, looking away for a second.

he grabbed your chin, turning your face back to his before kissing you. you leaned into the kiss, rubbing your nails at the back of his neck.

the room filled with your mutual satisfied sounds, hamzah pushing his hand up under your sweater. he laid you down against the couch arm, keeping himself steady atop of you.

he slowly pulled the zip down, taking off your sweater off, you willed yourself to follow his lead, wrapping your arms around him. he broke the kiss, “you good, right?” he asked. “yeah, keep going. i want you, hamzah” you reassured. he kissed you again before lining kisses down your jawline and throat. he sucked down on your skin “wait don’t leave any hickeys” you said through a moan.

“too late” he let out a breathy laugh, making you giggle. hamzah let out a soft noise at the feeling of your nails rubbing through his hair. he slowly eased his up under your tank top, reaching up he grabbed a handful of bra. “here, hang on” you sat up, taking off your shirt and throwing it by your sweater. you fiddled with your bra clasp and eased the straps off your shoulders, letting your boobs rest.

hamzah stared at them, mouth agape. “that was a push up bra by the way, so don’t be too disappointed” you joked. “how would i be disappointed. you’re fucking hot” he pulled you atop of him and kissed you, hands firm on your ass.

he kissed down the middle of your chest before his mouth latched on. you sighed in satisfaction when he rolled his tongue.

you subconsciously grinded your hips on his, feeling him grow. “fuck” you winced. you stayed in that position for a while, dry humping each other as he kissed and sucked all over your upper body. you felt yourself getting needier by the minute. “hamzah-“ you started before being interrupted by a knocking on the door. “dude let me in, i forgot my wallet” it was martin.

you looked at hamzah before getting up. he kissed you “go to my bedroom, i’ll be there in a second” he told you and you smirked before leaving the room.

hamzah let him in “ugh thank you, i was worried you fell asleep” martin said, spotting his wallet on the side table.

hamzah looked over his shoulder realizing your shirt and bra were still thrown around on the couch. “imagine i went all the way to spain and forgot this just sitting here” martin chuckled before turning around, hamzah missing the chance to let him not to.

“oou you got chick-fil-a? anything left?” he looked inside a bag before he came face to face with your bra. he turned around, jaw dropped “dude!” he gasped and hamzah grinned.

lvryn

Liked by hamzahthefantasfic, clairedrakee and others

lvryn alright who pressed fast forward on my weekend 😂

mandys_iphone cute

user HELLO? is this a soft launch?????

ynlover omg this and how touchy they were in the sims video last month, they’re definitely dating ?)!(!;$:

— 🐞 the end

[the-undeadwriter]

haiiiii if your requests are open could you please write something for the batfam with a he/they reader who's vigilante name is ghost, and who's going through a chronic pain flare up and feels bad about not being able to go out on patrol for a while, and have the rest of the batfam being really comforting and nice about it

ill love you forever

-🦈🔆 (so i can find this later)

Hi yes hello!!! Thank you for the request, hope I did it justice mwah

Requests are open!!

Warnings: mentions of medication! Brief mention of overdosing(once), Reader is masc, reader is a vigilante called ghost, general chronic pain discomfort, a few thought of feeling inadequate due to chronic pain… possibly ooc? Most of this was written before I went to sleep, spelling mistakes

Word count; 1,749 (!!)

Enjoy!

In your defence, you didn’t think it would be this bad.

Yes, you’d spent the past few days feeling shitty, taking as much pain medicine as you possibly could without overdosing or raising concern. Yeah, you’ve had to take so many breaks doing the simple things you love that you usually wouldn’t need to take, but you were sure you’d be okay to patrol tonight!

And, like you expected, you had felt fine before patrol. You suited up fine, double checked your gear and comms, started patrol…

It’s about thirty minutes into patrol that things start to go wrong.

Oracle had buzzed into your earpiece, voice firm and calm as she spoke into her mic. “Ghost, there’s a situation near you. A potential robbery. Think you can handle it?”

And, considering how close you were, it’d be silly if you didn’t try to do something. Isn’t that why you started doing this?

You’ve already changed course when you answer oracle, jumping from the roof to roof as quickly as you could. “Got it, on my way now.”

