#yes this is what I apparently do during vacation

[fctedivided]

Trie when seeing a woman wearing something sexy.

[slafastri28]

The Favorite Child - OP81

Summary: The first year of reader and Oscar's relationship, families give the other special treatment when they are around!

Word Count: 3.9k

Warnings: Idk nothing really

Note: Is this loosely based on my life, maybe... yes it is... ENJOY!!

Winter 2023/24

“Mom, Dad, I have someone I want you to meet,” those words were so nerve-racking to you. They knew who Oscar was, you met him during your internship and had become best friends, but things escalated quickly after your boyfriend mistreated you, not trusting you in your work environment as you were surrounded by men your age. You tried to introduce him over the phone to the people you would be spending the most time with, but he refused. Long distance was clearly not meant for the two of you as it resulted in constant fighting and a lack of trust. You two broke up during your Thanksgiving break and you immediately called Oscar. He comforted you, but little did you know he was waiting for you, since the early moments of you two spending time with you he fell hard for you. Now here you were bringing him home from the airport to stay with you for a week before you both left to work again. He naturally walked in through your front door behind you, your parents both smiling.

“You must be the famous Oscar we hear so much about,” your Mom smiled greeting him with a hug, causing your cheeks to flush feeling embarrassed.

“Mr. Piastri,” your Dad greeted him with a handshake, a friendly welcoming one, not very protective over his daughter. The four of you sat down for dinner as your parents began asking about Oscar’s life which was a lot different from yours. It was full of adventures in different cities, countries, and continents, where your last vacation was when you were seventeen. 

“It really is beautiful, once you start putting your shoes up high,” he laughed. He looked so in place at the table across from you talking to your parents. Something in your stomach told you this would be a recurring event. Dinner ended and you showed him where he would be staying for the next week before the two of you traveled to your new shared apartment to start your job. It seemed natural for you to live together, two separate bedrooms which you would both keep clean and orderly, you had similar lifestyles, similar habits, similar everything and you wouldn’t mind living with your best friend. He made himself comfortable in your older brother’s former room, he moved out a long time ago and now it was vacant, and was conveniently right next to yours if he needed anything. The week went on and you showed him all around your hometown, your favorite places to eat, the park where you would play in the snow with your friends, your school, all core parts of who you were. You went shopping gathering last-minute essentials before leaving, it started to feel surreal. You knew deep down you had feelings for Oscar but seeing him in your hometown fitting in perfectly made them even stronger. It was the second to last night you would be staying with your parents. It was late, the two of you were alone in your living room watching a movie when you suddenly felt his head on your shoulder. You couldn’t hide a smile but didn’t say anything you didn’t know what to do. The TV was apparently too loud and startled your Mom out of sleep, because in a few seconds, she was at the top of the stairs asking you to lower it, scaring both you and Oscar out of the position you were in. Once she left his head went immediately back to your shoulder, and you rested your head on top of his. These were normal instances throughout the week, as you would be walking his hand would occasionally brush up against yours, he would look at you longer than he needed to, and he was so attentive in everything you spoke about your town.

“Y/N,” he said softly, you picked your head up as he did the same to look at you. 

“Yes, Oscar?”

“What are we?” That question, that wonderful, stressful question that put the ball in your court, you tried to come up with a response that you hoped wouldn’t scare him off.

“What do you want to be?” You asked, feeling a huge weight lift off your shoulders.

“I- I don’t know,” he replied, your faces moving closer to each other. Your heart was practically beating out of your chest.

“I hope this isn’t too straightforward,” you said before placing a kiss on his lips. When you broke apart he had a big smile on his face.

“I want to be with you Y/N, your boyfriend,” he smiled, kissing you once more.

“You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting to do that,” you sighed with a grin. As your movie came to a close the two of you went upstairs hand in hand before parting to go to your separate rooms. 

You woke up the next morning trying to be as discrete as possible with Oscar around your parents, you two would sit under a blanket and hold hands underneath, or when your parents weren’t looking he would rest his hand on your lower back, it was one more day you figured it would be easy, nope. Your parents quickly caught on, it was a moment when you were alone with your Mom that it got loose.

“You know I know about you and Oscar,” SHE WHAT?! 

“What? How”

“The way he looked at you it was obvious. Relax, your father and I like him very much, I just want to make sure you’re okay it’s barely been a month since…” her voice trailed off.

“I’m fine Mom, I was done with him in October, but I didn’t want to be a jerk and do it over the phone especially while the guys were with me, they all knew, and all encouraged it but I couldn’t do it over the phone,” you explained. 

“So you’re okay,” you nodded. The two of you left the next morning driving the hour to your new apartment. You two began unpacking the boxes that were waiting for you, you caught him looking at you as a distraction.

“So my parents know,” you blurted out.

“Uh-huh, and I thought we were going to wait a little to tell them as per your request,” he said with a hand on his hip.

“My mom figured it out, you made it REALLY obvious,” you teased.

“I can’t help looking at you, you’re finally mine let me enjoy it,” he said before pecking you on the cheek. You two continued unpacking, building furniture that was delivered, and making your apartment feel like home.

The winter season ended and you would be going into the 2024 Formula 1 season as Oscar’s girlfriend. 

Spring 2024

You took supporting Oscar very seriously. In the time you had while he had winter testing, you purchased any merchandise you could find with his name on it, and things you thought were cute that matched the Mclaren colors. Although you couldn’t travel with him to every race due to your job, you still went to as many as you could sporting his last name. He was always happy to see you after no matter what the outcome was. When you were there he would rush over to you, when you weren’t he would call you from his driver’s room immediately after. It was when you leaked to him your parents would be coming to a race he got an idea. You two were lying in your shared room, leaving the other bedroom to quickly become an office/guest room thinking out loud. 

“You said your parents don’t travel much,” he said.

“Well, no one we know travels as much as you, but no not really, why?” you asked.

“I feel like I should get them something, I don’t know, I travel so often, I feel like it would be nice, and you know make them like me more,” he smiled.

“Please, every time we go to their house Mom acts so much different, Dad texted the one time asking if you were coming for dinner because he smelled ‘the good food’, you're their favorite child,” you laughed. 

“No she doesn’t,” he knew secretly it was true.

“Denial is not something I would pin on you but here you are,” you teased. 

“Well maybe I’m the favorite child because I start bringing back souvenirs,” he said with confidence.

“Mhm okay,” you rolled your eyes playfully, “so what are you going to get them?”

“Your Mom loves tea, right? And your Dad coffee?” You nodded, see he knew these things after not even six months of dating. 

“So I’ll bring back mugs or coasters,” he said, “something useful so they will think of me every time they use it,” he said proudly. 

“Favorite child,” you teased again. He shrugged and kept brainstorming.

“So they are coming to Monaco this weekend, but after that, I’ll be in Canada, perfect, a Canada mug,” he smiled.

“Maybe some maple syrup,” you giggled.

“See you’re in on it, you think they will like it,” he grinned.

“They will love anything coming from you, believe me,” you kissed his cheek, “Good night idea man,” you said rolling to your side and drifting to sleep with a smile. 

The weekend approached, and you met your parents for dinner the night before the race, you were surprised by Oscar meeting you there too, he made no clarification he would be there. He was holding a small bag.

“There’s our boy,” your Dad said patting him on the back as he came and sat next to you.

“Hi Darling,” he kissed your cheek, “hope I’m not encroaching on your family time, I knew you would be here, and I can only be alone for so long the night before,” he smiled.

“Oh please, you could never intrude,” your Mom laughed.

“Favorite child,” you whispered in his ear, it became a running joke every time you saw your parents, your Dad was in on it too.

“Y/N don’t whisper it’s rude,” Your mom looked at you sternly, and your Dad winked. 

“What’s in your bag Osc,” you said changing the topic. 

“Something for you two actually,” he said gesturing at your parents, reaching and placing the bag in front of them. 

“What a nice mug,” your Dad said pulling it out of the bag, it was a Formula One-themed mug with the word Monaco across the top, it had different cars, a map of the track, helmets, and the flag of course. You sat there stunned, thinking this wasn’t starting until next week, but Oscar had mischief.

Your parents continued to thank and praise him for the mug as the weekend continued, and each week that followed with a different mug being sent to your parent's house or hand delivered they became more and more loving towards him as if they weren’t already. Your parents became Oscar’s second parents, they loved having him around. You were invited to stay with them the summer break but declined, you two had your own vacation in mind, where you were sure Oscar would bring a mug back from there. 

Summer Break 2024

Here it was, the moment you would meet Oscar’s family. You two were in the middle of the flight and woke up out of your sound sleep with the fear of meeting his family. That and you always got flight-sick. You rushed to the airplane bathroom, completely disregarding the empty seat next to you. There meeting you in the isle was Oscar,

“Aww again,” he sighed knowing where you were going.

“It will pass, we are almost there anyway,” you sighed trudging to the bathroom. Moments later you were back in your seat, you could see the sun rising out of the window, he took your hand rubbing his thumb gently across the top. 

“You have no reason to be nervous,” he smiled knowing that was also making you sick. Your flight continued into an eventual bumpy landing sending your stomach into orbit. Oscar rested his hand over it as its shield, he knew where you would be going in the airport first. You went to the bathroom and after you finished your boyfriend was no longer standing alone. You recognized the figures, quickly rushing your hands into your pockets waiting for them to notice. Oscar’s eyes moved from his youngest sister’s to yours. You made your way over comfortably, but could still feel your heart pounding in your chest. 

“Everyone,” he announced, “this is Y/N L/N, my best friend, and beautiful girlfriend. " He smiled, resting his hand on your back, urging you to come closer. You hid your nervousness with a smile,

“It’s so nice to meet all of you finally, he’s told me so much,” you could feel the heat of your face flushing away. His mom was first to greet you pulling you into a hug,

“Are you kidding, we’ve heard so much about you,” she laughed. His sisters all greeted you next, looking forward to having a new girl in the house for a couple of weeks, finally, you reached his Dad,

“He looks good, he hasn’t given you any trouble has he,” he smiled.

“No sir,” you laughed, feeling the tension and nerves ease away. The day began with lunch right after the airport pickup, although you could barely get a bite to stay down. 

“Darling where are they,” he said gesturing for you to hand him your bag. His whole family felt horrible. You weren’t feeling well, and they were ready to accommodate plans to suit your needs. The day continued and everyone was catering to your every need, crackers you had it, ginger ale right along with you. 

“You don’t have to-” you were cut off.

“We insist,” his mother said rubbing your shoulder as you made your way into their house. Oscar was getting you unpacked when he found the small bottle of heaven, it always saved you from motion sickness and jet lag when traveling, you must have put it in your suitcase by mistake. There you lay on his bed, looking around at his childhood bedroom, as he did the same when he first arrived at your house. You noticed all the little details, pictures of him growing up, little trophies he had from karting, all the important moments of little Oscar’s life. He joined you handing you the bottle. You took the tablets and rested your head in his lap already feeling a lot better. 

“See, no worries, they love you, favorite child,” he laughed.

“No no you cannot call me that, we haven’t even been here a day,” you shot at him. 

“My mom would tell me to suck it up, and they certainly wouldn’t make me a special meal like they are for you,” he crossed his arms, “so yes I can, I already know.”

“Maybe if I wasn’t sick-”

“Please they love you, and as they get to know you better they will love you even more,” he smiled. 

“So, you told them about me,” you said sitting up and adjusting to look clearly at him. 

“Y/N, my sisters wanted to know every single detail, well everyone in the family always needs to know every single detail,” he groaned.

“And?”

“And the questions would never end, you just wait for dinner tonight, they are going to tell you everything they know about you and more,” you laughed, but he seemed so serious. Dinner approached and he was right, you had a lot to talk about, it was the opposite of your house, where everything was always Oscar, tonight everything was you. 

“So Y/N, Oscar tells us you studied business,” his father began. The next thing you knew many many details of your life had been shared with his family, your hobbies, your interests, …your intentions, a lot of information. You two went to bed early that night feeling tired from the flight, you lay silent in the dark of his room, the only light of the little plug-in near his door. You were both awake staring at the ceiling.

“I’m sorry, were they too much,” he said turning to face you.

“You met my parents, nothing is too much,” you grinned. 

“So they didn’t scare you off,”

“Of course not,” you placed a kiss on his lips. 

“I love you,” he sighed before pressing his lips to yours once more. You two slept peacefully awaiting the weeks ahead of you. 

The trip consisted of Oscar taking you to all his favorite and important places in his life. You two were so in sync, you listened to all his facts and as you experienced all these places he took pictures with you at each one, wanting to remember forever. You two had been stopped in a few places by fans and he was so good about it. You even had some recognition as you were now dating a famous racing driver and were plastered on social media more than you knew. Girls would come up to the two of you squealing with delight asking you personal yet intrusive questions about dating Oscar, he could see your discomfort and would act in ways that would make them even more crazy. He would stare at you lovingly, he would wrap his arms around your waist or over your shoulders, would press little kisses to your cheeks giving you compliments.

“She truly is the best,” he said during one of your fan interactions “I wouldn’t ask for anyone else,” your heart melted. You fell deeper and deeper in love with him this trip, seeing him in his home, now you know how he felt seeing you in your hometown and why he was so infatuated with you. 

As your trip came to a close you didn’t want to leave, it was so amazing. His family became your second family, his home was your home, and you were invited to stay with them at the Australian Grand Prix next year, it was wonderful. You said your goodbyes at the airport before boarding the plane. As you were waiting for take-off, he looked at you smugly, as you had a mixture of joy and sadness on your face.

“Believe me now favorite child?” he teased.

“I think your sisters wished it was me instead of you, I would have killed to play dress up with them when you were all young, you look great in pink by the way,” you laughed, you would miss his family. 

“Okay, it’s only natural for little girls to dress up their older brother, you can’t tell me you didn’t do the same,” 

“I tried, but he’s five years older, he was a teenager when I was at the dress-up age, however in high school he did let me put a pink strip in his and his best friend's hair, so I call that a win,” you smiled talking about your brother. You two grew distant once he moved away, you missed that bond you had when you were little, now he acted as your third parent, you couldn’t talk to him without constant disapproval. You were lost in your thoughts when the plane taking off interrupted them.

Fall 2024

The season carried on, you found yourself longing for Oscar those weekends he was away, and you began to go crazy. Your parents constantly wanted you to visit, or come and surprise you at your apartments on weekends. You knew they meant well but it was starting to become too much. It was different when Oscar wasn’t there, they felt that they could finally give you their real opinions on your lifestyle, and make things the way they wanted in your life. You found yourself crying most nights when he was gone after long days with your parents as sometimes they would make you question your relationship. 

