#these took me 16 hours total. okay

[mikashida]

the sun and the moon

[joltai-showa]

still thinking about Obito's tendencies to hang upside down so why not talk about something even more funny

now Obito is obviously trolling the Konoha squad in that moment, acting like a complete idiot and weirdo and all, usual stuff for Tobi. Obito is being a weird little bat on purpose, it's all an act

you know who among Akatsuki, a very scary and a totally serious organization, also acted like a weird little bat, but without it all being an act?

allow me to introduce you to the final page of chapter 238

Kishimoto, why is Deidara's first appearance is him being upside down during Akatsuki's zoom meeting?

(which is supposedly the first one in 7 years since Orochimaru ditched them, but whatever, no fucking way these guys can remain semi-organized without a good old online meetup, I do not care for canon's opinion when it conflicts with my funny headcanons)

But seriously, it's been almost 10 years since I read the manga for the first time and there's still no explanation as to why Deidara did that LMAO. Logic dictates that it's simply Kishimoto not finishing up the designs for his new villains (rinnegan's design wasn't finalized until, like, Akatsuki Supression arc, I believe? there's someone TOWERING over Kisame who is 195cm already and at the end of the day remains Akatsuki's tallest member, etc etc), but I've got a PhD in overthinking Naruto details and turning them into shitposts that sometimes also turn into fanfiction, so I will take this one tiny detail and make myself laugh until I cry.

To me this moment is just so precious because it's actually a scene from OG Naruto, meaning that it's pre-timeskip, so Deidara here is only 16. And this just proves to me that Deidara's puberty (there is no exact indicator as to when Deidara was abducted recruited into Akatsuki, but I assume it happened sometime when he was 12, because during his recruitment we see Itachi (and we know that he joined Akatsuki after the massacre, so he was 13 and he's got a 2 year difference with Deidara), Kisame (who, judging by his pre-death flashbacks, joined AFTER Itachi, meaning some time had to have passed since the massacre) and Sasori (who wouldn't have a partner after Itachi joined because Orochimaru just couldn't resist trying to get that Sharingussy, but Akatsuki don't operate on their own in general, so I doubt Sasori would have been left without a partner for a long time, a year max) and during this zoom meeting 16-year-old Deidara speaks like he's very much aligned with Akatsuki's goals and grudges which would be very weird if he joined them against his will just recently, so a year or more would have to pass between Deidara's recruitment and the OG Naruto zoom meeting) was arguably one of the worst things that organization as a whole had to go through because teenage Deidara was JUST BUILT DIFFERENT.

Don't mind the fact that even as an adult he starts tweaking if he doesn't get to explode something every few hours (I would imagine that teenage rage and angst would only exacerbate this issue), but he would also just want to "look cool" and wouldn't listen to anyone in any position of authority AT ALL. Going back to this scene of Akatsuki's zoom call, we can see (and for certain characters assume because once again designs here are kind of wack) that these overly serious members like Pain, Konan, Kakuzu and Sasori are PRESENT and just... don't do anything about Deidara's antics? They just gave up at some point LMAO. And a while ago, I presume.

16-year-old Deidara, proud and puffed up as a lion: You can stay on the ground as boring old men you are, but I'm going to hang upside down today, hm!

Pain, the acting leader of this very serious and lethal organization that for some reason took in a 13-year-old and a 12-year-old because, I dunno, the real leader thought it would be funny, sighing: okay, Deidara...

I also don't believe that it was ever specified how Nagato's zoom jutsu works, but I think Akatsuki's members simply sit in whatever position they want and their projection is different from their actual position which means that. yeah. Deidara does a bat cosplay. because he wants to. baby why are you like that.

but I also like to imagine Deidara actually hanging on the ceiling during the meetup and the gang just going

Pain: Sasori, can't you grab a mop or something and swat him off of there?

Sasori, in the most dead inside voice imaginable: you are not paying me enough to do that. in fact, you would not last a minute in the asylum I'm living in. you can't give me 40 minutes of peace, can you?

honestly props to Onoki for finding a way to both continue using Deidara's skills for his goals (by just fucking paying Akatsuki and calling it a day) and keep the village intact, teenage Deidara just seems like the trial version of what Akatsuki members could expect on their missions. like, if you can't manage the stress of dealing with the (pony)tailed beast, you have no business trying to fight an actual tailed beast.

I'm also thinking that adult Deidara aka Shippuden Deidara would think himself really cringe for doing this shit when he was younger and feels kind of embarrassed in front of the other members (who unfortunately besides Hidan were there to witness his cringe bat phase of growing up in your local terrorist daycare organization), so he's pretty quiet during the zoom meetings when we get properly introduced to him.

That's, of course, until Deidara gets partnered with Tobi.

I can imagine the two of them competing who can last longer hanging upside down and now Pain really can't do anything to stop this bullshit because it's his actual boss and his clueless partner making their own bat nest during their zoom meeting. He just tiredly glances over at Konan who gives him a "I told you Yahiko was right and we shouldn't have joined forces with this guy, but when do you ever listen to me" look.

The gang would be discussing something like Kakuzu and Hidan brutally murdering Asuma (who's Obito's classmate btw and whose mother he already killed a while ago) and trying to steal his corpse to sell for some cash and in the background above them Tobi'll be yelling something like "senpai, watch what I can do" and start turning cartwheels on the ceiling.

tl;dr Obito and Deidara match each other's freak when it comes to doing weird shit for no apparent reason other than to fuck with everyone while on the job. thanks for coming to my TobiTalk

[luvangelbreak]

Deprived | Twenty

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16 Part 17 Part 18 Part 19 Part 21 Part 22 Part 23 matthew sturniolo x layla venita (female!oc) summary: everyone knows the story of the bad boy and the good girl but what happens when the school's most popular boy, Matthew Sturniolo, and the girl who notoriously is never there, Layla Venita, cross paths. warnings: swearing, smoking, suggestive? word count: 3.3k a/n: this series has been longer than I anticipated but I'm living for the slow burn so it's gonna be a while till we're done folks.

pov: layla

I spent the next week couped in my room, refusing to leave as I quickly smoked the bag of weed Wes had given me. Allie had messaged me in concern multiple times and I finally built up the courage to reply to her a day after her last message.

Allie <3 Monday hey girl are you okay? matt has been off all day 1:30pm Tuesday if u wanna talk im here <3 5:37pm Wednesday im getting concerned pls message me if u need anything 3:47pm

You sorry just havent been feeling good im okay just need time alone 10:21pm

Allie <3 im sorry :(10:23pm

You its okay i'll be at school tmrw 10:27pm

Allie <3 okay! see ya then <3 10:28pm

I locked my phone and threw it lazily on the bed beside me, rolling over to face the wall where my window was cracked open. I was glad my dad was out tonight, having to deal with him for over a week straight was draining and I felt like it didn't benefit my self-loathing in any way. I sighed as my mind always travelled back to the look on Matt's face, the pure hurt in his eyes that I knew I caused.

Part of me was glad he hadn't messaged or tried to talk to me. It meant that I could push him away if I wanted to. I did just that without even consciously meaning to. I got scared and made it his fault in my brain but as I continued rotting in my bed, I realised I hurt him more than I ever meant to. It wasn't his fault that I was afraid of someone being close, it wasn't his fault that I let something so small set me off. I needed to make him realise it wasn't his fault and I was just not used to the affection and accommodation he offered me daily.

I barely slept over the past week and this night was no different. My alarm went off in the early hours of the morning and I knew I had slept a total of 4 hours from the way my brain had constantly been reeling. I dragged myself out of bed and trudged into the bathroom. I took an extra long shower to attempt to rid the disgust I felt towards myself.

After scrubbing my entire body head to toe, I jumped out of the shower and walked to my room. My entire body felt heavy and I felt tears prick my eyes when I looked over to the pink sweater that was still laying over my bag. I picked it up, realising it was the only clean sweater I had since I hadn't been bothered with laundry. I quickly slid it over my head before sliding on my black sweatpants and combat boots. I slid my leather jacket over the top, not bothering with any makeup as I lazily tied my now damp hair into a low ponytail. I grabbed my bag, quickly sprayed on some perfume and grabbed my phone off of my bedside table.

I quickly exited my house without food or water in my stomach and as I began walking down the road, I decided to light one of the last few cigarettes I had pre-rolled. I grabbed my headphones from my bag, slid one into my ear and plugged them into my phone. I clicked shuffle on one of my playlists and I let my feet drag on the asphalt as I slowly made my way down the streets of Massachusetts.

After an hour, I finally arrived in the parking lot of the school and I scanned the cars, my eyes landing where I saw the familiar silver minivan. I paused, letting out a heavy breath as I collected myself and began walking to the group of people in front of the car.

Nate was the first to notice me and he just looked at me with no expression before he turned back to the group. As I got closer I noticed the fact that Mia was standing beside Matt with her head leaned on his shoulder, his arm wrapped around her back lazily and I felt a pang of pure jealousy run through me. I tried to shake it off as I got closer, knowing I had no right to be mad about it right now since I was the one who caused the riff between the brown-haired boy and myself.

"Speak of the devil," I heard Nick say when his eyes caught mine and I was a few feet away, standing uncomfortably as I looked between all of them. All of their heads turned to look at me, Allie being the only one who didn't seem like they were looking right through me.

"Matt, can I talk to you?" I asked quietly as I didn't dare to meet his eyes yet and there was an uncomfortable silence that fell over us, "Please."

"About what?" he asked, his tone short and I looked up to see his face completely expressionless but his eyes held such hurt and aggravation that it felt like it cut right through me.

"Last week," I mumbled, ignoring the pain in my chest of seeing Mia looking at me with a slight smirk. I focused in on the boy I had hurt, his blue eyes piercing in the sunlight.

"Now?" he questioned, not taking his eyes off of me and I just looked at him, the judgement of his friends radiating off of them. He sighed heavily before swinging his arm out from around Mia and I felt a weight lifted off of my shoulders but there was still a pressure on my chest, "I'll be back."

I looked at the ground as he pushed away from the hood of the minivan and he walked past me. I followed behind him, not daring to look back at his friends as we walked to the back of the parking lot before he stopped to face me.

He didn't say anything for a moment as I looked up at him and he scanned me head to toe before murmuring, "That's my sweater."

"Yeah. I left it on my bag all week but I didn't have any clean hoodies for today," I explained and he hummed as I picked at the skin around my fingers, my nails too short to bite now that I had been picking at them all week. I nervously chewed on my lip before I said, "I'm sorry."

"It took you a week to say that?" he asked, his voice quiet but his words laced with pain.

"I didn't mean to hurt you. I know I reacted to what you said horribly but I just-" I cut myself off as I took a breath and looked down at the gravel below us, "I haven't had anyone take care of me the way you do. It scares me. I'm sorry."

I squeezed my eyes closed, chewing on my bottom lip far more aggressively than I intended but my heart raced as I waited for his response. I felt his hand fall under my chin and he lifted my face to look up at him, noticing now that he was slightly closer to me. He used his thumb to gently pull my lip away from my teeth as I fidgeted with the hem of the pink sweater.

"Why didn't you just talk to me?" he asked, his tone softening as he looked down at me and I shrugged dumbly.

"I am bad at talking about that sorta stuff," I answered quietly, my throat closing from the sadness that invaded my body as I looked up at him. I had no right to be upset right now, I was the one who fucked up and made this so difficult, but I felt guilt invade my entire body when I realised I didn't want to push him away. It was habit and I was always bad at breaking them.

"Don't do that again," he demanded softly and I pursed my lips as I pushed my sadness down the best I could as tears sprung to my eyes, "Or I swear to god I won't talk to you again and I don't want to stop talking to you. Ever."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to push you away. I just don't know how to deal with everything I'm feeling and I know it's shitty but I promise I'm trying. I have no right to be sad right now because this is my fault but I feel so horrible for making you upset. You deserve so much more than that and if I can't give that to you I understand if you don't want me to be around anymore," I rambled out all of my feelings and conflicting voices in my head but I was cut off by his lips on mine.

I paused for a moment to register what was happening before my body melted into his, his arms wrapping around my lower back as I snaked my arms around his neck. I pulled him into me, missing the way his body felt against my own more than I anticipated. It felt like a breath of fresh air after being stuck in my room for the past week with smoke-filled lungs. He gripped my hips, pulling me impossibly closer to him as I tangled my hands in his hair before he pulled away to breathe for a moment.

"You're an idiot," he mumbled before he leaned back in to kiss me gently again.

"I know," I mumbled against his lips and he ran his tongue against my rough lips, the sting of his saliva hitting the open splits on my lips from chewing them. I hissed and pulled away as he looked down at me.

"You need to stop biting your lip," he muttered as his eyes travelled all around my face, "And stop picking your nails. You're not gonna have any left soon."

"I've been stressed the past week. I can't help it," I whispered as I looked up at him in awe. I had forgotten the pure oxytocin that ran through my system when I was with him and I refused to let it go again.

"Pretty girl," he gave me a sympathetic look and I shook my head as I pulled away from his face slightly, my arms still slung over his shoulders.

"Don't feel bad. This was my doing and I will make it up to you," I answered sternly and his face broke into a small smile. I sighed, the weight being lifted off of my chest now and my body tingled with joy.

"All I'm asking is that you talk to me next time," he whispered, leaning down to place a peck on my lips and I let it linger before I pulled back and nodded.

"I will try," I scratched the nape of his neck lightly and he bit his bottom lip as my face dropped, "Don't look at me like that before we have to go inside. I'll drive us back to your house right now."

"I don't see you for a week and you're ready to jump my bones already," he chuckled and I raised my eyebrows.

"How else can I make it up to you, ya know?" I joked as let my mouth form into a smirk and he shook his head as he pursed his lips, "Does this mean I can come to your game this week?"

