#i still look at this and am like. how. no like literally HOW. how did they look at this and not be like

[rafes-slut]

Raw, Next Question

Pairing: Rafe Cameron x You (Best Friends to ???)

Warnings: Smut, Sexual Tension, Friends-to-Lovers Vibes, Light Teasing, Mutual Attraction, Slight Possessiveness

Summary: It started as a joke. Rafe sent you a shirtless gym pic, and you responded with a flirty TikTok reference. But when he calls you out on it, things quickly spiral into something neither of you can ignore.

Rafe was always sending you pictures of himself. It was just a thing he did—whether he was bored, feeling himself, or just wanted attention. And you were used to it. You’d gotten everything from drunken selfies to pictures of him lounging shirtless by the pool, flexing in the mirror just to show off. But today’s was… different.

You were in the middle of scrolling through your phone when the notification popped up.

Rafe: [Image]

You tapped the message, expecting something ridiculous, only to be met with the sight of Rafe at the gym. Shirtless. Sweaty. Flexing.

His muscles were on full display, every inch of his toned chest and arms glistening under the fluorescent lights. His shorts hung dangerously low on his hips, and the way he was holding his phone—angled slightly down—made the entire thing feel intentionally suggestive.

You barely thought twice before typing out a reply.

You: Raw, next question.

It was a joke. A stupid TikTok trend. You didn’t even expect him to respond right away. But not even a minute later, your phone started ringing.

You hesitated, staring at his name lighting up your screen, before finally swiping to answer.

“What?” you answered casually, trying not to sound like you were overthinking your reply now.

“Raw?” His voice came through the speaker, low and amused.

You rolled your eyes. “It was a joke, Rafe.”

He let out a slow, knowing hum. “Nah, see, I don’t think it was.”

“Oh my god.”

“I think you saw that picture and actually thought about it.”

“Please,” you scoffed, heat creeping up your neck. “You send me shit like that all the time.”

“Yeah, but you don’t usually say you want me raw.”

You groaned, flopping back on your bed. “That’s not what I—”

“I think it is,” he cut you off. “I think you saw me flexing, thought about how good I look, and said exactly what was on your mind.”

His voice had dropped lower, turning smug and teasing.

“You’re literally delusional,” you muttered.

“Am I?” There was a slight shuffle on the other end of the line. “Where are you?”

“In my room. Why?”

“Open your window.”

Your stomach flipped. “Rafe—”

“Open it.”

You sighed but got up anyway, crossing the room to push open your window. And sure enough, there he was, standing outside in the dim glow of the porch light, still wearing his gym shorts, still shirtless, phone still pressed to his ear.

You narrowed your eyes at him. “You’re fucking insane.”

“You gonna let me in or what?”

You hesitated for half a second before stepping back and letting him climb through. He moved smoothly, like he’d done it a million times before—which, to be fair, he had. But this time, there was a different energy between you.

You could feel it as he stood there, looking at you, eyes darker than before.

He took a step closer, then another, until he was right in front of you, the heat of his bare skin radiating between you.

“So,” he said, tilting his head, “raw, huh?”

You crossed your arms, trying to maintain some sort of control over the situation. “It was a joke.”

He reached out, fingers barely grazing your hip. “What if it wasn’t?”

Your breath caught.

Rafe took another step, backing you up against your bed. His hands found your waist, warm and steady, his touch featherlight but deliberate.

“Tell me to stop,” he murmured, voice dripping with challenge.

You swallowed hard, pulse hammering. But you didn’t say a word.

His lips curled into a smirk. “That’s what I thought.”

And then he kissed you.

It wasn’t soft. It wasn’t hesitant. It was hungry, possessive—the kind of kiss that left no room for second-guessing. His hands tightened on your hips, pulling you against him, and you barely had time to process the way his bare chest felt against you before he was guiding you back onto the bed.

“You talk a big game,” he murmured against your lips, “but I think you like this more than you let on.”

[dwarf-vader-of-middle-earth]

Just 2 years ago I visited a Pet Smart with my mother. The cashier was a cool dude with these gauges in his ears, and tattoos all over, a real rugged punk type like myself!

But as we approached, my mother outright asked him if it was hard to get a job with all of that. She asked if it's impractical to have gauges and tattoos because what if people think poorly of him?

Completely unprompted. She just suddenly began drilling him.

The cashier, gods be with him, brushed it off and took it like a fucking champ, expressing his love for how he appeared and I can't blame him!! He looked badass as hell!! Yet my mother kept pressing and causing obvious discomfort to not just him and myself but others in line as well, as if somehow her berating questions would get him to change. But that man defended himself relentlessly but kindly and with an upbeat attitude!

My mother literally didn't stop trying to push her point until I ushered her out of the store.

Once, as a little kid, I saw a cashier at the art store with blue hair, and seeing that blue is my favorite color, I wanted to compliment her!!

Before we even got in line, my mother pulled me aside and told me, word for word, "Do not say anything about her hair."

I ignored her, of course, and a few seconds after we arrived at the register, I told the woman I liked her hair a lot!

And my mother just exhaustedly sighed and held her head in utter dismay, IMMEDIATELY reprimanding me verbally for having said anything!!! That cashier told my mother it was fine and she was so happy to hear somebody say something nice about her hair!!

While I was walking with my mother through our neighborhood as a kid, we'd passed by a boy shooting hoops or something, but he was making every shot and well, so I said aloud as we passed, "Wow, that boy is REALLY good!"

And my mother SCOLDED me!! She harshly said, word for word, "Magnus, you DON'T do that!" And she was VERY relentless and angry in how she said it.

I was so confused. I still am.

My grandparents were the exact same. I encountered many situations like this when with them growing up. My aunts did the same, reprimenading me for giving a compliment. But all of them found it completely ok to berate a stranger for any reason at all, prompted or unprompted.

I tried asking my mother why I couldn't say something nice, and she couldn't give a valid explanation no matter how much I asked. All my mother did was continuously insist I don't do that (complimenting a stranger), and that it's rude to say anything of the sort.

Why is it so abhorrent to say someone is good at something? Why is it horrible if I tell someone their appearance is cool? If their talents are great? Why is it acceptable to berate somebody and call them out for any minor reason completely unprompted, but it's not acceptable to voice unprompted kindness and support with genuine desire to share love???

Why is rudeness acceptable but kindness isn't????

Now, I'm autistic, and I don't even pretend to understand social norms. But I do know how kindness can literally save lives, and how it genuinely just makes shit better for everyone no matter if they're having a good day or bad, when they are given a genuine compliment. So I was never sure if this is just some double standard or if it's something deeper, either or obviously being ingrained over many generations, but I say fuck it.

I compliment strangers constantly these days. I tell folks their tattoos are awesome, that I love their earrings, their outfits are so cool and well put together, their hair looks perfect! I compliment folks on their talents, and I'm genuine and heartfelt about it, meaning every word I say with sincerity!!

Strangers have given me hugs! People have broken down crying and hugged me for my I kindness!!! So many people have told me word for word, "That's the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me!" And I'm not kidding.

I find every possible reason to compliment somebody, to voice kindness, especially for things such as piercings and hair dye and talents and the sort, especially those that many would disapprove of.

The way I see it is that if nobody ever hears support, then how will they know they're being supported at all? And if all anyone voices is disdain and berating, then how does anyone feel loved and supported??

So yeah. I don't get the whole belief of compliments = rude, and berating = fine. I don't think I'll ever know why this is normalized here.

But I'm damn tired of this because it's the precursor to allowing folks to walk all over you. If you can't voice a kind compliment to another without being shut down, then you're never going to be able to vocalize support of someone in need when they're being berated harshly and given shit left and right.

weird as fuck living in a culture where it's considered more impolite to speak up and defend yourself against someone treating you unfairly than it is for someone to be rude to you in the first place

[mahalachives]

This Is Why We Can’t Have Diplomatic Visits

Pairing: Azriel x F!Reader (mated-pairing), minor reader x Eris

Genre: Crack Humor, Unserious, Canon-Compliant (ish)

Summary: When a diplomatic dinner in the Autumn Court takes a turn, a few too many glasses of wine—and Eris Vanserra’s smug face—lead you to publicly threaten him on Azriel’s behalf. What follows is an escalating war of petty letters, unsolicited gifts, and one extremely scandalous painting. Azriel is jealous. You are chaotic. Eris is entertained. And the Inner Circle is placing bets.

It started with wine.

Not just any wine. Autumn Court wine—potent, honey-sweet, and designed to hit like a chariot on fire. You’d only had two glasses. Three if you counted the one you “borrowed” from Mor when she wasn’t looking.

But it wasn’t the wine that did it. It was Eris.

He’d leaned back in his golden chair, flicking imaginary lint off his jacket, and said, in that voice that oozed smarm and superiority.

“Spymaster. Still hiding behind shadows and secrets? Tell me—do your little spies send love letters, too?”

Azriel didn’t flinch. He never did. Just stared, quiet and lethal, like he was already planning where to bury the body.

But you flinched. And then you stood.

Fast.

“Alright, you flaming ginger string bean,” you said, slamming your goblet down. “That’s it.”

Everyone at the table froze.

Even Rhysand blinked.

Feyre whispered, “Oh no.”

Cassian mouthed, do it, while Nesta smacked him.

Azriel’s voice was quiet, deadly. “Y/N. Sit.”

You didn’t.

“You’ve got some nerve, Eris Flame-Me-Up Vanserra,” you slurred, pointing at him like an accusatory ghost. “You don’t get to talk to Az like that. Not while I’m here. Not while I have working limbs.”

“I am merely speaking—”

“I will feed you to your own court’s sentient trees,” you cut in. “How dare you insult the love of my life when he’s literally ten seconds away from shadow-smothering you into next week.”

Eris blinked. “Love of your—?”

“That’s right,” you snapped, wobbling slightly as you turned to the room. “I’m his mate. His mate. Which means I’m contractually obligated to throw hands when someone comes for him. I will fistfight a High Lord’s son, I swear it.”

“I am a High Lord’s son,” Eris said mildly.

“Perfect. That means I get extra points.”

Rhysand choked on his wine. Mor was wheezing.

Azriel, still seated, rubbed his temples. “I need to get her out of here.”

“I’m fine,” you said, trying to lunge across the table. Azriel caught you mid-launch, shadows wrapping around your waist like a seatbelt.

“No murder tonight,” he murmured into your ear as you flailed. “You promised. Remember the chart?”

You paused. “…I forgot about the chart.”

He shadow-walked you right out of the room, bridal-style, as you shouted behind him, “Tell Eris his hair looks like expired cider!”

(Later in your shared rooms...)

You lay face-down on the bed.

Azriel sat beside you, silent, until you peeked up at him and muttered, “You mad?”

He sighed. “No. But next time, maybe let me handle the diplomatic incidents.”

You grinned, cheek smushed into the pillow. “Yeah. But you can’t deny it was hot.”

His shadows twitched.

“…Maybe a little.”

The next morning...

You were halfway through your hangover tea (Azriel’s special brew—spitefully effective and probably brewed over the bones of your enemies), when a knock echoed through your suite.

You blinked at the door. “Did you order breakfast?”

Azriel looked up from his perch at the window, sharpening Truth-Teller like he was fantasizing about Eris-shaped practice targets. “No.”

The door creaked open before either of you could reach it.

And in walked a servant. Carrying flowers.

Not just any flowers. Fiery red, golden-tipped Autumn Court blooms. A bouquet the size of a small wyvern. Tucked inside was a silver card with your name on it.

Azriel was on his feet in a blink. “Is that—”

You snatched the card, flipped it open, and promptly choked on your tea.

To the Spirited Mate of the Shadowsinger, Your defense was both reckless and deeply entertaining. Consider me intrigued. — Eris Vanserra (P.S. His brooding is a bit much, isn’t it?)

You slapped a hand over your mouth. “Oh my gods.”

Azriel snatched the card out of your hand like it offended the air.

He read it.

He blinked once.

Twice.

“…He flirted with you.”

“He did.”

“He flirted. With my mate. After you threatened him.”

You beamed. “I think I impressed him.”

Azriel looked like he was experiencing all five stages of grief at once.

Azriel, deadpan: “I will end him.”

You: “Please don’t. I want to see if he sends chocolates next.”

(Later that afternoon.)

Cassian nearly fell off the roof when he saw the flowers.

“Wait—wait—he sent you a bouquet? Like a come-hither bouquet??” he hollered.

You nodded solemnly. “Apparently, threatening political figures while intoxicated is a turn-on.”

Mor snorted wine through her nose. “You have to frame that card.”

Azriel, pacing behind you, muttering, “I’m going to set his hair on fire.”

You leaned back and grinned. “You jealous, Az?”

His shadows twitched. “I am offended on a spiritual level.”

“Don’t worry,” you said sweetly, grabbing his belt and tugging him close. “You’re still my favorite broody bastard.”

He glared, then kissed you hard enough to shut you up.

Cassian: “Gross. Az, do that in private. Or at least wait until I’m done throwing the bouquet off the balcony—!”

It was quiet.

Too quiet.

You found Azriel hunched over the desk in your shared study, shadows swirling like angry cats, quill scratching furiously on parchment. He didn’t look up when you entered.

You peered over his shoulder.

Dear Lord Eris,

Thank you for your recent gift.

It is always a joy to be reminded that the Autumn Court has mastered both combustion and desperation.

Combustion and desperation? You clapped a hand over your mouth.

I assure you, the letter continued, that my mate is not accepting applications, suggestions, or flame-adjacent flirtations. She is, as you might have noticed, spoken for.

By me.

P.S. Your hairline is retreating faster than your moral compass.

“Az.”

He kept writing.

P.P.S. If you send one more gift, I will return it—on fire.

“Azriel.”

He didn’t stop.

P.P.P.S. My mate says hello. She also says your flowers were basic.

“AZRIEL.”

He blinked up at you, shadows pausing mid-scribble.

You snatched the letter from his hands. “You’re writing to him? Like some kind of spiteful pen pal?”

“I am responding diplomatically,” he said flatly.

“You called him desperate with a receding hairline.”

“I lied about neither.”

You stared at him. “You signed it P.P.P.S. Az.”

He crossed his arms. “If he wants to play games, he should at least know I play better.”

Three days later...

It arrived in a crate.

A massive, magically-sealed crate, right in the middle of your shared living room. Wrapped in velvet. Stamped with the Autumn Court crest.

Azriel stood in front of it with arms crossed and a look on his face like someone had personally insulted his siphons.

You blinked at the shipping label.

“…Why is it addressed to 'The Mate of the Shadowsinger'?”

Azriel growled. “Because Eris is a walking provocation with a god complex.”

Rhysand strolled in, already grinning. “Is this the painting?”

You whipped around. “Wait—you knew about this?”

“Oh yes,” Rhys said, summoning wine. “Eris sent me a copy of the concept sketch. Asked if it was too much. I told him to go bigger.”

You: “Rhysand!”

Azriel: “He dies. Today.”

Cassian burst through the door with popcorn and a chair.