“Does Oscar love you for being like this?” Your mom said to you one weekend, you kicked both your parents out that day and didn’t even bother calling Oscar you were in such a fit of anger and sadness that you were thinking of all the ways you wanted to change yourself in that very moment. Times like this continued and you felt the courage to tell these things to Oscar once again. At first, he didn’t believe you but the more time he spent with them he began to see it. He was always reassuring, but you began to overthink feeling so bad that every weekend he was gone you were upset when he was out scoring points and having a great time.

“Y/N, come with me this weekend,” he finally said one night. That sounded like the best idea to you ever, and work was becoming more of a hybrid position than on-site, it seemed perfect. 

“I would love that,” you sighed. 

“I know there’s only a few races left, but please come with me, I would love to have you there and give you a break from all this stress,” he pressed a kiss to the top of your head. 

“You have a deal,” you smiled.

“So you’re going to tell them right now, you can’t do anything for the next month,” he pointed a stern finger at you. You picked up your phone sending a message to both of them, they seemed fine in their responses but still in those weeks you were traveling they found ways to pick at your travel plans based on your media posts, commenting on what you chose to wear, the meals you two were eating, the late hours you were up, they saw your life start to merge with Oscar’s life, and were concerned. 

Winter 2024-25

You two were spending a week with your parents for the holiday, and eventually, you couldn’t take it anymore and exploded. You scolded your parents in front of Oscar, your boyfriend of almost a year, you thought he would leave you then and there as he had never seen you this upset but he stood in support of you.

“I’m proud of you, you are an adult and they need to see that, I know you don’t think they will change, but they are your parents they mean well, but when you are with me you do not need to doubt yourself at all, I love you for being yourself,” he said as you two sat on the floor in your room. You felt the tears welling up in your eyes once more. You cried all the pain you had been realizing that was influencing your whole life flowed out. He held you to his chest and continued explaining all the thoughts you didn’t realize were influenced by your parents, you felt free. 

“This new year I will help you with all those things darling, I promise you, I am not going anywhere,” he pressed a soft kiss to your lips.

“I love you Oscar Piastri, thank you for making me, me again,” you kissed him once more.

“I love you Y/N L/N, no matter what.”

[rebelliousstories]

From the Shadows

Relationship: Remy LeBeau/Gambit x Reader

Fandom: X-Men

Request: Yes by Anon

Warnings: Fluff, Angst

Word Count: 2,759

Main Masterlist: Here

X-Men Masterlist: Here

Summary: Shadows never cheat, steal, fight, or lie. But they are not all good either. A balance must be struck.

“Have you been able to find where she might have gone?”

“No, professor. She’s not anywhere we can reach ourselves. Have you not been able to reach her mind?”

This was now the second day that they had been searching for the young girl that had disappeared. Storm felt her heart drop when Xavier shook his head solemnly. This was not boding well for the situation at hand.

“Where’s the kid?” Logan had shown up from his excursion, and noticed the missing face from the equation.

“She is missing, Logan. Can you try to find her? Ororo, help him.” The professor delegated. He looked towards his friend, and nodded his head towards the door. As they left, Logan threw one last look to Charles, who looked defeated. Once the two were outside, Logan stopped Storm who looked a bit confused and a lot concerned.

“Be honest, Storm. How bad is it?” He grumbled, a furrow forming on his brows. There was a pause, and her expression worsened.

“It’s bad, Logan.”

~

A blissful Saturday morning had swept over the school. And two people were trying to make the most of it. While she tried to make them breakfast, he was too busy shoving his days old stubble into the crook of her neck.

“Remy, you gotta stop that. I swear, these eggs and bacon will be so tough, Wolverine can’t cut them.” She tried to shake off the man, but it was of no use.

“C’mon now, chere. Gambit’s jus’ bein’ friendly. You gonna turn down some lovin’?” He teased, sending a cheeky smile her way.

“Yes, I am.” She retorted, and giggled as she saw the faux offense that was apparent on his face.

“You wound me, chere. Ain’t neva’ gonna recover.” Remy made himself busy, while she was cooking, by getting the plates and silverware out for them to use.

In just a matter of moments, they were sitting down at the table and enjoying their breakfast. All was going well, until it was not. In between them discussing plans on what to do for that day and a personal vacation at some point soon, Storm had arrived in the dining room.

“Forgive the interruption, Gambit. But the professor wishes to see you in the war room.” With a sigh, he wiped his face off, and muttered an apology to his girlfriend. She watched the two of them go off together, and finished her breakfast alone.

It was just an hour or so later that he finally found her again. In a darkened corner of the library, he saw his lover reading. Having some time to herself is a welcomed treat on this Saturday afternoon now. His shadow blocked out the remaining light from the doorway, causing her to look up. She went to greet Remy, but it died on her tongue. He was in his suit, with a duffle bag at his feet.

“How long?” She asked, dog earring a page in her book.

“Hopefully, jus’ a couple days. Should be no more than five.” He replied solemnly. Her book was abandoned in favor of wrapping her arms around him as he did the same.

“No more than five days right?” Her whimper made the man’s heart break listening to it.

“No more. Look at me, chere,” he pulled them apart just enough to see her face. “Ol’ Gambit’s gonna be jus’ fine. You stay safe here for me, yeah? Can you do that, mon amour?”

She nodded, and stood on her toes to press a kiss to his lips. That was eight days ago. Eight days since he had left for that mission. Three days since he should have been home. And two days since she had disappeared into the shadows that she once called home. No one could find her because she did not wish to be found.

The Shadowlands were a tricky area to navigate. During the day, there is only so much space that she can travel through and manipulate. During the evening, however, she can roam more freely and has a far greater ability. Yet, with each passing second that she spends there, the light from the door back to the real world gets dimmer, and the shadows have more control over her.

Here, she found a projection of her favorite memories with her Cajun thief. Major moments like when he first said, “I love you,” or when he had saved her on a mission. There were small moments, everyday things, that played out as well; dinner at a nice restaurant to celebrate their anniversary that they had finally gotten the night off for, or even a time that she was able to lay on his chest and listen to him read for a change. Even when they first meet played out in her hall of memories.

Being on the street for a majority of your life was rough. Being a mutant on the streets for a majority of your life, now that was even tougher. But, it meant you grew up fast and quick. This was definitely her case. Marking her target, she did not feel bad about stealing the mutton chopped man’s wallet and taking off with it. However, when she bumped into a man close to her own age in a long brown leather trench coat, she came to regret it. Apparently, the two were friends, and mutton chops was not happy.

But the kind stranger did not throw her to the man or scold her. He just laughed. The stranger laughed as he took the wallet and tossed it back to the older man. Mutton chops stalked away, but the kind stranger stuck around. He had introduced himself as Remy LeBeau, or Gambit. Oh, he did tell her not to steal from scary people again, but he also gave her a wink and a card. Remy told her to call him if she ever wanted to be with people like herself.

At first she thought that he had meant other thieves, but no. Somehow, he knew that she was a mutant. That was the first time he saw her disappear into the Shadowlands. Gambit had seen the pretty woman one second, and then the faintest dark purple outline, before she went away completely. However, Remy noticed that the shadows were darker wherever he walked and felt himself smile.

That day stood out to her. This had been the first time someone was able to catch her going between the two fields. It was also the day that she realized that she would never be able to live without Remy LeBeau.

~

Stumbling in from the Blackbird, Remy felt his muscles seize from the long week it had been. What should have been an easy mission was anything but. Sentinels had captured them, destroyed the coms on their uniforms, and taken them longer than a week to get back home. But him, and his team was finally home.

“Everyone go get some rest. I’ll talk to the professor now.” Cyclops stated, nursing a busted lip and bruised cheek. Everyone thanked him before walking off to their own rooms. Remy was happily a part of the crowd until he came upon Storm and Wolverine running around frantic.

“You two look more nervous than a gator at a fish fry. What’s goin’ on?” He questioned, readjusting the strap of his duffle bag on his shoulder.

“We can’t find your girl, Cajun.” Dread filled his heart. The bag dropped.

“Well she didn’t just leave. She couldn’t’a just left!” Remy held his head in his hands, and looked like he was going to collapse. Storm placed her hand on his shoulder and helped to stabilize him.

“Wait, I think I’ve got something,” Wolverine commented. He began taking off in the direction that his nose was leading him to, with Gambit and Storm close behind him. Following the trail, the group was lead into a room that was all too familiar for Gambit. This was his room, the one he shared with his lover.

“It smells like her, but it smokey. Kinda like Nightcrawler’s scent after he teleports.” Logan explained, moving closer and closer to where the smell was coming from.

“She been dabblin’ in the Shadowlands then. Oh I hope she ain’t been in der long.” Remy opened the door that led them there to find, nothing. There was no sign of anyone; living or dead. But when he turned on the light, he realized that he knew what happened.

Different coats and pieces of his clothing were strewn about the closet. They looked like a little nest in there, with her favorite article of his at the top. An old sweater that he has had since his thieving days back in Louisiana. She loved that thing for some reason, but he always let her take it. There was still a faint purplish hue that lingered in the room. And that told Remy all he needed to know about where she had gone.

“We gotta find some way to get her back. We don’ know how long she been in dem Shadows.” Remy grumbled, stalking out of the room. The other two X-Men followed close behind and each exchanged worried glances with the other.

“Professor. Professor!” Gambit called out as he stepped into his office where the man was reading a book in the corner.

“Gambit, glad to see you are back. I imagine the others have informed you of the situation at hand.” His words were always so calm and precise, but that was just adding to Gambit’s frustration.

“She’s in the Shadowlands, Professor. We gotta get her back here.” The man near growled.

“I understand your frustration, Gambit. But you and I both know that it’s extremely difficult to get into that plane of existence without her help. That said, Beast has made a machine that should work,” Charles began to lead the trio of his students down to the lab. “We began working on it the last time she got stuck there. It works similarly to the way she is able to get in. By displacing matter inside of an established shadow, you should be able to join her in the Shadowlands.”

Inside the lab, Beast was working on the final touches to a new machine in the corner. The man was excitedly tweaking the different knobs and whatnot. As Remy stepped closer, he looked suspiciously at it.

“Don’t much care about how it works, only that it works.” He said sincerely, watching with intent in his eyes.

“Okay, stand back. We’re going to try this.” Dr. McCoy stated, going over to a panel off to the side. Stepping back, Remy watched as, in just a few moments, a purple, misty portal like image showed up. Taking a deep breath, he decided to just jump straight in without a care in the world.

Landing, he immediately noticed how different the world looked. Everything was casted in a shadow. Everything was dark, and crumbling around him. But he did not care; Remy was going to get his girl back. Shadows jumped from around corners, and startled him a couple of times. He just kept going. Leaving no stone unturned, Gambit was scouring the world he was in for his girlfriend, and yet he could not find her. That is, until he saw something. Rather, he heard something. He heard his own voice play out in different clips, and her own respond to him.

“Chere!” Running towards the sound, Remy breathed a deep sigh of relief as he saw her. She was watching the memories as if in a movie theater. It did not appear that she heard or registered that her actual boyfriend was there in front of her.

“Chere, thank heavens I found you.” This finally caught her attention. Turning to face him, she gasped and tears welled in her eyes.

“Remy,” she breathed out in a whisper.

“Hey, whatcha doin’ here, chere? You know it ain’t good for you.” Kneeling down, he wrapped his arms around her and brought her in close.

“You’re real? You’re actually real and here?” She whimpered, feeling the tears racing down her cheeks and land on Gambit’s shoulder.

“Whatchu mean, chere? Course Gambit’s here. Ain’t nothin’ keepin’ me from comin’ home to ya.” Pulling away, his hands cupped her face and wiped the tears from it.

“I thought you weren’t coming home. You’ve been gone with no contact the last few days. I thought… thought,” her words trailed off as she felt more tears form.

“Put that thought outta ya head, chere. I’m alrigh’. Your Remy is right here.” He tried to comfort her to the best of his ability in this world. They sat there for a few minutes as they allowed themselves to console each other. But Gambit had to pull them away in order to look her in the eye.

“Chere, we gotta get outta here. C’mon, let’s go back. Get you well again.” As he pulled them up, she looked to be in a bit of a daze.

“I don’t even know how long I’ve been in there.” She confessed, looking around. Yet, Remy just placed his hand gently on her face and brought her gaze back to him.

“Don’t worry ‘bout it. We’ll make you better once we get out. Just focus on that.”

Taking her hand, Gambit led them around the Shadowlands. He was trying to find the door again, but it was so easy to get turned around in there. And Remy knew that she had been in too long to get them back out herself. Which only left it to him finding the door Hank had unlocked. Hopefully, it had not shut again.

Slowly but surely, everything started looking familiar which made him feel better. She was busy keeping a lookout on their backs, as she usually did when they were on missions together. The light from the door shown through the darkness all around them. But a tug on his sleeve got the man to turn around to whatever his girlfriend was looking at.

A large shadow monster was snarling down at them. Purplish flames danced around the outline, and glowing white eyes stared them down. Remy knew that this was just a manifestation of her own mind attacking her. However, she was not able to get out of that state of mind as she was frozen in shock.

“We gotta go now, chere. Don’t look back.” He tugged her forward, but was unable to get her to move. Sighing deeply, Gambit picked her up in his arms and ran towards the door that was shinning brightly.

He could hear the beast growling behind him, but did not slow down. Tucking her head in close, Remy jumped through the gateway and waited. When he opened his eyes, he saw the lab. Beast, Storm, Wolverine, and the Professor were all looking at them down on the floor. In his arms, his girlfriend was passed out and slumped over.

“Beast, let’s get her to the infirmary.” Xavier ordered. Gambit picked the woman up, but the blue furry man took her from them before he could fall again. Vaguely, Remy heard the professor call for Wolverine to get him to the infirmary as well, but it all sounded like it was coming from underwater. Black overtook his vision while the man hauled him over his shoulder.

Something warm encompassed his hand as Remy came to from his sleep. His eyes blinked away the bright lights that blinded him, but he was slowly coming out of it. Shaking his head, he began to sit up and looked over at what was warming his hand. Slumped over in a chair next to him was his girl. She was asleep herself, but he smiled as he reached over with his other hand to brush a strand of hair away. In doing so, she began to stir.

“Remy!” She exclaimed, wrapping her arms around him and tackling him to the bed again.

“You miss me, chere?” He chuckled, and wrapped her up in his embrace. Pressing a kiss to her head, Remy let out a deep sigh as he relaxed.

“Don’t do that again, please.” Her words were muffled by his chest.