"Of course baby," he smiled down at me and I felt the butterflies erupt in my stomach again, promising not only him but myself to never let myself ruin this again.

"By the way," I let my right hand trail from his neck to his chest, playing with the necklace that sat comfortably on his collarbones, "Allie's brother was just dropping me home. He tried to flirt with me but I shut it down. I wasn't lying about that."

"I know. I overreacted. I'm sorry about that," he said softly and I shook my head, twiddling the pendant between my fingers as I looked up at him.

"I know how it looked. I would've been just as upset. You don't need to apologise for it," I mumbled, trying hard to convey my feelings as best I could to which he didn't respond verbally. He instead placed another kiss against my lips and smiled against me as he squeezed my hips.

"Matt!" I heard Chris's voice call from only a few feet away and we both broke apart to look over at him, "You guys done? We gotta go to class."

"I forgot about that," I joked and Chris just gave me a deadpanned look as Matt chuckled.

"We'll be there in a sec," he called to his brother who just rolled his eyes and spun around to walk back to his friends, "They're more pissed at you than I was."

"I can tell," I mumbled as I watched their eyes pour directly into me, "Allie messaged me though."

"She was the only one defending you," he told me honestly and I hummed as I looked back up to him, "I'll talk to them."

"Don't sugarcoat it. You can tell them I'm a dumbass who doesn't know how to deal with her emotions," I stated and he shook his head with a smile, placing a kiss on the top of my head before swinging his arm over my shoulders.

"Come on," he said nodding towards the group and I hesitantly began walking with him by my side. Their eyes stayed glued to us as we approached and Mia gave me nothing but a scowl with her arms crossed, "Chill out. We talked about it."

"That didn't seem like talking," Mia spat and I remained silent, letting Matt handle the situation as I looked at Allie who gave me a sympathetic smile.

"Don't Mia," Matt deadpanned and she only scoffed with a roll of her eyes, "We talked about it and I don't wanna hear it."

"Only took you a week," Nate raised his eyebrows as he spoke and he looked at me. I pursed my lips while glancing between them.

"At least it happened," Matt retorted before the bell rang and he sighed, "We'll talk about it later. Let's go."

He began walking with his arm around my shoulder still and I followed suit, Chris moving to stand on the other side of Matt as everyone else followed behind. We made our way to our classes and once we sat down, a weight fell back on my chest.

Not only did I have to make it up to Matt, I had to win back his brothers and his friends.

+++

Pretty boy where did u go?? 12:23pm

You 🚬 be there in a minute 12:24pm

I locked my phone, sliding it into my pocket as I finished off my cigarette, throwing it onto the ground before I wedged it into the ground with my boot. I made my way back inside and straight to the cafeteria where I saw the group of friends sitting together.

"Hey," Allie beamed as she scooted closer to Mia to make space between her and Matt for me to sit. I smiled at her as I swung my legs over the bench and sat down. Matt placed his arm around my lower back as he continued his conversation with Nick.

"I don't want to wear a tie. That's why I got the red shirt," Matt groaned and Nick gave him a deadpanned look.

"It's prom. You're supposed to look fancy with a tie," Nick stated and Matt ran a hand across his face.

"We're all wearing a tie. Don't be a bitch," Nate pointed out and I tuned them out as Allie tapped my shoulder to gain my attention.

"You okay?" she asked quietly and I nodded with a hum.

"Yeah. Thank you for checking on me," I answered in a hushed tone and she shrugged with her sunshine smile that warmed my heart to know she wasn't annoyed with me.

"Of course. That's what friends are for," she said casually before she turned back to listen to the group conversation. I let her words hang over my head like a cloud.

That's what friends are for.

I don't remember the last time I had a genuine friend and her simple words struck me right in my heart. She had always been kind to me and from the moment we talked, she had been such a light in my life. I realised I not only wanted to share my emotions and feelings with Matt but also with Allie to show her that I appreciated her.

I wanted to be better for both of them.

"How long do we have to stay there?" Chris whined as he threw his head onto the table dramatically and Allie rolled her eyes.

"You're acting like you're being held hostage. If you don't wanna go it's fine," Allie responded, her tone quietening at the end and I could sense the slight sadness at Chris's distaste for prom.

"Al, I told you I'm going and I'll stick to that. I just don't wanna be there for five hours," he lifted his head up to look at her and she shrugged, eyes glancing at the table.

"We can leave early and go back to my house," she offered and Chris's mouth broke into a smile as he nodded.

"Works for me," he said triumphantly before sitting up again, resting his elbows on the table in front of him.

"How are we getting there?" Mia asked, looking around at the group and I just sat there in silence, deciding to go along with whatever plan I knew Allie had already set up.

"Meet up at my house at five thirty so we can take photos and make sure we have everything and then we will leave at like six-thirty to get to the hotel," Allie explained the plan and everyone seemed to hum along in agreement. I felt Matt's arm snake further around my back as he scooted closer to me.

"How are we getting there?" Nick asked and Allie smiled as she adjusted her ponytail.

"I got us a limo," she announced happily and Mia showed her first sign of happiness of the day as she squealed excitedly, "You guys won't drink right?"

Matt and his brothers shook their heads with a firm no and Allie turned to look at me and I shrugged, "Depends on what it is."

"Bottle of champagne in the limo?" Mia asked Allie and Allie nodded causing Mia's smile to widen.

"You're dad won't arrest us if we drink?" Nate asked, the half-hearted joke not landing well with Mia as she rolled her eyes.

"Not if he doesn't know," she pointed out with a slight smirk and Nate raised his eyebrows before nodding in agreement.

"Did you find a dress?" Nate asked, turning his attention to me as he attempted to make conversation. I assumed that in the time I'd been in my other classes and was outside Matt had talked to Nate, Chris and Nick since they weren't glaring at me anymore but they still felt slightly standoffish.

"No. I'm just gonna make my own," I explained and he nodded, his smile in a downturned smile.

"Mad impressive that you can do that," he complimented me and I gave him a half-hearted smile as Matt traced circles on my hip with his thumb.

"Thanks. I just hope I can finish it in time," I explained and I could sense Mia's disgust towards me radiating off of her but I was learning to tune her out like I had always done before Matt came into my life.

Suddenly the bell rang for our next classes and everyone began getting up. I stood up from the table before Matt spun me around and kissed my lips gently. I froze for a moment, shocked at the fact he did that in the middle of the cafeteria but I quickly reciprocated the action before he pulled away.

"See you after school pretty girl," he smirked at me before he walked away and I stood still for a moment as I watched him walk away with Nick, Chris, Nate and Mia.

"You guys are so fucking cute it makes me want to throw up," Allie rolled her eyes playfully beside me and I looked around to see people staring at me once again. I pursed my lips, my cheeks tinging red as I hid a smile and shook my head before I began walking out of the cafeteria.

tags:

@dsturniolo @chrisstankyleg @lov3bug @pinklittleflower @thatcrazybitch-69 @trinity2058 @alorsxsturn @chrizznmetswife @ilovechrissturniolo1 @leprechaunbirthdaygirl @sturnfix @lilsstvrn @sturniololol @sturniolowhore @jebbie-project-blog @jaxyy219

[ohfuckthisisreal]

Okay so I don’t write fanfiction anymore but as a new years treat for fellow Angela simps I just had to put something out. Please excuse any mistakes this is going out at 7 am and I haven’t slept yet. Enjoy!

Hot for Teacher

It was a shooting day in the Smosh Office and you couldn’t believe how lucky you were to be actually here. Smosh has been one of your favorite Channels since they started adding new cast members. Shows like Let’s do this or Culinary Crimes became your comfort watch after a hard day. So to be standing here, about to be in an actual video felt surreal. You started attending an Improv Class, to hone your skills because my god were you awkward for an 21 year old. You didn’t think much of your Professor at first, he was a little crazy and awkward himself but then you recognized him. It was Patrick, he worked as a writer for Smosh sometimes. You were stoked! Learning from someone who put out scripts for your favorite shows? It couldn’t get any better. When one day he came into class and offered us all to be in a video. It’s not like no was ever an option. So here you were, standing with your classmates, waiting to be called onto set.

„Hey!“ a voice called out.

You all turned to see Kimmy approaching you with Patrick in tow.

„Hey it’s so nice to finally meet you!“ Kimmy greeted you cheerfully. „How are you all feeling? Nervous or more excited?“

We all looked at each other mumbling a few yeahs before Hilary stepped up and started chattering „Honestly both! This is way cooler than I expected!“

„It’s pretty sick right“ Patrick grinned before he turned serious „so let me tell you how things are gonna go. We will go onto set which will kinda look like a classroom. Three cast members will then stand before you. They will have to ”teach“ you on a subject they chose and you will have to rank them on how well they did, educational value etc… sounds easy enough right?“

„So we treat this like a normal class basically?“ you asked this time.

„Yeah basically but don’t expect to learn anything“ Patrick joked. You grinned. You would be impressed if they actually managed to teach you something.

„Okay if the rules are all clear shall we move to the set?“ Kimmy asked.

We nodded and followed the two to the honestly pretty impressive classroom set. You all get settled, yourself choosing a seat at the back. Mics were put on you and cameras were turned on. Nerves started to manifest in you.

„This is it“ you thought „I’m about to be in a Smosh video!!“ The doors to the set opened and the nerves you had turned even more intense.

„Oh no“ you realized with quite horror and excitement that Angela was about to be one of the Teachers. This was fine. It’s not like you had a giant crush on her or anything. Nope. Totally fine.

„Okay, don’t think gay thoughts“ you felt yourself starting to sweat but you took some deep breaths to calm down „just pretend you’re not gay for an hour. Shouldn’t be that hard considering it took you 16 years to come out“ Granted you were only 21 but it’s the thought that counts right?

Taking one last deep breath you faced the front of the class with the most neutral face you could muster. Mics were put on Angela, Shayne and Tommy with some last minute discussions happening. The three seemed very nervous themselves. And then it was time. Patrick ushered them onto set and the tapes began rolling.

„Hello everyone!“ Patrick started talking „todays video will be an exciting one, that I can promise you. Recently I became an actual Professor, don’t laugh Ang!“ he jokingly glared at Angela who had her hand over her mouth to quieten her giggles.

„ it’s not that hard to believe“ an eye roll in her direction „anyways I started teaching an Improv class and these here are my students“ he gestured to you, you all getting the cue to wave or smile at the camera directed at you. Accidentally your eyes started to drift torwards Angela only to find her already staring at you. Hastily you diverted your gaze, cheeks beginning to turn a light red.

„Focus“ you chided yourself, face pulling back into a neutral position. Patrick’s talking bringing your attention forwards again.

„We thought it would be funny if some of our cast members would get a shot at attempting to teach. So we brought in my actual students to judge you and beware you will be judged harshly.“ He grinned. Tommy looked unbothered but Shayne and Angela were fidgeting, clearly nervous about this.

„So Tommy why don’t you go first?“ Patrick asked

„Sure“ Tommy shrugged. Angela and Shayne shuffling to the back. Right behind you.

„Oh no“ a subtle scent of Vanilla drafted up your nose as Angela passed by you, arm accidentally grazing yours. „Fuck she smells good too. God help me overcome this day without making a fool of myself.“ Tommys turn began and you can honestly say you did not pay the attention you were supposed to. The thought of Angela standing right behind you making you more anxious than you thought it would. Briefly you wondered if you would get to talk to her after the video was done but clapping interrupted your thoughts on that quickly. You clapped too, attempting to look like you’ve been listening.

„Alright! Give it up for Tommy. Not a bad first attempt but I also have to say I really don’t know where you were going with this. But go on Diane, let Angela take your place“ Patrick gestured to Angela, wanting her to be the next Teacher. You were confused. Who the hell was Diane?? What did you miss? Angela shuffled by you again, grazing your arm for a second time that day. Did she do that on purpose? The classroom wasn’t that small. As soon as she reached the front, she whirled around and began her presentation.

„Alright listen up folks. The name is Angela and I will be your teacher today but first check under your desk“ muttering and scattering filled the room as students moved their desk to look under it. A plastic bag filled with Candy was stuck to the bottom of it. Energy began filling the room at once. Was this bribery? If so it fucking worked. You glanced up happily grinning only to catch Angela’s gaze again. Her brown eyes looking at you briefly before giving you a quick wink, turning back to the rest of the class.

„ I had a plan for this once “ she spoke melancholy „ but then on a fateful night where I went roller blading with Patrick“ a glance in his direction found him chuckling to himself, most likely knowing where this is going.

„I broke my arm and man let me tell you it’s hard to think with only one functioning arm“ she joked. Was it funny? No but did you laugh? Of course you did. You were a simp for everything this woman did. An appreciative glance in your direction again.

„So instead of doing anything useful, how about a little q&a session huh folks?“ she perched on the edge of the desk and you were hit once again with how gay you were for this woman. You let your eyes rover over her starting from the bottom, making your way up, letting it end at her eyes that you realized with shock have been staring at you. Watching you check her balantly out. Averting your eyes and slouching at your desk you hope this will be over soon. This was beginning to get embarrassing. But what could you do. She was truly the most stunning woman you have ever seen and you were very very gay. Resolutely staring at your desk for the remainder of her turn you let her voice wash over you.

„maybe one day I’ll get to hear her sing live“ you wistfully smiled. Clapping erupted around you again and you quickly joined.

„Alright uh I don’t think this was the point of this but good try Angela?“ clearly Patrick was not impressed but still giving her two thumbs up to lesson the blow.

