#i'm never drawing a race suit ever again. :)

[anitalianfrie]

it's 2005. valentina rossi wins another grand prix, and makes her celebratory lap with the zip of her suit down. (is it broken? has she done it on purpose? who knows). somewhere in italy, marzia bezzecchi, age seven, discovers she is a lesbian.

[dcxdpdabbles]

Fingers crossed for an update of Passion for Fashion 💖❓ sorry for the bother but I've just become addicted to reading that Au lololol I've read it over and over again for like a hundred times now

"Give me a spin," Dan demands, keeping a critical eye on the suit pants as the man did as he was told. He clicks his tongue in sharp disapproval before falling into a crouch and fidgeting with the hem.

Danny thinks the suit came out looking fantastic for a stupid theme like question marks. The client was also a rather exciting guy, randomly spewing riddles at them as Dan worked on his outfit and Danny cooked them lunch.

Edward Nigma had shown up on their doorstep with a cheerful greeting at five a.m. Danny wanted to tell Edward that anything before nine a.m. should be illegal, but Dan was happy to welcome him in.

Dan had forgotten to sleep again and didn't realize the early morning start. Danny was getting rather tired of the ghost rushing about with an insane amount of energy, only to crash when his human body could no longer sustain his habits.

After letting Edward get comfortable on the half-buried couch of clothing, Danny wandered back upstairs to his bedroom. It was the only room—besides the bathroom—where there wasn't a bunch of fabric and sewing instruments thrown about. He crashed on his bed and didn't wake up until two more hours later.

By that point, when he had done his morning routine and wandered downstairs, he found Edward sitting crosslegged in a ring of paper. The paper had multiple sketched designs of various suits.

A little to his right was Dan, whose hand was nothing but a blur as it raced across his sketchbook. Danny could make out that he stopped, ever so often, to switch out the coloring pencils for shades of green and purple, but doing it at such a speed that he doubted regular humans would be able to tell.

It meant his drawings were done at an insanely fast pace. He wondered if his Obsession made it possible not to burn a hole through the paper. Was there a way to test that? Ghosts did have an effect on their environments just as the environments had an effect on their forming.

Edward was comparing two papers in his hands with a critical eye. He looked up as Danny stumbled down the stairs- he had never been a morning person. He held up the designs for Danny to see, asking, " What is the most dangerous thing to give a man in a crowd?"

Half asleep, Danny didn't miss a beat in muttering, "Power."

Edward seemed pleased by his response, putting the left one back into the ring of papers before shifting around to face a new side of the ring. There, he ran his fingers over the designs, muttering, "It needs to be powerful."

Right.

"I'm making breakfast if anyone-"

"No need. Edward ordered us some. Your burrito is over there somewhere," Dan cut him off, turning to the next page without lifting his head. "It's part of my commission."

"Free food?"

"For a week"

"Nice"

Edward glances at them. "I can keep feeding you if you answer more riddles."

Danny takes a big bite out of his bean burrito, savoring the explosion of flavor that dances over before nodding his head. "I promise I'll try to answer as many as I can but I'm not the best at them."

The man frowns, turning away back to this pile of papers. "If you're not going to play my game, you don't need to waste the air you breathe in."

Both Fentons freeze at that, snapping their heads in Edward's direction. Now, correct him if he is wrong, but that sounded a whole lot like a threat to Danny. He made eye contact with Dan, tracing the youthful human face that held the same bloodlust as his adult form.

Was Edward aware he had just issued a Ghost Challenge to the one Fenotn, the least human, thus the one with the least humanity of them all, madness cured or not? Is he aware that Dan was putting down his drawings, his teeth more sharp, and his hands curled into claws?

Danny sprung to his feet, mouth open in a shout just as Dan was about to leap-

Ding Dong.

The front doorbell cuts through the air like a knife through hot butter. Dan's ghost instincts all but vanish as his eyes light up in joy. He goes through with his leap, but it's only to go over Edward's form and roll to a stop on the other side, heading towards the door. "My second client!"

Danny breathes a sigh of relief, flopping back down in his seat. He ignores Edward, savoring his food with a deep hunger. Clockwork had sent them over with enough funds to survive, and there were no bills they needed to cover (if there were, no one had bothered to come collect from the Fentons or cut their services), but that was a limit to how loose they could be with their spending.

Danny thought eating out was a luxury he would miss out on until he returned home. Of course, he got a coffee or something occasionally, but that made this free food all the more tasty.

"I was thinking something more eco-friendly," The redhead woman from the runway told Dan as she scanned the room with a hint of distaste. "Are you aware of the damage to the Earth these fabric stores cause?"

Dan eyed her with equal distance. "Are you aware of how little I care about that?"

Edward snaps his head up with a gasp. "Did he really say that to Ivy?"

"I thought her name was Pamela," Danny asks, which causes the green woman to snap a glare at him. He shrugs helplessly at her rage, reminded of Sam in a heartbreaking moment. "Miss, look around you. Do you honestly think ants like us have any say with the fabric companies?"

"You could stop giving them business!" She hisses as Dan rolls his eyes.

"We bought almost everything from a second-hand store or a discount store. The poor don't get to make eco-friendly decisions. They make ones that help them stay off the streets." Danny explains gently, making sure his voice is not dismissive or condescending. He thinks back to nights when he had to talk Sam down from doing something crazy- like setting a building on fire for them and cutting down the oldest trees in Amity Park. "You have the means to make a change."

Pamela raises a brow. "I do make a change. Permanently."

"Oh, that's great. How many trees have you replanted?" Danny asks, smiling widely. It's odd how she reacts to his question, body still going in surprise.

"What?"

"I mean, I figured you would be focusing on healing the earth instead of causing it more scars by engaging in human wars, right?" Danny tilts his head, aware of Edward's flabbergasted look and Dan's apparent boredom with the conversation. "You're different from the big corporations who don't care who or what they hurt to reach their end goal, right? "

Pamela opens and closes her mouth before she snaps her back straight. "That wouldn't save the Earth! Humans are a plague!"

"Humans can also be a cure if the right ones get started." Danny counters quickly. "I mean, what have you done for the rivers around Gotham? The water that flows through there affects the plant life just as much. Also, plants and green help lower depression, and Gotham needs help. Plant some pretty flowers and gardens, and watch the neighborhoods flock to them. If you can convince the people to love the plants as much as you do, they will join you in keeping them safe."

Pamela's eyes narrow. "Don't you dare lecture me about how to save the Earth."

Danny shrugs, stepping away from her. A sudden strong perfume fills the air, causing his nose to wrinkle. It smells like his grandmother's house and is not welcoming. "Wasn't a lecture, but if you take it as such, there is no point in talking about it anymore."

"You're going to die for me," she suddenly says, popping out her hip and smirking at him.

"That's nothing special, Danny would die for a pizza." Dan cuts in

"I would die for an extra cheese pizza." Danny corrects, pointing his finger at his counterpart. "You would die for less."

"Oh, to be dead. In the arms of the most handsome EverBurning to ever live." Dan sighs dramatically, leaning into three pieces of cloth behind him, one hand on his forehead.

Danny threw his hands in the air. He's sick and tired of hearing about the ghost they knew for only ten minutes. "Killer Croc is never going to give you a chance, Dan. Move on!"

"We could have been forever if it weren't for my age!" Dan hisses right back, "You wouldn't understand! It's not like you or Samantha turned five!"

"Who's fault do you think that was? " Danny yells back, stepping around the wide-eyed Edward to snare into Dan's face. Pamela has taken three steps back, looking confused more than anything, mouthing Killer's name with clear disbelief.

"I wasn't the one that messed up the timeline!" Dan hisses, switching over to Spanish. Sometimes, the fake twins found themselves doing that whenever they got too emotional.

"You destroyed the world!"

"As it was foretold!"

"What does that even mean!?"

Ding Dong.

Once again, the doorbell cuts through the tension, making Danny huff. He pushes past Dan, who punches him in the arm but doesn't stop him from throwing the door open. Outside stands Tim Drake, with a bouquet of flowers and a nervous smile.

"I'm here for the suit," Tim says, holding out the flowers. "I know you said I didn't have to pay you, but I thought it was rude to not offer anything-"

"Buy me pizza." Danny cuts him off with dead-set eyes. "Double crust."

Tim startles. "Oh. Sure?"

Danny can feel his face stretch out into a grin. It lights up his whole face—Sam and Tucker had told him many times before—and he just knows it makes him appear lighter and friendlier. Tim's face goes very red as Danny takes his flowers. "It's a date. Come on in. Dan can get your measurements for the resize, and I can get ready in the meantime."

"Okay." Tim follows after him in a daze, stumbling over the fabric rolls Dan had stacked against the wall. He tries to avoid tipping but tangles himself in the string of cloth examples, still strung up everywhere. Danny quickly reaches out to steady him with a laugh.

"Yeah, this place is a bit of a mess," he tells the other. "It's slightly better today since Dan has some guests."

He leads Tim back into the living room, surprised to find that the awful smell has disappeared, Edward is currently being measured by Dan in his underwear, and Pamela is flipping through Dan's designs with a thought frown.

Huh, maybe Dan managed to calm her down. How? He's unsure, but that ghost always seemed to have the oddest people skills.

Tim gulps loudly when he finally spots everyone. "These are his guests?!"

"It's one of the Waynes." Edward cheers, arms held out to his sides as Dan places the measuring tap from his armpit to his waist. "Tim Drake, right? I had you in one of my riddles three months ago!"

"That's funny. I induced his father with pheromones around the same time." Pamela speaks up, giving Tim a friendly smile. It's the most welcoming expression she's worn since she got here.

Also ew, why would she tell someone she hooked up with their dad to their face like that?

Tim pales dramatically, reaching out to clutch Danny's arm. He pats it gently, hoping to comfort him from such a bizarre comment. "Dan, when you finish with Edward, can you message Tim for his adjustments. We're going on a date."

Dan glances over at him. "Whore"

"Just because I've gone on dates while Killer didn't even give you the time of day doesn't mean you can call me names, Dan."

"Whore but affectionately," Dan says after a long pause, and Danny nods.

"That's better." He pats Tim again on the shoulder- aware of his strange fidgeting with a ring on his finger that imitates a strange faint beeping. "I'll go upstairs to get ready. Who knows, maybe we'll find Batman."

Edward and Pamela laugh as if Danny said a funny joke and Tim's face aging a few more nervous lines. "Maybe"

He leaves Tim to take a seat next to Pamela. She leans over to show Dan's designs for her Leaf theme act and asks for his opinion. Tim fidgets even more with his ring as he answers her, voice shaky and cracking.

She seems highly amused.

His pale face stands out among the sea of handing red glimmering fabric around his head, and Danny is startled for a second by the idea that he is pretending to be scared, much like an actor before a red stage curtains.

It takes a particular skill to pull off an act that good. Almost an inhuman amount. One could even claim it was.... Bat-man-like.

I have a lead, Danny thinks with glee as he quickly climbs the stairs. He is careful not to step on bundles of yarn that Dan has stacked there. I finally have a lead!

He's going to charm the pants off of Tim to get him to tell him everything about Batman.

[bestedoesmeow]

what about us?

daniel ricciardo & ex!gf reader

request :Heyyyy, could you maybe do a Daniel Ricciardo x Ex-GF!reader where they run into each other at a vacation(they’re both alone), and as they spend time together, they realise they’re not over each other. It could be a mix of one shot and smau

song to listen while reading: pink - what about us

You see him standing there, his gorgeous smile on his lips, holding his beer. His body moves lazily with the rhythm, his lips syncing with the lyrics, "Oh, as long as I know how to love, I know I'll stay alive." He talks to the person next to him, effortlessly beautiful, just as you remember him. Suddenly, his eyes catch yours after years. It's the first time in years; you had avoided watching him race, laugh, or be interviewed to avoid eye contact, even from the screen. To forget him: his smile, his touch, his laughter.

Your blood rushes through your veins, your hands slightly shake with the contact, your cosmopolitan leaves stains on your white dress as he makes his way towards you. His steps drawing closer, your heart beats louder, heavier, faster.

"Enchanté," he says, as if trying to remind you that after years, you're in Paris again. Together, but not like before.

"Enchanté," you manage to say, hiding your shaky hands by placing your drink on the nearest table. His eyes are even brighter, more beautiful than you remember.

"It's been years. What are you doing here?" he asks, a big smile on his lips.

"Here for a holiday with a few friends. What about you?"

"We're on summer break; came here with some of the guys from the grid," he points to three guys dancing and drinking next to the cocktail table.

"You look fantastic," he adds, probably unaware of its effect on you.

"Thank you. Yeah, you too," you stutter, trying to smile and avoid flashbacks of your last night together upon hearing his voice.

8 YEARS AGO

"I know, I understand you have to move there, and I fully support you, but what about us?" you say, tears filling your eyes. His hands cup your cheeks, and he gets closer on the couch. Tears well up in his eyes as he watches you cry, perhaps for the last hour.

"We're going to be okay. We can try long distance, FaceTime every night. You can visit me, and during breaks, I'll come here, huh?"

"Promise you won't let me go? Won't get tired of me, the FaceTimes, the long hours of traveling."

He presses his nose to yours, breathing slowly to hold back tears. "I'd never, ever get tired of you, Y/N. If there's something more important to me than my career in F1, it's you. Nothing in this world can take me away from you," he says, leaving a peck on your lips.

"I promise too. I'll try my best to make this work, what we have."

He left home three days after your conversation, and you decided to break up in the second month of the long distance. He was aggressive, stressed, busy. You decided to give him the break he seemed to want. He didn't say anything, but he cried for hours in the motorhome, had the worst qualifying sessions. Meanwhile, you left your house, moved back in with your family, and changed schools.

It wasn't truly over, of course. No one came into your life during those years, not even in Daniel's case. All you could think of was him: the late-night talks, the way he touched you, the way you loved each other.

He was a beautiful trauma.

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

"How's everything going? Are you done with school?" he asks, while you're lost in memories.

"Oh yes, I'm teaching at an elementary school in Boston now," you say, catching him looking you up and down.

"I'm so proud of you, Y/N. I always knew you'd be a great teacher. Look at you."

"I'm proud of you too. You look great in the Red Bull suit," you say, mostly confessing. "I knew all of this would bear fruit."

"You've always been so supportive. I can never thank you enough," he says.

"So supportive that I couldn't bear anyone with any less supportiveness. I am- was addicted to you," he panics, swiftly changing the word.

"Is there anyone? Has there been anyone?" you ask, the words coming out unexpectedly.

"No, it was never after you, and I don't think it ever will be after you."

"I missed you, Daniel. I missed you for days, weeks, months, and years. I learned how to cope with it, but I never learned enough to forget you. You'll always be my favorite person," you say, tears welling up in your eyes. Your hands cup his cheek, and your body shivers with the touch, contact after years. His eyes well up, and his lips curl into a painful smile.

"Thank you, baby. Thank you for everything you sacrificed for me. I love you, I love you forever," he says, kissing the palm of your hand.

"Thank you for showing me what love is, Danny. I'm so thankful. Maybe we're meant to be in another universe?" you say, bursting into tears with your last words. His arms pull you into a tight hug, his lips moving on your hair, leaving peck kisses.

"I don't think I'll be leaving you now that I've found you."

[lostfirefly]

Bugust. Day 23. "Jester." Buggy x Reader (you must be surprised that this story is not about Buggy and Catherine 😄), SFW + NSFW, MDNI. English isn't my native language, errors may occur.

"Well, Buggy the Clown, tell me what you saw." You asked, pouring yourself a glass of wine.

"Nothing special. Water and drunk men on a ship." Buggy took a sip of beer, looking at you. "By the way, I brought you a present."

"What kind of present?" You narrowed your eyes and looked around.

The dimly-lit bar was buzzing with the high chatter of patrons and the clinking of glasses as you and Buggy settled into your usual spot, the same table where you had first crossed paths just a couple of months prior. The air was thick with the familiar scent of stale beer and cigarette smoke, but the comfortable atmosphere and the warmth of the amber liquid in your tumblers made it easy to forget the gritty details of the outside world. You sat into the worn, leather-upholstered seats, your eyes met with a familiar spark, the same one that had drawn to this place and to each other in the first place. Without a word, an unspoken understanding passed between you - this was your sanctuary, your secret hideaway where the rest of the world faded away, and it was in this cozy corner that you could be your truest selves.

Buggy pulled a velvet box out of his pocket. "It's just... a trinket. But I thought about you when I saw it."

