#right now I have 1 chapter ready to post and send the next to the beta yesterday

[dancingbirdie]

This request is really out of the blue but, i need I CRAVE i require a fic where tav and astarion finally find a cure for his vampirism (in dnd5 it can actually happen yay!) and he manages to see his reflection again and finally have his natural eye color again (blue bc he's prob a moon elf but I don't mind other colors too). The fangs can stay or not, idc, i just want my boy happy, in love, and cared for. Bonus points if there's cuddles too

OK first of all, thanks for this prompt!! Second, I had to break this up into two parts because I'm afraid of how unwieldy it would get otherwise. So see part 1 below. I'm actively writing part 2 and should have that posted within the next few days. Hope you enjoy!

UPDATE: Chapter 2 available here!

I Promised You (Chapter 1)

Rating: G

Pairing: Astarion x GN!reader

Word Count: 3.1K

Warnings/Tags: mentions of unconsciousness, cheeky banter, domestic life, post-events of BG3, potentially problematic levels of self-sacrifice by reader.

***

“All right. I think you’re ready,” Gale affirmed as he peered over your shoulder, analyzing your hand movements as you practiced the incantation. 

“You think? Shouldn’t we wait until you’re sure?” you replied, heavy skepticism coloring your tone. 

“I can’t give you my complete assurance because you haven’t actually cast the spell,” the wizard sighed. 

The two of you had had this argument many times over the past several months as you studied and practiced. And studied and practiced some more. The conclusion was always the same, but your anxiety always managed to convince you that a different outcome would be had if you just asked him again. 

Conjuration magic was one of the most difficult forms to master. Yes, you had specialized in it during your formative years, under the tutelage of several learned wizards across Faerûn, but this spell was perhaps the pinnacle of feats in conjuration. Only a handful of wizards could perform it. Thankfully Gale was among that number, which is why you had come to him for help.

“As I’ve said, this isn’t a spell you can just cast for practice runs,” he continued. “You have one chance. And if it works, the sheer power of it is undoubtedly going to knock you unconscious.” 

“I know, I know,” you grumbled. “I just… I need to be absolutely perfect. I have to do this. For him.” 

“Have you told him what you’re planning yet?” Gale prodded.

“No. Not yet. I didn’t want to get his hopes up. Or have him tell me how unlikely success will be. Not until I was absolutely sure I could do this.” 

“I see,” the wizard returned, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “Well, tonight is as good a time to tell him as any. There’s nothing more I can teach you to prepare for this. You know the incantation by heart. You perform the gestures almost through muscle memory now. You’re ready.”

“I’m ready,” you repeated, as if saying the words would will it to be so. 

“Send me a missive if he wants to go through with this. I’ll come to the cottage and oversee the spell’s casting.”

“All right,” you nodded.

“It’s going to work. You have to believe it’s going to work,” Gale encouraged, meeting your eyes with a serious, stern sort of expression.

“It’s going to work,” you agreed. “It’s going to work.” 

***

It was dusk by the time you returned to the cottage. It was a modest home you shared with Astarion, situated just outside the city walls. It had a lovely view of the rolling hills that surrounded Baldur’s Gate, and proximity to the Chionthar River gave the air a refreshing, misty feel. Pastoral communities dotted the countryside with sheep and cattle grazing freely during the day, though they had returned to their stables long before your return.

Astarion was no fan of the bucolic lifestyle, as he was wont to remind you. But you both agreed that this living situation afforded him better meal prospects than the rats, cats and errant stray dogs that dwelled within the city limits. At least this way, he had more fulfilling options for food, since the livestock attracted their fair share of large predators. A mild, perpetual confusion charm that you cast kept the neighbors from questioning why – unlike their peers in neighboring villages and towns – their animals were never plagued by roving bears and panthers. 

Astarion was lounging listlessly in the bay window of the den when you entered your home, one leg dangling off the ledge of his reading nook while he carelessly flipped through a book. Probably one he had pilfered from Gale’s stockpile a few weeks ago, you surmised. There had been an uptick in the wizard’s grumbling about discrepancies in his library catalog of late. 

“Anything interesting?” you asked as you shrugged out of your traveler’s cloak and hung it on the coat rack by the door. 

“Ugh, hardly,” Astarion grouched. “Nothing but debunked theories and philosophies from bloated scholars who died a hundred years ago.”

“You’re going to have to return Gale’s books to him eventually, you know. He’s beginning to realize how many from his library are missing.”

“Haven’t the slightest clue what you’re referring to, darling,” he replied breezily.

“Of course, love,” you chuckled, planting a kiss on his forehead as you passed him by to make your way into the kitchen. 

“Care for a glass of wine?” you called.

“Mm, yes,” Astarion returned. “Red, please, dear.”

Uncorking the bottle and pouring the glasses gave you a brief moment to collect your thoughts. To steel your nerves for the conversation looming before you. Drawing a deep breath in and exhaling it slowly, you made your way back into the den and braced for the inevitable. 

“Darling, do you have a moment?” you asked as you offered Astarion his glass before taking a seat next to him. “I’d like to talk to you about something.”

“Gods, it must be serious,” he teased, straightening from his reclined pose to take the proffered glass and make room for you. “You like you’re about to be ill. Go on then, love, before you faint and spill this vintage all over the floor.”

“It is rather serious, in fact,” you began, clearing your throat that had suddenly become tight with nerves.  “I’ve waited to tell you until now, but I’ve been researching some more difficult conjuration magic with Gale the past few months…”

“Oh?” Astarion prompted as you paused. “For what purpose, darling? I thought you had already mastered the school of conjuration.”

“I have. But this is a more specialized form. More… niche, I guess one might say. And, well…” you trailed off again, hesitant.

“Go on,” he encouraged. 

“I’ve-been-researching-a-spell-that-cures-vampirism-and-I-think-I’ve-found-a-way,” you spat out all at once, the words tumbling into each other like a wagon train gone wild. 

Astarion met your eyes with a blank stare, seemingly forgetting that his one hand had been in the process of lifting the wine glass to his lips. 

“I beg your pardon?” he asked hoarsely.

You coughed to clear your throat. “What I mean to say is: I’ve been working with Gale for months now to learn a spell that can cure your vampirism. He and I believe I’m ready to perform it. If you would allow me to try, that is.”

“If this is your idea of a joke,” he murmured, a slight quiver in his voice. “Then I have to tell you, it’s absolutely not funny at all.”

“It’s not a joke!” you assured. “I swear to you, Astarion. It’s not a joke,” you continued, squeezing one of his hands in yours. 

He nodded absently, his gaze trained on your thumb as it soothed over the knuckles of his fingers.

“H-how?” he whispered finally. “How can you cure it? I’ve read every tome I could get my hands on for over two hundred years. Nothing, nothing, I’ve read has ever offered a solution.”

“Because this is a highly guarded spell. It’s only passed down through oral tradition among wizards who specialize in conjuration magic. Which is why I’ve needed Gale’s help,” you explained. “I broached the topic with him some time ago, told him how we were going to look for some way to cure your vampirism. Being a master of magicks himself, I thought he would be a good source of information for me to begin my research. I wasn’t even aware of the spell until he shared it with me. He’s been teaching me the mechanics of it since then. It’s been a difficult spell to master but–” 

“What’s the cost?” Astarion interjected suddenly, meeting your gaze with a new intensity.

“It will cost you nothing, obviously,” you retorted, disliking where the conversation was heading. 

Astarion huffed through his nose. A caustic, frustrated sort of sound. “Don’t play cute with me, darling. You know what I mean.”

“No. I don’t,” you hedged.

“What will the spell cost you,” he bit out through a clenched jaw. 

You bit your lip, hesitant to reply. Astarion’s gaze never wavered. 

Finally you sighed. Better to reveal the consequences of it all than attempt to hide the downsides from him. Even though they were negligible in your eyes, compared to the wonder that would be returning his elfhood to him, you knew he would resent being told only partial truths. You couldn’t fault him for it. You would feel the same, were the roles reversed. 

“It will permanently weaken me. There’s a small, very small, chance it could kill me if I perform it wrong,” you confessed.

“No,” Astarion responded bluntly, without a hint of hesitation. He rose from the bench and made to leave the room. As if the matter had been settled and it was time to crack on. 

“Wait! What do you mean, ‘no’?” you blurted. Jumping to your feet, you snatched at the sleeve of his nightshirt. 

He turned to peer at you with a haughty gaze, one eyebrow arched delicately. “Exactly that. No. You’re not risking your life on the off chance of this working.”

“But it’s not an off chance. It will work! And the likelihood of me dying is incredibly slim!” you protested.

“But the likelihood of you being ‘permanently weakened’ is essentially certain, yes?” 

You rolled your eyes. “I’m sure it’s not as bad as it sounds. And besides, I don’t mind. I want to do this, Astarion.”

He scoffed. “Have you gone absolutely mad? ‘It’s not as bad as it sounds.’ Do you even know what will actually happen to you afterwards?” he shot back angrily.

“No,” you admitted, a bit quieter. 

He deliberately widened his eyes at your response, crossing his arms across his chest as if to say See? My point proven. 

“But I know I can handle it! And I love you enough to try!” you retorted.

That appeared to be the wrong choice of words. You realized it immediately as his expression morphed from outright anger to something darker, icier.

“Well then, it seems we’re at an impasse, darling,” he growled. “Because I love you enough not to have you go through with this.” 

You opened your mouth to object once more, but he continued, ignoring you. 

“AND, since it is my body and my life we’re discussing, it means I have the final say on the matter. My answer is no.”

You had anticipated this conversation going many different ways. You thought you had prepared for the most likely scenarios. But, in all your pondering, you hadn’t seriously considered the possibility that Astarion would reject this opportunity outright. 

Your eyes welled with tears. Hot, angry, disconsolate tears. 

“Astarion,” you murmured, desperate. Angry though you both were, you couldn’t resist the urge to curl into his embrace. Gently, you pulled at his arms in an attempt to un-cross them. With a soft sigh, he allowed you to manipulate him so that you were pressed chest to chest. Your arms banded around his waist, locking him against you. Slowly, he raised his arms to mimic your stance, peering down at you.  

“Astarion, my darling, this is your chance. It’s the only chance we’ve found in over two years of searching. I know I can do it. And you can win it all back. I can help you. Let me do this,” you pleaded. 

“Darling, how could I ever ‘win it all back’ when there’s a possibility I could lose you forever? Or that you could be seriously harmed in the process?” he lifted a hand to cup your cheek, smiling sadly. “I would never forgive myself if you were harmed in an attempt to cure me.”

You closed your eyes, tears slipping freely down your cheeks. “Please. I know I can do this. Please let me do this. I want to do this for you.”

“Come, pup, no more tears. I’ve given you my answer,” he murmured, swiping a thumb across your cheekbones to catch each tear.

You opened your eyes to glare at him. “If the roles were reversed, would you want to try this for me?”

“Of course,” Astarion huffed. “But that’s obviously different, I –”

“WHY? Why is it different?” you cried, clutching him. 

“Because you’re worth it!” he implored, arms vibrating as though he were resisting the urge to shake sense into you. “Your soul is worth a thousand of mine! It’s not marred by death and torture and sacrilege. Can’t you see that? Don’t you see?”

“No, I don’t,” you argued obstinately. “Because you are worth it to me. Your soul is priceless to me. I love you. You’re the love of my life.”

Astarion said nothing, just stared at you with sad eyes. You couldn’t tell if his silence meant you were persuading him, but you couldn’t relent without giving at least one more desperate plea. 

“I promised you. Remember? After everything that happened, I promised you we would find a way for you to walk in the sun once more. I didn’t make that promise lightly. I want to do this for you.”

“Darling…” he murmured sadly, shaking his head. 

“Astarion, please,” you beseeched, shifting to clutch his face between both of your palms. “I’m literally begging you to let me try. Gale and I have been practicing for almost a year now. He wouldn’t tell me I was ready unless he was certain. I know I can do this. Please. Let me try.”

“Don’t you have any regard for your own life?” he whispered. “How is it that I’m more concerned for your well being than you are?” 

“Darling, all of us have the slightest potential of dying every single day we continue to breathe. Anything poses some risk to our lives. I’m telling you, the risk of me dying from this is the same as the risk I take casting any other magic.”

“But there’s still a permanent cost to doing this. Have you even asked Gale to elaborate on what that entails?” 

“No,” you admitted a bit sheepishly. “I didn’t really think about it.” 

Astarion rolled his eyes but planted a kiss against your forehead. “You’re ridiculous, you know.”

“I’m sorry that I was so ecstatic about finding a cure that I leapt straight into studying it!” you said defensively, although your tone lacked teeth. 

He chuckled and wrapped you in a tighter embrace, resting his cheek on the top of your head. The two of you stood like that for some time, arms wrapped around each other, lost in thought. 

After a while, Astarion cleared his throat. “I want us to speak to Gale. I want to know the full details, the consequences of a spell like this.”

You jerked your head up in surprise, staring at him with wide, elated eyes. 

“I’m not saying yes,” he clarified, attempting to tamp down your burgeoning excitement. “But I’m willing to hear more about this… possibility.”

A delighted squeal rocketed up your throat. Quick as a flash, you jumped to wrap your legs around his waist. Long used to your ebullient antics, Astarion caught you with a practiced ease. His arms banded under your thighs and across your lower back, squeezing gently. 

“I love you, you daft, feral thing,” he chuckled, nuzzling your cheek. 

***

“I would have gone over this months ago, had you afforded me the opportunity,” Gale had groused upon arriving at the cottage the following evening. The three of you shared a bottle of barrel-aged Callidyren while Astarion peppered the wizard with umpteen questions about the spell’s mechanics. To his credit, Gale managed to assuage Astarion’s concerns. At least for the most part. 

The permanent effects of casting the spell, you both learned, would diminish your inner well of magic, rendering you unable to cast as many spells as you currently could before resting for a longer period of time. Almost as though the cost of performing the spell would revert you back to the strength you had had as an apprentice so many years ago. You would still be powerful, capable of wielding even the most intricate of spells. But your endurance would be shorter, more concentrated. It was a price you were more than willing to pay. Even more so now that you had actually allowed Gale to describe the effects in detail. 

“I still can’t believe you didn’t press for more details,” Astarion grumbled. 

“It didn’t seem important at the time,” you sniffed, waving a hand dismissively. “Still doesn’t, in my opinion.”

“You know, in some schools of thought,” Astarion countered dryly, “people believe the difference between bravery and complete idiocy is so fine a line that it frequently gets crossed.”

“So I’ve heard,” you crooned. “But, alas, I’m nothing if not an incredibly adept fool in love.” 

Gale observed the two of you warily, as if uncertain whether this exchange constituted harmless domestic banter or an undercurrent of severe agitation. 

“Yes, well,” he interrupted awkwardly, “as I said before, you’re as ready as you will ever be to perform this magic. I’ll be here to supervise and intervene, if necessary, though I don’t think it will be.”

“Bully for us. Is there anything else we should be prepared for, if we’re to go through with this?” Astarion snapped. “Sudden onset sliminess? Gills? Frothing at the mouth?”

You winced. He was always his most discourteous self when he was afraid. Gale might not realize it, but you knew him well enough to tell when his rudeness was obfuscation.   

“Ahem,” Gale coughed, clearly affronted by the impertinent question. “No, nothing of that sort. But this spell is incredibly demanding on one’s body. It’s very likely they’ll fall unconscious once it’s been cast. The effect shouldn’t last for more than a few hours. Enough time for a proper rest.”  

“You failed to mention that yesterday,” Astarion said peevishly, glaring at you from across the dining table. 

“Because it’s the equivalent to me needing a good sleep after a tiring day,” you quipped. 

Gale winced. “It’s a bit more serious than that, I’d argue.”

“Thank you,” Astarion intoned. 

“Tsk. An inconvenience at worst. Nothing unmanageable,” you retorted. “So, what say you, darling? Are you willing to give this a try?”

Astarion’s glare shifted between you and Gale, studying you both. 

“And you both swear to me that all information is now disclosed, yes? No partial truths, no hidden side effects?”

“I swear,” the two of you responded in unison. You reached for Astarion’s hand across the table. 

“My darling, this will work. I’m going to be fine. And you’re going to be cured,” you smiled gently. “Please, trust me.”

He squeezed your hand, crimson eyes boring into your own. 

Finally, after a moment, he gave you a terse nod.

“All right. Let’s try,” he agreed.

#dancingbirdiewrites #astarion #astarion x reader #bg3 astarion #astarion x tav #astarion bg3 #astarion x mc #astarion ancunin #bg3 astarion fic #baldurs gate astarion #baldur’s gate astarion #astarion x f!reader #tav x astarion #astarion x you #astarion x gn reader #bg3 fanfiction #bg3 fic #astarion fluff #astarion fanfic #astarion fic

[versadies]

EPILOGUE || FOREVERMORE

SYNOPSIS (of chapter). in which it's been three months since your trip to mondstadt.

SYNOPSIS (of series). breaking up with your first love was heartbreaking, but not as heartbreaking as getting invited to his wedding after years of not seeing him. that is, until things seem to be easier when you encounter a certain guest, who could end up becoming more than just a blooming friend to you (or not).

CHARACTERS. diluc ragnvindr, kamisato ayato, and thoma (w/ gn!reader)

CONTENT. fluff/slight-angst, grammar errors (?), cheesy scenes, second-hand embarrassment (?), possible errors in general.

WORD COUNT. 3.5k words

LINKS. EVERMORE MASTERLIST \ MAIN MASTERLIST \ EVERMORE SURVEY

POST-SCRIPT. the end is finally here!! hopefully the ending is satisfying and fulfilling, i've done all i can to make sure it brings the entire series together and give reader the happiness they deserve. if you wish to know fun facts about the series, stay until the end!!

PREVIOUS

3 MONTHS LATER AFTER THE WEDDING.

DECEMBER 11, 2022

It’s been a while since you’ve last visited Mondstadt. 

You find yourself sitting on a bar stool with your drink in hand, wearing a formal outfit suited for an occasion that can happen to someone for once-in-a-lifetime: a wedding. 

True to both you and Diluc’s words, you kept in touch with one another as you two remained friends after your departure from Mondstadt. Though you’re both busy from your work schedules, the two of you make the most of your conversations through sending pictures of food, places, and even your friends – your particular favorite being a picture of his pet bird, Vanessa – in your messages. 

It’s safe to say things are well, and you’re more than happy with the couple’s wedding despite your heartbreak before. 

You mindlessly look around the reception venue with a smile on your face, paying no mind to the conversations between loud guests who are either talking about 1) the newly wedded couple, or 2) the recent buzz of the continent regarding a certain corrupted CEO.

Two months after the wedding of Ayato and Chisato, Shinsuke was suddenly arrested thanks to the newly-wedded couple, who exposed him with numerous charges that shocked the entire public and media.

“Did you hear? Hiiragi Shinsuke has been arrested for his crimes!”

“I know! It’s shocking to hear that it took him this long to be behind bars, and to think that it’s all thanks to his daughter and her husband...” 

“Didn’t they work with that young detective that’s been the buzz of Inazuma’s police force? What’s that detective’s name again?”

“I believe it’s Shikanoin. Apparently he’s been investigating Hiiragi for a long time now!” 

You muted out people’s chattering about Shinsuke, taking a sip of your drink. You’re honestly just glad that he’s finally behind bars now, and you won’t have to worry about him for a long, long tim–

“( Name )! How are you?” You flinch when you hear a particular voice that you haven’t heard for a few months now. When you turn around, you spot Venti coming towards you happily with a skip of his steps.

“Venti!” You greeted him happily, putting your glass down before standing up to come towards him, spreading your arms for a friendly hug. “I’ve been well, thank you. How about you? It’s been a while!” 

Venti giggles, wrapping his arms around you for a warm friendly hug. “I’m doing well, especially with free drinks and free food around!” He cheers. His flushed cheeks and drowsy look is enough for you to know that he’s as drunk as can be. Classic Venti…

“I can tell.” You respond with a laugh, before helping him sit on one of the bar stools that’s next to yours on the left. “You should take a break from all that drinking, your hangover will be the death of you tomorrow.” 

“You’re right.. I should be ready for later..!” Venti hiccups. “How’s Zhongli, by the way? Did he go with you as your plus one again?” 

You shake your head in response. “He’s okay, but no, he’s not with me for this trip.” You replied. “I didn’t bring anyone with me since it wasn’t mentioned in the wedding card.”

“Well then, I guess you’re stuck with me!” He giggles, before ordering the bartender another glass once again, much to both your dismay and the bartender’s. 

As Venti indulges himself with the free drinks while sharing interesting things about Mondstadt, you couldn’t help but glance at the direction of where Diluc and Jean are, who are both chatting quietly to one another as they eat their meals at their table.

It didn’t take long before Diluc felt your stare, and noticed your presence. 

You couldn’t help but smile at him with a wave, to which he responds with an acknowledged nod, slightly smiling towards you before his attention is taken by another guest who came to congratulate the newly-wedded couple.

Your attention is eventually taken as well by another person, who suddenly seated himself right next to you on your right. 

“Thoma!” You gasp in surprise, not expecting to see the blonde-haired man.

Thoma flashes you a smile as he chuckles. “Hello to you too as well, ( Name ). Guess you didn’t expect me to be here, huh?” 

“Of course not, you gave me a heart attack! I didn’t know you were invited!” You exclaim with a smile. You couldn’t help but take note of how neat he looks, wearing a tuxedo with his hair fixed instead of his usual messy hairdo that you’ve grown used to. 

“I didn’t think I’d be invited either until Ayato persuaded me to come to the wedding on his behalf. I’m sure you know how busy Inazuma has been since the… arrest.” He explains, scratching the back of his head with a cheeky grin. 

You nod in understanding, your smile becoming a little strained at the mention of the arrest of Shinsuke. “I’m very aware. Almost everyone’s talking about it here, surprisingly.” 

The blonde man takes note of your strained smile, and he decides to quickly change topics in a jiffy. “How’s your trip here? Did you bring anyone with you?” He asks curiously. 

You lean on the bar counter, though your drink (as well as Venti, who’s still busy with his drinks) is left forgotten. “My trip’s been amazing. I didn’t bring anyone with me though. How about you?” 

Thoma shrugs. “I didn’t bring anyone either. Though if I could, I would’ve brought Taroumaru.” 

“Aw, I miss Taroumaru!” You cooed. You immediately thought about Inazuma once again, becoming more homesick than you thought you’d be. “How’s the little guy? I heard he’s been the talk of the town. He’s getting really famous on the Internet, isn’t he?” 

Thoma chuckles in response, his cheeks turning slightly red. “Yeah.. I honestly didn’t think he’d get famous. There was an idol who came to visit the café and took a picture of him, which was how he got everyone’s love.” 

You nodded slowly, still smiling. “So I suppose business is booming then? I’m sure a lot of people must be wanting to meet Taroumaru.” 