„Hey it was your fault I couldn’t get anything better done in time“ she teased. Making space for Shayne she slowly walked past your desk, fingers moving like slow mo in your direction only to lightly graze your neck. Shivers erupted on your body. Goosebumps trailing up your arm. You sat up straight. What the hell was that? Did she really?? You sneakily glanced behind you to where she stood with Tommy but she wasn’t acknowledging you this time. Shayne’s turn began and ended and you could honestly say you did not retain an ounce of information. Your mind replaying that moment over and over again. Patrick and the three “teachers“ gathered at the front to end the video. Yourself and your classmates getting called to do your individual interviews as soon as the camera stopped filming. You stood up, getting ready to walk to your designated area when a hand catches your arm. Angela’s face appearing in front of you. You blushed seeing her so up close.

„Come I’ll show you where you need to go!“ without even waiting for an answer she dragged you towards where your classmates are getting situated. Only she took a left turn, beginning to walk a little faster before lightly shoving you into what you assume is a closet or storage room.

„Hey uh what ar-„ you get cut off. By the pair of softest lips you have ever kissed. You melt into it, sighing into her mouth when her fingers began to tangle into your hair. Angela broke the kiss for a moment.

„I saw you staring at me“ she husked into your ear „ and I can’t say I didn’t hate what I saw either. So here’s how this is gonna go. You call me, we meet up and you better be on your best behavior student“ the end of the sentence was growled, her voice low. You just nod. Your mouth refusing to form any words.

„Good“ she smirked „I’ll see you later then“ she winked, giving you one last kiss before vanishing from the room. You were left alone, a mess from just one kiss, looking down at the crumpled up note containing Angela’s phone number. „Holy shit“ this day did get in fact better.

[charlie-lec-stories]

Fangio 2.0 // CL16

Pairing: Charles Leclerc / Original Female Character

Summary: Charles finds himself worried about the crazy frenzy around his girlfriend who just got a seat in F1, but this feeling that was constantly minimized by her is going to become more than justified when a threat is made.

Warnings: Kidnapping, stalking, misogyny, drugs, obsessive behavior, descriptions of violence.

Author’s Note: This is a story I totally forgot about but that it's fucking amazing. Some time ago I read that the Argentinian driver, Fangio, was kidnapped before the Cuban Grand Prix and the story was inspired by that. It's crazy, but Fangio said that his captors treated him "very well" and he was dropped off unharmed at the Argentinian Embassy 29 hours after being captured. Based on that, this story is less happy, but I thought it would be interesting to work on male obsession with female celebrities. Rate: +16 (descriptions of violence)

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

"¡La puta madre, pero qué boluda!" (Motherfucker, what an idiot!). Charles heard his girlfriend's voice coming from the bathroom, making him look away from his phone. He understood Spanish very well, still, he had no idea what she said. Her tone made it clear to him that she was cursing, but he was starting to believe that Argentinians had a language of their own, because it was really hard for him to understand it. He had never heard of anyone with as many variations of curse words and complicated slang as his girlfriend. Most of what she said couldn't even be translated properly or made no sense when taken literally. Her soft footsteps grew in volume as she walked closer to the living room, where he sat comfortably on the couch. She stood in front of him with her best puppy eyes, showing him his bottle of Tom Ford cologne. It was expensive, he wanted to wince, but her accent was really cute when she apologized. "Amor, I'm so sorry. I broke your perfume".

"It's okay, mon amour, don't worry". He gave up easily and she smiled, sitting on his lap.

"I'll buy you a new one. I promise". He chuckled. She earned a quarter of his salary, he wasn't going to make her pay for a new one.

"You don't have to, it's really expensive". He said softly bumping her nose with his.

"No, no. I broke it, Charlie. I have to replace it". She noticed that he was looking at her with pity. "It can't be that expensive, right?".

"Well... it's around 300 dollars the small bottle". She moved back a little, her eyes wide open.

"Ehh! ¿Qué rompimo'?". Charles laughed loudly, he already understood what that phrase meant, she said that on a date before, when he took her to an expensive restaurant in Monaco and she was horrified with the prices on the menu. She had just signed with Alfa Tauri, after winning the F2 championship. She explained to him that the phrase was an Argentinian saying and it meant that something was overpriced, he loved it when she explained things to him. They had been dating for quite some time, first introduced by Arthur, his younger brother, after they shared a podium in F3. He asked her out, she said yes and two weeks later everyone knew they were dating. That was two years ago. Now, Red Bull was interested in her, they wanted to see how well she did with Alfa Tauri before moving her to the main team, as Max Verstappen's teammate. "Shit, I'm not paying that for a perfume. Can I compensate the damage with a great quickie pre-press? It's the best I can offer". She fixed her position on his lap, sneaking her arms around his neck and pressing her body to his, he just chuckled.

"That would be more than enough".

Running kind of late after what ended up not being a quickie, they made their way to the paddock. It was Monaco Grand Prix and Charles was tense, he wanted to finally win his home race. Y/N took his hand in hers and he pulled her close firmly while they walked, waving at the fans and press that had gathered at the entrance, but keeping their distance for security mesures. Having been a couple for long, people were interested on how they would deal with racing each other and their relationship. The press was constantly nagging them and trying to steer some drama. However, the biggest problem wasn't the press but the fans. Charles' fans were mostly women and never did more that call Y/N names from time to time, mostly at the beginning of their relationship. On the other hand, her fans were not only women but also men, and they were a lot more obsessive. It was like people was crazier around her, screamed louder, and crushed harder on her, like she was a goddess. Charles could understand why people loved her so much, he loved her endlessly himself, but he was worried about the level of obsession around his girl. People were always pulling weird stunts to get close to her, trying to touch her and crying when they got to see her. She was like a pop star, cameras and people running after her all the time. It was strange that something like that happened on her first ever season in F1, but Alfa Tauri was more than happy with the amount of attention that she brought to them. Her natural appeal to people got her and the team a lot of sponsors and the PR team wanted to exploit her public image to the maximum. They appointed her a security team and exposed her as much as they could. Nonetheless, Charles kept worrying, he was way wealthier than her and had been on the spotlight for longer, but he had never felt in danger because of it. There were threats agains her, people saying that they were going to kill her so no one else could have her, men sending letters describing everything they'll do to her, and other disgusting things. He did feel scared for her but security assured them that they would handle that.

"Good morning, you two!". Megan, Y/N's PR officer, greeted them once they made the security check at the paddock's entrance. She smiled and they mirrored the gesture.

"Good morning, Meg. How are you?". Y/N gripped Charles' hand again as he watched Marc, Y/N's bodyguard, talk with the paddock's security. Marc followed them around wherever they went to, and Charles was grateful for that, he did a great job keeping Y/N safe. The man was almost 2 meters tall, which already would make anyone feel safe, but what Charles liked the most about Marc was how detail orientated he was. Marc's operations were amazing and never failed, he could always move them out of a place without exposing them or putting them in any danger and kept a close eye on stalkers and threats. Talking with the paddock's security was something that Marc did everyday to keep them in the loop of what was needed to ensure Y/N and Charles safety. While the other two women talked, Charles noticed that Marc was frowning, the tall man wasn't exactly rainbows and sunshine, but he was a pretty amicable guy who was usually in a good mood.

"Che, amor" (Hey, love). Y/N pulled at Charles' hand to catch his attention. "Is everything alright? You look kinda pale”.

“Marc is frowning”. Charles answered without looking at her. “I think something’s wrong”.

“Well, he’s approaching us... We’ll see”. She was frowning herself as she watched her bodyguard walk towards them.

“Miss Y/N, for security reasons we’ll cancel press today”. Marc said with a steady and calm voice. It helped Y/N relax a bit, but not Charles.

“What do you mean security reasons?”. The monegasque asked anxiously.

“There’s been a threat which we decided to take seriously, it involves the press rounds. It was specifically against Miss Y/N, it doesn’t suppose any risk to you, Mr. Charles, but I suggested your team to follow the same security plan just in case”. Charles and Y/N looked at each other, then at Megan.

“I’ll make a statement, don’t worry”. The PR official answer with a sigh.

“Please, let’s go inside to discuss the security mesures we took for this situation”. Still holding hands, maybe a little tighter than before, the two drivers walked inside Alfa Tauri’s hospitality right in front of Marc.

The security team explained to them what they had to do: stay mostly indoors, don’t approach unknown people and areas, evade groups of people and use the buddy system to never be alone. Monaco police was aware of the situation and were working with them to let the two drivers rest assure that they’ll find the source of the threat. Charles spent the day glued to Y/N’s side, he even waited for her outside the bathroom, scared of something happening and not being able to help. Their teams arranged for their practices to be simultaneously to make their security teams’ job easier. They finished their practices together and went straight back to their apartment. Even there, Charles was unable to relax, he stayed close to his girlfriend, following her around the apartment as if something could come out of a closet a take her. He had this bad feeling inside his chest, he wasn’t sure if it was Marc’s weary behavior or the fact that they should have found the source by now and they haven’t, but something inside him told Charles that this was bad. Y/N reassured him that everything would be alright, that she wasn’t scared and that he shouldn’t be scared either. They cuddled in bed for the rest of the afternoon, then had dinner and went back to bed. Charles hugged her close, tightly wrapped her in his arms, as if she would disappear at any second.

When Charles woke up the next morning, his girlfriend wasn’t in his arms where he left her, instead he found her side of the bed empty. Alarmed and suddenly hyperaware, he got up and searched the apartment calling her name, but she was nowhere to be found. In the kitchen, on the island, he found a note: “Good morning, Amor. Walter texted, they found the source and everything’s fine. Wanted to wake you up but you needed the sleep. I’ll be back in 20 to have breakfast together. Te amooo”. Walter was Marc’s replacement for night shifts, he worked from 8 PM to 8 AM. Charles looked at the time, it was 7:48, so Walter and Y/N should be getting back any time soon for Walter and Marc to exchange their duty position. He still couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong, but he tried to calm himself down and don’t overthink it. She would be back in a few minutes and they’ll have breakfast and go to the paddock. He jumped at the sudden knock on his front door.

“Amour, did you forget your keys again?”. He asked as he walked to the door, but it wasn’t his girlfriend on the other side of it.

“Mr. Charles, is Miss Y/N here?”. Marc asked him, worried.

“No. She’s out with Walter. Left a note saying that you guys found the source and everything’s fine. She should be back any moment now”. Charles felt the cold rush going down his spine.

“We haven’t found the source yet. You need to come with me, now. Walter is not answering his intercom”. Marc forced Charles out of the apartment, not even caring that he was just in joggers and slippers, he barely got time to grab a hoodie from the living room before he was dragged outside. On the street, Monaco police was waiting for their signal to enter the apartment and check it. He saw a few officers walk inside as he was taken to a black SUV, where other officers were waiting to escort him to the police station.

Charles sat anxiously at the station, he was offered some clothes to change into and he felt kind of uncomfortable with the police training outfit, it itched and was too warm. Or maybe he was the one warm and itchy from stress. They had him sitting there, without information and at any other situation he would’ve been screaming and throwing things around until someone kept him in the loop. But now, scared and confused, he couldn’t even remember how to speak, his mind working on a mix between English, French, Italian and Argentinian Spanish, unable to form a coherent thought. He was paralyzed, he didn’t know where his girlfriend was, if she was okay, if he would ever see her again. The wet dots on the blue police pants let him know that he had been crying for who knows how long. His head hurt, he could feel the pulse of his heart on his right lobe and a tingling sensation that went from his ear to his eye. The stress was eating him alive. There were a few officers that looked at him with pity, feeling sorry for him and kind of surprised for his vulnerability. He was a hero in Monaco, his smile was plastered everywhere, it was impossible for the Monegasques to picture him like this, so broken. He was sobbing uncontrollably, with his knees to his chest, his hair messy and hands shaky. It had been two hours since they took him there and he never stopped crying once.

“Charles!”. He looked up from his knees and found a lot of familiar faces. His mother and brothers, his best friends Pierre and Joris and Y/N’s closest friends Carlos and Max. Carlos had been the one to call his name sprinting towards him. “Mate, what happened? They told us Y/N is missing!”

“I… I don’t know”. He started crying again. He wanted to be strong and composed, but he just couldn’t. He needed her back. His mother walked to him and wrapped her arms around him, whispering some comfort in French. The commotion brought Marc out of the Sergeant’s office, making everyone look at him. His face serious and hard and he was gripping some papers quite tightly.

“We found Walter. But not Y/N”. He informed them. “He’s unconscious and he’s been taken to the hospital”.

“What happened? Where did you find him?”. Max asked what everyone wanted to know.

“He was on an ally 15 blocks away from the apartment. He was beaten and thrown out of his own car”. Marc explained. Charles cried some more, he wasn’t even sure he had any more tears in him to shred. “We are hoping to get more information once he wakes up”.

“What about the cameras?”. Pierre asked after a moment of silence.

“That’s another thing we need to talk about”. Marc walked closer to Charles. “We have a few pictures of a few possible suspects and some footage from the security cameras. We need you to look at it”.

“Okay”. Charles answered with his voice hoarse. Marc called an officer, who handled Charles a laptop, no one wanting him to move, too scared of him collapsing.

The video was hard to watch. There was a delivery boy, standing at the door, ringing their bell and waiting. The video had sound, and he could be heard. He told her that he was from the pharmacy, that the perfume she ordered was there. He could hear his girlfriend telling him that she didn’t ordered it. The kid told her that a woman called Kristine Weller was the one who ordered it, Kristine was her assistant. Convinced that her assistant had ordered it for her, she told the boy that she’ll be down in a minute. The perfume, the fucking Tom Ford perfume. He saw her open the door, fully dressed to go on a run, and talk to the boy. She paid him a generous tip and took the bag with the perfume. Then, after saying good bye, she walked towards Walter’s car, parked on the other side of the street. The cameras didn’t cover what happened, but a few seconds later, the car could be seen going north. The next video showed the car again, from behind, and it was shaking. Then the driver’s door opened and an unconscious Walter was thrown out, the face of the person who attacked him was slightly uncovered, but not enough for an identification without something to compare it with. On the video it could be seen that Y/N was on the back seat, kicking at the window of the left back door. There was no sound so it couldn’t be heard what they were saying. The officer closed the laptop. Marc looked at Charles, who kept as quiet as he was before.