You hear a breath of relief on her end before the comms cut off again and you can hear the sounds of Gotham’s late night activities all around you as you hop off a roof across from the bank where this supposed robbery was taking place.

It’s easy to find a way in. It’s easy to find the group of two face goons who had been tasked with this crime. It’s easy to take them down.

Until it’s not.

Maybe you landed badly. Maybe the pain meds you’d taken hadn’t worked. But someway, somehow, things had started to go wrong.

You manage to take down the thugs, and you can’t help but feel frustrated at yourself as you open the comms line again. “Robbery’s been stopped, police are on the way. I…” You suck in a deep breath, leaning against your the closest wall. “I’m gonna cut patrol short tonight, Oracle. Pain flare up.”

A sigh. “Go home, Ghost. I’ll notify B.” You can’t handle the concern in her voice.

You mumble a quiet thanks before shutting off your communicator and pulling out your grappling gun and aiming for the skylight.

As you fly over the city, wind whipping past your face, you can’t help but huff. You swore that you could handle this. You told Bruce that you could patrol tonight. And now…

You reach to batcave quickly, at least.

Alfred is waiting for you, with a tray of refreshments and medicine. “Ah, Master [Name], I heard tonight wasn’t treating you well?” You groan, moving to sit on the closest thing— this being the large chair situated by the bat computer.

As Alfred sets down the tray beside you, he speaks up again. “Master Bruce and the boys have all been made aware of your absence, sir.” You curl in on yourself again. Great, can’t wait for that. You snatch up a sandwich and chew angrily, leaning forward and attempting to type up a report.

“[L/N]”

Spinning the seat around, you come nearly face to face with your youngest brother, Damian. Which… is odd, considering he’s supposed to be in patrol right now.

“Damian?” You mutter, standing from the chair and taking a few steps towards him. “What are you doing here, bud?” You notice that Alfred has disappeared, possibly returning upstairs.

Damian scowls, stomping closer and grabbing hold of your sleeve. You’re still wearing your suit, having not bothered to change. “Being the only sensible person in this house, it seems.” He mutters, practically pulling you out of the cave behind him by the sleeve.

You try to protest, citing the report you need to file, but Damian seems set on taking you to your room. He nudges you into the room and stands at the door, crossing his arms. “Get changed and then meet me in the theatre. Take your time.”

And then he’s gone, and the door closes.

Standing in your dimly lit room, you sigh. Guess you’ve got no choice but to listen to him. Little guy can be real stubborn. Just like you, huh?

Most of your clothes are soft. It’s practically mandatory, at this point. It’s times like these that you’re glad that Bruce was so willing to spend money on the people he cares about— your entire closet is filled with comfy clothes suited for lounging and relaxing.

Carefully cracking your door open, you can’t hear any noises. You don’t see Damian either… he must be in the theatre already.

The theatre isn’t too far from your room, just a couple hallways and one large room with multiple doors. It’s as you approach the theatre that the sound of voices reach you. It’s not quiet yelling, just… passionate conversation.

Yeah, let’s just go with that…

Cracking the door open and peering inside, you’re greeted with the entirety of your family arguing, surrounded by blankets and pillows.

Ah, so this was the plan.

Not everyone is here— Bruce and Tim still seem to be out— but there’s enough people in the room to make you feel warm. You still feel upset, of course, but you’re comforted by the fact that no one is upset with you.

You push the door open, stepping into the large theatre. Three heads snap to you immediately, arguing quieting down to a murmur. The others haven’t seen you yet.

They’re all sitting in a semicircle, blankets and pillows arranged on the floor for maximum comfort. There’s a few snacks on the far side of the blanket den, and the giant screen has been turned on, though nothing is playing yet. That must be what they were arguing about.

Cass smiles, urging you closer with a few gestures. Beside her, Damian’s face lightens when he sees that you’ve followed his instructions.

Settling down beside Damian and Jason, the others are finally aware of your presence and the arguing stops briefly for a few surprised exclamations.

Dick completely stops the conversation, moving closer to you and giving you a hug, one you lean into with a hum. As he pulls back, his expression seems unusually soft as he double checks you’re actually fine. “Hey kid, feeling a little better?”

The pain is still there, it never really goes away, but the pain meds seem to be working. If you had a leg compress or something you’d probably feel better, but you can manage without it for a moment. You nod, getting comfortable on the blanket.