“Wait for me to sit down,” he said. “I need to see Azzy’s face.”

Mor followed behind him with her phone. “I’m recording this for posterity. Also, Feyre’s demanding updates.”

Nesta: “You people are sick.”

You: “Nesta, you’re holding a betting slip.”

Nesta: “Your point?”

Azriel hissed under his breath and yanked the crate open with a sharp crack of shadow.

The velvet fell away.

Everyone stared.

It was a painting. A life-sized, oil-painted portrait of Eris Vanserra, lounging on a chaise, completely shirtless. Smirking like sin.

Wearing a robe.

Not just any robe.

A robe made of Azriel’s shadows.

You choked. “Oh my gods.”

Mor dropped her drink.

Cassian fell out of the chair.

Nesta whispered, “He committed to the bit.”

Rhysand, between wheezes: “Look at the brushwork. He used actual shadow magic to give it texture. It’s…magnificent.”

Azriel was frozen. Face blank. Siphons pulsing.

“…He stole my shadows,” Azriel said, voice flat. “He stole my sentient, living shadows and turned them into a bathrobe.”

You: “Technically it’s a cape-robe hybrid, but yes.”

Azriel turned to you slowly. “You are not helping.”

You swallowed a snort. “I’m sorry. I’m panicking. My coping mechanism is commentary.”

Rhysand wiped a tear away. “Can we hang it in the River House?”

Azriel: “I will burn it.”

Cassian: “NO. This is history.”

Azriel, quietly: “He signed it.”

You all leaned in.

At the bottom corner, in crimson ink:

To Azriel, with admiration. Your shadows look better on me. — E

You: “…You have to kill him now.”

Azriel: “I’m writing a second letter.”

Cassian: “Make it a sonnet.”

Rhys: “Make it a duel.”

Azriel vanished into his shadows, already plotting vengeance.

You stood there, blinking at the painting. "...I kind of want to keep it."

Two days later...

You were eating breakfast when a letter appeared in a swirl of shadows and glitter.

Glitter.

That was the first sign something was deeply wrong.

Mor peered at the envelope. “Is… is that a glitter bomb curse?”

You blinked. “Azriel knows how to do that?”

Rhysand, sipping tea: “He’s been studying with Amren. She’s very proud.”

The envelope was addressed to:

To Eris Vanserra, Lord of Autumn, King of Flamboyant Delusions.

You opened it carefully.

Inside was a single glamoured photo.

You gasped.

So did everyone else.

It was Azriel.

Shirtless. Covered in shadows and golden siphon light. Standing in the training ring like a bat-winged revenge model.

Arms crossed. Wings flared. Muscles rude.

And across the bottom, in elegant Night Court script:

“Thanks for the inspiration. I decided to try robes too. Mine actually fit.”

Cassian dropped his toast. “He made a revenge thirst trap.”

Rhys was howling. “This is the most aggressive form of flirting I’ve ever seen—and they’re not even flirting with each other!”

Mor fanned herself. “I’m not even into Azriel and I need a moment.”

Nesta blinked. “Send it to Eris twice.”

You were speechless. “Did he… pose for this??”

You were so close to getting away with it.

The Eris painting? Hidden behind your old training gear.

Azriel’s shirtless calendar? Laminated. Hung on the inside of your closet door. Discreet. Artistic. Totally justified.

The flower crown? Just a seasonal craft project gone awry. (You may have hot glued it to his head in the July page.)

But then Azriel found it.

You came home to find him sitting on the bed.

Silent. Staring at the open closet.

The calendar dangled from his fingers.

His flower-crowned portrait smiling back at you like an idiot with a six-pack.

You froze.

He didn’t look at you.

Just said, flatly:

“…You laminated me.”

You opened your mouth. “That could’ve been anyone.”

His head turned slowly. “You gave me dimples.”

“They’re accurate!”

“There are sparkles on my abs.”

You folded your arms. “What do you want from me, Az? You looked hot. I have eyes. I commemorated the moment.”

“You hot glued a floral tiara to my head.”

You stepped closer, hands on hips. “It’s not a tiara. It’s a statement.

He stared at you for a long, long moment.

Then:

“…What’s the statement? That I moonlight as a whimsical forest prince?”

You grinned. “Exactly. A deadly, brooding, morally ambiguous flower fae.”

His shadows twitched. His jaw worked.

Then—slowly—he stood.

Crossed the room.

Picked you up without warning and threw you over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

“AZRIEL!”

“You’re going to explain to my face,” he said, walking toward the bedroom, “why I’m September and March in your calendar.”

“BECAUSE YOU PEAKED TWICE.”

“You’re lucky you’re pretty.”

“YOU’RE LUCKY I DIDN’T MAKE IT A STICKER BOOK!”

He slammed the door behind him—laughing.

End

This oneshot is unserious, and It had no direction whatsoever. Enjoy the chaos. 🩵

[sports-on-sundays]

Hello hello, I am back with another request! It's with Oscar again but friends to lovers. Hear me out, the most cliche thing ever. Oscar loves her, she loves him but both too dense to realise it. They are out and about and another dude corners her and tries to make out with her, Oscar saves the day (make him protective and violent pls, make him punch the guy (side note: I would pay money to see Oscar actually punch someone, don't ask me why idk🙈)). So then he comforts her, takes her home and she asks him to stay. I will leave the rest of the convo to you🤗. Let there be a first kiss and cuddle I beg I am the biggest sucker for those bcs Oscar seems like the best guy to have your firsts with.

Holy hell that's a long ass request haha. Thank you for reading all that🤣 have fun with it and feel free to change things up a little bit if you want to!

be / OP81

Summary: Oscar x female!best childhood friend!Australian!reader - You and Oscar are finally forced to realize your feelings for each other.

Warnings: panicking, someone forcing himself onto another person, blood, crying, i did change up the request a little bit 🤏, feeling sick

Requested: Yes! And don't worry about the long request, I really liked it, and thanks so much for requesting! Long requests are better sometimes anyway.

Author's Note: Guys I'm starting to think I seriously need my very own Oscar Piastri....

"It wasn't even that funny-"

"It wasn't even that funny!"

Both you and Oscar look up to who it was mockingly imitating Oscar's friendly teasing, and your eyes set themselves upon Lando Norris, smirking obnoxiously.

"What's your problem?" you demand, crossing your arms, most of the laughter from Oscar's joke that he made fives minutes ago (yes, you were still laughing your head off at it) gone.

"What do you mean? I'm just kidding. It's just funny how your boyfriend can make the most dumb joke, and send you both into a ten minute laughing fit-"

"Boyfriend?" you and Oscar seem to ask incredulously in sink.

The smile falls off of Lando's face this time, and is replaced by a look of surprise and confusion. "Waaaait... So you're trying to tell me you guys aren't dating?"

Oscar blinks a few times in confusion. "Y/n and I are just friends. We always have been."

"Yeah," you add quickly, nodding. "I don't know why everyone thinks differently."

Lando's eyebrows raise in amusement. "Maybe because you guys act like you're mad in love...? Like, all the time? Or maybe the fact that you come to every single one of our races? Or maybe it's the way you look at each other with heart eyes, like the other one is the only one in the room? I mean, I don't know. It could be the way you're always giggling and talking and yapping to each other... But, oh, what do I and everybody else know?"

"Good question," Oscar deadpans. "What do you know?"

Lando shrugs, rollings his eyes, and struts away. As soon as he's gone, Oscar turns back to you with a little shrug and says, "Sorry about that. I guess nobody gets that two people can love each other as friends without feeling romantic feelings..."

You nod, shrugging. It makes sense to you, simply because that's how it's always been with you and Oscar, forever. The two of you practically slept in the same crib (not literally!). You always just assumed he's like a brother or something, and it doesn't pay to consider anything else. So you haven't. Too risky, and besides- that's not worth it to waste your time thinking about. You like things just the way they are, no need to change them.

"-Y/n?"

"Hm?!" you look up, snapping out of your pondering.

Oscar smiles at you, his brown eyes soft, like they always are when he looks at you. You smile back, eyes equally as warm as he says, "Did you hear me?" in amusement.

You chuckle, "No, sorry."

He nods, giving your shoulder a little pat as he stands up. "I've got to go now get ready for the race. First of the season. Wish me luck!"

"Luck isn't needed," you say with a little grin. "You've got enough skill alone to win it."

He grins. "I guess. But luck never hurts, does it?"

"Not at all." You stand up with him and give him a quick half-hug, saying gentler, "Drive safe, and bring it home. I'll be cheering you on."

"Like always?"

"Like always."

"Hey, Y/n?"

You look up from your phone, shutting it off. You're sitting alone, long after the 2025 season opening race, the Australian Grand Prix, has ended. You haven't seen Oscar since the race ended, and have just been sitting around, not wanting to go home until you have a chance to talk with him. And there he is, standing there, back in his regular clothes: a black sweatshirt, sweatpants, and sneakers, looking thoroughly sleepy.

You immediately stand up, smiling, saying simply, "It was a great drive."

"Well, I-"

"Hush. You scored points after what happened, and that's enough, for goodness' sake."

He smiles softly, and though his eyes say a lot more, he just nods and says simply, "Yeah, yeah, you're right. As always."

You nod promptly and say teasingly, "I know!"

He just rolls his eyes and says, already in a better mood just by talking to you, "Mum wanted you over tonight for dinner."

You grin, "She did, did she?"

"You know she always does, whenever I'm around, want me to bring you over. She adores you."

"She's the sweetest," you chuckle. "Well, I wouldn't mind one of your mum's home cooked meals."

Oscar nods, grabbing his coat, and saying, "I agree; that would hit the spot right now. C'mon."

You two make it to the car and get in, before you start heading to Oscar's mother's home. The car ride is mostly silent, but neither of you really mind. It's a comfortable, good kind of silence.

Towards the end of it, though, you ask simply, "So, that's the end of the first race week of the season. How're you feeling?"

Oscar shrugs, thinking for a few moments, before saying, "Hmm... I guess I'd have to say tired, but very hopeful."

You smile. "Good. You just need your beauty rest, huh?"

He glances at you with a cute little smile. "Right."

Dinner is nice. Warm, and reminds you of home, and your childhood, and everything good. And it's perfect for a rainy day like today.

Once he's finished eating, though, Oscar stands up, stretching, from the table, and says, "Well, I should be off to bed..."

"Oh, Oscar, you will give poor Y/n a ride home won't you?" Oscar's mother asks.

He looks over at you with a little smile and nods, saying, "Oh, right, of course."

You walk to the door together, but before Oscar opens the front door to leave, you gently grab his arm and say simply, "Osc."

He looks up from unlocking the door, meeting your eyes. "Hm?" he asks gently.

"You don't need to drive me home. I could get a cab or take the bus or whatever. It's all good. You've had a crazy week, as it is, much crazier than mine-"

"I mean, I was thinking maybe it'd be fine if I didn't drive you home, too, but you don't have to get a cab. I'm sure if I asked, my mum would be fine with you just staying the night or something."

You blink in surprise, but smile at the suggestion. "Oh. Well, I'd hate to bud in-"

He smiles. "You're family, Y/n. Don't worry." He takes your hand, tugging you back towards the dining room, calling, "Mum! Would it be fine if Y/n just stayed the night? We've both had a long day!"

"Oh, of course, honey! Tell her she can make herself just all nice and comfy and at home! Y/n's such a sweetheart, anyways. She's always welcome!"

Oscar smiles, looking at you. "You heard that, right?"

You smile back up at him with a little laugh. "Yeah, I heard that."

He nods, saying, "C'mon, let's go to my room."

The two of you head there, both of you knowing the way to Oscar's childhood bedroom from all the years you used to spend in there together. When you walk in, seeing all the dressers in the same place they always were, and all Oscar's old decorations from his karting days, memories seem to flood back, just like that, and both you and Oscar feel it. You crawl onto his bed, just like you always used to do, flopping down against his pillows, making yourself at home.

Oscar smiles and crawls in next to you. Just like he always used to do, too. "Last time we were both here was..."

"...right after you joined McLaren, right?" you smile at the memory.

"I guess so." He smiles down at you.

"I remember distinctly, one time, you had been gone so, so long, and I asked your mum if I could surprise you when you got home..."

Oscar starts laughing, clearly remembering it to. "Ohhh yeah. I threw open the bedroom door and flopped on my bed, even though you were on it. By the time I saw you and yelped, it was too late."

"Yeah, and I wrapped my arms around you and started tickling you," you say giggling.

He rolls his eyes, grinning. "I remember. By the end of it, I was gasping and near tears. God, Y/n, you know I was tired."

"I know. But I made you laugh and smile, didn't I? And I made you feel better, didn't I?"

"I mean, I was just happy to see you," he says, his gaze comfortably resting on yours.

"I was happy to see you. Do you know how much I missed you those months?"

"You miss me if you don't see me for a week, Y/n, still."

"Why do you think I come to every race that I can?"

"Because I pay for you to?"

You roll your eyes at that, crossing your arms, "I mean, yeah, but that's not the sentiment I was going for!"

He laughs, giving your shoulder a little playful tap. "I know, I know."

You sigh deeply, the sweet silence settling between the two of your for a little while, before murmuring, "And I hope you remember after that tickle attack, when your face was red and you were nearly crying from laughing, I gave you the biggest hug of all time..."

Oscar's face warms at that as he leans a bit closer to you. "Yeah... Yeah, I remember. You wanna know why that moment was special to me?"

"Why?"

"Because that was the moment I realized that there are some people in my life that never truly will leave me. Even if I leave them. And you're one of the best of them. That was when I learned what family is."

You nod slowly, thinking about that for a few moments, before saying, "That's... so sweet. I like it."

Oscar smiles. "Me, too. I like it too. I'm so lucky to have a best friend like you."

"And I so lucky to have a best friend like you."

Oscar smiles at that, nodding, satisfied, before letting out a big yawn, reminding you if a sleepy cat, before folding his hands up into fists and rubbing his watery eyes.

And, as if it's contagious, you let your own yawn, a few moments later.

Oscar smiles, this time more sleepily at you, before slipping his arm over your shoulders and pulling you a little closer to himself. You flop your head to lean against his shoulder, and murmur, "Time for us both to get the much-needed rest our bodies are begging us for?"

"Mmm-hm. Yeah. Whatever you said," Oscar murmurs as he drifts off, the hint of a smile still lingering on his mostly relaxed face.

And you both drift off, surrounded by that perfect warmth and tranquility that feels just like home.

A little under a week later, you're sleeping against Oscar in a very similar position, feeling like you're just as at home in China than you are in Australia, simply because of the person you're resting against, when you're awakened by the painful claims, "I ship it, the mechanics ship it, the other teams' drivers ship it, the fans ship it. My God, even my mum ships it! Literally everyone can see you're mad in love except you and her!"

You stretch, your eyes fluttering open, and murmur before you're even sure it's Lando's unwanted yapping torturing your ears, "Landooo shut uppp..."

Oscar gives your shoulder a squeeze, groaning to Lando in his perfectly alert awake state (contrary to yours), "Look at that, Lando, you made her wake up!"