“Neva’ again. Ol’ Gambit’s stickin’ ‘round for a bit. So long as you don’t go stickin’ ‘round dem shadows again.” Nodding, he felt her own body relax into their embrace. Both of them were just happy to have the other in their arms after such a bad scare from both parties.

[colie-nne]

Hello dear writer 👋 there's this reader-insert prompt in my head that I couldn't just get it out of my head. I hope this prompt takes your interest. It's up to you how you will want this to go as whether it be an imagine, headcannon or etc. Thank you, much love 𔘓

Prompt:

Carlos Sainz Jr., the renowned Formula One driver, takes to his social media account and shares a cryptic message that hints about a special someone in his life. As fans eagerly await further details, it becomes apparent that Carlos' significant other is no ordinary person – but is a beauty queen in her country.

my queen

pairing: carlos sainz x beauty queen!reader | instagram au

requested: yes | no

a/n: Hi this is my first in au, hope I did your request justice. I also really really liked the prompt, thanks for the request!! (Requests are open)

+ Valiente will be updated tomorrow so hang tight.💌

carlossainz55

liked by charles_leclerc and 163,452 others

carlossainz55 On a trip with royalty❤️

view all 1,045 comments

user excuse me? Carlos?

charles_leclerc a trip with royalty indeed👑

user what's with all the royalty?

user 😍😍😍

user Carlos is entering his aesthetic era!!!

Daily WAG updates

liked by pierregasly and 217,951 others

Daily WAG updates Ferrari's very own Carlos Sainz is seen with a mystery woman on a beach trip to the Maldives. The source stated that the two have been cozy with each other the entire time. Are we seeing a new wag on the paddock this coming season?

view all 524 comments

user oh carlos has game all along

user lord, i see what you've done for others

user does this have something to do with the royalty thing?

user to be the girls these f1 men date !!!

user girl i don't think that's a mystery woman at all

user care to explain?🤨 user Carlos has been following Spain's winner for some universal pageant or whatever for about a long time now, even before her winning the crown. So I'm not going to be shocked if the mystery woman's her. user reallyy?? what's her @? user its yourusername

user Pierre wtf you doing here?!☠️

yourusername

liked by landonorris, charles_leclerc and 326,803 others

yourusername very late vacation dump 🌶️

user ahhh y/n!! i've missed you

user will you be coming to the show in Paris?

yourusername of course!! can't miss it😊 user oH MY GOD! she responded, Y/n i love you!!

user uhmm... looks like you didn't crop a pic properly🧐

liked by landonorris

user why is lando here😭

user omyy just came here from the wags update!!! the emoji and the cropping error just proved a lot of things

user wdym wag update? user just search it up you'll see the most recent one.

yourusername

liked by carlossainz55, vittoria and 771,218 others

yourusername are you happy to be in Paris? oui...it's good to be back

user the fact that a French designer invited Miss Universe-Spain to their show, shows how wanted the y/n l/n is in the fashion industry. this is coming from a french woman too

carlossainz oui🥐

charles_leclerc no, mate... no yourusername i wholeheartedly agree with you user f1 collab, when?

user CARLOS?! Is this a confirmation?

vittoria looking good 👑❤️

user there's the crown thing again. who is she anyways? user how the hell, don't you guys know who y/n is? she's the reigning miss universe and the most sought Spanish beauty queen after years. user ooh so she's from Spain too. I see now user ☠️

user why am I just realizing the meaning of the crown emoji...

Daily WAG updates

caption: ✈️ >> 👑🇫🇷

331,092 likes

Daily WAG updates Carlos is confirmed to go on his way to Y/n. The story was posted 5 hours ago. He might be in Paris now, update you guys soon.

user the fact that you've typed that so casually just tells me how much you've waited to have a Carlos girl on the paddock

user He be flying to his girl during his supposed time to rest... when will it be my time?

user the fact that we all know he'll be meeting y/n despite them not confirming it yet is so funny.

f1updates

742,663 likes

f1updates Carlos Sainz has landed this evening after being invited by a french-designer in Paris, France.

user ...i see it very clearly now

user the story caption and this just gave everything up. ya'll better confirm it asap

user carlos in a fashion show was not on my 2023 f1 bucket list

user if we see him and y/n together, let's just say that "i told you guys"

yourusername

liked by carlossainz55 and 931,438 others

yourusername Thank you for tonight, Paris (credits: 🌶️)

user the chili🫣

user y/n!! i love your dress so much, thank you for letting me take a picture with you

user saw her being called into the runway so suddenly, the crown fits her so much🫠

user oop y/n in her soft launching era. is it Carlos?? i hope so

carlossainz55 🤍

user it's confirmed guys... user cute🥲 kill me rn

Daily WAG updates

liked by charles_leclerc, pierregasly and 196,582 others

Daily WAG updates UPDATE!!! It is confirmed by multiple sources that the reigning Miss Universe Y/n L/n is indeed Carlos Sainz's mystery woman. Who would've thought that our newest WAG would be the queen of the universe herself, can't wait to see her in the paddock!!! 👑

yourusername

liked by carlossainz55, landonorris, danielricciardo and 907,531

yourusername bebé, hemos sido atrapados... anyways, these are some of the very flattering pictures of us from our trips during the past 3 months. Buena seurte en tu proxima carrera, mi amor!!

(Baby, we've been caught) - (Good luck on your next race, my love!!)

carlossainz55 mi amor, ¿por qué las fotos? (my love, why the pictures?)

yourusername because you look flattering in them🤩 landonorris flattering isn't what I'd call them

charles_leclerc you should have posted what you posted in the other one

user charles? qhat other one!! user this made me curious yourusername the internet might not handle it!

danielricciardo all hail the king and queen👑

user dannyy😭 yourusername says the man who's insisting Carlos isn't fit for a king danielricciardo why'd you have to do me like that carlossainz55 still has a ring in it, no? landonorris we'll have to see you in a dress before we can answer

[thisapplepielife]

Written for @corrodedcoffinfest.

Pretty Goddamn Metal

Day #11 - Prompt: Jeff | Word Count: 1000 | Rating: M | CW: Piercings/Needles, Language | POV: Jeff | Pairing: None | Tags: Jeff & Goodie: Best Friends, Goodie's At Home Piercing Palace, No, No, No, Yes?, Don't Try This At Home Kids, Eddie Munson is a Bit of Freak, In Case Anyone's Forgotten

"Are you sure?" Goodie asks, and Jeff nods. He's sure. 

Well, ninety percent sure. 

Eight-five, maybe. 

He is sure about the piercing, but way less sure about Goodie being the one to do it. Maybe they should get Eddie to at least supervise.

But it's too late for that now. Goodie has the needle, a huge thing that looks like it's probably gonna hurt. 

"That's a big needle." 

"It's a cannula." 

Jeff doesn't know what the difference is. It still looks vicious. 

"Don't worry. I did my ear. And I was an apprentice under my uncle last summer," Goodie says, and Jeff's still gonna worry. 

Especially since he's pretty sure the only experience Goodie has is a two week vacation staying with his uncle in L.A., where he might have watched him work in his tattoo and piercing parlor, but where he definitely hadn't been allowed to help.

And a nipple isn't an ear. It's a hole being pressed through his skin, his very sensitive skin, by his best friend. Who is most definitely not a professional. Or an apprentice. 

Or, even an adult. 

His mom is gonna kill him. 

That's just a given. 

He won't be able to hide it for very long. Especially if Goodie gives him some sort of deadly infection and his nipple falls off. 

As if he can read his mind, Goodie wipes him, the needle, and the jewelry down with rubbing alcohol. 

He's even found sterile gloves. 

Which is all better than nothing, Jeff supposes, if they're gonna do this in the bathroom with no experience or good sense. 

Goodie moves to the ground, slotting between Jeff's knees, and even in the cramped bathroom, he's deceptively spry. Jeff's seen him move through tight spaces where it didn't look like even Gareth would fit. 

Jeff takes a deep breath. 

Goodie very assuredly grabs Jeff's nipple, and then says, "Okay. One. Two," and Goodie shoves it through, not giving him until three. 

It hurts less than he'd anticipated, and it's almost a disappointment that it wasn't somehow more. But, Goodie's already pulling out the cannula, and screwing on the other end of the jewelry. 

Fast, efficient, and with a confidence that Jeff finds alarming. Goodie's definitely a freak.

At least it's over and done with.

And now there's a bar through his nipple that looks like a screw. 

It's pretty goddamn metal. 

"Ready for the other one? Or are you a little bitch?" Goodie asks, already unwrapping the second bar. 

Okay. Apparently he's getting both done. 

And the second one? That motherfucker hurt. Goddamn adrenaline wearing off. 

They don't get infected. Somehow. It's a heavy metal miracle. They are fucking tender for a good week, but then, that's that. 

He's just a guy with pierced nipples now, and only Goodie knows. 

His mom doesn't find out, and neither does Eddie or Gareth. 

Well, not until he doesn't think about it during band practice and pulls his t-shirt up to wipe his face. It's hot as balls in the garage. They really need to upgrade and get the fuck out of this hot box. 

"Jeff's nipples are pierced!" Gareth yells, pointing a drumstick right at his chest. "Guys, Eddie, look! Did we know this?!" 

"I did," Goodie says, unphased by Gareth's over-excited outburst.

And then Eddie has his shirttail in his hand, yanking it back upwards, so he can look closer. 

They're healed, so when Eddie flicks one, it doesn't hurt. But it does feel kinda good, and that isn't something that he wants to associate with Eddie. 

"Stop it," Jeff says, batting Eddie's hand away. 

"Where'd you go to have this done?" Eddie asks, and Jeff gets it. Just like tattoos, piercings aren't exactly legal in Indiana. 

If you don't get them done at the kitchen table, you probably aren't getting them done, period. 

"I have a guy," Jeff says, cryptically. 

"You think he'd do mine?" Gareth asks, looking hopeful. 

"Absolutely not," Goodie answers. 

"Nobody asked you, Goods," Gareth snaps. "I want both done, too," Gareth says. Lifting his layers of shirts, looking at his own nipples. "Maybe barbells. So we don't match."

"Why would you need pierced nipples? Nobody will ever see them," Goodie asks, taunting Gareth. 

"You don't know what my sex life looks like!" Gareth yells, bristling, dropping his shirts and balling up his fists. 

"Uh, yeah, I do. You're still a virgin."

"So are you!" Gareth shouts back. 

This is gonna devolve into name calling and hair pulling sooner rather than later, if Jeff doesn't cool them both down. 

"Easy, both of you," Jeff says. "None of us are drowning in pussy." 

Eddie clears his throat. 

"Or cock," Jeff amends. 

"That's more like it," Eddie says, still eyeing the screw through his left nipple. 

Jeff looks at him, not sure what's going through Eddie's mind, "What?" 

"Can I bite it?" Eddie asks, pantomiming tugging on it with his teeth. 

"No!" Jeff says, "You can't bite my nipple. But thanks for asking first." 

Eddie usually bites without warning, so this is definitely some personal growth. Jeff's proud of him. 

Still not gonna let him, or his teeth, anywhere near it. But at least he asked, and didn't just go for it. That definitely wouldn't have been out of the realm of possibility.

"I'd let you bite mine," Gareth says, petulant, like this is an unreasonable stance for Jeff to take. 

Eddie whips around, hair flying, "Thanks, Gare."

"If Jeff would just tell us who did it. We could all get them done." 

"Mama Jones would have your ass," Goodie says, and Jeff isn't even sure that's true. Gareth is a mama's boy and can do no wrong. His mom might let him do it.

But still. 

They can't all get them done, and become the pierced nipple band. 

"You get something else."

"What're the odds your guy would pierce my dick?" Eddie asks.

"I'd say slim to none, just like the size of your dick," Goodie sasses, and Eddie launches at him, laughing.

If you want to write your own, or see more entries for this challenge, pop on over to @corrodedcoffinfest and follow along with the fun! 🦇

Notes: A quick google search led me to believe that body piercings (outside of ears) was also illegal in Indiana until the late 90s. So that's what I went with here. If that's not true, well, just go with it, lol.

[sturniolo04]

Holy Cow! Did you just ask me out C.S.

Fwb!Bf!Chris x Fwb!Gf!Fem!Reader

A/N: If you don't like the preadded name in my stories, you can either add your own name or not read it; it's up to you :)

Ever since you were a little kid the only thing you could remember aside from the fact your parents couldn't decide on a first name for you ultimately giving you two Anna Katherine so everyone just calls you A.K. but you always remembered how you and the triplets were attached to the hip considering you guys grew up together in Boston. You took an extreme liking to Chris just because you shared more things in common with your high-spirited energy and quite frankly you and Chris were always getting in trouble and Nick would always get you out of it being the oldest out of the three, you guys definitely owe him.

Chris and Ak's relationship was always a little more than just friends or even best friends, everyone could sense this romantic relationship tension in highschool. It became really apparent to you both individually during sophomore year considering the busy schedule you both adopted which made you guys realize how much you two miss the presence of the other.

Which brings you to now, sitting at your house in LA that you share with your roommate in college, Sarah, who is currently on vacation for spring break. You and Chris had still keep your friendship close unfortunately you or chris never grew enough nerves to solve and address the very romantic tension that was still apparently present even after highschool.

"Anna K"

chris screams as you open the door to let him and his brothers in.

"oh my god Christopher"

you exclaim back hugging him seeing that had just gotten back to LA from tour.

"how was tour you goofball"

you ask chris as you and him made your way to your room sitting on your bed after you greeted matt and nick and after him ultimately telling you he needed to talk to you about something.

" it was so amazing i feel so blessed to even have the opportunity to do something like that and have such a huge impact on people's live"

he excitedly states as you subtly smile at your best friend hearing how happy he sounds at just explaining tour.

"i love that for you chris"

you beam replying to him.

"yeah but i wished you were there though with us"

he nonchalantly states resulting in a surprised look to take over your face.

"what you missed me"

you joke out pushing his shoulder playfully.

"i mean- yeah "

he trails off shyly as your face morphs in a softer expression

"i didnt realize how much i like when you are with me all the time I just I think I realized that I"

he breathes out.

"chris"

you softly breath out.

"i like you and i want you to be my girlfriend"

he rushes softly out as your jaw drops.

"chris i-i"

you stutter out with a loss of words as he scratches the back of his head embarrassed at your reaction.

"shit um i for-"

he nervously replies regretting his previous sentences.

"wait im sorry did you just ask me out"

you joke with him giggling not believing that chris your best friend just admitted he liked you and wanted to be your boyfriend.

" yes i did Ak, im being serious. I cant believe I did either honestly"

he huffs out chuckles mumbling the last part.

