#i'm excited to see where this story takes us

[dodgeballstuckonthegymceiling]

Huge thanks to hattiemagix for commissioning this!

Doey & motherly fem reader

★ When Doey first met the reader, he was immediately wary of her. Her kind nature was unfamiliar and he couldn't tell if it was an act or not, it made him suspicious. Even though he liked it when you were around he tried to keep his distance. Can you really blame him? He’s met a lot of people who’ve pretended to be nice, only for them to end up hurting him. 

★ Doey tested the reader's boundaries to see if her kindness was genuine. Slowly challenging her patience. "Let's see how long she can keep this up," he thought, observing her reactions closely. Shurely she would slip and show her true colors. 

★ Even though it was a tad annoying, you were still patient with him. You never raised your voice or showed anger, even when he was acting difficult. Whether it was explaining something for the hundredth time or dealing with his defensive attitude, you remained steadfast in your kindness. 

★ He started to realize that the reader genuinely cared for his well-being. Something he’s not at all used to. Doey never expected to meet someone, an ex-employee no less, who would try so hard to make him feel safe. He misses having someone to look after him, it's been so long, he almost forgot what it's like to be cared for. 

★ After that he quickly got used to you, your presence became a comfort. As the days in the factory slowly passed he grew even closer to you. Soon enough he started seeing you as an adoptive mother. But he decided to keep that to himself, for now at least, he wouldn't want to make you feel uncomfortable.  

★ If anything were to happen to you, he would be devastated. If you need to leave the Safe Haven, Doey becomes visibly anxious. He begins clinging to you, reluctant to let you go. He asks you to make a promise to stay safe and be careful. The thought of losing you fills him with dread."Promise me you'll be careful, okay? I need to know you'll come back safe” 

★ After defeating the Doctor and the Prototype you bring him, and many of the other toys, home with you. Because of course you had to bring Kissy, Poppy and those who called the Safe Haven home out of the factory where they were starving. 

★ Doey feels a mix of emotions—relief, uncertainty, and a bit of excitement—as he steps into the reader's home "This is... home?" he asks, looking at the various objects you have hung up and strewn about. “Of course” you declare, looking at him as he turns his head. Doey’s expression unreadable, “that is, If you want it to be.” you quickly add. 

★ And of course he stays with you! Where else would he go? He's so attached to you he couldn't imagine living anywhere else. By this point, it was clear as day that he needed you around. The way he beams when you compliment him or how he always lingers by you gave it away.

★ After spending the past 10 years in the abandoned shell of a factory, Doey is very eager to make up for lost time. He's really excited to try something new. You take the opportunity to teach him various domestic skills. His new favorite thing is baking with you!

★ He still has nightmares about the factory. When Doey wakes up from a nightmare he's immediately disoriented and filled with fear, the trauma of the factory still lingering in his mind. His breathing is heavy and a sense of panic is overwhelming him. His panicked cries always wake you up.  

★ You’re quick to comfort him, rushing to his side and hugging him close "It was just a bad dream. You're okay, and nothing can hurt you here." your gentle touch helped to ground him, "It's okay, Doey. I'm here. You're safe now." it's working, because now his cries have dissolved into a quieter whimper.

★ To help Doey calm down, the reader reaches for his favorite book, "The Adventures of Word Wizard." She knows how much the story means to him and starts reading aloud, her voice steady and comforting. As she continues, doey feels his eyelids grow heavy. 

★ Just before he falls asleep, Doey murmurs softly, "Goodnight, Mom." The reader smiles softly, her heart melting from Doey's words. For the rest of the night, he sleeps soundly, knowing he's safe and cared for.

[theyellowhedgehog]

The Coven

Here is a little backstory for the Coven.

Cass' backstory:

A baby girl was born in the 1600s, in a small little village. Due to her mother being very beautiful and educated, people accused of her mother being a witch. The baby was left behind that night after her birth. The father, fearing his daughter would became a witch, he didn't teach her to write nor speech nor basic communication. To the point where her father doesn't even name her.

At the age of 16, the mute little girl met a man whom responded to her and talked to her. The man was the first vampire progenitor, Bruce, he went with no last name. Bruce taught her language and retold her the stories from his magical long and immortal life. The little girl excited over her new found chance to learn, she soaked up everything Bruce taught her like a sponge.

When the girl turned 18, she wished for Bruce to gave her a name, and Bruce agreed, went out to search for a name worthy of the girl. That night, her father saw that words his daughter had written, he was furious and afraid.

Bruce made it back too late to see his little girl already burning on the stake. Her flesh were melting and one of her eyes already bursted, when her last fleeing sight caught Bruce, she felt as if she was given new found hope and strength. The fire burnt away the thick ropes as she step down from the stake. Taking a burning stick in her hand, she ran. The village was burnt down that very night.

Maybe it was Karma, none of the villager lived. Excepted for the little girl holding on to her last breath. Bruce knelt down and hesitantly kissed her unrecognisable forehead, with a slit to his finger, the vampire fed his blood to his daughter.

That night, Cassandra was reborn. Her burnt healed and she remained 18 forever. The nameless little girl was never given a chance to see her future or knowledge. Now, Cassandra had all the time she want to pursue her future and knowledge. This nameless little girl is now unstoppable, her name will be written down along with her father's in history as a force unshakable and unreckonable. She is now times infinite better than those who had shunned her.

Cass became the first blood brood of Bruce's coven.

Tim's backstory:

late 1800s

Bruce and Cassandra had been travelling when they decided to settle on a ground before Gotham was built. When the city was uncivilised and dense with trees and vegetations.

That's when Bruce pick up a wolf pup, only a few days old, his home was destroyed by the Holy Crusaders. Cass bonded with the wolf pup and named him Tim. Tim is very loyal to Cass and Bruce. (I stated that Tim was a werewolf before but Tim was originally a wolf, an animal so, I'm not sure if that's the right term but we'll stick with that.)

When Tim was just 5 week old, Cass gave him a special collar that allows him to transformed him into a human. Tim, who love spending time with his older sister was eager to talk and act just like her. And Cass patiently taught her younger brother the human language and how to use cutlery. An animal that use different part of his throat will never sound the same as a human. Tim's speech is always low pitched and restrained. But his big sister always understood him. He never got a hold of using the fork and knife and always ended up eating with his hands and teeth. His big sister just smiled and told him to have a good meal.

By the time Tim was 7 months old, he started to go out into the woods alone and when he came back he always brought his kills to his leader, Bruce, first. Bruce was to say, disgusted at the rodent, cockroach and bugs Tim always came back to show him. When Bruce didn't accept his first kills, he took them to his big sister, which she just smiled and pretend to eat them.

The small kills started to grow to bigger targets as he aged. But a lone wolf hunting can only hunt on easy prey likes squirrels, and hares.

When Dick and Jason joined the Coven,Tim didn't really get along with them. One thing that was always on his mind was that, his pack is growing bigger and his leader doesn't even know how to hunt to feed them properly. So, Tim started trying to hunt bigger prey to feed is grower pack. Hunting is a strategic pack play, and him alone did not have the ability to bring enough back to the table for his pack, so he started staying out late in the woods.

Cassandra was the first to notice the strange behaviour of her little brother. And when asked and Tim communicated his difficulty to hunt bigger game to feed the pack, Cassandra sniffle her chuckle. She didn't told him to stop because they only drink blood. No, she accompany Tim on his hunt. Tim's first pack hunt. It became a tradition for the two of them.

That night they came back with the biggest elk. The skull and the antlers were hang in the living room as Tim's achievement by Cassandra.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Extra:

Tim's little wolf brain couldn't comprehend it when Jason told him that they don't really feed on meat to stay full. Cassandra whacked her newly turned brother in the head, "We are his pack. We hunt with him."

Jason tsked, "He's a domesticated wolf!"

WACK

"Be kind, Tim is our brother."

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Cassandra spoils Tim too much, lol

Bruce is the dad who is in denial of accepting Tim as a son

PART 1, PART 2, PART 3, PART 4

[maretinelli]

MY EMERGENCY CONTACT

Ollie Bearman X fem!reader

Summary: When Ollie is his girlfriend's emergency contact, but it seems like he's the one who needs an emergency contact.

Words: 4.0K+

Warnings: Funny, awkward couple (Ollie), mentions of lizards hahaha mention of explicit kissing, mention of Y/n's siblings, and injury. But the overall context is funny

Author: English is not my first language, so apologies for any spelling, grammar and slang mistakes that may be in the story. Based on that Tik Tok trend "my emergency contact" and the person appears doing the silliest thing in the world hahaha So I put some together and made several situations for the story.

MASTERLIST

The snow fell softly around them, creating a perfect backdrop for the disastrous adventure they were about to have. Ollie and Y/n walked hand in hand up the mountain, wearing thick winter clothes, goggles, and gloves to protect themselves from the cold. In their hands, they held their ski equipment, even though they had no idea how to actually use it.

"I don't see the need for any classes for this." Ollie said, with a tone of exaggerated confidence. "Just slide it down and you're done!"

Y/n let out an amused laugh, squeezing his hand. "Oh, sure, because it's that simple. I can already see you going down this mountain like a runaway doll."

"Exactly!" He smiled, clearly not getting the irony.

When they reached the top, Y/n headed towards the smaller track, but when she noticed that Ollie had stopped on the main one, she turned to him.

"Ollie, come on!" She called, adjusting her glasses.

"But this one looks more exciting!" He pointed to the larger track.

"Yeah, exciting for the audience who's going to see you go down that thing face first into the snow." She laughed a little. "Let's start on the smallest one, because in case you forgot, we don't know how to ski."

Ollie sighed, but relented, following behind her. "Okay, okay... But if I find out I'm a natural and wasted my time here, it's your fault!"

The smaller slope had a gentle slope and several children skiing with the help of their parents. Ollie watched the scene and smiled.

"Cool, let's learn to ski with five-year-olds." He joked.

"Yes, because at least they are humble enough to accept help." Y/n laughed, placing the equipment on the floor and starting to put it on.

Ollie did the same, trying to look confident but clearly still not understanding how it all worked. They were talking excitedly about the 'technique' they would use, but as soon as he put the skis on his feet, he began to slide slightly backwards.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Ollie exclaimed, waving his arms as if he were trying to fly.

Y/n caught his coat before he fell, laughing. "Relax, pilot, we're not in a race."

He rolled his eyes, but laughed along. With her help, he managed to balance himself and took the first step. It lasted two seconds. Enough to fall on your ass in the snow. Y/n, who almost lost her balance because of this, laughed out loud.

"So... skiing is just gliding, right?"

Still sitting in the snow, Ollie sighed.

"I think my theory was flawed." He stood up as if nothing had happened, trying to regain his dignity. "You have to bend your knees a little and lean forward."

"And where did you learn that?" Y/n arched an eyebrow.

"Instinct, love."

She laughed. "The same instinct that made you fall over like a rag doll?"

Ollie rolled his eyes, but smiled. "Trust me, I'll take care of you. Plus, I'm your emergency contact for anything."

"Wow, now I realize the real danger of this trip." Y/n laughed and raised her eyebrows below her glasses.

After a few tries, Y/n managed to move slowly across the track, reaching the other side. Ollie, determined to imitate her, pushed himself forward. At first, it worked. But soon he began to pick up too much speed.

"Y/n! How do you brake?!" He yelled.

"I don't know! You're the one who said you knew how to ski!"

Desperately, Ollie tried to throw himself to the ground to stop, but ended up sliding even faster. Out of control, he crashed directly into a snowman at the end of the track. When the snow settled, he was buried up to his neck, only his face sticking out, looking at Y/n with a defeated smile.

Y/n put her hands on her knees, laughing so hard she could barely breathe. Little by little, she approached him to help.

"Are you okay? Or did your brain freeze along with all that snow?"

Ollie spat out some snow and smiled. "It's just my ego that's hurt."

Before Y/n could respond, a child came down the ski slope and stopped next to them, looking at Ollie curiously.

"The guy fell like a penguin!"

Y/n laughed even more, looking at the child. "Yeah, and that penguin is my emergency contact!"

Ollie laughed along, finally being pulled out of the snowdrift by his girlfriend. He looked at the destroyed snowman behind him and sighed.

"Okay, maybe I need some lessons."

••••••••••••••••••••••

The day had not been the best for Y/n at work, and the cherry on the cake was seeing the car start to lose power until it stopped completely. With a frustrated sigh, she looked at the dashboard and saw the reason: Out of gas.

"Oh, wonderful..." He mumbled, rolling his eyes as he pulled the car over to the side of the road. Mentally cursing himself for not having seen this before.

She turned on the car's alarm and grabbed her cell phone from her purse and, without thinking twice, called Ollie. He answered quickly.

"Hey love."

"Hey, Ollie... so, I need a rescue."

"What kind of rescue? Because if it's something like an action movie, I don't think I'm qualified."

"My car ran out of gas." She sighed. "I'm on the shoulder of the main road, near the harbor."

"Are you kidding?" On the other end of the line, Ollie laughed.

"I'm not in the mood for jokes, Oliver." She said a little harshly, making her boyfriend raise his eyebrows on the other end of the line, realizing that she had a bad day at work just by the tone of her voice.

"Okay, okay. Apologies! I'm leaving the apartment now. Don't move, peasant in distress, your gentleman is on his way!"

Y/n rolled her eyes but laughed a little before hanging up.

It was cold in the city, and after making sure the car's hazard lights were still on, he went outside, crossing his arms and blowing on his hands to warm himself. While he waited, he tried calling the tow truck and stayed on the phone until he received an estimated arrival time.

Huddling in her own coat, she felt the tiredness of the day weighing her down. All he wanted was to be in Ollie's apartment, in the warmth and comfort of a place that, in some ways, already felt like home.

Minutes later, he saw a familiar car turn the corner and stop right behind his. Ollie rolled down the vehicle's window with an amused smile.

"Here's your private ride."

Y/n quickly got into his car and let out a sigh of relief as she felt the warmth of the heater. Ollie leaned over and gave her a quick kiss in greeting.

"Thank you for coming."

"Always, my love!" He smiled. "And now, shall we wait for the tow truck for your car?"

"Yes, the tow truck is on its way, just wait."

They stood there for a few minutes talking about their day, until the tow truck finally arrived. As soon as she saw the truck stop, Y/n got out of the car and went to talk to the driver, explaining the situation. Ollie, from the driver's seat, just watched his girlfriend deal with everything, a small smile on his face.

Shortly after, Y/n came back and got into Ollie's car.

"They'll take it to the nearest gas station, so just follow the tow truck." She put on her seatbelt, settled into the seat, and looked straight ahead. "You can go."

Ollie turned the key to start it and nothing happened. He frowned, tried again, but the car didn't respond.

"What's wrong?" Y/n asked, turning to him.

Ollie held back a laugh as he glanced at the dashboard. "Oh... so... small detail..." He scratched the back of his neck. "The car's out of gas too."

"You live 15 minutes away!" Y/n blinked a few times before processing the information.

"I know! But I forgot to fill up yesterday!"

She let out a disbelieving laugh and leaned forward, placing her hands on her face. Ollie, with a mischievous smile, just waited for the reaction.

"That's ridiculous." Y/n laughed.

"At least now I'm not alone in my humiliation." He laughed too.

"You came to save me and ended up needing saving too."

They looked at each other for a few seconds and, unable to contain themselves, burst out laughing. The situation was so absurd that it was impossible to even get angry.

"Okay, what now?" Y/n asked, trying to catch her breath.

"I think we need to call another tow truck... to get my car now."