"Oh, yeah, 'cause you'd hate for her to stop sleeping against y-"

"Lando, stop, it's not like that."

"How come every time a girl and a guy are friends, everyone ships them? I think that's society's problem," you comment as you rub your tired eyes.

Lando snorts, saying, "It's not every time. You guys are just obvious. And oblivious. You just need to admit it to each other."

"There's nothing to admit to each other, Lando," Oscar comments as he watches you slowly lean off of him, slipping his arm off your shoulders.

"Yeah, we're, like, brother and sister."

"Well, I wouldn't say that-" Oscar begins quickly.

"I mean, yeah, like-"

"We're more like just really close friends," Oscar finishes confidently.

"Yes, that's true, I agree," you say quickly, looking up at him. "We're family, but not brother and sister."

"Ah, so you're family, but it's not like siblings. What else could you be other than mad in love but just too dense to realize it?" Lando asks.

You just glare, crossing your arms, and Oscar comments, "I don't know, but it's not like that."

"Maybe it's just not like that simply because you both refuse to admit what you really want."

"Lando, I don't need you of all people being my psychologist. Could you just leave it?" you comment, feeling Oscar's eyes watching you.

Lando sighs (overdramatically), shrugs, and says, "Suit yourself. I'm just saying, you guys have got to get together soon, or else you'll drive yourselves and everyone else insane. We can all tell you guys just need to kiss already." And with that, he once again struts away.

As soon as he's gone, you whine, leaning your head into Oscar's shoulder, "I hate Lando!"

"Don't say that. He's just kidding," Oscar says gently.

You sigh. "I know... it's just..."

"Hm?" Oscar prompts gently.

"I don't want people thinking something that's not true."

"Who cares what they think? We both know how we feel about each other, and that's all that matters." But do we? Oscar's brain echoes.

"Yeah, you're right," you murmur, nodding, comforted by his words, not even picking up the way he stares forward, eyebrows knitted together, deep in thought.

You've heard what you think you want to hear, and that's all that matters to you.

The moment you see Oscar after his podium, after he stood on the first step, winning such a solid race as that, you run into his arms, causing him to laugh as he hugs you back, saying, "Hey, Y/n."

"I'm so proud of you!" you say excitedly. "Amazing drive- amazing!"

"Thank you, Y/n. It means a lot. I'm so happy you were here to cheer me on."

You grin up at him. "Me, too, Oscar. Me too."

He celebrated with his team after the race, you staying in your hotel, since Oscar promised you he'd like to bring you home with him to Monaco, and have a more low key celebration, without as many people. Besides, you'd like it that way better anyway. And this way, you can get some extra sleep and try to avoid some of the jet lag from the long flight to Monaco.

Now you stand in Oscar's bathroom back in Monaco, gazing at yourself in the mirror in your white crop top and silver skirt, knowing that when you step out of the bathroom, all you need is for Oscar to tell you it looks nice, and then all your worries will vanish.

And once you do, of course, he stands up from the living couch and says, "You look really pretty. Ready to go?"

You smile softly, sighing in relief, and nod. "Yes. I'm ready to go celebrate with the winner of the 2025 Chinese Grand Prix." You laugh a bit, and add as you head out to the car, "Oscar, you know I'm so incredibly proud of you."

He grins. "I know, I know." You know he loves your lavishing, even if he wouldn't admit it. He's never gotten enough of it; you're one of the people that appreciate him the most, you think, at least. You appreciate him a whole lot, anyways.

Soon you get to your destination, and the night starts off really fun, you and Oscar just sticking with each other, laughing, singing, drinking, and dancing. But after too long, the air becomes stale, the noise becomes too loud, and the drinks turn bitter. You're tired, and Oscar's off somewhere, swept away with his other friends. You sigh deeply, leaning against the wall, running a hand through your hair.

It's then that you feel a hand on your shoulder, and it makes you flinch. It's unfamiliar.

It's not Oscar's hand.

You look up to see a man around your age with tangled overgrown curly brown hair and dark, cold eyes. He's wearing a gold chain around his neck and a football jersey. It's then that he shows you his unflattering smirk and says in a thick French accent, "I'm Jordan."

You just kind of nod, showing a fake smile and crossing your arms, not really in the mood for any antics with any strange guys.

His eyebrows raise as he says, "Do you have a name, or am I going to have to give you one?"

Your lip immediately curls up as you look at him from the corner of your eye, still not tilting your face directly towards him. "You're not smooth. My name is Y/n."

"Pretty name for a pretty girl. A sassy girl, too, at that. I like that."

You bite your lip, rolling your eyes in utter annoyance at this guy 'Jordan.' "Good for you..." you murmur, trying to send him the message that you really don't want to talk with him.

Jordan just hums and steps closer to you. You glance up at him for the first time, really, feeling a bit sick from how close he is to you. You murmur awkwardly, "Could you please step away?"

"No, I don't think I will. I'm enjoying your reaction too much."

"Please, stop."

He roughly grabs your chin, forcing you to look him in the eyes. You swallow deeply.

"I really like your skirt..." he purrs, leaning in closer to you, completely ignoring your protests. His hand slips onto your thigh and grips it tightly.

"Stop... I don't care-"

"You don't, don't you? Well, what a shame... I reckon there's not much you can do about that..."

"St-"

He lips meet yours in a nasty, rough kiss. Your head pounds and spins as your knees begin to shake, panic of what's happening sinking in, your thoughts raging with anxious thoughts at the same time as your head being completely empty. You push at his chest, but he pushes his whole body up against yours, pinning you to the wall, further into a shadow.

You gasp, the panic sinking in deeper, and hardly register what happens next.

Oscar's familiar voice in all the chaos says in one of the angriest, coldest tones you've ever heard from his mouth, "Get your fucking nasty hands away from her."

Jordan tears his lips away from your mouth as Oscar grabs him, Jordan turning his head to look behind him, but before he has a chance to react, you watch as a fist comes flying across and hits him square across the face. He stumbles back and as blood begins gushing from his nose. For a moment, his eyes meet yours in shock, as if he expects you to help a dog like him, but it's then that you watch Oscar grab him by the collar and murmur in the darkest of tones to him, "I told you to get your nasty hands away from her, and you didn't. That's my girl, and no one dares to touch her like that. You better not think you can go on like this, and I hope this can be a reminder for you not to." And with that, Oscar throws another punch, hitting the guy in his eye. You slowly slip down the wall, still watching in shock as Oscar finishes him off by handing one more punch to him on his bloody jaw, before letting go of his collar, letting him fall to the floor, finishing with a yell, "The pain you're feeling right now is nothing compared to the pain you deserve!"

You watch as Jordan scampers up and, just like that, without even considering a fight, stumbles off, out of sight.

And then, everything hushed, Oscar turns, and his eyes meet yours. His hair is a little sweaty and messed up, falling over his forehead. For a moment, you see that remaining burning anger, but as soon as he takes you in, that vanishes, and is replace by the familiar warmth he seems to always look at you with.

And the moment your eyes lock, the tears start coming, and you break down.

Oscar is immediately by your side, pulling you into his arms, sitting on the floor next to you and holding you in his lap, gently stroking your hair. After a while, you hiccup, slowly leaning away, your body still shaking, and murmur, mopping up your eyes with your hands, "Os- Oscar... That was scary. I'm scared."

He gently takes your hand. "You don't have to be. I'm here. Are you ready to go home?"

You nod slowly, and Oscar helps you up, leading you out back to his car, his arm around your back protectively the entire time.

Once back in the car, as the events of what just happened replay through your head, you hiccup, more tears threatening to flow. Oscar gently takes your hand, murmuring in the dark of the parked car, "Tell me what I can do for you, and I'll do it. I hope you know I'll do anything for you to feel better."

You sigh shakily and just lean into him. He wraps his arms around you, holding you for a few minutes, before you lean away again and murmur, "Let's just get home..."

Oscar nods. "Good idea." He turns the car on and begins driving, and as soon as he does holds his hand that he's not using to drive out to you. You put your hand in his, letting the warmth from it fill you and comfort you.

As he drives, you suddenly say in the empty silence, "'That's my girl.' That's what you said."

Oscar just nods a little. "I know. I did mean to say that, you know."

You swallow, thinking for a few moments, before murmuring the simple question, "Why?"

"Because you've always been mine and I've always been yours, haven't I?"

You swallow. "I don't know what that means."

"Forget what it means. You're the most important girl- the most important person- to me. You're my girl, and I'm not going to let anyone be messing with you."

That feels right to you, and good to you, to hear that. And you're glad, in a way, that he's so confidently figured that out. It frees you to say back, "Well, yeah, then... I guess that makes you my boy, then..."

Oscar smiles very softly, giving your hand a little squeeze as you arrive at his home. Once you're both inside, before you have a chance to start worrying, Oscar says gently, putting a hand on your shoulder, "I want you to be comfortable. What do you need? I could get you something to eat, run a bath for you, get a change of clothes, all three, whatever else you need-"

"Oh, uh, don't worry about it-"

"Hush," Oscar suddenly interrupts, shaking his head. He moves to stand right in front of you, before gazing down into your eyes, and saying in all sincerity, "Look, I want you to be honest. I want to take care of you if that's what you need. I want you to be comfortable."

You swallow, nodding a bit, before murmuring, "A bath and a change of clothes might be nice... I'm not hungry, though."

Oscar nods, putting his hand on your back, leading you to his room. He opens his closet and says, "You can wear whatever you can find. I'm going to go run that bath for you; I'll call you when it's ready. I'll get a towel for you in the bathroom, too."

You nod, find one of his bigger McLaren T-shirts and a pair of black sweatpants, and head to the bathroom just as Oscar is calling for you.

Oscar smiles at you gently when you walk in and say simply, "Anything else you need?"

You shake your head 'no,' saying, "Thank you."

He nods. "Of course. I'll just be in the living room, you can come there when you're done. Call me if you need anything. And take your time, too."

You smile weakly, nodding. "Alright. Thanks, Osc."

He nods, leaving you to have your bath. You peel off your clothes and sink into the water, feeling its warmth surround you like an embrace. You let out a long sigh of relief as the water touches your sore, tense muscles, soothing them. After the night you've had, it feels good to just be. To just experience something genuinely good and calming, knowing Oscar is just in the next room.

Oscar. The way he stood up for you, was so protective of you, and beyond that, has been taking such good care of you... You know Oscar a good man... He was always a really sweet boy, and he's grown up to be a really very upright and sweet man. It was crazy- crazy- to see him go off on that stranger, and beat him up the way he did.

But somehow, it felt right. It was just proving he's good. That he cares so much about and for you, he won't let anyone hurt you without knowing the consequences of it from him.

How much does he really care about me?

The question almost feels good to ask, because you have a feeling the answer is one you like.

And then the way he so confidently called you his girl.

'That's my girl.'

Just looking back on it, for some reason, it makes your heart skip a beat. It's that chest-tightening nervous affectionate feeling you get often when Oscar does or says little things. Although this time, it's not little, and every new thing he does seems to make your stomach flutter a little more. It's a familiar feeling that you're sure you've gotten hundreds of times before with Oscar, but for some reason, you're only realising it now. Why, you have no idea, and what the strange feelings could mean, you have even less of an idea.

Soon, you finish your bath, and after drying yourself put on Oscar soft, comfortable clothes, no matter how over sized they are on you. Besides, you don't care in the slightest about that as soon as you inhale his familiar, comforting scent when you put them on. You go to the living room and see Oscar laying on the couch on his phone, now in a T-shirt and sweatpants, just relaxing. As soon as you walk in, though, he looks up.

"Osc...? Do you have a brush I could use for my hair?"

He nods, hopping up from the couch, and says, "Yeah, I do. Wait here, I'll be right back. Just get yourself comfy."

He leaves, and you shrug, taking his advice, and curl up on the couch, waiting for him to come back. He takes longer than you expect him to, but soon enough, he walks back in and sits next to you, saying, "Why don't you just relax, and I can brush it for you?"

"Seriously? You don't have to," you say immediately, secretly wanting badly for him to brush your hair for you. You love the feeling of other people playing with your hair- and if it's Oscar, even better.

He smiles at you. "I know, but I want to." And with that, to both of your delight apparently, begins gently brushing through your hair. When he's done, he slowly start running his fingers through it, starting from the bottom and going up to the top. You sigh, leaning back into him, and Oscar just simply loves it. After a while he says, softly amused, "You just seem to melt when my hands are in your hair."

You shrug, smiling a little, and say, "What can I say? It feels really good."

He chuckles that low comforting chuckle that feels just like home. "I can tell." After a few more minutes he says, "I found a hair tie I think you must've left here at one point. Do want me to braid your hair or something?"

You smile, glancing back at him, and say, "You can do that? I don't know if I can trust you."

He just smiles back at you. "You should. I'm good at it. Remember, I grew up with three sisters."

You shrug again before saying, "Well, alright..."

He chuckles softly again, before he gently begins braiding your hair, his fingers gently weaving through your locks, slowly, until he finally finishes and ties it on the end. Once he's finished, you turn around to face him.

He smiles at you.

You smile back, taking his hands in both of yours.

"You're beautiful," he suddenly says, looking right into your eyes. "I don't think I've told you that enough. Because I think it all the time, whenever I look at you."

For some reason, your friend saying that makes you blush. There are a few moments of silence, before you look down at your joined hands and murmur, "Crazy that the hands that beat up that guy are the same hands that just gently braided my hair."

Oscar shrugs, smiling a little. "They have different uses in different moments. And I don't regret what I did for a moment, not any of it. I would do the exact same thing if I had to do it all again. In fact, just thinking about it makes me really angry. But what matters most is that you're okay."

You sigh slowly, nodding, your head a bit dizzy at the thought of it all. "I'm just so thankful for you, throughout it all. You, like, saved the day..." you chuckle wryly.

He shrugs, nodding a bit. "I guess." A little laugh.

More silence.

You stare down once more at your joined hands. "But Oscar..." you begin hesitantly.

"Yes?" he prompts gently.

"...I'm sorry."

"Y/n... for what? You did nothing wrong-!" Oscar begins somewhat incredulously.

"It's just... You were celebrating your win..."

"Oh, Y/n..." Oscar begins, his tone softening. "Come on, now. Look up at me, will you?"

You sigh, doing so.

"It's not your fault, what happened," Oscar says. "It's that idiot's fault, and we both know that. What happened happened, and there was no preventing it. And if you're worried about me, don't be. I had a perfectly good time celebrating in China with my team. This was more that I wanted to do something with you, for you. But look at this right now. Here we are, sitting together, anyway. Isn't that what matters the most anyway; isn't that the point? So why don't we just make the most of this moment, right now, hm?"

You sigh again, nodding slowly, before saying, you heart almost feeling like it's being squeezed, "Okay."

"Hey," Oscar murmurs, his hand touching the bottom of your chin. "You're looking down again. Talk to me." He gently raises your chin.