"yes chris i would love to for your to be my boyfriend"

you giggle out as you reach out and grab his shaky hand as he lets out a breath of air as he hangs he head down chuckling as you follow his movements with caring eyes.

"i was really nervous about all the way here"

he giggles out as you laugh along with him.

'really aw chris"

"yeah"

he breathes out

"well im glad you asked"

he reply as he nods his head.

"c'mere"

you say opening your arms and standing up to bring him in a hug as he nuzzles his head in your neck.

taglist

@mintsturniolo @wh0resstuff @dirtylittleheart333 @stayingstromboli @emely9274 @spicymuffins03

[onpointedfeetandbrokendreams]

Day 2 - Painland Week

Day 2 of Painland Week 2024: August 5th - August 11th by @painlandweek

Prompt: Myths / Legends

Tags:  Post-canon, Case-fic

TW: None

Edwin stopped writing mid-word - which, in hindsight, should have been the first evidence that something was wrong, if Charles hadn’t been distracted - and he asked:

“Sorry, wait a tick, you said you are trying to retrieve a lost sword from a lake, and the sword’s name is?” 

“Excalibur, yes,” finished the client.

Edwin tapped the pen over his notebook twice, not even pretending to go back to taking notes - second evidence - and threw the universal ‘closet, now’ look at Charles. For his part, Charles had been listening to the conversation like it was something happening inside a bubble, or on the television, something he wasn’t a part of. His brain had been stuck on a very different train of thought ever since the client entered their office, because the first thing Charles’ mind supplied him with was ‘wow, he’s hot,’ immediately followed by ‘uh, that’s new, since when do I find random boys hot’ and ‘wait, does that mean I can finally be not straight and return Edwin’s feelings?’ - all in all, very confusing thoughts to have in the middle of a potential case.

He did follow Edwin to the closet, though, because it was muscle memory to follow Edwin anywhere without question.

“So what do you think?” Edwin asked, “a curse?”

“It could be, if the missing sword is cursed that would explain why he can’t find it in the lake,” Charles replied, trying to cut through the haze enough to form a sensible thought.

Edwin raised his eyebrows in confusion. It was unusual for them to not be on the same wavelength, they rarely needed to explain themselves further during conversations on almost any topic. It made Charles feel like he had failed some kind of test. “Mr. Rowland, the reading assignments are mandatory to every student.”

“What are you talking about, Charles? There is no sword.”

‘What?’ Charles didn’t say, not eager to repeat the experience. 

Edwin apparently could see right through his desperation, because he sighed with that ever-present hint of fondness and explained:

“This man thinks he is Arthur Pendragon, the once and future King of Britain, on a quest to find his missing sword Excalibur. There is absolutely no way that it is true, hence the hypothesis that he might be cursed. It is not unheard of for ghosts to develop mental illnesses, but it usually involves more rage and screaming, thinking you are the long lost King of Britain seems too specific for that.”

Taking a breath he didn’t really need, Charles focused back to the present to catch up with Edwin’s reasoning. “I think we should play along, if he has been cursed, there has to be a reason, maybe he will lead us to the artefact, or the person who cast the spell on him.”

“That is a brilliant idea, Charles,” Edwin agreed with a smile, more to tell him that they were back on the same track than anything. It sent that shiver up his spine that happened every time Edwin looked proud of him.

“We have decided to take your case, sir Pendragon,” Edwin declared as they returned to the office.

“Thank you, my kind subjects,” Arthur replied, and Charles, who was now in control of his mental faculties, had to fight to suppress a snort. He pushed all the ‘men are hot’ thoughts in one of those carefully locked boxes he had started collecting after Port Townsend to consider at a later date, or maybe never.

--

The hike to the lake where the magic sword was supposed to be was incredibly nice.

“We should do this more often, mate. I mean, mirror travel is cool and all, but look at the view!” He pointed to the mountains in the distance, the clear sky, and he felt excited like that one time he went camping with his friends when he was fifteen - before those same “friends” ended up murdering him.

Edwin put a comforting hand on his shoulder. “That is a good idea, perhaps we could take a small vacation after this case is closed.”

It was nice to see Edwin like that, more open, more relaxed. Not having to fear Death separating them, or Hell coming back to take him had done wonders in improving his well-being, which made a lot of sense if Charles was honest. Now that he had seen Hell himself, he had no idea how Edwin had kept it together as well as he did for over thirty years after he escaped.

“I will have you two executed if you do not find my sword right now,” the client declared.

Charles was quick to bow, not trusting Edwin’s bedside manners enough. “We are sorry, sire, we promise we are doing everything we can.”

--

They looked everywhere on the lake and around it, Edwin even tried different spells to reveal hidden magic, but they found nothing. 

“There must be something we are missing, he does not have the object binding the curse on his person, and I can’t find anything of worth in this place,” Edwin said, moving a bit further from where Arthur was looking longingly at the middle of the lake.

“You know that sentence you wanted to write on the wall of the office? ‘When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth’, maybe he really is what he says.”

Edwin looked a very balanced mix between flustered and impressed. “While I appreciate you remembering my favourite quote, I think if King Arthur existed, we would have heard about it before.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” Charles conceded.

While they were going over their notes again, trying to notice something they might have overlooked, or a different spell they could use, an eerie figure appeared next to their client. It was a very pale man, all dressed in black.

The next moment, they were sprinting towards him at full speed.

“Who are you?” asked Edwin, while Charles retrieved his brand new cricket bat from the pocket universe he carried in his backpack.

The man, or being, or whatever he was, smirked, which was an odder sight than if he had manifested eyes all over his body, or a flaming wall behind him. “You must be the ghost detectives my sister is so fond of.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“I am Dream of the Endless, I apologise for the inconvenience my escapee might have caused you,” he continued, ignoring Edwin’s disbelief.

“Dream of the Endless,” Charles repeated under his breath, trying to make sense of the words. “So your sister, who is fond of us is…”

“Death,” he said, matter-of-factly. “She wishes you would stay and say hi, sometimes. For now, I thank you for your service.”

He turned to keep talking to Arthur then, and after a while the two of them disappeared in a whirlwind of sand, leaving Charles and Edwin to gape at the empty space where they had been. 

“Well that was an experience,” said Charles. “So he was, what? A dream?”

“What a thought, to stop and say hi to Death,” Edwin exhaled at the same time. He was smiling his relaxed smile again, and Charles found his eyes stuck on the curve of his lips, the hint of tongue and teeth peeking from them.

“So, you fancied the once and future king?” the lips moved to form the words, before going back to that beautiful smile. 

Only when the meaning registered, Charles blinked. “What? No, of course, I-” he started, before remembering that they did promise each other no more lies, “maybe a little. Didn’t you? He looked like, I don’t know, the perfect example of man, the one you would expect to see on an advertisement for the entire species?”

Edwin pursed his lips, in that expression he made when he was trying not to laugh. “I can admit that he was objectively good looking, but, you know, blond hair and blue eyes is not really my type.”

He said it in his prim tone, the same way he would say ‘pass me that green book on supernatural diseases’, but there was no mistaking the flirtatious glint in his eyes.

Charles stopped. For a moment, it almost seemed like Edwin knew something that he didn’t even fully know himself, something carefully hidden in one of those boxes “to consider at a later date or maybe never” that he had been collecting. But flirting was like a second nature to him, so he couldn’t help but replying:

“Yeah, and what is your type?”

“Let me see,” Edwin said, slowly, carefully, stepping closer with every word. “Tall, athletic, big dark eyes, unruly hair,” he was right in front of him now, “likes to throw himself into danger to protect others, what else? Insanely clever and perceptive. Shall I continue?”

Charles took a deep breath, his eyes were fixed on the small space between them. “I think I should tell you something.”

If it was on anyone else, the fake surprised expression would have fooled him, but he knew Edwin’s eyes and smiles better than his own. He had to struggle to remain serious, even if he appreciated it for what it was: a way to give him the time to set the pace of the conversation and to take the lead.

“I have never allowed myself to think about it before, you know, with my dad being the way he was, but lately I have been noticing that I am attracted to guys as well. At first it was only one specific guy, but-” he stopped, cringing at the way it sounded, “What I mean is, I didn’t say anything because it was something too important, I had to be sure, and it’s easier to admit you can like someone when you have nothing to lose from it.”

The flirty smile turned into a soft one as Edwin said:

“You have every right to take your time and experiment, you don’t have to say anything, I apologise if-”

Charles stopped him very effectively by cupping his face with his hands. “I don’t want to experiment with anyone else, I think I’ve locked up these feelings for long enough.”

Edwin’s eyes widened, he looked like every ounce of confidence he had mustered up until then had left his body. “As much as I pride myself in my detective abilities, I need you to please say it out loud at least once. It’s been quite difficult for me to believe it, even when you were not at all subtle.”

“I like you,” Charles said immediately, wanting to erase the insecurity from his face. “I haven’t stopped thinking about your confession and what it could mean for our future, and I think I am finally ready to take you out on an official date, if you still want that.”

It was Edwin who leaned in first after that, but like it happened many other times, they met in the middle, instantly on the same wavelength again.

Distantly, almost completely hidden behind the all-encompassing sensation of Edwin holding him and their lips pressed together, Charles thought about how absurd it was that he had to thank the fucking King of Britain for finally managing to have this conversation. Edwin would tease him for all eternity.

[pumpkinsy0]

I'm in tech week for a musical and I JUST NOW forgot a set change (Stage manager was NOT happy 😭) so that's how I'm doing... ANYWAY, hcs for Curly joining the Curtis brothers on a vacation?? Mix of Curly being a little shit AND him and Pony having sweet moments? Maybe cuddling by a fire or smth? Thank youu!!

i hope everything i smooth sailing from there and everything goes ur way anon,,,gods speed🙏🏽🙏🏽

•the curtis’ were going camping as mostly a gift to pony for doing so well, yknow to get away from everything!!! take it as the closest hes gonna get to the country side for now. and theres a LOT of things curly would do, but go camping??? not rlly one of em, but a week???without pony??? booooooo borriinngg

•curly QUICKLY rethought this bc when he said he wanted to come along, pony said that they werent going to like, a decently well known camping ground, they were just gonna go into some “apparently safe” forest, camp down for a bit, then go. and curly was NOTTTT rocking w that, if u have CURLY thinking thats not safe, triple check ur plan dude😭😭

•pony was saying “nooooo cmon its fine, i already begged darry u have to go now” plus curly already asked tim and had his things packed so he was way too far along to just back down and NOT look like a wimp so he accepted his fate,,,wherever that comes,,, if thise white boys kill him in the forest everyone knows who did it,,,

•ANYWAYS, the forest was pretty far, so there was a small roadtrip moment for all four of em!! curly and ponys hungry asses ate more snacks than they were supposed to but thats probably for the best bc in between kinda sugar crashing and play wrestling and talking, they just passed out and gave darry and soda much needed peace (and photo material)

•by the time they got there, it was almost night so they had to hurry and make their tents. u already knowwww there was a passive aggressive fight between soda and curly over who was sharing what tent, but bc darry just wanted pony to relax, he just let him choose and pony chose curly cause look, he always cuddles up to soda, he can change it up these few nights, also darry was kinda hoping pony chose curly always he doesnt wanna sleep next to curly that would b so awkward

•the whole night darry couldnt sleep bc he heard pony and curly playing 21 questions except they barely rlly played it bc all curly was doing was making shitty oneliners and innuendos. darry heard curly gearing up to tell a brokeback mountain sex joke and took that as his queue to just fall asleep

•pony and curly has snuck out to go swim ONCE, and pony was scared shitless and that was PERFECT for curly. he could pretend to b the #protector while his babygirl clung to him, he was thinking “JACKPOT!!!”, DID they get caught later on the next day when darry said he heard them??? yes but sooooo worth it

•personally i like to hc curly as a guy who loves insects, so when he sees them he starts ranting about the type theyre looking at. darry and soda r half paying attention while ponys thinking “yea im making out w this guy later”

•and then curlys the kinda guy who loves the night time, and he can finally see more stars without the light pollution,,,ik hes lovin it and ponys thinking curly AND the sky is pretty. bonus points if theres a shooting star they see

•during the day curly and pony tend to get a liilllll lost while on their walks, and curly tried doing that thing where u leave breadcrumbs but some stupid squirrel just ate the trail so they had to yell for help

•i like to hc that when they used to live in haiti, curly used to visit his family in the country side sometimes so he knows some #lifehacks to help make things easier, SO YKNOW WHAT??? darry and soda can call curly many things, but useless???? aint one of em, darry and soda had some new found respect for him

•ESPECIALLY when it comes to dinner, bc if his experience curlys good at fishing and can make himself a fire ANNNDDD cook the fish w it, not that the curtis bros couldnt do that, but it woulda took wayyyyyy longer,,,,thats ponys man right there,,,woaw,,,,

•had the fire going long enough to cook s’mores which rlly was one of the only things pushing curly to go camping w em, right next to the reason of being w pony, him and pony filled UP on those things and cuddled hung out near the fire after wards, they both fell asleep there and had to b semi carried to their tents!!!

•darry and soda even had the decency to manhandle them into cuddling FOR them, to b fair the night was cold but still, how sweet of em

[cloveroctobers]

FAR FETCHED — Roman Reigns [October Prompts] 🧡

A/N: Idk I didn’t expect Roman to beat everyone else but it was close and I’m not mad about it lol! Y’all been waiting on a part 2 from me since that one thing I wrote back in May and this unfortunately is not that lmao…I had a title picked out and everything and even started writing but its just not working for me! Which is why I always say I don’t do part two’s! Still hope you guys like this little spooky piece though! 🧡

S/N & WARNINGS: also inspired by my old fav show—charmed, which I’m binge watching during this lovely season! I was more of a charmed girlie while the rest were Buffy girls 🤷🏽‍♀️ + dark! Roman & themes + language ofc! Also the fact that this is dropping a little before October??? Originally y’all weren’t getting this until Tuesday but…I had time okay! Also I apologize if the bit of Samoan I used is incorrect!

PROMPT IS FROM HERE & I’m using: Prompt #644: “Can we go on one date without you causing someone trauma?” - “Babe, I’m a demon. What do you expect me to do?”

O⸝⸝⸝)-⃝⃤ O⸝⸝⸝)-⃝⃤ O⸝⸝⸝)-⃝⃤ O⸝⸝⸝)-⃝⃤ O⸝⸝⸝)-⃝⃤ O⸝⸝⸝)-⃝⃤

Being involved with a demon was many things but it’s not like you could have done much to hide it. Not when the upside was slowly getting used to all sorts of creatures—other than human—that came out to play on this side of town whenever they felt like it. And certainly not when many knew your man as Thee Roman Reigns, chief of the underworld. Well it was speculated and those that knew that rumor…were not wrong! You knew him as his human name, actually held him as he died some years ago as Joe Anoaʻi and come back as Roman. “Joe,” was what he wanted you to call him since that’s what you once knew, although that part of him was killed by the hands of his human mother.