"Great." She picked up her phone. "I'll put that on the list of stupid stories to tell our kids in the future."

"And I'm going to pretend it never happened."

••••••••••••••••••••••••

Y/n's day off started productively, with a good cleaning of the apartment while she listened to music. Singing along to the lively rhythm, she went to the kitchen, grabbed a chair to clean under the table and, when she lifted it, her heart almost jumped out of her mouth.

Two lizards were there, motionless.

The scream she let out could have been heard across town. Without thinking, she threw the cloth over the animals and climbed onto the other chair, holding the mop like a sword. With a shudder, she saw the lizards moving under the cloth and grabbed her cell phone from the table, quickly dialing Ollie's number.

"Hey love."

"Ollie, HELP!"

"What?! What happened?! Is everything okay?!"

"No, it's not okay! THERE ARE LIZARDS IN MY KITCHEN!"

On the other end of the line, silence. And then, a laugh. "Did you call me in despair about the lizards?"

"Ollie, I'M STUCK ON TOP OF A CHAIR! IF YOU DON'T COME HELP ME, I'M GONNA HAVE TO LIVE UP HERE!"

Still laughing, he sighed. "Okay, I'm going. Hang in there, you peasant in distress."

Ollie lived just a few streets away from her apartment, so it didn't take him ten minutes to arrive. As soon as he walked in, he started talking.

"Okay, where are the beasts?"

"Here in the kitchen!" Y/n spoke loudly, still on the chair.

When Ollie got there, the scene was so ridiculous that he had to hold back his laughter. Y/n was holding the squeegee with both hands, staring at the cloth as if it were a war.

"Look, you don't pay rent. So please leave because my boyfriend is here!" She said, as if the lizards could understand.

"Was that a warning or an attempt at negotiation?" Ollie laughed.

"I'm serious, Ollie. This isn't funny." She glared at him.

"No, no... of course not." He smiled, trying to hold back his laughter. "Where are they?"

"I only managed to trap them like this." Y/n pointed to the cloth.

Ollie walked over, slowly bending down to remove the cloth. Y/n flinched, turning her face away and squeezing her eyes shut.

"You're shaking!" He laughed.

"OBVIOUSLY I'm shaking, they're evil!"

Ollie slowly pulled the cloth away, but the moment he tried to grab one of them by the tail, they both ran towards him.

"Oh, no, no, no-!" He jumped back and walked over to the counter, noticing that the lizards seemed to be following him.

"GET IT! GET IT! GET IT!!" Y/n screamed from her chair.

"I'm trying!" Ollie dodged, lifting his feet. "These things are fast!"

"OF COURSE THEY ARE! THEY'RE STALKING YOU!"

Ollie picked up a pot lid that was on the counter and threw it towards the lizards, without success. But it made a loud noise.

"OLIVER, don't break my stuff!"

The lizards changed direction and went to the other corner. Ollie followed behind, trying to catch one of them, but then he felt something crawling up his foot.

"NO! NO, NO, NO!" He ran towards Y/n.

"OLIVER!! DON'T LET THEM GO UNDER THE REFRIGERATOR!! GET THEM!" She pushed her boyfriend a little, encouraging him to get closer to the lizards.

"I'M TRYING!" The pilot picked up the cloth again and tried to throw it over both of them at once.

"See?! They're evil! THEY'RE EVIL!"

Running after the animals, Ollie threw things on the floor trying to block their path, while Y/n shouted orders and cheered from the top of the chair.

"COME ON LOVE, GET THEM OUT OF HERE!!"

In the midst of the confusion, the lizards finally found the balcony door and climbed down the outside wall, leaving Y/n's apartment. Ollie stopped, taking a deep breath and throwing his head back.

"And they left." He walked back to Y/n, who was still shaking in her chair.

"Are you sure?" She asked suspiciously.

"Yes. But just in case, I suggest you enter the kitchen in armor next time." Ollie held out his hand to help her down.

Y/n rolled her eyes laughing, holding his hand. "Funny you should say that when you were running away from them too."

"I wasn't running away." Ollie stifled a laugh.

"YES, you were scared!" Y/n pointed at him. "I almost had to get off my chair to help you!"

"It wasn't fear, it was a survival strategy." He rolled his eyes, placing his hands on her waist.

"Oh, sure." Y/n laughed. "And here I thought you were my emergency contact... turns out, it looks like I'm yours."

The two looked at each other and started laughing.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Y/n's weekend at Ollie's apartment was going perfectly until it was time to choose a movie to watch that night.

"Are you sure about that?" Ollie asked, looking at the TV screen as Y/n selected a horror thriller movie. "Wouldn't you prefer a romantic comedy? Something... less traumatizing?"

"No, I want to watch this one. Everyone is saying great things about it!"

"But you hate horror movies."

"Yeah, but I'm curious to see this one!" She shrugged.

"Curious about not sleeping?"

She laughed and ignored the comment, pressing play.

The two were snuggled up on the couch, under the blanket, with a bucket of popcorn between them. Ollie's arm was behind Y/n's back, and she leaned against him, grabbing a popcorn or two as the movie started.

The atmosphere of the movie was dark, and the soundtrack heightened the tension. Suddenly, in the middle of a scene of pure suspense, Y/n stuck her hand into the popcorn bucket, making a loud noise.

"OH MY GOD!" Ollie jumped up from the couch.

"Ollie?! What's wrong?!" Y/n widened her eyes, startled by his reaction.

"What was that noise?" The pilot looked at his girlfriend with his heart racing.

She blinked a few times and pointed to the bucket. "I just got some popcorn..."

Ollie sighed, placing his hand on his chest. "Do you want to kill me before the monster in the movie can?"

"Calm down, brave one." Y/n laughed, pulling him into a hug.

He snorted and turned his eyes back to the TV, but inside, he already wanted to give up on that movie and use his phone to distract himself. However, he had promised her that he would watch until the end whatever movie Y/n chose.

As the movie progressed, the scares only got worse. Ollie would jump suddenly, scaring Y/n, which made him even more scared. It was a never-ending cycle of terror.

Until, in a tense moment, Y/n accidentally moved her foot and touched Ollie's leg.

"HELP!" He jumped on the couch, nearly knocking over the popcorn bucket. "SOMETHING TOUCHED ME!"

"WHAT WAS IT?" Y/n's eyes widened and she pulled her legs towards her. "IT WAS A LIZARD?! OLIVER! IT WAS A LIZARD?"

Ollie stared around the room, terrified. But then he looked at Y/n's legs and realized something. "Wait... it was your own foot, love..."

"Ah...!" She blinked, realizing what had happened.

At the end of the film, both were scared and tense. It was then that a loud thunderclap echoed outside, followed by a flash of lightning that illuminated the curtains in the living room of the pilot's apartment.

"AAAAH!" The two screamed together, hugging each other on the couch. With Yin hiding her face in her boyfriend's neck.

Y/n blinked a few times and then realized it was just the thunder. He started laughing out loud, pulling back a little to look at Ollie.

"You're supposed to protect me, not be scared of the same silly things I am!"

Ollie's eyes widened. "That movie traumatized me, Y/n! I deserve to be protected too!"

Y/n laughed even harder and laid her head on his chest, muffling her laughter in Ollie's hoodie. "I love you, even if you're a wimp."

He smiled, kissing her hair and wrapping her in a tight hug. "And I love you, even though you put me in these absurd situations."

Another bolt of lightning lit up the room and the two shuddered together. Y/n suddenly stood up, holding Ollie's hand with a mischievous look.

"Run to the room, they've come to get us!" She pulled him down the hallway.

"Y/N, STOP JOKING!! THIS IS SERIOUS!"

She laughed out loud, while he tried to keep up, torn between fear and the urge to laugh.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••

The sky was blue, with few clouds and a cool breeze, making it the perfect weather for playing tennis. As they did at least twice a month, Yin and his brothers would meet on the court for a friendly game.

Taylor, the oldest of them, walked next to Y/n, talking about the week, while Bailey was on the phone with Ethan, the brother two years older than the youngest Y/n.

"So you really can't come?" Bailey asked, sighing. "Okay, okay. See you later." He hung up the call and looked at his sisters. "Ethan's stuck in the office and doesn't know what time he gets out."

"Oh, crap!" Taylor lamented. "We won't be able to play then, without him we'll be left with an odd number."

Y/n suddenly lifted her head, an idea popping into her mind. "What if I call Ollie?" She looked at her brothers. "He's finishing a workout and is nearby, if you want, I'll call him!"

"Brother-in-law playing with us? I like that idea." Bailey smiled.

"That's a great solution! Call him." Taylor smiled too.

"Okay, you guys go pick a court then. I'll call him." Y/n said, handing the rackets to Bailey before walking away a little to call her boyfriend.

Ollie answered quickly. "Hi, my love."

Y/n smiled automatically, even though she knew he couldn't see it. "Hi, honey. Want to be my emergency?"

"What exactly does that mean?" He laughed on the other end of the line.

"My brother Ethan couldn't make it to our tennis game, and we need another player. Do you want to join?"

She heard a smile in his voice as he replied, "Does that mean I can spend more time with you? Then of course! Send me the address, I'm close by."

"Thank you, my love. See you soon."

After hanging up, she sent the location and returned to where the brothers were, already warming up.

Minutes later, Ollie arrived on the court with a smile on his face, his hair still a little messy from training and wearing gym clothes. As soon as he saw Y/n, he opened his arms.

Y/n smiled silly and walked towards him, throwing herself into the hug and feeling the familiar scent of her boyfriend. He held her face affectionately before placing his lips on hers, starting a slow and passionate kiss. His sweet taste, mixed with the light sweat from training, made the moment even more captivating. He deepened the kiss for a moment, his hands squeezing her waist before pulling away only to brush his lips against hers once more.

"Hey, hey, calm down!" Bailey interrupted, making a disgusted sound. "Enough of this mussing around with my sister!"

Bailey was the second oldest of the brothers, but he could still be quite childish when it came to teasing his brothers or trying to embarrass his younger brother-in-law. And it always worked.

Y/n rolled her eyes, stepping away from Ollie as he laughed. Then the pilot greeted Taylor with a gentle hug and Bailey with a handshake.

"The court is ready, do you want to start?" Taylor asked excitedly.

"Let's go!" Y/n agreed.

The pairings were set: Y/n and Ollie against Taylor and Bailey. While Y/n's brothers warmed up on their side of the court, Ollie approached his girlfriend and whispered.

"I will defeat your brothers."

"You're very confident..." Y/n laughed. "Just like that time we went skiing and you ran into a snowman."

"He was in my way!" Ollie grimaced and rolled his eyes.

"It was a snowman!! He was standing still."

"Details."

She laughed and shook her head and rotated her arm to quickly warm herself up.

The game began and it soon became clear that Ollie and Y/n made an excellent pair in that sport. They were ahead on the scoreboard, and with each point, they celebrated by kissing and exchanging funny comments.

"See? We are unbeatable." Ollie said after scoring a point.

"Or we're just lucky." Y/n smiled and pulled him by the collar of his shirt, giving him a little kiss.

"You're my luck." He replied, making Y/n's sister roll her eyes in amusement from across the court.

"Can you guys focus on the game instead of making out?" Bailey mumbled and the couple's laughter was synchronized.

But in the next moment, Ollie hit a ball that Taylor threw and which eventually hit the net and came back full on the Haas driver's face.

"AH!" He leaned forward a little, bringing both hands to his nose and the racket falling.

Y/n's brothers widened their eyes from across the court.

"Oliver?" Bailey asks worried about his brother-in-law.

"Ollie?! Is everything okay? What happened?" Y/n ran to her boyfriend, worried.

He nodded, but when he took his hands off his face, Y/n saw blood running from his nose and her eyes widened.

"Ow, Ollie... he's bleeding!"

"It hurts a little, but it's nothing serious." He grimaced.

Y/n analyzed quickly, carefully touching her boyfriend's nose and sighed in relief. "It doesn't look broken, but the blow was hard. Let's sit down for a bit to let the blood stop."

They walked to the bench next to the court, where Ollie sat. Y/n took her coat and handed it to him to press against his nose.

"I don't want to stain your coat." He protested.

"I don't care, I just want you to be okay." Y/n smiles lovingly.

Bailey then volunteered to go get some paper and went after it, while Taylor handed her younger sister a bottle of water.

"Lean forward a little, love. You need to wash that blood off." Y/n asked, opening the bottle and pouring some water on his nose, cleaning the blood with care and attention. "Do you want to go to the hospital?" She asked.

"No, it's not broken, is it? It's just sore." He replied, lightly touching his nose.

Y/n smiled, relieved, and placed a hand on his back, caressing him. Soon, Bailey came back with the papers and handed them to her, who quickly placed them on her boyfriend's nose.

"I'd kiss you right now if you weren't bleeding." Ollie grabbed it and pressed it against his nose.

"I hope so, but only because you're an adorable tennis player." Y/n chuckles softly, still with one hand on her boyfriend's back.

Y/n's brothers laughed.

"Well, game over then." Taylor decreed.

"But me and Y/n won! That's only fair after that accident." Ollie joked, and they laughed.

As Taylor and Bailey walked away to pick up their rackets that were lying on the court, Ollie looked at Yin and smiled.

"I came to be your emergency to continue the game, but apparently I needed an emergency because of my nose."

Y/n laughed and shook her head. "Yeah, I guess our emergencies never go as planned."

"Good thing my favorite emergency room always takes care of me." He laced his fingers through hers, a piece of paper still pressed to his nose.

"Always. Even if you keep getting yourself into disasters like this." Y/n smiled and leaned in to kiss his cheek.

[ladykailitha]

The Caged Bird Still Sings Part 23

Here we are, the penultimate chapter. And the second sex scene. So definitely be forewarned there. This is the chapter where they talk and Steve explains the title. Well, they both do really.

I'm sad to see this story end, but I've got so many good stories waiting in the wings so it's a good thing, too.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16 Part 17 Part 18 Part 19 Part 20 Part 21 Part 22

~

Steve was waiting up in the foray of the hotel lobby reading the newspaper when Eddie and the rest of Corroded Coffin got in.

He looked up at the sound of the chains and jewelry jingling above the hushed whispers. They all looked happy and excited. Which meant their day with Mike went well. Which was good.

Eddie spotted Steve first and stopped in his tracks, as around him the boys rough housed. Then one by one they too spotted Steve. They took in what he was wearing and teased Eddie before they left him standing there, staring at Steve, frozen in place.

Steve was wearing a white suit with a sheer white mesh top, so that it neatly showed off his hairy chest and happy trail. His hair was artfully styled and the whole outfit was topped off with black designer boots. In other words he sat there looking like sex on legs.

Eddie ran his fingers through his hair as he placed the other hand on his hip. “Damn, little Canary, you look good enough to eat.”

Steve smirked, licking his upper lip. He put away the newspaper carefully and deliberately. Then he stood up and Eddie was able to take in the full effect including that delicious show of the outline of Steve’s cock.

Eddie crooked his finger and Steve came willingly. Eddie tugged on the golden chain around Steve’s neck and pulled out the gold and citrine canary necklace that Eddie had given to Steve that first day at the hotel.

“Are you mine, baby?” he purred. “Have you decided that you’ll take everything I have to offer. But especially me?”

Steve nodded looking into his eyes. “Everyone kept calling me a kept man or sugar baby to your sugar daddy. But both of those things imply that I’m accepting everything you gave in exchange for sex. But we’ve only ever had sex the once.”

Eddie smiled softly. “That’s right, little Canary. You’re not either of those things. So what are you then?”