“We believe that the children’s lock was on and she couldn’t open the door, so she started kicking the window, trying to break it”. Marc explained. “The perpetrator used the perfume as bait and got lucky with her plan of going for a run. We know that he sent a text from Walter’s work phone, telling her that the source was found. She told Walter that she was going to go for a jog, without knowing it, she gave the man 20 minutes ahead of us with that plan”.

“She always runs to relieve stress”. Charles said softly.

“The source bounces from country to country, this person knows about technology. We checked your computers, they were both hacked. He’s been watching you, studying you and your routines”. Charles stopped crying for a moment and looked at Marc, confused. “He probably heard your conversations and used the camera to watch you. He had access to your calendars and emails, everything".

“He knew about the perfume”. Charles got a few glances and decided to explain. “She broke my perfume yesterday. She wanted to buy me a new one”.

“We checked with Kristine and the pharmacy, she wasn’t the one that brought the perfume, but Y/N’s card was used to pay. We believe he may have done it through her computer. She told Kristine that she’ll buy one for you as a surprise, after she told you she wasn’t buying it”. Charles felt sick, he felt like it was all his fault somehow. “He ordered it as Kristine, payed with Y/N’s card and sent the text from Walter’s phone to make sure that she’ll walk out of the apartment. The threat was to keep us busy. It specifically targeted her in the paddock, keeping our focus there and away from your home. He planned this, for quite some time, he was just waiting for the right moment to put his plan to work”.

"Has him asked for a ransom?". Arthur looked at Charles when he asked, who just shook his head.

"I don't think he will". Marc informed them. "The threat suggests that he's obsessed with her. Even thought it was to keep us occupied, he wrote it and we can analyze it. He seems to believe that he loves her and she belongs with him".

"I'm never seen her again. He's going to kill her". Charles cried out.

"No, no". The bodyguard comforted him quickly. "This is actually an opportunity to get her back. If she follows her obsessive fan training, she'll be safe. He won't hurt her because he needs her to love him back".

"Obsessive fan training?". Joris asked.

"When we noticed that a lot of people were showing obsession tendencies, we gave her a training on how to deal with that behavior if she ever crossed paths with someone like that".

"So you thought something like this would happen?". Max was getting angrier.

"No, not a kidnap, but we expected some unfriendly encounter with a stalker at some point. We taught her to be nice and do what she was asked, to be affectionate with the perp and how to look for ways to escape the situation. We also told her how to save the situation if she failed an escape to buy herself some time". Everyone stayed silent, unsure on how to take the information. "She's a smart woman, she'll get us the time we need to find her".

Two days. Two days and no new leads, he couldn't recognize anyone from the pictures that Marc showed him at the station. Charles couldn't eat nor sleep. The Grand Prix was cancelled and Ferrari gave him a paid leave until the situation was finally handled and he could get back. He stayed with Joris and Arthur at Joris' apartment, since his own was a crime scene. Walter was still unconscious and unable to give them information. Charles felt like he was losing his mind. He missed her so much. He felt empty without her, like everything lacked meaning. He didn't want to race, or talk or even listen to music. He couldn't close his eyes without seeing her, her eyes close and face relaxed, like the last time he saw her three nights ago and that sight made him miss her more. He needed her to sleep properly, to breath, to live. Joris tried to force him to eat, Arthur too, but he just couldn't. Whatever he ate, he threw it all up later. For the third day, Walter woke up. He gave a description of the assailant and Marc looked at their database to find possible matches. No one was. Another dead end. Charles was losing his patience and the fact that he hasn't eaten in three days wasn't helping. He finally fainted on the fifth day and was taken to the hospital. He was connected to an IV to give him some vitamins and nutrients. He felt weak and broken.

Seven days was too long, but the time of a whole week without Y/N sadly arrived. Charles had spent the last two days at the hospital and was discharged once his last tests results were alright. Lorenzo, his older brother, picked him up, ready to take him to his house instead of Joris' to see if he could help his younger brother get better. Everyone was losing hope in finding her, dead or alive, and they were trying to prepare Charles for the worst. At the hospital, Lorenzo took Charles' arm and started guiding him to the exit, when a nurse stopped them around the ER area.

"Charles!". She called out. "I don't know if you remember me-"

"Yes, I do". Charles cut her off and gave her a small smile. "You are the nurse that help Y/N when she cut her hand last Christmas". It happened last year, they were celebrating and drank a little too much. They went back home and while making out in the kitchen, they knocked off a glass, she cut her hand trying to clean it up, even though he told her not to. They spent the whole time at the hospital arguing and the nurses were watching. It seemed like they were on the verge of breaking up but then she cursed at him in Spanish and he laughed. She joined him and the problem was solve. The nurses found cute and pretty funny how they went from fighting to laughing in a second. But they were like that, they just couldn't stay mad at each other for too long.

"I just wanted to tell you that I'm really sorry for what you are going through and that I hope that Y/N can be found safe and sound". She smiled at him and Charles nodded his head. "We all could see that you both love each other so much".

"Thank you". He didn't expect his voice to be so broken. "We do, I do. I love her so much". Lorenzo could see he was breaking down again so he asked for some support.

"Maybe we just need to sit down for a moment. Is there anywhere quiet where we could go?". She nodded her head.

"Yes, of course, follow me. You can sit for a while in the nurses' casino". They followed her and made sure that Charles was away from the public eye. They sat him down and the nurse helped him steady his breathing. She stayed with them until she was called. "I have to go, but my colleague, Jean, will be around. Okay, just tell him if you need anything". She walked out and spoke to a tall blond guy who was outside. Charles could hear her telling him to offer them some water. The guy entered the room and Charles could feel a cold sensation through his body, the hair at the back of his neck going up and goosebumps all over his arms. That face, he knew that face.

"I know you". Charles told him in a whisper. Jean looked at him with a smile. "You were here when my girlfriend cut her hand". But he knew him from somewhere else, he just couldn't pinpoint from where. Charles could see a hint of disgust in Jean's eyes for a moment, but it went away just as fast as it came.

"I don't remember, sir, but if it was a Wednesday, Friday or Saturday, I was probably here".

"It was a Friday". Charles informed him and the other just nodded his head.

"I think I remember now. You were fighting. It was Christmas. Such a shame for girl to spend the holiday in an ER box". There was this teasing tone in his voice, Charles didn't like it. Lorenzo followed the conversation, sensing that something wasn't alright. The nurse looked pretty familiar to him too. "Well, I'll leave this here for you". Jean placed a bottle of water on the table and walked out of the room.

"It's him". Charles said softly. "Call Marc".

"I'm sure it's him!" Charles repeated exasperated once he was at Lorenzo's apartment, his grip on his phone a little too hard. "He was there when Y/N cut her hand. He looked at her a lot, I remember that I got kind of jealous. I was drunk but I remember him. And I'm sure that his face is in the video". Marc wasn't sure, but it was their only lead, so he went with it.

"I'll check it out".

It took them a few hours to gather everything they could about Jean Laurent. He was a smart man, a nurse, but he was formerly a militar operative, specialized in informatics. He had a dishonored discharge for stalking a fellow soldier, she refused to press charged in exchange of him leaving the military. He became a nurse and worked as such since then. He was openly passionate about F1 and had made a few comments against Charles. He followed Y/N on all social networks he liked all of her pictures and posts. He had what was needed to be a suspect. When they compared the footage of the camera with his picture, it looked similar. Marc then showed the picture to Walker, who recognized him quickly and that gave them enough to get a search warrant. The operation was smooth and fast. Jean understood pretty easily the he didn't had the upper hand and gave up. Inside his home, they found Y/N handcuffed and with the same clothes she had when he took her. She was pale and drugged and they took her to the hospital where she was stabilized. Jean confessed that he always loved her and hated Charles, and when he saw them arguing on Christmas he decided to hack into their computers to "protect her". To him, Charles didn't deserve her and didn't treat her right. With some time, he became addicted to watch her everyday until watching wasn't enough, he then moved into a new path and decided to take her. At the hospital, the doctors confirmed that she was well fed and hydrated, she didn't have any injuries more that the bruises from the handcuffs. She wasn't sexually assaulted and she assured them that he didn't try it either. Toxicology confirmed that she was indeed drugged, and Jean told them that he did it then he had to go to work, to make sure that she was "calmed" and "relaxed" when he wasn't around. Once everything was sorted out at the hospital, they let Charles see her.

"Mon Amour!" (My love!). He called her when he saw her. She was mess, but the smile she gave him when she looked at him lightened up her eyes. He hugged her tight, feeling like he was alive again. "Je t'aime tellement" (I love you so much). He repeated in her ear over and over again.

"Yo también te amo, Charlie" (I love you too, Charlie). They stayed like that for a few minutes, just enjoying being close to each other again. "I was so scared, all I could do was think of you and how to find you". She said once she broke the hug. He grabbed her face and kissed her softly.

"It's okay, we're together now. You're safe". She nodded her head and smiled at him. He left out sigh of content and peace now that he had her back, safe and sound. They went to Lorenzo's apartment once she was discharged from the hospital. She seemed to be dealing well with the situation. She assured Charles that her captor never hit her, assaulted her or even yelled at her, but she saw just how violent he could be when he attacked Walker, who she thought was dead. She was relieved when she found out that he was alive. Public statements were made and a few more weeks of recovery were given to both of them before going back to the races.

They got their apartment back a week after she was rescued. Sitting on their couch, cuddled up under a blanket, they talked softly about how they were dealing with the situation. They both came to the conclusion that therapy was needed and that they will not shy away from this, they wanted to get better, to feel better and to heal. Charles also decided that he wanted to get married, he knew that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, but he choose to wait until she was feeling like herself again. He knew that she was going to say yes, they had been ready for marriage for a long time, he just had to ask. And he will. It took them a few month to find some sort of normalcy, but they found it by the end of the year, after a lot of therapy and relaying on each other. One windy day of December, almost a year after they crossed paths with Jean for the first time, Charles found Y/N looking at painting of Fangio they had hanging on their living room. Sneaking his arms around her waist and resting his chin on her shoulder, he looked at the painting too, trying to find out what was so interesting about it.

"Did you know that Fangio was kidnapped in Cuba?". She asked in a whisper, turning around in his arms to face him.

"No, I didn't". He pecked her lips, then her jaw and went down to her neck. He wasn't trying to start anything, he just wanted her to feel loved.

"If you had a nickel for every time an Argentinian F1 driver was kidnapped, you'd have two nickels. Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice". And with that joke, he knew she was back. He saw the yes in her eyes, so he asked:

"Will you marry me?".

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Shoot out to my Argentinian ex who was a walking slang dictionary. God, that boy was hard to understand, and we both spoke the same language.

[avenging-fandoms]

OKAY NAHHHH NOW U GOTTA WRITE SOMETHING ABOUT THAT FRIENDS TO LOVERS BUT ITS TOO LATE TROPE

**i forgot who this was originally requested for so i’m gonna pick pedrito<3

Idk i kinda hate this

**fem pronouns

-

“I can’t believe you’re getting married.” Yn sighed with her arms crossed, admiring Pedro as he adjusts his tie with a bright smile. “I always thought we would have to use our pact.” Yn half jokes. Pedro turns aroud with knitted eyebrows.

“What pact?” He questions and Yn’s heart breaks a little.

“The pack we made when we were 16, if we didn’t getting married by 50 we’d marry each other.” She reminds him and he snaps, nodding.

“I totally forgot about that. Well we probably wouldn’t have worked out anyway.” Pedro chuckles and sits to re-tie his shoes, Yn fidgeting with her bridesmaid dress nervously.

“How would we know if we never tried?”

She tried to be quiet but saw Pedro stop tying his shoes in her peripheral as she looks at her hands.

“Dove..” Pedro sighs and she sits next to him, holding his arm and looking at him through tears while he rubbed his eyebrows with his eye closed.

“Pedro, I fell in love with you years ago, and when I went to tell you you told me about Heather, so I didn’t tell you. But now I’m telling you right before you marry her.” Yn realizes what she’s doing.

“Right before I marry her!” Pedro exclaims, standing up quickly and Yn jumps. “Why not telling me in the beginning when it’s easier to end and I loved you back?” Pedro yelled.

Yn inhaled sharply and stared Pedro down, tears falling. “You loved me?” Yn couldn’t raise her voice higher than a soft whisper, and Pedro laughed in her face.

“Yes, Yn, I did. Before I fell in love with my soon-to-be-wife.” Pedro sighed and groaned loudly as he ran his hands down his face, looking at Yn who stood slowly, unable to make eye contact.

“Good luck with your marriage, Pedro. I wish you nothing but the best.” Yn nods and opens the door. Pedro’s eyes soften and widen, quickly heading to the door and trying to get her to stay. Yn didn’t respond to anything he said and quietly took herself away from his grip and racing to her car.

As she quickly drove away Yn couldn’t helped but sob. She couldn’t blame Pedro for how he felt but she was still upset, her heart was tightening with every breath and it was getting harder to breathe.

Yn couldn’t have stayed - she was a bridesmaid. To stand next to the woman the man you love is marrying sounds like an absolute nightmare, so she finds a few hours away where no one could find her. With the alcohol for the after party and her night bag, Yn bought a room for the weekend.

She turns off her phone and turns on the TV to find something random and cracking open the bottle of Tito’s.

Every sip she thought of Pedro and Heather. How they were exchanging vows, their first kiss. Once Yn turned her back on she was going to delete every app of social media she had so she sees nothing from the wedding.