“Oh if only you see how busy it’s been. If it weren’t for the staff my mom and I hired, I wouldn’t be able to come to the wedding in the first place!” He comments.

As you continue to listen to Thoma talking about people in Inazuma, you couldn’t help but miss Inazuma even more. You honestly couldn’t wait to come back. 

“How about you? How’s Liyue been lately after your trip?” Your friend suddenly asks, causing you to wake up from your thoughts. 

You cleared your throat. “Oh, same as always. Though,” You straighten your posture, clearing your throat, “I’ve thought about coming back to Inazuma after what happened.” 

Thoma was taken back by surprise from your words, his eyes brightened. “R-Really?” 

You hummed, your smile growing from his excitement. “Really.” 

The man before you didn’t know what to say, stunned from such good news. “This..." He couldn’t help but let out a laugh, obviously ecstatic from the news as his eyes brightens instantly. "This is amazing news! You have to let me know when your flight is then. I can pick you up from the airport and we can go wherever you want and–”

“Woah, woah, slow down!” You couldn’t help but laugh as well, finding his excitement infectious and amusing. “I haven’t even booked anything yet, let alone ask for a transfer in my job.”  

“O-Oh!” His cheeks turn red instantly in embarrassment. “R-Right.. My bad, I-I was getting too excited.” He stammers, clearing his throat as he fixes his suit tie. “When do you think you’ll come back?” 

You shrug in response. “I’m thinking of.. Maybe after New Year’s Day. It’ll take a while since well.. It’s hard to move to another country, you know?”

He nodded quickly. “Ah yes, of course. I totally understand! You should take your time.” He says in agreement. “Just… Let me know when you’re coming back. I missed you, you know?” 

You couldn’t help but feel your cheeks warming up from his words. Thoma was never the type to confess something so affectionate, but perhaps the drinks are getting the best of both of you…

The blonde man was quick to realize what he said though, as he instantly stiffens and starts stumbling on his words. “I-I mean, I-I’m not the only one who misses you– since everyone misses you, i-including me..!” 

“Y-Yeah, I get it. E-Especially since it’s been a long time since I’ve left Inazuma.” You stumbled as well, your cheeks warming even more from the awkward situation that the both of you brought yourself into. “I-If anything, I missed you guys too..!” 

Yeah, the drinks are definitely getting the best of both of you. 

The two of you couldn’t help but laugh once again from the embarrassment, causing the tense and awkward atmosphere to dissipate. 

“Well that was awkward.” He commented, smiling from ear-to-ear.

“No doubt.” You responded, still laughing as you held your stomach. 

As the both of you try to catch your breaths after laughing, Thoma decides to get himself a drink as well as another one for you. “Let’s drink to celebrate your upcoming return then. On me, of course.” 

You snorted. “Thoma, the drinks are free. We’re in a wedding, remember?” 

He blushes once again. “A-Ah.. Right.” 

–

As you walk out of the elevator, you head towards your hotel room with Thoma in tow. 

Long after the wedding finally ended, you decided to take your leave and hit the bed to sleep for the night, wanting nothing more than to lie down on the comfortable sheets of the bed as you snore away. 

To your surprise, Thoma decides to make sure you come back to your room in one piece and escort you back to your room given that the both of you are a little intoxicated.

“You know, you don’t have to come with me. I can go back to the room on my own.” You said reassuringly, noticing how close your hotel room is getting.

“We’re here anyway, so you’re stuck with me now.” He comments, insisting even more as he walks by your side. “Besides, I’m actually staying in the same hotel as you. Though, I’m three floors above.” 

You relax instantly from his words, no longer finding the energy to say otherwise. “Oh, that’s good then.” You stumble around and try to find your keycard, pulling it out from your pocket as the two of you arrive to your room.

“Thanks again, Thoma. I’m glad you had kept me company at the wedding– and for helping me taking care of Venti.” You chuckled, letting your door scan your keycard. 

He smiles, nodding in acknowledgement. “Of course. It’s the least I can do since you’ve given me a good time at the wedding.” 

You smiled in response, and turned around to enter your room that's now opened, but before you could enter, he stopped you for a moment. 

“Wait.” 

“Hm?” You turn to look at him in confusion and in curiosity. “Is something wrong?” 

He shakes his head. “N-No, of course not. It’s just…”

The two of you fell awkwardly silent. 

“...I won’t be here tomorrow, so you won’t see me until you return to Inazuma.” He confesses. “So… If you ever decide on whether you’d visit, move in, or whatever, I’m one call away. Just let me know when you come and visit.” So I can be the first to greet you.

You smiled cheekily. “So you really did miss me, huh?”

He blushes once again. “Can you blame me..?” There’s no one I love but you. 

You then pat his shoulder. “...I’ll call you as soon as I get the date. Just promise me you’ll be by the airport with some cardboard that has my name.” You teased. 

He nodded eagerly. “I’ll make sure it’ll have ‘Welcome back from the Asylum’ on it.” He says, teasing you back. 

“Oh I’d like to see you try!” You laugh, lightly slapping his shoulder as he grins.

“...See you next time, ( Name ).” 

“See you next time, Thoma.” 

You took a few steps to your room and finally closed the door, the last face you saw was Thoma’s flushed face. 

As soon as he’s alone in the quiet hallways of the hotel floor, he lets out a sigh. 

This time.. This time I’ll shoot my shot.

.

.

.

“What are you thinking about, Thoma?” 

The blonde-haired man blinks a few times as he finds himself back in the familiar surroundings of Komore Cafe. 

“Ah, sorry.. I-I was just thinking about something.” Thoma says with a cheeky grin, looking at your direction as you sit by the stools that’s by the counter. “How long have you been watching me?” He asks. 

You smiled cheekily. “Long enough for me to be reminded of how handsome you look.” You responded teasingly with a chuckle.

“Oh really? Am I really that dashing?” He asks, jokingly posing like a model as it causes you to laugh. 

“Very much, but not as much as my guy Taroumaru here.” You pet the Shiba Inu, who makes a “woof!” noise as he happily encourages your affection. 

Thoma dramatically puts a hand on his chest. “You wound me. I’d never thought my own spouse would choose Taroumaru over me! Where is the loyalty?” 

The two of you broke into laughter, amused by each other’s antics.

It’s been almost two years since the time when you two visited Diluc and Jean’s wedding. True to your word, you return to Inazuma a few months after your trip to Mondstadt, officially residing in your homeland instead of Liyue. Thoma has been with you since you returned, and he has been nothing but helpful to you as the two of you make up for the lost time.

It took a while before you eventually started gaining feelings for him, which then eventually led to the two of you in a committed and happy relationship for the past three months. It’s safe to say that you’ve never been happier than ever, and you’re grateful for someone like Thoma to be by your side for so long. 

And he’s grateful that his dream finally came true, happy that he has the honor of being yours, and you being his. He couldn’t imagine anything better than what he has now. 

Unfortunately, the sweet moment between you both ended abruptly when your watch started ringing, reminding you of the time. 

“Ah shoot, I gotta go. Miko’s going to kill me if I end up late.” You said, grabbing your bag and drink before kissing Thoma’s cheek and pet Taroumaru one last time. “Thanks for the drink, by the way.” 

“Anything for you. Stay safe!” Your boyfriend tells you, watching as you run out of the cafe like the wind, leaving him alone with Taroumaru.

As soon as you’re gone, he lets out a dreamy sigh. 

“Come, Taroumaru, it’s time to work.” He spoke to the Shiba Inu, petting his head before heading towards the sign of his café to flip it. 

There’s nothing more to life than spending the rest of his days with you, and he’s more than content with the life he has with you.

It’s safe to say that the same goes with you. 

PREVIOUS.

DAN'S NOTE.

Thank you guys so much for reading Evermore! I honestly have never thought I’d finished this from the very start, and yet here I am, and it’s all thanks to all of you who have spread your love and opinions on this series.

It was truly an honor to write this piece. It really makes me happy to see a lot of you guys commenting on each chapter, sending asks about how much you love Evermore and spit on Ayato as well as Shinsuke, and overall just you guys being interested in something I put my heart and soul to! 

As someone who never once experienced having a lover nor went through a breakup, it’s quite tough for me to write about it in this series since I want the experiences to feel somewhat real, or better yet, not too cliche than it already is. 

Of course, I also want this series to be somewhat a lesson to my dear readers, to those who need to let it all out, to those whose hearts are broken, to those who just need an escape from reality once in a while, and overall to everyone. I hope that whatever you guys are going through, you will get through it! If you can go through a breakup and deal with Shinsuke’s existence in this fic, then you can surely go through anything!

Since I’ve already expressed what I need to express in the previous chapter, I decided to drop some fun facts and trivia here!

This series was made out of spite because of how I lost the 50/50 to Keqing in Ayato’s first released banner on my first 10 pulls and wanted to make him suffer. Fortunately enough, writing this series seems enough to make him come home 80 pulls later b4 his banner ended! 

I also wanted to write a story that’s based on my number one favorite Taylor Swift song from one of my favorite albums of hers: right where you left me! This song is one of the most relatable songs I’ve ever listened to ever since I first heard it in 2021, and it’s been stuck with me to this day as of 2024 (can you believe it? It’s been almost 4 years!) 

And fun fact, I found out that the evermore album was released on my birthday (December 11), so it feels right that I made the series inspired by the album <3 !

The following are some fun facts from my drafts:

Diluc's arranged spouse was supposed to be Donna, but I unfortunately didn’t make that happen since the way Donna would treat the situation wouldn’t be the same way as what Jean would do. 

Thoma wasn’t actually supposed to be a male lead until I started planning for the no body no crime part. I don’t know what made me assign Thoma as the second male lead, but when I did, I didn’t like how my series will be another “second male lead who has no chance with the main lead” so I made him the person the reader actually ends up with in the epilogue soon after!

– below are things that i’ve scraped from this series ! –

Before I started planning each chapter, Diluc was originally supposed to be the reader's plus one. The plot involves how the reader asks Diluc, reader’s friend since college, to be their plus one since he lives in Mondstadt and he reluctantly agrees, and throughout the wedding trip, they slowly fall in love with each other. 

It was such a good plot too if you saw the details I wrote for it ! But I scrapped it off because the plot would’ve been really long, and I want the series to focus on the story of reader finally and properly moving on from their breakup with their first love, Ayato. I’m aware that I could’ve followed this plot while reader moves on with Ayato, but again, I feel like it just wasn't it for me. though who knows, i might make a one-shot fic of it ;)

Another fun fact is there was supposed to be a second part series after Evermore that’s called Folklore and it ends with you dating Kaeya. 

in this series, you first meet Kaeya during Diluc’s wedding and spend time with him. Sure enough, you hate that guy, but you had no choice but to spend time with him throughout your stay in Mondstadt since he’s such a great tour guide. 

You were glad that you’re finally back to Liyue and not be able to see that playboy anymore, so consider yourself shocked when you waltzed into your office and saw him. 

Turns out, the reason why he’s always spending time with you in Mondstadt is not because of how he wants to guide you around mondstadt, but because he wants to get to know the person he’ll be working with in Liyue! 

So yes, this is somewhat an enemies to lovers + office romance story, and unlike Diluc and Ayato, this guy has no chance in getting into arranged marriages and immediately shoots his shot with you ;> !

Extra note: Dainsleif was supposed to be in folklore series as the second male lead hehe 

I was really looking forward to writing this series until chapter thirteen happened. If I have to be real honest, I was disappointed with myself for what happened, and I was afraid that you guys will be even more disappointed with me if i make another series, so i immediately scrapped it off :(( 

But to clarify more, even if chapter thirteen went well, I would’ve still scrapped it off since – as you know, I have a health issue that caused my big hiatus – and I’m afraid that I wouldn’t be able to finish the second series at all, let alone start it.

Instead of that, I decided to just make it into one of the epilogues of what could’ve been! Feel free to check the folklore epilogue once it’s out! 

I think I can reveal more information with the Q&A from my evermore survey, so while I’m compiling your questions, feel free to ask more right away! 

That's all for this series. Once again, thank you so so so much for giving me the pleasure of writing this fic. I might not make a series soon, but if I ever have the luxury of time, I hope you guys will be there to read it.

Thank you!

Sincerely, your penpal, Dan xoxo

PENPALS. @scaraslover @saving-for-xiao @dawgimsohot @kazu-topia @chiruru @aqualesha @renamichii @mrkamisato @shenhesl0ver @serami00 @serenareiss @hiqhkey @emperatris-rinaka @bystander36 @irisxiel @ladycoleigh @034ven @dear-dairiess @owozi8 @hadesaedes @chiro-chiro-kun @hersscherofyatta @mariusvonhangme @yuzuricebun @hoshikistarlette @solaaresque @crowbird @lordbugs @flowersforayato @headintheclouddd @estelwrld @giyusimpsassemble @irethepotatosblog @moonlightaangel @alice0blog @shotosbrainrot @sniffoat @chihawari @mxsomn @kuni-kuzushii @jiminscarmex @mitsukii114 @nejibot @ylimeprive @sachispet @loreleis-world @sn-owo @stareforecasts @someonetookmynamelmao @ceylestia @lychme @ymikkos @reallysporadicarcade @melodyyamino @dudufodd @somberrock @yevenly @lemontum @nghing @elychee @astrxlis @denkineptune @franini @sophisticatedleslie @thedivinepriestress @smashsubs @httpmitsuya @bl6o6dy @cottonkendi (please visit this post if you'd like to be tagged!)

#genshin impact x reader #genshin x gn reader #diluc x reader #genshin x reader #genshin impact x gn reader #genshin fluff #genshin series #genshin x reader series #diluc series #genshin diluc x gn reader #diluc x you #diluc x gn reader #diluc angst #thoma x reader #thoma x gn reader #genshin x gender neutral reader #ayato x reader #diluc ragnvindr x reader #ayato x gn reader #kamisato ayato series #kamisato ayato x reader #kamisato ayato x you

[credince--writes]

Hands (1)

God, you dream of those hands.

Original Prompt:

Size Kink & Breeding Kink with Konig.

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - AO3

Konig x Fem! Reader

(A/N): I accidentally fuckin deleted the original post while trying to add links to the other 2 chapters, so reposting LMAO. I'M SO SAD BC IT WAS ONE OF MY BEST PREFORMING POSTS.

Honestly? It started in a very innocent way.

"I'm taking off your gloves."

He sat in front of you, tapping his foot on the cold tile. Currently under the attention of you from the intended use of his hands in combat.

Which is why you were inspecting for broken knuckles.

Most of his gear had been taken off, set aside along with the hood that donned his head on missions. Now, you were pulling the gloved that clung to the asking of his hands off. Inspecting the pale skin beneath them.

"You know, I'm starting to think you do dumb shit like this on purpose." You glance up at him.

"I'd never." He replied.

"Because I'm lookin' at these hands, and I'm seeing a whole lot of unnecessary bruising."

"It was necessary."

You quirked a brow.

"You just, happen to lose your gun there soldier?" You pulled back, leaning back against your seat and shooting him an amused glance.

"Sometimes, things are better done by hand."

"mmhm." You mumbled.

Eyes trailed up his hands, finding stray scars and following the veins leading up to his forearms.

Man,

those were some big hands.

"Is everything alright, doctor?" He asks, amusement twirling around in his eyes, sparking out in his voice.

Maybe he was catching on to your oogling.

"Just making sure nothing broken. Can't imagine it would be fun to work with broken fingers."

"Nein."

"This hurt?" You ask.

"Nein."

"Then you're fine. I'll give you some meds and send you off on your way."

"Danke!" He shot up, clamping a hand down on your shoulder, man near enveloping your entire left side.

You started to imagine what it would be like if that big hand wrapped around your neck.

"Be careful, please."

"Of course." He shot a sideways, toothy grin. The side that his nose crooked over to and the side with the one crooked canine that made him look like a dog ready to chase a bone.

He turned, starting to walk away.

"You know, König." You stated. He stopped a turned around. "If you want to visit me, you don't need to have an injury."

His eyebrows raised, and you could swear there was a blush that tinted his cheeks. "I'll consider that for next time."

Before turning and leaving.

And he did visit you.

One visit turned into two.

Then four.

Then he just popped in so often while he was not on a mission he became part of your routine.

Have a cup of coffee with König in the morning, maybe even join him for dinner and enjoy it in the sanctity of your quiet and private office.

Just so happened that the longer you spent with him the more your thoughts were clouded.

His hands,

his thighs,

fuck, you can't even imagine how big his cock would be.

You'd like to think you were better than this.

Pressed up in your shower thinking about the huge man, wondering what his bare chest would feel like curling up over your back.

You closed your eyes, trying to picture just how good it would feel.

It would be right after he comes back from a mission, the dark look in his eyes still clouding his consciousness as he's still in the mindset of a soldier, a killer.

His steps would be heavier- you'd hear him walk into the bathroom, the rustling of clothing as he strips the cloth covering his flesh discarded down to the ground without a second thought.

He'd slip into the shower, with your head placed under the stream of hot water. Almost comically so, his head would be unable to reach the stream of water without immensely bending at the knees.

You'd hum, leaning back into him as he'd reach his arm around your waist, pulling your wet body closer to his. Head dropping down for his mouth to latch onto the nape of your neck, biting and sucking on the sensitive skin.

Gasping throwing your head back farther and allowing it to bump against his shoulder, letting out a light whine that he'd love to harvest from your throat.

One hand would drift down, widening his palm as it flattened and slid down your tummy, nearly covering the expanse of your abdomen before it dipped down, lower.

His other hand would grab your chin, pulling your head back to meet into a feverish kiss. Pressing your back up against the cold wall of the shower, holding it up against it.

On a normal occasion, you'd be terrified to slip, but you just know with his arm slinked around over you waist toying dangerously close to your cunt that there was no chance of slipping.

No chance of him letting you go.

A digit would brush up through your folds collecting the slippery production of your arousal, dragging his finger ever so carefully up until it traced around your clit. Circling it, dangerously so.

Applying pressure as the rough pad of his finger pushed against your clit, mouth devouring any noises you let out.

It hurt, in a way.

One that was so delicious you only wanted more.

His large finger pressing down on your clit felt heavenly, the feeling of his tongue pushing against yours as you swapped spit in the most degenerating fashion.

Your hips unconsciously pushed forward against his hand, bucking as he pressed you firmly against the wall.

He'd tsk, giving you a light scolding before removing his mouth from yours completely, allowing a thin strand of spit to cast its way from him lips to yours.

God.

You could just die.

He'd snicker, that snicker that made his lip quirk upward revealing his crooked tooth. All before he'd lean in and ask,

"What do you want me to do, Schatz?"

"Fuckkkk." You'd whine, letting your head bump against the shower wall. "Please." You'd whisper out.

"Hm?" He'd ask, still toying his finger around your clit.

"Finger me- fuck, please. Please finger me."

His finger would leave your clit, diving back down and just barely poking into your entrance.

The digit was long and thick- it felt like nearly two of your own being stuffed inside you. Even more so as the single digit could curl up in such a delectable manner pressing up against the spongey roof of your core.

You'd breathe harshly, ducking your head up against his neck and arm gripping at the expanse of his back and nails digging into the pale and freckled flesh.

He'd add a second digit, and you felt like you were on cloud nine.

No,

You felt like you were on cloud nine as he removed his free hand from you, bringing it down and rubbing on your clit as his other hand pumped mechanically in and out of you, curling his fingers forward and circling the pad of his finger against your clit.

It would feel like your legs would give out first, but he'd keep you upright as you came, his mouth would latch onto yours. Shoving his tongue into your mouth claiming you in the best way possible.

Body draped over yours, his large hands pleasing you to the point of competition-

Blinking, you realized there was no man draped behind you.

The water in the shower had run cold a long time ago, but the pleasant buzz in your head from your shameful masturbation numbed any embarrassment for a few moments.

You sighed, turning off the water and glancing down at your fingers.

For now? Thinking of his large hands would have to do.

#könig x reader #könig x you #mwii #call of duty mw2 #Konig x reader #konig x reader smut #konig imagine #Konig x Reader- Hands

[misserabella]

stray. pt1

joel miller x fem! reader

next chapter >

summary; after saving Joel and Ellie from the brink of death, you get caught with having to live with two more strays…, and you don’t do strays.

REMINDER: english is not my mother language so i apologize if there are some mistakes <3 !¡ either ways, i hope y’all like it. <3

REPOSTS AND COMMENTS ARE VERY MUCH APPRECIATED!<3

warnings; eventual +18 content! MINORS DONT INTERACT IN THE CHAPTERS WHERE IT IS IMPLIED IN THE WARNINGS. and smut, mentions of death, possible deaths, blood, fighting, angst, fluff…

warnings for chapter 1; guns, blood, fighting, clickers, wounds, weapons, threats, mentions of sleeping pills, tension, arguing, cursing…

Please, under no circumstances, repost my work on any other sites. I do not consent to anyone taking my work and posting it as their own.

Joel should have known it was too good to be real. Too silent, too calm, too safe…

The building was old, in ruins in this world that was left for dead in between the slaughter and the blood, the floors filled with dust and with holes every now and then. Ellie had been too focused on playing with the things she could find, completely unaware of the danger that slowly creeped on them through the dark, just like Joel, who was unable to focus due to Ellie’s rambling.

It was only a mere instant, a fucking second. A wrong turn, a step that almost costed him his life. And before he knew he was struggling with a clicker that bit into the air, mere inches away from his face, it’s claws making him bleed as he tried and push him away. He had jumped in the moment he saw it going for Ellie, ready to pounce, ready to turn her to shreds.

“Step back!” he screamed at her, pushing her a side to protect her. “Shit.” he mumbled as he found himself losing the battle to the monster. It was too strong.

Think, Joel, think. There must be a way. And he knew what it was, but he couldn’t reach his fucking gun since it had been thrown away from him and into the direction of another clicker that had been lured to them by the noise.

“Joel!” Ellie screamed, but was taken aback when he stared at her as she tried and step closer to help.

“Ellie, ru-“ he was ready to let her go, ready to tell her to run and never look back. In the end, there was always deaths, there were always forgotten lives ripped apart from this fungus.

But his voice died in his throat when the clicker that he was barely holding back dropped dead to his feet, the other on his right screeching before running towards him, but he was late, meeting the same fate as the other infected.

Ellie and Joel turned their heads to the bullet’s direction, the shots rumbling in the walls and making goosebumps rose.

“Get down!” and then there was this girl, shouting at them, pointing them with the same gun that had just saved them and looking at them with the same fire and hatred that he had looked at those monsters.

Joel rose his arms and Ellie followed. Although it was only for an instant that she seemed to give up, in just a second letting out an ‘ouch’ as she had extracted her knife from her sleeve, ready to fight, but being met by a bullet against the metal, sending her knife meters away from her and leaving her with no scratches.

“Get the fuck down!” the girl, who had now stepped onto the light that seeped through the windows repeated, this time more serious, cocking her gun, her finger in the trigger ready to kill them if that was what she needed to do.