“I’m a caged bird,” Steve replied with a soft smile. “The price for a roof over my head and all my needs met is a cage. On that is open for me to fly out at any time, but why would I want to? Not when I have you to take care of me.”

“The caged bird still sings,” Eddie said, his smile growing, “because it is loved and cared for, is that it?”

Steve’s smile transformed into a grin. “Yeah.”

“I like the metaphor, little Canary,” Eddie breathed and then pressed his lips to Steve’s, his fingers still wrapped around the necklace, keeping Steve tethered to him.

Steve wrapped his arms around Eddie’s neck and leaned into the kiss. Eddie’s free hand slid under the jacket of the suit and to the small of Steve’s back, pressing them even further together.

“You look too pretty to just take you up to your room and rip those delicious clothes off,” Eddie murmured. “So let me at least buy you a drink in the hotel bar and chat you up a bit first.”

Steve giggled and nuzzled their noses together. “I think that sounds like a great idea, Eddie.”

Eddie shivered at the sheer desire in Steve’s voice. It took everything in his power to take that step back, and slide his hand into Steve’s. Then he led the way to the bar and ordered them both a drink.

“So what made you decide you wanted this with me, darlin’?” Eddie purred as he swirled around the whiskey in his hand.

Steve cocked his head to side as he sincerely thought about it. “I think the first step was bitching out Chrissy for her ideas about us. I wasn’t going to let her chose the narrative of someone she had only met once in a dimly lit bar. I may have been a queen bitch in high school, but trust me, I won’t stand for people talking shit about me behind my back if I can help it.”

“That was an impressive speech you gave, little Canary,” Eddie murmured, rubbing his thumb over Steve’s knuckles.

“Like before you came back,” Steve murmured, running his fingers through his hair nervously, “I had even wondered if the only reason I wasn’t your sugar baby was because you were on tour. But then you came home and were so respectful, it kind of pushed those thoughts out of my head.”

Eddie smiled gently and took Steve’s hand to give it a squeeze. “That was what I was hoping I was doing.”

“Congrats, it really worked,” Steve replied with a chuckle. “Then when I met your uncle and saw his home and the life you had given him.” He shook his head fondly. “Then you said that me marrying you for buy me a house was an incentive and not a deterrent...I–”

“And you wanted that too,” Eddie finished for him. “Make no mistake, little Canary, I will buy you a house with everything you’ve every wanted in a home and make it ours.

Steve blushed and then got this far away look in his eyes and sighed wistfully. “Then when you got out of your car to pick up Mike, it was the hottest thing I’d ever seen and I wanted all of it. I want to be your little Canary, I want to sing for you in all the ways I know how. So Robin helped me pick out the outfit to seduce you in.”

“Consider me seduced,” Eddie purred. “I wasn’t lying when I said you looked good enough to eat.”

Steve blushed and ducked his head. He looked up at Eddie through his lashes. “I can’t wait for you to take care of me.”

Eddie’s eyes widen and his nostrils flared as his desire ramped up. “Damn, little Canary, I’m going to make you feel so good, you’ll think you rocketed to the moon with all the stars you’ll be seeing.”

Steve through back his head and laughed. “I wasn’t aiming for an innuendo, but I really still should have seen that one coming–” He stopped to snort at his own joke. “Wrong word! God!”

Eddie burst out laughing too. “Someone’s got sex on the brain today,” he smirked, wagging his eyebrows.

“Have you looked in the mirror, babe?” Steve purred. “I’m pretty sure you short-circuited poor Mike’s brain when you stepped out of that sports car. It took everything I had not jump you right there in front of the thirteen year old.”

“I wasn’t really thinking about what I was wearing today,” Eddie said with a huff of laughter. He took a sip of his whiskey, his other hand never leaving Steve’s. “I just threw on what was clean and that I would be comfortable recording in.”

Steve smiled. “Well it worked on me.”

Eddie hummed his agreement.

They talked and had a couple of drinks, just reveling in each other’s company. Like they were slotted into each other’s lives like they had always been right there.

Then Eddie stood up and gently led Steve up the elevator to Eddie’s room. It was almost identical to Steve’s, but minus all the bird paraphernalia and instead covered with guitars and band merch.

His hands came up and slowly slid Steve’s suit jacket off his shoulders and on to the floor. Steve smirked, but allowed Eddie to undress him. Eddie untucked the shirt and got his fingertips on the happy trail that had been tantalizing him all night.

Steve let out a little gasp of pleasure as Eddie’s thumbs caught in his belt loops, pulling them closer together. Then the shirt came off and Eddie sank to his knees, pulling on the belt to undo it. He unbottoned and unzipped the pants.

Eddie licked his lips at the sight before him. “Naughty boy, going commando in those tight pants. You must be a sin.”

“I thought I was your angel,” Steve breathed, burying his hands into his own hair, back arching from the sheer want rolling off Eddie in waves. “I’m pretty sure you called me heaven sent at the very least.”

Eddie’s head rocked back and looked up from the tasty, teasing morsel in front of him. “You remember that?”

Steve grinned. “I don’t remember a lot about what happened that, but yeah. I called you sin and you called me heaven sent.”

“Well, I take it back, baby,” Eddie said, returning his attention back on the bounty in front of him. “You’re sin and I’m the sinner.” He slid Steve’s pants down his legs and then gently removed each boot until Steve was standing in front of him stark naked and looking good enough to eat.

“I’m going to feast tonight,” he murmured and then slowly stood back up. He kissed Steve deeply as Steve wrapped his arms around his neck, his hands going for that gorgeous ass. He swept Steve off his feet and carried him laughingly to the bed.

He gently laid Steve on the bed and then began to strip himself. Steve propped himself up on his elbows as he watched Eddie uncover more and more of his skin. And that’s when he spotted it; a new tattoo.

Right where the torso met the leg was a little yellow canary.

“See something you like, sweetheart?” Eddie said lasciviously. He crawled on the bed and straddled Steve’s thighs.

Steve flopped back onto the pillows and his thumb rubbed the tattoo. Then he looked up adoringly at Eddie. “When did you get that?”

“You like that?” Eddie teased and then kissed him on the lips. He whispered into Steve’s ear, “I got that in Indy the day after I met you, baby.”

Steve moaned, throwing his head back. “It took me four months to realize I was in love with you, but here you are going out and getting a tattoo about me the next day! I thought I was unhinged.”

“Sorry, Stevie,” Eddie cackled, “but you had me hooked since day one.”

He grabbed the lube from his nightstand and pressed a kiss to Steve’s neck. “I’ve spent so much time jerking off to that first time because it was all I could think about.”

Steve’s body shuddered with desire and lust. “I’ve come thinking about you, too. Your voice has the power to turn me on like nothing else.”

“You like my voice, baby?” Eddie purred as ground down, causing Steve to gasp. “You like it when I talk to you?” Steve nodded, biting on his lip.

“The things I’m going to do to you, pretty boy,” he continued, his free hand tracing the lines of Steve’s torso, going low.

Steve grabbed Eddie’s thighs for dear life as Eddie kept grinding their cocks together.

“I’m going to lube you up,” Eddie purred. “I’m going spread those pretty thighs, so deliciously thick.” He slithered down the bed to bite Steve’s left thigh, causing Steve’s back to arch off the bed.

Eddie spread his legs, kissing and biting where he could. “Then I’m going to start with one finger all nice and slick from the lube.”

Action followed his words and he pressed one finger into Steve’s hole.

“Oh god!” Steve breathed. “It feels so good.”

Eddie continued to work at Steve’s hole, pushing in and out as his other hand wandered over his thighs, his stomach, his sides, everywhere but his cock.

“Then I’m going to add a second finger,” Eddie purred. “Really work you open.”

He must have hit a really good spot because Steve shuddered and moaned. “Look at you, little Canary. Singing for me.”

Steve’s sounds got louder and more enthusiastic with that little encouragement.

Eddie kept describing what he was going to do and then doing until Steve was on the edge and was as open as Eddie could comfortably get him.

“You ready, baby?” he asked, lining up his cock.

“Yes, Eddie,” Steve begged. “I need you fuck me so good. I need it.”

As Eddie slid in he leaned over to kiss Steve filthily on the mouth. “And whatever you need I’m here to give it to you.”

Steve whimpered. “You’re so good to me.”

“It is my honest pleasure.”

Eddie began thrusting deep inside him, Steve continuing to make the most delicious sounds as they fucked.

“Touch me, Eddie,” Steve murmured. “Let me come. I want to come, please. I need it, so much.”

“”You’ve got it, Stevie,” he said softly. “I want us to come together, do you think you can hold off just a little more?”

Steve’s eyes were wide and blown with desire. “I’ll try. For you.”

Eddie pressed a kiss to Steve’s jaw. “I know. You’re so good to me.”

He gently took Steve’s cock in hand and began to slide up and down in time with his thrusts.

Soon Steve was arching off the bed. “Please, Eddie!”

“Go ahead, baby,” Eddie moaned. “Come for me.”

He jerked his hips one more time and was coming in Steve as he spurted out ribbon after ribbon of cum all over his chest.

Eddie’s eyes fluttered shut as he finished. He slowly opened his eyes and saw that Steve was completely blissed out underneath him.

He pressed a quick kiss to Steve’s jaw and then got up to clean them off. When he came back with a wet hand towel, he had to stop and stare at the sight before him.

Steve had one arm thrown behind his head and the other hand was pressed into the cooling cum on his stomach, panting for breath.

“Did I wear you out, little Canary?” Eddie teased as he loped over to the bed.

“Fuck, Eddie,” he murmured. “If this how sex is going to be all the time, I don’t think I’ll ever get out of bed ever again.”

Eddie chuckled and then got to work cleaning up his newly minted boyfriend. Then he tucked them into the large bed.

“I love you, sweetheart,” he whispered into Steve’s ear as they curled up together.

Steve pecked his lips. “I love you too, Eddie. So much.”

Then they drifted off to sleep together.

~

Tag List: CLOSED

1- @itsall-taken @wheneverfeasible @zerokrox-blog @beelze-the-bubkiss @blondie1006

2- @gregre369 ​@a-little-unsteddie @themoonagainstmers @cryptid-system @maya-custodios-dionach

3- @goodolefashionedloverboi @val-from-lawrence @carlyv @wonderland-girl143-blog @irregular-child

4- @bookbinderbitch @bookworm0690 @forgottenkanji @yikes-a-bee @awkwardgravity1

5- @dragonmama76 @ellietheasexylibrarian @thedragonsaunt @useless-nb-bisexual @disrespectedgoatman

6- @counting-dollars-counting-stars @tinyplanet95 @ravenfrog @swimmingbirdrunningrock @lingeringmirth

7- @gutterflower77 @a-lovely-craziness @w1ll0wtr33 @sticknpokelightningbolt @just-a-tiny-void

8- @scoops-aboy86 @kurofuckingshi16 @watermelonmite @eyehartart @dreamercec

9- @little-birch-boy @yearningagain @micheledawn1975 @sadisticaltarts @steddieislife

10- @fearieshadow @kultiras @thesecondfate @tartarusknight @genderless-spoon

[crimsonreveriie]

Chapter 1

Since I've had a few people ask for more detailed stories of how my friend could use me, I'll start a small series and write it from the POV of how it has already happened (but we all know I'm too nervous to actually ask him) 🫠

A few days ago, when I was texting my friend, Leo, I finally had the courage to reveal a fantasy of mine to him. I told my friend that I’d like him to take me in my sleep. He was a little amazed because he didn’t expect this from me. We had always flirted, and sometimes I would catch him staring at my ass, but he knows I’m very selective about who I’m with. Leo had asked me when and where, so I told him this Friday, Saturday, and Monday night, and that I would leave the back door unlocked. I made sure to tell him he had complete creative control of how he wanted to use me: bring one friend, or multiple, ropes, gags, masks, it was whatever he wanted to do... I told him that I was just a toy for his pleasure and entertainment during those nights. Since we had a few communication issues in the past, I made sure to tell him my limits, and with that, he carried on our previous conversation as if I didn't just ask him to do the foulest things he could think of to me...

Friday night came around, and I couldn't stop thinking about what my friend had come up with... had he even come up with anything? Leo didn't ask any other questions, or tell me what ideas he had in mind, let alone mention it. Maybe he would come around on Saturday or Monday night. Either way, I still wanted to go to bed, so I did my nightly routine: put on my comfiest oversized shirt with no panties, washed my face, brushed my teeth, made some tea, and watched a little TV. I was so tired and eventually dragged myself off the couch to my bed. Even though I was tired, I felt myself toss and turn with anticipation before I eventually fell asleep. I woke back up in the middle of the night to a strange feeling, I checked my phone and it was 3 AM. "Damn... maybe he wasn't going to come around tonight" I thought. I then heard a soft shifting noise in the corner of my room where I have my reading chair. I thought I noticed something, but maybe it was just my cat. Still, I turned on my flashlight and pointed it towards my chair... but there he was... waiting for me. He wore black cargo pants and belt, brown boots, a *very* tight black long sleeve, and a black mask. He remained quiet, stood up, and stalked over to me. Fear, excitement, and adrenaline rushed through my face and down to my lower abdomen, but something seemed off, this man standing over my bed and looking down at me didn't seem to have Leo's build... he didn't have his blue eyes or shorter height, he didn't look like him at all! My phone's flashlight was pointing right at his chest, and at this point true fear and adrenaline went straight to my stomach.

What. The. Fuck. Who is this man? Is he Leo's friend? Is this an actual intruder? Am I actually going to die? A million thoughts raced through my mind before I reacted. Before I had thought it, my body leapt out of my blankets and tried to get off my bed. My phone fell with the flashlight facing up, but the man firmly grabbed my arm, and made me lose balance on my legs. I shrieked as he sent me crashing down to my knees next to him on my bed. He had one arm wrapped around my waist, holding my arms behind my back, pressing my front against his chest, and the other gripping my face so I could only look up at him.

My face burned, and tears of terror pierced my eyes. He finally spoke, "You know... I have to thank you for your little invitation. Leo had mentioned that you gave permission for him to pass it along to a few friends. He actually wanted to stop by tonight but was busy, so here I am! Aren't you happy to see me?" A small weight lifted off my chest; he isn't an actual intruder, and I'm not going to die. However, I still didn't know this man, and I'm sure Leo told him that I would be "just a toy for his pleasure and entertainment during one of these nights." He continued talking to and mocking me. "What?... Cat got your tongue?... Expected to see Leo? Expected him to just fuck you and be done? In fact, he seems to have some fun plans for you, slut." I didn't know this man but I was feeling dazed, his wicked smile and words got to me. The way he forcefully holds me, I can feel every muscle tense in his body. I wanted to fight, but at the same time, I did want him to use me.

Several moments of heavy, tension-filled breaths happened before he lowered his arm to quickly scoop my knees out from underneath me and firmly push my neck down on the bed. “I’ll make sure I’m not too mean, I don’t want to wear you down the first night” he said with a vicious grin. My eyes widened, “the first night!?” I thought, but before my mind could keep wandering, he put his hands on my hips, sliding my shirt up, kissing, licking, and biting his way all over me. My breath was caught in my throat while he seemed to worship my body, taking his time. My mind went blank as he kept kissing and biting my thighs, stomach, breasts, and neck, I was melting and softening at his touch. A burst of reality shot through me when he brought his hands down to unbuckle his belt. I had almost forgotten there’s a complete stranger in my house, and he’s going to use me. 