Dick’s expression turns sheepish. “B and Tim couldn’t make- someone had to patrol tonight… they’ll get here later, ok?” He settles in next the Damian, Cass shuffling forward to sit with Steph and duke, watching them argue about what movie to watch.

Jason nudges your side, holding out a plate of your favourite snacks with a hum. You take it gratefully, taking a bite and sighing. You notice that Jason has the remote, and he’s started scrolling the movie options without care fore the argument happing to his left.

“Huh… any of these look good to you?” He asks you quietly, gesturing to the list of movies displayed on screen. Most are ones you’ve seen a thousand times, but you can spot your favourite movie. You snatch the remote and hover over it, letting the details pop up.

Jason huffs and takes the remote back, but doesn’t question your choice. Dick snickers and Jason swats at his head angrily. You and Damian share a look. This is why you don’t have movie nights often.

Thankfully, all arguing quiets down when the door opens again and someone clears their throat. You all look towards the entrance and see Alfred standing in the door way, seeming both amused and tired by the fighting.

He walks towards all of you, holding two trays in his hands. He sets one down on the blanket, revealing it to be a plate of cookies. They seem to be freshly baked…

He hands the second tray to you. It’s full of things you might need— a heating pad, a cold compress, more pain meds and sleeping pills, just in case. He lets you set it down before speaking again. “Miss Barbara wishes you well, Master [Name], and Master Tim has requested that I tell you that both him and Master Bruce will arrive within the next two hours.”

“Thank you, Alfred.” You hum, taking whatever items you think you’ll need and getting situated. You don’t take the pain medication— you took some back at the cave— though you do take the sleeping pills.

Alfred bows slightly and walks away again, likely to prepare the cave for Tim and Bruce’s return.

Before anyone can start arguing again, Jason presses play on the movie. Nobody complains as the beginning sequence begins, likely knowing that you picked this movie.

Damian settles against your side, arms loosely hanging around your stomach. Dick leans closer to the both of you, Jason tries to steal your snacks.

It’s perfect.

You manage to watch the first thirty minutes of the movie before the sleeping pills take effect and you slump against Jason’s shoulder. Surrounded by family, watching your favourite movie, you feel perfectly content to fall asleep.

Possibly hours later, you wake up to someone touching your hair.

Blinking open your eyes, you come face to face with Bruce. His expression is unusually soft, smiling gently at you. “Hey sweetheart..” He murmurs quietly, pushing your hair out of your face. His expression is soft, but slightly upset. Or proud? You’re half asleep, you can’t tell.

He stands up, rubbing his eyes and sighing. Behind him, you spot Tim looking over Steph and Cass, both of whom have fallen asleep together. Bruce glances down at you, smiling again. “It’s okay, kid, go back to sleep, okay?”

Humming, you close your eyes again. You hear him walk away, and feel Tim settle down between you and Jason. There’s some muttering and grumbling, but no fights break out.

There’s still a movie playing quietly, though you don’t recognise it. You think you hear a quiet click, but you can’t be too sure…

You drift off before you realise.

Two weeks later, Bruce has a new photo sitting in his home office, the office at Wayne Tower, his wallet, his lockscreen…

It’s a dark picture of his kids. They’re all curled up together, bathed in a pale blue light. They’re all covered in blankets, and pillows are strewn about.

It’s his favourite picture.

I hope this is what you wanted ^^

[pushspacetocontinue]

"Sounds good to me," Travis said with a small grin, "As your followers don't mind two possibly annoying Bostonians."

"Yes, I won't object to that myself," Simon said, "And I suppose you really are as annoying as two Bostonians, Travis, you're right."

"Hey!" Travis said, although he was chuckling a bit. Russell had to hide a small smile himself.

"And I am happy to be friends with him," Leofric said, with a brief nod, as he allowed Smokey to stay where he was, "I am just giving myself a refresher of what would be best to make for when we face him again."

As far as Leofric was concerned, another confrontation was inevitable. Russell shrugged.

"Well, it, it helps that, that I don't look, look like much," Russell said, tugging at a sleeve, before making his voice and stance were as firm as possible, "And so it's, it's pretty easy to, to pretend I'm some poor, poor scared little, little mouse, and, and he, he indeed fell, fell for it. If, if, if it hadn't been for, for those fuck-fucking sleep spores, I, I would have, I would have killed him. Would, would have kept going until he, he was just a red, a red puddle on, on the floor."