Yn locks the door all the ways she can and grabs her laptop, her vodka and her pajamas as she heads to the bathroom. Yn closes the door and starts the bath, getting it hot before taking off her makeup and dress.

She angrily threw the dress in the trash with a sob, taking a drink of her vodka and submerging herself in the hot water, putting music on her computer. Her hand draped over the edge of the bathtub with the vodka bottle loose in her grip, eyes closed and lip syncing to the music before it stops.

She was getting a FaceTime call. From Pedro.

Yn took a big sip and answers, groaning as it burns going down.

“Dove, what the hell?!” Pedro was in a quiet room and Yn took a breath.

“What’s up, how’s the wedding?” Yn slurred terribly. She didn’t realize how drunk she was and Pedro was worried as Yn barely drinks.

“Yn, where are you?” Pedro asking angrily to which Yn shrugged.

“A guy’s house, Jackson. I called him sad and now I’m naked in his tub.” Yn giggles as she lies but Pedro just thinks she’s drunk giggling.

“He didn’t try anything did he?” Pedro’s tone of voice was low and his eyes were dark, and it sobered Yn up a bit.

“What do you care, married boy? You don’t love me anymore. Bye.” Yn hung up and put her laptop on Do Not Disturb so no more calls came through and she could enjoy her back.

She set her alcohol down, dunking herself under the water for a few minutes before coming back up, gasping as she wipes her face and runs her hands over her hair. Yn brings her knees to her chest, resting her cheek on her knee bone, staring at the drain as she thought.

She thought of Pedro, of Heather, of Jackson, of everything she could think of. Eventually the water got cold and Yn sobered up a bit. Yn stood up slowly and wobbled a bit while wrapping the towel around herself. She brushed her teeth and changed into her pajamas before climbing into bed.

Yn finally turns on her phone and sees a few texts from Pedro, friends, and a bunch from Jackson talking about how Pedro showed up looking for her and threatened him. Yn sighed and texted him back, telling him she was very sorry and she’ll take him to dinner to explain; he agreed.

Yn took a few deep breaths before calling Pedro who answers in 3 rings.

“Where the hell are you?!” He scolds.

“You showed up to Jackson’s house? Pedro, I’m sorry if what I said messed with you, but you got married. Stop worrying who or where I am. Worry about you wife.”

“You did mess with me!” Pedro’s throat burns as he tries not to shout too loud for others to hear, his eyes glossy as he swallows. “Why did you do that?” Pedro asks as his lip softly trembles and Yn sighs, running her tongue over her bottom lip as she looks at the ceiling while tears well.

“I.. I don’t know, Pedro. It was selfish. I’m sorry. You’re a good man, a married man now. Please.. worry about your wife.” Yn’s voice broke.

“It should’ve been you, huh?” Pedro asks, sniffling.

“It’s too late to try.” Yn answers.

[companionjones]

Touron

Pairing: John B x Reader

Fandom: Outer Banks (Netflix)

Summary: John B meets you at a beach party. Are you a Pogue or a Kook? *spoilers* The title gives it away ;)

Warnings: Cursing, one slight reference to smut

*******

"Alright, you can't understand the Outer Banks without understanding the boneyard. It's kinda like a three-layer burrito. There's us and our friends, the working-class derelicts from the Cut. Then, there are the Kooks, the rich second-homers. They're mostly from pouncy-ass boarding schools, just rich trustafarian posers. Our natural enemies. And then, there are the Tourons. Totally clueless. Here for a week on vacation with their families. Chum for the sharks."

"Hey," you smiled at the first person to look at you at a party you found on the beach. "I'm new around here. Is this party for something?"

John B didn't know what to make of you when he first saw you. He couldn't figure out if you were a Pogue or a Kook. He answered you with a shake of his head. "Nah, nah. We're all just hanging out. Do you, uh...want a beer?"

"Sure, thanks." You took the beer from him and started taking in your surroundings. You realized there was no one there you could talk to.

"What's your name?" John B suddenly asked.

You gave your name, and John B gave his full name in return.

"Well Y/n, you seem a little lost. You want to hang with me for a bit?"

Relief flooded your features. "That would be great. Thank you."

John B smiled. "No problem. Where on the island are you coming from?"

"The corner of Mankhurst and Shelley."

John B made note of that. That part of town was nicer, but it was still technically part of the Cut. He just hadn't known that the Bartons were selling their place.

So, you were a Pogue. It gave John B peace that he could put you into one of the categories. It comforted him even more that the category was his own.

After John B figured that out, he was much more at ease around you. Or maybe it was your conversation skills causing him to feel that way? Either way, John B talked to you for a couple hours. He loved getting to know you. He learned where you were born, what kind of music you listened to, even your favorite color.

John B also got to telling you about his life. "Yeah, my dad set out to look for a shipwreck 9 months ago, and that was the last time I saw him. I know he's still out there, though. He'll find his way back home eventually."

You just sat there, listening intently.

He went on, "And now CPS is on my tail. They say I have to go into foster care if I can't prove I have a guardian."

"Man, that really sucks," you replied, "I wish I turned tail and ran the first time CPS found me," you revealed, taking another sip of your drink.

That took John B off guard. "Wait. You were in the system?"

"I am in the system. My foster family think they're being nice by inviting me on this trip, but I know it's just because they can't find someone to watch me for two weeks."

John B was still catching up. "Two weeks...but that would make you a..."

"Tourist, I know that."

He cringed. "Well, that's not exactly what we'd call you here..."

"And what would that be?" you wondered.

John B leaned away from you in anticipation of your reaction. "...A tour-on."

Your eyes went wide. "As in, moron?!"

John be started laughing as he nodded.

"Oh my god! You people are mean around here," you pointed out.

"Well, what if I said it doesn't apply to you?" John B offered.

"Still mean...but I'll take it." You took another sip.

John B changed the subject. "So, you're in the system?"

"Have been since I was 11. I'm 16 now."

"Damn, for five years? Is it really as bad as some people say it is?"

You sighed, "Well, they take you away from your home, make you live in places that shouldn't be homes, and you're moving around all the time...," you trailed off, looking at the ocean.

John B apologized, "I'm sorry to bring it up--"

"No, no. It's okay. I'm sorry you're being threatened with it," you returned. "The family I'm with now isn't so bad. I mean, they're not good either, but they don't really care if I go out on my own, which is a plus...and a minus, I guess..."

"...So they wouldn't care if you didn't come home tonight?"

You laughed, "They wouldn't care if I didn't show up 'til they were pulling out of town."

"You should come stay with me, then," John B offered, and only then did he realize the implication of his request. "I mean, not like that. I mean, unless you want it to be like that, in which case, I wouldn't be opposed to--"

"Just stop talking, before you dig your hole any deeper." You smiled, "But sure, I'll come stay with you. Maybe that way this vacation will actually be a vacation." You offered a toast to John B, almost like a handshake to seal the agreement between you two.

John B lightly tapped his red solo cup against yours, and the two of you took a drink.

*******

Author's Note: Thank you so much for reading! Fill up that heart and reblog if you liked it. I would also really appreciate a comment, if you have the time. If you would like to read more, check out my masterlist. Have a nice day, night, or whatever time it is for you! <3 <3 <3

[peachdues]

Hi Peach!

I wanted to reach out and ask you something (maybe a bit personal, but I thought maybe you'd understand? If you don't want to get into it that is 100% okay! I find comfort in your writing either way 🥰 I've really been enjoying each chapter of Compass and I enjoy the small snippets you share inbetween)

I've been going through a bit of a rough patch when it comes to my mental health and I feel ridiculous about it. There's so much going on in the world that makes me feel so silly about stressing about stupid things at work. How are you combining your daily job with writing / your hobbies?

I've been feeling too burnt out to think about hobbies or doing things after coming home. I don't even know what I'd want to do except lay down and scroll. And it annoys me because it's such a luxury problem to have. But I don't know how to get over it.

Can you offer advice? Is there something you do to balance your job and still have time (and energy) to write? And does what you hear/see on the news ever affect you in a way that your own problems seem silly?

I'm trying to look for a parttime job to see if maybe that will give me more time and energy for life outside of work, but I feel like I can't be genuine(ly enthusiastic) in job interviews. Not in this mental state.

Hoping you're having a good start to the new week!

A 🩷

Hello my darling anon!

First, I’m so sorry it’s taken me so long to get to this. I wanted to make sure I replied once I had a chance to sit down and think of a coherent answer, but it took me longer to get to that space than I anticipated ����

I’m so sorry you’ve had a hard time lately. Life is hard enough as it is, but you’re right — the state of the world right now just compounds all that existing stress and anxiety and it’s exhausting. Please don’t feel ridiculous about it — stress has such an impact on our bodies and minds. It’s normal to stress over both the day to day and the larger crap we’re having to deal with right now.

As for balancing hobbies with work and overall mental health — believe me when I say I’ve been there. A lot. It was worse a few years ago when I was in a job I truly hated (and that consumed 16 hours of my day, every day lmao), but I’ve gotten a better handle on it now. Though, the last two weeks at work have been absolutely n u t s so I’ve fallen behind on writing a bit.

I totally get the struggle of wanting to write, but being so tired/mentally drained to do so. I think it’s important that you let yourself just scroll on your phone sometimes — your body needs rest! Your big, beautiful brain can’t be on all the time, and that’s okay.

Something I’ve found that helps is to do just one thing. For writing, sometimes that means writing a single sentence and then closing out of the app. If I feel up to writing more — great! But if I don’t, at least I wrote something. It doesn’t even have to be anything great. Honestly, i tried writing a day or two ago and wrote two sentences that are bland and completely unexciting, but i felt better because i did something. And sometimes, that’s enough. But listen to your brain and body — if it’s tired, if it feels like your writing isn’t going the way you want it to or think it should, then rest. The spark will come back, but you have to let yourself recharge, first.

As for the news — absolutelyyyy it affects me and makes me feel bad for worrying over x thing. But that x thing is just as deserving of my worry and attention as anything else. We’re human. Mitigating our own circumstance because something else is going on in the world, in my opinion, is how we lose empathy for one another. If we constantly engage in this vicious cycle of trauma comparison, we forget how to be human and treat others as humans, too.

If a part time job seems like a good avenue for you — then go for it!! But also make sure you’re taking time for yourself, too. Take yourself out on a solo date (I’m partial to taking my kindle to Barnes and noble and sitting in the cafe and just being). I’ve found getting out in public while also letting myself recharge is a good reset for me when my energy/mood seems low.

The most important thing, though, is to find the balance that best works for you. I think it’s easy to look at one person’s method for coping and to try it for yourself, expecting the same results. Maybe it works, or maybe it doesn’t. But if it doesn’t, try something else until you find what feels right. It doesn’t have to be a big or significant thing. It’s whatever helps you reset and feel good.

I hope you’re taking care of yourself, my lovely beauty. And above all else, please know that if all you do is get out of bed, or get showered for the day, then that’s enough, too. You don’t have to be “on” all the time. Rest and be gentle with yourself 🤍

[devastator1775]

How to deal with your teenage daughter while also dealing with a virus

Summary: Uzi unfortunately gets infected with a virus at work, forcing her to return home to tough it out. With N unable to come home to care for her, she luckily has one other person she can rely on.

“Are you sure I don’t need to come over and take of you?”  N – or rather: N in the little box in the corner of Uzi’s vision – asked.

Uzi rolled her eyes – the little video call box rolled around as well -, quickly followed by a coughing fit. She couldn’t help but to feel endeared by her husband’s concerned look.

“I’ll be fine, N.” She assured, waving her hand in a dismissive manner. “It’s just – “

She started coughing again. She grabbed the bottle of vitamin coolant off the table and quickly took a large swig. She slammed the bottle down, wiping her mouth. “It’s nothing.”

“You caught a virus, Uzi.” N emphasized. “Just let me tell the guys there’s an emergency at home and-“

“N, you’re a leading figure in the Copper-9’s Planetary Security Force. You can’t just leave. Besides, it’s only for a few more hours ‘for your shift ends.” Uzi reminded him. She resisted the urge to giggle when she saw his sad expression. “I’m feeling fine, you big goof. I’ll be bright as snow in a couple of days, you’ll see.”

N stared her down, his expression frowned, but after a few moments he let out a relented sigh. “Okay, I’ll yield, but if you start to feel worse-“

“I’ll call, I promise.” Uzi giggled. “Now get back to work, honey.”

N smiled. “Okay. See you tonight.”

“Can’t wait.” Uzi replied, smiling brightly as she waited until N would end the video call. The moment the little box vanished from the corner of her vison, she let out a long groan and let herself fall backwards on the couch. Her processor felt like it was gonna pop out of her visor, the way it was aching. She didn’t like to lie to N, but he already could be such a worrywart on normal days – even if it was something she loved about him, the silly man. It was true she was gonna be fine in a couple of days, but she was far from feeling anything close to fine right now.

Honestly, she felt like crap.

It was a new type of virus that had been popping up with mostly the newer generations of Worker Drone frameworks. It wasn’t anything dangerous – in fact, it was pretty much harmless – but it would wreak havoc on a drone’s primary systems, like heating regulations, coolant regulators, fluctuating energy surges and involuntary steam discharge in the nasal sensors.

Basically, it was the Drone’s version of what humans would call ‘having a severe cold’. A patch was being developed to help combat this, but the effectiveness wasn’t anywhere near being perfect. It had 50-50 percent chance of catching on, and even then there was only a 30 percent change of successful deletion of the virus.

And it seemed that Uzi had all the bad luck with the patch she was given.

She groaned again, reaching behind her head to fluff up the pillow. The sound of the door opening and slamming shut caught her attention, followed by a grumbling female voice.

“-stupid homework, stupid TJ that won’t stop flirting with me, stupid-“

“Nix?!” Uzi called out. “Something wrong?”