You squinted slightly when the sun hit your face, your eyes quickly adapting as you looked at the pair get down on their knees with both their hands up in the air.

You should have killed that little brat for just the mere though of trying to hurt you, but it had been a long time since you had stumbled across someone not infected in a long time, and you wanted to see what the hell was their deal. Travelers? FEDRA?

“Show me your fucking arms.” you ordered, pointing the gun at the man on your left, who was bleeding.

He groaned in pain as he lifted the sleeves of his shirt, showing you his brown and sculpted arms full of scars and new slashes that gushed the crimson of his blood. Scratches. And they were deep. No bite marks. No signs of possible infection.

“You. Brat.” you pointed at her next, and you felt the man tense up, what made your skin crawl. “Show me your arms.” she was pale, ghostly even, looking between you and the man beside her, a terrified look in her eyes. You sighed, firing a bullet at her, passing her by the ear by just mere centimeters, but still scratching her cheek enough to let a fresh drop of blood decorate her face. Joel’s breath hitched when you cocked your gun once again, pointing directly in between Ellie’s eyes. “Next time I won’t miss.” you promised, certain.

Ellie understood that there was no running from that situation. She closed her eyes and, with her tiny trembling hands, rose his sleeves. That’s when you saw it.

“I fucking knew it.” you said, stepping closer until the gun was pressed directly to her head.

Ellie inhaled a deep cold breath, his eyes tightly closed. You were going to kill her, and she knew it.

“No, wait.” the man beside her spoke and you rolled your eyes as you looked at him.

“Are you fucking stupid? Walking around with an infected? What were you going to do when she started twitching, huh? Put her on a collar and walk her around like a dog?” Ellie let out a scared little sound when you pushed the gun further onto her skin.

“It’s different. She’s different.” he promised, slowly creeping closer to the two of you.

“Oh yeah sure, as if I hadn’t hear that before.” you scoffed, sarcasm dripping off your tone. “Sorry. Is nothing personal.” you said to the girl before your finger started to push against the trigger.

“She’s immune!” Joel screamed, making you stop. “The bite mark. Is a few days old. She doesn’t get infected. She’s immune.” he said more slowly, as if he was trying to calm you down, convincing you of not staining the dusty floor with that kids innocent blood.

You harshly tugged on her arm, analyzing the skin, the bruising. He was right, it wasn’t fresh. And there were more scars in the same arm, but no rest of the spread. The vines that had internally started to grown under her skin fading just a mere centimeters towards her biceps, and then, soft untouched skin. She had fought the infection.

You couldn’t believe it. And Ellie although she understood your fear, still groaned in pain when you tested her by pinching her skin with a needle on her neck. The green light made it easier to breath for you. The retracting of your gun made it for Joel and Ellie too.

You silently and a little harshly tested the man, who only flinched the slightest. Green. They were clean. That kid… was immune?

That was when your shoulders seemed to relax, your lips letting out a sigh that you didn’t knew you had been holding in.

Ellie and Joel looked at each other, and he nodded at her, promising her: we’re fine.

“You, kid.” Ellie’s hands struggled to catch her knife, which you had folded to securely throw it at her. Joel didn’t seem to have the same problem with his gun, taking it swiftly in the air.

You then inspected the zone, there didn’t seem to be any more clickers around. Your hand laced around a water bottle that stood on your backpack’s side pocket, taking it to drown a sip of cold water that made your muscles ache for more, for a rest.

Joel and Ellie slowly stood up as you rested against a wall of the building, a walkie-talkie sizzling on your pocket and a voice mumbling something as you took it out.

“Found a man and a kid at the hospital. They are clean.” you talked into the little artifact. Joel shoved Ellie, who looked at it with shiny and curious eyes. “What?” you suddenly inquired at something that had came through the line. “No. Have you lost your mind? We can’t.” you were back straight in your feet, listening to who Joel suspected might be a friend or a companion of yours. “Larry, you don’t understand- I know that. Yeah, but there are not enough-… I know.” you said. “I know…” you repeated again, this time softer, your voice lower. You sighed and looked up to the ceiling as ‘Larry’ said something more through the walkie-talkie. “Fine.” you groaned. “But it’s on you. I’m not taking responsibility.“ you hissed onto the speaker and then shoved it on your pants once again.

You turned around and started walking, rolling your eyes and looking back with you arms raised in exasperation. “Are you guys coming? Or do I have to give y’all my hand too?” you mocked them, and Ellie was going to follow you, but Joel stopped her.

“What the hell do you think you’re going?” his husky voice growled.

“Dude. She just saved our fucking asses! Like literally.” she frowned, raising her hands.

“Yeah you’re right. Let’s follow a complete fucking stranger to God knows where!” he sarcastically scoffed and Ellie gave him a death stare.

They were like fucking kids.

“You know I can hear you, right?” you sighed and they looked at you. God, this was going to be a fucking nightmare. You could already feel a headache creeping in. “Look. It’s not safe here. Listen to the freak.” Ellie frowned when you pointed at her, letting out a ‘hey!’ that you ignored as you looked at the man. “How much water do you have left? Do you have any food at all?” you scoffed when they didn’t answer. “If you don’t come with me, you will not survive. Not here. You’re in the danger zone. And that…” you pointed at the two clickers dead onto the ground. “Was a close call.”

Joel didn’t answer, didn’t even mutter a word and you rolled your head as you gave them your back once again. “Fine. At least I tried.” you shrugged. Better for you. You didn’t like company. You did good on your own. You didn’t need anyone. And surely didn’t need them. Larry could cry about it.

“Why are you doing this?” your feet came to a stop when he finally spoke up, his eyes untrusting and rough on you. You couldn’t complain, you looked at him the same way.

“I have this nut job of a friend who likes to take care of strays a little bit too much.“ you smirked. “I don’t. So if you’re not coming, don’t bother me.” you said, and as you started to walk again. This time, they followed.

-

“Fucking hell, that door gets heavier every day.” you muttered as you opened the metal door after having unlocked it with the code.

The three of you had walked along for a couple of miles before coming to a stop in a town more into the woody side. Joel had caught on pretty quickly but it still took him by surprise. It was like going back to Bill and Frank’s little paradise, though this one was much bigger, fuller, brighter…

You locked the door once Ellie had stepped inside, just right after Joel, turning on the high voltage and the alarms of the fence that you made sure to check twice every night before guarding for any new infected that could have made their way though the multiple traps that surrounded the little fortified town.

“y/n is back!” a little kid suddenly screamed, and before you knew it you were swarmed in by toddlers that hung too tightly to your legs and glued you to the floor.

So…, y/n.

Joel and Ellie stepped back just the slightest, overwhelmed by the enthusiasm of the little kids, who surrounded you from everywhere. They were not much, around five, but they were really talkative and enthusiastic.

“I’ll go tell Larry!” one of the bigger kids ran away, entering a white house filled with flowers in between stomps.

You couldn’t fight the smile that appeared on your face when they started to ask questions about your little trip.

“You were gone for so long!” a little blonde girl pouted. Rose, one of the youngest of the new generation who always clutched this rabbit plushie you had made her out of worn out clothes.

“I’ve only been away for three days.” you said in a whisper, kneeling down to have them at your own height. “And you know what? Look what I found!” you unhooked your bag pack from your shoulders, rummaging inside to find little toys and new clothes that you had found on the mall a few hours away from the town.

Joel was taken back by your sudden demeanor, you looked so rough around the edges, so cold, so serious… That he surely wasn’t expecting it to be any different in any ambit of your life. And yet there you were, smiling, talking softly, no tension in your body, no fear shaking your bones…

The kids screamed in joy. New toys always seemed to brighten them up. They always looked forward to your arrivals, always eager to know what had happened, if you had had to fight any infected…

Who Joel supposed was that known Larry with which you had talked though the walkie-talkie, came out of the house with a little girl in between his arms, heading towards you and the kids, which were now looking at the gifts that you had brought them.

“y/n!” your head rose when you heard that little and sweet voice, your chest fluttering when the little kid that Larry carried touched the floor and ran towards you. You reached out for her, picking her up as you came back to your feet with a smile. “You’re back!” she smiled at you with her big green shiny eyes, her long and dark hair tickling your neck as she hugged you with her tiny arms.

“I’m back.” you said in just a mere mumble. Feeling like you could finally breath. “Was Larry good to you? Do I have to kick his old ass?” she laughed at your question, while Larry, who had finally reached all of you, gave you a dirty look.

“Remind yourself who you’re talking to, kid.” he warned, but still smiled as he pulled you into a hug. “I’m glad you’re back.”

“I always come back.” you said, but you could still feel his relief. He was always unsure to let you go to the exterior, even though he knew you were capable and that you were strong, he always cared. He had raised you after all. Just like one of her daughters. Even if you and Lizzy weren’t real sisters. Even if you weren’t of his blood like she was, you were still his family, you were still his daughter and Lizzy was still your sister.

“Who are they?” Lizzy suddenly asked in a whisper, still loud enough for Joel and Ellie to hear, who had been completely silent since they had crossed the doors that welcomed them to the safe zone you and the town had worked on so hard to build.

“Just a couple of strays.” you said, and there it was, that detached tone, that coldness, that rough eyes. “You know how much your daddy likes them, isn’t that right Larry?” you mocked him, to which he simply rolled his eyes.

“Mmmh…” Lizzy hummed, muttering a ‘she’s pretty’ towards Ellie, who looked at her and couldn’t help to smile.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Larry.” Joel took his hand when offered, giving him a good shake as he spoke up for the first time in what it seemed to he hours.

“Joel. And this is Ellie.”

“It’s nice to meet you Ellie.” Larry smiled, and she nodded, mumbling a ‘nice to meet you’ as well. “I’m sorry that you had to walk so much to get here. Do you need anything? Water? Food?”

“Larry.” your voice was cold, warning. You were a lot on the town, and this season it hadn’t been easy. The harvest hadn’t been as successfully as the previous ones. Nothing to fear, though, you still had enough, but Larry gave too much all the time, and you cared. He simply ignored you.

“We’re al-“ Joel was about to negate the offer, but Ellie’s tummy rumbled so loud you almost had to choke a laughter. He looked at her with a scowl that only made her get defensive.

“I’m sorry!” she awkwardly smiled, whispering at him.

“Let’s go. I have some meat cooking in the kitchen, and some eggs to fry too.” Larry said, giving them a wave with his hands so they could follow.

“Larry!” you called out to him again, and this time he looked at you with a more severe look in his eyes. You scoffed. “Fine. Do whatever the fuck you want, I’m going to take a fucking shower.” you said, and you gave Lizzy one last hug before letting her feet touch the floor and walk away after a quick goodbye to the kids.

“I’m sorry for that.” Larry apologized as you became smaller in the distance. “Then, shall we?” and then he was smiling once again, pointing towards his house for them to tag along.

You cursed under your breath, not looking back as you took a turn, even if you could still feel eyes boring into the back of your skull.

-

Larry was a gentle old man that reminded Joel of Frank. He was sweet, attentive…

He also cooked really good.

Ellie was now onto her second plate, having asked for more after devouring the first. Joel was dragging it out. He didn’t like to hung onto people’s kindness. He knew that this people must work really hard to just survive, he didn’t like the idea of not being able to give them nothing in exchange for their welcoming.

The slamming of the front door made Larry know that you were back, already putting down a plate for you. When you stepped into the kitchen you didn’t even look at those already sat down at the table. Joel took in your still wet hair, braided up for more comfort, your clean new clothes and face (which you had freed of all dust and dirt) and your bandaged hands, from where your knuckles bled through.

“What’s this?” you hissed when Larry took your hand, which was swollen under the bandages. “What have I told you, huh? You can’t keep training like this, y/n.” you waved his touch away.

“I’m fine. Just a little rusty. It’ll stop bleeding soon.” you gulped down a glass of fresh water.

You tried your best to make it as if you couldn’t feel the two strangers looking at you. Joel and Ellie, you remembered.

“Are you hurt?” Lizzy said, strawberries in her plate all chopped up for her to not choke.

“No baby, I just scratched myself a little bit.” you took your plate, sitting onto the kitchen counter, like you always did despite Larry’s bickering to eat. You were half down your scrambled eggs when you rolled your eyes, sighing in annoyance. “What is it that you want?” you inquired at Larry, who frowned.

“I’ve not said anything.”

“You haven’t. But I know you want something for the seasoning.” you pointed at your eggs. “You always season them when you want something.” and it was true, seasons were expensive. So he always used them up on special occasions.

He fell silent, and you looked at him with rose eyebrows.

“I need you to let Ellie and Joel stay at your place.”

The silence was lethal. So cold it made Ellie shiver. There was tension in the air, you were not happy.

You let out a curt sarcastic scoff. “Yeah, no fucking way.” you said, going back to your eggs.

“y/n-“

“No.”

“You know I wouldn’t ask you this if I had spare rooms, but I don’t…” he sighed.

“And I do?“ you scoffed, letting aside your eggs.

“Lizzy baby, can you please go eat the rest of your fruit to the salon?” Larry inquired to his daughter, not wanting her to hear your bickering. She nodded and took his little bowl.

“Are you coming, Ellie?” she asked the girl, who looked at her surprised at first with those shiny eyes of hers. After Joel nodded at her and she nodded back at Lizzy, who gave her one of his hands and led her out of the kitchen.

“y/n…” he tried once again but you let aside your plate.

“I don’t have any spare rooms.” you interrupted.

“But you do!” he softly said, as he always did.

“I don’t. There’s my room and Laura’s room, when she gets back…”

“She’s not coming back, y/n. You know that.” you looked at him, hurtful eyes taking Joel by surprise. It was the first time he saw vulnerability in you. Even if he hadn’t known you for long… He knew that this was something he shouldn’t be witnessing, shouldn’t be able to see. This was private. This was yours. “Lau-“

“Don’t say her fucking name.” you growled, poison falling from your lips.

“She is gone, baby…” you slapped his hand away when he tried and cup your cheek. You felt the sting of tears into your eyes. “y/n…”

“You’re a dick, Larry.” you muttered as you got back on your feet. “You always do this. Why is it with you and your fucking strays, huh?” you pushed on his chest, and he took your bloody hand to press it against his heart. “I don’t want any of them anymore. I’m sick of it.” you mumbled under your breath.

“I know, I’m sorry…” he sincerely said, letting you go when you flinched away from his touch.

You straightened up and looked at Joel, who silently stood as a mere expectant.

“Let’s go.” you said, your eyes going back to cold stone as you walked out of the kitchen. “You, kid. Move.” you called out to Ellie, who was sharing fruit with Lizzie. You gave her a good night kiss, promising to see her tomorrow as you opened the door to leave your ‘father’ ’s house.

They stepped outside after saying thank you to Larry, who only nodded and offered Joel a clean change of clothes before you left, leaving you to find something for Ellie’s at your place since all Lizzie’s clothes would be too small for her.

You walked down a few houses until getting to a short building, where your little flat stood. It was old, so old that you had to rattle with the lock before the door would creak open, but it was clean, and welcoming. It felt like home. Something that surprised the couple of outsiders since you didn’t look like someone who would decorate your house this much. There were even fresh flowers on the dining table.

Ellie looked at everything with a shine in her eyes. She had always lived in a shitty cell-like room when she stayed with FEDRA, and Joel’s apartment was not really pretty to be honest…

So this was new, different, pretty…

“Bathroom to your right, rooms to your left.” You pointed at the white closed doors as you explained. The kitchen was connected to the salon, leaving a really open space framed by covered windows. “Don’t touch anything.” you said as you looked Ellie reach for the book shelf right beside the entrance. “If you need water, the tank is right beside the fridge. You can use the bathroom as you like, but leave it as you found it. Don’t touch the shelves. The things there are not mine.” you said in such a lifeless tone…

For them this could feel like home. For you? This was hell.

“Brat.” you called for Ellie, who frowned and remembered you her name. “Yeah, like I care.” you said moving towards one of the rooms. “Come with me, let’s find something for you to change onto. You two stink.” you said, and as if they shared the same brain cell, they both sniffed their clothes as you turned around.

Ellie stood close to the door when you went into what it seemed to be your room. It was plain. White. With no personality, no personal effects more than a couple of books, notebooks and two polaroid photos glued to the wall beside your bed. She couldn’t see who where on them due to the distance though.

“Here.” you gave her a pair of underwear, a t-shirt, a pair of sweats and a jacket along with a pair of fussy socks to battle the coldness of the night. “You don’t have your period, do you?” you inquired her with no interest at all.

“Uhmm, no.” he shook her head. “Not right now.” you nodded.

“There are some tampons and pads on the bathroom sink if you need them.” she nodded, unable to thank you since you were already out of the room.

Joel was inspecting the walls when you came back. There were a lot of drawings, art pieces and photos hanging from them. The paintings seemed pretty professional, but they were not from any famous artist that he could recognize, so he figured you or someone else might have painted it. You appeared on most of the photos. There was you with Lizzy and Larry… You and the kids of the town. You and…

“So, this is what we’re going to do.” you pulled his attention from the photos back to you. “I’ll take the couch. You both take my room. The bed is big enough for the two of you to fit.”

“What about that room?” Ellie pointed towards the door further to her left, next to yours. Your gaze hardened as you looked away.

“That room is off limits.”

They both fell silent, at least for a couple of minutes until Ellie awkwardly let out a little joke to break the ice —that didn’t seem to help— and made her way towards the bathroom, shutting the door behind her.

You didn’t gave Joel a single look, getting yourself onto the kitchen and getting a pot full of water ready to boil to make yourself some tea. You were fucking exhausted. You hadn’t slept for the last three days, always on guard ready to fight if some clickers would attack. And even if your eyes begged for you to close them and rest, your mind would never shut up, always keeping you awake.

You hoped this time the tea would work. You always hoped it would.

“I can’t let you take the couch. I’ll take it.” Joel suddenly said. It was the first time you two talked, alone.

You scoffed. “Yeah sure, as if you will be able to sleep shit there.” you turned to face him, your arms crossed over your chest. “Believe me, I’m doing you a favor. And either ways, what would I do, share bed with that…, kid? God I don’t even know what she is. No fucking way.” you said.

“Why don’t you sleep on the other room then? If you don’t, you won’t sleep either on that couch.” he said, and he seemed to have made a mistake by the way your whole body stiffened up.

“Just take the fucking bed, Joel.” you said and gave him your back once again, putting the tea herbs onto the water. He was about to speak again, but Ellie came out of the bathroom with a dazed and happy look on her face.

“That was amazing! There’s hot water!!!” she said, your clothes looking still a little big on her. But it’d do.

“I’m going to change the bed sheets. Finish up with the bathroom and give me all your dirty clothes to wash them up tomorrow morning.” you said as you got lost into the bedroom once again. And even if he tried, Joel’s eyes went back to that photo that had caught his attention since the very first second. A photo where you looked younger, healthier, brighter… Where you looked happier. Beside a girl that he hadn’t met yet. And probably never would.

-

It was late at night when Ellie had fallen asleep in between your comfy and warm sheets. Her wounds all cleaned up and her hair perfectly brushed. By the way she hadn’t moved even once in about three hours you expected her to sleep through the entire night without problems.

You had given the first-aid kit to Joel without a word. And he had taken it with the same silence standing in between the two of you.

You were sitting on the little balcony through the crystal doors on your salon. A cigarette in between your lips. How had you got them? It was a secret. You were sipping at your tea, looking down to the desolated streets. The lights were already out, saving energy in the night time, and the stars where shining so hard you swore you could get lost in them.

You exhaled smoke when you heard the chair in front of you move, who you supposed was Joel sitting in silence beside you.

He had taken out his own cigarettes, lighting up one and filling up his lungs with its smoke.

It seemed like hours after he finally spoke.

“Thank you.” your head turned to face him. He was looking at you with those serious brown eyes of his. He cleared his throat and looked away. “For uh…, everything.” you stared at him, no words leaving your lips. You nodded and went back to what you were doing before getting lost on your train of thought.

You unwrapped the bandages of your hands, the blood on them sticking to your skin as you ripped them off your new cuts and wounds.

It was always like this. You would get too far. Punch too strong. Do too much. And then it came the patching up, the bleeding, the pain…

The difference was that not a long time ago there was someone there for you to help you, to tell you to not overwork yourself, to clean your wounds for you… But now. It was just you and the silence of your solitary home.

You had extracted from your backpack new bandages and alcohol that you had found on the hospital where you had saved those two. A pair of scissors helping you cut the dressings to pieces.

Joel simply stared at you though the silence, though your curing, though your little flinches and hisses…

“You know… Staring too much at people is rude.” you said, finally speaking, finally letting him hear your voice for the first time in hours. You were like a ghost in your own home. Silent. Cold. Detached. Alone.

“You are rude either ways so I don’t care.” he answered, and you squinted your eyes at him. “Why do you do that?” he inquired.

“Do what?”

“That.” he pointed at your newly bandages hands, and you understood the real answer hidden under his words.

“Does it matter?” you asked him.

“No. I guess it doesn’t.”

“Good, ‘cause you are not my dad to lecture me.”

“I’m not old enough to be it.” he defended himself.

“If that’s what helps you sleep at night…” you shrugged. How old could he be? He was probably around his forties. Maybe fifties. He could probably almost catch Larry. You could see it on the white sparks on his hair, and the lines on his rough face.

“Staring too much is rude.” he threw your punch back at you, and you sighed in annoyance, taking a hit of your cigarette.

“Whatever. As you said, I’m already rude, so I don’t care.” he couldn’t help the little scoff that left him. You were smart. And knew how to bite. Also, you seemed clearly young, probably younger than what he was when the outbreak first happened, at his 32 years old.

You could feel his eyes on you, so you turned around to face him. You stood there, both staring at each other in complete silence. He was clean, his wounds bandaged up and already been taken care of by his expert hands. Larry’s shirt was a little bit tight on him, the muscle on his arms tightening the sleeves when he would cross them across his chest. His fingers held the cigarette to his lips, his grayish hair being blown just the slightest by the cold breeze of the night.

You finished off your cigarette right before he did, and took a sip of your almost cold tea, your eyes still completely open and awake. You knew this would be a very long night.

“You ain’t gonna go to sleep? You need more hours than us the young people, you know.” you inquired him as you lighted another cigarette.

He shook his head with a sarcastic smirk.

“I’m fine.” you nodded and fell into silence once again. It wasn’t uncomfortable, but neither comfortable at all. “Does this happen often to you?” he caught your attention and you frowned, not understanding. “Not being able to sleep.” your eyebrows perked up, surprised.

“Uhmm, yeah, I guess.” you mumbled, shrugging. “I’ve tried everything. Nothing ever worked for me.”

“I’ve got some pills if you want.” you looked at him with a stoic expression. “I too suffer insomnia. I got them from a guy I knew at FEDRA. They’re just sleeping pills.” he cleared it up once he had realized he had sound like a drug dealer.

You thought about it.

You looked at the pills once he had taken them out of his pocket, they were small and white, with a little moon shaped on them.