"You thought about me? I'm impressed. Let's see what's in there." You rubbed your hands together happily and carefully opened the lid. "Oh my God! How beautiful!" You pulled out a blue willow branch barrette.

It was obvious to you that it was no mass-produced accessory, but a unique, handmade piece infused with the character of the tree from which it was born. And Buggy brought it for you.

"Handmade?" You watched him nod. "That's amazing! Thank you so much, Buggy!" You pecked him on his cheek, watching him blush. "You know, I never thought I'd have a pirate friend who would bring me such beauty." You immediately pinned the clip to your hair. "I think it suits me." You giggled.

The hours flew by in a blur of laughter and shared stories in the time you haven't seen each other, and before you knew it, the bartender was calling last orders. Reluctant to part ways, a subtle tension began to build between you and Buggy. You felt it. You saw it. The way his gaze lingered, the gentle brush of his hand against yours - it was electric, undeniable. As you stepped out into the cool night air, the world seemed to narrow to just the two of you, the space crackling with an unspoken, almost magnetic pull.

Buggy may have been a pirate, but he was a gentleman. He walked you home, breaking the growing tension with his stories of his adventures. You couldn't bear the thought of this night ending, not yet, not when there was still so much left unsaid, so many uncharted possibilities waiting to be.

"Thank you for the evening, my genius jester. I haven't laughed so much in a long time. And thanks again for the gift." You lightly punched him in the shoulder as you stood on the porch of your house.

"It was a good thing to do, Y/N." Buggy cleared his throat. "Thank you for the evening, too. I.. I.. I kinda missed our talks."

You noticed. You noticed how his gaze locked with yours, intense and captivating. At that moment, Buggy seemed completely unaware as his hand slowly drifted down, coming to rest gently atop your own. The simple touch sent electric shivers racing through you, emanating from where your skin met, pulsing outward until it felt like the sensation was radiating from your eyes. You were hyper-aware of Buggy's proximity, the warmth of his body drawing you in as if by an invisible force. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as he leaned closer, his movements unhurried yet purposeful. Then, ever so tenderly, Buggy's lips met yours in a kiss that was both achingly soft and charged with an undercurrent of barely-restrained passion.

"Finally!!" You kissed him back with equal passion, running your hands down from his shoulders to his chest.

Buggy chuckled his signature laugh. "And I was about to be sad that I had to give up dessert. This cake is better, Y/N." He whispered through his kisses.

"Agree." Your breath caught in your throat as his hot, insistent lips trailed delicate kisses along the sensitive skin of your neck.

You fumbled with the zipper of your purse, fingers trembling, desperate to find your keys amidst the clutter inside. But your focus was shattered, your thoughts consumed by the pleasure of Buggy's touch. His strong hands grasped your waist, pulling you flush against his firm body, leaving you powerless to resist. The world fell away, narrowing to just the two of you in this heated moment, your inhibitions melting under the scorching intensity of his embrace. Part of you knew you should put a stop to this, that you needed to leave before things went too far. But his mouth on your skin sent electric shocks of desire coursing through your second part of your mind, making rational thought nearly impossible. All you could think about was the tantalizing friction of his body against yours and the urgent need to lose yourself in his passionate kisses.

You opened the door to the house and practically pushed Buggy in.

"You could have kissed me a week ago, idiot." You wrapped your arms around his neck and kissed him again.

"How was I supposed to know you wanted this?" Buggy mumbled, barely removing his lips from yours.

"I gave you a thousand signals!" You grabbed his coat and dragged him into the bedroom. "And you just walked me home and went away."

"Signal better next time, baby."

"You can't run away from me now, Buggy the Clown." You pulled him into the bedroom. "I want to finally get what's mine."

"You can't say things like that, Y/N."

"It's my bedroom, I can say what I want, jerk." You narrowed your eyes and kissed him.

"Shut up, please!" He mumbled throught the kiss. "I'm savoring the moment."

Buggy's hand rested gently on your back as the other hand slowly unzipped the back of your dress, the zipper sliding down with a satisfying sound.

After a brief pause, your lips parted with a soft, audible smack. Glancing up, you found Buggy's usually bright, green eyes now half-lidded and piercing, focused not on your face, but tracing down your body. Feeling agitated, you swiftly looked away and covered your mouth with your hand that had been resting on his chest, attempting to conceal the warmth that was rising on your cheeks. Buggy's eyes remained fixed on you, and you felt his hands gently tugging at the shoulders of your dress.

Your skin is caressed by Buggy's warm hands as he gradually removed the sleeves, exposing your bare back and shoulders. He looked closely at your freshly bared, perfect skin. You shifted your arms and took off the last sleeve yourself, putting your hands on his shoulders and chest. You leaned in to give him a tender kiss, but then you tensed up as his powerful hands quickly pull down the remainder of your dress, leaving it puddled on the bedroom floor.

Buggy removed his vest, and you tossed it off to the side.

"Better than I even imagine." You chuckled, afraid to admit that you'd imagined him shirtless before.

"I could say the same thing about you, my baby girl." Buggy began kissing the most delicate parts of your neck while you quickly kicked off your sneakers.

Buggy grazed his teeth along your jawline, his lips latching onto your earlobe, leaving a thin red lipstick line on your skin. He moved his lips down your neck. He focused on the soft skin and slight protrusion of bone, biting and licking as he hums against your skin.

"Holy shit!" You gasped, your fingers tangling in his long blue hair. "Don't stop."

With deft fingers, Buggy unhooked your bra and loosened the clasps. He carefully withdrew the two ends of the cloth from behind you, taking off your bra's straps. As heat began to blossom in your cheeks, shoulders, and chest, a flush began to creep across your skin. As Buggy glanced at you, your hands trembled and your lungs quickened. You then heard it. The air filled with the sound of his pants unclasping and the zipper sliding down. He shifted his weight, kicking the pants aside and sliding them off his slender frame.

"Jesus Christ!" You ran your hands through his blue chest hair.

Buggy leaned in to kiss you and ran his hands over your stomach.

“Don't waste the time, my handsome jester. I'm ready for you." You said quietly. "Please." You grabbed him by the shoulders and threw him on the bed. "I need you right now."

"Notice, baby, I'm not the one who said that." Buggy smirked and slowly entered you.

You could feel the delicious sensation of him filling you up, inch by inch. Your breath caught in your throat as the feeling of him inside you overwhelmed your senses. You pulled Buggy in closer, reveling in the intimate connection as your bodies joined as one. With his each gentle thrust, waves of pleasure rippled through you, and you let out a deep, guttural moan. The pace soon quickened, Buggy's hips pistoning back and forth as he pounded into you harder and rougher.

"Oh sh-- Fu-- me!" You moaned. "Please! Deeper!" You was completely lost in the moment, consumed by the primal need and carnal desire that consumed you both.

The sound of your bodies colliding and our ragged breathing filled the air, fueling the growing heat and tension between us.

"Fuck, Y/N, you're so good." Buggy said in a low voice, picking up his pace.

"Yes, I'm." You giggled, biting your bottom lip. "Don't stop. I'm begging you."

"I won't."

Every Buggy's thrust sent shockwaves of ecstasy through your body, leaving you breathless and aching for more. The intensity built until you thought you might shatter from the sheer force of our coupling, your cries of pleasure echoing through the room.

As Buggy pressed himself deeper inside you, the sensations became almost overwhelming. With each powerful thrust, you could feel the tension building, your bodies moving in perfect sync as you neared the precipice of ecstasy.

"More, please. Don't stop. I want you, Bug--" You dug your fingers into the firm muscles of Buggy's back, your nails leaving marks as you clung to him, your moans growing louder and more desperate with every movement.

The world seemed to fade away, narrowing down to just the two of you, joined together in a primal dance of passion. One more thrust, and you thought you might shatter into a million pieces from the sheer intensity of it all. One more hard thrust, and with a guttural growl, Buggy buried his face in the crook of your neck, moaning your name as he found his own release, triggering your own wave of earthshattering ecstasy that washed over you both. In that moment, nothing else mattered except the two of you, intimately connected and completely lost in the throes of carnal bliss.

As the final, powerful thrust reverberated through your bodies, Buggy collapsed down onto you, his heavy, sweat-slicked frame pressing against yours as he struggled to catch his ragged breath. 

"You okay?" You said quetly, trying to regain your breath.

Buggy nodded.

"Oh, my God, I didn't even think it would be this good!!" You giggled. "Why didn't we do this before?!"

"I don't know, baby." Buggy laughed. "We've lost a lot, right?"

"Yeah. You know, next time when you'll be in town, we should do it again." You kissed him on the head. “I mean.. You can sleep with anyone on the seas and diffferent islands of course, but not on this island. No, no! That's my territory. You'll only sleep with me. Understood?"

“Can I.. Can I always do it only with you?” Buggy asked softly, trying to hide a smile at the feel of your hands on his back. “Well, I mean… You know. Kind of like you and me… You know, just having fun with each other.”

“Why not. Just you and me, right? Sounds great. Oh! Can I come to meet you up at the harbor next time?” You started running your fingers through his hair. "Well, because, uh. This is my island. You and me. You know.."

"Yeah. Why not? Sounds amazing." He nodded.

“Great.” You kissed the top of his head again and ran your fingers over his neck. “Buggy…”

“What?”

“I think I like you.”

“I think I like you too, Y/N.”

[shewassaying]

1000 DOWNLOAD CELELBRATION PT 3

The final iteration of our 1k Downloads celebration!

I'm sorry it's taken so long, it's been a wild month for me personally and professionally and that definitely got in the way of finishing this in the timing I'd hoped, but finally it's here!

Thank you all so much for your interest in our game!

Gorgeous art by @minthe-drawings!

FINALLY

by Cath

You pace, retracing your path across your studio over and over, and over. The sun is setting, the light cast across the walls shifting to an orangey-pink, and casting long shadows that cast the room in an eerie, comforting glow. 

Waiting sucks. It's never been your strong suit, but for some reason that's eluded you, it's worse today. You feel antsy down to your bones, like your blood is caffeine and your muscles electricity, pushing you to keep moving. But still, no matter how you comb through the tangles of your thoughts, you can't find the source of this damned anxiety, if that's even what you're feeling. 

Your pacing continues.

You've been dressed for an hour. When has that ever happened? 

You check the time, again. 6:31 PM. 

It's not unlike Aster to come and go, and it's rare you truly know where it is he's gone, but he is undeniably a creature of punctuality. If he says he'll be there at a specific time, without fail he would appear between the breaths marking one minute to the next. He was never late. But now... He said 6:30 pm, so where--

"Searching for me, Little Scorpion?"

His voice, always so calm and smooth and dark as a frozen laze, makes you spin on your heel. You set your eyes upon him then, leaning against the wall, a slight smile curving his pale lips. His eyebrow is arched in a way that makes you briefly question how long he's been standing there, if he's been watching you in that quiet way of his, and you simply hadn't noticed. 

But it isn't possible. You always notice him. You feel him, a prickle on the back of your neck, whenever he's near. 

Aster's smile held a shark-like edge, the glint before a true smirk. It was masking something else, though, a feeling you had not seen before, and could not identify. 

"I was." You return his smile and adjust the collar of your shirt. The way he looks at you, his eyes fixed on your face like he can see nothing else, makes you feel uncomfortably warm. 

"You look lovely. Are you ready to leave?" He asks, pulling himself from the wall in one languid motion. You look around yourself, trying to gather your thoughts. 

"Uh... yeah, yes. I'm ready." You smooth down your front, pressing the wrinkles out with your hand. 

Aster's eyebrow quirks once more, and his smile grows. He takes a step towards you, gliding forward as if his feet didn't even touch the floor.  

"You seem nervous, darling." His voice drops into the purr he knows flusters you, the one he likes to use to get your heart racing. 

"I'm-- I--" You sputter for a moment, wanting to deny it, and Aster's smile stretches into a grin. A laugh escapes you, a nervous sounding thing much higher than your voice normally is. "I guess... I am? I don't know why." 

Aster takes another long step towards you, and as if pulled by a magnet, you mirror the movement so you stand only an arm's length from each other. Aster's smile, the wickedness of it, softens to something gentler. Kinder. He often looks at you like this when you're writing, or when you're trying to work out some complex turn of plot. 

You smile back, and the action soothes your racing heart. Your thoughts clear a bit, and you notice, for the first time, Aster's outfit. He's wearing a proper, honest-to-goodness suit, with a golden yellow bowtie that makes his eyes appear to glow. 

"You look gorgeous." Your words are more breath than voice, and although you feel a flash of embarrassment, it's immediately mitigated by the wash of pleasure you feel when pink colors Aster's cheeks. It's fantastically rare to see him blush, and you relish each moment. 

Aster schools his face into something controlled and predatory, his grin wide, but the blush doesn't fade. 

"Thank you, little Scorpion." He takes your hand and leads you in a slow, luxurious turn, so he can admire every angle of you. "I undeniably pale in comparison to you. You look..." 

"Delicious?" You ask as you come face to face with him once more, beaming. It's his favorite compliment for you, and his own expression morphs to something devilish as you finish his sentence. Sinful. Delighted. "Well, you asked me to dress up, so..." You gesture to your outfit, carefully selected to make your eyes stand out, although you can't hope to have the same illumination Aster manages. Not without his--

Aster's hand ghosts over your cheek before his thumb and forefinger latch onto your chin. He gives the slightest pull, and like a puppet on strings, you step forward, closing the distance between the two of you. 

"Indeed. Delicious." He murmurs. His other hand rests on the side of your neck, the fingers curling around to tickle against your nape. 

"Isn't our reservation soon?" Dammit, why did you say that? You don't want to go yet, you don't want him to let you go. You want him closer. 

"Not so soon that we can't spare just a few minutes." He leans in, bringing his mouth nearer to yours, so your senses are filled with the scent of him. Aster smells of an incoming summer thunderstorm, ether in the air and the promise of rain. His lips graze yours, and you step in further, folding your body against his, slipping your arms around his waist over his coat, your skin gliding against the smooth fabric. 

You press in closer to deepen the kiss and--

You freeze. You don't mean to, but you can't help it. Your mind stutters into silence, refusing to identify the source of your shock, refusing to seek further. Aster is frozen similarly,unmoving, not even breathing, his gaze locked firmly and unblinkingly on yours. His eyes mirror your surprise, which only serves to prolong your freeze response. 

The silence stretches, a rubber band over the moment. Then, just as quickly, your thoughts snap back into your mind, filling it with thoughts that all point to the same thing. 

The feeling of a box, small and square, perhaps the size of the palm, tucked into Aster's coat pocket. 

It couldn't be. It couldn't possibly be what you think it is...

But Aster's expression is shifting, narrowing, and his smile sliding to the left side of his face, crooked and daring you to say it. 

Go ahead, Little Scorpion. 

Say it.

You swallow, and your throat is dry, and you're trying your hardest not to look at the pocket to try and get a visual to confirm what you feel under your hand. And you know. You're certain. 

It's a ring box. 

"Do you wish to... discuss it? Or shall we go to dinner?" He asks. His voice has an odd warble to it, a cracking quality that sounds almost like... if it were anyone else, you would say it sounded like nerves. But this being before you has never shown signs of being anything close to uneasy before, let nervous. It gives you a thrill, to know you have that kind of effect on him. 

The power it gives you, however, disappears quickly when you try to speak again. 

"Y-yes. I mean. No. Um..." You clear your throat. Pull it together! You're already trembling, and although you have no idea how you'll possibly eat your dinner at this point, you shake your head. "Let's go to dinner."

He drops a feather light kiss on your lips, barely a brushing of skin, before pulling you into a hug. Your hand slides away from the ring box and fixes itself against his back. The embrace steadies you, ebbing the sharper edges of anxiety into a blooming excitement. He releases you sooner than you'd like, but it's always sooner than you'd like, and it leaves every point of contact feeling cold. Then he's taking your hand and tilting his head towards you, looking eager and mischievous.

"Then let's go. We wouldn't want to be late."

[eruscreaminginthedistance]

Okay so. I've been sitting on my full first impressions of the game until after the gameplay reveal, cos I know shit can get twisted in marketing.

I was NOT a fan of the trailer. The vibe was off; I cringed a lot; it gave a off very bog-standard hero team saves the day kind of vibe which I inherently dislike because it seems like Dragon Age has just given up on giving you the freedom to be a bastard, or any kind of character that isn't on rails to be everyone's favourite boy. It also failed to bring any dark fantasy to the table. BUT I know from experience, namely the DA2 trailer (not the CGI one. the other one), that marketing is intent on making Dragon Age look like the goofiest shit possible to appeal to the dregs of society (normies). I watched it. Hated it. Moved on to life stuff.