They didn't need to know that his whole plan was to injure Five and run while he could. Not now, if ever.

"It was better that you fled when you started feeling off or he might have killed you first while you were unconscious," Leofric said, keeping the act up for the time being.

"I, I sup, I suppose so," Russell said, before looking at the Twins, "Hm, I, I guess that's true. I, I still don't, don't have to like what, what happened at, at the time."

"Of course not," Bill agreed, before stepping back to allow the Twins some space so they could look closely, "Yes, I suppose it's a good thing that you two have some kind of conscience left, despite everything. Did I tell you that Five tortured Leofric too? Tortured a dog even though said dog wasn't posing a threat at the time?"

"We don't need to talk about that right now," Leofric just said, without looking up from his grimoire.

"Huh, it is kind of like Amnesia," Bill said, "And yeah, fuck him, I'm with you there, in the metaphorical sense of course."

Russell nodded as he started writing down the Twins' descriptions. Simon was typing too.

"That's why I, I didn't make him any, any offers," Russell said, "I, I got standards too."

"And when those three are done with him and got everyone they need out of his mouth," Travis said, "I'll make him wish I just killed him for the things he's done."

"You guys are going to join in next time I'm streaming that game." Rook said, pointing at Travis.

"Yes, he's okay. There's a lot of energy around here so he can leave me behind for a bit." Erica explained, "You'll figure him out. He wants to be friends, though."

Erica scratched her head. Maybe the fact Smokey was a ghost from another world made him more difficult to understand. Hopefully, his presence wasn't going to be an issue. It looked like Leofric was doing important work.

"It's good that you put up a real nice show-"

"-Five drank it all up."

Really, playing the helpless victim had been a genius move in retrospective, especially now that they knew that Russell wasn't just a regular guy with insanely good luck.

"We were close by because that's how you do the job right."

"You don't drag the hostage around the block in the middle of the day."

They were proud mercs, they did their job with the professionalism that was expected of them. The Twins chose to ignore Rook's skeptic look and got to pointing out the gadgets they had seen in action.

"These are the ones he used on Coffee Boss."

"And he used that to strangle some...monster. That one was kinda ugly."

"Good to know you've got a sensibility left to hurt." Rook snapped, moving the ring in question away from the rest, "It feels like I'm playing Amnesia again."

It only took a slight rotation for the ring to activate with a snap. Tommy wasn't wrong. Whoever got stuck in that would have two very sharp spikes digging into their flesh to hold it in place.

"Fuck that guy."

The Twins couldn't disagree with Rook there. Ratchet was just as messed up as Five.

[ben-talks-art]

Why is Desscaras so likable? 🤔

So something has been on my mind for a while now...

There's this series called "Ichi the Witch" that has been growing in popularity lately and among the cast of characters there's Desscaras, a powerful mage who's considered like a superstar among the witches for how good she is at her job, and Desscaras herself is aware of that and always takes as many chances as she can to be smug about it...

But for some reason it never feels annoying when she does it, and I'm very intrigued as to why that is.

Desscaras is basically a fusion of Bulma and Piccolo from Dragon Ball.

Much like Bulma, she's a young and bratty genius who gets stuck with this wild young boy and now has to work with him while going on crazy adventures while doing her best to keep him in check.

But she's also like Piccolo in the sense that she can also be very wise, observant, and calm when the situation calls for it and capable of taking advantage of what she knows and what she can do to come up with different solutions for different problems.

I kept wondering why her smug attitude never annoyed me like it usually tends to when it comes to other "full-of-themselves" types of characters.

Characters like Vegetta or Bakugou who because they're so strong, let it get to their heads and often end up behaving like total jerks in the earlier parts of their story arcs.

I feel like the reason it never bothered me with Desscaras is because, unlike these two, you never get a sense she's trying to prove something.

With Bakugou and Vegetta, you could always tell they were trying to make people understand they were hot stuff, to make it clear that they were the best, to convince others as much as they try to convince themselves to believe in their own hype.

It always had a hint of insecurity as if they needed people to believe in them because deep down, they didn't believe in themselves.