“I don’t do pills.” you said. You hadn’t had the courage to try them. Not if that meant that you would fall asleep and dream. “Thank you. But i’m fine.”

You couldn’t dream anymore. Not of that moment, not of…

“It’s alright.” he nodded, seeing the way your face had dropped. “But if you change your mind, just ask me.” you nodded, still looking at him.

You could sense that Joel didn’t speak much. That he was rough around the edges. But you had noticed too that Ellie had softened him out a little bit. He might look annoyed by that little kid but you had seen it in his eyes. The fear of loosing her when you had pointed your gun to her head.

It was all a façade. You knew how to recognize one when you too were living under one.

You looked away from him. It was just a stray. He’d probably leave after a couple of days. Maybe even tomorrow. And everything would be back to normal, you would be back to the lonely normality of your silent house and your scapes to the exterior.

You silently slipped out of your seat and put on your leather jacket as you stepped inside your apartment, combat boots heavy on the flooring.

You didn’t mutter a word on the way out. The only thing that Joel could hear before you disappeared was the sound of the door closing behind your back.

-

a/n; i hope y’all liked this first chapter xx, tell me your opinions! <3

joel miller masterlist !

pedro pascal masterlist !

<33

#pedro pascal #joel miller x f!reader #joel miller x reader #joel miller x reader smut #pedro pascal fic #pedro pascal fan fiction #joel miller imagine #joel miller #joel miller x y/n #joel miller smut #joel miller x you #pedro pascal x you #pedro pascal x reader #pedro pascal x y/n #tlou hbo #tlou fluff #tlou imagine #tlou fic #tlou show #tlou fanfiction #joel tlou #tlou smut #tlou series #tlou x reader

[ilwonuu]

omg your latest jungwoo is soooo good and im sure lots of us love it, i think there should be another one where reader is helping him release his stress after work and go to sleep cuddling cause he deserve that sm 😭

YES OMG. thank you for your request <333 i hope you enjoy!! i have three parts to be posted!!! lmk what you think:)

stress reliever 1 | 2 | 3

kim jungwoo

๛ pairing- sweetbf!jungwoo x fem!reader

๛ summary- your boyfriend loves spending all his time with you. especially in moments like these.

๛ warnings- kissing, massage, tired jungwoo, they’re in love okok

๛ a/n- i want to write like a kinda smutty chapter and then a SMUTTY chapter. lmk if you like<3 HAPPY 400💖

jungwoo was more than ready to be done with dance practice. his body tired and needing rest as soon as possible.

he is so happy to be heading home to you finally. wanting nothing more than to be in your presence right now. sending you a quick text saying he is coming home. you were excited to see your boyfriend.

you missed him oh so much. you think he deserves nothing more than to relax. hearing your boyfriend come through your front door. “im home babe.” he calls out seeing you come to greet him.

“finally i missed you.” you say pulling him into a sweet kiss. “you have no idea.” he sighs taking off his shoes. kissing you again. “how was work? how was practice?” he sighed a little at the topic of the activities.

“work was good. practice was fine. tiring as always. im so happy its over now. i need to rest.” you nod smiling as you feel him pull you into a hug. “why don’t i help you relieve some stress jungwoo?”

you ask rubbing his back gently. “yes that would be really nice.” he lays back against the couch. relaxing slowly into your touch. “you’re so sweet to me.” he kisses your hand. you come around to sit next to him.

giving him a soft kiss. “you deserve it.” you smile at him. he gives you a cute grin. pulling you into his arms once more. “i love being in your arms. missed you so much.” he kisses your head.

“so pretty.” he gives you more sweet kisses.

#nct #nct imagines #nct x reader #nct smut #nct scenarios #nct jungwoo #jungwoo #jungwoo x reader #jungwoo smut #kim jungwoo #nct fic #nct 127 #nct u #nct jungwoo smut

[devilishmango]

The Story of Sin [UPDATE 4/27/2024]

Find the demo here. Link to the main post here.

Hey guys! 

Welp, I finished the chapter just in time for this month’s update. 😅 I really liked this chapter, though… Things are starting to not be ok for Sin, mentally, and I always love writing things like that 

In this chapter, you…

Pick up that small creature! [And NOT hurt it!! Good job!! 👏]

Hang out with Murmur for a bit and learn a bit more about yourself

Hurt Murmur’s feelings :( [It’s ok, you can apologize!]

Have another strange dream

Upset Will. :( [It’s ok again! You can apologize… Eventually.]

Hang out with Murmur and Anya for a bit. 

Some things- I’m slowly changing the look of the whole game. Now that some ✨THEMES✨ are settling in, I’m able to actually make the IF look a little prettier. I have some other art I will be adding later, when something in particular happens in the story, so get ready for that as well! [Also, this is random, but I realize that I’ve never mentioned this… The beautiful hand/forehead model for the SoS banner is my lovely little sister. Just wanted to throw that out there! 😂] I am also introducing a secret stat 👀 I’m not entirely sure how I want it to look on the stat page, so right now it’s just a number that will either go up or down depending on some of your choices. So, until I figure out how I want it to look…… Enjoy just a random number on the stats page. 😂

Also! If you are interested in being a beta-tester/proofreader, please send me a message on tumblr. Or, if you don’t have a tumblr, just send me an email. [email protected] Please only message me if you are serious in beta-testing or being a proofreader. I’m not really picky about how much experience you have, but I do want people who would actively be helping me correct things like grammar, bugs, coding errors, etc. Oh! Also, you will need a discord account to be a beta-tester or proofreader. That’s the only requirement!! 

And, since it’s been a hot second and I have a lot more followers now… If you are able to, and like my art/works to the point that you would like extra content, please consider becoming a patron, or buying me a kofi! I know times are tough right now, so it’s totally fine if you can’t donate anything. But even just sharing/liking/commenting/etc. Are other ways you can help support me. But, if you do have a few dollars you can spare a month, I have tiers on patreon ranging from $1-$5- you get extra content that you can request, and early access to updates and whatnot! 

One more thing! I was just able to get this month’s update done, but I definitely think May’s update might not happen. 🥺 Midterms are next week, AND I’ll be going on a small vacation to Portland, OR. for about a week at the start of May… So I may not have enough time to put together the update for next month! I’ll let you guys for sure when the time comes, but I just wanted to let you know now in case it ends up happening! Thank you for being patient and understanding. ☺️

See you all next update! 

CURRENT WORD COUNT: 45,725 52,969 [+7,244]

#interactive fiction #if #twine #itch.io #twine interactive fiction #update #The Story of Sin #SoS

[btsmosphere]

Supercharged | JJK (Teaser)

Get hyped!!!!!! Posting date chapter 1: 14th April

Chapter 1 is now here!

🗲summary:

It starts with a blow to the chest that changes your life. When your city’s most celebrated hero pays a visit, it turns out the noble Bolt has no trouble tossing lives aside. Lives that won't be missed. Lives like yours. Seven mysterious and powerful men give you another chance – one that starts to feel more like a curse the moment you meet golden boy Jungkook. The boy who wants you as far from his brothers as he can get you. Is it you he hates, or the blue lightning that now runs through your veins? And could it be his golden light that illuminates your heart when darkness threatens?

🗲pairing: jungkook x f!reader 🗲teaser word count: 365 🗲full fic wc: you do nOt want to know (79k...) 🗲genre: angst, action, eventual fluff, slow burn, enemies to lovers, superheroes/villains au, found family (imagine a mafia au with superpowers) 🗲rating: pg15 🗲warnings: in the teaser: none, just some tension. general fic warnings: violence with superpowers, weapons, swearing, arguing, injury, past trauma, mentions of death

>Updates every week!!

Supercharged Masterlist

a/n: guys. it's TIIIIIME!!! how many years have you heard me talk about how I was working on a superpowered jungkook story?? I started this thing four years ago so I can't believe the moment's finally come! it's been a long ride, and most of those four years was spent not writing this, but I just couldn't stay away either! I really wanted to tell this story, and now here it is and I am so happy to be able to share it💜 Let me know in a reblog, comment or ask if you want to join my taglist for this series! Over the next week before chapter 1 is released, check back as I introduce our characters👀I'm so excited for you to meet them!

As a smile was just blooming on your face, it was halted by Namjoon's next words.

“But. You aren’t ready just yet. I want you out there with us, so I’m willing to send you out sooner than I have with others before. These are unusual times, and you have to understand this will be more dangerous than I normally send rookies to. There’s work to do, with your powers, but also…

“As much as I appreciate your trust in us, I know it doesn’t extend fully. I need my team to be able to trust each other. Every single one.”

Fixing you with a hard stare to accompany his last words, he was effective in making you shrink in your seat. You knew exactly who he was talking about.

And that person was waiting for you right outside.

On leaving the office, you found Jungkook leaning up against the wall. Jin and Namjoon had hung back, leaving you alone as you emerged, and you instantly rolled your eyes. Determined not to be deterred, you kept walking down the corridor, trying to fix your eyes ahead – firmly away from the infuriating man that watched your approach.

“Scared yet?” his smirk bled through his words. You were almost upon him at this point, and he pushed away from the wall, blocking the way with his black-clad body.

Eyes flicking up to him, unimpressed, you tapped your foot.

“Why would I be scared?”

One corner of his mouth curved up, looking you in the eye as he leaned a little closer.

“We aren’t heroes, honey.”

“Thanks for spelling that out, Jungkook,” you drawled, making to step past him.

His laughter followed you while you started walking away.

“Need help packing?” he called.

“Hey, Jungkook,” Jin’s stern voice joined him, “no need. She’s not going anywhere.”

Jungkook’s silence spoke volumes.

Glancing back as you reached the end of the corridor, you were met with the livid expression that seemed so familiar. Jungkook’s eyes bulged with shock. You were sure that Jin’s hand on his shoulder was all that was holding him back.

Making the most of his eyes on you, you flashed a serene smile and walked away.

Thank you for reading!! Part 1 is coming on April 14th, and I will update every week (that's a promise, since it's already written in full!)💜

Contact me to get yourself on the tag list!

Taglist: @aianloveseven @preciouschimine @written-in-flowers @taegularities

#bangtanarmynet #jungkook x reader #jeon jungkook x reader #jungkook imagine #jungkook fanfic #jungkook mafia au #jungkook enemies to lovers #bts x reader #jungkook scenarios #jungkook mafia #bts mafia series #jungkook series #jungkook angst #jungkook fic #jeongguk x reader #bts fantasy au #supercharged

[sturniolodreamz]

first time - matt sturniolo

summary - Y/n finally decides she is ready to have sex for the first time, and she couldn't be happier that it is with Matt of all people.

warnings - smut, loss of virginity, protected sex. if you dont like it, dont read!

a/n - this was my first smut so hopefully yall like it! i also write regularly on my sfw tumblr account, so i am going to try and post at least 1-2x a week on here. please dont hesitate to send me requests, because sometimes it can be hard to come up with them myself. make sure to read the first chapter where i list what i will and will not write. let me know what you think! also, sorry if the ending seemed a little rushed, i didn't really know how i should end it lol

Matt and I have been dating for about a month now, but we have never done anything more than making out before I stopped it from going further. It was obvious that he knew I was a virgin, and I had never asked him but I assumed he had had sex before at some point. I knew I wanted him to be my first, I trusted him, but I just personally didn't feel ready at the time. But lately, I had been thinking about it a lot, and I decided that I felt as ready as I ever would. I wanted to bring this up to Matt, but I was afraid of it being awkward.

One night, Nick and Chris decided to go to a friends house, but Matt and I decided to stay back at the house and watch a movie together. We were laying in Matt's bed, and he had pulled up a movie on his laptop. We snuggled up under the blanket together and he hit play. I was pretty distracted with my own thoughts, so I wasn't really paying attention that closely to the movie. I kept thinking about having sex with Matt, and the feelings I had that wouldn't go away. I decided I was going to take my chance and talk to him about it. I mean, it was the perfect night, seeing as Nick and Chris would be gone until way later. Matt must have noticed that I was spaced out, because he paused the movie to turn and look at me.

"Hey, you seem lost in thought. Wanna talk about anything?" he asks me gently.

I took in a deep breath before responding. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course." he replies, grabbing my hand to hold it.

"Okay. Have you had sex before?"

He coughed, surprised at the question, but began to answer me.

"I, um, yeah I have a few times. Why, whats up?"

"I just, I've never done anything like that before, but I think I'm ready, Matt."

"Okay," he replies, taking in what I said. "Like, do you want to have sex right now? Chris and Nick won't be home for a while."

I giggled, partly out of nervousness. "Yeah, that's kinda what I was thinking too." I replied.

"Well in that case, we won't be needing this anymore." He says with a laugh, getting up to put the laptop back on his desk.

He walks back over to the bed and sits back down next to me.

"Do you trust me?" he asks me.

"Of course."

With that, he gently pulls me into his lap and places a cautious kiss on my lips. I cup his cheeks in my hands and kiss him back passionately. We begin to make out, something we have done before, but this time there is more passion behind each kiss than I have ever felt. After a few minutes, I begin to feel more confident, and I start to grind down on his lap as we kiss. He moans into my mouth at the feeling, and I can't help but think about how hot he sounded.

"Can you take this off?" I ask him, tugging at his shirt.

Without a word, he sits up slightly so he can slide the t-shirt off of himself.

"Well now it's only fair that you take yours off, too." he smirks.

I felt slightly nervous, but I went with it, leaving me bare on top.

"God, your beautiful, y/n." he reassures me.

I giggle, but it quickly turns into a gasp as Matt flips us over so he is on top. I couldn't help but look down at the bulge that was now forming in his sweatpants. He begins to kiss my breasts, leaving light hickies. As he kisses down my stomach getting closer and closer to my waistband, I feel butterflies start to form in my stomach. When he finally reaches the waistband of my pants, he hooks his finger into it before looking up at me.

"Can I?" he trails off.

I nod at him, giving him permission. I wasn't expecting him to pull down both my pants and my underwear at the same time, leaving me bare as I felt the cool air hit my body. Without any warning, I felt Matt's tongue hit my folds, kitten licking my clit as I arched my back.

"Ah, fuck Matt! That feels so good!"

I felt him hum against me, sending vibrations of pleasure through my body. He continued eating me out until I felt myself getting close.

"Matt, I think I'm gonna cum!" I told him.

"Mhm, cum for me baby." he told me.

Before long, I was literally seeing stars as I had my first orgasm, overwhelmed with pleasure. Matt pulled away soon after, not wanting to overstimulate me. He wiped his mouth before coming up to kiss me again.

"Did that feel good, baby?" he asked me.

"Oh my god Matt, that was incredible!" I replied.

I kissed him again, still catching my breath. My gaze was brought back down to his crotch, thinking about what I wanted to do.

"Matt, will you teach me how to suck your dick?"

"Fuck, how could I say no to that?" he said with a small laugh.

We switched places so he was now the one laying on the bed, with me in between his legs. I began pulling his sweats down, and he lifted his hips to help me out. Once his pants were off, I looked up at him, both for permission and because I was hoping he would tell me what to do next.

"It's okay sweetheart. There's no right or wrong way to do this, just do what feels right and I'll guide you." he reassured me.

"Okay, thank you." I said.

I decided to try and tease him a little. I could see the outline of his boner through his boxers, and I lightly traced my finger down the shaft. When my finger grazed his tip, he bucked his hips up a bit.

"Sorry babe. But fuck, please don't tease me!" he told me.

I listened to him, wanting to make him feel as good as he made me feel.

"Can you take these off?"

Within seconds his underwear was on the floor, and he was bare in front of me. His dick wasn't huge, but in my eyes it was the perfect size. I remembered what he told me, just do what feels right. I started out by kitten licking the tip, tasting his salty precum. Then I began cautiously jerking him, working up the courage to put him in my mouth.

"You got this, sweetheart. You don't have to take it all at once. Just make sure you cover your teeth with your lips." he advised.

I giggled nervously, not wanting to hurt him. I decided it was now or never. I took his advice and covered my teeth so I wouldn't scratch him, and slowly took him into my mouth, jerking what didn't fit.

"Ahh, yeah baby just like that, keep going!" he moaned.

Knowing that I was making him feel good boosted my confidence, and I continued sucking him off. I reached my other hand down and began gently playing with his balls. That must have been the last straw for him, because he stopped me, pulling out of my mouth.

"Fuck y/n that felt so good, but I don't want to cum yet. You did such a good job." he tells me, giving me a kiss that said I love you without actually saying it.

"Do you want to keep going?" he asks me, making sure I was okay.

"Yes Matt, more than anything."

He smiles at me as we reposition once again to where we started off, with me laying on my back. He leans over to his nightstand, grabbing a condom and a small bottle of lube.

"Wow, you came prepared." I tease.

He just blushes and hands me the condom.

"Put this on for me?"

I may be inexperienced, but I do know how to put on a condom. I tear open the condom and roll it on his dick, which was now in front of my face. He positions himself in between my legs.

"I know your still wet, but I'm gonna use lube too. It will help this not hurt so bad." he told me.

That was the first time I had thought about the pain, but I tried to push the thought to the back of my head and just enjoy myself. He squirted some lube on his hand and rubbed it over the condom, getting closer to me.

"Are you ready babe?"

"Yes, but please be gentle!" I said nervously.

He brought his hand up to gently cup my cheek.

"Of course sweetheart. If it's too much, just tell me and we can stop, okay?"

I took a deep breath. "Okay, I'm ready."

He lined himself up to my entrance, keeping his eyes on me as he slowly pushed himself in.

"Ah!" I whimpered, feeling a burn as he stretched me out for the first time.

"I know hon, we're almost there." he told me.

Once he had bottomed out, he paused, letting me relax and get used to him before he began moving. After a short time, I felt ready for him to move.

"Okay, you can start moving."

He began slowly thrusting in and out. He was right, I think the extra lube definitely helped. The pain slowly faded into pleasure as I began to enjoy the feeling more.

"Faster, Matt!" I told him.

He smiled down at me. "Fuck, there's my girl! You're doing so good baby." he said as he picked up the pace.

Every few minutes he would pick up the pace, going impossibly faster and faster. He leaned down to make out with me some more, while still pumping in and out of me at an ungodly pace. I felt myself reaching another orgasm.

"Matt, I'm close!" I warned him.

"Me too baby. Where do you want my cum?" he asks me.

"I want you to cum in my mouth." I told him, wanting to taste him again.

"Fuck! Oh my god..." he trailed off.

After a few more thrusts he pulled out, sliding the condom off. I sit up and stick out my tongue for him to cum on.

"Shit baby you look so hot like that!" He jerked himself a few times before I felt his warm white cum on my tongue. It was the perfect mix between salty and sweet. I looked him in the eyes as I swallowed, showing him my empty tongue.

"That's my girl, y/n! You did so good for me." he praised, flopping down beside me.

"Fuck Matt, that was incredible! Thank you for being so patient with me."

"Of course y/n, I love you so fucking much." he said, kissing me once again.

"I love you too, Matt. Let's go to bed now, yeah?" I asked him.

"Yes, please."

He wrapped his arms around me, and we fell asleep just like that.

#sturniolo triplets #nicolas sturniolo #nick sturniolo #chris sturniolo #matthew sturniolo #christopher sturniolo #matt sturniolo #sturniolo smut #matt sturniolo smut #chris sturniolo smut #matt sturniolo x reader #chris sturniolo x reader #smut

[eclairfromleclerc]

Hello everyone. It’s been a long long time since I posted here but I guess life has caught up. I have been writing this chapter for god knows how long because I just couldn’t bring myself to write certain scenes. I still have so many ideas and directions about where this fic can go but as you understand, I need my time to actually try and write those ideas. I am now giving you the 8th chapter of this story which is a generous 14.6 K words to make up for my long long absence. I really hope there will be people still interested to read this. Always keep in mind that english isn’t my native language so pardon any mistakes or inclarities. I hope you will enjoy this as much as I enjoyed writing it. Wait patiently for the next part. Take Care, xx.

All’s Fair

(Toto Wolff x Reader) Chapter 8

chapter 1 chapter 2 chapter 3 chapter 4 chapter 5 chapter 6 chapter 7

Landing in Jeddah feeling like a weight has been lifted off your shoulders, after closing the deal with the Bahraini investors from your Monday meeting, is the only thing you could have asked for. Nothing has been bothering you for the past few days but the fact that Christian still hasn't said anything about you being late to your meeting, made you feel a little weird. Your little text exchanges with Toto made up for the whole madness.

As soon as your phone connects to the network you see a new notification popping up.

Christian Dad Horner 

No need to come over today, I got everything scheduled for the press, me and Helmut will handle it

Get some rest.

You raise your eyebrow reading , not knowing what your father is up to. Is he drunk? Is he out of his mind? You lock your phone and get off the plane. You check in your hotel, go to your room and settle in. As you take your clothes off your suitcase you find once again Toto’s Mercedes shirt in it and you take it out and put it on a hanger and in your closet. Thursdays are supposed to be a fun day in the paddock because of all the media and generally relaxed vibe that everyone has. The fact that no sessions take place on Thursdays doesn’t mean everyone isn’t working hard but still Christian thought your presence was not necessary, so here you are. Your phone rings with a new notification

Wolff

What’s your schedule for the press today?

You 

Christian told me he and Helmut will handle it, I won’t be joining today

I am just bored, sitting in my hotel room 

You open the camera on the app and snap a picture of your computer on your bed and some snacks nearby and you hit send

Wolff 

So you get to relax.

Enjoy it for all of us who have to work

You 

Will do :)

You spend the rest of your day in your room and meet Max to grab dinner at the hotel restaurant. Much less eventful for a usual race week Thursday. 

The next day you wake up, have breakfast and get ready to leave for the track. You check you have everything you need with you including your iPad and your badge to get in the paddock and you drive the Aston Martin, you lease for the weekend, to the track. You get to the entrance and scan your badge. To your surprise the screen in front of you shows a red cross and a message saying ‘Access Denied’. You try once again but the same message appears. You reach for your phone to call Christian to get you from the entrance. You wait for a couple of seconds before you hear his voice, the noise from the garage familiar to your ears. 

“Hey Dad” 

“Hello” you hear him answering

“It seems like my pass isn’t working, can you please come here and let me through?” you ask

“Oh I am quite busy right now sweetheart.”

“Can you send someone else instead?” 

“Um, I am sorry I have to tell you this but there’s a reason why your pass isn’t working.”

“What ?”

“It is going to remain like this for sometime, before I trust you to come back to the team”

“Did you cancel my pass because of what happened on Monday?”

“You should have been ready for this. I can’t discuss it more right now, we are having a meeting before FP1”

“Can you at least let me know about the meeting?”

“No, you are not in the team currently so, nothing to share. Feel free to fly back to England or Monaco with the next flight you find” Christian tells you and then ends the call. 