“Mom?” the voice answered in surprise. A young female worker Drone peeked her head into the living room. Uzi and N’s 16-year old daughter: Nicole “Nix” Doorman. Her straight silver hair with streaks of dyed fuchsia reached to her shoulders and seemed to dance with every movement she made. She wore her favourite jacket – which coincidentally and “totally not by choice, dad” looked like a shorter version of her father’s trademark fur collar coat. She wore Uzi’s old necklace around her neck. Her warm amber eyes looked surprised at her mother, which quickly turned to concern when she noticed the state Uzi was in.

“Mom, what are you doing here? You look sick. Are you sick?” She let out a frightened gasp. “Am I gonna be sick? You’re not gonna die, right? Where’s dad? Is he coming home soon? Can you help me with my homework later?”

“Nix, calm down.” Uzi couldn’t but laugh at her daughter’s antics. “Gosh, I swear, you inherited too much of your father’s code. The two of you are so much alike sometimes.”

“Should I take that as a compliment or do I need to go ‘angsty teen mode’?” Nix asked, but the glint her visor betrayed her amusement.

“Take it as a compliment, I don’t have the energy to deal with moody teenagers anymore for today.” Uzi joked.

“So, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing, just caught that new kiddie virus at work.” Uzi replied. “Got a bit to careless around the sick kids at the clinic and, well, you see what happened.” She rolled her eyes at her daughter’s concerned look. “You’re showing your fathers code again, sweetie. I’ll be fine in a couple of days.”

“You sure?” Nix asked, wringing her hands together. “I mean, you look like crap, mom.”

“Thank you for your brutal honesty and yes, I’m sure.” Uzi smiled reassuringly at her daughter. “My anti-virus software is a bit outdated, so it’s taking a bit more effort for to fight it.”

Nix took a step forward, but stopped herself. “Uh, it’s not contagious, right?”

“No, you’ll be safe, Nix.” Uzi reassured with a warm smile. “The clinic has given me their latest version of the med-patch, so at least we won’t- OOF.”

Nix had thrown herself into her mother’s arms, giving her a tight hug. Uzi smiled softly, caressing the young drone’s hair with one arm, while returning the hug with the other. “So, how was school?” Uzi asked. “Was it as bad as your grumbling made it seem?”

Nix let out a frustrated groan – Uzi immediately felt like she was looking at her younger self – slouching backwards on the couch. “Just the usual. Class felt like going on, like,  forever; some classmates find it so funny when I’m eager to answer the teacher’s questions; and oh yeah, I called the teach ‘Auntie Liz’ again.”

“Well, she is your aunt, Nix.” Uzi shrugged. “Honorary or not. I’m sure Lizzy found it quite endearing.  And what was I heard you say about TJ?”

“Like I said: ‘the usual’.”

Thad Junior, better known as TJ, was a young drone who went to the same school as Nix and had recently developed a bit of a unreciprocated crush on her. He was quite adamant to show her his affect, despite being a few years younger than Nix. It was actually somewhat cute. Uzi chuckled, which even intensified when her daughter shot her a look of betrayal. “Sorry, dear. Is that boy still so hung up on you?”

“Yeah, and no matter what I say, it won’t go through that thick cap of his that I am out of his age range.”

“You want me to talk to his father for you?”

Nix bounced her feet up and down, almost like she was considering the option. She let out a sigh. “Nah, it’s fine.” She answered. “TJ is annoying, but he’s a good kid. But he needs to realize that I don’t even…”

Uzi noticed how her daughter’s voice trailed off and the way she was kneading her jacket. “Nix?”

Nix sighed, giving her mom an exhausted look. “Being a teenager who’s still figuring herself out stuff is hard…”

Uzi smiled warmly at Nix, gently placing her hand on her daughter’s cheek. “Believe me, it is hard.” She pulled Nix against her, her core purring as the latter snuggled up against her mother. “But you got a good head on your shoulders and loving parents to help you whenever you need or want it. You’ll figure things out, Sparkplug.”

She gave her daughter a final squeeze and proceeded to shoo her off the couch, covering her mouth as she felt another series of cough bubble up. “Now, I need to rest and I believe I’ve heard you grumble something about homework as well?”

Nix’s shoulders dropped. “Yes, mom…”

“But before you do that, could you be a dear and heat me up some vegetable oil soup?” Uzi asked as she laid herself down on the couch.

“Sure thing, mom!” Nix answered enthusiastically with a salute – a near spitting image of N, Uzi noticed. She spun around and made her way to the kitchen.

“Oh, and could you add a shot of gasoline?” Uzi asked, grinning. “Don’t tell your dad, you know he doesn’t like it when I drink …without him.”

“’kay!”

“It’s un-“

“Under the cabinet with the family pictures, behind the box with Grandpa Khan’s lucky wrench, I know!” Nix froze, like someone who knew she had said a bit too much. “Oh ..cr-“

Uzi slowly sat up, her gaze slowly turning towards her daughter. “Nix, how do you know where your dad and I keep our liquor?”

Nix slowly turned around, a sheepish grin on her face and digital beads of sweat running down her visor. “Uh…”

“Answer your mother, Nicole V Doorman.” Uzi commander sternly, but calmly.

“I …know …because ….I …tried some?”

“You what?!”

Nix squeaked. “Before you get mad, we only tried a shot of the bottle of Lighter Fluid Cider, and –“

“Who’s we?”

“Eep…me and Avery…”

“Avery too? Nix …” Uzi facepalmed, feeling a headache coming on. “When did this happen?”

“Okay, okay, it was a couple of weeks ago, when Aunties V and Liz were looking after me while you and dad were on your date but it was actually Avery who found it – I told them she shouldn’t be snooping around, but you know them - and they asked their mums if they could try it, and Auntie V said ‘sure, you’re old enough but only a little bit’, so actually you should be mad a her, and- and -and …

Uzi held up a hand, shutting Nix up. “Me and V are gonna have a serious conversation about this…” She took a deep breath. “Have you since then drunk it again?”

“No, I didn���t really like it.”

“And nothing of the harder stuff?”

“No, honestly!”

“Have you considered it?”

“…uh, once or twice?” Nix answered truthfully. “BUT I DIDN’T-“

“I believe you, I believe you.” Uzi quickly said. She crossed her arms, looking up at the ceiling with a sigh.

“Am I in trouble?” Nix asked nervously. “Please, don’t tell dad…he’s gonna give me those sad eyes he does whenever he’s disappointed in something.”

“Oh, believe me, your dad is gonna hear about this.” Uzi assured. She couldn’t help but smirk when she saw her daughter stammering and trying to come up with a reason why he shouldn’t know. She sighed. “However …considering V and Lizzy said you could and were when it happened, and it was something light as that ….I’m just glad you didn’t go for the hard stuff.”

“Avery tried, but Auntie V caught her before she could take a sip.” She chuckled nervously. “She’s normally so …mellow. I didn’t know she could get angry like that….”

“Oh, she can….” Uzi gave her daughter a stern look. “Listen, you’re 16 years old, and I’m not gonna pretend I never did anything stupid at your age.”

“Yeah, I heard the story of how you and dad met, mom.”

“Really not the time for sass, missy.”

“Yes, mom. Sorry, mom.”

Uzi couldn’t help but grin. “What I’m saying is ….if you feel like trying something stupid …I rather you’d do it at home, where me and your father can keep an eye on things, than out there, okay?”

Nix smiled. “Okay, mom.”

“You promise?”

“I promise.”

“Attagirl.”

“Does that mean I could try some magnets?”

“Don’t push your luck, Nix.”

“Kidding, kidding.” Nix let out a sigh of relief, presenting her mother a wide smile. “How about making you that soup, eh? I mean, if you still want it….”

“That’d be great, Nix.” Uzi replied with a soft smile, which quickly turned to a stern expression. “And then: homework.”

“Yes, mom!” Nix disappeared into the kitchen, humming a cheerful song. That was another thing that showed she was truly N’s daughter as well: her ability to just …deal with certain situations quickly. A whole lot better adjusted than Uzi was at that age.

Uzi sighed and while Nix was busy in the kitchen, she opened up her internal texting app and started sending messages to N.

U: [N, you’ll need to come up with a few extra chores for Nix this weekend.]

N’s reply almost came immediately.

N: [Oh no, what did she do? Not the trash compactor again?]

U: [No, not that. I’ll tell you later, but I dealt with it for now. We’re gonna need to have a talk with V and Lizzy, though.]

N: [Oh, boy…]

U: [As for Nix, I already put the fear of robo-God in her, so try to go easy on her.]

N: [Uh-huh, of course you did. (sarcastic)]

Uzi giggled silently.

N: [Okay, see later. Give Nix my love, will you?]

U: [I will. Say ‘hi’ to Dad for me.]

N: [‘kay. Bye! ;-)]

U: [Dork]

N: [Short]

Hubby has left the chat.

Uzi bursted out in giggles, making a curious Nix pop her head out the kitchen. “What’s so funny?”

“Oh, just your dad.” Uzi replied, a sly grin forming on her face. “He sends you his love and says that you’re are in heap of trouble, young lady.”

By the smirk that was forming on Nix’s face, Uzi could tell she wasn’t buying it. She let out an exaggerated wail, falling on her knees and threw her hands up in the air. “Oh, why, cruel Robo-Jesus, have I both been blessed and cursed with attentive parents who want nothing but the best for me?”

“And the award for best performance goes to-“

The two ladies started laughing. Nix scrambled up, dusting off her legs. “Anyway, the soup is heating up on the stove and I’m gonna get started on my homework. It’s about “The rise and fall of JCJsenson” and its connection with Copper-9’s independence.”

“Oh, you better get started, then.” She shooed her away with a smile. “Go on, off with you.”

“Going!” Nix spun around and walked in the direction of her room. “Just yell if you need something!”

Uzi smiled warmly as she watched her daughter disappear from sight. She had no doubt that Nix would be better than herself and N combined. With a heavy sigh, she laid back down again, her head still aching.

She hated being sick. That virus could bite her.

[aloeverified]

i’m curiousss do u have any hcs abt bowie and lightnings interactions and stuff as brothers bc i’m rotating them in my head

omg i've been meaning to make headcanons for the new cast, so i'll use this to start me off 😼

lightning was 16 during tdroti, which took place about two years after total drama started if i remember correctly — so i think the two of them have a twelve year age gap with lightning currently being twenty-nine and bowie being seventeen.

bowie is constantly making jokes about lightning about to be turning thirty and how his hair is gonna go gray — it always terrifies lightning despite him literally having white hair.

"bowie" is a nickname meaning blond, which lightning started calling him and then the rest of the family and bowie's friends caught on and it stuck.

speaking of which — he decided to dye his hair blond to look more like his older brother, who he's always viewed as his idol.

despite their age gap, they're pretty close. lightning was extremely excited to have a younger brother and constantly yammered on about all the sports they were gonna play together.

when bowie was too little to actually play with lightning, he simply cheered on his big brother. lightning would take bowie to his football games and have him hangout with the cheerleaders, bragging about how his little brother motivates him more than any cheer team could.

lightning used to tease bowie about how he got to hang around with pretty cheerleaders all day... turns out, bowie was more interested in the uniforms than the girls!

bowie's parents always suspected he was queer. he liked playing in his mom's makeup and would have fashion shows in her clothes and heels. lightning was the only one who didn't catch on to that; which made bowie coming out to him the biggest shock of his life. after a bit of explaining on bowie's part about his feelings and everything, lightning burst into tears upon realizing his little brother choose him to be the first person he came out to.

lightning helped explain things to their dad since both of them knew he could be a bit stubborn and understanding at times. lightning was fully ready to have bowie move in with him (as he was already in his mid-twenties at this point) if anything went south, but their family was very loving and accepting of bowie.

they go to pride every year together, sometimes with their parents or some of bowie's friends.

bowie finds it a bit suspicious how lightning seems to study other men in the gym sometimes, but he keeps his theories to himself.

same as lightning, bowie is also very athletic. his best sport is track due to how tall and agile he is. the two of them would go on morning runs everyday whenever lightning was on break from university. lightning encouraged him to join the cheerleaders squad, but bowie declined due to "how gossipy those girls are." they then went into a two hour conversation where lightning told bowie about all the crazy shit the cheerleaders who would babysit him would do, and how, "cheerleaders are all evil. that's why you'd be a perfect one!"

bowie was about four when lightning went away for total drama, and he was absolutely terrified everytime he turned on the tv to see his brother being put in life-or-death challenges. his mother used to have to put him to bed everynight and assure him that his big brother was okay.

he still remembers how proud he was when he saw lightning make it to the finale.

if the two of them were ever fighting, lightning would force them to settle it with an arm wrestle since he knew he'd always win. this worked for a few years until bowie figured out the trick where you twist your opponents' wrist. lightning never understood how he always lost after that and eventually they found a new way to settle their disagreements.

lightning was having the craziest mood swings while watching the new season. on one hand, he was super proud of his brother, but on the other... WHO DOES HE THINK HE IS TO BE KISSING BOYS ALREADY? WHO DOES THAT GUY THINK HE IS TO BE MAKING MOVES ON HIS LITTLE BROTHER? TEENAGERS THESE DAYS—

anyways, lightning interrogated and scared the shit out of raj upon meeting him before completely falling in love with the sports loser he brother choose. bowie debated leaving the restaurant they were having dinner at just to see of they would notice or if they were too busy talking about the latest college hockey game to care.

lightning constantly brags about how the two of them made it to the finale in their first seasons on the show... too bad they shared the same outcome. whatever, lightning's a professional athlete so his brother doesn't need a million dollars — he makes that in a month.