Now with the gameplay reveal out of the way, I have some more solid takes on everything we now know about the game overall.

Things I liked:

The companions all look pretty cool; I've been excited for Devrin for years now, and seeing that he's a Dalish Elf as well as a Warden is quite exciting to see; everyone else are also not only well designed but don't feel like rehashes of our previous companions (apart from Harding)

The return of multiple weapon sets. Thank fucking god. This may even make archer a viable build again. Also I noted that you only have a set number of arrows which the UI tracks, which I'm a huge fan of

The look and style of Minrathous. I like that Bioware is showing their hard work in coming up with a unique area based entirely around magic-tech and I think the result looks great; I am really intrigued by the dark panopticon vibes and hope that becomes a major theme going forward

Different demon designs. I hope there's a bit more variation as the game progresses, but I liked little details like the Pride demons having some kind of armour aesthetic

Dialogue wheel. No notes; she's here, still the same comforting presence as ever. Praying with fingers crossed that it doesn't turn into a super bland protagonist situation like Inquisition

Choosing a faction in character creation that isn't locked to one's race; this one is a really cool idea and if origins don't come back it can be a decent alternative if the reactivity to your choice is the same as in the prologue

Things I didn't like:

Action wheel. Like. I'm a PC person, so I have no idea what the final UI will actually look like for me. But Bioware hasn't elaborated on their UI style at all and if Inquisition is anything to go by, I'm stuck with shitty console-centred UI for the whole game. I would rather just have the ability bar back, for my sanity.

The two-person companion limit. It automatically restricts people into a specific party build depending on their class and I hate that

The Mass Effect-style gameplay. Party tactics was a HUGE draw to the DA series for me, and is what got me into retro RPGs in the first place. Seeing it replaced completely to the point where we can no longer manually manage our party is a huge disappointment. I am willing to keep an open mind, just because I love Mass Effect that much, but it hurts knowing for a certainty I'm never gonna engage with Veilguard like I did with Origins or 2 as a result

The voice acting. Was this an out of date take, or did everyone sound super flat to anyone else? Especially Neve, who didn't seem to know what she was reacting to, just really wooden. It was disappointing, cos I love her voice overall. Wasn't a fan of Rook's voice but I don't plan to play a man anyway

The breaking pots method of looting. This is gonna feel like such a nitpick but I immediately pulled a face seeing that cos I could TELL some suit somewhere asked the Bioware team to "make it more like breath of the wild" and now for some reason it's not dynamic enough to just click on a crate and choose what loot to take; now Tevinters are storing exactly one (1) random health potion in decorative clay jars around the city (more likely than you think!)

The aesthetic of the veil and spirit stuff so far; it's just all a bit bright and noisy, doesn't really grab me as something fun to explore or fight (again, I'm an Origins girly so I'm biased)

Harding coming back. I know she's cool and everyone likes her and I like her too. In Inquisition. This is just a preference, but if I'm gonna start a new game as a new person I don't want to be inheriting pre-bought friends from the last protagonist ://

Things I HATE:

Why does everyone look like play-doh; it's disconcerting.

Like guys I know DA2 is having a renaissance but I don't think anyone was getting nostalgic over everyone's pudding faces.

Everything put out so far has basically crushed any hope I had for this becoming Dwarf age :/ No new dwarf characters, no mention of Kal-Sharok, Harding being the only dwarf companion basically confirms that dwarves will be unromanceable AGAIN. not a fan

TLDR: This is still definitely not a day-one buy for me. The series has just strayed completely from the genre and format that I loved about the previous games into a full action RPG derivative of games from four years ago. Without the focus on party tactics and the low-tech, dark and gritty worldbuilding from the first two games it just fails to excite me. It looks too much like other games for me to really register it as a Dragon Age game.

I love the story and the world of Dragon Age though, so I do still intend to buy it when it goes on sale, but this is definitely a "wait and see the reviews" situation for me, which is a first when it comes to this series :/

[idkwhatimdoinghere1655]

|1|The Sound Of Rain - Pierre Gasly|

<word count - 2961>

Patience Wears Thin as Time Draws On

"Look, Etta, I just don't want to go," I complained, looking at myself in the mirror as my best friend, Antoinette, tried to convince me to go to my performance tonight. I had been performing at the same pub (The Horse and Trough) for about a year and tonight I just didn't feel like it. 

It was always the same people in, every single night. My main night there was a Saturday, but I also did other weeknights. They were never as busy, though. Etta said that tonight, however, was going to be a different one. A few of our friends apparently knew a guy who was racing at Silverstone the next day. The only reason this was supposed to matter to me was because he was going to be at the pub with them tonight. 

Etta had insisted that I look 'extra hot' (her words, not mine) as he was a fellow Frenchman, single, had a great job and handsome (again, her words, not mine). So, she dressed me in a long, flowy maxi-dress in a stunning sapphire blue. To be fair, I did look quite nice.

 But, it's not like I wasn't going to go, I'm getting paid for it. Doesn't mean I wanted to be there. "You might not want to go, but when you're there, my dear Leone, you will never want to leave," she tried to coerce me, "Pierre is absolute boyfriend material,"

"Have you got any pictures of this Pierre?" I asked her, the name feeling right on my tongue.

I expected her to show me some specky-looking racing driver. Boy was I wrong. She pulled her phone from her purse and scrolled through Instagram for a minute, before turning the screen to face me. Wow was all I could think as I gazed at him, hopping out of the car. He still had his helmet on, but he just looked great. She scrolled to the next picture, and I could swear my heart skipped a beat. 

His hair was all ruffled and his suit was rolled down to his waist, leaving him in a set of white fire-proofs. I didn't believe that this was the guy that was going to be at the pub. "You're sure that this is the guy who Will knows?" 

"Yes, I'm sure. I've talked to him as well,". Maybe tonight wouldn't be as bad as I thought it would be. "Oh I see that smirk! You like the look of him, huh?" Etta teased, nudging me with her elbow.

"I'm not going to say he's not attractive," I rolled my eyes, picking up my purse and walking towards my apartment door. "I can't wait to play matchmaker!" she giggled, following along as her heels clicked on the wooden floor. 

Being the start of August, the weather was still very warm and the sky was still very blue as we drove to the pub. I needed to get there early to set up and make sure all of the tech was working. Etta would probably disappear into the storage cupboard with Will for a while, they always kept each other occupied. 

Nearer the start of my set, Will and Etta re-emerged from the cupboard, their clothes slightly askew and their hair was rather disorderly. People also started filtering into the pub, ready for their Saturday night drinks. Before I started, it was packed. There was barely any standing room left and the bar was crammed with people. 

I stood there, adjusting my microphone slightly. The pub looked as boring as ever, as I was searching for something to be different, just to have a change. Of course, there was nothing out of the ordinary.  

I thought about how I should just get a normal job and leave this place. I should get a job that can actually get me somewhere, not performing in a pub most nights a week, desperate for the right person to walk in and spot something in me. 

I always started with a song in French, just to see how the crowd took to them. Before I could let my thoughts of stardom and success run away with me, the soundtrack started playing. "Mon cœur, mes mains, mes yeux, mes reins," I started, scanning the crowd for any sign of Will's French friend. 'Evidemment' was a newer song I had written, but people didn't seem to care too much.  "Dans mon jardin d'enfer poussent des fleurs," 

I looked at everyone and they seemed to be bored out of their minds. Looks like we'll be heading back to the club classics then. Anyway, even if they didn't enjoy it, I certainly did.

 I carried on with the night, no sign of Pierre anywhere. Finally, I had reached the end of the set. "So everyone, for the final song, grab your special someone and come down to the dancefloor for me," I said, watching as Will grabbed Etta's hand and dragged her in front of me, as well as a lot of other couples making their way to the dancefloor. 

I approached the keyboard that the pub had with my microphone in hand, positioning it in front of me. I started playing the song, trying to ignore the jealousy I felt of the couples on the dance floor. How I longed to have someone that I could slow dance with, someone to spend my life with, someone to love. "When we're out in a crowd, laughing loud, and nobody knows why,"

"When we're lost at a club, getting drunk and, you give that smile," I smiled to myself as I sang the words, imagining someone smiling at me from across the club. "When we're done, making love and you look up and give me those eyes," I turned to look at the audience, hoping to see the happiness on their faces. However, my eyes met with a striking pair of blue ones, and my fingers almost stopped pressing the keys. 

--

Getting back to the hotel and seeing a text from Will was never a great sign. I had just gotten back from the qualifying laps and I would be starting in P11 on the grid, which wasn't too bad, but could be better. Going out was honestly the last thing I wanted, but I would feel bad if I didn't. He was always texting, asking how I was and everything. We could never meet up because I was always somewhere in the world, so I felt I owed him tonight. 

I wouldn't be drinking or staying out too late, I would just be going to chat and have a good time. He also mentioned that there would be entertainment, one of his other friends was singing, so that would be nice. He said she was really good. 

Will last seen: 2 minutes ago

Will: Hey Bud! I'm heading down to the pub tonight and just wondering if you wanted to tag along? Thought it would be nice to see you since you're here. 

One of my friends is singing and she's really good, so you'll have good entertainment as well. 

Let me know asap!

You: Hey Will! I've got the GP tomorrow, so I won't be staying out too late or drinking.

Text me the address and I'll be there in a bit.

What time does your friend's set start?

Will: Around 6? You'll love her, she's brilliant.

You: Alright, I'll be there soon! See you later

Will: See you later, bud!

Right, here we go. I hopped in the shower quickly, throwing on whatever clothes were at the top of my suitcase. No, I hadn't unpacked. Why? Simple answer: I couldn't be bothered. I'll be leaving in a day or two anyway.

I wouldn't have to stay at the pub too long. I'd just have to show my face, watch the set (which I assumed to be around an hour or so) and come back to the hotel, ready for the GP tomorrow. 

I found out the pub wasn't too far away from the hotel I was staying at, so I decided to walk there. It was only 5 minutes. 

I zipped up my jacket, only so that I had the pockets for my phone and wallet. I quickly figured out that I didn't need it as I strolled along the pavement, so I took it off and draped it over my arm.

When I arrived at the pub, it was... Quaint? It wasn't the nicest building, but it had a cosy feeling that became overwhelming due to the British summertime heat. I spotted Will and a girl who I guessed was his girlfriend, and approached them.

"Pierre! You made it!" he exclaimed over the noise of the chattering of the bar as he rushed over to embrace me. I hugged him back, offering to buy him and Etta a drink. "You see that girl on the stage over there?" Etta asked, pointing in the direction of the stage.

I looked over and I saw her. She was wearing a stunning blue dress and she was beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. I tried not to look gobsmacked, but Etta just laughed at me. "That's Leone, she's going to be singing." She said, patting me on the shoulder, "Don't worry, she had the same reaction when I showed her your picture earlier,"

Before I could respond, music started playing and then she started singing. In French. It was the best thing I've ever heard. On the other hand, the crowd around me clearly didn't seem to appreciate her talent and the beauty of the song. The majority of them were chattering amongst themselves, or on their phones. 

I couldn't take my eyes off her. The way she embraced every word she sung and how she clearly didn't care for the lack of appreciation from the crowd because she loved being up there. 

I had never heard the song before, either. "Did she write that?" I asked Etta as she whispered something in Will's ear. "Yes, she did. It's one of her newer ones," she explained, smirking. 

Listening to the lyrics, they were deep. Loosely translated, the chorus was something along the line of, "Obviously, it's always quiet before the storm. Don't you forget - it's always too good to be true, but never too ugly to be unreal,". It was genius and it sounded brilliant. 

Unfortunately, there were no more French songs played, probably due to the lack of interest from the crowd. 

I couldn't tear my eyes away from her for the entirety of her set, which lasted quite a bit longer than I expected it to. For the final song, she asked people to head to the dancefloor and she made her way to the keyboard. I lost my company to the dancefloor, leaving me by myself at the bar. 

She looked in her element at the keyboard, singing a heart-warming but also heart-wrenching song with every ounce of emotion in her body. "When we're done, making love and you look up and give me those eyes," she turned to look at the audience, but her eyes landed on mine and I could swear she nearly stopped playing. 

I never really believed in love at first sight, but gazing into her eyes from a distance, for even a second made my heart jump and butterflies came to life in my stomach.

Not really listening to the rest of the song, I kept on replaying the moment again and again in my head. I thought I was just being silly, thinking about things too much, but I could have sworn I saw something in her eyes too. 

She finished the song, earning a loud round of whoops and cheers from the audience as she thanked them. She hopped off stage and wandered over to Etta on the dancefloor. Without giving her a second to think, Etta grabbed her by the arm and dragged her in my direction. 

Nerves bubbled in my stomach for some reason. I drove cars at over 170 miles per hour around tight bends, and I was nervous to talk to this girl I've never met. 

"Pierre, this is... Actually, I'll let her introduce herself to you," Etta smiled, nudging the green eyed girl in the ribs. Etta leaned into her ear and whispered, well tried to whisper, "Good luck, tell me how it goes tomorrow," she winked and fled into the crowd. 

The poor girl choked on the air and took the bar stool next to me. "So, I'm Léonide Adélaïde Poirier, but everyone calls me Leone and it is a pleasure to meet you," she said awkwardly, like she hadn't had to introduce herself to anyone before. "Well, Leone, I'm Pierre Gasly and it is a pleasure to meet you too," I followed, trying to make her feel as comfortable as possible. 

"J'ai adoré les chansons, tu es génial," I complimented her in her native language, hoping to make her feel more relaxed with me. "Merci, Pierre, j'apprécie."

"Do you want a drink?" I asked, watching as she picked up her purse and fished around in there. 

"Yes, please, let me just get my purse,"

"Oh no, I'll get you one," 

"Oh, thank you. Can I get you one, then?" she asked, a light blush creeping up her cheeks. 

"I'm not drinking tonight, I've got the GP tomorrow." I said, waving the bartender over. 

"What can I get for you?" he asked with a smile.

"I'll have a gin and tonic, please," she replied, earning a nod from the bartender.

"I completely forgot that you're a racing driver! That is a very cool job," she gushed as the bartender placed the drink in front of her on a coaster. "It is, I'm very lucky to be able to do it," I said, not wanting to talk about myself. I wanted to know more about her. 

"So, how did you end up here?" I asked.

"I moved here from France when I was 18, because I thought I could get more into music over here, but it turns out I was wrong. I never wanted to do pub gigs, but it's not too bad," she looked bored talking about it, something about her twitching for a new adventure. 

"You want to be famous?"

"No, not really. I just want my music to be appreciated," she said, a solemn look in her eyes. How no one had appreciated her brilliant talent and songs was beyond me. It was unbelievable. "I appreciate it," I said, and cringed at myself after the words had left my mouth. 

"Thank you Pierre, I appreciate it," she giggled slightly, causing a smile to instantly spread across my face. She has such an infectious giggle. 

For the rest of the night, we talked and laughed a lot. After a while, I checked my phone to see what the time was, and it was late. Well, eleven pm isn't late, but it was considering that I had a GP tomorrow. "I'm going to have to go now, sorry. I have to get up pretty early tomorrow," I said, not wanting to go to the hotel but it was the responsible and professional thing to do. 

"No, no. Don't worry about it," she said, looking slightly disappointed but I was as well. "Do you want me to walk you home?" I asked, hoping she would say yes. 

"I don't want you to have to go out of your way, it's a pretty long way," she said, looking around to try and find Etta. She knew where they were, though. I pretended like I didn't see them sneaking into the storage cupboard. "No, its fine, I insist,"

"Alright, I'll just go and say goodbye to Will and Etta," she chirped, standing and hooking her purse over her shoulder. "I think they're a bit... Occupied?" I muttered, glancing towards the storage cupboard. "Oh, right." She said, realizing exactly what I was trying to convey.

We left the pub, her directing me where we needed to go. We were talking about where abouts in France we were from, when I saw her shiver as the breeze blew past. "Are you cold?" I asked, her looking at me as the moonlight shone on her face. "No, I'm alright," she tried to reassure me, shaking her head. 

Without saying anything, I draped my jacket over her shoulders, earning a smile from her. "Thank you," she said, turning down another different street. Leone took me into a tall apartment building, and I wondered why I was letting a stranger take me into a random building, but it was her.