Thank god you thought about moving a bit further from the entrance so no one heard your discussion with your father. You feel a rush of anger coming at you but you hold yourself and walk as gracefully as you can back to your car, as people are watching you. You drive off the track and you pull over at the first parking space you see. You sit there in silence, since you were so confused that you didn’t even think to put some of your playlists on, and you try to realize what is happening. You let out a scream and tears roll over your face as you think of your father and all his five year old antics. But then you get the best and the worst idea you could possibly come up with. You drive fast back to your hotel and you run to your suite. You open the closet, grab Toto’s Mercedes shirt, stuff it in your new bag  that you haven’t worn in public, put on some tight black pants, some flat shoes and search furiously for that Mercedes face mask that Toto gave you that day in your travel bag. You get back to your car and drive to the track again, pulling over to wear the shirt and making yourself look like a mercedes employee. You leave the car a bit farther than usual so that fans don’t recognize you coming out of the car with the Mercedes gear. You once again walk to the paddock entrance. Hair tied on a bun, face mask and huge Gucci sunglasses covering your face. You get there not having thought of a way to get in. So you go with your instincts. 

“Hey” you say to the security guard. 

“Hi, how may I help you?” 

“Um, I am a new employee for Mercedes but I can’t seem to find my badge to get in.” you say with the best American accent that you have. Not that it mattered since the guard was Saudi Arabian. “Can you maybe call Mr. Wolff to come here? I’ll explain the situation to him” 

“I’ll reach Mr Lord.” he says

“No, no. You should call Mr.Wolff instead. I am not sure Mr. Lord is aware of my arrival here.”

“I’ll try to call Mr. Wolff then.” 

5 minutes later you see the Austrian walking to the entrance of the paddock and on his way there he waves to people, greets others and takes some photos. 

He goes to the security guard that called him

“What is it?” he asks

“This lady claimed that she’s a new employee for your team but she seems to have lost her badge, she insisted that I should call you instead of Mr. Lord.” 

Toto turns to look at you and you don’t hesitate. If you are going to get in, this is your chance. 

“Hello Mr. Wolff. My name is Mindy Roosevelt, I am here from the American branch of Daimler.” you say-again in your american accent- not being even 1% sure that you are making any sense. “I was sent here to assist you but it has been a really tricky week for me.” you look at Toto and he looks as confused as ever. “I was supposed to be here yesterday but my flight was canceled so I had to travel to Abu Dhabi to catch a connecting flight.” you try to give him hints of who you are, not being sure he understands. “ I had to look for the advisor of Daimler US Anri Hakkassan to give me my badge but then my wallet got stolen at the airport so I was left without a badge and my ID to show you who I am.” you see Toto’s eyes getting wider and wider as he realizes who you are. Your story seemed convincing for the security guard but Toto can’t leave you outside. He takes a deep breath 

“Ah yes miss Roosevelt I was waiting for you all day. Sorry to hear this. Come on.” he says and signals to the guard to let you through. You walk in the paddock and to the Mercedes hospitality, Toto not hesitating for a minute at the thought of you coming from another team. As soon as you both get in you see Bradley drinking coffee in the main lounge area of the motorhome and he greets you.

“I don’t want anyone bothering me for the next half an hour at least” he says to Bradley and he walks to his office as you follow him closely. You close the door behind you and Toto reaches and locks it. You take off your mask trying to apologize for the mess you’ve created. 

“I am so sorry Toto” you say and you hear him laugh 

“What is this?” he asks as he continues laughing

“Are you mad at me?” 

“No, I am just wondering how the hell you got yourself in this situation.”

“Christian blocked my paddock pass”

“He did what?” he asks looking slightly amused 

“This isn’t funny Toto, you know how much I love being in the team”

“That’s why you are hijacking my team?” he asks

“Christian thought that removing me from the team for a couple of races is a good way to punish me for being late at that meeting we had.”

“He did it just because you were 35 minutes late?” 

“You don’t realize Christian has a mind of a five year old when it’s about work right?”

“You said the investors were not mad that you were late, you even managed to charm them into signing a deal.”

“Yeah but Christian was mad, and he says it’s not about the investment, it’s about basic work ethic. Anyways, I can’t buy a paddock pass because I am not the type to sit in the lounge to watch the race. I need to be in the team. Plus I can’t give him the satisfaction of seeing me depressed because I am not at the pitwall or the garage.”

“How stubborn.”

“Yeah I am.”

“That’s very Horner of you.” he tells you and you roll your eyes at his obvious reference to your father’s stubbornness.  

“You are my only chance Toto, the other teams don’t even have a reason to accept me, except from Alpha Tauri, but I can’t go begging Franz about a paddock pass when he is clearly influenced by my dad.”

“Why are we even your only chance, we are your main competitors.” he asks

“I swear to god Toto I will do anything just to be here until Christian decides to drop the farce that he started. I will sign an NDA, I will keep my mouth shut about anything I see, I will delete it from my mind. Just let me be in the garage for the next few races.”

“How many races?” he looks at you

“I don’t know 3 maybe 4?” you tell him barely whispering.

“That’s a lot.” he replies “But for you I’ll try to do my best.” 

You try not to scream as you stand up from your seat, walk to his chair and hug him. You catch him off guard as he widens his eyes but then you feel his tension leaving him. 

“From now on you are Mindy Roosvelt and you came here to assist me as a part of your internship at Daimler US. You studied in New York, and you are American. You don’t know for how many races you’ll be here but it’s not long term.” Toto says taking his teacher look

“Understood.”

“You should never remove your mask in front of others, just tell them that you are at risk or something. Don’t wear high heels. We should do something about your hair so that people won’t realize it’s you and I advise you to wear sunglasses as much as possible, I’ll have Lewis hand me his collection from the Police Collaboration.”

“I’ll buy a wig. Can I have some more shirts and a couple of masks?”

“Is this shirt mine?” he asks and you nod “Looks good on you.” he says

“I’ll use yours then.” you tell him and you see him grinning. 

“I’ll have someone send you a couple of shirts, pants and shoes. I'll request your new paddock pass and I will be printing your NDA.”

“If anything leaks into Red Bull I swear I’ll be the first to go to court even if I am innocent.” you tell him and he laughs “Don’t laugh, I need you to see how serious I am about this. I won’t be saying anything to anyone.”

“I trust you. The NDA part is only about the team having to be legally protected.” 

“Okay” you say 

“Your office must be ready. It’s just the room next door, please lock it when you’re in.” he advises you “And please don’t forget your American accent once you go outside.” 

“I won’t forget. If we happen to see Christian around, just stay calm, I’ll handle it.”

“Okay” he says and you sit in silence for a couple of minutes. 

“I’ll go next door now.” you say and you stand up. “Oh sorry Toto, can I ask you about one last thing?” 

“What is it?” 

“Christian told me that I am free to leave with the next flight so I will be checking out of the hotel and I thought maybe I should be at the Mercedes hotel?” 

“I’ll arrange it. See you later.” he replies as you put on your mask and go to the room next door.  

20 minutes later you hear the door knocking, you stand up and reach for it 

“Who is this?” 

“Miss Roosevelt, I am Mariah. Mr. Wolff gave me something for you.”

You put your mask on and open the door 

“Come on in.” you tell her and she steps into your fake office

“I have this new iPad for you, Toto wanted you to have this. It has all of the passwords you’ll need and direct access to Toto’s schedule so you’ll know where you will be going and what you’ll be doing.” 

“What passwords are there?”

“Company email, team communications and private accounts.” 

“Okay thank you Mariah.”

“If you need anything else please do not hesitate to ask me, have a nice day.” she tells you and she leaves the office as you lock the door and remove your mask

You reach for your phone and text Toto 

You

Didn’t need to have access to all of this

Wolff

You have to If we are planning this lie correctly. 

I also sent you the details on your company email about the hotel room. I arranged it.

You 

Give me a minute I’ll have to get used to all of this.

The iPad is nice, I’ll give it back once I get all the details.

Wolff

Adaptability is key

Keep the iPad I don’t want you walking around the paddock with your old one, it’s practically a part of your looks, everyone will realize it’s you

Wolff

Anyways gotta work, I will be in the garage with Nyck for FP1, you’re welcome to hang by the fantasy island if you ever get the energy. 

For any question just text or call. 

You sit around for a while until your phone rings with a new notification from your calendar for the session starting in 5 minutes and as soon as you get it you stand up and leave for the garage. This time though it feels different. You used to take all your stuff with you in your pit wall seat but now there’s no pitwall seat, you’ll be just standing next to Toto, in the garage. You never got to stay in the garage, Christian always made sure you had a place at the pitwall, the garage was essentially a passage to get from the hospitality to the pitwall. You never spent a whole session in there, but now you will. The difference is the garage is not the one you are used to. It’s the Mercedes one and it’s clean, organized and much more hospitable than the one at Red Bull. At the long entrance of the garage there’s someone looking at you, making sure that you’re one of them. Little does he know, you think. 

“I am looking for Mr. Wolff.” you tell him

“He’s sat at the fantasy island with Nyck. You’ll see them once you get in.”

And you certainly do. The fantasy island splits the garage in two smaller ones for the two drivers of Mercedes, you get next to Toto and you don’t say a word. You look around you trying to take everything in, how the garage looks, how everyone is focused on what they’re doing and Toto next to you trying to manage everything that’s happening. He’s too far in to realize that you’re next to him and he nearly jumps as you touch his arm. 

“Sorry” you say quietly behind your mask. 

“It’s okay, I never realized that you came.”

“Well, I couldn’t turn down the proposal, plus I am supposed to be your assistant so I have to be with you.”

“I am not complaining.” he says and thank god Nyck is too busy chatting with Bradley next to you. Bradley hasn’t asked anything about you, he just keeps looking and staring at you but he’s not saying anything. 

For the next half an hour you see Lewis and George doing their laps, coming and leaving the garage during the session but during all this time you realize that you haven’t looked at the RedBull’s performances. The Mercedes garage felt like home for some reason. You weren’t doing nothing, you were just standing with your headphones on hearing comments about the car that you swear to yourself that you will never reveal to your team. Next to you Toto sits and watches the whole team working like a well oiled machine that he engineered. You are sure that he feels proud of himself, he has that grin on his face that makes you think so. You don’t know him really well but you have learned to pick some of those signs from the times that you’ve seen him around or that you’ve hung out with him. Again all of your thoughts are interrupted by a vibration from your pocket where your phone is. Goddamn it.  Another calendar reminder but this time it is from Toto’s calendar that you’ve managed to sync to your iPhone earlier. 

Meeting: Team Principals, FIA and F1. (1 assistant is allowed to attend) 

You widen your eyes at the notification and you tap Toto’s shoulder who is watching the timings and the data in front of him. He turns to look at you and removes the headphone from your side. You do the same but you realize Nyck is looking at you. 

“Sir, I just got a notification about your meeting with the F1 and FIA execs.” 

“It is half an hour after the session ends right?” 

“Yes but am I required to attend?” you ask

“Miss Roosevelt I believe that you were asked to be here as my assistant so since the meeting allows assistants it is your duty to be there.”

“Okay Mr. Wolff” you say and put your headphones back on to watch the rest of the session. 

“If you feel uncomfortable just excuse yourself and leave.” he turns and tells you and you nod. 

After the session in which your cars -yes, Mercedes cars- finish 1 and 3 you leave the garage and go back to the hospitality while waiting for Toto to finish his press duties.

Wolff 

I am done with my interviews, meet you outside our hospitality in 5?

You

Yes, I will be there. 

You leave and find him at the spot he told you to. You walk side by side to the race control building where the meeting is supposed to take place, him towering over you and you feeling miniscule beside him. When you are just outside Alpha Tauri’s garage you see your dad discussing with Franz and you roll your eyes praying that they will just let you go by. You get temporarily relieved when you are already past them but of course Christian has to talk to you. The man is trouble without trying. You hear him yelling “Hey Toto” from your back and you turn to face him. Toto frowns a bit but his expressions are mostly covered by his sunglasses. 

“Are you heading to the meeting?” Christian asks

“We are, yes.” Toto replies as you keep walking, Christian catching up with you. You take a sharp breath trying to persuade yourself that he won’t understand who you are. You’ve got your face covered after all. 

“I’ll join you.” Christian announces not even asking Toto who is clearly getting angrier. “I don’t believe we’ve met before” he says and turns to you.

You freeze but you regain your strength and reply to him “No, we actually haven't.” 

“I am Christian Horner, team principal of Red Bull Racing.” 

“Mindy Roosevelt, nice to meet you.��� you say in your best American accent hoping that you won’t get recognized. 

“And you work for Mercedes I see. Let me guess’ Public Relations?”

“No, I am here to assist Mr. Wolff for a couple of races, it is something like an internship from the American branch of Daimler.” 

“I figured from the accent that you might be American.” Christian replies “Are you planning on staying at Daimler or leaving to get a job at motorsport?” 

“I don’t know yet I’ll see where it gets me.” you answer

“If you plan on staying here please text me your details, I got a very interesting assistant position for you.” 

“You had your daughter as your assistant from the beginning of the season, what happened to her?” you ask, trying to understand what he’s doing but you hear his phone ringing. 

“It’s complicated with her, I need something stable, and I know Wolff always gets the best of the best so I might have to get a taste.” he replies as Toto, who was silent before, scoffs in the background. Christian checks his phone and excuses himself as he runs back to the Alpha Tauri hospitality center. 

You let out a breath that you didn’t realize you were holding as you are walking to the meeting. 

“Red Bull will be trying to have technical directives for the next few races to try and stop us.” Toto says. 

“I know, I built that case and all the arguments. I know exactly what to say to convince the FIA in favor of Red Bull.” you reply “Can I talk during the meeting?” you ask

“What do you mean talk?”

“Like defending our team’s points, why technical directives shouldn’t be changed, and counterarguments.” 

“No, your role is the one of the assistant, not the meeting participant. You will only be allowed there to keep notes.” 

“I can write my points to you and you can read them and elaborate more, can’t I?” 

“Yes, you can write notes for me to read.”

“Nice, let’s get no regulation change for today.” 

“Isn’t this bad for Red Bull?”Toto asks

“Right now I am working for Mercedes, and Mercedes is only treating me right.” you answer

Toto raises his eyebrows “I am both flattered and surprised by the fact that you want to favor us.”

“You know what Toto? I am tired of thinking how Christian and Helmut will be using my case to present in this meeting. I worked hard for this and I was supposed to present my point. This meeting was supposed to be my first one.”

“Didn’t you go when you were younger?” 

“No, I didn’t Christian always had his assistant with him and never managed to get me in even when I started working part-time for him. It is frustrating to see how your own father looks to replace you at a job. And now the team that I accidentally got in, even has the ability to read my notes and present a solid case.”

Toto doesn’t say anything, he just looks at you, his body language revealing that he is scared to say anything to you. 

“Am I really that bad?” you ask 

“No. Don’t you ever say that again. You were great, you got a deal with some investors, you helped run a team and you are doing a good job at even being an assistant in the team you probably hated the most.”

10 minutes later you are already sitting at a long table. Toto is sitting on your left. You take your new iPad and a Mercedes notepad with a matching pen and rest it on the conference table in front of you as team principals and other officials are taking their seats to start the meetings. Once everyone is gathered there Stefano starts the meeting with all the formalities needed the conversation starts and after a while you start discussing the burning issue. You open your updated document that you had created this morning with all the arguments and the possible answers that could be said from Mercedes’ side, those ones you hadn’t given to your father. This was only to help your presentation to get the regulations changed but now you are using it for the opposite reason. Christian finishes presenting all the planned points and it’s time for Toto to express his opinion. You managed to write a couple of things on paper and showed him some of the points that he needs to discuss. The man has done this countless times you’re sure but he’s totally letting you handle this. 

“Okay, this is an answer to Christian’s concerns about how the regulations right now are not in the right direction. I do not have an exact answer to each and every point of Christian’s speech but I will be trying to get most of them.” he says and glances at the paper in front of him “I’ll start by Christian’s point that the issue affects multiple teams, when in fact it’s not even the majority of the grid that faces the issue that you are aiming to get changed. I can’t see the reason for the regulation change, clearly it’s not that dangerous to drivers health according to doctors and also it would be a huge waste of our resources to just redesign certain aspects of the car when we have the budget cap this year. That’s how I see it.” Toto finishes his monologue and all the eyes are on him. 

“Clearly there will be a vote for this.” Stefano says 

“Thank you for the notes.” Toto says turning to you and you nod back

Later on the vote takes place and the results are the ones that you expected. That means increased performance from Mercedes and Red Bull chasing them right behind. In other circumstances you would be fuming but now you are happy Mercedes got the chance to stop the regulation changes with your help. The meeting ends and you lobby around for a little longer but afterwards you are back to the paddock walking to the garage for the second practice session. Toto walks by your side and you feel he wants to ask you about what happened there but before he can you inform him you will need some time in your office and you leave him behind. 

You get back to your office and you text your friend Sara who lives in Monaco

You

Are you in Monaco?

Sara

Of course I am in Monaco.

The question is where are you?

You 

Issues with dad, he won’t let me enter the paddock because I was late in a business meeting and now he removed me from the team

Still in Jeddah though

Listen, I need a favor from you and your magic contacts in Monaco

Sara

I don’t wish to know more about the dad-daughter drama

But I am here to help you with whatever you want

You

I need a place to stay in Monaco

Sara

You can crash on mine or I’ll book you a hotel

You 

I am thinking more of an apartment tbh

Sara

How long do you plan on staying here?

You 

Permanently?

Sara 

OMG, you’ll become a fellow Monegasque?

I will be in contact with my estate agent

You

Yes, I am planning to finally start living in Monaco. I don’t even know if Christian will take me back to the team to be honest but even if he does I can still live in Oxfordshire or in my apartment in London.

Sara

How fast do you need it?

You 

As soon as possible please 

You lock your phone as you take a deep breath to realize the decision that you just took. Moving to Monaco has always been your dream, since you have been to the Grand Prix there you fell in love with the place and you have spent quite some time in Sara’s house during the summer when you were younger. But now you want to do this alone, you want to feel independent in the country that you loved so much. You immediately think of contacting your father. You decide email is the best option. If he wants to be a bitch so will you

Hello father, 

I am sending this email to inform you about my decisions. I will be moving to Monaco in the next couple of weeks, on my own. I believe I will be able to make my own living with the money I currently have. I am requesting my last paycheck from the team since I have been fired and I am not aware of your intentions to hire me back or not. I wish that my personal space in our estate in Oxfordshire remains unchanged in case I am able to return to my obligations to the team, and I inform you that the apartment in London will still be mine. I am still in Saudi Arabia arranging my flight to Monaco. I will be quite busy during the next few weeks so I will not be able to contact you. Should you decide that I am able to come back to the team please inform me. 

Wishing you the best. 

And send. 

You go back to the garage 20 minutes in the session and you spot Toto sitting alone at the top of the fantasy island wearing a pair of headphones while another one is resting  on the desk in front of him. You go to his right and check the timings. Currently Mercedes 1-2. He looks at you and removes the headset so he can listen. He hands you the spare headset.

“Isn’t this Nyck’s?” you ask

“No this is yours, Nyck is not joining us at this session.”

“Thank you” you say and you wear the headphones 

During the rest of the session Toto shows you all the graphs about the car performance as well as all the communications systems in the team. You are convinced that he is not supposed to do that, it’s knowledge that an assistant could live without knowing and wouldn’t affect their job but still he seems so invested in letting you understand how the team works. This experience is not about gathering information for Red Bull, you think. It’s more about how a team should be and how correct management is done. Something that you feel is missing from Red Bull. The session finishes and Lewis and George are back to the garage with another top 3 finish for the team. 

As soon as your day ends you drive your Aston Martin back to the Red Bull hotel, pack your baggage, check out and drive to the airport where you are supposed to leave the car. When you manage to do so you go to the car rental area of the airport and visit the kiosk of the company Toto texted you about and get the keys to a brand new Mercedes AMG. Shortly after that you get dressed with your Mercedes gear once again and drive to the Ritz-Carlton to check into your new room. 

Turns out Toto has not only arranged a room for you but it’s also a huge fucking suite that you’re sure most Mercedes employees wouldn’t even consider having. You take a look at the suite and you open the closet door to find it full of Mercedes team shirts, hilfiger pants and the usual Mercedes designed puma shoes. You snap a picture of the closet and you decide to document those weeks of alternate reality that you are currently living in.

When the anxiety of the weirdest day you’ve lived wears off you check your phone for your newest messages

Sara

Gerard just reached out to me.

He has a wonderful loft 2,5 km from the Quartier Du Port.

Generally peaceful location

Sea views as well

Let me know if you want to see it.

You 

If you can go there and get some pictures please do. Thank you &lt;3

After that long day you realize that you didn’t get the chance to have a proper meal so you decide to order room service to finally eat something. You think of how pathetic it would look if you eat alone in this huge suite and before you can even cope with that thought you reach for your phone and call Toto. He picks up after 2 rings

“Hello” he says

“Hi, how’s everything?”

“Good, I am getting ready to go downstairs to the restaurant to have dinner, how are you?” “Oh same I was thinking of getting some room service for dinner since I can’t actually go to the restaurant to eat, but the suite is big enough to not feel restricted in one room. Thanks for that by the way.”

“I am sure you’ve only lived in suites for the whole year now so I thought why not. Don’t let the rest of the team know that though.” he says and you hear his laugh on the phone. You stay quiet and he does the same but when you actually decide to say something he speaks again “Maybe we can have dinner together now” he says.

“That’s why I called you in the first place” you admit, but you think you definitely sound a bit in despair. “I can’t order food for two people though it might seem weird.”

“You can come over to my suite, I’ll make sure that it will look as if I am having a meeting with either James or Shov.” he suggests

“Is it okay?” you ask again

“Definitely, I will be ready in 10, suite 264. See you.” he says and terminates the call.

You take a look at the closet trying to decide what to wear. You choose a graphic t-shirt and your most comfortable pants paired with your white sneakers, the only flat pair of shoes that you carried with you. You take a look at the mirror, readjust your hair, put on a nude lipstick and after 10 minutes you are finally ready to leave. You put on your mask because your goal for today isn’t getting caught from walking in some hotel corridor and you navigate your way to suite 264, you knock on the door and Toto is right there letting you in. He’s wearing a pair of black sweats and a gray T-shirt but he is barefoot. 

“Hey” you say and you walk in the suite looking around. It does look like your suite when it comes to furniture but the rooms are a little more private. There’s a desk that has turned out to be more like Toto’s office for the weekend. You sit on the couch while he closes the door behind you and walks in the living room. You take your mask off and sit there looking at the ceiling. Toto stands in front of you with a menu card in hand.

“I was thinking, maybe pasta?” he tells you

“That’s what I planned to order today.” you laugh as Toto reaches for the phone on the table next to the couch and orders 2 plates of pasta ai funghi with two glasses of red wine. 