Yeah…it’s as fucked up as it sounds but you both dealt with it in your own ways. Roman claimed that joe was still in there, that he felt most like what he once was when he’s with you. His parents lied about his true identity for years and sure his father did some things that were questionable but Joe never would have thought that his father’s species was also running through his blood as well. Joe can say that he didn’t blame his mother for being upset about it all but he was her son, he didn’t ask to be this way.

It was something she deeply regretted, coming from a family of Italian hunters apparently—something she thought would never kick in or even trained to have the skill. Hunters (besides the cops) weren’t as common in this side of town but the world shifted when she tried to kill her son. Once Joe found out what he was considering that he was brought back to life in the underworld…he had to have that difficult conversation with his father, his siblings, and various of family members…which meant the world as he once knew it…changed drastically.

Joe never thought hell was the place for him…so he didn’t spend much time there…(in simplest terms, yes the underworld was a part of hell but apparently there was even a lower level and that’s where the worse of the worse took place and where Joe had to do things he would never tell you about) only when he had to handle business. One thing Joe and Roman had in common? Was handling shit.

He especially loved you calling him by his birth name when you screamed out his name, officially joining the mile high club on your way back home. (On the upside, since you were very much human!) Half of the time he came up from the underworld on business, October and May happened to be his most busiest of months up here but figured you could use a trip away from daily life, which you had no problem tagging along to feel the Florida air and see the palm trees.

The vacation glow was one of many glows, Joe enjoyed to see on you but knew once you got back to life in town, your stress levels would be back on high. You were more paranoid with life here since you had all sorts of feds and hunters questioning you about your involvement with Joe. They knew he was supposed to be dead, had his family under careful watch, even had a warrant out for his father’s arrest—it was a shame on their part—not having a inside person in the underworld who could inform them that Mr. Anoaʻi already unfortunately passed on, soul and all.

Sika was always on their radar for as long as you’ve known Joe, along with his uncle Afa. Those brothers had no problem raising hell—no pun intended—on the upside but to them it was all in good fun. Never would you have guessed that it had to do with what they truly were. There were many secrets in this city, sure there were a few museums that told the history of this town but most locals deemed it as myths and to boost its appeal. It was more of a village back then before transforming to its now busy city life centuries later.

The pests and hunters best bet was you, knowing your history together and how you were the one who tried to hold onto Joe as he clung to life. They loved bringing that traumatic memory up and even suspected that you managed to take his body from the morgue. Sometimes it was a little funny, which you learned to see the humor in as time went on and Joe came back into your life. Laughter was one of the main things that kept you sane to be honest! They just didn’t get it, they didn’t have the power—no fed or Hunter did—to take Joe down.

“Can we go on one date without you causing someone trauma?” You scowled after tossing the front door back to your Victorian that you inherited from your late grandmother.

Joe causally strolled into the house as if the both of you weren’t drenched from the autumn rain. Slamming the door behind him, you then used the wallpaper covered wall for support while you began to pluck off your heels.

“Babe, I’m a demon.” Joe replied with his hands clasped in front of him, “What do you expect me to do?”

You scoffed, hanging your damp rain coat up and placing your bag on the side table, “you’re half,” you argued before stomping towards the kitchen, “which means you’re not a hundred percent evil and he was just some kid—

“Fuck all that, he was trying to flirt with what’s mine as if he doesn’t know who I am. So? I showed him exactly who I am.” Joe answered as he pulled back one of the island chairs to sit in comfortably.

Pulling out the jug of leftover cider you spin back to face the bearded man, “He didn’t know any better and you could have sent him into cardiac arrest with what you pulled. Not only that?! What if he would have called it in and we got swarmed by the cops?”

Joe laughed with his shoulders, “I pretty much got most of these businesses on lock. The gyms arent my only holy grails but you shouldn’t worry so much…because if you are…maybe you should take the move to Florida where you’ll be better protected.”

Majority of his family (and yours) was still there so it only made sense to him.

It was a conversation as old as time. Once you came to terms with Roman actually being alive and being what he is, which also took lots of processing, he immediately wanted you to leave this town. He knew the small amount of family that was still here, about an hour away, can handle themselves but you were mostly out here on your own. The feds already tried to take his mother before he made the decision to bring her to the underworld himself. It wasn’t something his father ever wanted but Roman had a choice to make and he still protected his own. He didn’t like you questioning him about having his mother “locked up” in his own prison but he preferred to have her under his own care than waiting for a death sentence by those only trying to expose them all.

The only thing he shared was that she did ask about you as much as you did of her.

“Who’s going to protect that kid?” You question around the rim glass while Joe sends you a blank look.

Joe thought it was all fun and games to scare the mess out—what you keep calling—the harmless college kid. Yes he was a little too touchy and overly friendly as your server but most people didn’t try Joe regardless of what they knew of him and solely just off appearance. You weren’t picking sides like Joe tried to throw at you in the passenger side on the way back home, you just didn’t let the kid’s flirtations get to you. You knew your man was getting aggravated the more his eyes focused on the kid touching your shoulder and his jaw tightened.

You weren’t sure who you should have felt more sorry for, that almost broken plate Roman was cutting into or what the kid was about to experience.

The specs of sea foam that swirled in place of Joe’s usual brown should have been enough of a giveaway but you tried to ease his frustrations with your hand placed in his instead. The last straw was when the kid asked what you two were getting into after dinner—it was more directed at you mind you—as if you didn’t just get in from a flight. So what did Joe do?

Let the monster out.

His eyes were what changed first, from dark brown to that bright sea hue. It was always insane work watching it change right in front of you, how the hue almost swirled like a used paint brush being dipped in water. You let go of his hand while his nostrils flared, quickly grabbing the utensils out of the way while he sharply set his eyes on the young man that stood closer to you. Your mouth opened ready to warn the server that you were ready for the check but a deep haunting tone commanded the young man to look Roman’s way.

That’s when you heard the sickening cracking of Roman’s skull splitting down the middle and you quickly closed your eyes and turned your attention elsewhere as Roman was on demon time.

“Maybe you should go and marry him since you’re still worried about him.”

Your brows raised at the jab as you set the cup back on the island, “you know what, maybe I should since the asshole I’m looking at, that I’ve been dating for years won’t give me that type of commitment.”

He knows he shouldn’t have said that, his hand going out to grab your wrist as you’re ready to exit the kitchen and get away from him. Joe’s been working your nerves but not the good kind lately. This was also a conversation that’s been had plenty of times, back when he was a football player, you had to deal with all sorts of women throwing themselves at him, which fed his ego but he always reassured you that they weren’t what he needed or wanted.

That was back when you were just friends. Friends that looked at each other with such adoration and would do anything to make each other happy. It wasn’t much longer after that he asked you to be his forever and that’s what it felt like. You just didn’t have the legal papers and Joe’s always knew how much a union that special mattered to you. He respected it then and thought about it himself, even got input from those closest to him but as he embraced this new life, the rules changed.

They always did.

“You know I love you more than anything right?”

You rolled your eyes, “don’t start that shit with me tonight, Joseph. I don’t wanna hear it.”

“Oh, it’s Joseph now?”

“Yeah.”

“It’s like that?”

“Yup, it’s like that.” You stated, which made Joe huff and get to his feet while still holding onto your wrist.

His hold moved to grab both sides of your neck, tilting your head to meet his stare, the darkest of brown but with the right amount of warmth in the center, just for you.

“…it would make me the happiest man alive—well—

He chuckled while you lightly shake your head in his hands, “I told you it would complicate things for the both of us because we would automatically have to clear it with the underworld and I don’t want to put you through that.”

What was there to clear when he was the number one ruler? You didn’t get it and he kept leaving you in the dark about it. You knew when Joe was hiding something from you.

“Right…it’s feeling like that’s what you’ve been doing lately since you found out what you truly are. Telling me instead of discussing it with me.” You inform, “I understand that you’re the man in charge down there but why would we have to go through all that when I know you still have some sort of pull here too. We could always elope?”

That still included paper work and he was supposed to be a dead man…who still lurked in the shadows from time to time and could never be found when he wasn’t hiding by the feds or hunters.

“There’s nothing wrong with that but I know that’s not the kind of wedding you dreamed of.” Joe says to you gently, “…and I wish I could give that to you. What we have now is genuine, always will be…going forth with that step could potentially ruin everything. I don’t know what else to tell you.”

Your blood felt like it was inside of a kettle, whistling and boiling away. Sure there were things you could never understand about the underworld, not even google could tell you the real deal and you knew a few witches in town but you weren’t sure how much you truly wanted to know anyway! However, ever since Joe became Roman and the chief, things were starting to feel further from your grasp.

“You keep telling me a whole lotta nothing, Joseph.” You try to look away but Joe’s not having that.

He nudged your face with his thumbs back to meet his eyes but he can tell you’re upset, “hey, don’t get snappy over something you don’t get. You’re the best thing that’s ever been in my life and I would be a dumbass to not want that on paper. I just need you to trust that if I can find a way to make this work, without us both getting hurt…I’d do it in a heartbeat.”

You repeated, “without us getting hurt?” Followed by a frown, “do you mean that literally?”

This was the most he hinted about marriage in the underworld. Usually he would do his best to dodge it, which actually hurt your feelings sometimes. Why wouldn’t he want to marry you?

Little did you know it wasn’t like that at all.

“I said too much—

“Joe!” You call his name as he steps back from you and it’s your turn to get in his space.

He puts his back to you, pushing the chair back in and starts pulling off his suit jacket, revealing a sleeveless black t-shirt underneath. He always ran hot, especially with his new transformation.

“What aren’t you telling me? I mean I’m not jumping through hoops to be the queen of the damned or anything and none of those other demonic bitches better not be either—

Joe feels his lips quirk up in his amusement as he chuckles, glancing at you over his shoulder, “rings of fire are a thing there but I already told you, nobody compares.”

Tilting your head to the side you reply, “So…there are bitches down there that I need to press?”

Joe laughs, “…Who?”

“I know that’s right because I’ll dig my way there if I have to.”

“Now who’s doing the most, huh?”

You flick your hair behind your shoulder with a roll of your eyes. It’s not like you blamed Roman for acting that way, there were things you didn’t understand as a mortal and half of the time you didn’t want to, you just wanted him to be careful and to keep loving you. Sika’s actions caught up to him in the end once he fled back to the underworld after what his wife pulled. At least you weren’t splitting yourself in half or releasing parasites from your face to get others to back off…even if you had that ability you don’t think you would have pulled that shit, especially if people were looking for you.

Joe’s pulling you back into his arms again, lips pressing to your forehead as he rubs your back. Being in his arms was the best place you could ever be but part of you was beginning to feel: if you had to be in the underworld to be his wife, you’d consider it. No matter how much it hurt, you’d do it all for Joe.

Which is why you pushed that thought alone to the back of your mind, knowing you were about to get his bloodline involved to get some answers as you pulled Joe towards the stairs.

“Oh I get to stay tonight? No banishing me?” Joe teased as you start going up the stairs with his fingers interlaced with yours.

You scoff followed by a big yawn, “don’t push me,” you joke, “it’s a new night and the flight is actually catching up to me so I need my body pillow.”

As you got to the second level of the home, joe is squeezing you again from behind, his lips pressing a kiss in the bare space between your neck and shoulder. “Alright, I’ll allow you taking advantage of my body slide since I love you so much and wouldn’t want to give it to anybody else, even when you’re the biggest brat I know.”

He using a free hand to give your backside a nice slap, loving how it bounced back just for him. He licks his lips at the sight while you playfully elbow him the closer you get to your bedroom.

“Ou te alofa ia te oe ma loʻu loto atoa ma loʻu agaga.” You say to him as you turn to him in the doorway of your bedroom and you knew by Joe’s pretty grin that he always appreciated you using his native tongue.

Your arms go up and around his neck when he leans to place his lips right on yours, soft lips always so gentle at first but firm enough to let you know his intentions of love, his beard pricked your face, noses brushed against each other, with his scent smothering you just the way you liked it while you breathed him in, and his hands went to your hips before he leads you into the room for the night.

And as he lays with you on his chest wide awake in the dark of the rainy nightfall, peacefully listening to the sound of you breathing, he knows just how much you love him and that’s what terrifies him the most, now knowing at what cost.

Joe wouldn’t allow you to give up your soul to the underworld in order to be his eternal wife, it was only a matter of time for himself considering this is partly what he was meant to be but Roman?

Was another story.

That was a internal battle within itself.

O⸝⸝⸝)-⃝⃤ O⸝⸝⸝)-⃝⃤ O⸝⸝⸝)-⃝⃤ O⸝⸝⸝)-⃝⃤ O⸝⸝⸝)-⃝⃤ O⸝⸝⸝)-⃝⃤

Continue with my October anthology prompts here.

[jacevelaryonswife]

What a wicked thing to do (to make me dream of you) | Part I

Aemond Targaryen was a shitty snob and you were determined never to see him again, however, he didn't seem to share the same feeling.

∴pairing: modern!Aemond Targaryen x nanny!reader

∴warnings: elitism and slight angst.

part II

Aemond Targaryen was a man of sophisticated and understated tastes, an assiduous collector of books and historical objects, a connoisseur of aged wines and gothic aesthetics. He was quiet, observant, polite, intelligent, handsome, well dressed and very intimidating. Because of these — and other — characteristics of your boss's brother, Rhaenyra Targaryen, your relationship with him was almost nonexistent. Not that the others were too close to you, but there was an intrinsic fear that snaked through your body when he was in the same room as Aemond.

The Targaryen mansion had a modern architecture with mostly surrealist paintings, although works of other artistic currents could be observed along the corridors and rooms. It was not your first choice of work, but the decision to look for a job during the graduation vacation was totally based on the high cost of living in another country. It all started with an exchange scholarship that turned into an irresistible proposal for a master's degree, which made you look for some options to stay comfortable and safe. Your first job was at a lovely flower shop that sold flowers in temperate climates, a dream come true, but when the offer to work as a nanny for two children in a mansion a few days a week with an alarmingly high salary, besides, your friend, who was friends with Rhaenyra's eldest son made strong recommendations of you (even though you don't have that much experience with children), fuck you agreed without a second thought.