He was caught off guard when I shoved his shoulders back, sat up, and tried to move off my bed. But he got to me before I could even put a foot on the ground. The man dragged me by the legs back to where I was, and fixed his waist to trap my hips while he pinned my wrists above my head with one hand. He stroked my thigh with his other hand saying, “Did you really think you could escape? I thought we were just starting to have fun! Plus, you’ll have to try harder if you want to get out of this, dear” 

Again, the man started to unbuckle his belt. Even though I wanted this, I couldn't help trying to get out of his harsh grip on me. I bucked my hips and tried to wiggle out of his grasp on my wrists, I was slowly becoming unraveled at his roughness. “Mhm, what a good girl, grinding against me like this... keep going,” his wicked grin returned. At last I finally said something, “fuck you.” He slapped me across the face then forced me to look at him, “I dare you to say that again....” My cheek stung, and I could feel the ache in my lower abdomen grow. He reached down to my pussy and started slowly rubbing my clit with barely any pressure, but just enough for another wave of heat to rush down me. I didn’t notice when he took his hand off my wrists to pull himself out of his pants until I felt his hardness press against me at my entrance. 

I looked down, finally realizing he was going to fuck me. My eyes widened as I gasped and protested, but secretly enjoyed the feeling of him sliding into me at an agonizingly slow pace. His hands found their place on my hips as he settled his thick, hard cock deep inside of me and I couldn’t help but let out a long moan. I could feel him rock and move slightly inside of me, which sent more shockwaves of pleasure through my body. He started quickening his pace, I could feel myself getting more wet, and a knot of an orgasm began forming in me. “You filthy fucking whore, I can already feel you tightening around me, your’re seriously going to cum so soon?... And to your intruder violating your body? Fucking slut, you don't get to cum tonight"

The man gripped my hips tighter and began slamming into me at a torturous rate. I started crying out at the pain and pleasure of him filling me up, it was starting to be too much. I reached down to start rubbing my clit but he grabbed both hands and pinned them above my head again. He pulled himself out and used his other hand to play with my tits, groping and pinching my nipples. "Did you not hear what I said? Don't even think about cumming, the only one that get to is me, cunt" Frustrated, I started whimpering and kicking my legs for him to just keep fucking me. “Shut the fuck up, whore.”

He kept his hand pinning my wrists down, he shoved himself back inside me, and covered my mouth with his free hand. I shrieked as he resumed his ruthless fast pace. I was a moaning mess, unable to cum without stimulation on my clit. I tried angling my hips better, but the returning knot in my stomach only intensified, never giving me my release. 

I felt the man continuing to slam himself into me again and again before he started to lose his own control, his pace faltering. I knew he was close and I didn’t just want to cum, I needed to cum. I tried pleading for release, even with him covering my mouth. “What did you say, cunt?” He took his hand off my mouth and went back to pinching my nipples again. I tightened around his cock at the sensation, weeping, my own orgasm so close, until he slammed so deep inside of me and stopped. He released himself, flooding me with his cum, I couldn't help squirming and bucking my hips at the heat. The man pulled himself out slowly, breath ragged, “what a pretty little slut, you were so good for me.” Again, he slapped my face and pulled it back to look at him, “you can leave your door locked tomorrow night, or not… either way it won’t matter.” 

The man released my face and walked out of my room, leaving me behind. My breaths uneven, my orgasm ruined, and his cum leaking out of me. I layed like that until I had the energy to pull my head up to my pillows, it didn’t take long for me to fall asleep.

[byemambo]

Hey, wanna join Hiking Club? Yes. Oh, you speak a dialect. Where are you from?

Takara's Treasure (2024) | 1.01

My Favorite Scenes [1/?] | dir. Yuho Ishibashi

[deviousdiesel]

.

[pyrriax]

ANYWHO goodnight tumblr i'll be back on the art grind tomorrow i think 🙏

[tvrningout-a]

i wanna see my friends, but i also wanna write up lore :((

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

2025 book bingo time 📚

want a completely arbitrary set of reading goals for 2025? want to try something new in your literary diet but don't know where to start? just like a challenge for the sake of a challenge? just love a good game of bingo?

boy do I have something for you!

for anyone planning to participate, please know that I LOVE attention and talking about books, so I would be STOKED to be tagged on any and all updates about what you're reading or planning to read. I'm so, so excited to see all the different ways these prompts get filled, especially if and when they bring people away from the kinds of things they normally read. not to mention snag some new reading recs myself, hopefully!

and of course, I want to know whenever somebody gets a bingo - and ESPECIALLY if somebody fills the whole board! I don't have any prizes for you, but I can offer a sense of accomplishment :)

note that this is designed to be played as 1 book = 1 space, so even if you read, say, a fantasy graphic novel published in 1923 from an indie publisher that has a bat on the cover, you'd only cross off one space. I'm not a cop and I'm not in charge of what you read, so if it sparks more joy to check off multiple spaces per book then go nuts, but I am throwing that disclaimer out there.

EDIT: the 2025 book bingo challenge is now also on storygraph, thanks to @obi-wann-cannoli!

wondering what some of these spaces mean? seeking a couple recommendations to get you started? no idea what a zine even is, let alone how to make one? worry not! I have a guide to all 25 prompts, including recommendations + an example of what I'll be reading throughout the year to fulfill each space. read on beneath the cut!

Literary Fiction: I find that a lot of people are reluctant to check out literary fiction, as it’s often written off as not being about anything but adultery and divorce. If this is you, I implore you to take a chance, acknowledge that adultery and divorce are compelling sometimes, and also remember that lit fic has a lot more to offer than that. At Writer’s Digest, Michael Woodson describes literary fiction as “less of a genre than a category,” which “focuses on style, character, and theme over plot.” My recommendations include Raven Leilani’s Luster, Ocean Vuong’s On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, and Melissa Broder’s Milk Fed. 

I’ll be reading: Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar

2. Short Story Collection: You know, a bunch of short stories together in one book? It doesn’t get much more self-explanatory than that. Could be a collection of stories by a single author or an anthology—it’s up to you! I recommend checking out Mariana Enríquez’s The Dangers of Smoking in Bed (translated by Megan McDowell), Nalo Hopkinson’s Falling in Love With Hominids, and Kim Fu’s Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century. 

I’ll be reading: Your Utopia by Bora Chung and translated by Anton Hur 

3. A Sequel: It could be one that you’ve been meaning to get around to, one that’s not releasing until 2025, or the sequel to something you read to cross off another space on this very bingo sheet!

I’ll be reading: Heavenly Tyrant by Xiran Jay Zhao, sequel to 2021’s Iron Widow 

4. Childhood Favorite: Go back and read a book you loved as a child, tween, or teen! There’s no wrong answer here; anything from a YA novel to a picture book would be just lovely, and I can’t wait to see what people pick for this option! I’m not sure which of my old favorites I’ll be revisiting yet—should I go for the warm and fuzzy Casson Family series, or straight towards the mindfucky sci-fi of Interstellar Piggy? Or maybe I’ll go see how Artemis Fowl holds up...

5. 20th Century Speculative Fiction: For those not familiar with the term, speculative fiction can encapsulate science fiction, fantasy, and anything else that falls into the unreal. You’re spoiled for iconic choices here: the 20th century gave us Le Guin’s Left Hand of Darkness, Atwood’s Handmaid’s Tale, Butler’s Parable of the Sower and Kindred, L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time, the beginning of Pratchett’s Discworld series, Diana Wynne Jones’ Howls’ Moving Castle, and countless others.

I’ll be reading: Dawn by Octavia E. Butler, love of my literary life 💜

6. Fantasy: Fantasy comes in a thousand different shades, from contemporary urban wizards with day jobs at the office to high fantasy spellslingers chasing dragons away from castles. Some examples I’ve adored are N.K. Jemisin’s The Killing Moon, C.L. Polk’s Witchmark, Fonda Lee’s Jade City, and Nghi Vo’s Empress of Salt and Fortune.

I’ll be reading: The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty  

7. Published Before 1950: This one could not be more straightforward if I tried. You have all of human history (or at least, all the parts that have surviving literature), just not the last 75 years. Dig deep! 

I’ll be reading: Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, published in 1938 

8. Independent Publisher: Did you guys know that just five publishing companies (Penguin Random House, HarperCollins Publishers, Macmillan Publishers, Simon & Schuster, and Hachette Book Group) are responsible for 80% of books published in the US each year, and 25% of books globally? Break away from the big five and see what some small presses are putting out! If you need some ideas about where to start, check out this list of nearly 300 independent publishers with notes on what kind of books they put out!

I’ll be reading: Taiwan Travelogue by Yáng Shuāng-zǐ and translated by Lin King, from Graywolf Press

9. Graphic Novel/Comic Book/Manga: Despite my personal obsession with Batman, the world of comic books is sooo much wider than Gotham City—or anything else that DC and Marvel have to offer. If superheroes aren’t your speed, check out the Southern gothic of Carmen Maria Machado and Dani Strips’ comic The Low, Low Woods, splash around in Kat Leyh’s graphic novel Thirsty Mermaids, or stop waiting for a new season of Dungeon Meshi and go read Ryoko Kui’s manga, translated to English by Taylor Engel. 

I’ll be reading: The Fade, by Aabria Iyengar and Mari Costa

10. Animal on the Cover: Yes, yes, don’t judge a book by its cover—but do go find one with a critter on the cover and give it a read! Absolutely no other requirements here, get silly with it.

I’ll be reading: Shark Heart by Emily Habeck

11. Set in a Country You Have Never Visited: Fiction or nonfiction, doesn’t matter so long as it gives you a little glimpse of a country you’ve never visited in real life. If you’ve somehow visited every country currently recognized in the world, then I guess you get to go read something set in space.

I’ll be reading: A Magical Girl Retires by Park Seolyeon and Kim Sanho, translated by Anton Hur 

12. Science Fiction: A genre just as diverse as fantasy, with a little something for everybody! I recommend Becky Chambers’ Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet for those who want to kiss an alien in the stars and Jessamine Chan’s The School for Good Mothers for those who want a surveillance state dystopia that hits much closer to home.  

I’ll be reading: Womb City by Tlotlo Tsamaase

13. 2025 Debut Author: Read a book by someone who’s releasing their first book in 2025. Fic or nonfic, any genre, no further requirements. Not quite a free space, but pretty close!

I’ll be reading: Liquid: A Love Story by Mariam Rahmani, coming out March 11

14. Memoir: Per Wikipedia, a memoir is “any nonfiction narrative writing based on the author’s personal memories.” Some are funny, some are heartbreaking, some are both! I recommend Carman Maria Machado’s In the Dream House and Roxane Gay’s Hunger, because I tend to lean heartbreaking! 

I’ll be reading: Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner. Again, I like heartbreaking!

15. Read a Zine, Make a Zine: Not familiar with zines? No problem! Check out some of these digital archives for inspiration, and then craft your own zine with this simple guide (or do it your own way, I’m not in charge of you). 

Internet Archives: https://archive.org/details/zines

Gay Zine Archive Project: https://gittings.qzap.org/ 

POC Zine Project: https://poczineproject.tumblr.com/ 

Library of Congress: https://www.loc.gov/collections/zine-web-archive/ 

16. Essay Collection: Like a short story collection, but it’s nonfiction now. Some of my favorites include Samantha Irby’s We Are Never Meeting in Real Life, Elaine Castillo’s How to Read Now, Aimee Nezhukhumatathil’s World of Wonders, and Cathy Park Hong’s Minor Feelings.

I’ll be reading: A Little Devil in America: In Praise of Black Performance by Hanif Abdurraqib 

17. 2024 Award Winner: What award? Any award you like! And boy, there are tons to pick from. Any book that won any award in the year 2024 is free game. If you need some places to start looking, check out some of these:

Lambda Literary Awards, for excellence in LGBT literature: https://lambdaliterary.org/awards__trashed/2024-winners/ 

The Alex Awards, for adult books with crossover appeal for teen readers: https://www.ala.org/yalsa/alex-awards 

Ignyte Awards, celebrating diversity in speculative fiction: https://ignyteawards.fiyahlitmag.com/2024-results/  

Women's Prize for Fiction (self explanatory) https://womensprize.com/prizes/womens-prize-for-fiction/

Others: https://www.bookbrowse.com/awards/ 

I’ll be reading: Biography of X by Catherine Lacey, winner of the 2024 Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Fiction

18. Nonfiction: Learn Something New: I know very little about archaeology, anthropology, or any other fields that involve studying ancient cities, but Annalee Newitz’s Four Lost Cities: A Secret History of the Urban Age was some of the most fun I had with nonfiction in 2024, because every page brought a brand new discovery. For 2025, find a nonfiction book about a topic you don’t know ANYTHING about, and learn something new!

I’ll be reading: Cooling the Tropics: Ice, Indigeneity, and Hawaiian Refreshment by Hi’ilei Julia Kawehipuaakahaopulani Hobart

19. Social Justice & Activism: Read a book about a social issue, the history of an activist movement, or brush up on a guiding philosophy or ideology. Arm yourself with knowledge, besties, because I have a feeling we’re going to need it! if you need a good place to start, why not try Angela Davis' Race, Women & Class, Mariame Kaba's We Do This 'Til We Free Us, or Molly Smith and Juno Mac's Revolting Prostitutes?

I’ll be reading: White Feminism: From Suffragettes to Influencers and Who They Leave Behind by Koa Beck

20. Romance Novel: Listen to me. Fucking listen to me. I mean a ROMANCE. NOVEL. Not a novel that incidentally has a romance in it. Romance novel, motherfucker. Go check out the romance section and have some whimsy as two people fall in love through the most contrived series of events ever conceived. If you really need a romance that makes you feel smart (that’s still sexy and messy as hell), try Akwaeke Emezi’s You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty.

I’ll be reading: Go Luck Yourself by Sara Raasche  

21. Read and Make a Recipe: Could be a cookbook, could be a recipe you yoinked from the New York Times, could be something your grandparents lovingly wrote down by hand. Could be as complex or as simple as you like, just make something tasty! Some cookbooks I’ve enjoyed are Sohla El-Waylly’s Start Here, Dan Pashman’s Mission Impastable, and John Wang and Storm Garner’s The World Eats Here.

22. Horror: Slashers, zombies, haunted houses, creeping paranoia, you name it! It’s time to get spooky and scary with all kinds of things going bump in the night. Maybe this is the year to finally keep up with Dracula Daily? Not for me, I'm not doing that, but you could!

I’ll be reading: I Was A Teenage Slasher by Stephen Graham Jones

23. Published in the Aughts: A throwback, but not too far back. Read something published between 2000 and 2009. Maybe it’s time to finally get into Twilight? (For legal reasons, that’s a joke.)

I’ll be reading: The Sluts by Dennis Cooper, published in 2004

24. Historical Fiction: You know, fiction that takes place in a bygone era! Please remember, this isn’t just about reading a book that’s old; we have a separate prompt for that! This is about reading something that takes place in the past relative to the time it was written. Pride and Prejudice is historical to us, but was contemporary when Austen wrote it. Think of Brit Bennett's The Vanishing Half, Markus Zusak's The Book Thief, or history + a bit of fantasy in book's like R.F. Kuang's Babel.

I’ll be reading: The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon

Bookseller or Librarian Recommendation: This one is fun, and something I always like to do when I’m travelling and visiting a new bookstore. Ask a bookseller or librarian to recommend something they’ve liked, and check it out! If going in person isn’t feasible, many bookstores and libraries have staff picks on their websites, and the Indie Next List is a monthly list of independent booksellers’ favorite new releases. 