“They’ll be here in 30 minutes” he tells you

“Great” you reply and stand up. You look at the place around you, stand up and walk to the desk. You sit on the only chair there and you put on his round glasses and put on your serious face as you move your fingers on the mousepad of his mac which -to your surprise- is unlocked so you are able to navigate in his computer. You open up his email but still he doesn’t react even though you are looking at you closely and you start typing and reading out loud. 

“Hey Michael, I am just sending you an email.” you say and you keep being serious while you hear Toto bursting in laughter at the couch.

“Lewis is the best of all time, he did nothing wrong, everything is red bull's fault.” you say again and he keeps looking at you. 

You keep joking, acting like you are typing a new email “Hey FIA, it’s Toto, please let us use the das. It's a great innovation and we are so smart to think about it. We are not illegal, or at least that’s what James Allison and Shov said. It’s not our fault that we are both smart and sexy. Thank you in advance.” 

“That’s not what I said” he laughs

“I’ll need proof for that.” you say “Would I make a good Toto Wolff?” 

“The best. I’ll be sure to leave you in my position once I retire.” 

“What will Daimler say for that though?” 

“You are doing your training so why would they have an issue?” he replies and you laugh. 

“Isn’t this suite a bit too big just for you?” you ask

“You have the same one but yeah it is a bit big.”

“Mine isn’t as big.” you say “Most times I feel lonely in those suites. Mine don’t have kitchens though.” 

“You cook? Too bad we have ordered already.” 

“Maybe another time.” you say and you hear the door knocking. 

“Quite fast.” Toto says and he stands up to open the door. 

You walk around the suite once again and enter his bedroom and look at the open closet which is once again full of Mercedes button ons so you grab one and put it on. You hear Toto talking and you go back to the living room but he’s still talking to the person outside the door. 

“I am kinda busy here Cynthia. I am sorry.” you hear him say

“Please Toto.” a female voice replies “Is there someone else? Is that why you ordered two plates, two glasses of wine?” she asks

“Cynthia I am in the middle of a very important business meeting, it’s about tomorrow’s qualifying and James is waiting inside to eat so that we can continue our meeting. Thank you for the service.” 

“Will you call me when you are done?” 

“I will be asleep when we are done.Thank you” he says and closes the door. 

You stand there in his living room wearing his button up feeling stupid for believing this thing could go anywhere further. 

“I should get going.” you say 

“Now that the food is here?” he asks but you don’t reply, “Is this shirt mine? Are you going to take this one too?”

“I will get back to my suite and you can call Cynthia, or whatever her name is, and tell her that James is gone and that you are okay for her to come back and do whatever you two do together.” 

“Wait, are you jealous? Of Cynthia?” 

“I am not jealous, just not in the position to get involved with someone who’s fucking around with the girl who brought him room service 3 times.” 

“I am not involved with her.” he says

“Well she seemed awfully too comfortable to be just a stranger Toto.” 

“What do you want to hear?” he asks

“That you’ve fucked her?” you tell him

“We slept together once last year.” 

“That’s all I needed to hear. Goodbye Toto.” you say as you walk towards the door, his shirt still hanging on your shoulders but before you can leave he manages to grab your hand 

“I only saw her once this year and I just said hi. We hadn’t spoken since last year but as soon as I arrived she didn't stop appearing in my way. She had reached out several times since we left last year but I never got back to her.” 

“So she’s nothing to you?” 

“She was just a fling.” he replies and you turn around to sit on the dining table. 

“Fine” you say, irritation apparent in your voice “Am I just a fling?” you ask yourself in your head so you decide to ask the same to Toto who is holding the pasta plates leaving one in front of you and one opposite to you  on the table. He doesn’t answer, instead he does the same with the two glasses of wine. His silence makes you feel like his answer is not the one that you want to hear but as he leaves the glasses on the table he doesn’t sit down, he stays there towering over you and looking at you. 

“If it was just a fling I wouldn’t risk destroying my team for it. Also I wouldn’t have done anything that I’ve done for you in any case.” he replies. “Technically you can’t even call it a fling because we only made out two or three times and we were drunk.” he says and just stays still “And still there are two glasses of wine that I ordered on that table. I am never going to learn, am I ?” he laughs

“Sorry ?” you ask but he leans in, reaches for your face and kisses you catching you off guard. You stay still in your chair as he sits opposite to you not saying anything

“The wine is red” he says then

“I can see that.” you reply

“They say that red wine can get you drunk easier.” 

You try to understand where he’s going with this

“And?”

“We haven’t drunk any of it yet so we are sober”

“Why are you explaining this to me like I’ve never drunk before?”

“This is the most sober that I will be tonight and you said that I didn’t have the guts to make a move without being drunk.” he says

“You won’t get drunk with a glass of wine Toto.”

“I know I won’t but still I didn’t want you to blame this on a single drop of alcohol.” he replies and you smile and you start eating. No one talks during dinner but you are laughing at each other when you’re struggling with eating the pasta without actually making a mess. It feels natural to just sit there and eat with his company, like you are finally where you are supposed to be. For this moment you forget everything else and you focus on what you are currently living. After some time you both finish your food and you see Toto standing up. 

“We should finish our wine on the couch.” he says, taking his glass and you copy his moves. He sits on the couch and you do the same but you don’t sit close to him. You rest your back on the couch arm and lay there putting your feet on his lap. He turns and looks at you but he doesn’t say anything. He rests one hand on your feet and he grabs his phone with the other one unlocking it and looking at his mails. 

“Do you want to work?” you ask

“It’s Friday night so no.” he replies

“Then close your phone”

“What can we do instead?” 

“Talk like normal people?” you tell him

“About?” he asks

“I am thinking of moving to Monaco” 

“That’s a bold choice, have you thought about it enough?” he asks

“I have and I think it’s the best thing I can do to be honest, I have some of my friends there and I really want to leave home, I really can’t deal with Christian while he keeps treating me like this.” 

“That’s good.” he replies “What about going to the factory ?” 

“How are you doing it? You live in Monaco and you also have to go to England at the factory.” 

“It’s really tiring to be honest, you need to have a place to stay close to the factory “

“I have my apartment in London available.” you tell him

“London to Milton Keynes isn’t that easy to do on a daily basis.” 

“Anyways, going to the factory isn’t my main priority right now, I am not even on the team.” 

“You are on Mercedes.” he says

“Is this an invitation to Brackley?” you laugh

“You swore it was just for a few races, not that you will be staying permanently” 

“It was my masterplan to get hired by Mercedes.” 

“We don’t want you with us.” he jokes

“Why?” you ask 

“You are distracting the team Ms. Horner.” 

“How am I even distracting the team?” you say whining “People don’t even know who I am except from you.”

“You answered for me.” he tells you “And now I have to deal with you walking around Monaco.” 

“Oh sorry, I’ll cancel my plans then.”

“Oh no, Monaco needs a twist.” he says and you look at him but say nothing. He doesn’t attempt to start a new conversation, he just readjusts on the couch, grabs the remote and opens the TV. He navigates through Netflix’s homepage and you eventually make him watch a movie which he tried to convince you not to watch. Again, none of you speaks during the movie. Halfway through, you realize you’re far too invested in the movie and turn to look at Toto who is fast asleep on that same couch. You decide that there’s no point in staying longer in his suite and you remove your legs from his lap as smoothly as you can, you grab your phone and your shoes which you had earlier taken off and head to the door tiptoeing. 

“Stay here tonight.” you hear his raspy voice which takes you by surprise and you almost scream

“It’s better that I leave, you are tired and need some sleep.” you reply

“There’s a spare bed if that’s what you’re worried about.” 

“And there’s an empty suite down the hallway.”

“Come on, aren't you bored to leave when you can just sleep here?” he tells you and well, he’s kinda right. Plus it’s not like you don’t want to spend some more time with him and it would definitely be questionable if someone saw you leaving his suite at midnight. You don’t go back to the couch but you leave your shoes down while Toto eyes every single move you make. 

“It’s quali day tomorrow, we need to sleep. Come on.”  you tell him and you walk to his room. Seconds later he follows you and enters the room. 

“I’m taking the left side.” you say and he smiles at you with a sleepy face. 

“You’re sure you don’t want to sleep in the other room?” he asks

“It’s not like it will make any difference. Except if you have a problem.”

“No, definitely not.” he replies and both of you lay on the bed, facing each other. 

“I’ll wake up earlier to go to the gym, then we can get ready and hit the track. We’ll have breakfast there.” he says and you nod. He seems very calm, eyelids heavy with sleep so you decide to lean and kiss him goodnight. As you come closer to him you can now feel his scent and warmth and you put your lips on his. The kiss is slow and sweet, somehow different from the rest that the two of you had shared up to this moment. 

“Goodnight Wolff.” you say

“Goodnight Horner.” he replies and both of you drift to sleep. 

The next day you wake up without an alarm and you find the bed next to you empty. You hear water running and figure out that Toto must be taking his post gym shower. You keep laying there and grab your phone to go through new updates and messages. Not a lot of time passes until he emerges from the bathroom wearing nothing but a white towel wrapped around his waist and he holds another one trying to dry the water off his hair. You admire the sight for a while and you say “Good Morning”. He looks at you and replies

 “Good Morning Horner. Slept well?” 

“Very much thank you” you say “How about you?”

“Slept really well, and I started my day with a good session at the gym with George and Lewis.”

“Oh that must have been interesting. I would have loved to join you three.”

“It would be funny to see their reactions.” he replies as he dries his hair on a smaller white towel while he’s looking at the nightstand on your right where his things rest . He tosses the towel he was holding on a white chair in the room and he approaches you. He climbs on the bed and puts one hand on the headrest while his other hand is stretching to reach the IWC watch on the nightstand. His already toned muscles are a little more observable now that he’s lingering above you. You draw a sharp breath at the sight trying to contain your thoughts and your self but you still look up and stare at him while he makes sure that he gets the watch. When he actually does, he looks down at you and he catches you staring. 

“What?” he asks, staying still in the same position and you don’t answer but instead you scoff. You take a quick glance on his body and you let your instincts take over. You grab him from his neck and pull him down for a kiss. He immediately reacts by holding your face with his now free hand and he pulls you closer as he deepens the kiss and bites your lip. You melt into the kiss still laying down as you feel your heart racing faster than any racing car you’ve ever seen. Your breath gets quicker as you get the sheets out of your way trying to feel his skin on yours. Toto mutters “Fuck” in between your kisses making you a little crazier. He breaks the kiss and walks to the end of the bed, he grabs your legs and starts leaving trails of  kisses all the way up from your calf to your upper thigh until he stops and looks at you, eyes full of lust. He lingers above you for a second or two and he looks at you intensely trying to make sure that he has your consent for his following actions. Once you understand what this is about you nod while you're trying to regulate your breath. 

"Stay still for me baby" he requests and you try to follow his order by just laying there as he dives his head between your thighs. Your breathing gets faster and deeper as he works his way down on you making you feel like you’ve never felt before. You sense his smile while his tongue makes circles down on you. It’s more sensual than you’ve imagined it to be. And god the man definitely knows what he’s doing. He keeps going on for a while with the same dedication as he started and you feel getting closer and closer to your absolute limits. You look down on him as he now uses his hands on you, and you see him staring back. “You look so good baby” he says and all you can manage to say is his name followed by a moan. “Toto I’m so close. Fuck” you say out of breath and he dives in once again as if he heard the magic phrase. He works his magic and shortly after you probably have the best orgasm you’ve ever had. Then he stands up, his hardness still apparent. You manage to regain your strength and crawl at the end of the bed. “Time to take care of you love.” you tell him and he looks at you with a sparkle in his eye. You reach for his neck and pull him in for a long kiss as you move your hand down his torso and on his crotch. You feel him, how hard he is, and you’re secretly taking pride in your effect on him. You start touching him, trying to make him feel good in your hands. His breathing gets faster as you continue and you can sense him coming closer and closer. You want to give him your best so you slowly lean down but he stops you. “Let me feel you?” he asks, almost sounding tortured. You feel a burning desire in you. You’ve imagined this for some time. You cannot say no, not now. Instead you say “Yes please” and get on his lap. You kiss him, while you’re repeating in your head “i am actually fucking Toto Wolff”. You give him one or two strokes getting ready for him but instead of following he looks around, probably for protection. “I am on birth control” you tell him and he turns his attention back to you. You place yourself in the right position as you feel him pressuring your entrance. Once he’s in you start riding him until  you feel yourself getting out of breath. All this time muttering his name like a mantra and he is just repeating something in the lines of “God you feel so good.”, both of you feeling like you’re in another world. As soon as he gets that you are tired he lifts you up and lays you down on the bed. Now he is on top and he’s thrusting in and out in a rhythmic and satisfying way. He looks you in the eye. It’s not awkward. Not even close. You both seem to enjoy it quite a lot. It’s not after a long time that both of you finish at the same time, in an almost poetic way. 

Now both of you lay naked on Toto’s queen sized bed. No one is talking. You just lay on his torso while his hand is round your shoulders. At some point you decide to break the silence

“That was a decent start to the day.” you say and Toto looks down on you 

“Beats the early gym session to be honest.” he says

“I would be angry if you preferred going to the gym with Lewis and George to having sex with me” 

“If it wasn’t for the gym you wouldn’t be here now”

“You think it was the ‘semi naked with a towel’ appearance that made me want to sleep with you?” you laugh “I would give it to you any time of the day, even if you were wearing a garbage bag Wolff.” 

“Nice to hear that you are unreasonably horny.” 

“It’s not without a reason though. I think you’ve figured out that I do not consider you a bad looking man.” 

“I have yes.” 

“All I had to do is to just find the courage to just throw myself at you.” you laugh 

“And you kind of had to be drunk to do so?” he asks

“Yes”

“Isn’t it ironic though?” he says “That we actually slept together during the moment of our biggest clarity and sobriety?”

“What is it with the philosophical questions Toto? I just wanted to have sex with you for a long time and I did.”

“Long time I hear?” 

“Yes, are you surprised?” you ask

“No, just glad that I am not the only one. Was it good at least?” 

“God Toto, you’re asking the cringiest questions.” you say “Yes, god, it was perfect.”  you answer and you hear Toto laugh. 

“Now as much as I want to stay here and repeat this through the day, we have to go to the track” he says

“Ah yes, I am dying to get some breakfast as well.” you say and Toto laughs 

“I’ve already had mine” he says with a smirk and as soon as you get what he’s talking about you grab your pillow and start hitting him playfully. 

“Come on, let’s get ready.” 

A hour or so later, you find yourself parking a shiny black Mercedes at the track's parking area while being already disguised as your alter ego, full on Mercedes’ gear.  Today you are wearing Toto’s shirt, which is a little oversized but you manage to style it in a great way. You grab your bag, draw a sharp breath and open the door. You walk to the paddock and scan your pass as you go totally unnoticed by people around you. To them you look like a regular Mercedes employee that they have no reason to care about. Little do they know that this is actually you. To be honest you kind of love the calmness of it, how no one is chasing you for a photo or a statement on a recent drama or event of the F1 world. You just walk unbothered. You get so caught up in that thought that you don’t actually notice how fast you got to the motorhome. You get in and put on your show, greeting the majority of your colleagues that also seem ignorant to your presence there. You go to the buffet area and grab a tray for your breakfast which you eventually bring to the small office that Toto managed to provide you. Once you settle in,  you sit down to eat but you take a photo of the breakfast as a part of documenting that crazy weekend. You also decide to send the photo to Toto. 

You 

[photo]

Grabbed breakfast and brought it to the office. Drop by if you don’t have anything better to do. 

Wolff

Just walked in. I’ll grab my coffee and be there in 5. 

You 

Cool.

Five minutes later you hear a knock on the door followed by “Miss Roosevelt it’s Wolff here.” 

“Coming.” you say and unlock the door for him to come in. 

“Hey” you say

“Hello” he answers and looks at the full tray “You got quite a lot of food there.” 

“Yeah, that start to the day just opened my appetite.” 

“That’s good to hear” 

“So, what am I supposed to do today?” 

“Well, practice starts in 45 minutes and then we have qualifying.” 

“I am aware of the program, thank you.” 

“You won’t let me finish my thought will you?” he says

“Sorry” you tell him and look at him 

“I am thinking, maybe you can join me and Nyck in the garage for practice.” he pauses to think “And then you can take a look at the data before qualifying.” 

“No I cannot do that” you say 

“Why not? I know you can read data, you have the basic skills and knowledge to judge a performance run.” 

“I don’t want to be involved with your data. It’s confidential.” you reply.  It is actually crazy that Toto is okay with the idea of you handling the team’s data, as if you are not his number one opponent. 

“I know it is. But I trust you, plus there’s an NDA that you’ve already signed. And the fact that you deny reading the data makes me want to give you access to them more than before. Because I know how serious you are about not leaking stuff.” 

“Okay I will take a look, but only for a short time.” you tell him 

“Oh and then I want you to do a tour to a group of visitors that will be coming to the garage.” 

“Aren’t there people responsible for this?” you ask, reminiscing the fact that in Red Bull you have people who are responsible for the hospitality packages. 

“There are but they are shitting their pants because Christiano is dropping by later.”

“Who is Christiano?” you ask, slightly confused

“Ronaldo” he replies

“He’s coming to the race?” 

“Yes. He’s actually coming both today and tomorrow and the team is invested in doing everything perfect for him.” he says and you are still staring at him with your mouth open “We are a bit short staffed in that team so an extra help would be amazing.” 

“Good. I’ll do that too.” 

“Great, thanks love” he says and you freeze at the name but before it gets too awkward the door knocks. 

“Toto, this is James, do you have some time to review the quali strategy?” you hear through the door

“Yes, I will be there in a sec.” he replies “Gotta go now, i’ll see you in 45 right?” 

“Right” you tell him and he is out of the office. I

You spend the next 30 minutes scrolling through twitter and eating the breakfast that you got earlier as well as taking a look at Toto’s schedule for the day. Later on you leave the office, mask on once again, and make your way to the garage and to the top of the fantasy island where Toto and Nyck are waiting for the session to start. Both cars are in the garage waiting for a sign to leave once the lights at the end of the pitlane turn green and at the same time all the mechanics are making the final touches on the set ups. You greet everyone sitting on the fantasy island and put on the spare headphones as you did the day before. The session is done as usual, the drivers  going in and out of the garage to change setups on the car to find an optimal one for the qualifying. Performance runs are also on the programme but only during the last fifteen minutes of the session. Everything concerning telemetry is being sent directly into Toto’s computer on top of the fantasy island as soon as each lap ends so that he can see how they are done and areas where they can be corrected. The session ends quicker than it usually does when you are at Red Bull because suddenly all the chit chat becomes interesting and not as boring as it is with Christian. 

“P1 and P2 huh?” you ask him. Nyck is already out of the garage, something about having to talk to some foreign media made Toto let him leave before the small pre qualifying debrief.  

“It isn’t bad is it?” he asks back.

“It is not for us” you tell him “ It is for the rest of the grid though. I bet Christian is fuming right now.” 

“It is not bad for them. If we are in front they will have to innovate more to reach us. It motivates them.” 

“I bet they are not seeing it this way though.” 

“Is Christian really fuming if we finish in front in practice?” 

“Yeah, he’s not a fan of coming second in any session of this sport.”

“Too bad for him.” he says and you laugh. At this moment your phone rings with a notification from the calendar app reminding you of an interview Toto has to attend. 

“Oh, I am seeing now that you should be outside the media pen for an interview.” you tell him

“I am very much aware, thank you.” 

“Well, why are you not there now?” 

“I prefer to hang out with my beautiful assistant instead.” he compliments you

“Oh my god, shut up” you laugh and he does the same “Come on, interview, now!” you say as you tug him and try to push him to the corridor that leads to the paddock playfully. 

“That’s unfair. I am the boss. You are not in the position to prohibit me from doing anything.” he laughs as he walks reluctantly to the paddock. 

“Well, it seems like I am in charge of what you are doing so technically I am allowed to tell you what to do.” you tell him “I will be enjoying a cold cup of coffee in the meantime.” 

“Once again, that’s unfair Horner.” he says the second part whispering so that people are not able to hear. “Also, you have work to do. The telemetry data is already in your email inbox waiting to be read and commented on, so if I were you I would actually save the coffee for later.” he says and you look at him flabbergasted. “Oh and as soon as you are done with that you have the little tour to do in an hour and a half. Take care Ms. Roosevelt.” 

Before you are able to form a sentence he is already gone, more like running to the media pen. You on the other side, walk back to your office, open your new iPad and take a look at the data. The lap times look good, still slower than the lap time that you calculated the pole position would be on, but they look good. In the data you can see clearly that the engine mode is in a much less aggressive setup that you are sure will change during qualifying. You add some comments using your iPencil concerning parts of where you think the drivers can gain time, as well as some questions for the strategists and the mechanics. When you are done, you forward your notes to Toto’s email and check the clock to see that it has actually been 1:30 hours and that it is actually the time to go meet the people you will be giving your tour to.

You find them all standing on a circle by the garage entrance at the paddock, discussing, taking pictures and being excited. There are 5 of them, 3 guys and 2 girls, all of them close to your age. You approach them and greet them. One of the girls looks gorgeous. The boys aren’t bad either. 

“Hello everyone.” you say “You must be waiting for a paddock tour right?” 

“Yeah” one of the boys says and the rest of them nod. 

“Okay!” you say in an excited tone, trying to engage with them. “I am Mindy. I will learn your names during the tour I suppose.”

“Nice to meet you” says one of the girls “Likewise” you answer “So, should we start? Are you all excited?”

“Very.” one of the boys says.

 The tour starts and you take all of them for a walk in the paddock to see all the motorhomes and where you actually work and you are actually describing all the details about what you are showing to them. You take them by the media pen, where you spot Toto giving another interview for pre qualifying. All of the guys and the girls get very excited and try to snap a picture even from far away. Then you take them by the garage but just before you manage to get in, you receive a new notification on your watch

Wolff

Just finished the interviews at the media pen and managed to see your notes and questions on the telemetry data. I forwarded them to James and he immediately got back to me asking who made all those brilliant notes and questions. I guess you are wasting yourself with management, you should become a mechanic instead. 

Oh I also caught a glance of you and the guys during the tour. I hope that you are doing alright. We don’t want to make Ritz’s employees sad, we still have a few days left before we check out. 

You read the message and realize that the people that you’ve been interacting with are people working at your hotel. So you decide to stop the tour and actually get to know them. 

“You know what? Let’s introduce ourselves before going into the garage.” you tell them and walk back to a bench located at the paddock. 

“So as I told you before I am Mindy Roosevelt, I am currently working at Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 but my position is totally different to what I am doing right now. I am actually working as an assistant to upper management, but the hospitality team has a very special guest for this weekend and they were busy enough so you are left with me.” you say  “Go ahead, introduce yourselves.” 

One of the guys starts talking “I am Ahmad Hussain and like everyone here, I am working at the Ritz-Carlton in Jeddah. I am working as a cook in the hotel kitchen so everything that you’ve tasted in the past few days might have had to do something with me.” 