Your employers were kind, though neutral, and when the family was together in full some unusual situations happened. However, along with your vacations came those of Aemond, and gods, it was almost suffocating to be in the same place as him, because although his qualities were attractive, the Targaryen knew how to be pretentious, arrogant, acidic, hot — tempered and indifferent — the last of the defects was almost always directed at you, while the others were restricted to his older brother Aegon and his uncle Daemon.

Otherwise, while you struggled to remain invisible, hanging out with the incredibly wealthy and dysfunctional Targaryens, Hightowers, and Velaryons was smooth and functional. Until one day everything changed. It was not uncommon for you to observe the paintings arranged impeccably on the gray wall, however, a well-known work caught your attention: Saint-Georges majeur au crépuscule, by Claude Monet. It was always a painting that captured your attention for a long time, apparently, the orange tone involved you more than enough to make you not notice it’s arrival, not that it was very easy to notice, since it was quite silent. But then, stopping in the middle of the hall, the owner with gray hair and violet eyes announced his presence with a simple question.

“Do you like it?"

Your indiscreet jump and hand directed to your chest didn't do much to hide your surprise (or fright), feeling too embarrassed to continue maintaining eye contact.

“Yes I like it.”

“Claude Monet, 1908, one of his best in my opinion,” he said.

“I know,” you replied faster than you intended, but with the tall man's curious look, you had to add, “I don't have artistic background or understanding, but I'm quite fond of impressionism.”

You clasped your hands together as you stared at the picture ahead, feeling like you might succumb right there. You didn't want to feel like a fool, so you silently listened to the guttural “hmm” he let out in response.

The lack of dialogue along with your flaring nerves made you say goodbye to him with a brief and hurried “Excuse me.”

Your memory does not include when you felt that way with someone, although it was a recurring feeling since you started working in an environment far beyond (financially speaking) your reality. You hated running away like a scared mouse, however, the feeling wasn't mutual to Aemond, who was almost delighted with your reaction.

That was the first time he noticed you, even if it was an unusual situation. He almost felt guilty about the way you ran, but who was he kidding? He liked your bewildered eyes and frightened expression, too nervous to face him or converse the way she had with Aegon, Jacaerys, and Helaena. A pretty girl, he thought, with fast-fashion clothes and unfinished nails, yet pretty, and a bit of an art knowledge. It was no exaggeration to say that from that day on, the second son of Viserys Targaryen took more notice of your presence.

You weren't the only helper in the house, but your job was restricted to stay with the kids, which made Aemond's peeks easier, as there were specific days and places where your silhouette would be restricted. He didn't know why of such sudden interest, you were just a maid. Yes, you attended the same college as him and had some publications in scientific journals, but still, what was it magnetic or different that attracted you?

Worse still, was he so indiscreet that Aegon caught wind of it and confronted him about it? Seven hells.

“So, did you miss something in the nanny's ass, bro?”

“That question could be asked of you,” he replied.

“But it is being done to you.” When the lack of response hit him, Aegon insisted, “What happened to the exemplary son and mama's boy? What will mom think when she hears you were about to eyeball our good maid?”

“Fuck off, Aegon,” he complained irritably, embarrassed actually. But he was Aemond Targaryen, losing a point to his older brother was not an option. “You should learn a thing or two from her since even the motherfucking babysitter can have some cultural understanding and you don't…”

“Wow, and they say I'm the idiot,” Aegon replied.

“You know what I meant.”

“Exactly, and that's why I meant what I said. So is it unusual for a nanny to be cultured? Please, that's why you don't have any friends.”

“And that's why I'm academically successful and I don't have to deal with you."

“Being a fucking snob? For sure."

“I wasn't being- you know what, take what you want, just get the fuck out of my face,” Aemond snapped.

“As you wish."

Although you both thought you were alone, by an unpleasant choice of fate you ended up listening to the entire conversation and imagine your surprise? It was something you hoped would happen eventually, but how small is it for someone to define a person by their profession or social class? You shouldn't be saddened that apparently your job as a nanny makes you culturally inferior in the eyes of Aemond Targaryen, but a few humiliated and embarrassed tears fell from your eyes before you silently withdrew.

That day your service was finished faster than usual, leaving the mansion discreetly and hastily. Other stray tears negatively graced your face along the way home and during your rest period. Thoughts about quitting your job were running through your head.

Bullshit, you needed the damn money.

But what is the cost?

Among other questions, the only thing you knew was the distance you would keep from Aemond Targaryen from then on, not even a stolen look, fear or secret admiration, all you felt for him was disgust. You hated snobs, and apparently he was one.

For the next few days you did your best not to meet him, or give him a look, though from what he had said about his condition earlier it was unlikely the Targaryen would mind his presence to notice any difference. Otherwise, you had no problems doing your chores and dealing with some other family members.

However, much to his mistake, Aemond continued to watch you as you played with little Aegon and Viserys throughout the manor. Again, he didn't know the source of the interest, but that afternoon (two weeks after it happened) when you spent too much time in the library with the little ones, he decided to act.

This time you noticed someone enter silently, making your heart sink. Somehow your subconscious suggested that the presence corresponded to the one you tried so hard to avoid, yet that didn't stop you from continuing to read a children's primer from the fancy wooden shelf without letting on your knowledge that you weren't alone.

He didn't know if you were oblivious to his presence or if you ignored him on purpose, so he decided to make himself seen.

“The section you're clearing contains the history of Old Valyria, from rise to fall," he began unrequitedly. “Have you read any of them?”

“The fall of Old Valyria.”

“The Untold Version?”

“More Believable Theories.”

“Hm.” In no time you turned to face him, generating a certain discontent in the platinum. Your answers were quick and dry, without trepidation or fear, intriguing him. “There are a few books by Septon Barth that I recommend reading, most notably Dragons, Wyrms, and Wyverns: Their Unnatural History.”

“Thank you,” was all you said.”

He really didn't like that. Were you purposefully ignoring him?

“I can borrow mine if you like, it's in better condition than the one in the library," he suggested.

“I appreciate your kindness, but you don't have to."

“No problem."

“I don't intend to read,” you said, “I have no such fascination with dragons. Besides, maybe a nanny like me doesn't understand Septon Barth's far-fetched text.”

Oh fuck.

The silence that followed didn't stop you from continuing your service, while Aemond didn't take long to associate what you were referring to.

“Aegon told you?”

“No, I was close at the time.”

“…didn’t mean to put you down.”

“Really? It seemed that my condition as an employee did not allow me to have a cultural background, as you say. Not that I'm the most cultured person in the world, but yes, I understood perfectly what you meant.”

He sighed. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you-"

‘I’m working, sir, if you have nothing else to say I would like to continue my work."

The shortness of breath that hit your body in the first conversation you had with him was replicated in the Targaryen upon hearing his response, almost paralyzed in place.

“I really didn't mean to offend you. I just understand that not everyone has access to the education and culture that money can offer.”

“Indeed, money restricts most of the population from having a quality education, but it does not mean that only the rich represent the apex of knowledge and holders of all culture, I can cite some examples from my life that contradict this.”

Aemond Targaryen was a shitty snob and you were determined never to see him again, however, he didn't seem to share the same feeling. Nobody ever spoke to him like that, not even his ex Alys. He was studying History at Citadel University, top student in his class, yet how could he be so blind and elitist?

“But that doesn't matter, as next week we won't continue to live together."

Fuck fuck fuck fuck. The vacation had come to an end. No, he couldn't let you go like that, he didn't want to keep such a negative image about himself.

“I-I… fuck I'm not… I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I was stupid, I shouldn't have said that—I shouldn't have thought like that. Your thinking is correct.”

“Good for you.”

He knew better that keeping trying wouldn't get him anywhere, so he decided to lower his head and silently withdraw from his presence. You didn't mention anything to Rhaenyra when you said goodbye to her, as all in all, one negative moment couldn't define all the positive experience you had. In the end, even studying at the same institution as Aemond, its departments and buildings were different and far from each other, besides that you very much doubted to attend the same social cycle as him.

Although that fact was reassuring, that week the slender platinum figure did not leave your mind, always churning your stomach in disappointment and anger during the flashes of your last conversation. You agreed that only time would make you forget that inconvenience, but what you didn't know was that for Aemond such a mistake was unforgivable, and worse, you, the simple nanny, couldn't get out of his head.

— ewan taglist: @schniiipsel @aemonds-fire

[sun-e-chips]

Idk if you've been asked this yet but if you haven't...

does the water park have underground tunnels? Like Disney level underground? Or not? because I know Disneyland uses them to allow cast members to get to their areas without being seen in clashing ones to "preserve the magic" and all that fun stuff (apparently they are longggg walks)

i was just curious if the park had them, and if so would underground races (literally) occur?

Hello hiiiiii @buzzybee3 !!!!!

Interestingly enough in a way the waterpark DOES have underground tunnels but not quite like what Disney has. It’s a water drainage system for all the slides and pools. This way if any “incidents” happen everything can be properly drained and sanitized, and the boys figured out a way to run a water reserve for these exact instances so the watery attraction can be up and running in no time. But everything is still regularly filtered and sanitized regardless, the reserve is just for emergencies. Nothing really for the boys to traverse the park in.

Walking around Sun, Moon and the Tikis freely roam the park as they please so in a way their always in character, but still fairly genuine. (no need for backstage paths) You bringing up cast members made me really want to dive into what life is like for the boys around WB:D

Im trying to think how best to describe Sun and Moon and their work vs leisure time around the park and resort … hmmmm

Though Sun and Moon co-own Waterspark Bay and split up the work, they do favor particular roles.

Sun: More of the financial and legal responsibilities, he handles the business side of running WB. (its all self taught, this stuff is very fun and interesting to him, which is great because it eats up a lot of his free time after park hours). Sun also makes a lot of the big decisions for the park, one example being the major reconstruction/renovations made to Waterspark Bay.

Moon: Very similar to a manager, he manages his team (the tikis) and schedules, the leader in the day to day operational decisions. Most things are reported to him (Moon is the behind the scenes leader, he does a lot of multitasking with meeting guest and park needs throughout the day) My boy is a stickler for safety and rules but having said that he knows how to break them. (What a hypocrite)

(Typing this I’m just now realizing the irony of Suns heavy working hours being at night while Moons is during the day… wow)

The Tikis fill the role of the employees; guest services, cleaning, maintenance, security, all the staff needed to fill those other roles in running a themepark and resort .

The boys still do a lot of guest interactions throughout the day though because they love it! This is where they started, this is the heart of everything they do, connecting with people and making their vacation as magical as possible. It’s the best way to find out what needs improving and to catch issues in need of quick fixes. They want to make that connection with you because it matters to them that you are enjoying yourself and making great memories.

As far as they’re concerned the money that comes from the park is money that goes into bringing a smile to your face!

…

Ok leisure

The boys do follow a schedule, but for the most part they walk around throughout the day wherever they feel they’re needed. They have the luxury to take a break whenever because they are comfortable and confident in the routine they built and if needed Sun and Moon could take an entire day off because the Tikis get the drill. (Moon would probably still be peeking at Tiki updates because he just can’t help it)

Yes even if they were on a break guests will still approach them wanting to talk, ask questions or take photos but they don’t mind they’re always happy to interact. (If the boys really wanted a break they know how to get it, empty resort rooms, in-between closed dinning hours, low guest traffic times, staff/maintenance areas etc.) but I would say they do most of the approaching to guests, people walk up to them maybe around 15 times a day which isn’t a lot. And guests typically don’t approach if Sun or Moon are currently talking to someone. *wink *wink

(Thank you so much for your questions and letting me ramble haha)

[rainswhenyourehere]

also. if someone wants to help. (also btw hibi lore like. the most important part methinks)

how to "keep it casual" with. lets say hypothetically. if you came to a new school in seventh grade. and met a nice guy during swedish class and kinda connected with him immediately and. then you guys are like. best friends in your opinion and you guys hang out allll the time and you kind of have the biggest crush on him and. lets say. like. you love him so fucking much its borderline unhealthy? and like. then he starts sending you flirtatious gifs and texting you so. because youre in love. you send flirtatious gifs back and you guys basically call each other love and sweetheart and everything and !! you guys hold hands and he lets you listen to his music and gives you a plastic ring to match his and gives you gifts and treats and !! holds your hand btw !!!! and nearly asks you to kiss him during a truth or dare game like. implies it strongly . so then you !! decide to ask him hey. what are we. and he goes idk and you guys hve a littl etalk because yay communication !!!!! and hes like. so. i like you . like. thats out there now okay. i like you but i also like this other guy so um. idk so!! because youre in love and would wait like fifty million lifetimes you say okay ill wait for you its okay but then the romantic interactions disappear and its like . because you guys are in a trio right? theres this other guy too. so he starts maybe confiding in the other guy a littl enad you should not feel envious he can do whatever he wants its his life but . you do but youj also dont say anything so like. a year or smth passes idk and he goes. yknow what. tbh. i dont rly like you anymofre?? like i like this other guyu and i think ill always like him and ur kinda heartbroken and shit but you say its fine i was kinda over you anyways. so . that happnes and you stil l love him so fucking much but . you dont say it because youre happy he moved on and . youre probs not worth it anyways its fine and then a ruond a month later while ur eating at lunch hes like. haha can you go away for a while i want to talk abt stuff with person 3 in our trio and youre like. okay sure !!! and then you come back nd . find out he s in love or has a crush or wever on another guy. so . apparently he wouldnt love hte other guy forever but it doesnt rleally matter at least it shouldnt so you drop it its fine . enter grade eight your friend group grows and . theres these classes where you can pick and not everyone goes to the same on e right ??? so . the rest of your friend group goes to the musci class and you go to the . cooking class . which you enjoy btw!!! like!! a lot!!!! and you attend it with another classmate of ur s and boooom youre friends. wow . hooray like. currently youre probably closest to them which is craaaaazy liek. wow. but !! bcs u attned a diff class you get shut out of alll the fun things they do and you dont really feel like you belong and you also kinda feel dsicarded and not important and invisible because !!!! the guy youre in love with yes still kinda hate that !! treats you like air. so. then you ask him whats wrong right before you go on a month long trip on summer vacation without internet access. and when youj come back you find the messag eunread and !! you stressed abt this the whole summer btw. smth smth i dont even want you back i js want to know if ruining my sparkling summer was the goal /lyr ANYWYS. you . jask abt him awgain. on discord and he says that hes changed as a person and his interests have changed and this is fine btw!!! like. you totally understand yep. and then he says that youve beeen like . kinda really annoying recently and sometimes he feels like killing himself while hanging out with you so. that s nice and also !! not being with you has made his mental state like. get better a bunch so "thats just grand".

so. mmm. also by the way this is like. summer vacation after eight grade yeah?? well. just before the seventh grade summer vacation person 3 in ur trio asked you out. and you kinda dated them. even though you ddint really have feeling because they re nice the y treat you well and you had to get over him but then around like . a year later you cant really take it anymore and its not person 3s fault at all theyve been perfetct alllll around like. the most amazing human being ever but. you just cant . you keep choosing him over them and you can see its hurting them and this isnt working nahyways so . a round a yaer later you tell them hey. not your fault i was seeking approval and shit and im like. the jerk ehre but like. thank ou so much and its a whole essay and they go okay its fine but. now youve broken someones heart so . yay you and youre still not over him so . wowww good job.

back to eight grade summer vacation?? you dont really text anyone else except from cooking class friend and person 3 and you dont want to text in the group chat because hes the most active one and you really dont want to intrude his space and . now 9th grade is statrgint in 8 hours and you just saw a message from him . saying asking you to "keep it casual" so the teachers dont come after you guys or something. so . somoene tell me how to keep it casual?? like. do you just stand next to the other guysf rom the friend group?? are you . suposeced to interact with them ???? can you still eat w the guys?????? oh and . 9 th grad eis the most inmportant year academically so i also have to get good grades from everything and actuallly focus on studies so . theres that.

tut on how to keep it casual pls okay love u guys <3

[martiandmichelle]

I'll get to this photo in a second, but first I want to thank all of you who visited this site during my first try at running a queue - in this case all of my recent GIFs. From the number of Notes I received (likes + messages + reblogs + mail) I think it was a success. Plus I was able to learn a bit more about what you like and when you are most able to view it. I'll do a still photo queue soon and Maria will also do one.