But you don't really get that from Desscaras.

It always felt like she couldn't care less what people think of her. She doesn't need me, you, or anyone to buy into her hype, because she already buys it, and that's all she needs.

The reason her smugness isn't annoying is because you get the sense she's doing it not because she has something to prove but because that's just how she sees herself.

She's likable because you can feel how much she loves herself and who she is...

And in a modern world where everyone is constantly trying to compare themselves to someone else in order to measure how happy or how successful they are, seeing someone who's just already happy with who she is is a very refreshing experience.

I saw some people often comparing her to Gojo, and I can totally see why.

They both are super strong characters who are so comfortably happy with who they are that they allow themselves to act a bit immature and goofy every now and then because they have enough trust in their own character and in their own strength to back it up.

Some sort of... "I'm strong and wise enough to allow myself to be silly" kind of thing if you will.

And that's the key word, "comfortable."

We have several examples of characters who are confident in their own strength, but who you can still feel a sense of pressure from.

Like, they're so strong so they need to set an example, they need to be a role model, they need to make people feel safe, they need to live up to the image that's expected from them.

But Desscaras doesn't care about any of that. She doesn't try to be a role model or anything, she's just living her life the way she's most comfortable with.

The fact that she's one of the strongest doesn't get in the way of how she presents herself to others, her personality does.

The best way I can describe Desscaras is an ideal combination of power + confidence + and comfortableness.

She kinda feels like the perfect embodiment of strength. Characters in stories who are often labeled as "the strongest" or "the most powerful" are often depicted like people who let the power get to their heads and thus end up becoming huge jerks because of it, or they are so confident in their strength that they start to treat things with indifference because they know they can survive anything, or they feel so responsible for the power they carry that they became overly cold and serious about it.

There are several depictions of strength but we don't often get one that manages to balance it out this level of confidence, maturity, and comfort with one self.

You usually tend to feel like one element or two is missing to create something really unique, and Desscaras feels like that something unique where every element is just at the right place.

She feels like a very refreshing take on "The strongest" trope, a comfortable depiction of strength, and I'm excited to see where we go with her. 😊

[storiesbyjes2g]

3.215 Family fun day

After the toast, we got up and sang Froodage Lang Syne. Desi didn't know the words, but she sure sang her little heart out. She's so adorable. We hugged, said goodbye to the O'Keefes, and headed back home to watch the pre-countdown show. I was exhausted and really wanted to take a nap, but knew if I went to sleep, I'd be done for. So, I stood and watched, thinking that would reduce my chances of falling asleep. Sophia and Desiree enjoyed the show, laughing at all the silly characters dancing in costume. At least, in my drowsy state, it seemed silly to me. Finally, it was time for the countdown, and I was so glad. I could almost feel the cool sheets brushing against my skin, ha.

In the morning, I awoke rather early, refreshed and thankful for another year and excited about this next chapter of our lives. Tomorrow, Desiree begins school, and Sophia and I will have to figure out what to do with ourselves while she's gone. But that is a thought for another day because I had plans for Desi and was eager to get started. I went to her room and checked in on her like I used to do when she was a baby, and just like then, she was already wide awake and ready to get at it.

"Good morning, sweetie," I said.

"Daddy, your breath stinks!"

"Oh yeah??"

I gave her more kisses as she tried to pull away from me. Eventually I got her giggling.

"What do you want for breakfast?"

"Pancakes!"

"Auntie Less used to love pancakes too! Are you gonna help me this time?"

She giggled some more and nodded, so we went downstairs. I opened the fridge to gather the ingredients, only to find absolutely nothing. The thing was empty. Like, literally empty. No water, no milk, not even a half eaten plate of leftovers. I couldn't remember the last time I made a grocery order, and that scene definitely confirmed it.

"I guess we're gonna have to go get some pancakes then," I said.

Honestly, that was a better idea, anyway. Going out to eat is always fun, and I want Desi to have as much fun as possible today. I called Less to see if she and the nibblings wanted to come with us, and we met at the steakhouse in Oasis Springs.