[immortalarizona-art]

thinking about opening up commissions over the summer to give me extra flex income and also something to do besides irl job, so here’s a poll to gauge initial interest:

the response this poll gets will determine whether it’s worth spending time putting together a proper portfolio and timing myself doing pieces so I can actually have a proper ballpark price tag for my work.

more info under the cut:

what will you draw? I specialize in digital character illustration, especially portraits!! I'm down to draw characters that already have designs, and I'm also down to do character / costume designs. I can also do book covers!! nsfw is a hard no, other suggestive content is on a case-by-case basis, and moderate gore I'm okay with. I'm willing to give most things a shot, including fanart, robots, and anthro characters.

what would it cost? I plan to charge an hourly rate based on minimum wage where I live—so $20 an hour per piece, going up in half-hour increments. for instance, this commission for my Curse of Strahd DM, a fully rendered bust:

took me 4.5 hours to complete, and so cost $90.

the sketch, on the other hand:

took me just an hour to complete!! so that's a flat $20.

this illustration with lineart and very simple flats:

took me ~3 hours, and would cost around $60.

a more complicated illustration like this wallpaper I did for myself:

took me around 8 hours, I think (I didn't time myself while working, so it very well could've been more), and so would cost at least $160.

and an illustration with a background:

will take me SO much longer. (I was working on this piece on and off for about two months, so I'm not sure exactly how many hours I spent on it, but my best ballpark estimate is 12–16 in total.)

[canibeyoungforever]

Heyy there, I wanted to request a Kylian Mbappé, where maybe the reader and Hakimi’s wife are best friends and maybe just them living the WAG life, maybe a date night with the husbands

thank you so much for your request <33

Kylian Mbappé Imagines: Living the dream

Kylian and you first meet when you were 16 and it was the total definition of love at first sight. When you were both 19 and that he told you he was going in Russia you were so happy for him and even more when he came back with the World Cup.Unlike everybody you have known him when he was absolutely nobody and it make you become the person he trusted the most but also the only one he wanted to share his new life with.

You weren’t really aware of the concept of WAG at first you actually learned it by tiktok when you saw your own face on the app. Now Kylian and you are both 24 and still live the perfect love but also now married.You were going to leave the house when:

"Baby where are you going?" You turn around to see Kylian "I already told you i’m going to see Hiba" He run toward you and put his arms around you "Please don’t leave me" You hug him back "It’s been planned for 3 days" "And so?" "Kylian,Kylian,Kylian..". "Please stay here and let’s cuddle all day" He beg and began kissing your neck. "You are cruel" You say. "But you love me" He clap back You get into his game and start kissing him back. You put your hands all over on his lower body and give a squeeze to his butt. Taken by surprise he relaxes his hands from your body which allows you to escape: "No!" "Bye Ky!I love you" You leave the house and half an hour later meet Hiba in a coffee shop

"Hi girl" "What took you so long?" She ask. "Kylian Clingy Mbappé" She laugh "I don���t know why but it doesn’t surprise me" You laugh You two spend the entire day together shopping,doing your nails,spa and everything you could ever dream of At the end of the day around 6 pm you finally enter your house: "Baby?" You go outside and find him working out half naked and all sweaty,he knows what he is doing. "Hi" He check you out.

He come towards you and kiss you "So Hiba’s good?" He ask. "No,because she had to wait because you were all over me" You say While talking you’re playing with the waistband of his shorts "Stop doing that y/n." "It’s just some payback for what you did this morning" Someone knock at the door "Fuck." Kylian say "No bad words Mbappé" You go open the door and it happen to be just a delivery man

The next day: "Y/n?" "Mhmm?" "Do you wanna go out eating with Achraf and Hiba?" "Like tonight?" You ask "Yeah" "Okay" A few hours later You two arrive at the restaurant and join your friends "Bonjour" Kylian say "Hello my friends" Achraf answer "Hi" You answer You all sit "He finally let you go" Hiba say "Yeah it was hard" You answer "Dude what are they talking about?" Achraf ask Kylian "It’s nothing it’s all lie" Kylian answer winking Achraf laugh

a/n: english is not my first language

[azreactstowormtheserial]

Overboard [8.1-11.8]

SORRY IN ADVANCE FOR THE SCROLL WHEN YOU HIT KEEP READING

--Yeah... Sorry for not keeping to that 'one arc at a time' promise. But whilst I'm in medical-recovery mode I have nothing better to do than Worm [The Serial] my afternoons away.

And look at that! I'm 1/3 through all of the main story. At least, by Arc-No. ? My friend said come the end of Arc 8, I'd graduated from 'Early Worm'. Should I be scared or happy to be gradually approaching 'Late Worm'?

Speaking of.

ARC 8 -- EXTERMINATION

Title Accurate.

ARC 9 -- SE

Okay, okay. I'll talk about Arc 8. It's a little weird to talk about as a whole. Way easier in the moment, reacting to things as they happen.

"1 in 4 of you (at least) will die."

Tattletale "down".

Aegis, Gallant, Iron Falcon, Mr. G,

Taylor -breaking her spine -- she could have died!

And I thought I couldn't handle the stress of the inter-group dynamic potentially crumbling at the end of Arc 7. Don't worry, we'll get to that.

The endbringers are a terrifying concept. Like, what do you do? Wear it down, hundreds dying to prevent hundreds of thousands from dying, only for it to recover for a few years, months, who knows-- before it attacks somewhere else, almost unprompted?

Almost. I have no idea what it was doing, edging slowly towards Coil's base like a fucking NGE Angel. That's almost as scary.

It just, picked people off. Indiscriminantly.

Kaiser. A powerful, influential-- horrible excuse for a human being, but still, a major player-- he's just dead! Just like that!

I'd started to like a few of The Wards towards the the end of Arc 6, I think. At first it was easy to group them into a 'haha these kids don't know any better, they're really snot-nosed about being heroes'-- which feels a lot nicer a label than what's actually happening.

They're just kids! 15, 16, Vista is 13. 13! Kids that've had a traumatic past, in one way or another. Up against, and dying to, an existential threat. Sentinel really helped put this into perspective.

I'd love to talk about individual moments that I thought were cool; Tattletale's analysis of Leviathan, The truce between heroes and villains, Clockblocker absolutely stepping the fuck up and pretty much clutching the entire fight. But I need to talk about Armsmaster.

(These few lines saved me.)

ARMSMASTER. You horrific excuse for a human being. Jeopardizing CHILDREN'S LIVES, YOUR COMRADES LIVES, PEOPLE'S LIVES-- AND FOR WHAT!?!?!?!?

WAIT NO STOP NO

I absolutely hate this fucking guy. How do you ruin everything in the middle of a natural(?) disaster killing thousands.

(Did I mention Shadow Stalker is Sophia. Huh. That's interesting! I'm sure it won't come up again.)

The arc ends really bittersweet.

I'm really sorry, Bitch. Showing up and saving Taylor was an amazing moment, but that's over half of your closest family, just gone.

But, I totally called it.

I know I wanted to take a break after all that, but I couldn't just leave it at "I told her my answer." -- I had to find out what it was!! So, after a few hours of psyching myself up, I got straight into the Interlude.

ARC 8 -- INTERLUDE [COIL]

How do you beat Coil? What -happened- to Coil to give him this power? Applied perfectly, his power makes him practically invulnerable. One of his only weak points being the immediacy after closing his second universe.

I still don't know how to feel about Coil. He's said in vague terms that his plan for Brockton Bay was to improve. Taylor, I think, took this to mean that people's livelihoods would be better. People would have food, shelter, water. But it's so difficult to tell, even with a direct view into his mind like this interlude gave. All I know is that this is a plan he's put a considerable amount of time and his life towards-- it has to mean a lot to him and he has to be strong in his ideals. I only hope that he isn't utterly insane.

Because if he is? If his motives are 'evil', unjust-- if you can even say they have the potential to be just, with how he operates-- I don't know if anyone can beat him.

...

Shit.

ARC 9 -- SENTINEL

This arc was nice. The breather I needed, and was worried I wouldn't get, after Arc 8's Interlude.

I mentioned that I'd started to like The Wards a little earlier in the story, so the emotional beats really worked here for me. And even if I didn't, this arc'd easily have been a turning point.

\=====

[Az.Interlude: Obligatory Wards (And Co.) Tier List]

Bold means #1 in each thing if there's more than 1.

S [Super :)] - Flechette, Glory Girl, ****Shadow Stalker****, Vista

A [A cool character] - *Clockblocker, Gallant, Kid Win, Panacea, ****Weld***

B [Baegis Tier] - Aegis

C [Cant Remember] - Browbeat

(Sorry Browbeat, who apparently died offscreen in Arc 8.)

\====

I say it's nice, but really we're just seeing a few kids grieve the deaths of their friends. Is that what 'nice' is, in Worm?

Sophia/Shadow Stalker is growing into a more and more interesting character. Though everyone got their fair share of attention, I found her scenes, like the one with Flechette in 9.2, quite interesting.

I* think something really awful happened to Shadow Stalker. *

A lot of my thoughts on Arc 9 I think are just snippets at characters I like. I really liked Weld, and felt 'kinda bad for him. He's trying his best! He's just walking into all this mess.

Vista's chapter made me cry. She's so strong for standing up to Shadow Stalker like that! And the story's tackling on trying to 'fill in' somebody's role after they've passed really hit me like a freight train.

\====

[Az.Interlude 2: Now Obligatory Protectorate (and Dragon) Tier List]

S [This is actually based off of the arc 10 interlude, wait for that.] - Dragon

A [Assault- Oh] - Miss Militia

B [Battery] - Battery

C [Cool? I think?] - Assault, Triumph, Velocity

D ['Dunno] - [Anyone who I haven't remembered. I don't know that many...]

F [Fucking Armsmaster] - Guess who

\====

9.3 was a nifty chapter, too. It's probably the only instance of a 'character are bored in an exposition-lecture' that I've actually thought was pretty well done?

Also, it's nice to get some Clockblocker characterisation. He gets a pass for his flaws because of his context. I do hope his dad ends up getting healed-- but the scenario as a whole really makes me feel for Amy/Panacea. There's so much suffering in the world, and it's -technically- preventable. Just through her. How much of a weight on her shoulders is that?

\====

[Az.Interlude 3: Favorite Arcs]

S - [Super Good Arc] [4. Shell] [8. Extermination] [9. Sentinel] [10. Parasite.]

A [A really good Arc] - [11. Infestation] [6. Tangle] [7. Buzz]

B [Breally good] - [1. Gestation] [2. Insinuation] [3. Agitation]

\====

(See what I'm doing there, by the way? Interlude Arc? Load of Interlude Tier lists? Whatever.) KID WIN ADHD TINKER REP!!!!

I think that's my cue to hop on over to

ARC 10 -- PARASITE

Okay, sure, sure-- Taylor's back, but on uneasy terms, swallowing her pride, sure--

ALEC. ALEC! I THOUGHT YOU JUST MADE PEOPLE TRIP! And I thought even how -that- power was utilized was a little horrifying. This is just... I mean. I'll talk about it some more in the interlude.

Hi Imp! It's nice to meet you! Where'd you come from? Or maybe she was here the whole time, and that's her power--

Imp's neat. I like her power, and I'm hoping we see more of her! She doesn't quite live up to the rest of the gang just yet, but, I mean-- they've been around 9 more arcs. I was wondering if The Undersiders were going to recruit some more members...

This Arc's short but sweet. An infiltration à la the bank robbery, some fights with some superheroes-- and, Dragon!!! Dragon is so cool!!! I love Dragon!!!! We'll get there!!!!

I expected Bitch and Taylor to have a proper confrontation about everything, but... She really just sabotaged her mid-mission? Taylor's beatdown of her was unfortunately deserved-- like, c'mon. You're hurt. More than any of the others, really. But you didn't even 'eye for an eye' her, you went ahead and 'eye for a head' or whatever the relevant saying'd be. I

*really

* hope she takes her up on that offer.

Everything was going alright, even if Dragon'd appeared and made the escape a little tricky. And, oh. A meeting with Coil. Maybe Taylor can hash things out, and come up with a deal that reflects her--

So. That's one way to make an impression of a new overarching villain group. What the actual fuck, Jack. The absolute balls of this reveal-- I have no idea what to make of it, and already Jack just in how he's been described in passing, and-- this-- already made me clock him as a huge threat. I can't wait to see how this goes. I'm sure it'll go great. I'm sure.

ARC 10 -- INTERLUDE [ALEC]

Alec, alecalecalec-- What the actual fuck. I really should have thought twice when Lisa clocked you as a sociopath on first sight. This chapter was scary. Even Sophia doesn't deserve that. The "breach of privacy" -- if you can even -call- it that, with how far it went, made me sick to my stomach.

It's 'kinda crazy that this is just something that continued word-for-word from an earlier chapter. What else has happened directly after Taylor's POV left a scene? What has she missed?

I'm sure this won't come back to bite Taylor in the ass.

Or that.

I think something really awful happened to Shadow Stalker. [2]

Even after all that. I still like Alec. I think. In his own, fucked up, twisted way, he's getting payback for Taylor. He just has no limit. And, I mean-- he is still a kid. That had a horrendous, abuse-ridden upbringing. I don't know. I'm allowed to have complicated feelings about the main cast!

ARC 10 -- INTERLUDE [DRAGON]

Dragon, on the other hand, is objectively fucking cool. She's not even human! What?! It's 2011! Or something like that. I'm a bit of a dork for the 'kinda stuff that the opening third of this chapter was. That it was layered with limitations, purposeful, intended ones that dig under Dragon's skin at all times-- that she's keeping this a secret from even her closest co-workers-- only made me root for her character even more. I'm hoping she's, uh. 'One of the good ones'? Is that how you'd put it? Weird considering she's a hero, but--

*Armsmaster. *Come on.

Oh, look. It came back to bite Taylor in the ass.