You swallow, and suddenly, words that you hardly knew you even thought start coming from your mouth, and only now as you hear them in your voice do they even begin to make sense: "I guess it's just that... You're so caring and gentle with me, and protective. And we like each other so much and get along so well and we've known each other for years and... I guess sometimes I wonder about us... You know, our relationship, like, what even is it? I mean, I think we'd both readily admit we most definitely love each other, but I guess... well, I don't know..."

Oscar nods slowly, before whispering, as if it's some long kept secret, "You guess you just wonder in what way we love each other?"

You swallow, nodding. "Well, yes, exactly. Because... well, I don't know."

"Can I tell you how I feel about you?"

You study his face for a few moments- his handsome face- and nod.

"I feel about you the most deep feeling I've ever known, deeper than I ever thought I could experience. The love I have for you is beyond anything I could describe in a physical sense- it's beyond a romantic love or and family love or the strongest kind of named love I could think of. All I know is that when I look at you, I see fulfillment, and happiness. I see everything I've ever needed, plus everything I've ever wanted. I see a priceless jewel- the sort of thing that anyone would honor and protect with their life. I see beauty herself, on the inside and out. I see my best friend, my favorite person, the one I would spend any and every moment with, if I could. I see comfort, I see love. I look at you and know the great lengths I would go for you. I know it's all so cliche, but it is a love beyond words. It is. I just..." he trails off, before leaning in and whispering, "Are you crying?"

You sniff, looking away, your heart pounding. "No..."

He smiles gently, his hand leaving yours to reach up and wipe a tear away off your cheek with his thumb, "Don't cry."

"That's just so... sweet... and... everything I exactly feel, too, put into words..."

"Y/n..." he hums gently with a little chuckle. "I don't want you to cry, though."

"Don't worry," you say with a little hiccupy laugh. "They're good tears."

He smiles a bit, grabbing your hand again and giving it a squeeze. "Okay."

You swallow, before daring to ask, "What would the difference be, if you were my boyfriend instead of my best friend?"

Oscar eyes seem to light slightly at the question, and he says simply, "Nothing at all, except for one thing: we would be able to express that deep love for each other in different ways."

You nod slowly, swallowing.

Oscar leans in closer to you. "How does that sound to you?"

"I... I think it could be just what I need."

Oscar smiles softly. "I mean, I feel like... it would be nice to not just have to use my words to tell you how much I love you. You know, to be able to kiss you, or something, instead."

You find yourself smile a little at the words, nodding as pinkness gets to your cheeks. "Yeah... that doesn't sound so bad."

Oscar smiles, just gazing into your eyes. "Yeah?"

"It's just that... with tonight, with what happened..."

"Oh, I wasn't meaning we had to do anything tonight- just to think about. You know...?"

You nod slowly, before muttering, "But maybe... Just maybe tonight is the night to do it." You pause, before continuing, "You know, with all that happened, maybe if we just decided... tonight, let's just take a little step... it would help me to leave that. You know, it wasn't my fault... and I have someone who really does love me."

Oscar smiles. "And I really do."

You smile back, looking back up into his sweet brown eyes.

He slips his hand out of yours and gently brings it to your cheek, muttering, "Well, is it okay if I kiss you? Just a little kiss?"

You smile wider, feeling your stomach flutter at the sincere question. Nodding, you reply, "Yes, I reckon that is okay."

Oscar nods, his thumb stroking your cheek a bit as he leans in, his other hand gently touching your waist. His hand on your cheek shifts to cup the side of your neck, and he whispers, his warm breath on your ear, "You still okay?"

You nod.

And with that, he leans in, and, pulling you closer to himself, kisses you in the most perfect way. His adoration and love for you flows through the kiss, while still keeping it short and gentle. When he leans away, he whispers, "How was that?" with a little adorable smile.

You just sigh shakily and murmur, "I think you should do it again."

And he does without a second more of hesitation. His lips meet yours as he pulls your body closer to himself, lost in the kiss, lost in his emotions. When he pulls away again, he's pulled you onto his lap, but neither of you seem to care, both too swept up in each other's gazing eyes.

"I didn't realize for how long I needed to do that..." he whispers gently.

You smile a little. "I didn't realize how long I needed that from you."

He smiles back. "We'll call that both of our first kisses, okay?"

You nod. "Does this mean I'm your girlfriend now?"

"I like the sound of that."

You smile and throw your arms around him in an embrace. He pulls you closer to him, leaning back so that you can lay your head on him, and rubs your back, whispering, "I love you so much, Y/n. So, so much. To the moon and the stars and all the way back."

You smile up at him. "I don't know about the moon and the stars for me Oscar, but I'll tell you this: I love you enough to want to spend my life with you. I love you enough to want to grow old with you."

At those words, Oscar's arms tighten around you, and he chuckles, "See how sappy we suddenly get as soon as we decide to just give it up and kiss? My God."

You grin into his chest. "Yeahhh... But I don't mind it."

"Oh, trust me, I don't either." He shifts, moving you with him, making you both comfortable, so that you're laying together, cuddling.

"I really like this."

He hums. "Me too."

"You know we'll never hear the end of it from Lando if he finds out."

You feel the vibration of his laugh in his chest. "I guess we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. For now, let's just relax. I just want to be. Be with you."

"I think that sounds like exactly what I was made for. To be with you."

He smiles, and you shut your eyes, content to listen to his heartbeat and just be.

Just be with him.

[stateissuedgf]

FACE IT, TIGER. YOU JUST HIT THE JACKPOT!

mark grayson x loislane!reader part 1

warning(s): none, just fluff <3

College was a smooth transition, as smooth as that transition could be while being a superhero. Keeping up with assignments has been hard, and the tests have been even harder, but Mark was determined to finish college, one of the only pieces of normalcy he had left; thankfully the newest student made it easier to deal with.

THE girl, the girl next door, (y/n) (l/n). She had started at college just a little bit after he did, but he didn’t notice her until she tore into some poor guy that had bumped into her and had her coffee spilling on her pristine white top down onto the floor, effectively embarrassing him in the middle of the hallways.

Mark had never been so turned on in his life. What wasn’t to like about her? Gorgeous, great smile, even better laugh, and a complete refusal to take shit from anyone, he had hit the jackpot. The only problem was there was no way she would ever be interested in him.

They were pursuing two different majors, her passion for telling the truth to keep people educated on what was really going on in the world leading her to journalism— and besides that, they were in two different worlds. She was surrounded by very few people, but those people were just as intellectually gifted, and Mark wasn’t exactly known for his smarts. She had men and women falling at her feet, Mark was still surprised he was able to pull Amber.

“Dude, you can’t just give up!” William exclaimed. Maybe opening up to him was a bad idea, he wasn’t being very secretive about what they were discussing at the lunch table. “Would you quiet down?” Mark hissed, William letting out a much quieter ‘Sorry’ in response. “And yes I can, she doesn’t even know who I am. How weird would it be to have a guy you’ve never interacted with before ask you on a date? She would have a field day with me.” Mark shuddered at the thought of (y/n) and her wrath. Watching it from the sidelines was hot, being at the receiving end? Not so much.

“Mark, you fight monsters and murderers literally on the daily, you're telling me asking out the hot journalist is where you cross the line?” William raised his eyebrow, his lip twitching on a barely contained smirk.

Mark thought for a second. He’s right I suppose, asking her out can’t be as bad as being beaten within an inch of my life, right?

—

There she was, her strawberry scented shampoo making its way to his nose, a scent he had all but memorized. She was on her phone texting, he assumed by the quick movement of her fingers, her face concentrated. Maybe now wasn’t the best time, and he was about to walk away, until he saw a guy two time her size approaching her; he watched as her eyes rolled and she attempted to look too busy to interact with him.

Clearly it didn’t work, because once he came within her vicinity he took no time at all placing his hand on her shoulder. She shoved it off, the man's face twisting in anger in response, and soon enough their argument became loud enough to make out what they were saying.

“What part of ‘We’re over’ don’t you understand, Xander?” She huffed. “We’re done when I say we’re done.” He then but his arm around her shoulders and tried to lead her away to god knows where, but she had already started fighting to get his arm off of her. “Get off me you creep!” She yelled, and before he could think mark found himself already going to stop him.

He grabbed him by his shoulder, pulling him away from her roughly. Maybe he was too rough, because the action had him falling to the ground, his eyes open in shock. “She said to leave her alone, man.” Mark’s voice was hard, a stoney look in his eyes.

“Who even are you? This is between me and her.” The man responded, on his feet and in Mark’s face. “You’d better get to running if you don’t want your ass kicked.” (y/n) had a enough. “Xander seriously stop, this is getting out of hand.” she sighed. “Shut up, (yn)—“ That set mark off.

In no time at all Mark threw his fist into the guy's jaw, a small crack that was only able to reach his ear’s resounding in the room. The man was sent to the floor again, but he clearly had no plans to get up anytime soon, too busy holding his jaw in pain. “Let’s go.” Mark took (y/n) by her hand and stomped away.

It took a second to snap her out of whatever daze she was in, but she eventually got out of it, yanking her hand out of his grip. “I didn’t need your help.” She hissed. “I had full control over that situation.”

“Really? Cause it looked like he was getting ready to kidnap you.”

“He was not about to kidnap me—“

“Whatever,” Mark cut her off. “There was no way I was gonna watch him put his hands on you and not do something.”

That successfully stunned her into silence, her eyes searching for something, it was honestly kind of awkward. She must have found whatever it was she was looking for, because her eyes softened, then looked to the ground, then back up to his face.

“Thank you.” She said simply, her voice much softer. “What’s your name?”

“Mark.” She raised her eyebrow. “Grayson, Mark Grayson.” She seemed satisfied with his answer, a barely noticeable smile on her face.

“Well Mark Grayson, I’m grateful for what you ddi for me today, truly.” She began to walk away. “I hope to see you around.” She called from behind her.

Mark was in a daze. She smiled, she actually smiled at—“Wait!” He called. She turned around, a questioning look on her face. “Would you like to go on a date with me?”

She stares for a few seconds, before one of her beautiful smiles makes its way onto her face. “Okay.”

“Catch you later, Tiger.”

—

I’ll probably make this a series because i love Mark with a civilian gf, be on the lookout for a part 2 ! ( •̤ᴗ•̤ )♡

[cheriladycl01]

hi love!! i just read your "Funny Gaming moments with Lando and Max (F) x QuadrantStreamer! Reader" and I absolutely loved it. this is me requesting more content like that! specifically again lando x streamer who plays val. maybe lando showing up to her competing in vct and its in the same city as a grand prix weekend. if not then maybe stream moments (thinking of like Tenz and Kydae🥹)

i love your content so i'm excited for literally any content you put out!! thank u!!❤️

Chat, what is this? - Lando x Streamer! Reader Part 1

Plot: More moments of you, trying and failing to teach your boyfriend Lando how to play games as good as you

Warning: This probably wont be for everyone but if you love gaming and Lando fluff you will enjoy this. It is very technical about Valorant as a game, but this request despite being sat in my drafts for a while has been one ive wanted to complete for ages! Its based around VCT 2023, Sao Paulo. Reader takes of from FNC Leo so if your confused why he isn't there thats why!!

"Chat, how good was that game? We Match MVP'ed and what did we go, 34 - 12 - 8. God climbing has been hard but did we finally do it chat?" you ask looking at the comments rolling in before you click to see if you rank had changed and finally put you back in radiant.

-Yes lmao

-Radiant time <3

-Gorl we know its gonna be good, just show us!!!!!

-Bits Donated

"Okay chat and omg Radiant Number 346! Now i don't know how long ill keep that for because ... well I've got to leave for VCT soon because my team actually made it through!" you exclaim, you'd been in game changers for a year when Fnatic asked you to become a sub for their team. Leo going on longterm sick meant that you were currently playing with them.

It was perfect timing for VCT Lock in if you were being honest. It was running from February till the start of March which meant that Lando could join you before you went to his first race with him in Bahrain. He was to stay in the hotel with you, which was payed for by the team but he wasn't invited to the team meal that Riot payed for, for each team.

"Ahhhh baby" you come back to the hotel after your meal out with the team having had a few too many drinks.

"Hello beautiful, did you have fun" he smiles running his fingers through your hair as you place your bag on the sofa.

"So much fun, its nice to just hang out with them you know? Sometimes even when were playing games it feels like its my job" you sigh in your drunk voice that Lando couldn't help but find adorable. He helps you take your shoes off as he continues to talk to you.

"Mmmmm well it kinda is your job baby" he chuckles knowing that he enjoying goofing around with his friends like George and Alex when they'd go cart together or he'd go out clubbing with Max or biking with Daniel.

"I know but i still should have fun right?" you almost moan as your shoes finally come loose and you can breathe. He helps you take your makeup off and change you into an oversized shirt off his before bringing you to the bed and tucking you in placing a kiss on your forehead before climbing in himself.

February 24th 2023.

Lando was there cheering you on as you went into your first match against Sentinels. Which was funny as you were actually really close to TenZ who was the star player of the opposing team and always made a pretty hard match for you whenever you guys played together or against each other. You were first friends with his girlfriend Kydae who you'd met streaming and then when you met irl was when you met the legendary TenZ.

"Ready?" you ask over to him after your walk on and he chuckles nodding.

"You bet i am, bring it on" he grins first bumping you before heading to his seat.

"It's so nice to see despite them being on opposing teams, NA and EMEA that they are still really good friends and ... you know what Bren its just nice seeing this level of Sportsmanship in our sport" Commentator Sideshow says.

"I agree but the question is, will Y/N be able to finally put an end to his streak? He's never been outplayed by her and maybe that is the downfall of playing with the enemies, he knows her and what she thinks and how she plays because who knows how many hours they have played outside of the teams, so this will really show" Brenn adds.

Haven was the first pick and Lando watched on anxiously as his girlfriend talked to her teammates through her headset, discussing strats going forward and what was going to be best for them.

He'd never admit it but he didn't know what he preferred, seeing her in her own team shirt or in his team gear but right now you looked so beautiful to him, the way your glasses sat perched on your nose and the team top tucked into your trousers.

Pearl hadnt been a map that you guys were doing well on when practicing so it was your first ban against Sen who'd been doing well in Masters through the year. You were hoping that they wouldn't ban Icebox as you guys had a pretty cohesive agent line up but to all your dismay it was Sen's first ban.

The first map pick was Haven, a three site map, different from the standard two which was your guys go too. You as a team when it came to practicing found that you guys commed better on this map than any other and with the amount of hours put into it, it would be hard not to have this as your guys best map.

And as if the Valorant gods were listening you see Sen's pick of Split come up, you hadn't been playing it much in front of people but behind closed doors you guys actually had your second best map on split. You guys ban Ascent knowing TenZ was a chamber demon on that map and you guys didn't wanna risk a throw away.

Sen then bans Fracture which you were glad about personally because it was one of your worst maps and you didn't have an agent you felt truly comfortable with there. Your goal for this year was to play more Fracture and make it a better map of yours.

And of course that left Lotus which three site maps seemed to be in favour of your guys team so this would be interesting.