“I loved everything that I’ve tried, thank you Ahmad.” you tell him

“I am Benjy Ayad, I am half american half saudi arabian and I am currently working at the Ritz-Carlton as an economics advisor.” he says

“Mohammad Dawoud, and I am working at the Ritz-Carlton in room service.”

“Oh, I will be requesting for you Mohammad.” you laugh and he takes a bow showing his honor. 

“I am also working as room service at the Ritz.” you hear one of the girls saying. This time it’s the pretty one

“That’s nice. What is your name?”

“I am Cynthia Jones.” she says and you freeze as you realize that the girl standing in front of you has slept with the man you slept with this morning. Jealousy as well as curiosity are your main feelings so you ask for more information. 

“Sounds very non-Saudi Arabian. Where are you from Cynthia?” you ask

“I am from the UK actually. I was born and raised there, my parents are British but all of a sudden I ended up here. I was looking for a position in management in some big companies here in Saudi Arabia and I got this job as a part time until I figured things out but I ended up staying for two years.” 

“That’s crazy. And why management? Do you have a degree?” 

“Yes, I actually do. I got my degree in Switzerland and I tried pursuing it but right now I haven’t found anything that I like.” 

You nod in agreement, trying to register all the information that you’ve learned from her directly. Toto was secretive about their relationship so learning even the slightest about her is important. Finally you turn to the last girl left

“Alina Mohammad, I work as a receptionist at the Ritz. Nothing to know exactly. I was born and raised here and I got a degree in touristics so I got the job of my dreams.” 

“You guys seem really happy with what you are all doing. I hope you keep doing what you love.” you say “I mean you all managed to buy a paddock pass that most people wouldn’t dream buying at what? 24?” 

“No actually we didn’t buy a pass, the team invited us to join today’s action.”  says Benjy

“Oh shit, I didn’t know that.” you say 

“Yeah they came in last night and handed us the passes just before our shift ended. We went crazy.” says Cynthia and you look at her. 

“Sorry Cynthia, if I may ask, what time do you finish your shift on average?” 

“I don’t know, maybe like 11pm or something? Yesterday I finished at that time.” she replies. At this point you are now sure, Toto asked her to come there today. There’s no other explanation. As soon as he saw her he wanted her to come back. That’s why he invited her. It wasn’t planned for you to do the interview, but he changed it to make you interact with Cynthia, to actually hurt your feelings. 

“Mindy, is everything okay?” Mohammad asks as you have totally zoned out

“Sorry, I spaced out for a bit. Yes, everything is good. Shall we continue with our garage tour?” you ask and they nod. You go back to the garage trying to explain as many things as you know about the things there. To be honest, your mood isn’t quite the same as it was before you knew who the beautiful blonde by your side was. Luckily, the tour comes to an end 30 minutes later but sadly it is qualifying time so you have to be by Toto’s side by the time the session starts. Cristiano Ronaldo is also there by Toto’s side. You nod and greet him as Toto introduces you and you just get back to work. 

During qualifying you sit there, not talking, just looking at the screen and the timings and occasionally checking your burner twitter account for any comments.  Although you are pissed at the man next to you you definitely don’t want Mercedes to qualify in bad positions so through Q1 and Q2 you are relaxed since it is obvious that both cars will be through to Q3. During Q3 you keep your fingers crossed and mostly during the last runs for pole position you keep praying as you usually do in Red Bull. When the timer runs out Lewis and George are sitting P1 and P2 respectively, locking the front row for tomorrow’s start and as soon as the team figures it out, the whole garage erupts in cheers. Toto reaches Ronaldo for a handshake, celebrating the results.  Your eye catches the guys from earlier cheering and hugging each other, taping with their phones. Toto turns to you and you do a high five with him as he smiles at you. You remain indifferent in his reaction, keeping yourself busy until George and Lewis are back to the parc ferme to congratulate them. Once you are done with that you simply say goodbye to everyone there and leave. 

You go back and grab all your things and without saying a word to anyone you drive back to the hotel. When you are ready to go back to bed, you see a new message

Max Emilian Verstappen

Where are you? I missed you on track these days. 

You

Sadly Christian thought it was a fair deal to throw me out of the team for god knows how long.

Happily for you I will be out of your way for that time so you will relax. 

Also congrats for the P3 today, it was a decent run but the mercs had the pace. 

Max Emilian Verstappen

Oh Christian…

Shut up, I already miss you. Are you in England?

Thank you H.

You

I am in Monaco, at a friend's house. 

You feel kinda terrible for lying to him but there’s not much you can do. 

After you chat with Max for a while, you order some food to eat but then get another message. 

Wolff

Lost you after qualifying and when I asked they told me you had left. That wasn’t a bad result. 

Anyways I am going back to the hotel and I am planning to order something to eat, you can hang around my suite if you want and we can discuss strategies for the race. 

Let me know what you are about to do 

You 

I’m not feeling very good, sorry. 

And tomorrow I will be coming in late, probably an hour or so before the start

Wolff

Okay. Do you need any help? Should I drop by your suite? 

How am I supposed to work without my assistant?

You 

I am not your main assistant Woff, you have a hundred people helping you, me not being there won’t be a huge issue

No, don’t come. 

Just let me fucking be for once okay? 

Later on you see that he read the message and didn’t reply. You take a hot bath and go to sleep for tomorrow. 

You wake up the next day pretty late but just in time considering the fact that you are planning to leave in 2 hours. You order breakfast to avoid having something at the track and start getting ready as you are waiting for room service to arrive. You eat and then leave. 

Since you left the hotel earlier your time of arrival is estimated earlier than you actually planned so you decide to take a drive in Jeddah’s streets to soak in the country. An hour or so before the start you actually arrive at the track. You park your car and walk to the hospitality. Then you lock yourself in your office and just read notes for the race. Later on you hear a knock on the door. 

“It’s Wolff” you hear him say and you open the door even if you don’t want to. You don’t speak. You stay there and look at him. “Are you feeling okay?” he asks 

“I am okay, yes.” you reply “Do you want anything else?” you ask him since he’s standing there just watching, 

“Why are you acting like this?” he asks

“Like what?” 

“Like Christian Horner’s daughter?” 

“Yeah, you should be expecting that since that’s exactly who I am” 

“You haven’t been like this since Bahrain.” he says

“Well if you don’t like it then you should call Cynthia.” you tell him

“Is this what this is all about? Are you jealous?” he asks

“Listen Toto, if you want to discuss this I will discuss it outside this office please.” you tell him

“Okay then, follow me.” he says 

“What? Now?” 

“I want to solve this right now if it’s okay.”

“The race starts in 30 minutes.” you say 

“It will take less than 30 minutes, follow me” he says 

Both you and Toto walk in the motorhome before he manages to open a door at the end of the hallway. You climb off the stairs and you reach a place somewhere in between a wall and a closed section of the motorhome. 

“Speak” he says 

“Bossy much ?” you ask

“Yes, now please tell me how did the whole Cynthia thing reoccur after yesterday morning?” 

“Don’t tell me you don’t know.” you tell him

“I do not have a clue.” he says 

“You don’t have a clue about inviting her here?” 

“Who?” 

“Yesterday you made me do a paddock tour to a group of people.”

“Yes, they were the Ritz employees, I am aware of that”

“So you are aware that Cynthia Jones was proudly here watching F1 and enjoying qualifying with a VIP pass right?” 

“I was not.” he says and honestly he seems like he’s telling the truth. 

“You didn’t see her in the garage?” you ask

“Well, believe it or not I do not see everyone who is in the garage.” 

“You didn’t invite her ?” 

“Nope.” 

“She said that she got her invitation right after her shift ended. And her shift ended after you saw her.”

“I was aware that they were going to be here. Just not the names of who was coming. The hotel management was supposed to do a draw and pick 5 people to join us as a gift. It’s part of our contract.” he replies

“So you didn’t know she was coming?” 

“I am going to say no once again.” he says “You can search my messages if you want to.” he says as he hands you his phone. 

“I trust you.” you tell him and you hand him his phone back 

“After all I am not that big of an asshole to invite an ex fling and then sleep with you the next morning.” 

“Don’t you dare do this again.” 

“Invite people or sleep with you?” 

“Oh Wolff fuck off.” you joke

“With you, gladly.” he replies

“Shhh” you tell him 

“You are not going to shut me up this way.” he says and then looks at you “Also take off this goddamn mask now that no one can see us, I am tired of seeing you with it.” 

You take of your mask and smile at him

“You’re sure that no one can see us here right?” you ask and he nods. 

You lean on him and kiss him, catching him off guard. He returns the kiss as he smiles in it .

“I am sorry, Wolff. I won’t overreact about Cynthia again.”

“It’s alright Horner.” he tells you. 

“The race starts in 15, should we go?” 

“Let’s go.” he says and both of you walk back to the garage and your usual places. 

At the start of the race both Lewis and George start off well, keeping their initial positions with Max lurking just behind George. Standing next to Toto, you have access to everything on his computer so you see lap by lap each and every thing you’ve learned to look for in order to plan a strategy in your head. When things get tough and Max gets behind Lewis in P2 your brain is running as fast as it can. The Mercedes strategists are proposing possible pit stop strategies based on the data that they have. However they don’t know one thing that you do. As an executive at Red Bull you have to be aware of code phrases over the team radio, which to be honest can’t be forgotten in a day. So as you’re seeing in the data Lewis is trying to manage his tires and you hear the message “Okay Max, it seems like we are going for a one stopper here.” , you feel the bells ringing in your head. 

The “It seems like” phrase is a code name for doing exactly the opposite that the phrase says so you are 100% sure that they are going for a two stopper in order to win. Something that Mercedes has done countless times. 

Toto had told you earlier that if you want to intervene you can press the button and speak but he thought that you wouldn’t be crazy enough to actually do it. When you crack the code of the Red Bull strategy you immediately press the button saying strategy and speak. 

“Red Bull is going for a two stopper.” you say and Toto looks at you with his eyes wide open. “In about 5 to 10 laps they are going to be back on the softs to chase us. I would suggest pitting Lewis for a second time, turning the engine up and trying to chase him.” 

“Are you sure?” he asks

“The “It seems like” is the key phrase Toto. Please let Lewis know. ” you tell him

“Okay. Do what she said. I am waiting for your calculations. Get back at me in two minutes.” he says while pressing the strategy button 

“Thank you.” he says. 

Later on it seems like Red Bull is caught off guard by Mercedes’ move and they try saving it as well as they can but they fail. At the end of the race the checkered flag is out and Lewis wins the grand prix in Jeddah. 

“Yes boys, come on. Amazing strategy” says Lewis through the radio as everyone in the garage is celebrating. George finishes P2. 

“Thank you for the amazing drive Lewis.” says Toto 

“Get in there Lewis!” says Bono through the radio. 

Toto turns to you and says thank you while he’s off to congratulate the other team members. After Lewis gives his post race interview to Naomi Schiff, you storm off to the pitlane to watch the podium ceremony. Max is also there and he seems a bit disappointed by his streak of P3’s during the season, but you’re barely worried. Right now you are celebrating about Lewis and George. You take your phone out and snap a picture or two. After the champagne opens and the trophies are given you go back to your office and lock yourself there once again. You’re hearing all the congratulations from people in the hospitality center and you sit on the office couch feeling that happiness and euphoria of winning. You haven’t spoken to anyone since the race ended but you are now just laying there happy. A long time after, you hear a knock on the door. You’re sure it’s Toto since the race debrief and the interviews must have ended by now. You ask who it is though.

“It’s Lewis. Can you please open up?” he says and you freeze, stopping dead in your tracks. You put on your mask and you open the door. 

“Oh my god Lewis hi. Congratulations on your win.” you tell him

“Thank you Mindy. It’s Mindy right?” he asks 

“Yes it is.” you tell him

“And you’re a Daimler intern?” 

“I am yes.” 

“Can you please take off your mask so that I can remember your face?” he asks and at this point you are pretty sure he knows that you’re not who you say you are. 

“I am sorry but I am at great risk, I don’t want to get COVID or anything.” you tell him trying to avoid the situation. 

“Don’t worry, I am wearing masks and I also tested negative this morning, so you can take it off.” 

“Is it okay if I don’t want to?” you tell him

“Yes it is.” he says and he turns to face the door, finally going to leave. “We will be outside celebrating the 1-2 with the team, it will be amazing if you come, even for the picture.” 

“I am not sure I have to be there.” 

“I know you had something to do with that win, this strategy didn’t make itself Horner.” he says and you freeze as you register how he called you. 

“Excuse me?” you tell him 

“Next time that you fight with Toto, don’t do it outside my driver’s room Horner.” he says. “I know what happened between you two, I saw you without your mask and I saw you kissing my Team principal, there’s no denying.”

“Shit. Toto said no one could see us.” 

“I could see you but Toto thought I would be at the grid by then when I clearly wasn’t.” 

“I am sorry. You can’t say this to anyone.” you tell him

“I don’t plan to, I just find it funny that you switched teams.” he says

“Yeah, I had to because my dad’s an asshole.” 

“Okay, now you get what everyone’s saying right?” he laughs

“Yeap.” 

“You should come outside, let’s celebrate. You earned this victory as much as I did. Plus I want to have you in the picture. You can wear your mask.” he says and he extends his hand to make you stand up from the couch. 

“Okay” you say and you walk with him 

“Oh and by the way, Wolff is heads over heels for you, I am pretty sure he’s liked you for a long time and he hasn’t stopped thinking about you. That Cynthia thing is completely bullshit.”

“Really?” you ask him and he nods smiling. 

Both of you walk outside to celebrate that amazing day with your amazing achievements. Mercedes really feels like home for you. Toto’s eyes light up when he sees you outside, in between the mix of employees. He stands by your side for the photos and then all of the team starts playing with champagne. It’s a really great night in the desert that makes up for the craziness of the weekend which makes you relax ahead of the new week coming up. 

#toto wolff #toto wolff x reader #toto wolff fanfic #enemies to lovers ig #f1 #all's fair fic

[jasntodds]

Petrichor Chapter 1 Teaser

Pairing: Jason Todd x Fem!Powered!Reader (little bit of fwb)

Words: 1,291

Chapter Warnings: Swearing, fluff

Summary: ❝Pylades: I’ll take care of you. Orestes: It’s rotten work. Pylades: Not to me. Not if it’s you.❞

Gotham is home, not just for Jason but for you, too. And now that you’re both finally back home, together, you’re ready to see where this next chapter brings the two of you. He’s your best friend and you’re his. And you both might want a little something more with being back home, the place you both feel most comfortable. Surely, nothing could possibly go wrong now.

A/N: I wanted to post a teaser because why not honestly lol so full chapter will out next Wednesday!! I hope you guys like this little bit!! If you wanna be tagged in this series, you can send me ask, comment, or click the link below to add yourself to the tag list!! 

series masterlist | masterlist | tag list

Jason’s been…touchy today. The two of you have always joked and played chicken with each other. You’re always the chicken. But, today, he’s very touchy and you don’t mind but you’re wondering why that is. What changed in the month you’ve been a part that Jason is suddenly touchy? And Jason knows he’s doing it. A part of him is doing it because it’s just you. He doesn’t have to worry about overstepping his best friend anymore. You can play this game the way Jason likes to play. A little more contact, make the game of chicken a little more thrilling. And the other part of him, wants to see where it’ll actually go. For real this time, despite everything.

“But I have won because this is comfortable.” You give him a large toothy grin and Jason does that crooked smile, where he’s almost biting his bottom lip, like he’s thinking something mischievous. And you swear he’s the prettiest person you've ever met.

Jason leans forward, plucking the book off the coffee table in front of the two of you. You watch him carefully over your phone. Jason lifts his legs up, yours still on top of his, and rests his feet on the coffee table before opening the book where he has a piece of paper as a book mark. The bruise on his jaw shines against the low light, moving with his jaw as he swallows. You find yourself thinking you like the way the bruises always look on his skin. He looks perfect even with the blacks and blues and purples and reds. But, the other part of you, hates that he’s covered in bruises. He never should be.

You sit all the way up and move closer to him, placing your fingers on his jaw. Jason’s heart stutters in his chest but he lets you finish. You turn his face so you can get a look at the bruises that hug his jaw and paint his opposite eye. Your touch is so gentle and tender, Jason isn’t sure if he’d ever get used to it. It’s been so long since he’s felt this, he almost wants to jump right out of his skin. But, he doesn’t dare move because despite his better judgement, he likes when you’re like this. It’s a side of you no one else ever really get to see and it makes him feel wanted.

 “What happened?” You ask softly.

Jason is like a graphite drawing, small details in colored pencil. Messy and decorated with shades of blues and purples. But beautiful and soft. Despite the messy smudges and the accidental hard edges and hand prints, he’s so beautiful. He is this beautiful graphite masterpiece that you think should be on display everywhere. There is an effortless about him and ease about him. He pays those purple and blue splotches no mind as the corner of his mouth quirks into his signature grin. He’s so unbothered and pretty. The graphite isn’t damaged or too messy, the smudges make him…him.

“Dickweed got a few lucky hits in.” Jason scoffs and there’s a tiny bit of arrogance that flashes across his eyes. “Got ‘em back though.” Jason wiggles his brows and you brush your thumb over the bruise on his jaw line before shaking your head.

“Of course you did.” You laugh softly, pulling your hand away and Jason just almost grabs your hand back.

You knew you missed him. That was obvious every single day. A coldness came over like the first cold front of the winter. Expected but disappointing anyway. You didn’t know you missed this much. You had no idea you gave him this part of yourself and he took it back to Gotham with him. You think of the Iron Giant, how when he blew up and parts of himself went everywhere, his parts echoed, finding home. You think that’s how your heart is with him. He has a part of it, maybe without even knowing, and your heart beats and aches until you’re with him. You never realized that’s what the pain was until now, now that’s it gone.

You, instead of going back to his face, wrap your arms around his neck and pull him into you. The hug catches him off guard, you hug him but there’s usually some bigger reason behind it. Deathstroke, almost dying twice, leaving, meeting again. There’s usually something bigger there but Jason doesn’t get the sense that’s what this hug is for. So, he reaches up and hugs you back.

You scare him. Jason Todd is not supposed to be scared of anything and lately fear has been taking over his life. And he’s scared of you, but not in that petrifying and paralyzing way that’ll get him killed one day. He’s scared because you’ve been here before and he backed out. He pushed and ran and then you ran. You’re runners and pushers, it’s embedded so tightly through your DNA, Jason doesn’t think anything would ever stop either of you. And he’s so scared to let himself exist with you in the way he so desperately wants to. He could never handle you leaving him and he couldn’t handle hurting you. So, he pulls away, not too far, but enough to look at you.

“What’s up?” Jason asks, his eyes darting over your face and his expression is careful, desperate not to give away the ache of his chest.

You shake your head, biting the inside of your cheek. “Can’t hug you?”

“Always got a reason.” The corner of his mouth twitches up but it’s sad. If someone hugs him, even you, there’s usually a reason.

”I just missed you.” You shrug your shoulders with ease.

Jason can feel the heat creeping onto his face. “You’ve said like six fucking times today.” Jason lets out this laugh that you swear is better than any sound you’ve ever heard before. “I knew you wanted me, but fuck.”

“Shut the fuck up.” You let out a groan but you can’t get the smile to fall from your face. “Want you.” You scoff. “You’re the one who wants me.” 

The smirk dances across Jason’s face. “Babe, if I wanted you, I’d have you.”

“Yeah, okay.” You roll your eyes. “Like to see you fucking try, Jay.” You taunt and there’s nothing hold you back from it now. You aren’t a Titan right now. There’s no Gar or Rose. It’s literally just the two of you for the first time since you’ve known each other. And you see Jason pause and you’ve won. “Mhm, exactly. I win.” You hum triumphantly, leaning back against the arm of the couch and Jason doesn’t take losing gently.

If this is game you want to play, he’ll play ball. No one else is here anyway. Jason gets this darkness that crosses his eyes and you do is smile to yourself proudly, going back to looking at your phone. You’re positive, for once, he doesn’t have a come back. But, Jason sticks his finger in his book and stretches his right arm out, grabbing the collar of your hoodie and pulling you forward, bringing you an inch from his face.

Your eyes nearly bug out of your head, your breath catches in the very back of your throat. You swear you can taste your heartbeat in your mouth. Your stomach flips upside down, your bones feel like they’re turning to jell-o. How the fuck does he do that? His eyes are forest green in the low light of the living room and you swears it’s your favorite color now. That specific shade of green that should be named after Jason, himself.

Jason’s eyes dart between your eyes and your lips, he’s doing it on purpose. Jason does everything with intention. Impulsive? Yes. But, he has a purpose for everything that he does. He’s careful even when he’s impulsive.

“Mhm, exactly.” Jason’s voice is low, mocking you.

series masterlist | masterlist | tag list

Tag list: @fairyofshampoo // @italiana-20 // @jasontoddsmentaldisorders // @purplerose291 // @lovelessamai  // @makaelaseresin // @lenidaslenchen // @mayfieldss  // @ghostkingblake // @im-done-with-this-im-out // @velvetskies // @lilylovelyxo // @cryinghotmess // @yesimwriting // @vivian-555 // @anthemabby // @baebeepeach // @legend-o-zelda // @harleycao // @somehow-lovable-trash​

#jason todd x reader #jason todd fanfic #jason todd fanfiction #titans #titans fanfic #titans fanfiction #caving in #red hood fanfic #red hood fanfiction #petrichor

[morallyinept]

HAPPY SUNDAY LOVELIES! 🖤

So, this week saw the end of the Sag-AFTRA strike! 🎉 I am so excited for Pedro knowing he may well be back to doing what he loves very soon. This is great news for everyone who was out on the picket lines and those striking to protect their livelihoods, their creativity and artistic identity.

(And let's not even talk about the whole Patrick Dempsey thing from this week, okay? Did we travel back in time or something? 😐)

This week was a busy one for me, again. Ugh, why does adulting suck? I wish I could stay at home and write all day rather than have to work and earn pennies to feed myself. 🙃

Anyway, let's get into this week's whip round. You ready Jack? Crack that whip, handsome!

Catch up on last week here, sugar

☆ Things I've posted this week

Five Days - Chapter 7 - Things are beginning to unravel now, as you and Joel equally start to unravel. Once again, many thanks to everyone who's reading, following along with, re-blogging, liking and commenting on this series. 🖤

SUV Shenanigans - Dieter Bravo GIFLET (Thank you to @secretelephanttattoo for putting thots in my head on Discord.)

Two Fingers Of Whiskey - Agent Whiskey GIFLET

Little Blue Pills - Joel Miller GIFLET

Self-Care With Dieter & Jett this week focused on showing yourself some self-compassion. With a brief cameo from my beau Ezra. 🥲

This week's Writer Wow featured the ever lovely @ghostofaboy Go show him some love, he's absolutely amazing. 😘

And a shoutout to lovely @perennialdoll247 too and this incredible artwork of Javier Peña that she created. I am so blown away by your talent, V! 😍

☆ Things I'm currently working on

Had some delicious thots this week that I am working into fics... stayed tuned for more Dieter, Frankie and some Agent Pike. I'm still working on my Christmas fics, most if not all of the first drafts are complete now. There are 12 in total - why do I do this to myself?? 🥴 Got more GIFLETS & one shots to come too.