I’ll be reading: The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse by Louise Erdrich, which I bought at Erdrich’s bookstore, Birchbark Books, this summer :)

lastly: tagging people who asked to be tagged to make sure they didn't miss this! @thebisexualwreckoning @perfunctoryperfusions @reallyinkyhands come get your bingo sheet!

[httpsleclerc]

the story of us - chapter 2

pairings: Max Verstappen x Sister!Reader, Charles Leclerc x Single Mom!Verstappen!Reader, Platonic Kelly Piquet x Verstappen!Reader

summary: Charles and Verstappen!Reader meet for the first time as adults with a little plus one. 

warnings: pregnancy, controlling behaviour from a partner, baby trapping

w/c: 3.4k words

a/n: thank you so much for all of the love on the first part of this series it really means a lot to me! As always, I'm always open to feedback and reblogs! Thank you all for the support again!

my masterlist // series masterlist

The air felt thick and suffocating around you, your shaking hands reaching out to take a hold of the small pink stick which sat on the bathroom counter. You swallowed the lump of fear in your throat, turning the plastic stick around, your breath caught in your throat.

The two pink lines stared back at you glaringly, unwavering and strong.

You were pregnant.

Tears sprung to your eyes, you didn't know whether to be excited or scared - Sure, you were going to have a baby and become a mom, but you were still young, you were only 22 and you knew that your relationship with Lukas was far from healthy and stable.

"What are you doing in there?" You heard him ask through the door, making you jump, yet holding on tightly to the proof of the little life growing inside of you. "Y/N." You pulled yourself together, hoping that he couldn't see the conflict within you.

"Lukas, I'm pregnant," You had gotten your bluntness from your brother, in one sense. You studied his face for any semblance of a reaction, one thing, you had claimed you gained from your abusive childhood, was your emotional intelligence. You watched as his face lit up, slowly racing to gently place his hand on the still flat surface of your stomach.

"Really? That's...that's great, love," He told you, a grin on his face.

He wasn't grinning about the prospect of becoming a father, he was grinning over the fact that he had you in the palm of his hand.  He had been working you up to this, switching out your birth control pills for placebos, timing your cycle perfectly, making sure that he had you trapped. He knew that you had a traumatic childhood and that you would be eager to raise your own family completely differently from how you had been.

"Really? You don't think that it's too soon?" You looked up at him, tears in your eyes. He smiled down at you, swiping the tears away from your face as they slowly fell.

"Not at all, my love, you're ready for this, you're going to be such a good mum," He soothed you, pulling you in tight and holding you to his chest as he rubbed your back. "Our baby's going to be so lucky." You nodded, smiling up at him as you realised that maybe this was Lukas changing, maybe you having his baby was all that he needed to stop being so cruel to you.

Now, you just had to tell your brother. If Lukas let you.

"...Lukas?" You sat across from him on the couch, nervously trying to read his expression as he hummed in response. "Um...when can we tell Max I'm pregnant?" His eyes flicked up to yours, but softened as he saw you rubbing circles on your growing stomach.

"...Whenever you want, when is he back in Monaco, we could make a day of it," He suggested, giving you a soothing smile. He knew this would show your older brother that you were his now, bonded together by the life inside of you. You smiled, getting up from your spot on the sofa to curl up as best as you could beside Lukas, smiling as he placed his hand on your small bump. "She's kicking now?" You giggled as you nodded, feeling the baby, who you had recently had revealed to be a girl, kicked against her father's touch.

"Yeah, I think she knows our voices now," You smiled, placing your hands over his. "I can't believe she's this big already." Lukas smiled, knowing that now he had you exactly where he wanted you - He'd given you a baby, after this you'd have his last name and maybe another baby to keep you trapped.

"Well, she's gonna get bigger," He gently nudged you, making you giggle. "I'll call Max and arrange something, okay?" You nodded and smiled contentedly, Lukas knew that you wouldn't be questioning anything right now, your hormones and baby brain had made you almost dependent on him for everything.

Lukas had arranged to meet with Max at a little restaurant in Monte Carlo, he had taken you to it a couple times for a date, since it appeared that their pizza was the only one made with something that didn't make you throw up.

Max, couldn't wait to see you. It had been months, and he was certain that you were leaving Lukas, saying that you couldn't take how controlling he was anymore - So to hear Lukas calling him and saying that you wanted to see him, Max let his excitement blind him. 

However

As he saw you walk into the restaurant, Lukas following behind you, he couldn't be blind to the small bump on your midsection. He froze, swallowing the lump in his throat while trying to act casual. So this was why you were still with him, he had gotten you pregnant.

"Hi Max," Your grin was wide as you saw your older brother stand on his feet, embracing you tightly, but not too tight as to hurt the baby. "So...surprise, you're gonna be an uncle!" You cheered excitedly, watching as Max grinned and kiss your cheek. You were too excited  for him to tell you how he was really feeling about it, so he played along with you.

"That's great, kleine zusje, I'm so happy for you," Max said, giving Lukas a knowing look as he came up behind you, placing his hand on the small of your back. Lukas pulled a chair out for you to sit across from your brother, but beside him. You always had to be beside him. "So, do you know what you're having?" You smiled and nodded, protectively placing a hand on your stomach.

"A girl, we're gonna name her Romy."

Max made sure that Lukas would be home when he went to collect yours and Romy's belongings. He needed to make sure that he knew that neither you or your daughter needed anything from him anymore, that even if it meant that the two of you had to live with him until you got on your feet, then that would be it - You and Romy didn't need him anymore. Knocking on the door of your old apartment, Max stood, his jaw and fists clenched.

"What do you want?" Lukas answered the door, freezing upon seeing your older brother standing at the door. "Didn't Y/N tell you what I told her? I don't want her or the baby back, she can get her child payment but that's it. I'm done with her." He harshly told Max. Max scoffed ash he shook his head - The audacity of him to think that Max would ever let you go back to him.

"I know that, I just came to tell you that if I ever, ever  see you around Y/N or Romy again, then I'll personally make sure that you never see again. You never deserved either of them." Max responded, fully meaning his threat - He wasn't known as Mad Max for nothing. Lukas just shook his head in response, laughing at Max.

"You can play the protective big brother role all you want, Max, but I know how dependent Y/N was on me for the past 3 years. I gave her everything she wanted, I gave her that stupid baby, and she threw it all back in my face." Max stormed in, grabbing Lukas by the collar and holding him up against the wall.

"You shut the fuck up. You trapped her because you knew that she was going to leave you, you needed her more than she needed you and you know that. How little of a man are you that you would call your daughter stupid? Like I said, you never deserved either of them." Max shoved him once more before leaving, ready to get all of yours and Romy's stuff and taking it back to his apartment. He meant what he said - And if it meant that if you and your daughter had to stay with him for a while as you got on your feet again, then that would be fine. Max loved Romy, and if it meant that he could spend time with her on the breaks and off season while you worked, then that would be fine.

Romy giggled as you groaned, kicking her feet up at you as you tried to place the pink socks over her little feet. You were already late to meet Max's friend, and your daughter's insistence on not putting her socks on was making you later.

"Romy, my love, if you don't let mama put your socks on then you have to wear your crocs," You spoke mainly to yourself, you didn't think your 7 month old baby would be able to comprehend such a sentence, but she heard the words socks and crocs and immediately felt excitement, already kicking her little legs at the prospect of her favourite shoes. "Oh, so you want to wear your crocs. I wish you could talk already, Romy bear, it would make mama's life so much easier," You spoke, digging around the small bag you had packed to look for her small crocs. Finally, you found them, quickly slipping them over her small feet, grabbing a diaper bag quickly to slip over your shoulder, and picking Romy up, holding her at your hip as you hurriedly left Max's apartment.

You quickly buckled her into her car seat, making sure she was secure before hurriedly making your way to the cafe where Max had told you to meet Charles.  You weren't sure what your older brother was thinking about, was he setting you up with the Monegasque, or was he just trying to get you out to socialise? You weren't sure if you were ready to be in another relationship yet, 3 years with Lukas had taken their toll on you and now you just wanted to spend some time with your baby. The cafe was quiet, tucked away from the busyness of Monte Carlo as not to overwhelm you on what could have been your first time out being social with Romy. You pulled into a parking space, quickly jumping out of your car and lifting your daughter out of her car seat, holding her tight at your hip as you hurriedly made your way inside.

You spotted Charles quickly, smiling at him as he spotted you. He hadn't changed much from what you remembered, but then again, you had blocked out most of your childhood - Those weren't things that you wanted to remember. Then again, you had seen him only 8 months ago, just before you gave birth to Romy; However, it pained you when you realised that the first 6 months of your daughter's life had been a blur, you were simply focused on keeping the two of you alive and away from the harm that her father could cause to either of you.

"Hi," You greeted him, smiling as he stood up to gently embrace you, kissing both of your cheeks. "Sorry that I'm late, someone didn't want to wear socks so we had to go with crocs with her pretty pink dress." You smiled once more, tickling Romy's stomach. Charles smiled at her and then at you - From what he had heard from Max recently, he didn't understand how you could still smile, life had dealt you the cruelest of cards, yet here you were, smiling away with your baby in your arms.

"It's alright, I brought a high chair over for her," He gestured to the seat which sat at the side of the two for you and him, making you smile at his thoughtfulness. "I know it is probably a silly question, but how are you doing?" He asked, watching as you placed Romy in the high chair, strapping her in so she couldn't wiggle out and hurt herself.

"Um...I don't really know, I've just sort of been on autopilot for a bit, I'm just relieved to be gone from him, for both of us," You told him, feeling weight coming off of your shoulders - You had spent the past hours telling Max that you were fine, you didn't want to worry your older brother anymore than you already had for most of your life. "How are you after the breakup?" Charles shrugged but smiled sadly.

"Fine, it had to happen - We weren't good for each other anymore," Charles felt like he was almost rubbing salt in your wound, bragging about how easy it was for him to leave an unhealthy relationship while you were stuck in one for years. "But anyway, would you like a drink? Tea or coffee?" He offered you, standing to head to the counter.

"Just tea please," You smiled, watching as Charles made his way to the counter to order for you and himself. He came back soon enough, with two pastries on the side. "What's this?" You asked him, tilting your head as you poured the milk into your tea. 

"Oh, Max told me that it was your favourite like...forever ago, I didn't know what else to get you, I thought that Romy might like it too," He smiled at you and the Romy, who grinned at Charles and reached for him. "What do you want little one? Tell Cha," He spoke to her so naturally, it made you smile.

"I think that she wants a cuddle, Charles," You smiled at him, watching as he blushed. "You've held a baby before, yes? But you don't have to if you don't want to, no pressure," You said, unstrapping Romy from the high chair and holding you in her arms. She continued to fuss and reach for the Monegasque, whimpering in your arms as she reached out for him. "Shhh, just calm down my little love." You soothed her, looking to Charles to silently ask him whether he wanted to hold your daughter or not.

"Yes, of course, I'll hold her," Charles reached out to hold her in his arms, and you watched in amazement as Romy immediately settled into Charles' arms - She had only ever settled for you, on occasion Max; not even for Lukas, not that he had ever taken anything to do with his daughter. "She's so cute, Y/N. Looks so much like her mama," He whispered the last part, thinking you hadn't heard - The blush on your cheeks proved otherwise.

"I'm just shocked that she settled down for you, she's a little bit fussy with who she likes to hold her," You smiled, Charles was a natural with Romy, holding her on his lap. He smiled back at you, gently bouncing her on his knee, the two of you laughing at she giggled. "She must really like you, Charles." You told him, seeing a gentle blush creep across his face.

"Well, I really like Romy too," He said, both to you and to the baby on his lap.

The two of you chatted together, recounting the more happier memories you had of him from your childhood, and how you had missed seeing him around the paddock but looked forward to seeing him more now you were living with Max.

He told you how he was looking forward to seeing you and Romy around the paddock. "I'd love to spend more time with the two of you" Charles told you, making you stutter over your words. "I'm sorry, that might have been a bit too upfront," He said, looking away from you as he rubbed small circles on Romy's back.

"No, no, it's not that, I um...I'd like to do this again, it's been really nice, Charles." You told him, a grateful smile on your face as you appreciated the company of the Monegasque. "I should probably get going, Max is going to wonder where we are." He nodded, frowning as Romy whimpered at the loss of his contact, but smiling as he saw her contentedly cuddle into you.

"Of course, mon cher. Please let me know when you get home," You nodded and smiled, the two of you leaving the small cafe. Charles came to your car with you, watching as you strapped Romy into her carseat.

"Of course, thank you so much for this Charles, I really enjoyed it," You quietly closed the rear door, hoping not to disturb your daughter.

"Me too, I hope to see the two of you again soon."

Carrying your sleeping daughter in your arms, you made your way into Max and Kelly's apartment, the two of them waiting on the couch to hear about how your day with Charles had gone.

"I'll tell you two how it went after I feed her, I promise, she screamed the entire way home," You told them hurriedly, carrying a sniffling Romy into the room which was slowly resembling something that could look like yours. Max and Kelly had spent the afternoon trying their best to make it as personal for you as possible as a way to try and make you feel like this was a safe place for you and Romy. You got comfy on the bed, taking your shirt off and slipping down your bra, sighing in relief as she latched onto you - You had bottle fed her while out with Charles, you had been too nervous to feed her out in public, especially with Charles there.

It was strange, it felt like a way to decompress - A way to focus on something else other than the thoughts of Charles running through your head. The thoughts of how naturally he held Romy and how he spoke to her, thoughts of how when you were buckling her into the car seat, his hand rested gently on the small of your back. Thoughts of how he looked at you so intently. You switched Romy around, letting her feed until she fell asleep, comfortable against your chest. Gently, you lifted her off of you, clasping your bra and putting your shirt back on, laying her down in her next to me bed. You sighed, running your fingers gently down her face and smiling, watching your daughter sleep peacefully.

You closed the door quietly as you made your way out to the living room, sitting yourself between Kelly and Max, the older woman putting her arm around you - You knew that Kelly had a soft spot for you, and especially for Romy; she was forever telling you how much of a great mother you were, especially now since you were on your own - she knew that feeling all too well.

"So, how did it go?" Max asked you, a grin on his face as he watched you lean against Kelly - He was glad that the two of you had gotten along. You smiled as you recounted your afternoon with Charles.

"It went really well, we just talked for a bit and he held Romy for a bit too because she was getting fussy - He's so good with her," You cited, a smile on your face. Kelly gave Max a knowing look, your experience sounded a lot like how she felt taking Penelope to meet Max for the first time. "I think we're gonna do it again." Max smiled, after everything you'd gone through, socialising would be good for you - Even if it was with known womaniser Charles Leclerc. But Max knew you'd been through worse than Charles, but Max also knew that Charles knew Max would kill him if he broke your heart.

"That's good, kleine zusje, it sounds like it went well for both of you." You nodded and yawned, it felt like you hadn't stopped since last night and it was all catching up with you now. Max pouted as you curled into Kelly, you'd come in with your baby and stolen his girlfriend! Kelly grinned at Max, gently running her fingers through your hair as you fell asleep.

Now, normally, Max would have told you to run as far from Charles Leclerc as possible - But following Charles' breakup with Alex, he was almost certain that Charles would benefit from a more social relationship rather than jumping from disaster relationship from disaster relationship. He knew that you, generally, just needed a social relationship - Outside of him, Kelly, and your sister Victoria, you didn't really have many friends; thanks to the social isolation put upon you by Lukas.

So maybe, just maybe, you and Charles could be good for each other.