After we stepped up a few flights of stairs, she stopped outside of a green door, shrugging my coat from off her shoulders. "Well, this is me," she sighed, not making any attempt to enter her apartment. "You're welcome to go to the GP with Will and Etta tomorrow, I can find you a seat with them if you don't have a ticket," I asked, hoping she would come.

"I'll see. I have some stuff to do, but I'll probably tag along with them since they got me a ticket anyway," she said, looking down at her feet. "Alright, I might see you tomorrow then," I joked, listening as she laughed lightly. "Goodnight, Pierre," she said, placing her hands on my shoulders before giving me a swift kiss on the cheek. 

I started blushing profusely and she did as well, as she opened her apartment door and disappeared inside, leaving me stood in front of her green door.

--

I kissed him on the cheek then ran out of pure embarrassment. People don't kiss people on the cheek anymore. I tried to brush off my nerves and relax before heading to bed. 

I already knew I was going to the GP tomorrow, so I don't know why I said I might go. I put it down to playing hard to get, but I doubt he was interested in me. At least we could be friends? I hoped we could.

A/N - I've had this written for a while, so I thought I might as well post it. It is 22 chapters long in total, so let me know if you'd like to read the rest of it! Do you guys prefer OCs or Y/Ns? If you prefer Y/Ns, I could always change it :)

|masterlist|

[frutavel]

Caught up to Dungeon Meshi today and it's making me wanna draw Bayleaf but I can't so I will ramble about him instead <3

He's a young adult, might still have his stripes even, and wants to Do Good, specifically he wants to do good by his people, but he's got a restless soul and a great deal of curiosity about the world around him. He hasn't had a lot of run-ins with other races, so when Laios and the party first run into the orcs he's fascinated.

When the party leaves, he asks Zon for permission to go with them, and is granted such. Then, he asks to join their party, and since both his knowledge of the dungeon and an extra pair of hands (and muscle) would help them out greatly, he comes along. His primary goal here is to help them defeat the red dragon, as he never really understood the reason why Zon hesitated to strike against it, and also to learn more about this odd group of people (sans Senshi whom he already met and has a great deal of respect for).

He's very good at taking down monsters, but turns out he doesn't actually know much about the upper dungeon levels since he's never been there before, so the party would proceed as usual until they run into Tansu's party. Having an orc with them I assume would make anyone they encounter more prone to hostility, but I imagine that aggression would generally be directed more toward him than the rest of the party, so he would stay behind with Marcille and Chilchuck while Laios and Senshi went with Mr. Tansu to explore before continuing on their way.

I'm reading the manga but I haven't got to this part yet, so I don't know if it's ever mentioned or explained how/if the orcs got through the staircase where the frogs and the tentacles are. For now, I'll say that wasn’t actually the way the orcs came through, but a shortcut to the fifth floor that Zon marked for them on the map he gave them. Again, Bayleaf isn't much help navigating that problem, but he's quite good at helping kill the frogs (with one extra frog added for him in my story), and also pretty good at sowing the frog suits - he's good at making and mending things, including wounds.

Bayleaf is quite good at navigating the fifth floor though - the lead up to the fight with the red dragon as well as the fight itself and the aftermath follow as usual. Through all this, he's developed a great amount of respect for all the party members, even Marcille whom he was wary of at first, because he's fascinated by magic and inspired by her passion. He doesn’t have much to say about her using dark magic to resurrect Falin, and is acrually helpful at putting her skeleton back together since he knows what worg bones look like very well.

He had planned to go back to Zon and the other orcs after resurrecting Falin to tell them of the red dragon's defeat, but the run in with Thistle changed his plans - he ended up injured and trapped with the rest of the party, and when running in with Leed and the orcs who stayed on the fifth his presence is another thing that stills their hand and gives Leed the incentive to help them.

From then, since the party decides to return to the surface, he sees himself having to chose between following them and staying with Leed. Since he's not welcome on the surface (or any of the upper floors, really) and his people will be returning soon, it would be the obvious choice for him to stay with them.... but he's attached to the party now, so he decides he'll stay with them a little longer, if for no other reason then at least to help them get back to the fourth floor.

... which turns out to be a bigger problem than intended, since the dungeon's layout starts shifting, and again I'm assuming this is something the orcs never had to deal with before, so Bayleaf's just as lost and hungry as the rest of his party.

When Laios, Senshi and Chilchuk go investigate the dryad graveyard (?), he stays behind with Marcille since she's weakened and injured and he's worried about her. In my brain this is a nice little moment of bonding between them, which is interrupted when the rest of the party returns with their horrible allergies. He later gets the same Talk tm that Senshi gives Chilchuck and he's just as mortified as Chilchuck is.

Things would proceed as usual once again until meeting with Kabru, Shuro and co. Where once again having an orc with them causes hostility and friciton, once again directed more toward Bayleaf himself than the rest of the party, but much more aggravated now than with Mr. Tansu which for the first time causes him to react with aggression in kind.

Laios and Marcille manage to stop any fights before they brew and convince the other parties to let Bayleaf be, but he proceeds to spend most of the time leading up to Falin's reappearance sitting by himself. Senshi tries to include him, but he doesn’t want to be near Shuro's attendants or Kabru's party, so he sits by himself, and I'm liking to think as such he'd be the first one to be attacked by the harpies and the one to inform the others about them.

He's knocked out by Falin around the same time Tade is. Marcille heals him after she leaves, and he continues with the party after the others leave... though noticeably quiet, with something in his mind. Senshi notices most likely, and they would have a long talk about the prejudices harbored by the other races against orcs. Bayleaf saw it in how Marcille and Zon interacted, but she's since been much more agreeable and friendly toward him, and it hurt him to see how others outside the party have been treating him.

He'll need some sort of reassurance from the party that they're not gonna turn on him, which I'm sure Senshi and Laios can provide. And I like to think Marcille too, since they've been developing a budding friendship this whole time. Chilchuck... well, he's Chilchuck, anxiety ridden and so profoundly caring Chilchuck, and I think he's had time to warm up enough to Bayleaf by now to not want him harmed. Maybe even enough to activate his Father Instincts. Special extra dunmeshi episode focusing on the party and their relationship with Bayleaf and them promising to not leave him behind, exclusive to me and my brain <3

Tune in for next week when I continue to add my oc to the next episode's plot <3

[karamazovposting]

I officially finished The Brothers Karamazov and I am indeed devastated. It's always like that with endings for me, that's why I avoid TV shows as much as possible and only watch movies. I was thinking of starting it over again because I haven't gotten over anything in my life ever, but I have all the books I bought in the past (almost ten?) years hoping one day I'd be able to read again to catch up on; I will definitely read TBK again but it will have to wait for now.

This blog will remain a TBK only blog, I still have metas in my drafts and I feel like I'll keep coming up with more as I still need to obsess over this book for an undefinite amount of time. Also just because the book is over and the author died almost two centuries ago it doesn't mean I have to stop talking about it. This book is so special to me as it touches many topics that are close and mean a lot to me and describes many experiences I've gone through myself, and I'm glad I decided to start this blog because not only it has helped me with getting into reading again, but seeing all your art and thoughts and writing has me wanting to get back into drawing again (and maybe writing too? I used to write but I don't know, definitely not my forte), so thank you. And thank you for reading my takes, sharing yours, and having discussions with me too.

I used to read a lot as a kid but then bipolar disorder hit and I had to give it up (like I had to give up music and movies, but I'm currently studying to become a professional singer-musician and I also have a Letterboxd account so I got that sorted out thankfully); I've tried to get back into it over the years, but I never finished almost every book I picked up and TBK almost met the same fate. I'd started reading it a couple years ago, but I had to take a break about halfway because I wasn't in total remission yet (I am now!) and I was still getting a few little and short episodes from time to time, which was way better than what I was going through before but still tough, but I was determined to finish this damn book and nothing was going to stop me so here I am. I don't know why I decided TBK was going to be the book that got me into reading again, maybe because it's the longest book I own and I thought that if I'd been able to finish that, all my other books would have been child's play; I'm glad I made that decision. I took it very slow but it's not a race so who cares.

And now I want to read everything I can! I've carried TBK around a lot and I usually read it in between classes and that's what I'll do with my other books as well; I've always liked carrying books around, it feels like letting the stories and the characters accompany me through my day. By the way, my copy of TBK is probably one of the crappiest copies ever made: it has many typos and printing defects (like random lines on the page or over the words), but I paid like €1 for it and that kind of chaos/mess suits me as a person so I treasure it dearly; it almost feels like it found me.

I don't know where I was going with this, I guess I got carried away a litte, but I needed to put my thoughts somewhere. I'll end this by saying my future as a reader sure looks bright and I'm looking forward to getting my passion for reading back.

[evoblue]

time capsule thread: a reunion a long time coming with @/twilighttheater

summary: a bracelet of forget-me-nots and an unlikely revelation at the Goldenrod Grand Gala are not enough to fully mend the rift between two pining childhood friends, but it's at least a good start.

Red knows he wasn't really formally asked by her, it was a simple invite, but he had really done the best he could to match with Blue in a unique way. It takes a moment before he spots her in the crowd and waves, even without the corsage behind his back his forget-me-not boutonniere gives away his intentions even more than the suit itself.

"Quite a turnout," he says while approaching her with a smile. "You're right that it's not really my thing, but all the same I'm glad to be here. Thanks for inviting me."

—

She would be lying if she claimed that she hadn't been keeping an eye out for a certain wayward legendary trainer... Mew, he'd invaded her thoughts night and day since she'd gotten that note. 'See you there'... It wasn't exactly a promise but, surely, he'd still keep to his word?

Her desire to see him is still at war with her own anxieties, though. She wants to be close to him, yet at the same time, she's afraid of becoming so close that he could hurt her more just by disappearing again. As she's told herself countless times, she can't miss anyone if there isn't anyone there to miss... especially him. Why do things have to be complicated?

Despite her reservations, when she finally catches sight of him, her heart begins to race.

For some reason, she'd expected him to wear black or red to go with his ever-present trademark hat. Yet here he is, donning her colors for once. A crisp white suit with subtle, delicate silver patterns that draw the gaze in when they catch the light just right. The lapels? Blue. The unexpected boutonniere? Blue, in the form of forget-me-nots. Her colors. Her flowers. They match. Was that deliberate? But how would he have known? She hadn't posted previews of her dress anywhere on social media—

She doesn't dare think too much of it. She'd hate for any hopeful assumptions to blow up in her face.

By the time she's done processing his outfit, they're face to face. It's hard to find the words when she's met with the deep crimson of his eyes. When he smiles, it looks genuine despite his aversion to social functions. For some reason, that makes her happy.

"You came," she finally finds the words, maintaining her composure despite the way her heart is ricocheting within her ribcage. Once she wills herself to relax, her smile reaches her eyes. "Not that I doubted your word, but... I'm glad. It means a lot to me that you're here, and I'm sure my aunt and Rosa both share the sentiment."

While she's tempted to avoid it, she might as well address the Cooperajah in the room.

"It looks like we match. Funny, huh?" Despite wanting to bring it up, she doesn't broach the subject of him wearing her favorite flower. All she can think about is how he remembers after all these years. "You look good..." She pauses, her gaze turning fond, her smile teasing. "Even if your hat clashes a little."

—

He's trying not to overthink the way his heart leaps with how she's looking at him, he's never seen her look at him like that before. He'd been so nervous about if he was doing the right thing here, but seeing her face made him feel more sure. It was nice to see her smile so brightly.

He laughs when his hat is pointed out, using his free hand to briefly take it off his head just to hold it up. "Thank you, though no matter what I do I can't help at least one fashion crime huh? I could be doing worse at least."

"Not at all like you, and I know a reminder isn't necessary, you know this without anyone saying anything. But you do look radiant today, and I can't help pointing it out." He grins, "And you're right, I suppose we do match huh?" He's not going out of his way to try to appear innocently unaware of this matter, but he's not going out of his way to prove that he didn't have some idea about this either.

At least not right off, but he does decide after a moment that the suspense is getting to his nerves too much. He places his hat back onto his head properly, before bringing his hidden hand out from behind his back. He holds out a corsage decorated in her favorite flower and truly hopes he's not going to make a total fool of himself here.

"I thought you might like this too, providing I'm not interrupting your time with anyone else anyway."

—

Radiant...

Her face feels warm and it's stupid because it's not like she's unaware. Vanity is her curse so she knows exactly how she looked when she walked in through those doors, and compliments usually don't phase her. Why does it hit different when it comes to her longtime friend? The same friend who is now looking at her like that, matching her colors, and wearing her flowers.

Ah, right. Because he's owned a piece of her heart for the better part of the last ten years.

Even with her gears turning full-force from the moment she noticed his outfit, she's still not ready when he presents her with a corsage to match his boutonnière. More forget-me-nots.

Oh. Oh. This is absolutely deliberate. Red isn't like her, with her subtleties and burning what-ifs. Between the flowers and the words that follow, his intentions are clear.

He is asking her to be his date for tonight.

Her lips part to formulate a response but promptly seal back up as she realizes she doesn't really trust her voice right now. While this is her ultimate desired outcome, she's finding herself faltering. What does this mean?

Yes, he's here because she made a point to invite him specifically; he's one of her two VIPs for a reason. She so desperately wants him to be here tonight. But this, all of this... it's so much, all at once. She's brimming with nervous excitement, a thrill running down her spine, but a part of her is still hesitant. Is this just Red being friendly or is there a deeper meaning behind this gesture? He's always been sweet so she can't tell...

Regardless, she's kept him waiting for too long. Maybe she should stop overthinking things and let herself enjoy this moment, however brief. After all, whatever his reasons, Red came all this way and went all out.

"Thank you." She finally finds her voice, her gaze softening. "Though, you really didn't have to go through all this trouble just to ask me to be your date. You know you'll always come first for me."

Ah, that last part she hadn't meant to say quite so loud.

"A-anyway! I suppose I can find it in my heart to forgive your fashion crimes." She attempts a diversion and extends her hand to accept the flowers. Too late, she realizes her hands are trembling.

—

He can tell that she's shocked, and he didn't expect a response right off anyway. But admittedly he was beginning to question if she was looking for someone else to be her date for the gala. He would've understood if that had been the case, but he also can't deny his relief when she accepts the offer.

'You know you'll always come first for me.'

The statement goes through his mind several times over. Maybe at one time, he'd known something like that without question, but admittedly after his disappearing act, he hadn't felt so confident about it. In some way this was making amends, making up for lost time, and trying to make something apparent that he should've done so ages ago.

Her diversion didn't completely work, but he does laugh over her comment nonetheless. He goes to hold her hand and place the corsage onto her wrist when he notices her hand trembling and decides to hold onto her hand for a bit longer. He feels like he must be imagining things, but he's not particularly looking to let go if she is in fact feeling nervous.

"Kind of you, whatever would I be without my hat?" He jokes, he's not even going to begin to get into the argument of the fact he does have a touch of red on him. It holds about as much water as saying his Sygna Suit's blue flame matches Cinder while Mega Evolved.

"And I know I didn't have to make this a big deal, but I thought it'd be more fun for us this way."

He's still not giving his source on who gave him the information on her outfit. But his mind keeps going back to the words she let slip out, and he decides to use his nerve to actually comment on it.

"And...I appreciate hearing that, I feel the same towards you."

—

I feel the same towards you.

Those are words that she would love to hear in a different context and it kills her because hearing Red say that while looking at her like that (as if she were the only star he sees… she must’ve had a drink too many…) and holding her hand as he slips a bracelet of forget-me-nots onto her wrist—all in an arguably very romantic setting—should be illegal. 

As she locks eyes with Red, breathing becomes just a little bit harder. He’s always had such beautiful eyes—crimson and warm, like flickering flames in the hearth of a place she’d call home, if such a place even existed. 

The rational part of her tells her to snap out of it; the bitterly hurt and afraid part of her cries for her to withdraw. However, despite the myriad of complex emotions she’s experiencing all at once, the warmth of his touch is grounding. She’s so good at goodbyes, so talented at running away from anything or anyone she could remotely become attached to… but to him, she gravitates like a willing satellite, despite him being capable of hurting her more deeply than anyone else.

He could do it again, too. It would be so easy for him to just go no-contact and drop off the face of the Earth, as he so often tends to do. So easy for him to shatter her already fractured heart into a thousand more fragments, despite her best attempts to piece herself together following his re-entrance into her life. Blue wants to believe in him, though. She wants to believe in the sweet boy she remembers from her childhood, in the man that flew to Sinnoh and arrived on her doorstep unannounced without knowing if she’d even open the door for him or not. And gods know she really didn’t have to, but…

For him, what wouldn’t she do? Even as just friends…

Right. Before her thoughts get carried away even further, she reluctantly pulls her hand from his grasp under the guise of adjusting his boutonnière. It’s yet another mistake, though, for it brings her in far too close. She clears her throat and smooths down his lapels before pulling herself away. “There, perfect.”