Defending of Haven was up first.

"Okay im guessing were having Derke on Jett?" you ask knowing you'd be happy to Raze and Judge on Split later if it came to it.

"Yes, and I think we should go with Team C composition, how you guys feeling about that?" Boaster asks and you all nod before Chronicle changes his mind.

"I don't think double sentinal will work. Better doing double initiator" he argues and Boaster thinks for a second before agreeing.

"Okay so that leaves Plan B which is Derke on Jett, Chronicle on Breach, Alfa on KillJoy, Nyxie on Sova and me on Astra is that good with everyone?" he asks and you're all happy locking in your agents.

You spend your credits getting a Frenzy and two darts, knowing playing B should get you decent info you head there talking about darting first before you get any rotates to your site.

The round starts and with your reveal dart already loaded up you track two enemies seeing them in window.

"B Main smoke Boaster, two in window" you request and he places down a smoke hiding you on the left of site.

"Skye Dog coming through" you say as you here the yapping coming through the smoke making you and Boaster rotate to backsite. The dog thankfully doesn't grab anyone and leaves them with no info apart from the fact that you are on site.

TenZ dashes onto site right to where you and Boaster are immediately getting picked off by your British counter-part. As they rotate to C Chronicle and Alpha sit patenitly their util ready for use. Boaster gets another pick travelling on C site while you remian watching garage.

Derke flanks from A killing of the Skye meaning spikes down and only two are left as you play it safe moving back onto B keeping your eye on garage so you can swing off Boaster.

"There in garage, there in garage im holding from box" Derke says and you come through B to join him and by the time you've got there he's wasted no time and got the last two kills.

"Nice! Fnatic pistol round for the win!" you say fist-bumping Chronicle who your next to.

Your next buy is a Stinger, light shield and full util. This should be an easy win where Sen are on a save round but ... you never know. Shaking things up a bit you move to A with Derke positioning ready to dart down long.

"Util on C, coming long" Boaster comms and you start to rotate, knowing Derke can hold down A if they decide to Early rotate. And just as you get to B ...

"A, All A. What do you mean coming long, yes they are coming long on A! Not C" Derke shouts from Boasters earlier call out. Knife out and your running back to A as Derke gets another 3 picks.

"Okay Derk when i said hold the fort this isn't what i meant but pop off!" you say as you get your dart out, just as Chronicle gets the last kill in Sewers.

"Nice work!" you shout, a fist lightly tapping the desk. You pull a face at the camera on you with Boaster on the other side of you before buying for the next round.

Next round however goes to shit. Derke lerks Sewers getting picked off immedielty leaving you and Chronicle who had rotated early.

You replace Derke watching Sewers, Boaster smokes for you and you spam through the smokes getting two kills, switching to the classic seeing their Omen pushing you kill him off as Tenz kills you off after Chronicle and Boaster die on site. They proceed to win the round.

You boyfriend jumps up for joy seeing your 3k pulled back down by Max Fewtrell as you died to TenZ of all players.

"Guys what happened, I was watching sewers and before i know it TenZ is kissing my ass" you say looking between Boaster and Chronicle.

"It was just poor timing on our half sorry, but great round for economy guys!" Boaster tries to keep up Moral.

2 - 1

Next round was a blur, starting on A and dying over on C all within 15 seconds of the round was ... humbling to say the least.

However, it was close with TenZ being the only one standing once again as he trades off Zekken to get the kill on your teammate.

2 - 2

You remained on A despite it seeming like it wasn't working as its where you were getting the best darts and getting the most kills, Breach alt sent you sky high and not long afterwards with another kill under your belt it was a 2 v 1 situation with Sacy as the only one remaining and you with Alfa.

"Amir, swing off me, ill bait" you call and you both swing, you from behind box and Alfa in heaven, Sacy can only concentrate on one and thats unfortuanlty you.

"Nice one!" you say and Amir fits his hand on the air.

3 - 2

"Bit of jumping and running and gunning from Nyxie" the commentators says as you jump into and out of the smoke getting a kill before being killed instantly by their Killjoy who Boaster finishes off in a smoke.

"Despite some wacky moves from Nyxie this game, the comms from her have been phenomenal. The minute she dies her team are right there getting the revenge"

4 - 2

Your alt being available this round leaves Derke hard dashing up into window you think with the smoke he's got somewhere only to be picked off by their breach. With comms you pop your alt but the enemies seem to expect that managing to dodge it.

You all rotate to C using your reveal and then your drone you see three on site. Immediely managing to hit TenZ. You continue on, not thinking that you've just killed him in pro play.

Going deeper into cubby you get a pick on Skye just as Omen alts away probably onto A. Immedielty on the rotate heading through Attacker spawn and into Sewers, you're killed first and sit back comming for you teammates as Alfa clutches the round.

"Guys, i just got a kill on TenZ!" you exclaim and look over to Tyson, sending him a heart with your fingers where he rolls his eyes at your joke.

5 - 2

After some whiffs from both you and Derke, Boaster and Alfa clutch the round.

6 - 2

Again after some silly mistakes and being caught in util Alfa is the last one standing and left to save standing back away from site letting the bomb tick away.

Boaster is left a little frustrated asking what the hell we're doing despite having 3 plus rounds on Sen. IGL mentality for you! He knew you guys could and should do better.

6 - 3

You play safe with Chronicle on A trading kills off each other leaving Boaster a nice 3k on site, playing a little more aggressively than he usually would as the two of you die.

"Sorry Boaster, i don't know whats going on man" you sigh, knowing you arent playing your best right now.

"It's fine, it's all good we've got this!" he smiles at you, fist bumping your hand.

7 - 3

Next round you're told to early rotate straight to see thanks to Derke's spot and the fact that they stuck coming up C long rather than rotating worked in your benefit. You get a pick, before TenZ outplays you as your reloading.

Derke and Boaster clutch the round, cheers all around as you go to ...

8 - 3

A very slow paced round where both the Jett's were opping and so many ults were available. You were running between side, jiggle peaking and jumping to try get any info. You guys rotate to see when Alfa's alarm bot it destroyed seeing their coming through garage you wait at the top getting a kill on the Omen, just after Derke's op kill and Alfa's ratty move of hiding in cubby.

Alfa finishes them up in garage and you guys call it a day.

"YES! GOOD JOB!" you scream, fisting the air.

9 - 3

SWITCHING SIDES

Now it was your time to shine, you much preferred attacking on Haven. You guys agreed to start baiting A while the rest make their way to C. After a Sova reveal you guys make your way to C long Boaster in the back with spike.

After managing to plant TenZ gets onto sight with his Sheriff destroying the three of you remaining.

"FUCK THAT GUY!" you cry into your mic, head going into you hands hating the fact that you actually only did 20 damage to him.

9 - 4

You guys get fucked in sewers again.

9 - 5

This round you wiped the sweat from your forehead and locked in. Taking a quick swig of water before buying your util. You lurk getting a nice ratty kill on Skye before using the opportunity to reposistion gaining another kill. You peak TenZ but he avoids the fight leaving you to get a kill on Kill Joy instead while Boaster goes after Jett.

"Some incredible work there from Nyxie, she's really great at reading the map and once getting a kill repositioning to catch off her opponent and she's just incredibly quick with it too" the commentators admit.

Lando was biting his lips hard from how close this game was feeling despite it being 15 rounds in and 10 of them being for your team.

10 - 5

This round felt like it hadnt even started, you don't even know what you did but you were just there supporting. You tab to realise your actually 2nd on the leader board which only spurs you on further. You had this!

11 - 5

You and Derke wait together, storming onto sight getting three kills between you and managing to get the spike down. You guys have an incredible round all serving and keeping your guns, running off just as spike explodes killing the last player.

12 - 5

MATCH POINT

You wanted to cry, you were left standing last and whiffed so hard. Whiffed so hard not only did you let spike be diffused but you got yourself killed too. You could have finished this game there and then and called it a day.

12 - 6

After a stressful round you guys won the last round meaning you'd won the first map. You were the person who had the final kill which felt like a redemption after your previous bad round.

"YES LETS GO!" you cry pulling Boaster into a hug. Chronicle comes up fistbumping Derke before you hug him.

"Nice going Nyx" he grins. You use your hand to look out into the crowd spotting your boyfriend sat there with Max in the VIP section.

You wave at him as you leave the stage knowing he'll come see you in the room you guys had snacks and breaked in before the next map.

"You did so well, argh im so proud of you and i know you've got this next map!" he grins pulling you into a hug, kissing your forehead before moving down to hold your face in his hands bringing you into a full kiss.

"Ew" Chronicle comments smirking at the pair of your while Boaster covers Alfa's eyes.

"You guys all did really well. Got a feeling this ones yours!" Lando admits, keeping you close to his side.

"Thanks mate, oh wait have you guys seen Yinsu?" Jake (Boaster) asks.

"Mmmm she was in the crowd but haven't seen her yet!"

"Whose Yinsu?" Lando whispers to you.

"His girlfriend" you laugh.

"Mmmm she's with Angelina i think" Chronicle nods.

"Whose Angelina?" he asks

"Chron's wife?" you laugh as if Lando didn't believe your teammates had partners.

"You know ... this is a sport so technically you are my WAG... or HAB i guess?" you giggle before the others all tilt there heads confused.

"What is a WAG?" Derke asks head tipped to the side.

"Its a sports term, feel like its mostly used in F1 though. WAG is like Wives and Girlfriends of the sport person so im known on the screen when they show my face as Y/N FNC Nyxie Y/L/N Pro Valorant Player, Streamer and Girlfriend of Lando Norris" you explain and they nod.

"We should have something like that!" Alfa exclaims!

"Maybe" you laugh, preparing yourself for the next round.

Taglist:

@miffywoo @littlebitchsposts @hockey-racing-fubol @laura-naruto-fan1998 @22yuki @simxican @sinofwriting @lewisroscoelove @cmleitora @daemyratwst @lauralarsen @the-untamed-soul @thewulf @itsjustkhaos @purplephantomwolf @chasing-liberosis @summissss @gulphulp @starfusionsworld @jspitwall @sierruhhhh @georgeparisole @youcannotcancelquidditch @tallbrownhairsarcastic @ourteenagetragedy @peachiicherries @formulas-bitch @cherry-piee @spilled-coffee-cup @mehrmonga @curseofhecate @alliwantisadonut @dark-night-sky-99 @i-wish-this-was-me @tallrock35 @butterfly-lover @barnestatic @landossainz @darleneslane @barcelonaloverf1life @r0nnsblog @ilove-tswizzle @laneyspaulding19 @malynn @landosgirlxoxo @marie0v @yourbane @teamnovalak @nikfigueiredo @fionaschicken @0picels0 @tinydeskwriter @ironmaiden1313 @splaterparty0-0 @formula1mount

[suzukiblu]

Day twenty-six of “Kon meets pink kryptonite and decides to fuck Tim and his boyfriend about it” behind the cut. (( chrono || non-chrono ))

“Don’t get my boy excited right now, babe, he just woke up. We need to take care of him before we can let him get too riled-up again,” Tim tells Bernard mildly as he reaches over to ruffle Kon’s hair, and Kon nearly chokes on the bite of mango bar in his mouth. Fucking Christ, this bastard. “Clean him up, brush his hair, make sure he’s eaten something and gotten enough water.” 

“I am literally eating right now,” Kon reminds him, his face burning again even as he can’t help holding very, very still for the stupid hair-ruffling. Tim rubs his thumb in behind his ear and his face less “burns” and more “incinerates”. He also doesn’t look at him or acknowledge that he’s spoken. 

“Maybe we should just get him a bath, actually,” Tim muses consideringly. “He did get a little dirty when we were playing before.” 

Okay, maybe Kon should’ve saved the word “incinerate” for another minute or two. His bad.

“Oh my god, Tim,” Bernard says with a helpless–and kinda strangled–laugh. Kon is impressed it’s only kinda, frankly, because he isn’t actually sure he remembers how talking works right now? Like, just as a thing? Like maybe he just won’t do that again for a little while, if–

“Color, pet?” Tim asks, rubbing his thumb in behind his ear again. 

Never mind. 

“Green,” Kon answers immediately, because Tim’s asking, and can’t help feeling just–fucking relieved, maybe, that Tim still trusts him to be good for–this. Him. Whichever. That Tim took his word on it when he said he still wanted to, like–scene and all. “Like I am in my full Emerald City era right now, Krypto, we are not in Kansas anymore.” 

Tim snorts out a surprised little laugh, but still doesn’t look at him. Kon kinda wants to do something that’ll give him a reason to, except then– 

“Though the bathroom probably isn’t big enough if he gets too riled-up during that, admittedly,” Tim says to Bernard like he didn’t even notice Kon saying anything himself, and Kon immediately just wants to suck his fucking dick about it. Like, he has been spending a lot of time thinking about sucking Tim’s dick this weekend, yeah, but he is really thinking about it right now. Like–just something about how it feels to be sitting here with stuff Tim gave him to eat and drink–brought him to eat and drink, even, and picked out for him ‘cuz they were his favorites–and Tim’s hand in his hair and Tim looking at and talking to Bernard, but not him. 

Because, like–why would Tim need to talk to his boy if he didn’t feel like it? Kon’s not going anywhere no matter how much attention he does or doesn’t get. He doesn’t even wanna do that when he’s straight, for fuck’s sake; he already wants to hang out with Tim all the goddamn time as it is. So like, right now he definitely isn’t going anywhere. 

At least not ‘til Tim tells him to. 

“Like big enough for all three of us or big enough to actually play in?” Bernard asks. “Because I dunno about you, babe, but I believe in that Bat-ingenuity of yours. And, like, possibly the TTK, depending on whether or not any towel racks or shower bars or sinks or whatever might need reinforced for a minute or two in there.” 

“Might be more the shower wall that needs reinforced, but fair,” Tim muses consideringly. He scrapes his thumbnail in a little closer under Kon’s ear–a little tighter–and Kon definitely, definitely wants to suck his dick about this. Wants to do something for him without having to worry about being enough, for once, because he already knows Tim’ll tell him exactly how to be “enough” for him, and even if he still isn’t . . . well. Bernard’ll fix it, if he isn’t. 

So that’s a totally normal-dude thing to think about his best friend and said best friend’s boyfriend who he’s just met, for sure. Definitely, definitely normal-dude thoughts. 

Kon is way less concerned than usual with what the “normal” thing to do would be, though.

[lizardho]

The Halloween Story

As with most of my life stories, I have to clarify beforehand: Yes, this is real, and it is real because (and ONLY because) I am stupid. This is not something that happens to normal people because they wouldn't ever get close enough to a situation like this for it to happen. That being said, without estrogen my brain's "keep this idiot alive" switch was not turned on and I was, I think, biologically incapable of making good decisions.

Another thing to know is that I did not have a lot of friends as a kid because I'm terminally awkward; additionally, most of the friends I did have were maybe better described as "people who tolerated me but who I would take a bullet for." This is important for later.