(The most common question I got during the Queue was something like "Where can I buy your videos?" based on all the GIFs. I'll answer that in a separate post.)

Still not quite to the photo yet, but I want to get you up to where we are without a lot of detail - I'll save the detail for other posts. As you know, what was supposed to be a working vacation here in the Appalachian Mountains has become a full time studio we colloquially refer to as "Mountains Media," and a number of us have moved "permanently" to the big house and developing studio. "Mountains Media," or MM for short, is a tightly held private company with a dozen primary stockholders, the largest stockholder being the CEO and President and the man (yes, a man this time) who holds the purse strings. Michelle, Dana and I have non-trivial amounts of shares with the other ladies having smaller pieces. Our old studio which we refer to as Studio M also maintains an interest and thus so does the greater "Studio."

With that out of the way, on to the photo. An enticement to the major stockholders was that they would each get some free time with me and could buy time with me in the future at a substantial discount. It's no secret that MM's biggest income generator will not be photo shoots and movies - though we will still be doing that - but, rather, prostitution. All of us ladies who sign up to be at MM knew what we were getting into when we joined so there are no surprises. Of course the majority owners know if they use a lot of my time they will be taking profits from the company so they are warned not to abuse the "perk."

So anyway, it was time for me to spend a weekend with one of the board members so I arrived at the local mansion he had recently purchased expecting what a prostitute expects (though, I will say, I love the job and put my all into every single rendezvous). He met me at the door and led me up to a very spacious bedroom. I was shocked when I walked in for there, in the middle of the room, stood a young, tall very beautiful blond woman! She was the man's much younger wife and I was there for her, not him!

The backstory here is that, as the second leading stockholder and vice president of MM, he moved to the area to be closer to the business and the construction of the new studio. His wife, who apparently wasn't very happy in the marriage anyway, threatened divorce if he moved for she wasn't leaving the city for the mountains. It was no secret she had affairs on the side which he tolerated and some of those affairs were with other women. And, apparently, she had a thing for older, bustier women as the opposite to her young, slender but relatively flat figure. He thought I would be perfect for her and offered me as a gift and an enticement to move.

So, in the picture, she's beginning to unwrap her present - and you can see the expression on her face! (Sorry, I had to black out her eyes to hide her identify.)

I have a few more photos of this tryst which I'll save for now along with a bit more of the story. . .

[wenevergotusedtoegypt]

Well. I'm back on the job market as of 1 week before what was supposed to be my first day.

This whole experience has just been so freaking weird from start to finish. At first it felt like complete and total hashgacha pratis. I wasn't even seriously looking for anything because it was during the time 5yo didn't have a para yet and I couldn't so much as commit to an interview. And the job title wasn't even something I would normally have clicked on. But I clicked on it solely due the organization it was for and discovered that the job title seemed to have been poorly chosen because the actual work was mostly in my actual area of expertise. And then I applied and they offered me an interview a week from the date of offer. I had absolutely no idea if I could actually commit to that interview because I had no idea when 5yo would have a para, but I did anyway, and his para ended up starting the day before the interview. Besides the job title, the other reason I wouldn't normally have applied for the job was that it wasn't full time, but extremely uncharacteristically, I somehow missed that fact and found out during the interview (mortifying but apparently other applicants were significantly worse all around). And then it was just like, this is so clearly HP, maybe it does make sense to start mornings later (and not need to find a morning sitter, which has proved near-impossible in the past) and have Friday off, technically we can afford this even though the salary cut would be a blow to my ego and it would've been nice to have more money. Fine. I'm doing it.

That was 2.5 months ago. I only had the one interview because it was a very small organization but the whole hiring process was super schlepped out. Over time I started realizing that the two people I'd be working under were regularly not on the same page as each other to an egregious extent. Person A told me that Pesach is the slowest time of year, to the point where I probably wouldn't need to take any formal time off to prep. Person B then told me that actually, most years, that's the busiest time of year. I also was told about 4 different versions of what the position entailed, ranging from it being primarily my area of expertise, to a 50/50 split between my expertise and admin, to 100% admin for the first few months and then transitioning to my expertise, to admin-dominant for at least the next few years.

I really probably should have pulled out sooner - they also didn't offer health insurance and were paying me less than I was worth even considering the reduction of hours - but again, so much of it felt like such obvious hashgacha pratis, I was frustrated but didn't really seriously reconsider accepting despite the downsides and the fact that clearly these people were a bit of a mess.

But the turning point was when I received the contract and realized I'd forgotten to discuss PTO. They were only offering me half the vacation days I had at my old job, a number lower than I'd almost ever seen in other job ads recently, and had a stipulation that no vacation could be used until after 6 months, which I have never seen in my field in 2024. I politely wrote back requesting more vacation days and explaining why I was making this request (to partially balance out the blow that was the reduction in pay from what I'd expected to make and lack of health insurance, which was 80% covered at my old job). I also asked to have the 6-month requirement waived.

Person A wrote back almost immediately saying yes, of course, no problem! We'll send a new contract. But then 3 days later I got what came across as a fairly stern email explaining that actually they could not give me additional PTO, though we could revisit that in a year, and that in fact, they were being extremely generous considering the total number of days off I had per year, which they enumerated.....and apparently, the Fridays that I was not going to be paid to work, which were already accounted for and then some by the lower salary, and which could not be used at will or in a row by definition, were supposed to balance out the lower PTO?? It was really ridiculous logic, but I was still kind of in this zen "this is all so clearly hashgacha pratis" zone, so I wrote back that I could accept the lower number of vacation days for now. They had also said we could have a Zoom meeting to make sure we were all on the same page, which seemed unnecessary to me at that point and I said so, but told them if there was something they felt still needed to be discussed I had availability at X times.

I expected this meeting to be just them reiterating that they can't give me more vacation days but we can revisit it in a year, and me being like yes ok.

That was not what it was.

It was a confrontation, in which they both backed me into the proverbial corner and declared that they were "taken aback" by the "tone" of the email in which I had tried to negotiate more vacation time.

Now. In the past, I have gotten professional feedback that I need to be more flowery with my emails because people who don't know me as well can take my matter-of-fact style as blunt/rude, even when there's nothing objectively rude about what I wrote and people who do know me wouldn't read it that way at all. But. BUT. I wrote and rewrote and edited and reedited the crap out of that email to make it nice. It was literally. just. a normal benefits negotiation email that a normal new hire should be considered perfectly justified in sending. And I graciously accepted their denial. But there I was, being forced to defend a very normal request? Asked in a very normal way?

And it was like they were taking personal offense to the fact that we had gotten to this stage and I wasn't satisfied enough with what was on the table. Person B especially. She zoomed in on specific phrases and demanded that I explain them, like why I'd said I could move forward "for now" with the number of vacation days. Because. You guys. Literally told me we will revisit the issue in a year??? And I was just acknowledging that reality??? Person B asked if I would be satisfied if nothing changed in a year, declaring that there was no way that I would get more vacation days at that point, because Person A is [fancy title] and has been there for 3 years and also only has that many days. Which. One, I notice that she didn't mention that she herself, also with a fancy title, and who has been there significantly longer, only has that many days. HUH. Two, why the f would you (you being Person A though) offer to revisit it in a year if there is no way it's going to change, and get mad at me for the crime of taking you seriously? And three, that sounds like a Person A problem? Because she is the [fancy title] and she could've negotiated more for herself upon hire and she didn't. That doesn't mean I'm not allowed to try.

Anyway, the whole experience was deeply unpleasant, and so out of left field that all I could think to do in the moment was to try to make nice, avoid burning any bridges, and process what the heck just happened afterwards. At the end of the meeting, Person B said, "Ok, the two of us are going to talk and we'll get back to you." I was floored, because what was there even to get back to me about? They wanted me to explain and defend my attempt to negotiate in all its minutiae, I had done so, and it's not like the benefits themselves were up for discussion. I told her I was confused, what were they going to get back to me about, were they reconsidering the offer of employment? Person A jumped in all, "Oh no, of course not, I think we're all good! Everything is good!" but Person B did not elaborate or concur.

I like 75% expected they were going to revoke the offer, and kind of almost hoped that they would so that I wouldn't have to make my own decision about what to make of that absolute narishkeit. But not long afterwards I received an updated offer letter waiving the 6 month requirement and that was it.

At that point I decided that I would give them 2-3 months to see if they could exceed the now very, very low bar of my expectations, and if not, begin job searching in earnest again. But I was absolutely dreading my start date.

And then came yesterday, 1 week before my first day. Now, as background, I had been told that I would normally be expected to work in person twice a week, and only very occasionally 3 days when needed. I had asked them which 2 days I should expect to come in so that I could arrange a babysitter accordingly, and they had told me that I could choose according to my needs, and just let them know. I told them Tuesday and Wednesday. They said ok. They asked whether Monday or Thursday would be preferable for the occasional 3rd day, and I said Thursday. I hired a babysitter whose hours were calculated according to the assumption that I would be commuting on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

So I get this email yesterday morning. Informing me not to come into the office Tuesday and Wednesday next week, but rather only Thursday, with no acknowledgement whatsoever that this was counter to the arrangements we had discussed and no explanation as to why it couldn't be one of my regular days. I know why, though - it's because these 2 people work with each other to arrange which days they want to be in the office each week, and I realized then that I was never going to be part of that discussion, just expected to follow their whims, despite what we had discussed before. They were not seeing me as equally worthy of consideration.

Oh, and the other part. They also informed me that in my 2nd week of work, there was an event on Wednesday starting at 5pm that they expected me to work. This event would be at a location significantly further from where I live than the office is and they apparently didn't consider it relevant to tell me until what time I would be expected to stay just yet (so, like, thanks for the heads up but how am I supposed to make arrangements, exactly?). My husband does not get home til 8:30-9 on Wednesday nights and has no flexibility to leave early, and they theoretically knew this from previous discussions. They also knew that I have little kids. But for some reason, even though I'd had the basic job offer for about 2 months prior to the event, and even though this event had definitely been planned well in advance, they didn't feel a need to let me know that they'd require me to work a weekday evening event specifically on a day of the week that it would be incredibly difficult for me to work in the evening.

Now, in a normal freaking workplace, I would simply bring up these scheduling concerns. What a thought! But these people could not handle standard benefits negotiations because any hint that I wasn't fully satisfied with current arrangements was personally offensive. So. You know.

The entire advantage of accepting a less-than-full-time job was supposed to be that I would have to worry about childcare less. But it was at this point patently obvious that these people would think absolutely nothing of making my schedule completely unpredictable on a regular basis and also would not be remotely open to pushback about it. I couldn't just put my head down and give it 2-3 months and then look for something else because I would constantly be stressing out trying to sort childcare. Which should have been the one single solitary non-problem in this position!

So I let them know that it doesn't seem like this is going to be a good fit and I regretfully have to withdraw my acceptance - I am receiving too much conflicting information about, well, literally everything, and it seems like they need someone who is able to offer a level of flexibility in their schedule that I simply do not have at this stage in my life.

I'm sure they are royally pissed and telling themselves the fairytale that they tried so hard to accommodate me and make me happy and I totally misled them about being satisfied with their offer and then screwed them over at the last minute. That's not what happened - despite everything, I was gung-ho until that unbelievably disturbing meeting - but that's the narrative they'll be bouncing off each other to avoid admitting that they totally botched a good hire.

It's been 27 hours since my "resignation" email and they haven't bothered to reply. Really regretting missing out on a workplace that is such a paragon of professionalism! 🙄🙄🙄

[thollandneedy]

Diamonds are forever- Nathan Drake

A/n: Literally the cutest. I'll try to write more cause my college vacations are on, baby!

Warnings: None actually

Summary: Nathan meets a rich model, and try to get her giving her presents. But, sometimes, we just need love.

Don’t forget to share, like, comment and leave your ideas here

Bellah’s Masterlist 🪻

Y/n L/n could be considered a patrician, and had many eyes in the media because of her beauty and how her luxuries were supported by her modeling career. Like many men wanting to have her, Nathan was no different.

The two had met at a betting party for famous paintings in Barcelona, where they had exchanged only a few words. Nathan could be considered a private guy on his social networks, not letting the girl know much about him, but what she did know was that he was rich. If he wasn't, what would he be doing at an auction?

What intrigued her most was that his manner was different from the other men she went out with. They squandered their wealth, arriving at her doorstep with the loud sound of sports car exhausts or even taking her to the most expensive restaurants where a plate with just one piece of meat could be the minimum wage for an entrepreneur. The truth was that Y/n, as much as she was a woman who liked to be pampered, had also come to appreciate simple outings, and apparently Nathan was the kind of guy who felt the same way.

During the week in which she was taking photos for her first magazine cover, Y/n received a notification on her cell phone that vibrated on her thigh. The woman opens her eyes, removes the moisturizing mask that was on her face, and sees the screen glow with: “Nathan_Drake1999 followed you”.

Y/n smiles sideways

It takes so long to find your Instagram

The girl slides the tab of her cell phone up, going straight to his social network and following him back. Not even 30 seconds later, a message appears on the top flap of her pink phone.