Despite Red being what most would consider a “high profile” guest, it doesn’t seem like their encounter has drawn too much attention. Mercifully, the rest of the guests seem engrossed in the various forms of entertainment that she and her staff had prepared for the night. Blue craves a moment to herself, though, just to process everything, clear her head, and raise her shields up. She’s tempted to slip back into her role as hostess but the flowers on her wrist remind her that she has actually committed to spending most of the night by Red’s side. It’s what she wants, but is it what's best for her?

“Can I show you around?” she finally offers before the silence between them becomes awkward. “I know my aunt’s exhibit better than anyone. Or, if you’re hungry, we could make our way over to the hors d'oeuvres?”

She nods her head toward the snack table, where Rosa seems to be happily stuffing her face with assorted mochi alongside someone she doesn't recognize.

—

He was so bad at reading people's expressions at times when they were younger, he looks back now and realizes how many times he should've noticed just how Blue looked at him. When he saw her again in Sinnoh all he could see on her face was the hurt he'd left her with, that he wanted so badly to make up for. Yet now... it feels so nostalgic, he looks into her eyes and sees the clear sky; lit up almost just like before. He doesn't expect this day to restore everything, not after all the hurt he did... but he can't deny the hope he has seeing this.

When she moves her hand he doesn't expect her to get closer to him, moving towards adjusting his boutonnière. She gives the impression on the surface of doing just that, but part of him also takes it as a way of trying to keep things off her mind. He knows she can be avoidant at times, it's a vice that they both share but in different ways. This form of avoiding however was a little funny, considering she's close enough for him to catch the scent of her perfume; he doesn't know them that well but he catches hints of lotus flowers. Suits her, he thinks, reminds him of running through the forest with her before.

But as much as the past was sweet with nostalgia, he did intend on staying in the moment. He did say he wanted to make amends after all, somehow some way.

He can't help being slightly proud still of his choice when she says 'perfect', as silly as it may have been. He'd been about to ask where they should start when she beats him to it, and he does glance over where Blue gestures to, noticing his sister talking with someone already... he kind of recognizes that guy. No name comes to mind though.

"We can catch up with Rosa later, I did primarily come to this to see you after all." No sense in being shy about it, she invited him and he wasn't going to waste too much time if he could help it. "I'd love to see your aunt's exhibit to start with, I've been wondering about it some."

—

Oh, that's surprising. Considering how many of their mutual friends were in attendance, she'd figured Red would be eager to catch up with them, especially with his sister. But instead, he wants to spend time with her.

I did primarily come to see you, after all.

Arceus, can he stop saying sweet things like that? It just makes everything harder.

A flash of pink suddenly draws her attention and she finds herself staring at Rosa from across the room. The Unovan champion cants her head, brows raised and lips quirked in question as her gaze flicks between her and Red. Feeling her cheeks grow warm, Blue takes Red's arm and leads him away before he has the time to catch the implications of that particular exchange.

"Here, follow me."

The hallway that contains most of her aunt's works is not too far away; however, its walls do a good job of muffling the chatter and music coming from the main hall. It allows for a bit of privacy and much easier conversation. While the thought of being alone with Red does things to her heart right now, so soon after the flowery gift, she's grateful for the calmer atmosphere. She regrets not being able to quell her nerves with a drink, though.

Mostly acrylic paintings and watercolors line the walls, with many of them depicting Kanto landmarks and pokémon. It seems like as good a place as any to start. The painting that catches her eye first is one of a fiery sunset, with the golden sun disappearing into the horizon while painting the ocean in streaks of red, pink, and orange.

"Route 21, just south of Pallet. Remember when we used to sit on the beach, splashing our feet in the water while we talked about silly kid things until the sun went down?" Those were the dog days of summer, a simpler time when their trio was still tight-knit. She sometimes wishes she could return to that time.

The painting right next to it appears to be Viridian Forest and it depicts a bug catcher in the act of netting an odd-colored Butterfree. Blue knows well that the scene didn't end well for the bug catcher, since the Butterfree had hit them with a Whirlwind before fleeing.

"I was there the day my aunt took the reference picture for that one. That bug catcher ended up in that bush back there," she smiles mirthfully as she points at a group of shrubs ripe with Leppa berries.

“Also, that Butterfree was indeed shiny. I ended up catching it later in the day; he keeps Aunt Azami company to this day.” It had been Blue’s first shiny capture and she’d been thrilled to share the experience with her aunt.

“And this—oh,” she pauses, suddenly tight-lipped as she comes across the largest painting on the wall. The painting is titled “Journey Together” and it depicts a pair of children as seen from the back, donning their eponymous colors and holding hands as they walk down a winding road. Their features are ambiguous but she highly suspects they're meant to be her and Red.

When did her aunt paint this? She doesn't remember seeing it before.

—

He'd really only caught a glimpse of Rosa's look before Blue took his arm to lead him in the direction of the paintings, not nearly enough of a look to fully see the context of the exchange between them. He's barely able to get a wave out to her before he returns his attention to Blue, and glances at the paintings they were passing by on the way. No names or pictures he recognized, not until they arrived at Azami's works anyway...she'd clearly been busy, he can't imagine how much time went into every single painting.

He listens and nods. "I remember, times like that are why I still love sunsets." He admits though he wonders about how sentimental he should really be. He couldn't lie though, thinking about staying out until the golden hours of the evening made for some of the best memories of his early childhood.

He snickers listening to the story about the bugcatcher. "I'll have to see this Butterfree sometime, but she did a really amazing job on this background."

But then his attention is fully brought to a painting that evidently Blue hadn't expected, larger than any of the others around. He doesn't want to assume anything... but when the clothing of the two children resembles their outfits from the past so much; he can't help but wonder what was going through Azami's mind while painting this.

It's idyllic, to the point that he almost wishes this had properly been how things went. But the statement he feels she may have been trying to make is still understood loud and clear, and though he's not sure if he should overstep, he still tries to hold onto Blue's hand in mirror to the painting.

"The first one was nice but, this one is really nostalgic." He loosely tries to justify his actions with a soft smile, "makes me think of the times that we did meet up on the way through Kanto."

Brief moments mostly, but they'd meant a lot to him. Even if today turned out to be similar, he'd still feel the same about it.

—

Red’s touch is as unexpected as the sight of the painting had been; the brush of his hands feels electric, tingling sparks blooming where their fingers join. Though her first instinct is to pull away from the intimate touch, she doesn’t. We need this as friends, she tells herself as she gives his hand a squeeze, as if that isn’t an excuse for her to chase her own reckless desires against her better judgment. 

Feeling helpless at the sight of his smile, she exhales softly.

“I sometimes wish we’d actually traveled together… y’know, instead of racing each other to the top.” Maybe then, Red wouldn’t have felt like he needed to take on the weight of the world upon his shoulders alone. The latter was in the spirit of rivalry, sure, but that had always been heavily pushed by Green… and look where that had landed him. Them. All three of them are a mess.

Despite her own wishes, she doesn’t linger. Her hand slips through Red’s fingers like sand as she reluctantly pulls away. Her arms then fold over her chest while she retreats behind the walls of her fortress, all under the guise of admiring the artwork lining the remainder of the hallway. It’s uncanny how cold the space suddenly feels without him by her side. She finds herself aching for that small little touch, however brief it had been.

It’s so hard to pretend like she doesn’t feel anything.

“I admire her, you know?” she says softly, now standing before a painting of Snorlax placidly napping across a road she recognizes to be just outside Celadon. It's her best attempt at redirecting the subject to something neutral. “And maybe even envy her a little. I’ve always wished I had any talent for the visual arts… if you took a peek at my research journal, you’ll find I’m pretty much the opposite. Even my doodles are ugly as hell.”

—

The statement almost surprises him. Almost.

In a way, he looks back on it and he can almost imagine that sort of want if he hadn't been so focused on his goal of becoming Champion; focused on racing Green to the very top in particular. The thought leaves him feeling cold very fast as she lets go of his hand, yet another moment to slip away from him it seems.

"I sometimes wish the same." He softly admits, but it seems she's moving on to looking at the rest of the paintings. He won't linger on it if she doesn't want to.

He looks over at the next painting, and he remembers moments like this where he had to wake up wild Snorlaxes on the road. Always made for a fun battle to happen out of nowhere, but he listens more to Blue changing the subject. Idly, he hopes he hasn't made her feel too strange over his comments, but he also felt he shouldn't keep things like this to himself anymore. Doing that hasn't exactly gotten him anywhere.

"I'm not much better, I do like to draw on occasion but... nothing like this. I don't know if I'd have the patience to hone the skill, and sit in one place to work on something like this for hours."

"So I suppose I admire her too, it takes a lot of dedication, I'm sure."

—

Red’s affirmation hangs in the air and she holds her breath. Despite her own attempts at changing the subject, a part of her hopes he’ll elaborate and maybe clue her in as to what was going through his mind during their gym circuit. Not for the first time she finds herself wondering if she ever haunted his thoughts while they were apart.

Mentally, she scoffs at herself. Unlikely… back in the day, Red’s brain was oversaturated with thoughts of pokémon battles and maybe taking down Team Rocket. But what about now—

Stop. Don’t think about it, she chides herself, though the strand of forget-me-nots on her wrist already answers the question. Blue straightens, willing the fluttery nervous feeling in her gut to go back the way it came.

“I don't know where she gets them from but my aunt has always had heaps of patience,” she nods. “It’s almost like a requirement for anyone who would willingly choose to live out their days in a sleepy town like Pallet. That being said, one can’t deny her dedication produces results.”

While plenty of artists struggle with backgrounds, Azami’s rich landscapes and backdrops are as striking as the subjects of her paintings. It’s most evident in the Viridian Forest piece and in the majority of the paintings down the far end of the hallway. Blue leads Red down the remainder of the art-lined path, not too far ahead from him, but just enough to be out of reach. They’re almost done with this section of the gallery so, hopefully, she can redirect them back to the main hall where there are other people and plenty of distractions. She couldn't have predicted the avalanche of thoughts and feelings that now attempt to smother her and make her alone time with Red so torturous; had she known about the Journey Together painting, she probably wouldn’t have—

Oh, oh no. What is this?

To her horror, she finds herself face to face with an exquisite depiction of Mount Silver. The snow-capped mountain is beautifully rendered in shades of grays and purples as its conical form rises gracefully toward the clouds. Winter storm clouds, she thinks idly, recalling the familiar sight. Before she can even begin to wonder how the sight of the mountain will affect Red, her eyes drift to the painting alongside this one and she freezes in place.

Searching For The Flickering Flame is the title of the piece and, for the second time today, Blue wonders when exactly her aunt had painted this. A brunette girl takes center stage, dressed warmly with a thick scarf around her neck, her hair tossed by a wintry gust as she trudges through the snow alongside a Ninetales. Though her eyes are obscured, a distinct expression of despair mars her otherwise ambiguous features. Blue covers her mouth with her hand. It’s her, climbing the accursed mountain searching for Red all those years ago.

When Red reaches her, all she can do is avoid his gaze. Will he connect the dots?

—

For now he's doing his best to not overthink about Pallet Town when it's mentioned, as much as Blue has a point he's still... dealing with some things about that place. Both from his personal feelings and things he'd had to look into recently, but he hums in agreement regardless as they move on to the next set of paintings. Though nothing could've prepared him for the one he'd be face to face with first.

Mt. Silver.

Even in a painting he feels its haunting allure, as though the freezing winds pass by him even now; like a far off memory yet it still comes through so clearly. He still feels called back to it at times, there's some part of him that lingers still on that mountain even so long after being dragged back down. But he's made too many promises to the people he cares for, to risk going back up there and losing track of his life all over again.

He feels like he's rejecting unseen hands reaching out to him from the painting, adamantly looking over to the next one--

Hold on.

His mind snaps out of it entirely, freed from his ghosts only to witness what seems like a clear sign. These two paintings are clearly meant to be side by side, the coloring to the background is exactly the same as the mountain... and even in a painting, he recognizes the figure is meant to be Blue.

He wants to ask when she went up there, and what exactly she was hoping to gain from it. But his gaze reaches the title of the painting itself, and he has his answer. Azami was after all, one of the very few people who called him by the name 'Fire' on occasion just for fun. He'd mostly always taken it as a joke for him picking Charmander, but it holds so much more weight to it behind this scenario.

From what he'd gathered so far, Azami painted things she'd seen and experienced, or ideal scenarios. There was nothing ideal about the expression on Blue's face here, his chest hurts at the very idea.

"...You went looking for me," he speaks softly, almost in disbelief. He'd never known, and part of him feels like were it not for this? She may not have ever told either.

—

Blue has no right to feel hurt at the utterly incredulous look on his face; after all, she deliberately kept her search from him. That being said, even though she had her reasons, the shock on his face — as if the thought of her going after him had never even crossed his mind — still stings.

Suddenly overcome with emotion, she bites down on her quivering bottom lip and averts her eyes.

"Of course I did," she replies, her voice wavering. I loved you. You were the most important person in my life. "How could I NOT?"

And just like that, it all comes back to her. She'd been in Mahogany Town when the news broke followed by a whirlwind of nasty rumors that Red had gone missing amid a snow storm and was most likely dead. Her life came to a screeching halt, her Johto circuit quickly forgotten as she shifted her focus to readying herself for the climb and finding him at all cost. She had to find him, she had to bring him back. Despite her diligence, though, nothing truly prepared her for the mountain's unforgiving punishment.

Mount Silver had fought her every step of the climb with sharp claws and gnashing teeth, with blisteringly cold gusts and merciless frozen rain and an altitude sickness so severe that sometimes the ground gave beneath her feet and her head felt like it was being squeezed in a vise.

With stark clarity, she can still recall the wind mercilessly buffeting her face, the painful loss of feeling in her extremities, and the suffocating ache in her chest at the thought that she might not find him. And yet, for two whole weeks, she searched the peak, desperately looking for signs of life and calling his name, her pleading cries swallowed into the vast nothingness. She had almost made it to the summit—

—and then the avalanche hit. That place had almost become her tomb and her Ninetales had been the only reason why she hadn't died buried underneath a sheet of snow and debris. In all, she's lucky to still be here but she still had to cope with her nightmares becoming reality when she'd haphazardly made her descent to safety, empty-handed.

"Even today, it tears me up inside knowing I was so close... and yet—"

How would things have turned out if her attempt hadn't resulted in utter failure?

—

His thoughts linger back to how he'd felt when he'd decided to climb the mountain, feeling it was better this way. That no one was likely to try to look for him, with how out of touch he'd become with his loved ones. But this had been wrong from the beginning, and he'd been too caught up in himself and handling it all on his own, to really consider the effect his vanishing would've had. He knew now, he'd already made himself clear to Blue before this point... but he'd never known she'd gone looking for him. Green never mentioned it, just that he was sick of Red's disappearing act.

Don't make things worse, leave her be, you caused this, his thoughts spun around in his mind but for once he didn't hear. So long as she would allow for it, he would attempt to reach for her and hold her close. A hug is not enough to make up for everything, but it's all he could think to do impulsively when he heard how her voice was breaking.

"I never should've put you in that position," he softly responds regardless. "You should've never had to go looking, and... I don't know if I'll ever be able to make up for that time. I'm sorry."

Pinpricks of tears, he can't believe he's doing this at the gala of all places. Thank Mew they've been alone in this corner of the gala at least, no one is really paying them any mind.

He gives an unsteady sigh. "For whatever it may be worth, I... wish it had been you, to find me." He's not sure he should even be saying this, but he continues. "I thought of you often while I was up there, memories, and conversations I'd wanted to have with you."

He feels he likely hallucinated her presence more than once when the cold and isolation really got to his mind, but let's not get into that.

"I know, if I'd just left then I would've never had to wonder." He frowns. "I never would've been keeping you waiting and put you in danger. I can't... take back the decisions I made back then."

"But... I'm here now, regardless. I guess in some sense, you ended up finding me again anyway."

—

For a fleeting moment, Blue's shoulders tense at the unexpected gesture. But she eventually stops fighting it, allowing him to pull her into an embrace that's long overdue. Her arms wrap around him tightly in turn, fingers curling into the creases of his jacket as she hides her face in the crook of his neck.