Anyways, I was like 9 or 10 when this happened, and my littlest brother was like...5 or 6? This was his first Halloween where he was allowed to Trick-or-Treat past the end of our block, and he HAD to be accompanied by me or another older kid so he had begged me for DAYS to take him. And while I held the title of oldest brother, I feel like I put my whole pussy into being a good oldest brother, so I of course took the family's babiest of babies for his first ever trick-or-treat adventure!

I went dressed as Dartanian because I've been gay for a while, and he went dressed as a skeleton because he's adorable. We went trick-or-treating only in areas I knew, so mostly within the boundaries of our l'il Mormon ward, and we had fun. About a half-mile away from home, he started saying he was getting tired, so I told him we were gonna turn back and watch "Scary" movies, which was actually just two old VHS Scooby Doo episodes my mom let us watch because she only let us watch episodes where the monsters were fake because if they were real we'd get nightmares. So we start walking back. It's not too far and we know the way so it's going great. Littlest bro's first trick-or-treat adventure went swimmingly, we've got pillow cases full of candy, and we're about to watch scooby doo and eat skittles until we pass out. Life, for us, literally could not have been better.

BUT

As I walk around the corner of my old street, the far end of it, by a bush, I hear my best friend whisper-shout at me from a bush:

"Lizard, Lizard, stop, hide, quick!"

In most cases, my thoughts can be summarized by a humble: "Bwuh?" and in this case I'm pretty sure I said something like that out loud. I look into the bush, and I see it is JAM-FUCKING-PACKED with kids my age. Like 6 of them hiding behind this tall oleander bush shaking like they just saw a ghost. I wave to them, because I don't know what's going on, and tell them that Littlest Brother is tired so I'm going home. That's when one of them angrily grabbed me and littlest brother and tugged us into the oleander with them.

I think they thought we were hidden, but this was one shrub currently occupied by like 7 kids and despite how small we all were that was still more shrub-per-kid than the shrub could hide so me and littlest brother didn't actually fit. And I was squirming trying to get away because it was poky and scratchy and smelled bad and also I didn't know why I was being pulled into a shrub to begin with.

The ruckus of my squirming was freaking my friends out, who were all telling me to shut up and hide, and I was telling them I wasn't playing hide-n-seek and Littlest Brother was REALLY getting tuckered out so PLEASE let go so I can go home, when around the corner came three Big Kids on bikes.

These kids seemed HUGE and SCARY to me at the time, although realistically they were like in 8th grade and also dork-ass losers. They were on bikes with handlebar breaks, though, and they were wearing costumes ironically under hoodies, so they seemed scary at the time. They see me thrashing in a bush and correctly deduced that the kids they had been hunting down were in the bush too. This is when I learned that my friends were all scared because they'd been being hunted for sport by older boys. Like, actually, for real, we were being bullied on Halloween by kids who called us "dweebs" and shit, I cannot explain how that was actually happening in the early 2000s, that was a worn-out trope in the 80s, but it for real, actually, swearsy-realsies, happened to me.

They're bigger than us and have at least started puberty so they're a lot stronger than us. They fished us all out of the bush pretty easily and made us all line up. This was all happening on a well-lit suburban street in a Mostly Mormon neighborhood so again, I don't know how it all got this far, but it did.

Once we were lined up, they start quipping about our costumes and harassing us a little bit. Again, this is like STRAIGHT out of a shitty campy overdone 80s sitcom so I get that this sounds fake, but we were literally getting pushed around and called dweebs and nerds by some fuckass 8th graders who were all smoking a cigarette one of them stole from their mom. Finally they were getting bored so they told us that their terms to releasing us were that we give them our candy.

My friends, who are smart and wanted to be alive, immediately started grabbing fistfuls of candy from their buckets or bags to hand them. But I am stupid, and was trying to be a good older brother, and didn't understand the concept of mortality because HRT had not yet flipped that switch in my brain, and I saw littlest brother getting scared. His lips were trembling like he was about to cry, he was clinging onto me for dear life, and one of these kids comes over and is being all mean and calling him a baby (which he basically was, so like what even is the point?) and I got mad. So I took my prop rapier from it's sheath and started jabbing his ribs and head until he rips it out of my hand.

"Jesus Christ, you little faggot. I'm keeping this, you're not getting your sword back."

"K, fine, just leave my brother alone."

"I leave him alone if you give me ALL your candy."

He says it with this shit-eating grin, like he's got the upper hand. But I'm mad and suicidal in the same way a horse is suicidal, which is to say I don't care if I die as long as this fucker dies too, so I tell him if he wants my candy he can have it, and I wallop him with the candy sack. Hard. I put all 70 lbs of 9-year-old rage into that whump, and to my credit it caught him off guard. He steps back and rubs his face and the biggest kid in the group steps into his place.

"You wanna fight?" He's trying to act tough but he's also trying to square up with an unquestionably faggy 9-year-old Dartanian so it's tough. It's also a stupid, stupid question to ask, since I literally DID want to fight and he was just posturing.

So I hit him too. Again, all the rage my 9-year-old body possessed channeled into a pillow case filled with Dum Dums and skittles slaps into his face. I move to smack him again, because he's looking at me all incredulous like he doesn't think I'm serious. He tries to grab the bag but I kick his shin and he has to step back for a second because he was on his bike with only one leg on the ground and I had just kicked it so he was trying to keep balance. I took advantage of the momentary distraction and whapped him in the belly. That, I think, was the final straw for him, because he (seriously, yes, for real) took out an actual knife.

It was a real folding knife, I could hear the little mechanical click as he flicked the blade out and the locking mechanism secured it in place. He looks at me with murderous intent for like a tenth of a second before one of my other friends asks,

"Dude, are you serious?"

And it clicks that he just threatened someone with a real weapon. He takes a step back and tells me, trying to sound brave but now far enough out of his own comfort zone that he's starting to wonder what happened in his life to bring him here (which is dangerous, confused people do confusing shit).

But I'm horse-style suicidal and I honestly didn't think it was real, so I swing at him again. Full-body swing right for the face, and he slashes at the candy pouch and it tears. And I'm like "Oh shit, that's a real knife!" and he's like, "Oh shit, this kid is gonna beat me until I stab her or run!'' And that's when my Knight-in-Emo-Armor arrived!

The kid was like the archetypal "Bad Boy" of my childhood. He wore black hoodies to church and said "damn" instead of "dang" and "shit" instead of "shoot." He listened to metal music and told his grandma (who adopted him after his mom lost custody for drug use stuff) to shut up sometimes. He smoked. He was a moody goth/emo/scene/whatever enigma of rage from his shitty family life. He was also known for being actually real-life dangerous. The kid in front of me was contemplating stabbing me, but my Knight had actually broken someone's jaw in a fight before.

The whole time we were getting held up, he was just walking down the street listening to an honest-to-God MP3 player, stoned as all hell, angry at the world, and watching this all unfold. And he recognized a bunch of kids from church he barely gave a shit about, but then he recognized *me* and although he didn't know *me* super well, he fucking LOVED my dad because my dad was super nice to him at church, and he knew I was my dad's kid. And he knows the kids talking to us are bad news because he's friends with some of their friends and he knows they're all wannabe tough guys. And he makes a decision.

This guy, my knight, was tall, mean, scary, and crabby, and EVERYONE knew that, not just the Mormons in my life. And in all black, with black hair and black nail polish, he had remained almost perfectly hidden as he walked in the middle of the road on the tar-black Arizona asphalt until he suddenly emerged from the shadows right behind the kid with the knife.

"Bruh, what the fuck are you doing?"

This kid whips around and sees my knight and just blanches. Like, all-the-way white-as-a-sheet scared.

"Oh, Knight, h-h-hey, I didn't see you. You know these kids? We're just teasing them!"

"Hilarious joke, cocksucker. That's a real knife. Fuck off."

They almost left a cartoon dust cloud in the shape of their bodies as they left. My friend and "friends" from church all followed suit - Knightboy was BAD news with a capital B-A-D and they were probably more scared of him than the original trio. But I knew Knightboy because he teased me a lot in his last year elementary school and sometimes came over to talk with my dad so I knew he wasn't a bad kid. He bends down and picks up the plastic sword the first kid dropped and gives it back to me.

"This is yours, I think."

I took it, sheathed it, and said, "Thanks! You shouldn't swear."

"Man, I'm too stoned for this shit, just get out of here."

"Ok, thanks Knight! See you at church tomorrow!"

And I toddle off with Littlest Brother. I take him to some of the best houses on our street for a second round of trick-or-treating so he can calm down, and we go home. My mom puts Scooby Doo on and asks me how everything went - I tell her it was fine, it was fun. She said that Littlest Brother said something scary happened, and I said "Oh, I think he got spooked by Knight is all." And she just shrugged and walked off. By the end of the night, I honestly forgot it even happened. I was more invested in trying to figure out how to grow up to be like Velma and lining my skittles up by color so I fully did not even remember.

BUT.

My mom is friends with all the other moms at church - she has to be because she has a master's degree in a church that teaches that employed women are failing God and their families so she ended up as a high-achieving woman working as a stay-at-home mom and if she didn't make friends at church she would fully go insane.

And at church the next day, my mom is approached by a tiny pack of mothers all saying "Wow, Lizard is so brave, aren't you so proud of her?"

And because she's a Good Mom who Loves Me So Much, she says, "Yeah, totally, why do you ask?"

And they say, "Because she tried to fight off some muggers last night! She hit them with her candy bag!"

And my mom says, "Haha, Yeah, she's fierc-wait what in the fresh hell did you say?"

And they all tell her the story, and my mom is PISSED that I didn't mention, but she also knows I am capital-D Dumb, so she pulls me out of Sunday school and asks me,

"Lizard, baby, did you scare off some muggers last night?"

And I said, "Oh yeah, kinda! Knight was the one that actually scared them though."

And she says, "Lizard, baby, why did you not tell me?"

And I said, "Oh, I forgot."

And she just nodded and tried unsuccessfully to push my little "Alfalfa sprout" strand of hair down, and gave up, and then pushed me back into class. And later that day she made like 3 lbs of chocolate chip cookies and drove them all over to Knight's house to thank him. And basically ever since then I was in Knight-in-shining-armor's good books (although he wasn't very good at showing it for a bit), and I had an undeserved reputation among the kids in my church as a badass for like a year, which I felt pretty good about.

Anyways, the Halloween Story is so weird that sometimes I question my own memory of it, but I am telling it now based on my memory as best as I can recall and after fact-checking it with my mom a few times.

[parascials]

can u write for Shauna reaction to reader dying instead of Jackie and what she does pls

nonnie, you are sick... but it's okay because i'm sicker. not really sure how to do the 'and what she does' part because i don't quite understand what you mean. like, i just interpreted it as shauna and her ear-nibbling stuff with a side of her guilt. but yeah, hope this is good — even tho i am aware this isn't my best work — and thank you for being my first anon request!

warnings: major character death; reader. violence; human dissection mention, cannibalism

▸ almost dumb, honestly. that's how shauna feels when she wakes up, looks out the window, and sees that damn pile of snow. no, no, no, she thinks to herself, not like this. it's not her fault, right? you were just stubborn and refused to go back inside. it was your fault! but she couldn't convince herself, not enough. shauna rushes downstairs and whimpers when she opens the front door, the cold breeze hitting her face and making her cheeks rosen.

she paws at the snow, moves as much of it as she could. your face was dry, cold. she rubs at your cheeks, trying to warm you up again. if she was so easily able to take your life away, then she could surely give it back, yes? no, shauna, it's not your fault, she tells herself, insistent. that other, louder voice at the back of her head refused to let her believe it, though.

the rest come outside, groggy and sleepy, once they hear shauna's almost animalistic screams.

▸ a few days had passed and shauna used her butcher privileges to keep your rotting body in the 'meat shed'. she does your makeup ever so often — rosies your cheeks, glosses your lips — to make you seem more, well, alive. it makes her feel better when she's talking to your corpse.

her hallucinations don't bother her at first. she imagines you forgiving her, hugging her and telling her that it'll all be okay, that she was right. slowly, though, her guilt catches up to her and her perception of you warps into this hostile, vengeful thing.

it started accidentally, y'know? when shauna first sliced you open. she was just curious, that damn biology class. plus, you just kept teasing her. she's not dumb, she'll prove it. she knows where your cephalic vein is! the second she sees the flesh open, she pulls back and stops her incision. no, you're her bestfriend, she's not supposed to dissect you.

you'll be so upset next time you talk to her, having found out she was using you like some morbid science showcase for her own curiosity. that's what she tells herself, at least. shauna uses cloth from her own shirt to wrap a makeshift gauze, ribbon and all, around your wrist.

▸ her little obsession grew over the next few days. your varsity jacket kept you covered and shauna had tied your hair so your lack of ear doesn't show. she's been... modifying you a bit. she's so nice and gentle about it, too. you should be thankful your bestfriend is still so kind to you even when you're so mean and spiteful.

don't you get it? she didn't want you to die! you're making her want to cut your tongue off — oh, right, you're not real anymore. well, she justifies her anger by thinking real you would've also mocked her.

▸ i like to think shauna kept you to herself. didn't share with the group since she always made sure to properly cover the tracks of her little restoration project. whenever she misses you too much, she just takes a small slice of you — muscle, skin, and meat — to cook alongside her other food. makes her feel closer to you since you're a part of her now. literally. her bloodstream is full with your proteins.

it all started when you had been calling her names and shauna got so sick of it that she just did what she knows — she bit on your arm. like a chewtoy at first, angry, only for her to then impulsively pull back with her teeth and ended up swallowing it. a good addition to her menu. it keeps her stomach happy and it keeps you quiet.

▸ a little bonus detail would be shauna eating you during her pregnancy cravings because she wants you to father her child, not lottie and her psycho wilderness nonsense. it's the only control she can have over her baby right now, she thinks.

[knavestrolls]

Do you remember your favorite fan troll you’ve ever seen that wasn’t one of yours?

Okay so this is such a loaded question but not in a BAD way. I hope y'all are ready for some dropped names. I'm not going to ping anyone, I don't want to step on toes! LONG ASS POST. I AM NOT KIDDING.

Sid Cada @/lordtonic - I may be yellow colorblind but god damn I love sid. Enough that it makes me angry I know I can't see that damn suit right sometimes. I picked Sid as my favorite one day and my brain stuck to it so hard that while I do legitimately love every other troll there, Sid makes me light up like I've just see a lizard [which with Sid, sometimes those things both happen]

Thread @/sasster My favorite chase troll changes a LOT. Chase has INSANELY GOOD TROLLS AND FUN CHARACTERIZATION. Stryx was actually my first favorite troll of Chase's and how I found the sasster blog BUT. Thread is SO good. She's so fun and oh my god. Snakes,,, [WOMAN. also her one romance with the uhhh commander I think? The white suit with both arms on one side in her sprites.. sleepless brain is killing me rn- but oh my god it's SO fun to see them flirt.]