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[flanaganfilm]

Mr. Flanagan, I’d like to ask a question and I deeply hope that it does not offend or upset you. I am strongly considering canceling my Netflix subscription due to their new password sharing policy. However, Midnight Mass is one of my favorite shows of all time and I know it isn’t available on DVD, and I’m also profoundly anticipating your take on my favorite Edgar Allen Poe story. So I wanted to ask your take on people accessing your work through, uh, other means. If it’s something that’s offensive to you or will harm you or the other people who work so hard on these shows, I’ll happily keep my Netflix just so that I can keep supporting your work. I respect you far too much as an artist to do otherwise.

Again, I really hope I’m not upsetting you by asking this question. Thank you for everything, and I hope you’re having a great day!

(NOTE 6/4/2024: I'm editing this entry because, well over a year since it was posted, some journalists dug this up and used it to create click-bait headlines that are misleading, out of context and artificially combative. While I was of course disappointed over the years that Netflix opted not to release my work on physical media, I never experienced any hostility or aggression in those discussions, and I sincerely regret the manner in which this post was used in the press this week.)

Hi there - no offense taken whatsoever, in fact I think this is a very interesting and important question.

So. If you asked me this a few years ago, I would have said "I hate piracy and it is hurting creators, especially in the independent space." I used to get in Facebook arguments with fans early in my career when people would post about seeing my work on torrent sites, especially when that work was readily available for rent and purchase on VOD.

Back in 2014, my movie Before I Wake was pirated and leaked prior to any domestic release, and that was devastating to the project. It actually made it harder to find distribution for the film. By the time we were able to get distribution in the US, the film had already been so exposed online that the best we could hope for was a Netflix release. Netflix stepped in and saved that movie, and for that I will always be grateful to them.

However...

Working in streaming for the past few years has made me reconsider my position on piracy.

In the years I worked at Netflix, I tried very hard to get them to release my work on blu-ray and DVD.

It became clear very fast that their priority was subscriptions, and that they were not particularly interested in physical media releases of their originals, with a few exceptions.

While companies like Netflix pride themselves on being disruptors, and have proven that they can affect great change in the industry, they sometimes fail to see the difference between disruption and damage. So much that they can find themselves, intentionally or not, doing harm to the concept of film preservation.

The danger comes when a title is only available on one platform, and then - for whatever reason - is removed.

We have already seen this happen. And it is only going to happen more and more. Titles exclusively available on streaming services have essentially been erased from the world. If those titles existed on the marketplace on physical media, like HBO's Westworld, the loss is somewhat mitigated (though only somewhat.) But when titles do not exist elsewhere, they are potentially gone forever.

The list of titles that have been removed from streaming services is growing.

I still believe that where we put our dollars matters. Renting or buying a piece of work that you like is essential. It is casting a vote, encouraging studios - who only speak the language of money - to invest more effort into similar work. If we show up to support distinct, unique, exciting work, it encourages them to make more of it. It's as simple as that. If we don't show up, or if they can't hear our voice because we are casing our vote "silently" through torrent sites or other means - it makes it unlikely that they will take a chance to create that kind of work again.

Which is why I typically suggest that if you like a movie you've seen through - uh - other means, throw a few dollars at that title on a legitimate platform. Rent it. Purchase it. Support it.

But if some studios offer no avenue for that kind of support, and can (and will) remove content from their platform forever... frankly, I think that changes the rules.

Netflix will likely never release the work I created for them on physical media, though I'll always hold out hope.

Some of you may say "wait, aren't The Haunting of Hill House and The Haunting of Bly Manor available on blu-ray and DVD?" Yes, they are, because they were co-produced with Paramount, and I'm grateful that Paramount was able to release and protect those titles. (I'm also grateful that those releases include extended cuts, deleted scenes, and commentary tracks. There are a number of fantastic benefits to physical media releases.)

But a lot of the other work I did there are Netflix originals, without any other studio involvement. Those titles - like Midnight Mass, The Midnight Club, and the upcoming Fall of the House of Usher - along with my Netflix exclusive and/or original movies Before I Wake and Gerald's Game - have no such protections. The physical media releases of those titles are entirely at Netflix's discretion, and don't appear to be priority for the studio at this time.

At the moment, Netflix seems content to leave Before I Wake, Gerald's Game, Midnight Mass, and The Midnight Club on the service, where they still draw audiences. I don't think there is a plan to remove any of them anytime soon. But plans change, the industry changes.

The point is things change, and each of those titles - should they be removed from the service for any reason - are not available anywhere else. If that day comes - if Netflix's servers are destroyed, if a meteor hits the building, if they are bought out by a competitor and their library is liquidated - I don't know what the circumstances might be, I just know that if that day comes, some of the work that means the most to me in the world would be entirely erased.

Or, what if we aren't so catastrophic in our thinking? What if it the change isn't so total? What if Netflix simply bumps into an issue with the license they paid for music (like the Neil Diamond songs that play such a crucial role in Midnight Mass), and decide to leave the show up but replace the songs?

This has happened before as well - fans of Northern Exposure can get the show on DVD and blu-ray, but the music they heard when the series aired has been replaced due to the licensing issues. And the replacements - chosen for their low cost, not for creative reasons - are not improvements. What if the shows are just changed, and not by creatives, but by business affairs executives?

All to say that physical media is critically important. Having redundancy in the marketplace is critically important. The more platforms a piece of work is available on, the more likely it is to survive and grow its audience.

As for Netflix, I hope sincerely that their thinking on this issue evolves, and that they value the content they spend so much money creating enough to protect it for posterity. That's up to them, it's their studio, it's their rules. But I like to think they may see that light eventually, and realize that exclusivity in a certain window is very cool... but exclusivity in perpetuity could potentially limit the audience and endanger the work itself.

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

Since you've mentioned Scarlet Lady in one of your posts, what's your opinion on it?

I've mentioned before that I'm a big Scarlet Lady fan, which is the only reason that I'm comfortable answering asks like this one. I don't publicly criticize the content of hobby creators. That's wildly inappropriate! Punch up, not down.

The linked post was a general discussion of the adaptation process and how @zoe-oneesama did a fantastic job, so for this one, I'm just going to do some general gushing because I do actually like praising and enjoying things!

Scarlet Lady's chosen format (comic) allows it to have this wonderful conversation with canon where it can rely on the framework of canon to tell it's own story while also using canon for jokes and meta commentary. This means that Scarlet Lady is about as close as fan content can get to a direct reboot because it's able to have moments like this one from the comic's first post:

[Image description: Adrien standing in his room after transforming into Chat Noir for the first time. He is beaming and his eyes are shining with excitement as he exclaims, "This is gonna be awesome!"]

A single picture that communicates everything we need to know about Adrien getting his miraculous. When I've done this same thing in fanfic, I had to write out the full scene because that's how novels work. You have to give the full picture. With a comic, you can just quickly acknowledge this thing that we all already know and then move on to the new stuff. A picture really is worth a thousand words! (Or, in my case, more like two thousand...)

This allows Zoe to keep the same akumas that we get in canon without her story feeling like a boring rehash because she can focus on what's different in her version. A novelization of the same content would have to show both the stuff that stays the same and the stuff that changes for it to be coherent. That's a lot less fun to read and write. It's why I basically never revisit canon akumas in my own stuff. It's just too derivative for the written word.

This is one of the big reasons that I loved Scarlet Lady. Because it was able to have that more directly conversation with canon, it was able to take canon and say, "hey, why don't we embrace the tone that you established in season one and retell the story with that vibe?" That's something that I desperately wanted to see, but that is totally unsuited to my chosen artistic form. It couldn't be a novel. It had to be a comic.

If you want to know what a true formula show version of Miraculous would look like, Scarlet Lady is it. It does everything that Miraculous should have done:

Sticks to a lighthearted tone where nothing is ever super serious

Keeps Gabriel entirely unsympathetic

Has slow character development and background hints at a bigger plot as the only serial elements, allowing the individual episodes to be their own story while never feeling incomplete or rushed

Allows characters other than Marinette to shine while keeping Marinette as the clear main character

Makes Adrien narratively important

MAKES THE LOVE SQUARE CUTE SO I CAN ACTUALLY SHIP IT

Understands that Lila and Chloe can't coexist as antagonists

Reverses the love square, which is the best way to tell their story. Yes, I will die on my "love diamond" hill. It's a good hill. Come join me. I'll bring cookies.

I could keep going, but you hopefully get my point. While Scarlet Lady is certainly not the only way to do a formula version of canon, it's proof that a formula version does work! You don't have to go the serious route for Miraculous to be successful.

I want to take some time to gush about the ending, but I don't want to spoil it, so I'll put that gushing under a "read more" in case anyone hasn't seen it. I'll finish out this less spoilerish section with this:

I feel like some people are surprised when they learn that I love Scarlet Lady because - as some of you have probably picked up - it is quite different from my ideal version of canon. I'm not sure why that would stop me from enjoying a thing, though. It's important to remember that our personal ideals are not the only way to tell a good story. There are lots of ways to take what canon gave us and make something wonderful! It's part of the reason that I enjoy being in a fandom.

If I only wanted to see my ideal take on canon, then I'd stick to writing/imagining my own stories. But I don't want that! I like seeing alternate takes, too. Scarlet Lady is one of my personal favorites. It's completely different from anything that I'd ever think to write and that's why I'm so glad that it exists! I like being entertained just as much as I like creating my own entertainment and I don't want to only read stories that look like something I'd write. That's boring!

Spoilers below:

I've mentioned before that there are many, many ways to properly handle Chloe's character and Zoe did such a good job with her take on that! Chloe isn't absolved of all the things she did wrong, but she's also treated as a young woman with the ability to change.

While the comic bares the name of Chloe's alter ego, she was the never the main character. She never went on a journey. The story kept her to her shallow season-one self: a petty brat who just wanted attention. It did this because that's who Chloe was in canon and who Chloe needed to be for the comic to work.

The first time we see any complexity from Chloe is in the comic's final few episodes, which was absolutely the right call for Zoe to make! In a recent post, I talked about how the end of a formula show is the only time when you can break the formula in catastrophic ways and that's what Zoe did. She kept Chloe static until it was time to end the story and that's when the formula breaks. That's when Chloe gets depth because, once she has depth, the formula doesn't work.

That depth is not used to redeem Chloe, but to show us that there's hope for Chloe. That this petty brat who we've been dealing with has some serious issues and needs help. Help that she's going to get far away from the people that she's hurt because her issues aren't an excuse for what she's done. They don't erase the harm that she caused. At the same time, understanding her issues makes us hope that she can be better now and Scarlet Lady took a moment to give us that hope. To show us the START of Chloe's true story.

That is the kind of ending that I have wanted to see in so many properties!!! It was so wonderful to finally get one that did this right. A story that understood that full redemption to the team and damnation to death/suffering are extremes on a scale of possibilities. You don't have to go to extremes! You can fall in the middle and the middle is a perfect, natural place for Chloe to land in this kind of story. Fully redeeming or even fully damning Chloe simply doesn't work in lighthearted formula content. It's too big a lift as canon has already demonstrated.

I also loved Zoe's take on Emilie. I've mentioned that I don't like evil Emilie in part because it makes her revival feel like the start of a new story. She's back and she'd bad, so we have to take her down now! But I don't want that. I want the story to end when Gabriel is stopped. Zoe does this by giving us an Emilie that is another perfect middle ground. She matches canon's uncomfortable implications without feeling like a true villain who is a threat to society.

[scented-morker]

Skz when their overworked idol!gf faints

thank you to the anon that requested this!! it is LONG and idk why I gave so much backstory for all of them, but yolo! 2.3k words, fainting and overworking, a couple mentions of weight loss, worried and stressed skz. I fear this qualifies as angst

Chan

He's plenty familiar with the signs of being overworked

He's been trying to support you in any way possible, sending you meals to the company building and convincing you to get rest

You feel bad about giving the food away to your members and texting him goodnight while still working, but you're just too much of a perfectionist

He's excited to be on music bank at the same time as you because he's been having girlfriend withdrawals bc of how busy you were

So so happy watching you and your group rehearse, fawning over your oversized hoodie and little dance moves

But right as the dance break ends he sees you go down

Is nervous that you tripped, but he's sure you'll get back up fine and he'll just kiss your boo boos later

But then you don't get up, and he sees your members start yelling for help

When he realizes you passed out 🙃

Screw being secretive, he's jumping up onto the stage, taking his hoodie off and using it to prop your head up, interrogating all of your members about the last time you ate and your sleep schedule

He tells your manager that under no circumstances are you performing anytime soon

You're stuck laying in the green room with doctors surrounding you until the show is over and then instead of being sent home, Chan is taking you himself

You WILL BE TAKEN CARE OF, and that is a threat

Spends the next week fawning over you, cooking you meals and cuddling you half to death

"You scared me, angel. Let me take care of you now."

Minho

When I tell you he's pissed

He was so excited when you told him about your multiple stages for the golden disk awards

Until you're at three rehearsals a day along with fittings, photo shoots, and appearances

He loves that you're booked and busy, but not THAT BOOKED

He wakes up to your goodnight and good morning texts only hours apart and he cant think of the last time you were home for dinner

He's sent multiple paragraphs to your manager and emailed your company, to no response

He keeps telling himself he just has to make it through the award show and then everything will calm down

However, the lights going down at the end of your stage aren't dark enough to hide you fainting half way off the stage, and he doesn't even notice when he jumps to his feet

He gets yelled at to sit back down, and he only does so in order to grab his phone and call your manager ten times until they pick up

"Oh my gosh she's fine, stop calling."

"She just fainted on stage. She's not fine. Where are you?"

They don't want to tell him, but he pries the information out of them and soon he's tearing off backstage to find you

He kicks everyone out, and he looks so scary that they actually listen

"I'm sorry," your voice sounds so small, still weak from fainting and worried that he's mad at you

But he just shushes you, sitting down on the couch you're stretched out on and pulling you into him

"It's ok baby. You did so good. My strong girl. Just rest."

You sigh into the crook of his neck and he holds you backstage for the rest of the show, idol image be damned

Changbin

HIS BABY IS MAKING HER SOLO DEBUT

He could not be happier or prouder if he tried

He knows it's a lot of work, especially since you're producing and writing all of the songs yourself

He tells himself that he's overreacting, it's normal to see less of you when you're working on such a big project

But you always feed him with updates and stories about your day

So when he hasn't heard from you in three whole days, he's showing up at your stage rehearsal

He doesn't care what anyone says, he needs to physically see you or he's going to have a heart attack

He's relieved when you walk on stage, because at least you're alive

But it doesn't take very long for him to notice the dark bags under your eyes or the way your hand is shaking around your microphone

The second you hit the ground he's running

A background dancer carries you off stage, and they barely hit the curtain before he's snatching you out of their grasp

He walks with you so gently, sitting down on a couch and cradling you while the nurse takes your vitals

He's the first thing you see when you open your eyes and it squashes all of the fear that had filled your gut about what just happened

"Hi doll." He coos, and you give him a tiny smile

"I missed you"

Once you're cleared he's ordering takeout to his dorm and taking you home

Your performance is postponed because Changbin still hasn't put you down a week later

Hyunjin

He knows how excited you were to be going on tour for the first time, and that reminder has been the only thing getting him through

Every time you're meant to come home your company adds another night or a new leg, and Hyunjin is SICK OF IT

Poor guy has not seen his girlfriend in OVER A MONTH

He loves you so much that he watches clips of every show and performance

And he knows you so well that he notices the hollowness of your cheeks and the way you've started to struggle to keep up your energy on stage

Buys a ticket right then and there to your next show, not trusting anyone else to take care of you

He's standing in the wings as you and your group finish your first set of songs, rushing off stage to change outfits

He legit screams when you go down, and if the fans didn't notice before they definitely did after that

One of your members picks you up and soon there's a flurry of people running around trying to make sure you're ok

The other girls are shooed away to go change, with a manager insisting "the show must go on"

Hyunjin sends the man what is quite possibly the dirtiest look to ever exist

When you come to, your boyfriend is holding onto you for dear life, fighting away any staff member that tries to talk to you or coax you back onto the stage

He takes you back to your changing room and locks the door, feeding you small bites like a child and stroking a hand through your hair

"Don't worry about them, be here now. I got you."