The rest of the venue feels miles away; it's just them now. It doesn't matter that she's spent the better portion of the last hour fighting the effervescent feelings that have been building up within her ribcage and have almost reached their bursting point. All of a sudden, that little voice in her head that's been screaming at her about emotional self-preservation is nowhere to be found as she loses herself in his arms.

He— he thought about her while he was up there? Often? Had she lingered in his thoughts the way the ghost of his absence had haunted hers? What had he thought? What would he have said to her if she'd been there, if she'd reached him?

"I wish I'd found you," she breathes against his neck, her grip on him tightening. "I would've given anything to bring you back home."

Home. What is that for him, for either of them? Pallet Town never quite felt like home to her, despite the treasured friendships she'd developed that now lay fractured at their feet. But this... the steadiness of Red's embrace, the gentleness in his voice, the warmth of his crimson eyes—

—This, for her, is home.

Maybe that's why losing him to the mountain had hurt so much in the first place; no matter the nature of their relationship, she's now certain that Red is her soulmate, and losing him had been like having a part of herself ripped out of her chest. How harrowing would it be to lose it all again? To lose him again? Mew, she can't possibly handle that, even as friends. It would kill her.

Oh, hell...

This is exactly why she'd been so reluctant to let him in again, why she'd insisted on keeping him at arm's length despite her heart longing for him. It's like all the shields she had carefully raised for her own protection have been shattered, leaving her vulnerable again. As it turns out, she just can't shut him out when her very soul beckons to him.

All it had taken was a well-placed painting.

Nevertheless, if they're to even begin truly mending their shattered relationship, she needs the assurance that he won't cut her out again. That much is non-negotiable.

She pulls back, her eyes searching his. "Red, can you promise me—"

And just like that, the moment bursts like a bubble.

The words die in her throat as the corridor suddenly goes black. Startled, she clings to Red as she waits for her vision to refocus. The lights are out and so is the music, replaced by a cacophony of startled cries as all the other guests in the main hall struggle to find their bearings.

Is this a power outage? Why haven't the backup generators kicked in?

—

There's a part of him that expects to be pushed away, as though he moved too fast for her to be okay with, even though it'd felt right in the moment. But he waits for it and it never comes, quite the opposite that shocks him with the fact this is actually happening. She would've been well in her rights to say she wasn't okay with this, but instead she's holding him just as tightly. Moreso than he'd ever known her to in his life.

He listens to her response, but he can't bring himself to say anything back no matter how much he wants to. He knows if he'd seen her back then there would've been no need to bring him home, Red had no true home as a place any longer. Rather she would've brought it with her just by being there, the chance to return with her would've been a return home no matter what.

He doesn't want to leave. If only things were as simple as that.

No matter what he tries his words are failing him, but when she speaks again to him he thinks he'll sign if he has to. Whatever he has to do to get the point across-- her question sounded like it had grave importance even within just a few words.

But the gala goes dark, and he reflexively holds her tighter to him when the cries of the guests start. Immediately his concern is about an unseen danger, but as his eyes adjust to the dark nothing seems to particularly stand out. Just a blackout? He hopes so, he lets up his grip on her only to at least try to take her hand.

"Let's go, try to see what's going on." His phrase is to the point, it's the most he can manage between his mess of thoughts and concerns about the blackout.

He wonders if he'll hear what she was going to say just now eventually. But it feels like a question that is going to haunt him for some time.

—

The situation couldn't possibly be more ill-timed. Their emotionally charged moment of revelation is now lost and, with both her and Red's sense of duty at play, her request will have to wait until some other time. Will she have the nerve to touch on that subject again, though?

In the dark, Red's hand finds hers and Blue holds onto it firmly. She can sense his unease, made only more obvious by the nuances in his voice, so she gives his hand a reassuring squeeze. Maybe there's hope for things feeling like normal between them after all these years.

"I'll go talk to my staff. Maybe they'll have an idea of what's going on." Hopefully, a normal blackout is all this is but she has her doubts. How does a venue in a metropolis lose all power, just like that?

Hmm, no matter. Whatever it is, she'll take care of it.

[pathfinders-rp]

The comment derived a little chuckle from the handsome man. "Well, I must say that I don't regret the way it started. me wanting to fuck you in my car as a personal birthday gift to myself is something that I'll never regret doing. And, since you looked so stunning in that red suit, I wouldn't have given up on pursuing you even if it would've taken me the whole night.~" Xuan caressed Babe's cheek with a gentleness reserved only to the one he loved most. "Looking for wedding attire together will be lots of fun. I could help you pick the best tuxedo, unless you want to go the traditional route and keeping it a secret till the wedding day." This kind of thing, as simple and mundane as going shopping together might've sounded, really managed to get him more excited and enthusiastic than a really good deal that would bring in a loads of new cash. Xuan closed his eyes and hugged Babe closer to him, while they kept moving along to a tune known only by them, the tune of their love. "The same could be said in my case. You've managed to tame a fierce beast that only cared about himself and satisfying his own selfish desires, turning him into your most loyal companion. Before, I didn't care much who I slept with. Sex was just another tool I used for my work to draw people in and get my goals done. But ever since I met you, I discovered that there could be much more to this and that sex with feelings feels so much greater and is an experience like none other. You've taught me how to care for another being, learn what empathy really means and what it's like to share a true spiritual bond with someone. I feel like you're the one person and thing that helped me become a much better version of myself and you've made me grow into someone who sees so much more than just greed, pride and vengeance." Xuan sighed again and smiled at Babe. "Thank you for having chosen me and for becoming my partner. I love you more than words could ever describe and I can't see my life without you in it anymore."

"Wait, wait, wait." Babe requested, but he didn't stop their dance, only their conversation for a moment, and he seemed disappointed about something, which he revealed to his boyfriend right away, only half-joking as he talked. "What you're saying is that I could have had a whole night of you pursuing me, flirting with me, and trying to woo me, but I gave in too soon? I mean, I'm not saying I regret giving in, but my god am I curious what it would have been like to have you pursue me, dragon." Babe sighed dreamily at the thought, and rested his head on Xuan's shoulder, closing his eyes as he imagined what that experience would have been like, making Xuan work for it, before he gave in and let him have all of him in the car. He quite liked the idea, a warm smile on his lips, though he couldn't hide how it faded slightly when Xuan mentioned the past connection between sex and his work. Or was that not past? He didn't dare to ask straightforwardly. "Xuxu... Did meeting me ruin your chances of bringing in new business deals and new people using sex as a tool?" Babe asked, genuine worry in his voice, and he pressed a soft kiss to Xuan's lips, just for a second or two, then to his nose, and to his forehead. "You don't have to... stop that, if you don't want to. After all I didn't stop sleeping with others before races at first, either, not until you offered to be there for me. It would be horribly unfair of me to expect you to be exclusive with me, when your business could suffer the consequences."

[milkybonya]

alone together _ pjh

order 049, anon: large classic milk tea with mango jelly for trsr's Jihoon

#: boyfriend!Jihoon x gender neutral reader, established relationship, kisses, the beach!, about 1k ish maybe less ?

[💌: the beach being across the street reminds me of my trip to gangreung with my friend,, i miss korea so bad will i ever be over her :(]

after months of dating Jihoon and never getting to spend a single night together, you decided to treat yourselves to a night at a hotel.

when you walk into the hotel room, you find Jihoon already on the bed, marvelling at the room.

"finally, a night with just the two of us together in our own space. y/n! i'm so happyyyyy," he says to himself, kicking his feet around and giggling.

you suddenly feel a wave of emotion, wanting to run up to him and smother him with your love.

you walk up to him and push Jihoon down onto the bed. he laughs, feeling his heart race in his chest. a blush creeps up on his cheeks and his pretty teeth show as he smiles. carefully, you smooth the hair out of his eyes and he leans into your touch.

"w-what are you up to, y/n?" he stutters.

"kisses," you mumble, placing your legs on either side of him and hovering above him as he lays on his back.

you lean in forwards, pressing hard kisses to his forehead, cheeks, the tip of his nose, his lips, his collarbone. each time, your lips make a loud, smacking sound and the boy beneath you giggles.

your hands find his and you interlock fingers as he waves your hands around on the bed, staring into your eyes.

"kiss my lips again, lovely, i dare you," Jihoon mutters in a low tone.

you let your lips meet slowly and let the kiss linger, enjoying the way Jihoon brings a hand to gently rest on the back of your neck so he can slightly deepen the kiss. the way you gasp into his lips makes him smile.

when you pull away, he smiles and then giggles, pinching your cheeks and kissing your nose.

"i love you i love you i love you y/n."

"i love you even more than that, Jihoon."

he pulls you on top of him to hug you, letting you rest your head on his chest as he strokes the back of your head.

"my angel, you are," he says quietly to himself.

you can smell his cologne and just barely hear his heartbeat. his arms feel strong around you and you love how warm he makes you feel. finally getting to comfortably cuddle like this makes you so happy.

"Hoon-ah," you call out.

Jihoon responds with a hum.

"i'm so happy..."

he presses a kiss to your temple, somehow holding you closer.

"as you deserve to be, angel. i'm so glad," he replies.

"what shall we do today? it's only 3pm!" you point out.

"mmmm," Jihoon hums into your hair, your sweet scent making him dizzy so he's unable to focus.

"can we just stay here forever..." he mum

bles, still stroking the back of your head.

"okay," you agree, propping yourself up with your arms on either side of Jihoon's body.

he peers at you from beneath you, wondering what you're doing as you delicate trace his features with the tip of your finger.

his cheekbones, his nose, his eyebrows, his forehead, his jawline, his chin, his lips. he kisses your finger when you touch them, staring into your eyes.

"i wanna go to the beach," you suddenly say.

the sparkle in your eyes is irresistable, and Jihoon soon finds himself holding your hand as you take the hotel elevator down to the lobby, wearing bathing suits under your clothes.

you and Jihoon had purposely gotten a hotel by the water so that you could get some beach time in, so there's no way you'd skip this.

the two of you exit the hotel hand-in-hand and start running to the beach just across the street. the sand hitting your toes makes you squeal and Jihoon laughs, squeezing your hand as you draw closer to the water. you already know Jihoon will tease the hell out of you and nearly push you in, so instead, you run up behind him and push him in first.

Jihoon stumbles in the sand and falls into the water, laughing as he pulls his hair out of his eyes.

"i can't be having this much fun alone, y/n," he says in a deep voice, getting up and walking over to you. he wraps his cool, wet arms around your warm ones and pulls you closer with a smirk. he kisses your nose before throwing you into the water with him, yet making sure he's behind you so he ends up getting wet and you simply fall on top of him.

you slap his chest lightly and whine, telling him to never do that again even though the way his strong arms caught you made you feel butterflies. he kisses your face, now salty from the water and smiles up at you from below. the way the water droplets on your skin and hair reflect the sun's light makes you seem like a mystical sea creature, and Jihoon admired you with a grin until you shyly tell him to stop staring.

"i can stare at the love of my life all i want, thanks," Jihoon says, brushing the hair out of your eyes.

you take hold of his strong forearms, wrapped around your waist, as you lean in to kiss your pretty boyfriend's forehead. he shuts his eyes and enjoys the feeling of your warmth, the sound of the sea and the gentle breeze that makes him shiver.

[magpie-to-the-morning]

Hi Emma! For the prompt game: Flowers + Jack + fluff? 💖 (psst you're amazing and I'm gonna love whatever you decide to do with this!)

Jen I had so much fun with this one. I hope you like the cowboy AU I went with. Thank you for betaing when I was so psyched to share this, @acrossthesestars 😘

It started as a game.

Every time the Statesman rode into your dusty, lawless town (a frequent enough occurrence, between hunting various bandits, thieves, and other assorted rogues), Jack sought you out. Ever since that first time he’d caught a glimpse of you leaning out a window of the saloon, your hair half done and your tattered silks slipping from your shoulders, paint on your face and a dream in your eyes, he'd had eyes only for you.

He’d met you in the bar, tipped his hat and called you ma’am before asking for the pleasure of your company for an evening. He was different from the others who sought you out. Well-mannered. Even tempered. Clean, other than the dirt of a hard journey on his heels - and he’d always taken his boots off before carrying you to your own bed.

And oh, the things the two of you did in that bed.

It wasn’t long before he was asking you to come away with him.

Come on sweetheart, what do you say?

Trying to take me away from all this, cowboy?

And if I were?

Ask me again next time.

He did. He showed up again months later, his suit finer and his horse sleeker. The rogue business was booming, he said later that night, his breath warm on your neck, his fingers gentle against your curves.

Come with me, darlin’. If only so I can get some damn peace. How’s a man supposed to sleep or work or, hell, think when he’s this lovesick?

You were no stranger to flattery, or the silver-tongued promises of a man wanting something. Oh it sounded good now, with the moonlight spilling over your sheets and those clever lips making you see stars, but where would you be when his passion waned?

Right back where you were when you fetched up in this dust pit to begin with.

Still, there couldn’t be any harm in seeing him again, and his sweet words reminded you of the old tales your mama had lulled you to sleep with - of knights and maidens and happy endings.

Tell you what, cowboy. You guess my favorite flower and I’ll come away with you.

The grin he’d given you then was sweet enough to coax gold from a miser’s fist.

Every time he came to you from then on, he had flowers in his hands, mostly of the wildflower variety: purple coneflowers and Black-Eyed Susans, asters and hyssop. Once he brought you an orchid, a tender, fey thing he must have nursed for weary miles to place into your waiting hands.

He never guessed your favorite. Every time you smiled, shook your head gently, and placed them in a green glass jar beside your bed while Jack did his best to draw hints from your sweetly parted lips.

Your flowers - are they the color of your eyes? Do they grow alone? Is their nectar as honeyed as your taste on my fingers? Next time, sweetheart, next time I’ll bring the right ones.

You started to worry he’d tire of the game. Oh, he always paid well, a tidy stack of silver coins on windowsill in the morning, their clinking mocking you as you scooped them up.

Promises and flowers are all well enough, they seemed to whisper, but you can only rely on us.

Months slipped past. Seasons. Scorched grass summer turned to rusty red autumn. There was ice on the windowpanes and frost on your breath by the time Jack returned. Your heart leapt, though you knew it was too cold for flowers.

He’ll have to come again at least once more, you thought, your heart as quick as your steps as you raced toward him through the crowded bar.

He caught you with a grin, his coat smelling of snow and far off woods. Or maybe that was just the greenery in his hand.

Jack had brought you fir branches instead, their wild sap rising in the amber shadows of your room as the two of you made up for lost time.

Later, when the fire burned to glowing embers, Jack cleared his throat - nervous for the first time since you’d met.

“I know it ain’t quite what I promised and in the ordinary course of things I’m not one to go back on my word but, well, maybe this will be the right one after all.”

You sat up, puzzled, the quilt falling from your bare shoulder. Jack tugged it back into place before leaning to reach for his saddlebags. He placed a box in your hands, one about the size of a loaf and just as light, all wrapped in brown paper and tied with red and white string. His dark gaze never strayed as you bent to open it, his expression somewhere between apprehension and hope as you lifted out the finest cup and saucer you’d ever laid eyes on. Near paper thin and bone white, other than a delicate ring of flowers around the rim.

Your favorite flowers.

It wasn’t smoke that blurred your vision then. Afraid you’d drop the dainty thing, you set it down on the scrubbed pine table beside your bed, the cup rattling in the saucer with a chime.

Jack’s face fell.

“Oh, darlin’, don’t you like it? I was sure I guessed right this time but - “

You stopped his mouth with a teary kiss. “It’s beautiful. And those are my favorite. But now you’ve guessed and you won’t need to come back - and besides, it’s too nice for a place like this, what if something happens to it?” You’re rambling, your mind shying like a spooked horse at the thought of losing this. Of losing him.

The last thing you expected was for Jack to laugh, but laugh he does until tears are streaming from his eyes. “What a pair of fools,” he chuckles. Before you can even open your mouth to protest he quiets and takes your hands.

“Sweetheart, I have a whole set of those dishes waiting back home. They’re yours - if you’ll do me the honor of marrying me. That’s what this has all been about. Or did you think I wasn’t a man of my word?”

He pouts prettier than any girl in the cathouse, and you tell him as much through your own relieved tears and a laughing kiss.

“Jack Daniels, if you thought I would have trusted my future to any old sweet-talking lawman blazing in and out of town like a comet, then you really would be a fool. But oh, if you are then I am one too, and it wouldn’t do to break up a set.”