Mallum @/roetrolls Okay so. I know everyone would think I'd put Remora and they're NOT WRONG I STILL ADORE REMORA. But through the storylines I just fell HARD for Mallum. The redemption? The struggle? I literally can't hear "Main Character" by Wil Wood without imagining a whole animatic of Mallum to it! The only thing that stops me (besides time) from making it is I know I do NOT know enough to make it any form of accurate. [after coming back to proofread: also the fact that Roe is an amazing animator and my brain struggles with the 'well x could just do it'. Not the point brain!]

ALLMAH @/ase-trollplays Listen. Here on the knavestrolls we are villain enjoyers. And we are WOMEN enjoyers. And WE SUPPORT WOMEN'S WRONGS. WE WANT THEM TO DO MORE IN FACT. Allmah my beloved. Free her. She did all of it I just think she should be free to do more. [doubling down. Let Allmah commit new warcrimes. Let her invent them]

Veketi @/windy-trickster Mi mijo has so many good trolls that it's always hard to pick. But Veketi gets a soft spot for me because we made Veketi and Liegia together. Because I made Veketi's sprites and I want to remake them because I think they look god awful now but they still get USED when he's around. They still read like they're fun! Becase Star has an amazing way of making the sprites WORK with what the character is saying too. <33

Melanc @/ask-melanc-vivura I.. don't actually have a long explanation for this one. This is another BPD brain pick that's really silly. I drew her with her boobs mostly out and have just loved her ever since. I am weak to women I can pin up. [PIN UP ART. PIN UP ART.]

Galeia- @/videcoeur This is another one I don't have a good long explanation for just.. pretty fish. I'm love pretty robit fish. Plus, science and REALLY FUCKED UP science,, my beloved [Fun fact i am weak to every single Videcoeur character, OC or otherwise. And the moment she arts? I'm dead. One day I'll be able to afford sprites]

Arceel- @/memurfevur I'm pretty sure I spelt his name wrong and I do not care, he can fist fight me. Not the author, the troll. Papa Arceel! One of my favorite troll to interact with because I can go to that troll with some of the stupidest questions and get a legitimate answer. Sometimes, one I didn't even know I needed [Also I am SO sad upon realizing I don't have the stupid meme image of his head over Beast now.]

Rynthu- @/lashysdomain Again, pretty sure I spelt it wrong but she'll forgive me I think (the troll). Just all around a fun character. Has so many fun plots in so many fun ways/worlds! Her romance with Watch'r is adorable as hell, but I'm not obsessed with the Watch'r side, it's her side I follow. As if it's one of the many romance webtoon I cling to and she's the FL.

PELEXI- @/mageofspacemultiverse DRAGON. WOMAN. WE SUPPORT DRAGON WOMEN'S WRONGS. Especially when they're funny. Plus like listen. Listen. Have they actually dated? No. Have they even gotten past a SINGLE conversation? NO. But that's Esstoc's wife and I don't take excuses

Charon - @/asks-n-trolls If I could romance 1 old troll............also honestly I love a LOT of Dan's trolls. Each one has such a fun personality, cute quirks- and FLAWS!!! I LOVE FLAWS!!

Alacar- @/alacarhelsng I can type freely here, because I *know* that he will never read this so. Alacar is genuinely one of my favorite characters my husband has ever made. He's so genuinely fun to play off of as a character, to build around! His design is SO freaky and silly and fun! I forget his damn scar EVERY TIME! He's getting surprise gift sprites done and I had to go back and rewrite the notes to please include the scar and add more references because I had forgotten AGAIN. He's SO ODY coded but he's also so Achilles coded. He didn't want to fight in this damn war. He wanted to spend his days with his Patroclus (AND HIS PENELOPE). He wanted to laugh and joy! And now look what this journey has turned him into! What losing those people has turned him into! Ugh I could go on forever- and I will, if ever given the chance, because I know that my husband isn't around on here as often and isn't very known but god DAMN I need y'all to appreciate the fun builds he makes. (also Qimzal is my second favorite and depending on what song wins you might get some insight on why)

Chrona- @/8bit-mau5 Okay. So. This one is REALLY hard to narrow to one because I also adore Malice and Opal. Crow's getting it for the STUPIDEST of reasons though. I'm weak to pinstripe. All three characters are a genuine joy to have on my dash any time they appear I am over the moon! I want all three of them worse and better all at once!! Also I would not trust Crow to actually help me in a court of law. Should I? Maybe.

Nereus- @/nethertrolls The design? KILLER. The stories? Absolutely enthralled me. Also, Nereus just reminds me of the Outsider from Dishonored sometimes and I ADORE The Outsider. To the point where I do actually plan on getting his mark tattooed eventually! So just.. Genuine attachment regardless of any story changes I'm dedicated to Nereus

@/goddesstrolls For religious reasons, I can't post her name. Starts with an H. She's Bast's very buff beautiful rust woman. A huntress. A legend. An icon. I ADORE her. It KILLS ME that I can't interact with her because I can't say her name!! Plus I just get nervous because,, womyn,,

 Ailaxi- @/tempi-fantrolls Okay, so this is going to be very shameful of me and we're all just going to ignore it for a moment okay? I struggle to keep up with the dash, even when I had the free time and the mental health but the #1 troll I always managed to catch on my dash was Ailaxi from them. And oh my GOD I ADORE lil grouches! Especially SOFTIE GROUCHES. It has been a while since I've been able to keep up at any level so this is VERY much just vague memory but I see that gray man and I'm like yes. my boy he has returned.

Daiona- @/norts-trolls Nort is another person I struggle to pick favorites with but right now it is STRONGLY Daiona. This I don't have words for in the same way I don't have words for the profound loneliness that sneaks up on me that I can only explain via sending my husband pictures of abandoned, overgrown, half destroyed houses that look like no one's even urban explored them in at least a decade. Daiona fills that same feeling to me, I hope someone makes sense of that.

Voghel- @/happyhappyfantrolls I have said it once, I will say it again, we are VILLAIN LOVERS here at Knavestroll! Voghel was one I locked onto early and have not let go! I try to go keep up with events and comics on this blog when possible because so many characters have fun interactions, deep relationships, and there's familial bonds that get to me...but also I want to see Voghel.

Babble- @/wandering-trolls I NEVER leave behind an EDM girlie. Just look at her. Look at her and tell me you can't love her I'll fist fight you

Mikael - @/mik-mania I just think Mikael is neat. That's it. thats the whole thought

Rhulan- @/morgombie It was love at first sight. If I remember right, I think I even got to draw her once! Not 100% on that thought, please remember I do have memory problems. but anyways! THE DESIGN FUCKS SEVERELY. SO GOD DAMN STRONGLY.

Malara- @/ask-swagger-dagger-trolls I was blessed with getting to know the story behind Malara's design and it stuck with me. Some days I think about doing something similar but honestly, Malara fills that need for me. She's like a silent presence with me sometimes. Filling in where that friend would have. Now, Tam has some amazing other trolls I love for lots of insanely silly reasons but..Malara stuck with me the most, for that reason.

Wicata- @/goldenguillotines So. I have to be honest, GG has a lot of trolls and I love so many of them that with my memory issues some of them bleed together. I did have to go look up her name, but this is a design that sticks with me. When I think of GG, this is the design that comes to mind because to me. I would see her on my dash endlessly and every time I saw her I'd stop scrolling because I had discovered another neat little detail in her sprites, in the art of her, in her design! GG has so many amazing designs and characters so please don't take this as a 'this is all there is' it's just what stuck with my broken brain.

HeeHoo - @/trollbreak JONAH. One of the platonic loves of my life is literally all of Jonah's clowns, and I am the EXTREMELY proud owner of a clown designed by Jonah! (As well as a mimic dragon amongst other designs) But I can firmly say my Jonah-clown obsession started with Heehoo. He's just a little guy! He would never do a murder, it'd dirty his pom poms! Just a lil guy who does a lil dance and stands in your hands and when he leaves and you look down there's rainbow footprints on your palm! Just OUGH Peak Clown for me. Peak clown design for me too. The mustache fucking kills me

Now, this is not NEARLY all of them. I could go on for ages but I've been told by three separate people to go try sleep again because I've hit the 27 hour mark but. Here is a small handfull of favorite trolls and thoughts about them!

[elderscrollsconceptart]

i've said this before but: i, personally, am *not* looking forward to any TES remake made in Unreal. i think it handles certain physics and lighting aspects much, much worse than Havok, the engine that original Oblivion uses [and technically also Skyrim, though heavily modified by that point]. i think UE5 is likely to kill a lot of the charm and unique feel of Oblivion, and i'm a lot more hopeful about things like Skyblivion. i've never loved an RPG made in Unreal, and Oblivion is one of my favorite games of all time partially because of the versatility of Havok. obviously i could be wrong, and honestly i hope so! but given bethesda's track record [and microsoft in general, which is their parent company], i think it's likely to be a lot... flatter than the OG.

So Ive been thinking about this constantly for the past few months. It's definitely possible the remake won't match the "vibe" of OG Oblivion. That concerns but as well. Half of Oblivion's charm is how janky and lowkey..bad? It is 😭 Thats not a knock btw! Games and genres often become DEFINED by their flaws despite their positives! Skyrim is awesome but id bet one of the first things the average gamer remembers about Skyrim is the ridiculous "giants hit you so hard you fly into space" bug. For Oblivion it's the absurb (and endlessly memed) behavior of it's NPCs.

I wouldn't be shocked if the outsourcing studio drops the ball as Oblivion is a huge and clunky game to begin with. Even a remaster would be hard to do. That said, all negativity/optimism we can have at this point is wholly based on leaks and assumptions so it's fair to reserve final opinions until we actually get a real look at the remake if/when it releases.

I will be honest and say I'm personally cautiously optimistic about the remake since as charming as the OG is, it's a technical and unoptimzed mess beyond the memes and charm of silly physics glitches. I love OG Oblivion! I also want to be able to play it without having to do a bunch of mods to (try!) to make it work on my PC.

IMO literally all the remake/remaster would need to do is improve things like draw distance, get rid of the absurd CPU restrictions the OG has, and make Oblivion run stable on modern hardware.

I've talked about it before but id very happily accept a 1 to 1 port of Oblivion for modern hardware if all they did was ensure the game ran smoothly. I've genuinely only been able to have a single full playthrough of Oblivion, and that was on the xbox 360. He'll I'd take a Switch port of Oblivion if it was in HD at least. I just want a stable game experience that doesn't require me to have an old dual core CPU or try a bunch of janky 12 year old INI tweaks and memory patches.

I've tried probably half a dozen times to get the game working on PC with the necessary performance patches/stability fix mods and I *still* can't get the fixes to last thru an entire playthru before some stability issue major quest bug forces me to quit.

Morrowind has OpenMorrowind which makes the game fully stable and playable on modern hardware (like my phone!) Daggerfall has Daggerfall Unity which has innumerable improvements and also allows the game to be played on modern hardware with little issues. Skyrim has been ported to everything except apple smart watches and is playable basically everywhere with only moderate stability issues.

Oblivion is the *only* semi-modern mainline TES game that is super jank out the box and doesn't have some "fixed" version that allows it to be playable and stable on modern hardware. If something like OpenOblivion existed, an official remake/remaster wouldn't be necessary

I will reiterate the super frustrating CPU restrictions the PC version has unless you use mods to circumvent them. Game literally will start crashing on you if you have a multi core CPU. Old games tend to have technical problems like this, but given almost every other mainline TES game has a safe and stable version that exists for modern hardware, its not fair that Oblivion gets ignored in this matter. We deserve a permanent and officially fixed version of Oblivion, be it a remake or a remaster. We shouldn't just rely on mods and fan projects to fix old TES games.

Daggerfall is another good comparison since yes, by remaking Daggerfall in Unity you DO lose some of the original game's charm, but you also gain a shitload of stability and graphical improvements which make the game accessible to modern gamers.

In lieu of a fanmade Oblivion project in the vein of OpenMorrowind/DaggerfallUnity, Oblivion NEEDS a remaster or remake to make it accessible on modern hardware. Skyblivion is cool! But it still looks like Skyrim with different architecture. That's not a knock on that project, it's just true since it's literally the Skyrim engine. In the same way Morrowblivion looked like Oblivion despite being a "remake" of Morrowind into Oblivion's engine. Skyblivion is a FULL remake of Oblivion (with some changes from what I understand) but we still deserve an official Oblivion remake/remaster.

Skyblivion doesn't negate an Oblivion remake and an Oblivion remake doesn't negate Skyblivion. If anything they compliment each other since they each would be doing things the other isnt/cannot do.

An Oblivion remake/remaster might suck (or it might be great!), but regardless of our feelings on the matter, its simply true that the OG grows less and less accessible the further we get from it's release 19 years ago...We deserve to be able to play Oblivion on modern machines. I hope the remake allows us to do that (and that it comes out to begin with lol)

Peace out yall ✌️

[ofeliaxoxo]

https://www.tumblr.com/alexturntable/779101139381731328/you-woke-up-not-too-long?source=share

idk if you are overthinking this moment like i am but it's sooo interesting to me because yes it's a casual innocuous comment - charles saying "you woke up not too long ago" - but to ME (because my brain works in insane ways against my will) this was charles being like "i know you well enough to recognize the fact that you woke up recently i can tell from your body language. i know what you look like when you've only been awake for a little while" except then. well he was Wrong. carlos was like akshually i'veeee been up since 7:30… and charles was like well! (idk charlie maybe the solution here is for you to spend more mornings with carlos… however that would occur……… so you can more accurately recognize what he looks like soon after waking up in the future…………………)

anyway they were giggly and it was still a cute interaction (even though charles was wrong lolllll) but unfortunately my brain goes haywire over even the smallest of their giggly and cute interactions so. here we are. any thoughts/agreements/disagreements you have are welcome… <3 !

well first of all thank you anon for your thoughts!! i opened your ask like the sickos guy just yes...YES! literally being so serious when i say i want this blog to be my rpf seminar. we're having discussions ok were analysing the primary sources.

and second of all i also kind of feel this way about this very small interaction lol. like YEAH maybe theyre not thinking anything of it but thats what im here for. to me this is charles going ha ha ha! you look sleepy lol i got u! because he wants to say somethingggg he wants to have a funny jokey lil interaction togetherrr. to ME its a thing of. he doesnt actually care what he says it could be lol sky's pretty blue rn. theyre always teasing each other so he just wants to have a brief lil laugh:)

and when carlos goes uh actually i got up early as Fuck thanks #riseandgrind he is delighted hes like el em ay oh FUCK thats so earlyyyy waow! (btw im so amused at how he apparently gets up at like 10. and also doesnt drink coffee. babygirl whats going on.)

and carlos is just like haha i got up at 7:30 i will tell you since you asked. when did you get up:) and its clear charles dgaf about when he got up he just wanted to go heeheehee you look so sleepyyy

moment rating: yay so cute and overthinkable. im right there with u

[luvnetta]

꧁𝐂𝐚𝐧’𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 (𝐩𝐭.𝟏)꧂

༺Councilor!Sevika x piltie!reader༻

𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: SFW, Fluff, men DNI, arranged marriage, reader is in her early 20s, shitty parents

𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: Your parents are mad at you for being a lesbian- and to punish you, they want you to marry Sevika. At first you’re intimidated by her, but that’s going to change pretty quick.

𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬: 580

You couldn’t believe it. Sure, it’s probably hard for your mother and father, having to accept the fact that you will never fall in love with a man, give them grandchildren and live the life they always wanted you to- But an arranged marriage as a punishment? That’s fucked.

The woman your parents want you to marry is one of the newer councilors, Sevika. She represents Zaun and is just as scary as the big, dark city beneath Piltover- At least you thought so. Her big, muscular figure, the sharp claws on her prosthetic arm, her gray, cold eyes and her deep voice were intimidating. While you wore one of your prettiest dresses, a bunch of jewelry and your hair tied together in an elegant bun, she looked like every other day, bored and dressed like a man.

Together, you walked through the pretty gardens behind your house, not daring to look at or talk to her. Maybe somehow you could find a way out of this situation, tell her that you’re not feeling well or-

“This is stupid.” she mumbled inaudible, interrupting your escape plans.

“Excuse me, what did you say?” you asked, looking up at her.

“I said that this whole marriage thing is a dumb idea. It’s never not when it’s forced.”

“I’m sorry if I seem.. uninterested..” you looked down at your hands, fumbling your fingers nervously.

“It’s alright, I don’t blame you.” she says, chuckling a little. “I can tell your parents that the deal’s off the table.” she offered, smiling at you.

Looking at her, you noticed that, with a smile on her face, she didn’t seem so scary anymore- she actually looked quite.. cute. And as much as you would’ve liked to tell her to do that, something held you back.

“Still there?” she asked you, waking you from your thoughts. “I won’t be mad at you, can’t force love.”

You both stopped walking, standing in front of each other.

“Please, don’t. I think my parents would simply arrange another marriage with someone even worse.”

You didn’t really realized what you said before you saw that Sevika raised her eyebrow at your words, her smile fading.

“God.. I’m so sorry, I really didn’t mean it like that.. I’m such an idiot!..” you cursed, ashamed of yourself for being so rude.

“Don’t worry, it’s fine.” she said, reaching out to cup your face with her big palm, making you look into her eyes. You blushed a little, feeling her warmth against your skin, her touch surprisingly gentle.

“Actually.. I would like to get to know you better, Sevika, if you’re still.. interested of course.” you gave her a little smile, studying her facial expressions, relieved when you notice that she smiled back- not breaking eye contact.

“I am.” she answered, tracing her thumb over your cheek. “How about we meet again next week?”

“Sounds lovely.”

You both walked back through the gardens to your home, talking about what you’re going to do on your next date and chuckling like two stupid teenagers in love.

𝐀/𝐧: Hello there!🫶🏼 This is my first time writing:)). I kind of wrote this in a little rush too, but I hope it turned out alright anyway. This is obv only part one, I have way more in mind for this story!♥️ (sex✨)

+I am way too used to german grammar, so don’t be surprised if there are too many/not enough commas, they’re literally my biggest weakness..😭

Thanks for reading!<33

[owlstro]

Thank you for the great stuff you been posting so far.

2. tw astro x gn reader? We couldn't escape in time and now we gotta deal with the guy, fluff or angst I am alr with either :b.

3. I think you forgot to tag the shrimpo one?

TWISTED ASTRO X GN READER , fluff

note: 1. UR WELCOME!! im glad thst people have been enjoying my works!! havent seen alot of dw x reader soo i decided to take matters into my own hands!

2. i decided fluff since im better at writing it!! Altho the entire thing isn't very long so my bad lolsies..

3. OOPS!! i was pretty tired when i made that one, ill be sure to fix it, thank you for letting me know!

art: @ samwichtheunforgettable on Pinterest

Well this is a doozy, despite all the adrenaline you felt you couldn't get close enough to make it into the elevator. You were understandably freaking out and panicking.

Once you sorta calm down to actually think logically, you decide to hide. You don't know what to do, all you can do is just hide and hope no Twisted finds you.

Well, technically those hopes DID work, all of the Twisteds wandered the area like zombies, except one. Of course, you were gonna die eventually.

Although after some chasing and hiding, the Twisted kept following you, even almost slowing down when you ran out of stamina.

You were quite confused about why they didn't hurt you when you slipped and fell over.

Till you noticed who was chasing you, or well.. more accurately, following you. It was Astro, Twisted Astro.

You didn't know what he wanted, but it definitely wasn't something malicious. He looked lonely, sad even.

You stared at him, he stared at you. It was awkward for the two of you to say the least.

You suppose, if you're gonna find out how to communicate with him.. It would preferably be somewhere safe than a random hallway.

You lead him to the hiding spot he first found you in. Still feeling uneasy about a literal Twisted following you and the fact you haven't died yet is a miracle.

Astro looked at you curiously, wondering what you'll do next. You were just observing his body language. His arms and legs twitched quite often, most likely due to an absurd amount of Ichor he had to.. consume?

You tried communicating with him with words, while he could vaguely understand, it wasn't all too helpful.

You tried conveying your thoughts and MANY questions, on why he isn't attacking you like the others are, through body language but it seemed it confused him more. Man, being a Twisted sucks.

You tried all sorts of things, all of them ending up him confused or the both of you confused by what you were doing.

You just sighed and sat down, never-mind all of this.. How are you gonna return to the group? This is a mess.

Your eyes hovered over every small or big object you could see in your sight, not really making a single coherent thought.

You knew Astro was still there with you, probably staring but you didn't pay too much attention. You DID appreciate his presence, because Astro always gave off that calming aura of his.

But you didn't know how to feel about his corrupted.. or well, 'Twisted' version of him.

You could hear him shuffle a little closer to you as your thoughts spiraled into madness.

Then, his nightcap (that weirdly acted like it had a mind of its own.) wrapped around your torso.

Oh, well this brought you out of... whatever your brain was on.

You heard him mutter something or at least you saw him try to say something, due to all of the Ichor he consumes.

"It's fine, you don't need to speak." You eventually say, not wanting to make his throat hoarse. Seriously it must hurt drinking the Ichor.

Twisted Astro weakly nods, seemingly figuring out whether or not to lean on you or wait for you to lean on him.

You answer his thoughts by leaning on Astro. Your head on his shoulders.

"These circumstances aren't ideal, no far from it, but at least you're here." You say, almost feeling sleepy but your anxiety about the other Twisteds forced you to wake up.

final note: SORRY IF THIS IS MESSY. i couldnt think of many headcanons for him MY BAD GANGG. i might edit this but yea.. sorry this took so long! school had me swamped, HOPE U STILL ENNJOYED UR REQUEST!!!!!!

[dalishthunder]

WIP Wednesday

I tag quite literally every single person who reads this.

A short huff escaped your nose, smacking his hand away with your chopsticks as he reached for another, “They’re not done yet.”

“So?”

You scrunched up your face for half a second, taking your eyes off him to make sure the dumplings didn’t stick together as they cooked, “Patience is a virtue. It will taste better if you wait.”

He rolled his eyes, licking the residue off his fingers. You were right of course, dango tasted much better with red bean paste, so he waited, watching you.

Your own cursed energy swirled and eddied in agitation… you always seemed to get so restless when he watched you work, though doubly so when you ate. Which he supposed was unsurprising… humans had such a stigma around eating. Especially among the noble and imperial courts, it was bizarre. Eating was the most enjoyable activity one could partake in, beyond even sex, though sleep was likely a close second.

Eating, then sleeping, then fighting, then sex.

Eating and fighting often went hand in hand though so perhaps more rumination on the proper order of that list was needed.

At least you had stopped that vexing coquettish picking at your food before eating it. You still had a tendency to eat slowly, but you no longer shied away from eating in front of him despite the frustration of being watched. It had been many years since he’d actually spent any amount of time with another person without devouring them… the woman who had spawned him had been the last.

Though he had devoured her too once she had outlived her usefulness. Her and that infernal shaman.

“You didn’t answer my question,” Your voice roused him from his thoughts.

“Which one?”

“Is there something you need?” You repeated.

He just blinked, “I didn’t answer because it was a dumb question.”

Narrow eyes just stared at him before there was a flicker of understanding and a grimace; He came whenever he smelled food. A sigh escaped your lips, “I suppose I should have expected as much.”

You fished out the dumplings, skewering them and slathering them with bean paste before handing them to him, keeping three for yourself. He stared between you and the dumplings.

“What? You wouldn’t deny a humble monk their alms, now would you, Lord Sukuna.” Sarcasm dripped from his name as it passed your lips, and before he could say anything, you ate one. They looked comically large in your hands… just as everything did. Or perhaps he’d simply gotten used to how small everything looked in his own.

“Now, now, Crane, you know very well I would deny a monk their alms.” He purred, leaning over, finger dipping under your chin. “But you were making these all for yourself… monks aren’t supposed to be selfish.”

“I was going to bring them to you whether you sought me out or not,” You replied, grip tight on the skewer.

“I didn’t ask you to make such an elaborate snack.”

Once more, your eyes narrowed at him before you blinked, face settling on mock subdual, “I thought perhaps you would enjoy it, but if you truly doubt my selfless intentions, by all means,” Slowly, you pulled a dumpling from the skewer, pressing it to his lower lips.

He had meant it to tease, dango were little more than marbles to him. All three would have been one singular bite. Bothering you was just fun. But if you were going to be selfless….

“Who am I to deny such an offering?” His eyes locked with you, lips parted, your fingers slipping past the muscle and teeth. It would be so easy, so satisfying, to bite down, feel the crunch of bones and the tang of iron. But he refrained, tongue sliding over and between your digits, savoring the salt of your skin as he accepted the proffered treat.

Your fingers lingered for a moment, eyes calculating and curious.

Sometimes on limbo between sleep and consciousness he could still feel the prick and drag of needle and thread even after so many years.

Any moment, you would grab hold of his tongue and use your technique.

How many had tried to cut it out now?

He would bite off your hand in retribution of course, no matter how delicious the sting.

Could he stop himself from devouring you completely when that happened?

He could, but he probably wouldn’t.

But the searing pain never came, your thumb rubbing along his taste buds. The agitation was gone now, your energy evened out. It still carried the heat of his own… but smoother as it circulated through your body. Your every touch drew from his well of cursed energy, and that pull from your hand inside his gut, where cursed energy boiled hottest….

A soft, low moan escaped his lips, lower eyes fluttering, and quick as a flash, you ate the last dango on your skewer.

He’d had half a mind to push you down and have you on the kitchen floor, but his dango were singing to him so he tucked into them instead. They were quite good; Chewy, sweet, and a bit nutty from the bean paste… but they tasted better with the salt of your skin. He left two, dropping them unceremoniously in front of you.

“Alms for a well-behaved monk.”

[tophat-69]

OHHH my god ty SO much for updating, I've only just gotten around to TSF (I've been Saving it because it looked so good) and OUGHH chapter 5 JUST when I started it??? I feel so TREATED

You've taken "the children yearn for the mines" to a whole new height ;-;

I’m so glad you started TSF, and I’m so happy that you liked it!

Chapter 5 got long, mostly because Vander and Silco almost demand to be domestic coparenting teen dads before they’re even actually dating. I couldn’t shake the image of nineteen year old Silco immediately going “I have only had Felicia for a day and a half, but if anything ever happened to her I would kill everyone in this room and then myself.”

(This poor man. He has no idea that he was destined to be both a girl dad and an absolute pushover for a daughter. Felicia is training him well for Jinx’s future benefit.)

And I KNOW that the children yearning for the mines is a meme but now I get to be a nerd in replies so BEFORE I do that thank you so so much for reading and for letting me know you enjoyed!

…

…because now I am going to jump into child labor laws in the 1830s.

Why? Because I am a nerd and a simple meme joke gave me an opening and that’s all I need to infodump! This is the magic of ✨neurodivergence✨ because any random combination of words threatens to send my brain careening in a different direction.

I’m going to preface this by saying that for this story I’ve been doing entirely too much research on early 1800s coal mining (ex: my use of Geordie Lamps because a canary wouldn’t survive Zaun’s polluted air, let alone the air their mines). But I’ve also been brushing up relevant factors in the Industrial Revolution and to an extent the Victorian era… because Zaun is heavily influenced by the Steam Punk genre which is heavily influenced by those historical timeframes. Zaun is written to show the seedy underbelly of that genre, the parts of it that a more romanticized view like Piltover glosses over.

So this gilded fantastical realm is inspired by an era where 50% of the workforce was made up of children. Children with parents started work between the ages of 9 and 14. Orphans were put to work as young as 4. They were considered cheaper, easier to manage, and families had been putting kids to works on their farms and domestic workshops and homes already so the justification was right there for them. Families in poverty often have their kids enter the workplace as soon as they’re legally able, because that’s often the only way they can support themselves. And the Sumps prior to the Lanes were the literal depths of poverty, and even after they still aren’t exactly rolling in wealth.

Silco started as a trapper in the mines at 10 and that’s a pretty common role to shove kids into, and a would be a not-uncommon starting age. Basically he’d be crammed in the dark for 12 hours at a time opening and closing a trap door for coal tubs and fresh air. Even during his time at the mines, though, Zaun was undergoing the technological advancements that both Zaun and Piltover are famous for, and he’s a smart kid and basically became the one learning each new advancement they brought in at every chance so he could make himself indispensable. Which is how he ended up a blaster so young.

He doesn’t have an inherently negative view of child labor. He was a kid, he did a job, he got paid, he got out of the orphanage, and it wasn’t uncommon or unusual. Before Vander and Silco’s work for the Lanes, it’s pretty clear from Silco’s later rants in-show that there weren’t exactly unions around pushing for improved conditions, either.

The change from “child labor for all!” to strict child labor laws took a century. Arguably longer. They slowly went “eh, maybe not four year olds. Let’s start at nine” and then the Factory Act of 1833 said “okay but let’s be reasonable 9-12 year olds can ONLY work 8 hours a day, and 13-17 year olds can ONLY work 12 hours a day.” And on and on from there, these incremental little steps, often pushed by labor unions.

So, in the actual realm of Arcane we see all these children working in the factories and it’s horrific—because it is and was and will always be—but it’s also commentary on the sort of thing a rosy look at history glosses right over when it comes to people who lived in poverty, instead of the fantasy “topside.”

Silco’s like “yeah, started at the mines at 10, been here ever since” and it just is what it is. Commonplace. Vander’s family had a business so he’s worked just as long but was better protected, and he didn’t start in the real workforce outside of the Drop until years later, because the bar couldn’t support itself.

So Silco and Vander have subtle but significant difference of viewpoints. And Piltover never had to confront that reality at all, until Jayce is in the factory.

…Anyway, side rant done! I have a ton of research and parallels and symbolism and just layers of useless nonsense I’ve written into this story and around this story, and it’s generally going to waste in my head so it jumped right out.

I hope that didn’t scare you off, and that you continue to stick around and enjoy the story!