Jisung

He's shocked when you casually mention news of your comeback at lunch together one day

"Aren't you not even done with this promotion yet? How are you already having another comeback?"

You shrug, saying something about your brother group not doing very well revenue wise and your boss wanting to take advantage of your groups current success

Jisung frowns at that, but decides to keep it to himself, surely as your companies main money maker you'll be well taken care of

But then you don't come home after your music bank performance because you have to run to a dance rehearsal

And then you have to cancel date night to re-record an entire song

Jisung shows up at the first sound check for your new comeback, and you happily give him a kiss before heading onto stage with your group

He frowns, worried about how small you felt in his arms and how weak your hold on his hand was

He sees you teeter once, accidentally bumping into another member before fully crashing onto the stage

He feels like he can't breathe watching the girls try to get you up and responsive

Your fans are screaming and there's a paramedic running over

He's holding onto your hand the entire time your vitals are being taken, tears streaming down his face

Once you're cleared he's wrapping you in a blanket and holding onto you like you're made of glass

When you wake up he's promising to never ever let you out of his sight again

"We're becoming a duo. You're never allowed to scare me like that again."

Felix

He is worlds proudest boyfriend

He gets to watch HIS GIRL perform onstage AT COACHELLA

He'd spent the day with you, taking pictures of your festival outfit and reapplying your sunscreen to try and keep you safe while in the middle of the literal desert

You'd kissed him goodbye three hours before your stage was scheduled for, needing time to get ready and have some extra rehearsal time

He isn't sure why considering you'd had rehearsal every day this week while also making interview appearances and flying to different locations in between instead of sleeping

He's trying his best not to worry, but your eyes are looking hollowed and he isn't sure the last time you slept in an actual bed instead of a plan seat

It makes him sad to see you unable to give your best energy during the performance, though you even at 50% was still the most exciting performance of the day

He plans on being backstage when you exit after at least two more encores, but you apologize for no encore tonight and are only halfway off the stage when you go down

Let's out the worlds biggest gasp

He follows right behind the paramedic that carries you off the stage and into the back, refusing to be more than a foot away from you at all times

He calls and cancels the rest of your appearances himself, insisting that you need to be resting

You do not escape his hold or your bed for the next two days

"Just let me take care of you! You deserve some princess treatment right now."

Seungmin

He's so so excited that you're also at lalapalooza bc that means you guys can spend time together even tho you're working!!

You're even an mc, so he gets to stare at you on the screen backstage, which just so happens to be his favorite hobby

He wasn't expecting your group to actually perform considering you'd just finished the Japanese leg of your tour and had been performing every night for the last few weeks

But he sees your stage listed on that days performance list, and he frowns thinking about it

He'd made you tea last night after you'd showed up to his hotel room on the verge of losing your voice, and you were so tense when you laid down that he'd rubbed your back for almost an hour with no difference

"Are you sure you should be performing?" He asks as soon as he enters your changing room

"No, but it's just one more stage and then I get to rot in bed for a while. So I'll be okay."

He still doesn't like it, and he shakes his head but gives you a hug anyways, rubbing a soothing hand down your arm

"You better."

He's so stressed he can't stay in the boys waiting room and he stands under the stage as he watches the lift take you and your group up

He catches a glimpse of your performance from the monitor to his left, and he barely breathes until you're taking your last bows

It isn't until the stage starts moving to bring you back down that he sees you wobble uncertainly before falling onto the ground

All of your members jump in surprise, but they don't even have time to react before he's jumping up with them, the lift not even fully on the ground yet

He picks you up and lays you down on one of the spare blankets backstage, propping your head up against his torso while the rest of your body lays between his legs

His thumb rubs your cheek while the medical team checks you out, clearing you when you become responsive

You blink up at him slowly, eyes shiny from unshed tears

"I guess I was wrong."

He sighs, letting you bury yourself into his chest

"That's okay, I've got you now."

Jeongin

End of the year award shows were no joke, and Jeongin knew you were working hard for your performances

Your group had just finished promoting your last album when the never ending flood of award shows started, and he'd found you knocked out asleep in the most random places the past couple weeks

He hated that your group had such loud antis, because he knew how much pressure you were under to prove yourself

You'd told him about the strenuous dancing you were doing, learning borderline acrobatic tricks while conditioning like you were trainees all over again

He'd done his best to remind you to rest and slip protein bars into every bag you owned, but he knew you were past exhausted

He momentarily forgot his worrying when you were performing, and he let out cheers and danced with the rest of his group while you and your members put on an incredibly challenging performance

But all of the fun was drained out of the air when he saw you go down on stage as soon as the camera zoomed in on your maknae's ending fairy

The lights drop, and Jeongin whips his head around in every direction, trying to think of anything he can do to help

Hyunjin asks him to “go to the bathroom” with him as soon as you’re offstage, and that’s all the clearance Jeongin needs to go running backstage

You’re already awake when he finds you, small tears slipping down your face while you nurse on a water bottle

You can’t even say hi before he’s practically tackling you, pulling you so close that you can feel his own heartbeat in your chest

“Are you okay? Oh my gosh you scared me. Don’t ever do that again.”

Your members leave the two of you be while Jeongin clings to you, refusing to let you go for hours, constantly brushing his hands against your heartbeat

[liliavanrougelover]

Happy holidays!

Summary: How the TWST boys spend the holidays with you

Characters: All NRC students

A/N: I'm finally back and with seasonal post. (May or may not have rushed the end) Anyways, enjoy!

Riddle Rosehearts:

Riddle doesn’t invite you over for the holidays. He does NOT want you to meet his mom. So instead, he spends the holidays with you before he has to go home. He’ll buy you a present, make food (With Trey’s help) and then set up the decorations. He’ll celebrate the holidays with you before he has to go home. And he’ll make sure that you have the best time ever.

Trey Clover:

Trey will invite you over. Not only will it allow you to meet his family, but you’ll also be able to celebrate together. He’ll take you home to meet his family, go shopping for presents, set up decorations, and bake some desserts. His family bakery closes when the holidays arrive. They celebrate like most families do during the holidays (With a little more desserts). And Trey makes sure that you have the best holiday celebration ever.

Cater Diamond:

He is going to give you the best celebration ever. He doesn’t want to invite you over because he doesn’t really want his family to meet you yet, but if you insist that he does, he will. He just has a complicated relationship with his sisters. No matter when or where you celebrate, he’ll still set up the best celebration ever. And he’ll give you the best present you could imagine. He’s going to do whatever he can to see you smile and laugh and just be happy. You matter to him, after all.

Ace Trappola:

Doesn’t really invite you over, he just tells you that you’re coming over. “You’re coming to my place for the holidays,” and then just leaves. Thanks for the heads up, Ace. He will make sure that you want to go. He’s not gonna force you. You’ll get to meet his family and celebrate with them. His brother takes you two presents shopping, you’ll all make food together, and just have a good time. (Ace’s brother gives you baby pictures of Ace and tells you to keep it a secret.)

Deuce Spade:

Of course, he’s inviting you over. You already met his mom and she would be delighted to have you over. Dylla tells him to invite you over, and he does. She’s going to have the house all decorated. She hangs up lights all over the house and everything. She’ll give both of you money to buy gifts (it doesn’t matter if you have your own money.) She’ll make food and everything. This is gonna be your best holiday if she has a say in it. (This isn’t a holiday with Deuce, it's a holiday with Dylla.)

Leona Kingscholar:

You’re not coming over, because he’s not going home. Not even Neji can drag him home. You two are gonna spend the holidays at Savanaclaw. He’s just gonna stay in bed the entire holiday until he needs to get you a present. He’ll order food and you guys can eat, exchange presents, and go to sleep. He’s a simple guy.

Ruggie Bucchi:

He invites you over, and uses your extra hands to carry more food. He’s getting as much from the school as he can to take it home and you’re just extra hands. But he also does want you to come with him. You’ll get to meet his grandma and the kids in his neighborhood. They all love you. He’s feeding everybody and you. The food is his gift.

Jack Howl:

He invites you to his place for the holidays. He’s excited to spend the holidays with you and introduce you to his family. His siblings and parents love you. His siblings are always attached to you and asking all about you. His family makes a great meal and tells you all the stories they have about Jack. He ends dinner early when they get to the embarrassing stories.

Azul Ashengrotto:

He can’t go home. And you would get hypothermia if you went to his home during Winter. He invites you to the Mostro lounge and it’s all decorated. He and Floyd make an amazing meal and set up a whole feast in the Mostro lounge. They have to push a bunch of tables together to lay it all out. You eat, exchange presents, and just enjoy each other's presence. And at the end of the night, Azul will offer to let you stay over and sleep in his room. And if you agree, the tweels crash it and you spend the rest of the night binge watching so-bad-they’re-good movies and playing board games.

Jade Leech:

He can’t go home #2. Beware this one. He’ll show up at your dorm in hiking gear. Holiday hiking, what could be more romantic? No matter how against it you are, you’ll somehow end up hiking up a snowy mountain. Don’t worry, if you get cold, he’ll warm you right up. And then you’ll hike back down and drop into the Mostro lounge where Azul and Floyd already have all the food laid out. You’ll feast and then he’ll offer to walk you back to your dorm. And by the end of the night, he leaves you with a small present. And inside is a terrarium made specifically for you.

Floyd Leech:

He can’t go home #3. The moment you wake up, Floyd bursts into your dorm, oozing with holiday cheer. He drags you around the entire campus, doing everything he finds fun. He’ll start a snowball fight with you, steal your jacket and tease you for shivering, and whatever other fun activities he can think of. And then he convinces you to make and gather as many snowballs as you can for a small little prank. And then you’re bursting into the Mostro Lounge and pelting Azul and Jade with all the snowballs you both gathered. And at the end of the night, he falls asleep with you in his arms.

Kalim Al-Asim:

He is inviting you over as soon as he can. He can’t wait to introduce you to his siblings and parents and cousins and aunts and uncles and-. He especially can’t wait to spend the holidays with you. He’ll make this the best holiday you’ve ever had. He’ll buy you the best gift you ever got. He makes sure you have the best meal you’ve ever eaten. He is going to make sure that when you think of the holiday you spent with him, you smile.

Jamil Viper:

He originally did not consider bringing you home. Even if he did, he’d be busy setting up and babysitting Kalim. But Kalim takes it upon himself to invite you, and Jamil’s not going to complain. He’s happy to have you with him, but he’s so swamped with work that you barely see him. But every chance he gets, he’ll spend his time with you, talking, laughing, hugging. It might not be much, but at the end of the night, you and him get alone time in his room where you exchange presents and fall asleep together.

Vil Schoenheit:

Of course he’s inviting you home for the holidays. His dad would love to meet you, and he would hate to leave you alone for the holidays. He makes sure you have an amazing time with him and his dad. He gets you an amazing present, cooks you a great meal, decorates the house as best as he can. He wants to make sure that next year, you’ll agree to come back. And his dad gives you baby photos and Vil graciously accepts all your “cute baby” comments.

Rook Hunt:

He invites you home for the holidays. Which home? He won’t tell. He introduces you to his siblings and parents who all love you (And seem surprisingly normal??). He takes you shopping which ends up turning into people watching with him. He tells you that he and his family can do all the prep if you don’t want to. And the whole time it’s strangely domestic. Rook is acting normally for once. Not hunting anybody or even talking about hunting. Him and his family are joking around and sharing laughs. And that night, Rook makes sure that you fall asleep in his arms, safe and sound.

Epel Felmier:

Of course he’s going to invite you home for the holidays. If he didn’t, his meemaw would scold him. And he wants you there with him anyways, so it works out. He has a whole winter outfit made for you too. He shows you around, takes you shopping, tells his neighbors about his amazing partner. He’s going to make sure that you have a good time. There’s a meal, gift giving and of course he gives you a kiss on the cheek as he hands you the present he got you. And that night, he falls asleep with you smiling like the cat that caught the canary.

Idia Shroud:

He’s very apprehensive about inviting you home. He doesn’t think it’s because you won’t like it, he just isn’t sure about his parents meeting you. But Ortho convinces him, so he texts you (it’s easier) about coming to his place for the holidays. Naturally, his parents love you. His dad is a little sceptical on why you’re dating Idia, but loves you all the same. His mom and Ortho decide to make this holiday extra special for you. They have extra decorations, extra food,  extra presents, extra family bonding! And by the end of it, Idia’s social battery is drained but at least he can recharge in your arms that night.

Malleus Draconia:

He would never leave you alone for the holidays. Not to mention, he’s clingy. So he invites you home and introduces you to his grandma. She’s a little wary about you being human, but comes around after seeing how happy Malleus is. And then he takes you to Lilia’s house to actually celebrate. Silver and Sebek cook the food while Baur (who was apprehensive when he met you)  and Malleus keeps Lilia out of the kitchen. It’s a small space but not cramped. Everyone eats, talks, laughs. And at the end of the day, everyone goes their separate ways. And Malleus gets to fall asleep with you. He couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate.

Lilia Vanrouge:

He’s inviting you over to his and Silver’s little cottage in the woods. It’s small, sure, but it’s very cozy. Lilia gives you a tour (that only takes 3 seconds). And then Sebek, his grandfather, and Malleus come over to celebrate with you. You and Baur work together to keep Lilia out of the kitchen while Silver and Sebek cook. You all eat, exchange presents and talk. And near the end of the night, you found Lilia outside alone. He smiles at you and thanks you for becoming part of his family.

Silver Vanrouge:

Lilia insists that he invites you over so he does (and falls asleep after you say yes). He shows you around the cottage he grew up in and even shows you some things he still has from his childhood. He and Sebek cook food while everyone talks and laughs together. It’s a good night. Just happy and domestic. And Silver wouldn’t have it any other way. He loves his family, and that includes you.

Sebek Zigvolt:

Yells his invite. Everyone knows that he invited you over. He introduces you to his siblings, parents, and grandfather. Most of them love you, but you can never be sure about Baur. He’ll do nice things but brush it off as you not being able to do it because you’re a human. His father and mother love you. And his father feels especially connected to you for being the only other full human there. You have a small celebration at Lilia’s house and then go back to Sebek’s to celebrate with his family. And it couldn’t be more perfect to him.

[goldsbitch]

Ah...

In a world where people get born with the first sentence their soulmate shares with them tattooed on their wrist, Y/N and Oscar are probably not the ones with the easiest story to tell.

note: first Oscar fic! this is prep for a longer 1k followers celebration...i'm a little too excited for that one

warning: pure fluff

Not everyone got to meet their soulmate, and that was totally fine. Her parents weren't soulmates and they still managed to have an amazing life. Why waste time waiting around and looking for a guy who's first word he'd ever say to her was suppose to be "Ah."

"Ah."...? What was that about anyway? Stupid wrist tattoo, marking her forever with a word so unimpressive.

During her teenage years, it became an inside joke between her and her best friend. A word to overuse so much it could truly mean anything. Ah.