By the time the embers draw up their blanket of ash, the two of you are wrapped up in each other once more, your bodies nestled together like spoons in drawer while you drift off planning a future together.

[blueicequeen19]

Ignorance is Bliss Pt. 6

Warnings: fighting, angst, unprotected public sex

I wake up to the sound of a dog barking in the distance followed by laughter. I smile as I roll over to find my bed empty. I had no doubt him and the girls were outside on the beach, probably already swimming and chasing Blue. My body is sore but in the best way as I quickly pull on my swim suit and throw my hair up into a bun.

I go downstairs to find pancakes, sliced fruit, and coffee. As if I didn’t already love him enough. I sip my coffee as I watch them through the screen door. JJ is showing Ray how to juggle a soccer ball and Em is just as involved, only turning away to throw a ball for Blue. I take another moment to watch them as I drink more of my coffee then I step outside.

I sit down on the lounger and watch them some more, smiling at the neighbor on my left who is also watching. She was a sweet little old blonde woman who only came outside to tend to her flowers and check for shells but she also always said hi.

The one thing I loved most was that all the houses in OBX were a different color. JJ’s was green, mine was blue, and Mary’s was pink. All of our properties were separated with white picket fencing and sand. It was peaceful.

I glance up from my mug just as Mary makes her way over to my side of the fence, smiling as she glances at JJ and the girls.

“They’re beautiful.” She says. The woman had to be in her late 60s but she looked great. Nothing seemed to keep her down.

“Thank you.” I take another sip as we watch them.

“I never had any children so I don’t have any grandchildren. So if you ever need a date night, I’d love to watch them.”

“Oh, no, Mary I couldn’t let you—.”

“Hush it. I know what it’s like to be young and in love. Can’t hardly stay off one another. Your world can revolve around your kids but your relationship can’t. So you just let me know. I’m usually free in the evenings after church or Bingo.” I don’t know what to say. I’m so used to cruelty and judgement that I don’t know how to accept what she’s offering so I just smile and say thank you.

Mary goes back over to her potted plants just as JJ takes off in the water, the girls splashing and laughing behind him. It was going to be a good day.

I can't help my coy smile as JJ presses his front to my back, his hands over mine as he helps me line up my pool stick. I knew how to play but I liked that he wanted to show me. Whatever kept him touching me. Goosebumps race across my skin when his breath hits my ear.

"Why are you so tense?" He whispers but I know he's smiling.

"Because you're touching me." I breathe, pressing my ass against him. JJ chuckles.

"Do you like when I touch you?" He growls in my ear, pulling the pool stick back before shooting it forward into the white cue ball.

"Maybe." I tease as we straighten, no longer caring about the game as we flirt with each other.

"Maybe?" He pulls me into his arms, kissing my lips before whispering, "You sure like it when my tongue is touching you." I shiver, desire burning deep in my stomach.

Suddenly, louder laughter draws my attention to the bar and my stomach drops. Tyler is standing there with a bunch of local off duty police officers, laughing like they're old friends.

"What the fuck is he doing here?" JJ snarls, not backing down from Tyler's glare.

"I don't know. I assumed he went back to New York but I guess he didn't." I scoff, turning JJ's face back to mine and kissing him. He melts but not completely. I slide my hands down and squeeze his ass with both hands, earning a smile.

"Let's just go home. We'll get the girls and have a movie night." I insist, kissing him again. He groans against my lips, hands palming my ass.

"You keep it up and I'm going to bend you over the first flat surface I find." God, he made me giddy. Like I was in high school again and sneaking around so my parents wouldn't find out. I wanted him to take control and put me in my place. Remind me that I was his.

"Take me out to your truck and you can punish me however you want." I tease. The sound of someone obnoxiously clearing their throat has me jerking, pulling back to see Tyler standing a few feet from us with a disgusted look on his face.

"You guys keep it up and you might as well mount each other on the damn pool table." Tyler scoffs. I open my mouth to respond but JJ beats me to it.

"Nah, I was thinking on the hood of your police car." Tyler's eyes darken as he takes a warning step towards JJ but he doesn't back down, keeping his arms around me.

"Watch yourself." Tyler growls and JJ smirks, not backing down from their little stare down.

"I've known guys like you my whole life. Take away the badge and what are you? Just another snot nosed bully. You get off on making yourself seem superior and that's why you push people down."

"Keep running your mouth. Guys like you are a dime a dozen. Bottom of the barrel. Scum. You were born here and you'll die here, knowing nothing about the world outside your little island."

"Guys, that's enough. Come on, J." I pull on his waist but he doesn't budge, his jaw clenched as he looks back at Tyler.

"And I get to do it with Lily. That's what pisses you off so bad. She found someone that loved her no matter what when you just wanted her to stay miserable with you." My heart flutters at his words even though I feel his body shaking with rage as they square off. I'd never seen either of them so angry.

"You and half the population, bud. There isn't anything to brag about there." JJ shoots his hand out and shoves Tyler hard in the chest. I gasp, wrapping myself around him tighter when a brunette with a shotgun jumps between the two of them, the barrel of the gun over her shoulder like a basebat. Tyler is pulled away by a few of the officers as the girl looks between the two guys.

“Not in my bar. You take that shit somewhere else.” The gun wielding brunette says as Tyler is forced out the front door, not without another murderous look our way.

Her narrowed gaze finally lands on JJ and then she smiles.

"Couldn't wait until my shift started before you start shit?" She shakes her head at JJ but he's no less tense, forcing a smile.

"Lil, this is Kie. I've known her my whole life. Kie, this is Lily." Kie and I shake hands and she gives me a warm, genuine smile despite how intimidating she seems.

"Nice to meet you."

"You too. I'm glad J finally settled down." Kie says, jealousy forming that I hadn't experienced. I never even thought about ex girlfriends.

"Stop. She's kidding." JJ grumbles, tightening his hold on me. I force a smile but it feels more like a grimace.

"I am. You're the only girl he's ever brought around. You're special." I still feel like she's teasing but I smile anyway as JJ presses a kiss to my forehead.

"Uh, we're heading out. See ya, Kie." JJ pulls me towards the back door where we parked and I quickly wave goodbye to Kie.

"She seems--." I don't get to finish my sentence because I'm suddenly pushed against the side of his truck, his lips smashed against mine. I sink into him, wrapping my arms around his neck as he kisses me so passionately, lifting me so my legs are wrapped around his waist. I kiss him hard as he walks with me in his arms before suddenly putting me on my feet and forcing me to bend over the tailgate. My shorts and thong are tugged down to my knees then he’s inside me, fucking me so hard the truck rocks.

“JJ, fuck, someone will see.” I groan, lifting my leg to open myself up more for him. I was so close already.

“I’m watching.” He grunts, hands digging into my hips as he pulls me back into every hard thrust. I drop my head down on my arms to muffle my moans as he grows more and more savage, sending me over the edge. I cry out, withering away until he finally releases inside me.

I pop my head up, looking back at him as he stays buried inside me.

“What are the chances of you getting pregnant on an iud?” He pants, chest heaving as he comes down. I chuckle, shaking my head.

“Slim.”

“You should get it removed.” I smirk as he pulls out, righting our clothes and pulling me into his arms.

“I wanna see you pregnant with my baby. Your tits big and swollen.” I kiss him, running my fingers through his hair.

“We’d need a bigger house.” I whisper and he smiles.

“Fuck it. We’ll add on, connect our houses, and have double the space. That’s six bedrooms right there.” I throw my head back as I laugh, letting him kiss my neck.

“Let’s focus on the two we got but daddy can keep trying for now.” His lips find mine once more before he nods. Now it was time to get home to our girls. And figure out why the hell Tyler was still in town.

[randomshyperson]

Left Behind - Chapter 8 - Fine Line

Gif was made by my friend @abimess

Summary: The one where you lived in the apartment under the Maximoff family in Sokovia, or, your journey as a Sokovian civilian to Avenger.

Warnings: (+16) Violence, fighting, cursing, civil war environments, abuse of power, assault, torture, underage kissing, psychological torture, substance use, mention of assault/fighting of children, smut, kissing, teasing, insinuation of sexual and moral harassment, verbal offenses.

Words: 4.183K

A/N> I have no idea. Good reading.

All Works Masterlist || Read on AO3 || Series Masterlist

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Chapter 8 - Fine Line

As soon as the jet landed on the compound, things started to change.

Nick Fury was waiting for the Avengers at the entrance, and you exchanged a look with Natasha as you walked alongside everyone.

"I would like the twins to attend this meeting." Nick asks as soon as Steve leads the team into the office. You sit down next to Bucky on the couch in the common room, and he looks at you, as if wondering if you were going to contradict the other man, but you are looking at the Maximoffs.

Wanda and Pietro nod in understanding, and you try to give a reassuring smile when the girl looks at you, but it doesn't seem to help much as she just looks away and walks inside with her brother.

"What do you think they're talking about?" You ask a few minutes after you and Bucky are left alone. The winter soldier sighs lightly.

"Ultron, of course." He says. "Nick will want to know everything the twins have on him since they were working together. And I think some legal questions about them being here, like we did with you."

"Do you think they will want to become Avengers?" You ask a moment later, twiddling your fingers anxiously. Bucky gives a little smile.

"Depends on how much Tony talks."

You laugh, leaning back against the armchair.

"Maybe that will take a while, wanna eat something?" Bucky asks next, and you glance at the meeting room door before muttering, "Sure."

You and Bucky stand up toward the kitchen counter and he reaches into the cupboards, pulling out some ingredients as you prop your elbow on the counter.

"I'm going to make my secret recipe." He comments with a smile, taking two plates and placing them on the wood. "Grab some cheese for us?"

"Sure." You reply as you walk over to the refrigerator.

For the next few minutes, you watch Bucky prepare what resembles a cheese sandwich, but which he calls the Barnes secret recipe, but which is only different about the tomato and the fact that he heats the bread with oregano.

"Are you sure about that?" You ask as you watch him put on even more oregano. Bucky laughs lightly and then closes the bread, handing you one piece and taking the other.

"Come on, tell me what you think." He asks and you grimace uncertainly still biting into it. It is surprisingly good tasting, but deciding to tease him, you don't smile and the man looks at you wide-eyed.

"Dammit, pal, I don't think that turned out so good." You start and he takes a quick bite of the sandwich, and realizing you were joking, he nudges you lightly as he chews, making you laugh.

"Idiot." He grumbles but ends up laughing too.

You are in the middle of laughing when the meeting ends. Distracted by the interaction, you don't see the Avengers leaving the room, much less notice the way Wanda quickly catches the scene of you and Bucky laughing, and misinterprets it all.

"Barnes' secret recipe? Do you still have any for me?" Steve asks as he approaches, and you look at the Avengers who have entered the kitchen, scanning around for Wanda, but she is looking at the floor.

"I'll make one for you." Bucky says as the captain sits down on one of the stools. "Are you going to tell us what happened in there?"

Steve smiles, propping his elbow on the potty.

"For the current time, you guys are looking at the new two members of the Avengers." He counters and you widen your eyes, looking immediately at the twins. Pietro matches your excitement, but all you get from Wanda is a quick, almost annoyed look.

You leave your unfinished sandwich on your plate, and thank Bucky before walking over to the twins.

"Can we talk?" You ask them half-heartedly.

"Of c-

"Are you sure you're not busy?" Wanda interrupts her brother halfway through, crossing her arms. You frown in confusion, but Natasha approaches you.

"Why don't you show them the compound, Y/N?" She suggests with a smile. "They're going to be your door-mates too."

"Okay." You agree and exchange a look with Pietro before waving the direction where they should follow you.

It takes a few minutes to show them around, but you ensured that if they ever got lost, all they had to do was call out "Jarvis" who was already restored to the compound, plus there were maps in every corridor.

And then you led them to the hallway of rooms, and Pietro was the first door.

"I guess that's you." You say, and Pietro takes out the magnetic key he must have gotten from Fury in the briefing room to open the door.

You let the twins in first, and then follow them with your hands in your pockets, smiling at the impressed hiss Pietro gives.

"I know, it's fancy." You comment and he gives a short laugh, looking around.

"I never thought I'd be under the same roof as Tony Stark." He speaks and you bite the inside of your cheek, looking away to the floor.

"Yeah, me neither."

Have a moment of silence as they look around until Wanda, who is standing with her arms crossed and beside her brother, looks at you.

"Did you talk to him?" She asks. "About... Sokovia?"

You sigh lightly.

"I kind of did." You say. "Tony is... difficult. There' s not much to say about it if you ask me. I learned about how he had no idea that Stark Industries bankrolled the war, because he was busy spending his own fortune."

"Great guy." Pietro mutters and you give a weak little smile.

"Yeah, I know." You continue. "I'm sorry about that. I know you guys always wanted to find him and make him pay, but he didn't even know about the whole thing."

You shift the weight of your feet, and then sigh. "I know that doesn't change anything, but he apologized. And then he made me a suit, and let me stay here."

"You're right, it doesn't change or fix anything." Wanda retorts, but her gaze softens, "But, it's a start."

"And now we promise to help defeat Ultron." Pietro adds and you shake your head.

"What did Nick Fury say to convince you guys?" You ask with mild amusement and Pietro laughs, exchanging a quick glance with his sister.

"Your name." Wanda replies and you stop laughing because you feel your heart race, and your face heat up at the intensity of her gaze. Pietro seems to find the whole interaction amusing.

"W-what?"

"It doesn't matter. Can I see my room now?" Wanda asks quickly, already walking away to leave. You exchange a quick glance with Pietro, who just shrugs and then follows Wanda down the hall.

"Is this the one?" she asks as she stops next door and you shake your head.

"No, I'm in the middle." You clarify. "Yours is next."

She gives a smile as she looks at your door.

"I've never been in a room that was yours."

"That's because I've never had a room of my own before." You comment with a chuckle. "Wanna take a look?"

Wanda glances at you and then nods. You move closer to open the door, and try to ignore the way your heart races and your hands tremble because Wanda doesn't move aside and you have to lean in to open the lock.

She walks in as soon as the door opens, and you follow her in silence, trying not to look so affected.

"I think I just have the stuff the Avengers gave me here." You explain as you watch Wanda look around. "Not that I had anything in Sokovia."

Most of the rooms in the tower had a pattern of furnishings, and colors. As they became more comfortable, the team members would add their own personality to the room. In the short time you stayed with them, the most you had were sweaters with the team logo all over the place, or training shoes. There were also, however, drawings. And Wanda noticed.

"What are these?" She asks as she reaches for the small notebook on the armchair. You ran your hand through your hair shyly.

"A hobbie, I guess." You count with a smile. "It's new, it's...therapeutic, I think that's the word."

Wanda looks at you curiously.

"Since I've been here, I've had some trouble getting relaxed." You explain and Wanda frowns slightly. "So Bucky suggested finding a hobby of some sort."

"Who is Bucky?"

"The guy with the metal arm." You say and continue talking, not noticing the way Wanda squeezes the sketchbook a little too hard. "Since we've been through similar experiences, he figured that what his therapist taught him would probably help me too. He cooks, and I draw."

"Got it." Wanda murmurs, shifting her gaze to the notebook again. She opens it and looks at the pages carefully, smiling at some of the drawings. "When you say, similar experiences, what do you mean?"

You hesitate. Wanda doesn't know all about it. Everything you went through to get there. You wonder if you would like her to know.

"Maybe that's something for another time." You say as you look away and she looks upset.

"You used to tell me everything."

"Maybe there are things you don't need to know."

Wanda stares at you with her jaw locked. You look back, not sure what it is exactly that you're trying to hide.

You give in, with a soft sigh. You have waited so long to see them, only to have this strange nervous tension between you two.

Running a hand through your hair, you gesture to Wanda to return your notebook.

"Let me take you to your room..."

"No need, next door right? I'll be fine." She interrupts angrily, tossing the notebook into your hand.

"Wanda..."

But she's out of the room before you're done. You take a deep breath, staring at the notebook in your hands. Wanda never got to see the drawings you made of her.

Figuring that you should give them time to settle into their rooms, and take a shower after a mission like that, you return the notebook to your desk and decide to do the same.

With luck, you will be able to talk properly to each other in no time.

//-//-//-////-//-//-////-//-//-////-//-//-////-//-//-////-//-//-////-//-//-////-//-//-//

Wanda and Pietro joining the team, seemed to have been the essential advantage for the Avengers to be ahead of Ultron.

Once you were back in the common room, Natasha handed you a mug of coffee while making a joke about Tony bragging about deciphering Ultron's entire plan, and you just laughed when she commented that it was easy to decipher when the twins had already shared the key information.