Taylor in Arc 11 ruminates on how she'd face losing her civillian identity. But I don't think she quite understands the ramification of it just yet. This is the beginning of the end, in that regard-- Dragon found her.

I'll try not to gush about an interlude too much just to get to Arc 11 and wrap up this post before the day's over, so I'll just leave it at:

*The conversation between Lung and Marquis was very interesting. ****I hope Amy is okay.***

Arc 11 -- INFESTATION (I haven't read the interludes yet! I thought the final base-11 was a good place to stop.)

The Merchants are pretty fucked up, huh? 'Might makes Right' as an actual group philosphy never works. And I don't think the leader's are -that- stupid. I wonder what their deal is?

And, yeah. I'll finally bring it up, Worm. You've got me. *I'm interested in whatever the fuck Case 53 is. *And so is Faultine, apparently. Let's hope they stay in touch with Lisa.

Skitter taking over her territory was rad. She'll make a great monarch! (Queen bee? Is there an insect joke you can make here?)

Whatever my views about how things should be handled, Taylor's helping people in the here and now, and keeping groups like The Merchants out. Helping families. I think what she's doing is right.

And, for once, it all works out! Not without a hitch. Or an underlying dread. Taylor being the arbiter of one of the more straight up 'bad' Merchant's fate is a little telling that her moral's have shifted, somewhat. She's more comfortable leaving someone to die than insisting they have the right to a fair trial, etc-- even if the situtation did totally call for it.

Faultline's crew showing up was neat. I don't think I've mentioned Labyrinth, actually. Her and Newter are my favorite of Faultline's crew. I might go back and re-read Gregor's interlude, just for another look at how Faultline runs things.

And, my god. Brian finally picked up some slack, after some nudging via Lisa. Good on her. The dynamic needs some work from the both of them to build up the trust they once had. But they'll be friends in no time. I hope. Everything's working out.

...

*Oh my god, No, Taylor you can't ****say it!***

Everything is going to go to shit, isn't it?

I don't want to read on anymore. Can't it stop right here? Taylor won, got her friends back? Please?

See you all on the other side. Promise it won't take as long.

[lathalea]

20 Questions for Writers

It took me a while, but here we go! Thank you for tagging me @fishing4stars and @i-did-not-mean-to 💚

1. How many works do you have on AO3? Let me see... 49 🙈

2. What's your total AO3 word count? 682,524 words.

3. What fandoms do you write for? Tolkien - mostly The Hobbit, LOTR and The Silmarillion.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos? Please check fic rating and tags before reading! 📖 The Writer's Month 2021 ficlet collection 📖 Springtime at the Lonely Mountain 📖 All Is Fair in Love and Trade 📖 Strong 📖 Third Time's the Charm

5. Do you respond to comments? Yes, I'm very happy to interact with my readers, and it doesn't matter if it's a long comment or a lovely bunch of chaotic keysmashes, I love to reply to them all!

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? The first chapter of The Weeping Willow. I was crying while writing it. it was meant as a standalone story but my amazing readers convinced me to write the second chapter to make the angst more bearable 😇

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? I think it's How to Kiss a Fairy, a fluffy and cute fic I wrote together with @avaria-revallier.

8. Do you get hate on fics? No, it has never happened so far. The closest to "hate" comments I got is reading loving messages like "how dare you treat these characters this way" (meant in a positive way) - I absolutely adore them!

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? Yes. Some tender vanilla, some is more kinky. I'm mostly into m/f and f/f.

10. Do you write crossovers? Rarely, mostly one-shots. My weirdest ones so far were The Hobbit crossovers with Three Musketeers, Snow White, and Star Wars.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not that I know.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? Yes. It's The White Raven, not an easy thing to translate, I believe.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? Yes! It's so much fun! Here are two fics I can think of at the moment: How to Kiss a Fairy (see above) and Scattered Through Time co-written with @joyfullynervouscreator

14. What’s your all time favorite ship? Canon ship? Wait, only one? How am I supposed to choose? Let me give you three ships for the price of one: Eowyn x Faramir, Galadriel x Celeborn, Bofur x Bilbo.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? Listen, I want to finish all 398274238765723866782354768 of my WIPs, okay? Just please don't ask me when...

16. What are your writing strengths? I have no idea, I'm constantly doubting myself. Maybe... Storyline planning and worldbuilding?

17. What are your writing weaknesses? Do you have an hour? No? I thought so. My biggest one is laziness. And I'm not too good with dialogues. And descriptions of clothing worn by the characters. And... finishings the fics I started.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? As English is not my native language, I'm doing it every day :D Writing dialogue in elvish or dwarven languages is a great tool for a writer! Among other things, adds specific flavour to stories and I really like reading it. From time to time, I add some of it to my stories too.

19. First fandom you wrote for? Star Wars.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written? Every single fic I wrote is my favourite - although each of them for different reasons. What are your favourites?

Tagging (no pressure): @middleearthpixie @crazytxgradstudent @asgardianhobbit98 @evenstaredits @fizzyxcustard

@sotwk @joyfullynervouscreator @ettelene @heilith and everyone else who would like to join!

[lovingldsconvert]

telling my parents about joining the church

i'm not usually one to ask for advice on tumblr, but i think i need it this time. i was baptized almost 13 months ago (while away at college in another country) and didn't tell my family about my joining the church. yes, i know it wasn't the best choice not to tell them, but i can't go back in time so not much i can do on that front. since i'm getting endowed next month, i feel like i need to tell them now and i have no idea how to go about it. does anyone have any thoughts?

i'll provide some context on my family situation below the cut for the convenience of those who want to skip the post (which is totally fair lol)

i was raised by a catholic mom and a strongly atheist (raised episcopalian) dad. tbh my mom is more of my concern. i know my dad would be reserved and respectful at least, were it not for my mom's views on religion and his devotion to her.

i grew up going to catholic church sometimes, but we don't really go anymore. my younger brother and i were both baptized catholic as babies and i was confirmed at 16 (as is customary), while my brother was not. my grandmother, who my mom was VERY close with, was an extremely devout catholic, but she passed away a couple months ago so the pressure my mom felt to practice catholicism isn't really there anymore.

i know she holds somewhat negative views of the LDS church, but i don't know what her specific reservations are other than the standards surrounding missions, which isn't relevant to me at this time. i don't know how much she knows about practices and doctrine so i can't anticipate the questions she'll have very well. because i transferred universities i did bring up the prospect of applying to BYU, and she asked if i was "interested in the mormon faith" and that it would be okay, but "that's not who i know you to be" (due to my political ideology) so maybe she'll be more receptive than i think?

honestly i'm not too worried about my dad because he has spent over twenty-one years of marriage not engaging with his family's faith, so i don't foresee him a big deal. (he has only ever attended catholic church for family events; the only ones i'm aware of are his own wedding to my mom, baptisms/first communions of his children and at least 3 nieces/nephews, my confirmation, and my grandmother's funeral)

my brother is probably going to be the easiest to talk to; one of his best friends is a member, and he has expressed interest of (intellectually at least) and a respect for her faith. he's never been to church services afaik, but he's been to a stake dance and volunteered at the stake turkey trot to get volunteer hours for school. my own interest in the church started in middle/high school and was purely intellectual, so i hold out some hope for him converting in his own time. my parents, not so much.

i'm not trying to get them to convert or even necessarily come to church with me; my goal is to get them to at least respect, if not understand, my decision. i understand that keeping it a secret for over a year is not the best for a trusting relationship, but with my grandmother's health struggles there has been a lot going on, particularly for my mom, and due to my grandmother's religiousness it was inextricably linked to my mother's faith so i didn't want to add fuel to the fire.

my parents and i went through a very rough patch about seven years ago and it took several years and family therapy to build back trust. i'm an adult now, so it's different, but i still worry. my relationship with my mom in particular is strained due to issues beyond the scope of that specific incident, but suffice to say she is extremely emotional and has a tendency to manipulate. i'm just trying to mitigate the damage here. i really don't know what to do.

i'd appreciate any advice! my current thought is to talk to my brother first; i definitely can't take on a conversation with all three of them at the same time, it's just too overwhelming. i could theoretically talk to one parent first, but it would kind of have to be my mom for logistical reasons and idk if that's the route i want to take. this is very overwhelming for me and i have no idea how to handle it, so any thoughts are appreciated <3

[noodyl-blasstal]

Blupjeans Week Day 1

It's @blupjeansweek! Blupjeans week last year was the thing that encouraged me to start writing fics, so it's been fun to play with it again! Like last year, it's loosely connected (so far anyway!). So, now I'll stop blethering and here's some words. Day 1 - refuge

16 hours to go.

16 hours until he tanked his viva, fucked up everything he’d been working for, and his supervisor says he hadn’t ever believed Barry was capable, he just wanted his fees... Well, John would definitely say that if Barry could get hold of him but it had become abundently clear over the course of his postgrad research that John wasn’t the easiest guy to reach. Which might not be a problem if it wasn't his literal job to support Barry through his PhD.

At this point Barry hadn’t heard from him in two weeks despite a variety of progressively more panicked emails. The last conversation they had was John's particularly un-comforting statement that Barry should “...expect majors" because "it’s not the worst thesis I’ve ever read, but it certainly isn’t the best.” Barry's secondary supervisor hadn’t even bothered to show up for that meeting, so it was anyone’s guess what his take was. Barry assumed it wasn’t great.

He grabbed the pot from the coffee machine he’d abducted from the kitchen a few days ago and perched on his desk instead. He debated swigging straight from it, that seemed more efficient than using a mug, plus, his hand seemed to be shaking a bit and he didn't want to risk trying to pour it into a mug then into himself - he needed every drop to keep him awake long enough to work out how to fix this disaster.

“Knock knock! This is your 16 hour anxiety check in.” Barry’s door creaked open, but Lup didn’t appear. “Barrrrooollllld?” She sing songed, then added hopefully “...have you finally decided to sleep?” 

“Come in Lup.”

“Damn, you’re still up.” Oh, of course she was disappointed. She was probably sick of having to baby him through his anxiety. “...Not that I don’t want to see you, I was just hoping you were getting some rest.”

Barry held up the coffee pot in a cheers motion then took a swig from it. He was fine, this was fine, but if Lup left in disgust he could get back to scribbling increasingly unhinged and hard to read annotations on his sticky notes and trying to work out how to pull this disaster over the finish line. 

"Doing totally fine, huh?” Lup eyed him disapprovingly. “Barry, you have to take a break. You're going to crash in the middle of it if you keep this up. You've got what, like 15 and a bit hours?" She waited for him to nod in affirmation. "Cool, then you've got time to sleep."

He didn't have time to sleep, he had to try and plug the holes in the sinking ship that represented four years of his life. Suddenly Lup was in front of him, he hadn't noticed her moving, but she had appeared and was gently prying the sticky note monstrosity he hadn’t realised he’d picked up out of his hand. "No, I need to…"

"Sleep." Lup said. "You need to rest. There isn't a single thing in here you don't know. It's fucking brilliant, no, don't argue with me, I've read it." Barry snapped his mouth closed, he wanted to protest, but he wasn't entirely sure he could remember what he was arguing with, there was no fight left in him. "Now give me the coffee pot, Barold." He gripped it more firmly. No, not even for Lup. He couldn't relinquish this, it was the only thing keeping him awake. Lup raised and eyebrow. “Barold, don’t make me full name you. I'll do it! Hand over the pot.” Lup held her hand out expectantly.

"I'll fall asleep."

"That's the idea my guy. C'mon, gimme the sweet sweet bean juice. You don't need that where you're going."

"Where I'm…? Where am I? I'm here." Barry looked down to check.

Lup used his moment of confusion to swipe the coffee pot. Usually it wouldn’t have worked… probably, okay, it would have, but slower and he would have protested more. Right now his hands felt too heavy to even think about taking evasive action. "Yoink!" Lup said triumphantly, holding it aloft. Then he blinked and she didn't have the coffee pot any more. Maybe she magicked it somewhere? Barry turned his head to try and find it, and then she was tugging at his hand. "Not here, Bear, somewhere comfy."

"The chair's comfy, it's ergonomic." He paid a lot of money because the guy in the shop was really confident about that.

Lup snorted and tugged harder. "Barold Jorts Bluejeans, you're coming with me." 

"My name isn't…"

"...Ssssh." Lup might have been laughing. Barry wasn’t entirely sure, maybe it was him actually? Should stand? Oh, actually, he was up and moving and Lup still had hold of his hand and maybe she didn't have to let it go and she could just keep holding his hand and he could hold hers and maybe she’d have a nap with him. They stopped.

"This is your room." Barry wasn't entirely sure how they'd got there, time was doing strange things. 

"Yup, cha'girl decided you couldn't be left unattended in yours, it's too full of anxiety, even if I get you to sleep you'll marinade in it. So, we're here." Lup pushed the door wide.

Her bed had developed some kind of blanket canopy, there were string lights strewn around, and he could hear the soft patter of rain even though there wasn't a cloud in the sky. "It's… this is… magic. You made it all magic."

"Uh huh, now get in." Lup lifted a corner of blanket, it revealed a whole mess of pillows and blankets waiting inside. The bed looked so cosy, so inviting, so much better than his boring bed. He shouldn't, he really shouldn’t, he should study more, he couldn't afford to get off track. "That’s it, Bear." Oh. He was in the process of crawling in, and he was comfy. He flopped bodily into the bed and everything smelled of Lup’s orange body wash. Maybe he could just live here.

"I should do more prep." He mumbled, and sank into the pillow nest, rubbing his face on a soft fleece blanket. 

"Uh huh." Said Lup. 

"There's… I need to… you see, I have..."

"I'll wake you up in a few hours, sleep tight, Bear."

“Sleep tight Lup.” Barry mumbled from the depths of his blanket cocoon.

Part 2 here.