Her boyfriend was definitely not her soulmate. He was blessed with having a full sentence on his wrist - but in French, a language she did not speak. The hot, dark haired boy was too obsessed with studying physics to take the whole concept of soulmates seriously, so when they met in university, it was a no brainer to follow the path set by hormones rather than fate and date together.

Only after they graduated she realized just how soul-crushing it was to spend time with him. When the social circles broke down and they were left alone, it was more than clear they were not a good match. But it's hard to see the tornado when you're standing inside of it.

The vacation was suppose save the relationship. Instead, their fights were laced with her running away and him having his eyes wonder around any girl walking by.

Only two more days, she said as she walked hastily around a garden adjacent to the villa they were staying at, once again. It was like a dance - they'd fight, she'd run away, he'd search for her and they'd go back to their room for a night of silence. On repeat for the whole vacation organized by the devil himself. The plan was to turn her life upside down once she arrived back home. Start fresh. At that moment, she had no idea just how fresh that would be.

She stood in the middle of a pathway leading to dimly lit swimming pool, tired and impatient. By this time her boyfriend would usually be on his way to get her back.

Finally, grass cracking sound that followed any footstep in this garden. She closed her eyes, unable to do this dance anymore.

"I want to break up," she whispered and turned around.

Oscar did not plan on speaking with this woman standing in the middle of the way back to his hotel room. He was just coming back from his late evening swim session.

When she uttered those words, it was like each of the syllable burned on his skin. Hundred questions answered and thousand new on the table.

Absolutely baffled, yet in his typical stoic style of keeping it together on the outside, while exploding internally, he couldn't bring himself to a more than..."Ah."

//

Oscar fully believed in the concept of soulmates and had no doubt that he would meet his, that's why he refrained from dating anyone who did not have the specific, very strange, words on their wrist.

"I want to break up"...? Why would this be the first thing you ever say to someone?

Over the time, he figured it would just be him overhearing the words. Or that he was one of the lucky ones, having a soulmate who has a special catch phrase they use when introducing to anyone new. He imagined his soulmate to be clever and cunning. And like the dreamer he was, he already had several versions of their meet up in his head, usually followed by their whole life together playing out. Oh, what a bliss when the moment would finally come.

But when it came, it took him totally of guard. Somehow, in all the scenarios he thought about his whole life, he missed probably the most realistic one. He was only trying to get back to his room and this girl was standing in the middle of the only clear pathway, as if it was nothing. She spoke with her back turned to him.

"I want to break up."

And when she turned around, after mistaking him for someone else, he saw a beautiful face, all puffy with smudged make up. And obviously in a really bad mood. He was, as they say, too stunned to speak.

"Ah." He said bluntly, too quickly for him to even notice it, processing the fact he just heard that one specific sentence, the one that should define the rest of his life.

She stared at him, as if he just offended her entire family. "What?!"

He felt..nothing. She couldn't be his soulmate. No way. Most likely because he had his response to "I want to break up" rehearsed his whole life. It was supposed to be "Worry not, now I am here." A lovely sentence to walk around with, right? He wanted his soulmate to wear the tattoo proudly, not with - what was it he even said? Did he even say something? He didn't, did he?

"Worry not, now I am here," he tried, feeling like he had nothing to loose. The words came out clumsily, as if they tripped over one another.

He was sure her face was already the most confused one could make, but she proved him wrong, quickly.

"Sorry, I'll leave you to it. This was obviously a misunderstanding," he said, trying to be polite and took few steps ahead to get going. She reacted and stepped right into his way.

This surely couldn't be it. But, emotions were running high, she thought she was addressing her boyfriend and was somehow trying to comprehend the fact she nearly broke up with him. And then she hears an "Ah." "What did you say?" she shot at him, no filter whatsoever, watching him with fascination and some flavor of anger.

Oscar was beginning to regret ever engaging in this conversation. "Worry not, now I am here...There, now, is that tattooed on your wrist? I imagine not, so, apologies and I'll leave you to whatever you're doing," he said, without giving her much space to respond. He felt slightly guilty about leaving an obviously distressed woman alone there, but his social awkwardness won this round and he just wanted this to be over.

"No, you didn't," she said, not intent on moving anywhere. Determined look replaced her sorrow.

"I'm pretty sure I did."

"And I am sure you didn't," she said, raising her wrist all the way to his eyeline. "You said this, didn't you?!"

It was not a tone of playful or even hopeful realization. Her delivery was spiced with unresolved anger that grew inside. He squeezed his eyes, having hard time seeing the small letters in the light of the nearing night. "What's that?"

She put her hand down, having a really hard time believing this was actually happening. It took him by surprise the speed with which she reached for his own hand, but his racer reflexes kicked in and he managed to avoid her.

Annoyed sigh left her mouth. "Will you show me your hand? I've already had a pretty shit day without you making obstructions."

He looked deeply in her eyes. This was a lot of emotion battling each others, little too much for Oscar.

"I'm pretty sure we're not soulmates," he said dryly.

"Tell me what's on your hand and I'll let you fuck off from when you came from."

"I'd actually like to go the other way-"

"Show me your hand!"

Visibly taken back, almost offended by her shouting, he reveled his wrist.

Time stopped for Y/N for few seconds. She was staring at the words she uttered just a minute ago. Decided to take a deep breath before she looked in his eyes once again. "Sorry for...screaming. We're almost definitely soulmates...You said "Ah." It felt good to finally know what kind of tone this sound was spoken with. End to the endless possibilities.

The irony of the fact that Oscar had a hard time remembering if he had actually said something so stupid dwelled on him. Did he? Knowing himself, he probably did.

"Ah," he repeated with a much heavier, slightly bitter, undertone.

"Yeah."

They just stood there, staring at each other. Was this suppose to be it? The moment he longed for and the one she already mourned? Just now she noticed that he was a gorgeous guy. Heavenly actually. Such a kind smile. Innocent look with a hint of spice. But she believed in love, not necessarily soulmates. Even if she did, this was the worst moment to do this. Little, almost invisible, tears started rolling from her eyes.

"Can I take a photo of you?" she asked, with defeated smile, wanting to walk away with a tangible evidence for her lonely evenings in the future.

Oscar was still processing. "Sure," he replied to a sentence he heard thousand times each month. Very automatically his body moved for a classic hug with a fan - which she rejected and just snapped a photo of his face.

"Nice to meet you. But I have my shit to deal with. I'm not good for you anyway," she said and sprinted back to he hotel room, to her current boyfriend and a deadend life. He just stood there, unable to comprehend. When he finally did, she was gone.

//

"Mr. Piastri, you understand that I can't just give you a room number to someone who you don't even know by name," the receptionist said, not backing down to his urgency.

"But she is my soulmate! She just passed by, surely you would know which one of the guests she is," he said, both hand on the counter, towering the poor reception lady.

"I'm going to have to ask you to stop this request or we might be forced to cancel your stay and remove you from the premise."

He rolled his fingers into his first, mad at himself the most out of all the people. "Yeah. Great. Understood."

//

Y/N didn't sleep for a minute that night. When she returned back without a word, her boyfriend didn't even look up. She didn't really care.

"Let's just get through these few days," he said and she just nodded.

Mind racing around new set of eyes she memorized from the photo she had, not having a clue that he in fact was a racer.

//

Breakfast. Oscar's chance to take destiny into his own hands. He was the first one to arrive and planned on being the last one to leave. And should she miss her breakfast, he'd move into the lobby. Determined to talk to her at least one more time. Sat there, drinking his juice and bouncing his leg up to the point it annoyed even him.

//

He'd probably be at the breakfast, she realized as her sleep deprived body walked towards the elevator. A stolen glance at her partner. They hadn't said a word to each other the whole morning. To think she once thought one of them would bury the other after a nice full-filled life. Coffee and croissant was her only hope now. And of course the guy from yesterday was there. Sitting at a table, alone, very obviously finished with his breakfast. Arms crossed and eyeing all the entrances. She couldn't help but smile and light up when she saw him. He sat there. Waiting. Was there even a possibility he'd be waiting for her? Like a soulless ghost, she followed her current partner and sat down to the table he picked.

Oscar was a secret over-thinker. He spent every minute going through every possibility of what could happen. So of course he was ready, in theory, for her entering with another guy or a girl. However, the whole nature of her first sentence to him was about breaking up. And you don't say that in a healthy relationship.

It was now or never for him. He watched the pair grab a seat few tables away from him. God, she was gorgeous. Seeing her walk in, summer dress proving the internet was right once again, made him weak in his knees and unable to look away. She paused upon noticing him, eyes shyly flashing back and forth, absolutely no plan or idea what to do. Awkwardly put her things down the at the table, fumbled around aimlessly and proceeded to walk over the breakfast bar. As she walked, she could almost feel his eyes piercing through her back. For some reason, it felt as if he knew something she didn't. she had to actively convince herself to act normal, as if this was her first time having breakfast at a hotel. Copy others. Oscar did indeed stare at her as if there was no tomorrow. Eyes glued to her back, cosplaying as the worst private detective this planet ever produced. He found himself getting up and approaching the bar she was standing by, the guy she came in long gone from her close proximity.

Oscar gulped before speaking, standing right beside her, pretending to be interested in a stack of apples. Her eyes flashed to her left, but she already knew who was standing next to her. It was as if she could hear his energy, something divine, intoxicating and most importantly - inevitable.

"Morning....I hope you've had better night than when you left yesterday," he opened with, desperately trying to break the ice. He was absolutely hopeless with small talk. His tone created a small smile on her face. This sort strange and unique tonality, which was exceptionally hard to decipher, mixed with his Australian accent. Again, so many questions popping up in her head - her body wanted her to find out everything about this guy.

"I'm not sure that's the case. But thank you for asking I guess," she said and leaned over his hand to reach for a fresh peach. It was not her conscious decision to brush his hand, but it definitely could have been avoided. Neither party mattered. Two shy smiles were created at that moment.

"Would you mind sharing your name with me?" he asked, as she glanced over to his wrist, to look at his tattoo once again.

She answered, slightly hesitantly. "Y/N."

"Uuh,"

"Are interjections the only language you speak?" she whispered, still not over the whole "Ah." thing and finally stopped pretending to be interested in the breakfast bar. She did the best she could to meet his eye while not turning around and becoming too obvious.

Oscar was having trouble processing his body's reaction to this girl being so close now. "No, but I am happy you seem interested to know that."

It was impossible to fight of the smile. "I'm not, you're the reason I'm walking with this my whole life," she said, lifting her wrist once again.

He fiddled with some apples, trying to keep his hands busy. "I'd like to object that in this pair I'm the one who lost"

"Don't say the word pair," she said in a tone so unserious even she couldn't pretend to believe it.

"Why, does that idea make you nervous?" he clicked his tongue, feeling more confident with every second she stayed there with him.

"I have a boyfriend," she stated, lying to herself anyway.

He smirked. "Apologies, must have misread my own hand."

"I can't break up with someone on a holiday," she responded, reaching for straws, not even knowing why. She took two steps to the coffee line and to no surprise, he followed.

"You didnt seem to think as such yesterday," he said in more serious tone. "Look, I don't know you-"

"No, you don't," she jumped in before he continued.

"-But...let me present my hypotheses, so that we can test the whole soulmate thing. Does that not make you at least a bit excited?" he said, trying to hide his own excitement, which was something he did not have to do often, so he was not really good at it.

She found his confidence mixed with clumsiness so intoxicating. "It's overrated," she argued, perhaps trying to see how much he's willing to defend it.

"I'm so much looking forward to proving that theory wrong." There is was. The point of no return.

"Well before you do," she bit her smile, accidentally leaving a pause for him to fill.

"Ah, so you believe that I will," he said sith his signature "I won" smile.

"Again, with the interjections, you gotta unlearn that," she said, happy he couldn't see directly into her face, as she felt the blush spreading.

"Teach me."

"Stop it...." she froze, searching in memory a moment when he'd introduce himself.

"Oscar."

She finally paused and dared to look at him, or more specifically stopped resisting her wondering eyes. Her mind rushed through all the Oscar's she had the pleasure to meet and absolutely none of them did justice to the name. His kind eyes, while somewhat giving shy guy vibes, pierced through her fearlessly. So sure of himself, et somehow humble. An impossible enigma she could see herself deciphering for the rest of her life.

"Nice name," she said, in a completely new tone, one he hadn't heard yet. Calm, kind and intrigued.

"Thank you." They stared at each other for few more moment, utterly inappropriately for two strangers in a coffee line. Taking in the little intricacies about the other, as if memorizing for a test.

"You said you had a hypotheses?" she broke silence, not quite sure they were at the same planet as their surroundings anymore. All around them sort of blended together into an unclear, totally unimportant mush.

"I do. Hope I don't overstep."

"I think that does not matter now," she said, walls crumbling down one by one.

"Good. I think you don't want to break up with your current boyfriend now that you'd met me," he said boldly.

"Astonishingly obnoxious," she teased, unable to believe he caught her.

"Fair. But, yesterday you wanted to. Now, it serves like a perfect excuse why run away from this," he said and stepped just a little bit closer to her.

"I don't want to be a slave of some destiny bullshit," she said, while absolutely agreeing with destiny this time.

There was no way back for Oscar. Looking into her eyes was making him drown in lands never explored before. "Yes, but why reject it before we even get the chance to discover if we like each other."

"I don't even know you."

"Your parents didn't know each other at one point," he said matter-o-factly.

The reality was creeping into her mind. "I hardly know anything about you! Like where you live, what you do..."

He was not letting her go. "All over the globe, I am a racing driver. You?"

How come it seemed so easy and obvious for him? "Oscar, I'm..I'm scared." Intimidated was the word she wanted to use, but it felt a little bit too much.

"Of what?"

"I dunno...? Of this working out?"

"Do you realize that sounds quite ridiculous."

"...Yes".

"Well, I believe this is going to be great fun. Listen, it's not socially acceptable for me to bother you for longer. But I desperately hope this is not the last conversation we share," he lowered his voice, parting ways with her being the last thing he actually wanted to do, but his intuition told him, that he had to give her some space to come forward to his, her decision.

Y/N's head was a mess, truth slipping through, passing all the filters that seemed to have stopped working. "I am afraid it's not."

He smiled. "Good. Now, I'll leave you to your life - do whichever you think is right. But please give me your number."

"No, you give me yours so that I can call you when i want to. You know, boundaries," she ordered, trying to keep some control in her hands.

He trusted his gut. "Fair."

//

"Lady, I can't tell you where's Oscar's room." It was a different receptionist that Oscar had dealt with, but probably with the same training.

"But it's a suprise! Look, I have his number an everything."

"Why don't you call him?"

"You're familiar with the concept of a surprise?"

//

Unlike Oscar, she managed to convince the reception into giving her Oscar's room number. It was all the way up at the last floor. Fancy, she thought. It's impossible to convey the energy and adrenaline cocktail that Y/N was on when she was on the way to knock on his room and announce that she actually went though with the break up and the guy was on his way home, cutting the vacation early. It was unhinged, reckless, addictive. She had to stop herself several times, as the excitement mixed with fear was making her put on faces very strange to anyone who should pass by. If music was on, she'd dance for hours. Hell, she had no idea what was suppose to happen now. And that had never felt so exhilarating before.

With one last breath before her life changed for good, she knocked on the door.

After the longest few seconds ever experienced on this planet, he finally opened the door.

She physically couldn't hold it anymore. "I broke up with him," she blurted out the moment their eyes met.

Oscar tried to take in the image of his soulmate, standing there in front of him, flustered and ready to take the leap with him, once again, having trouble holding his smile in.

"Ah."