'Sorry for the delay. I wanted to play hard to get.

Y/n laughs to himself, replying:

'I thought that was my role.

'In reality, your role is just to be pretty and agree to go out with me tonight. What do you think?

'I think you find me too easy if you think I'm going to agree to go out with you straight away. Try to win me over a little more, Nathan boy.

Nathan takes a deep breath for himself, looking at Y/n's last message once again, realizing that she had been deactivated from Instagram after sending the message. The brunette ran one of his hands through his tangled hair, as it was early in the morning and he had only just woken up. The sun was already shining in the open sky, but the curtains in Nate's apartment didn't allow the sun to greet him yet. Doing a quick search, he tried to find Y/n's address on Google, as many celebrities had their addresses displayed on gossip sites, but it wasn't Nate's luck. If he wanted to surprise her, he'd have to put his ego aside and ask for her address, but there was a bigger problem.

What do you give someone who already has everything?

'What's your address now?

The message vibrated once again in Y/n's hand, who had been expecting a message from him.

'234 Vellyview Street, New City Building.

The telephone in Y/n's apartment rang loudly, while her ordinary feet took her to the kitchen, where she answered the door internally, hoping that Nate would come to see her in the morning. The model couldn't help but admit to herself that her doorman wasn't tired of receiving men proposing to go out in the morning, afternoon and evening, considering everything that was sent to the apartment by the brands that partnered with her.

'Miss, Y/n. There's a dark-haired man with a huge bouquet of flowers here, and he says they're for you. May I let him in?

'Is he handsome?' Y/n spins the white phone line on her finger, looking down at her bare feet.

'Um, yes?' The doorman looks once more at the dark-haired man in a black shirt, dark jeans and a black leather jacket.

'Go ahead' Y/n hangs up, glancing around his kitchen one last time before checking himself out in the mirror.

His dishes were washed, the windows clean and open, showing the immensity of the colorful city. There were several small cacti on his worktop, adding a splash of color to the white room with planned wooden cabinets, a large grey fridge and an island in the middle of the kitchen that also served as a dining table. Y/n's father had taught her that it's much better to live in a simple place and travel more, than to have a big place that will give you a headache later on. Even so, she wouldn't give up living in a place where each floor had only two doors because of the size of the blocks.

The woman pushed her hair to one side, moving towards the door like a puppy waiting for its master. She didn't want to show that she minded Nate's visit, but she did. As soon as the doorbell rang, the woman looked in a small mirror at the side of the corridor leading to the front door of her apartment, checking that her natural make-up really did look natural. Opening the door, her attention was drawn by what seemed to be countless red roses, and soon a voice behind them called out to her.

“Can I put them on the floor?” Nate asked with effort in his voice.

He was finally hearing it again

“I thought you were stronger than that.” Y/n retorted, leaning her body against the door frame and crossing her arms, resting on her freshly manicured nails.

It was nine o'clock in the morning and he still looked impeccable. His innocent eyes managed to take in his hot body, leaving even a hint of curiosity as to how big his muscles were under his shirt.

“How do you manage to look flawless on a Tuesday morning?” Nate looked her up and down, respectfully returning to meet her challenging but sweet gaze

“I have my model beauty tricks.” Y/n comments, looking at the roses once again. “So, what was your plan?” She faces him, turning her head to the side as she asks, allowing him to come up with a less intrusive alternative to the other men who thought they could buy her for simple things.

“Breakfast if you were in the mood.” Nate replied, as if waiting for an answer that wouldn't come any time soon, until he gave her a better option. “Or I could leave. I know you have afternoon work to do. By the way, congratulations on the magazine cover. I don't know much about fashion, but if you're on it, you're certainly right.”

Y/n couldn't give up, even though her first thoughts were of a casual fuck in the morning to calm her nerves.

“I've already had breakfast.” She lies.

“Well, I'll be going then.” Nate agrees, giving a toothless smile.

“But thanks for the roses. They're really beautiful. Could you put them inside my house?” Y/n asks, immediately receiving a silent 'yes' from Nate.

The man carries the flowers once again, flexing his arms and legs to carry them into the girl's living room, who closes the door behind her, following him into the room. As soon as he puts the flowers down once more, his eyes are drawn to the various valuable items he has in his living room, including one of the paintings he was reading that was auctioned off the day they met. Turning his torso to look at the details of the items, Y/n sat down on his white sofa, watching Nathan mentally comment on everything that was there.

Paintings, famous montages, a chandelier with small diamond stones, a flat-screen TV, a large lamp next to a glass table with a green flower positioned to give the house a more natural look. Everything was minimalist, but could easily be worth more than several thousand dollars.

“Do you like it?” Y/n adjusted her pink bell-sleeved sweater.

“You have good taste.” Nate comments, still overwhelmed by the apartment and the view from above.

“Thank you. I'm trying to add more color here. I feel like there's too much white, but now there's going to be a lot of red too. Luckily it's my favorite color,” Y/n comments, looking at the large bouquet of roses on the floor. ‘Do you want to see everything?’ Y/n asks the man, who finally turns his attention to the woman curled up on the sofa.

“Of course. It would be a pleasure.” Nate removes his coat, placing his jacket on the sofa.

Y/n gets up from the sofa, pulls up his gray sweatpants and walks past the explorer, showing him each room as if he were in a museum. Throughout her passage, she could see various pieces of art and technology in the house, including a small television in the bathroom for when she was too bored in the bathtub overlooking the hills. Even his closet had a collection of shoes, bags, jewelry and sunglasses. In fact, everything he had thought of giving as a gift to impress Y/n was a total failure, so if he wanted a trophy wife, he would have to give her something she deserved.

(…)

A week after Y/n's big cover debut, the city's events gallery was packed with photographers, models and potential brands that would like to partner with those present. Nate had been unusually invited to be part of the private party, which was also a decoy event so that he and Y/n could see each other again during the time they were talking.

The venue was sophisticated, with a clear sky and plenty of stars to enhance the evening. Fortunately, that day a rooftop had been welcomed so that there were dj's playing on the mixing bench near the main entrance to the elevator, while some waiters passed back and forth trying to serve the influencers. Nathan looked with curious eyes at the image of Y/n, which seemed to be far away due to the number of people passing in front of it. Around her, there was apparently a queue of tall men in suits, who presented her with a gift, seeking her attention.

“Congratulations on your breakthrough, Y/n. I hope you like it.” One of the men commented to the woman in the white midi dress.

“Oh! You shouldn't have, Drew.” The woman stares at the man's hands, which are holding a Swarovski pen.

“Now you can sign lots of autographs so that when they see you in magazines, they'll say: Is that you?” The man laughed forcefully, as if he wanted them to look at the gift he had given.

It was a competition for Y/n's attention, and that much was clear. As a beautiful woman, Nate couldn't lie and say he wasn't impressed by the number of men queuing up for her to accept their gifts. The brunette straightened his navy blue dress shirt, walking among the people until the eyes of the woman in white met his. Y/n smiled, causing those who didn't understand who she was smiling at to wonder.

“You came.” Y/n smoothed back the lock of hair on either side of her bangs.

“Well, you called me.” Nate says hello with a smile. “The party's great. I didn't know you'd done an interview for them too.”

“I didn't mean to brag.” Y/n gestures modestly, smiling without showing his teeth. “What have you got there?” Y/n points with her eyes.

“Well, since the flowers didn't seem to be enough, I decided to put in a bit more effort.” Nathan hands Y/n the heavy bag, attracting the curious glances of the men and women who were already with it before the adventurer arrived.

Y/n carefully opens the orange Louis Vitton bag, causing her pupils to dilate at the sight of a beautiful diamond and white gold dantelle necklace. The woman puts one of her hands to her mouth, then looks at Nate and once again at the necklace.

“I didn't know what to get you, since you have a bit of everything, and diamonds are forever, right?” Nate comments.

“Nathan… that's…” Y/n tries to find words, closing the necklace's box and putting it back in the box before giving the brunette a warm hug, who drops his hands to the woman's waist and holds her tight. “Let's go outside. I want to talk to you.” The woman said into Nate's ear, who silently agreed, being guided by the model's soft hands.

They were both outside the penthouse, near some plants and a sofa without armrests. Y/n sat down, adjusting her dress and saying:

“I love it, but I can't accept it.” Y/n says, causing confusion in the young man's eyes.

“Why not? Isn't that enough?” Nate frowns.

“It's too much, and that's why I can't accept it.” Y/ explains. “You know, if you had been more romantic than just sending me a message on Instagram and then sending me roses without even saying good morning first, I would have agreed to go out with you. Not everything in my life is about money, and that's certainly something I want you to understand. I don't need 200 roses or a necklace worth over 800 thousand dollars. I need a partner who can take care of me in the little things.” Y/n says, placing one of his hands on Nate's leg, staring into his chocolate eyes.

A moment of silence hangs in the air, no matter how loud the electronic music behind them. Nate tilts his head down, agreeing and feeling bad for allowing his conquering side to override the affection and attention that Y/n needed.

“I'm sorry.” Nate exhales. “I was an asshole and a million dollar necklace wouldn't be enough if I didn't treat you like enough too.” Nate comments.

“The necklace is worth a million?” Y/n is amazed. “What do you do for a living?” Y/n asks, still not believing the price of the necklace.

“We can talk about it on a date.” Nate comments, drawing a silly smile from Y/n. “Can you eat Mc Donald's?” The brunette asks, remembering that models usually have a strict diet.

“I can, and I haven't eaten in years, actually.” The woman stands up, holding out one of her hands to the brunette. “Let's go before they find out we've gone. I can't stand eating canapés and drinking champagne any longer.”

“You're really not what I thought.” Nate comments, holding Y/n's hand.

“That's good, because the media is fake.” The model smiles, receiving a kiss on the top of her hand and heading out of the event.

As much as diamonds last forever, love would always be the best gift you could receive from someone. Because the body corrodes, but love is forever.

[pardi-real]

Tarot of Destiny / Chapter 1 - With My Lord

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※ A notice before reading the event story This story contains spoilers to the first anniversary event story "Butler's Prayers".  Dear lords who want to avoid spoilers, please go back by clicking the button on the upper left.

………

[Devil's Palace, Church]

One day in December, just before the end of the year… All the butlers and I went to an old church near the mansion. 

We were holding a mourning ceremony for the butlers who had passed away in the past.

Clonk… clonk… *bells ringing*

Berrien: "Well… this is the end of this year's ceremony. Thank you, my lord, for praying with us. Every year, we perform this ritual to pray for the fallen devil butlers...

Fortunately, in the past two years since the lord's arrival… We have been able to celebrate this month of the ceremony without any new casualties.

This is all thanks to you, my lord. I would like to thank you again on behalf of all the other butlers."

> "It was all thanks to everyone's hard work"

Berrien: "Fufu… Thank you very much. It is true that since the lord came to the mansion, I think that the bond between all the butlers has strengthened. This is all… also thanks to you, my lord."

> "I'm glad I could be of help"

Berrien: "The lord has been a great help ♪ This year, too, with urgent requests and dangerous expeditions... There have been many occasions where you've joined us…  We hope that at least during the New Year's holidays, you will be able to rest and relax at the mansion."

> "I hope so"

However, the butlers' wishes were not granted... on the day after the ceremony, a new request came in from the Grovaner family.

[Devil's Palace, Dining Room]

Hanamaru: "Good grief. As usual, the nobles are such oppressors."

Ammon: "Just the other day they made us go to Velis, joining in a circus. As soon as the Christmas vacation is over, they are asking us to do another job already."

Miyaji: "Well, it's not just this year… it's always busy this time of year."

Yuhan: "So, what is the nature of this request?"

Berrien: "Yes. According to the contents of the letter we just received... It seems that the request this time is... 'to escort Lady Elvira'."

Muu: "Lady Elvira? Isn't she… the witch who lives in the northern land?"

> "I think I've met her a few times"

Lucas: "Indeed. Seems like Lady Elvira herself is coming to the central land. Apparently… she is going to participate in the '22 Years Festival' in the city of Maginaria."

Muu: "Twenty-two year festival...? What is that?"

Fennesz: "It's a fortune-telling festival held every 22 years. The city of Maginaria has been known for its fortune-telling since a long time ago...  The number 22 is based on the number of cards used in tarot readings. Every 22 years, the power… of fortune-telling seems to increase."

Hanamaru: "Oh~ I see. As expected of Fennesz, the living dictionary of the Devil's Palace."

Fennesz: "Ahaha... Well, I've never been to Maginaria myself, though."

Nac: "Lady Elvira has been invited to be the main guest of the occasion. She herself is a famous fortune teller. In a sense, she is the 'main event' of the festival."

Lato: "By the way… If I recall, she did fortune-telling when we met her before at the northern border."

Berrien: "Yes… she did."

At that time, she told us that 'many people would die'... After that, the fortune-telling came true... Neither I nor the butlers dared to mention it ever again.

Boschi: "So, during that festival… we should just escort Elvira and that's all, right? I understand that she is an important guest from the northern land and needs an escort, but... does that job have to be us?"

Haures: ".......Don't say that. The fact that they're asking us to do just that, shows how much they trust us."

Berrien: "Exactly. We devil butlers also have a close relationship with the witch tribe… If they need escorts, we should cooperate with them as much as possible.  However… For this request, we only need a few guards… The lord and a few butlers will escort her... Is that good as a response?"

Miyaji: "Only a few butlers, huh..."

Lamli: "Yes, yes! I want to go with the lord! I don't want to be away from my lord during the New Year's holidays…!"

Nac: "Lamli.  If you put it that way, then so do I. Of course, I would like to accompany my lord as well."

Flure: "I-in that case, me too…"

Teddy: "I want to serve at my lord's side, too!"

The butlers raised their hands one after another… In the end, all of them wished to be assigned to guard duty.

Berrien: "Well, well... This is a problem, isn't it?  I can't believe that everyone wants to participate in a mission that should only require a few people…"

Lucas: "We could always draw lots to determine the members, but… since it's New Year's Eve soon... I think all the butlers should accompany the lord on this request ♪"

Muu: "What! Is that okay?"

Lucas: "Yup. I'm sure the Grovaner family is weak to sudden requests like this... Well, leave it to me. I'll talk them into it ♪"

Teddy: "Hooray! Thank you, Mr. Lucas!"

Lucas: "How about you my lord... Would you like it like that?"

> "I would be happier that way too"

Lucas: "Fufu… if you say so, as a negotiator, I can't wait to put my skills to good use."

Berrien: "So, we are accepting this request. As of the 30th of this month, we shall be leaving for Maginaria, the city of fortune-telling."

note: I didn't add that notice, it was in-game so I just put it there.

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