"We're going to Korea early tomorrow morning." She counters. "I think Steve wants to know if you're still going to be a part of it."

"Why wouldn't I?" You ask confused and she raises an eyebrow.

"You found your friends." She retorts and you sigh.

"Oh, yeah." You say. "B-but I can still help. I...I still want to"

"Is this about Ultron manipulating your friends?"

"Maybe."

Natasha laughs lightly.

"Well, the captain is in the conference room organizing everything." She says.

"I think he will be pleased to know that you are not heading off to Sokovia."

"Yet." You retort with a smile making Nat laugh as you take the coffee mug back.

When you arrived at the conference room, Steve was distracted by some paperwork, and you knocked on the door before entering.

"Hey, kiddo." He said as he turned his head to look at you quickly before returning his attention to the papers. "Everything okay?"

"Sure, Steve." You replied approaching, deciding to stay on your feet. "I wanted to let you know that I can still help."

Steve looks at you with a mixture of surprise and amazement.

"I thought..."

"Yeah, I know what I said before."You interrupt with an almost embarrassed smile. "But I want to help. I don't know what Ultron is planning, and I thought this was not my fight. But then..."

"It affected your friends." He concludes and you nod. Steve sighs and leans on the table, crossing his arms as he looks at you. "You know, I think I should give you a speech about how being a hero is about helping everyone, not just the people who matter to you."

You laugh humorlessly, looking away. You were going to contradict, but Steve quickly adds.

"I'm not going to do that." He says. "I won't because you grew up in a war that wasn't yours, with no one to fight for you. So you three were the only heroes you ever knew."

"We weren't heroes, Steve." You retort with a sigh. "We were just orphans trying to survive."

"My point is, I'm in no position to lecture you." He clarifies and you cross your arms, waiting for him to finish. "Your motive for fighting is nobody's business but your own. What matters is that you will be helping."

"Thanks, Cap." You grumble and Steve smiles.

He grabs a clipboard, and starts telling you about them finding out that Ultron had intention to create a better body made of Vibranium, and how they would be going to Korea to stop that and get the scepter back with the stone.

He is in the middle of the sentence about putting you on the support team when you can hear his heartbeat.

The sudden noise startles you and you frown in confusion.

"Everything okay?" He asks as he notices your expression, before you can say anything, your head starts to spin.

It's not just his heartbeat, but all the blood circulating in his veins that can be heard next. You suddenly find it hard to breathe, and just as you notice Steve's full molecular presence, you're able to know Natasha is in the next room, hear Tony chew in the basement, or feel Clint scratch his back.

It is oppressive and overwhelming and you stumble back in despair.

"W-what's happening?" You ask trying to breathe normally.

"Hey kid, breath, are you okay?" Steve asks worried, approaching you with his hands raised.

His heartbeat accelerates because he's scared for you and you gasp, covering your ears because you feel your head is going to explode.

"Please stop it." You ask in desperation, feeling your eyes fill with tears with all that information at once. "It's too much. please..."

"Tell me what's wrong." He asks but you just sit on the floor, burying your heads in your knees, and covering your ears as you try to breathe. "I'll get help."

Even after he leaves, you can feel his presence in the other rooms.

And it gets considerably worse when all the Avengers are around you, worried and asking what's wrong. Their heartbeats feels like it's going to pop your eardrums, and you want to scream.

"Hey Y/N, I need you to focus on my voice." It was Bruce, kneeling in front of you. "It's your powers increasing, remember how we talked about that? Try to focus on me."

"I can't. " You cry. "Please Bruce, it's too much. Tell them to be quiet."

"This will help." He says and you feel a sting in your thigh.

Little by little, the sounds become muffled, until they disappear. You get a taste of iron in your mouth, and you look up to see the whole team looking at you with concern, and Bruce in front of you, giving you a short smile.

"I'm sorry." You mumble awkwardly, feeling exhausted.

"Do not worry kid." Bruce says. "Can you stand?"

"I think so."

Bruce helps you anyway, one hand around your waist while your arm rests around his shoulders.

"I think you'd better lie down for a while." He says and then you are walking. "Guys, let's give her some space, alright?"

Bruce asks the team and they stop following you two. Bruce takes you to his room, and helps you to bed.

"Here we go." He murmurs as soon as you lie down completely. "How do you feel?"

"Exhausted." You respond weakly, feeling your eyes grow heavy. "Thanks for help."

"Any time." He says. "Rest kid, we have a lot to talk about when you wake up."

You want to tell him you'd like to know what's going on now, but you're falling asleep right away.

You don't know Wanda is standing at your door with a pounding heart.

//-//-//-////-//-//-////-//-//-////-//-//-////-//-//-////-//-//-////-//-//-////-//-//-//

Waking up is surprisingly unpainful.

You expected at least a headache, but your powers do the job right.

"Good Morning." Bruce greets you as soon as he notices you fidgeting with the sheets. You frown.

"Morning? How long was I gone?"

"Thirty-eight hours and twelve minutes." He responds by placing the tablet he was holding on the table beside him. You widen your eyes in surprise, sitting up quickly. "Hey, take it easy."

"B-but the mission..."

"Do not worry about it." He says as he approaches your bed, sitting next to you at knee level. Bruce assesses you quickly and then sighs. "Are you feeling something? Any dizziness?"

"No." You say. "Where are the others?"

"The twins also went to Korea if that's what you want to know." He responds while looking away to fiddle with his jacket. He takes out a small lantern and holds it close to your eyes, examining something in them as he mutters to himself.

"What was wrong with me?" You ask as soon as he puts the object away. He adjusts his glasses.

"Don't talk like that." He asks. "There's nothing wrong with you."

"I was out for two days, doc." You retort with irony and he gives a short laugh.

"Yes, because you were exhausted." He says. "Don't worry about it, it's not a bad sign."

You mutter, crossing your arms. Bruce clears his throat as he reaches for the tablet on the table and then hands it to you.

"I did some analysis while you were sleeping." He says, and you stare at the graphics without understanding much. "They are good news."

"What did you inject in me back there?" You ask then, handing the tablet back to him.

"An alternative to Hydra Serum." He clarifies. "Without the obeying part, just the controlling of your abilities."

"Thanks, I guess." You mumble. Bruce locks the tablet before looking at you again.

"I'll ask Bucky to cook you something to eat, and then we'll go to the lab." He warns you. "We have some things to talk about."

"Whatever you say, doc."

//-//-////-//-////-//-////-//-//

After eating, and thanking Bucky for the favor, you returned to the lab.

Bruce set up a kind of glass room that made you frown.

"I have a cell now?" You joked and he grimaced.

"It's not a cell." He retorted. "It's a training room."

"It looks like a cell."

"It is not."

"But it looks like."

Bruce sighed and you giggled, crossing your arms as you look at the glass in front of you. He walked over to open the door through the holographic lock and you took a closer look.

"Why did I get a training cell?"

"Your training room is special." He says entering the glass box. You follow him, and as soon as he enters, you notice that the glass muffles all outside noise. When the door closes behind you, you can only hear Bruce. "I needed something that could block out everything else when your powers awaken again."

"But I don't have super hearing, Banner." You retort. "I don't understand why an anti-noise room is the best option."

"That's not what it's for."

You tap the glass with your fingers while Bruce fiddles with the tablet. And then the glass gains a new layer of protection, which glows golden before becoming practically invisible.

"Cool." You whisper and then turn to him again. "But what is it for?"

"Well, as I said earlier, I did other tests on your blood." He counts. "By my calculations, and from your little scene two days ago, you're going to be showing an immediate growth in your healing abilities over the next few days."

"Okay..."

"Shield tries to classify the enhanced humans as best as possible, and after working with Maria, we put you in some of those categories." He counts and with a flick of his fingers, a hologram comes out of the tablet into the air in front of him.

It was your file, and lots of texts and some photographs that you thought were images from your time in Hydra. Those were Shield's files on you.

"Of course we'll just have to wait for it to happen, but you're already classified as an enhanced beta level with biotherapeutic skills."

You looked around the files, surprised about the pics of your young self that Shield managed to recover. Even images from your childhood.

"For now, you've only demonstrated cell regeneration and close-range healing manipulation."

He narrates. "And two days ago, you had a small episode."

"I could hear everyone's heartbeats." You clarified still looking at the files. "I felt them in the next room."

"I understand." Bruce grumbles as he writes something down on his tablet. "This is called biomolecular detection. Depending on how you evolve, you might be able to detect injured people meters away."

You frown in surprise. Bruce is thoughtful.

"Not only detecting the injured, but also being able to tell exactly where the wounds are." He says. "It's impressive."

"You forgot the part where I couldn't breathe and I curled up on the floor like a scared child." You mock.

"That's what this room is for." He retorts with a smile. "You need to learn to handle your powers in a controlled environment."

"Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"It's better than putting you in the middle of the fight, I'm sure of that."

You sigh, crossing your arms.

"What else does Shield have on me?"

"You want to look at childhood pictures, don't you?"

You laugh, shrugging.

"Obviously."

After showing your files, Bruce also explained how the room was designed to block, at a molecular level, your ability to sense other people outside the room.

Since the team wasn't in the tower for the next few days until the end of the mission in Korea, Bruce and Bucky would help you practice with your powers.

And as soon as the serum Bruce developed started to wear off, you felt your powers come back with a vengeance.

"I need you to focus on my voice until we get to the lab." Bucky asked worried as he found you on your knees at the living room floor, hands over your ears. You muttered weakly, feeling him help you to your feet as you heard the air rush in and out of his lungs. He started humming a song, and you whimpered, trying to concentrate, but everything was overwhelmingly noisy.

It seemed to take forever, but then everything went quiet next.

You look up to realize that Bucky has left you in the room, and then close the door.

"Thank you, buddy." You say, adjusting your balance by leaning against the glass.

"Don't worry." He says giving you a gentle smile. "Do you feel better?"

"Fuck, yes." You grumble as you quickly wipe your tears. Bucky watches you carefully.

You sit on the floor, closing your eyes. It takes Bruce a few minutes to get to the lab, but when he does, he looks worried.

"Sorry for taking so long, I was all the way downstairs." He clarifies as he approaches the glass. "How do you feel?"

"It happened again." You count. "But as soon as I got in here everything was quiet."

"Well the room works, that's great." He says and you laugh weakly. "I think we can start your training then."

"But who will train her?" Bucky asks confused.

"I thought you could do that." Bruce retorts and Bucky looks at him in surprise.

"What? I thought you were going to do it."

"I don't know how to train anyone, I'm just a doctor." Bruce argues.

"Well I'm a sergeant who was brainwashed for eighty years, I'm not the teacher type."

"But you're a still a sergeant..."

"I was never a drill Sergeant..."

"Jeez." You grunt humorously, clearing your throat to stop the argument. "I have an idea, as clearly none of you are in the mood to train me, I suggest Bruce give me some more of the special serum until Natasha or Steve get back."

"We can do that." Bruce agrees. "I'll get the serum. Hopefully you'll learn to control this soon."

"I hope so, doc."

/-//-//-//-////-//-//-//-////-//-//-//-////-//-//-//-///-//-//-//-////-//-//-//-////-//-

Tag list> @imapotatao / @aimezvousbrahms/ @ensorcellme/ @helloalycia || @mionemymind / @abimess / @stephanieromanoff / @yourtaletotell / @tomy5girls / @justagaypanicking / @thegayw1tch / @idek-5 // @myperfectlovepoem // @helloalycia // @ENSORCELLME // @AIMEZVOUSBRAHMS // @drpepperobsessed // @sighsam // @olsensnpm // @sxfwap // @table57 // @madamevirgo // @causeitswhatjesuswouldfreakingdo // @emptysince18x // @xastrydx || @yuhloversxx || @ymzki-haruki || @wouldirunofftheworldsomeday || @lostandsearching || @lezzzbehonesthere || @musicinourlips || @chaekhan || @diaryoflife

[namethat-i-oughttohavetoldyou]

Hi! Can you pls share your favourite hcs or images of Electra and the Components?

Well.

You just opened quite a can of worms, anon AJSKDJKSAD Be warned: Here be (probably) unpopular opinions!

My so far favourite hc I have of them and that I don't think I will ever deviate from again is that they are basically a pseudo-hivemind. Are they one consciousness separated into six bodies? Are they 6 consciousnesses that are just connected in some way? Who knows! They certainly don't, and they also don't really give much of a damn.

Additionally, Electronents is OTP. Well, OT6. They're not averse to adding to their numbers, either. Polycules are my kind of shit, if you've noticed djfkgjfg

I'll have you know that I'm working on a fic rn that basically covers all of my headcanons I have about them, so I'm trying my best not to spoiler too much, but the hivemind situation brings some issues with it, at least for other people around them. Because when you're never alone in your own head, thinking your own thoughts becomes kind of redundant. If you ask one of them a question, someone else might answer in their stead, but with the answer the asked person would have answered with. Who cares if someone else speaks it out loud? Doesn't make a difference, they've all thought it, after all. (Outsiders disagree. They make an effort, after some time, just to clear up confusion, but sometimes it's just too much of a bother.)

Now I'll get into them as individuals, but only one or two hcs per person, otherwise we'll be here all day XD

Electra: Canonically bisexual and genderfluid, and he couldn't give less of a shit what pronouns you call him. He calls himself a he out of laziness most of the time, but he'll just as well call himself a girl in the next moment, which confuses outsiders who haven't been enlightened of his position on gender yet. Volta's favourite pet name for him is "girlfriend". He gives off static electricity constantly, which is why his hair sticks up like that. Throw a lightning rod at his head and his hair would simply.. fall down and start coiling (if the air's damp enough). Building up the static energy so his hair looks like always takes up to three hours, so he only uses the lightning rod method in emergencies. On wash days, for example.

Volta: Always has some body glitter with her in her cooling compartment, because what if it wipes off? Unacceptable. She also sometimes draws little lightning bolts on her cheeks because Electra likes it and yellow suits her just as much as blue. She's the most experienced at racing and often gets called a coach even though she's a truck, which doesn't bother her, but bothers the actual coaches plenty. (She doesn't really understand all the fuss about coaches vs. freight trucks, but that just might be because Electra usually always brings his racing partners to competitions instead of choosing one after his arrival.)

Wrench: Is an absolute pro at all things to do with dance. She and Electra put down a mean tango or jive or quickstep at every available opportunity. She could bench-press a Diesel locomotive if she wanted to, but she only demonstrates this if said Diesel locomotive gets on her nerves. Whenever she comes across a not-electric train who might whistle or honk, she's immediately going 👁 👁 and will probably either stare at them or follow them around out of curiosity for a few hours (or days). The fact that this isn't really polite behaviour doesn't matter to her much.

Joule: Has the pointiest elbows known to man, uh, train, and is not afraid to use them. She borrows some of Electra's static electricity for her own hair sometimes, but on other days she just combs it back or makes Volta braid it. If it comes to races, she's just as if a tiny bit less competitive as Electra. In general, it's no big deal if the left-over Components choose other locomotives for the race and do their absolute best to win, because in the end they all know that Electra will win anyway, so why not have a bit of fun in the meantime? ;)

Purse: Wears goggles as his "racing helmet", and I will hear no complaints about it (other than my own, which is just whining that the racing masks/outfits for the coaches and trucks were cut after Stex left the USA. It's a shame). He doesn't race often, because there's that underlying fear that a defeated opponent will later claim Purse tried to bribe them, but he's a cold, calculating force to be reckoned with when he does. He's the tallest and most angular of them all, basically a glorified very long rectangle on wheels. He is extremely shaped and I love him.

Krupp: The only one of them who doesn't have pitch black eyes. He acts as their alarm system at night, so if you enter the room unannounced you might get face to face with Krupp's red laser eyes staring at you while shouting something like "intruder alert". He wears the shades not because said laser eyes might unsettle other trains, but because he's firstly a little light sensitive and secondly too lazy to put eye makeup on every day. Volta argues that he doesn't need it, anyway, because for some reason the rail gods have blessed him with the most gorgeous eyes in the known universe. He's also the one who puts the most effort in separating his own thoughts from those of the others, which results in him taking up to two minutes to answer a question because he has to sort through all of the constant background chatter first.

So. This got a little long. As you can gather, I do have a lot of thoughts about these six, I just have the Katzen on the mind much more often to do much with them. The fic is coming, though. Soon-ish. I hope. XD

Have a group pic! Bc I do Not have a Stex pic folder yet. For shame.

Thank you so much for asking and giving me a chance to ramble! <3