The host had a much better attitude this time and sat us in the party room on the balcony. Sophia and Less gabbed, and it warmed my heart so much to think about how their relationship started. Alessia was so mean to her for no reason other than being selfish. Maybe their shared experience softened her up, but whatever it is, I'm just glad she let Sophia in. Desi and Arvin left to go play with her soccer ball; hopefully they went outside. I don't need that host changing her mind about us. With half the table preoccupied, I asked Lex and Breanna what they looked forward at school. Lex wants to make friends, and Bre wants to play pranks.

I didn't really like that answer, but you know what? Not my kid, not my problem. I'm trying to be mindful of how I react because of my missteps yesterday. I want to be a good parent and seize all the teaching moments so my kid turns out to be the envy of all, heh. But, I also need to learn to choose my battles, and this one is definitely not it. Desi and Arvin came back just before the food came out, so I asked her the same question. Like Lex, she's also looking forward to making friends and playing with Savannah.

After breakfast, we took the kids to the park in Yasmine's neighborhood. I called her and said we were out there, and if she were comfortable, her girls could come play if they want. She appreciated the invite but declined, just like I thought she would. I thought the kids would enjoy playing in the jungle gym and monkey bars, but they just stood around and talked, so we joined them. When it comes to my niece and nephews, Sophia usually leaves them to me. She rarely talks to them, but this time she opted to chat up Breanna and Arvin. At some point, she noticed Lex had been left out of all the conversations. His siblings seem to favor each other, and Less and Desi have the cutest relationship, so she went to go chat with Lex. I thought that was really sweet of her.

Alessia's phone buzzed, and she grinned as she replied to a text. What's this?! Has she finally got back into the dating pool? I wanted to ask about this mystery person sooooo bad, but it's not something we should discuss in front of the kids, so I left it alone.

The afternoon got away from us, so I told Less we were going to head home. Yoga wasn't the only thing I wanted to do with Desi. Someone had given her a bike for her birthday, and it was high time she learned to ride that thing.

She seemed excited at first, but once she sat on it and put the helmet on, everything changed.

"I don't wanna do it," she whined.

"Why not?" I asked. "It's gonna be so much fun when you get the hang of it."

"I'm scared!"

"It's okay, Desi. You don't have to pedal yet. Just kinda walk it with your feet so you can learn to keep your balance."

"But what if I fall?"

"You won't. Your feet will never leave the ground."

"Okay."

She walked the bike in circles in front of us, very slow and careful. She didn't fall or trip or whatever she thought would happen, and when she had enough, she hopped off with a smile on her face. The situation reminded me so much of when she was learning to sit up. She was so concerned at first, but we kept at it. She stayed strong and pressed through. Eventually she did it, and she was so proud of herself. This will be just like that.

[front-facing-pokemon]

[koka-mi]

najdbdhdjeh I wanna be held while I sleep so badly tbh it sounds so much more relaxing :'D

[abby420]

never underestimate the effect a refresh clean of your room, clean sheets, opening your blinds to let the sun in, starting a new hobby, and a good comfort meal can have on your mental health

[timothyslucy]

"dylanconrique" → "leslieseveride"

i genuinely don't have a clue as to who to tag in this really to get the word around, so if any of you would reblog this that'd be very much appreciated. 🫶

[doctorscoobywho]

Blue Beetle (2023) reminded me why I love DC and the superhero genre

[homoeroticvillain]

i need to switch vpns cause turns out express is owned by some shit people but now i have to go through the hell that is finding a new one

[kaidabakugou]

my brain needs a break from working on three different collab pieces so i decided to pick back up my hellhounds kiribaku fic but i’m horrible with titles so help me decide

a little context on the fic - it is set in a world where chthonic creatures roam freely on earth and your job is to rescue the ones used in illegal activities which is how you meet two hellhounds but first you must earn their trust before you can save them after years of mistreatment

[tendebill]

JUST FINISHED CHAPTER 14 OF TPATA!!! THIS IS NOT A DRILL!!! ANOTHER WIN FOR THE LGBT COMMUNITY!!!

i just have to edit the last bit that i just wrote and maybe i could post it??? like tomorrow or in two days??? i dont feel like editing it rn, but i will try tomorrow????

13k words btw :3

[favroitecrime]

just finished 12 season of bob’s burgers and i’m not ready for the movie not season 13

[stormlit]

lads i found d.ark e.yes transcripts i can finally actually remember what happens in molly's canon (and then choose to disregard most of it)