☆ Things I've read this week

I did a massive sort out of my Pedro Character Fic Rec List this week, mostly to keep from everyone being tagged continuously each time I update it - and I update it A LOT. 🫣

Didn't get around to reading as much as I wanted to due to working through most of my lunch breaks this week (the perks of being in a senior role, le sigh...) but hoping to up my reading game next week.

Frankie Morales NSFW Alphabet - @ghostofaboy I felt like I was reading a true to life version of Frankie right off the page when reading this, it was so immersive. Ghostie has this incredible knack of making me feel like I can reach out and physically touch Frankie, and this was no different. Genius. 👏🏻

This Charming Man - @ramblers-lets-get-ramblin Another Frankie highlight this week in the form of dark!Frankie. And I urge you to read this. This had me feeling like I did when I watched Dexter all those years ago; you root for the bad guy, even though you know you shouldn't - you can't help it because you just love him so much! This was brilliant and so emotive and descriptive. Another amazing homerun from lovely Angela! 🤘🏻

Las Mañanas - @kiwisbell I discovered this gem of a story this week and am hooked! I've devoured chapter 1 and am setting time aside this coming week to catch up on the rest, and you totally should too. Javier Peña in this is just everything you want; heroic, charmingly smooth with a pinch of arrogance, and the type of man you absolutely want coming into your coffee shop. 😍

Two Left Feet - @linzels-blog I adore this story. My mouth still aches from smiling so much as I read it. I was pulled right into Whiskey's world and Southern charm. Such a great fic that left me right in the action. I was dancing, I was drooling. I highly recommend this. 🤠

Send In The Clown - @covetyou I sat on this fic in my tbr for waaaay too long, let me tell you. I'm actually pissed at myself. This is nothing short of genius and please, if you're not into clowns that's cool, but I'd insist you give it a shot anyway because you'll be pleasantly surprised at how this is done. Dieter in this is just everything. I am in utter awe! Just a marvelous read that I will be absolutely indulging in again and again. 🤡

Headshots Chapter 5 - @secretelephanttattoo I'm devastated that this Marcus Pike series has run it's wonderful course, but all good things must come to an end, right? And this is sooooo fucking good. Stunning, actually. This is Marcus perfection for me. I love these two lovebirds and will revist them again for sure. I'm also so excited to see what El will give us next as I know it's going to be amazing. 🥰

☆ What have I been watching/listening to this week?

Not a lot due to said work and adulting - ugh. I've had Family Guy running in the background when home for company and that's about it... aside from my Frankie Morales Mixtape playlist that's on in the car most days.🤘🏻

☆ What have I been up to this week?

Well, that about wraps it up for this week. I hope you guys enjoy the remainder of the weekend.

Work, work and more work. 😖 Seriously, it's been the bane of my life this week. But I am looking forward to another week's vacation after next week where I'm planning on doing lots of writing, socializing and hiking. Woot! (And maaaaybe start tackling my Christmas shopping 😬)

Remember stay kind, stay creamy. This is Jett and Jack signing off to go line dancing with @linzels-blog 🖤

🖤

#jett's weekly whip round #pedro pascal characters #agent whiskey #agent whiskey kingsman #agent jack daniels #jett's fic recs #fic recs #joel miller #dieter bravo #marcus pike #frankie morales #sunday week in review #pedro pascal #Spotify

[withoutyouimsaskia]

Remember Me, Special Dreams

Part XXIII.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25

GIF: Originally posted by @simply---words

Summary: Self-insert. You're having trouble with recurring night terrors and Morpheus pays you a visit. (Title from the lyrics of Placebo’s Special Needs)

Warnings: language, angst, mentions of night terrors. 18+ Minors DNI. Smut, hand play, penetrative sex (AFAB+AMAB).

Word Count: 2.1k

A/N: Hello there! Smut part 2 is here! I apologise for the delay with this chapter. It took a long time to pull all the threads together and get the dialogue right. Hope you are safe and well. All my love, Saskia ❤️

Sandman Masterlist

-----------------    

“Right now I need to be inside you.”

Morpheus’ desperate words see another spark burst forth into flame within your core.

There is no point in arguing with him. You can tell from the obstinate set of his shoulders as he gazes up at you from his still-kneeling position.

You push yourself back so your entire length rests on the pale blue sheets.

“Lie with me.” You pat the space next to you and roll onto your side.

Once Morpheus is situated beside you, you watch each other, kissing every so often. After a period, the aftershocks of your recent orgasm burn out and you feel prepared to take things further.

You inhale a deep breath, knowing that what you want to say next is important but uncertain of how to phrase it.

“I'm not exactly sure of how reproduction works among Endless beings... however I wanted you to know that I’m taking a contraceptive pill,” you clarify while fruitlessly attempting to smooth a crease out of the sheet.

He kisses you sweetly. “Thank you for your openness.”

You lay on your back and Morpheus carefully straddles you.

He’s so delightfully accessible to you now. The angles of his collarbones are demanding to be touched so you do it. You start there, with both hands in the centre, spreading out across his chest, over his upper arms, round to his back and up into his hair. His muscles contract as you trace the path. 

You change instrument, swapping from hands to lips, and press kisses to his exposed neck. It sends him into a feverous delirium; his pupils are dilated so far that they almost eclipse the blue.

He guides your hand to his erection. He is already hard yet he stiffens even further when you begin to pleasure him.

His eyes roll back with a low groan. You gush at the sound.

Dark lashes cast pretty shadows onto his cheekbones in the light of the lamp. With your free hand, you cup his face then slide your fingers through the shorter hair above his nape.

You stroke his shaft evenly for a while before tightening the hold you have on him by a fraction. He tenses, speaking your name in a forewarning and you release him before you get too carried away.

The liquid lust in his eyes when he looks back to you is overwhelming. You open your legs.

“You are ready?” He asks.

“Yes,” you whisper, heartbeat picking up. “Are you?”

“I am.”

He adjusts your position ever so slightly. His weight sinks down and you feel his tip at your entrance. You become rigid, nerves returning full force.

“I will be gentle with you, Y/N, I promise,” he pledges.

You nod. "I trust you."

He strokes your face with his fingertips. “As I trust you.”

The mutual exchange of those candidly spoken words gives you proof that the connection you are cultivating together is pure and honest and authentic. Exactly as you want it to be.

Morpheus waits until you are completely relaxed before resuming. His eyes are trained on your face, looking for any sign of discomfort but also to see your reaction. 

You are doing the same. Despite your suppression and denial of your attraction and feelings, both of you genuinely had wanted this for some time now.

And because of that, you need to remember every second.

You secure your hands on his shoulders.

He eases into you slowly, stretching you further than you had been in the past, inspiring a long moan that harmonises with his own.

“Morpheus,” you call as he continues to push in.

You are panting. The sensation of being opened up has your eyelids fluttering.

“Keep looking at me,” he whispers.

You do as he says and re-focus on his familiar, perfect face.

He bottoms out with a breathy gasp.

As your walls flutter, he holds still to give you time to adjust.

He feels so very large and so very right.

The expression on his face is one of unadulterated astonishment. “You feel…” He groans, “You are…”

For the first time since knowing him, he is unable to finish his sentence. You have rendered the King of Dreams almost speechless.

You reach up to stroke his jaw line. “Please.”

He understands and moves ever so slightly. You overload from pleasure, burying your face in his neck and inhaling deeply to compose yourself with his scent.

You feel his large hand on the back of your head.

“I’ve got you,” he repeats a few times. His voice calms you quickly and keeps your arousal throbbing.

With your heart rate stabilised, you look back at Morpheus and smile.

“I’m okay now. Keep going.”

He smiles back, and lowers onto his forearms. You are more prepared for the movement this time; the pleasure is still visceral but you soak every bit of it in. 

You instantly want more.

His first thrust is shallow, as is the second, and after the third, he begins to deepen in increments. When you begin to move with him, bliss lights his countenance. 

He is taking his time to satisfy you and it is so unlike any of the sexual encounters you have had before. He is savouring the moment, savouring you. It makes you feel undeniably special. He wants to share his very being with you as you do with him.

It adds another tie of emotional attachment to him. You trace his cheekbones with adoration.

Morpheus stops suddenly. He draws almost all the way out.

Your mouth drops open. You want to complain, to tilt your hips up and maintain the friction but you don’t. There’s a look on his face that stops you. A look that has you combusting.

You watch him with baited breath. The urge to squirm and whine is immense.

He slams back into you.

The grunt he makes as he does so is salacious. You cry out and grab his shoulders.

He repeats the action.

You hold tighter still.

His lips claim your own in a searing kiss.

He then sets a rhythm that you know will send you over the edge if he maintains it. And he does. He takes you hard and deep until everything you know is him. Him alone.

The roll of his hips casts a hypnotic spell over you.

You wrap your legs around him. He hums in approval at the deeper angle you have offered.

"Morpheus," you moan loudly as he takes you into a realm of pleasure that you had not been permitted to enter before.

The devotion in his eyes intensifies with every pump.

You feel your channel contracting as he pushes you closer and closer to the edge.

“Let go for me,” he urges in a dangerously seductive tone.

His hand finds yours and he laces his fingers between your own. Such care is shown in that simple act; in his ocean blue eyes. You focus on them as the tension in your core threatens to snap.

“Let go, Y/N.”

You arch up, walls clamping around him. 

You are silent as the orgasm bursts forth and then all you can say is his name as the euphoria blinds you.

As soon as you speak, he spills himself inside you.

Pleasurable agony is drawn on his beautiful features. He continues to move until he runs dry. Your trembling legs sink down onto the mattress.

Then Morpheus withdraws and descends the last few centimetres to be flush against your glowing skin.

The only movement either of you make are the rises and falls of your chests and involuntary twitches created by your orgasms.

You remain contentedly pressed together until your spent bodies recover, consumed by joy and serenity.

***

You and Morpheus take it in turns to clean up in your bathroom. He lets you go first; your body feels painfully cold without him and you have to take refuge under the duvet upon re-entering the room.

Pink warmth blushes your cheeks when he comes back and you don’t try to hide it. What a difference it makes to feel able to show your desires now.

Morpheus pauses, eyes flickering to the vacant side of the bed. You pull a corner back and beckon for him to join you.

“You are sure?” He asks, respecting your personal space.

“Hold me, please.”

He slips between the sheets. His dark locks fall into a halo on the pillow. He draws you against his side and tucks your head under his chin. You nuzzle into his strong chest and sigh.

"You were right when you said you were experienced," You murmur after a few minutes.

He huffs out a little laugh. "Does that mean that you enjoyed yourself?"

"Of course I did. It was -"

Life changing. Mind altering. Soul defining.

They were all viable ways to end your sentence.

"It was the best I've ever had," you eventually say.

His fingers trace precise patterns on your upper back.

"I have longed to be with you like that for some time. Since the day that you kissed me on top of that hill.”

“That long?”

“Yes,” he replies solemnly.

“I hope I lived up to your expectations.”

“You exceeded them.”

You blink. “Really?”

“Your touch is something to be coveted, and you react so perfectly to me. You are considerate of my boundaries. You understand the emotional weight of sexual contact. I could not wish for more.”

He shifts to be able to look into your eyes.

"I apologise for the way I reacted when I got undressed. I did not mean to cause you any concern. I am grateful for how you sought to console me.”

“You don't have to say sorry for anything, Morpheus.”

“Perhaps not but I feel I should elucidate.”

He sits up and you follow.

“Something happened to me. I was certain that I had overcome it yet I couldn’t stop myself from drawing a parallel to what had transpired.”

His gaze fixes on the light source.

“There was a human. An occultist named Roderick Burgess. Burgess was dangerous and obsessive and after the death of his son, he attempted a spell to imprison my sister, Death, hoping that she would bring him back from the Sunless lands. But instead he got me. What he wanted was not mine to give but Burgess never backed down. I had no means of escape; the binding circle drained my power, and he took my tools. The effect on humanity’s subconscious was devastating without me to curate and manage it. Certain dreams and nightmares went rogue, some preying on the waking world.”

His pauses and his voice cracks when he speaks again. “My raven, Jessamy, tried to help me. Burgess’ other son murdered her right before my eyes. I stayed in that basement for 106 years, completely naked, locked in a glass cage as I grieved the loss of my friend and my reason for existing.”

You feel a tear escape and streak down your cheek. Naked. It made sense in the most heartbreaking way. He had been right back in there in his memories remembering his agony and isolation. You know without a doubt that the trauma Matthew had mentioned when he had come to visit you in the cottage was the same. Morpheus had watched a loved one die. How could it be anything else?

You suppress a sob. “What happened when you got out?” 

“I took my revenge on Alex Burgess. For Jessamy. For not letting me go when his father had died, and then I went back to the Dreaming. When I returned, I found it had wasted away, as I had done in that cage, decayed beyond recognition.”

“But you re-built it?”

“Yes. With the help of my tools once I had reclaimed them. It took time, and self-reflection and allowing myself to trust others but eventually everything was set right.”

Morpheus goes quiet. You take his hand. 

“I’m so sorry, Morpheus. I’m sorry about Jessamy. I’m sorry that you suffered for so long. I’m sorry for the cruelty of humans. I will always be here if you need to talk about it, about anything.”  You are crying as you speak.

He buries his face against your neck. “Not all humans are cruel, Y/N. You are one such example. The offer you just made is proof, and I give the same to you. You will always have a shelter with me.”

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

"We don't need to know. All we have is now, so just let go. When your number's called and it's time to disappear. Have no fear cause you got me and I got you. Right here."

Taglist: @pinkcyclewitch @layla2-49 @shoidy-cat @silverhart93 @boofy1998 @dotieeee @ponysboy-sunsets @fangirlmary @littledollll @fatimakinney @jamiethenerdymonster @rosaren2498 @mr-sandman-bring-me-a-dream​ @madiebear​ @sandman-33​ @sallysal9​ @asiludida164​ @elf-punk​ @grungeisntmything​ @sapphireonline​ @seninjakitey​

#the sandman #sandman #the sandman 2022 #the sandman netflix #The Sandman Fanfic #The Sandman fic #the sandman imagine #sandman x reader #the sandman x reader #morpheus #morpheus x reader #morpheus/dream #morpheus/dream x reader #dream #dream x reader #dream of the endless #dream of the endless x reader #the endless #sandman smut #dream smut #dream of the endless smut #lord morpheus #lord morpheus smut #tom sturridge #slow burn #angst #smut #romance #fanfiction series #saskia writes sandman

[whoahoney]

A Girl Called Honey Pt. 2

Eddie Munson x Trailer Trash!Reader

Part 1

Summary: Eddie begins to see through the cracks in the walls Honey built around herself, little by little

CW: 18+ mature themes & language, mentions of abuse, depictions of poverty, trauma, drug use, Juniors got a gun, slight angst, a little fluff, and Eddie’s pervy thoughts

A/N: this took me forever to finish, this chapter has been so many things before this final form, so Im posting it before I decide I hate it 💀 we’re gonna get into their backstory soon, I promise! Thank you to my pal @boomhauer for inspiring this story, go check out her masterlist bc Disjointed is a MUST READ!

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

“HONEY!” Jun called to the house one evening as he arrived home from work with the kids. He was the first one out of the truck, bolting to the porch and almost running into his sister who burst out of the house, shushing him profusely.

Eddie stuck his head out the door, passing it off as if he were checking on Wayne who smoked a cigarette on the porch couch. The old man held out his pack of cigarettes, wordlessly inviting him to sit next to him.

“I swear ta God—If you wake up the babies, I’m gonna—“

“—They needa wake up, anyway, or they ain’t gonna sleep later! ‘sides, look at what I picked up off the side of the road!”

“Please don’t tell me you found another deer, I don’t wanna do that again.” Honey whined defeatedly.

“S’not a deer!” Aaron called from the back of the pickup, Junior made Honey cover her eyes before joining him. Honey peeked from behind her fingers, glancing over to Eddie’s porch and blushing at his gaze on hers as he smoked. He smiled, sending her a wink that almost had her weak in the knees.

She squeezed her eyes shut. “What is it, Jun, I got dinner on the stove!”

Cal ran around the front of the vehicle with wide eager eyes ready to explain, “Jun worked on a roof in Loch Nora, the fanciest neighborhood here, and the owners had this—“

“What did y’all take?!” She shrilled, eyes popping open as she tried to get off the porch before they could unload the mystery object.

“They were gettin’ rid of it—it had a sign and all, right Jun?” Aaron hollered over the top of the truck as he strained and the ear piercing screech of metal against metal reverberated throughout the lot. The smaller kids clamped their hands over their ears until it stopped.

Cal finally let Honey down the steps so she could see from the side of the yard, her eyes widening as it hit her, her hands flew over her mouth as she began to practically bounce in excitement. “Oh my god!”

“Your very own dryer!” Jun tapped the top lovingly.

“Wha—Jack! Jack are you messin? Does it really work? Don’t fuck with me, I mean it— if this is just another one of those jokes—“ She pleaded as her eyes stayed glued to the seemingly untouched machine.

“—Yeah, yeah, it works and everything! The owner lady said she wanted a different color for her house, can you believe it? I went and got the vent hook up and everything. Now we just gotta… figure out how the hell we’re s’ppossd to get it down...” He put his hands on his head and tried to figure out from his options of Cal or Janie which would be the most useful.

Aaron’s eyes shifted to Eddie the same moment Wayne tapped his shoulder and stood. “C’mon, boy, time to be neighborly.” Eddie followed without hesitation. Honey turned quickly at her siblings' gazes falling on the approaching figures behind her.

“We can lend a hand.” Wayne nodded at Junior, who nodded back respectfully.

Honey watched them with eager eyes raking over the pristine powder coated white. The knobs were intact and the labels were clear as day! No dents, no scratches— it looked like it came right out of a store. To Honey, it might as well have been.

Eddie hopped up in the bed of the pickup with Aaron while Jun and Wayne surveyed the situation from the sides and found the best spots to grab. “Alright, boys,” Jun started, “If y’all will just scoot it till ‘bout midway, then jump down to help us ease it offa there?”

Honey made her way back up to the porch, thankful she didn’t get roped into doing the heavy lifting again. It had been so long since she had a dryer, sometimes not having the washer at her disposal either. Gone were the days of scrubbing at the blood and mud stains on their clothes in the old sink back home. Gone were the days of frozen britches standing up against the wall in the winter time.

She looked into the house, only having to worry about clearing the way to the laundry room.

After lots of cussing and smashed fingers, the men got the dryer in the house, and all hooked up.

Wayne, being more lithe than Jun, settled himself between the two machines and the wall to cut the hole in the drywall for the vent. Eddie watched from the door way, seeing Honey’s giddy eyes watching them as they worked.

Eddie took the opportunity to take in the home, smiling at the ways it resembled his own; an ugly old couch, stained carpet, peeling linoleum in the kitchen, and smoke stains lining the walls. The little fridge was covered in magnets, art work and graded homework displayed for all to see. It all made his heart warm.

The plates in the sink didn’t match, some of which were chipped at the edges. But they were all beautiful with the floral patterns ringing the edges. Eddie turned his attention to the stove, a smoking pot of Mac and cheese sat burning on the burner.

“Uh, Honey?” He asked calmly, turning to the eager girl sitting on the washer as they worked.

“Yeah?” She asked with an easiness in her voice he hadn’t heard yet. And he was about to ruin it.

“Uh, your maca—“

“MY MACARONI!” She cried, jumping off the washer and flying past Eddie to turn off the burner and assess the damage as she attempted to stir the blackened Mac. “Fuck.” She let her head thud against the cabinet in defeat.

“Y’know, it isn’t all that bad.” Eddie tried to say assuringly, peeking into the pot and spotting the hardened shells. “Shit, maybe it is.” He mumbled, a chortle slipping from Honey as she nodded.

“Is it done yet?” Janie hollered from the other room.

“Oh, yeah, it’s done. For sure.” She joked, making Eddie smile, “It’s like a casserole in a way.” She shrugged, straining as she tried to stir the solid blocks of pasta and cheese.

Eddie snorted and took the pot from her, “Allow me.” He walked it outside, Honey following closely behind until he walked down the porch steps and went behind his trailer. She stopped at the corner of her house and cocked her head.

Eddie turned to her when he noticed she was no longer walking with him, “C’mon, I’ll show you.” Her feet moved before she could think about it, walking around the back of his house to see a few mismatched bowls laying around the concrete slab. Eddie flipped the pot over and the giant block plopped onto the ground with a wet thud. They shared a look and wrinkled their noses before they laughed.

Eddie walked back to stand with Honey, the girl turning to leave before he caught her arm. “Wait.” He said quietly. She scrunched her brows at him and looked back to the pile of pasta. In a few moments, one by one, cats crawled out from the tall grass or out from under his trailer, licking at the offering. Honey smiled at the sight, a few kittens milling around the larger cats.

“Aren’t they cute? The most I’ve counted out here at once is 20! People really need to spay and neuter their pets, man. But these guys are pretty cool, I think.”

“I’ve always liked the strays.” She mentioned, leaning against the house and looking to the west, the sun was setting. Tonight it threw magical gradients of orange and pink, half the sky already shrouded in gray blue. The clouds were massive, the colors breaking through the cracks in beaming rays. Honey sighed contently and took it in.

“Me too.” Eddie agreed. “The strays are always the best.”

Eddie looked at her again, glancing to the sunset she admired before looking back to her, his gaze going unnoticed for a few moments much to his delight. This light made her golden. Her eyes were even more spectacular in this moment, like shining, melting ice. Then she looked at him. “What?” She asked.

Eddie shook his head, not bothering to look anywhere else. “Nothing. Just looking at you.” He said.

Honey chuckled and shook her head with pink cheeks. “Alright then.” She stared back at him, noticing how pretty his eyes were in the light too.

“Want me to stop?” He asked. She tried to place the color of his eyes in the sunshine. She used to think his eyes were black, too dark to be brown. But now she knows she was mistaken.

She shook her head, “No.” she said simply.

Eddie’s mouth lifted in a smile. “Good, cause I’m not gonna.” His smile widened when he saw how she rolled her eyes and blushed deeper. He loved how he could make her change colors.

She stared at him a moment longer before it hit her, his eyes reminded her of raw honey right from the pot. She averted her eyes to the ground beneath her bare feet. “C’mon, I gotta fix new supper.” She said, easing back toward the house. Eddie followed her without question.

Before they could make it around the front, they heard Aaron calling for Honey. “Where’d they go?” He muttered.

“Ran off to Mexico.” Honey answered as she turned the corner, making Eddie chuckle as he carried the pot limply at his side.

Aaron chuckled, “Yeah, like you’d ever go back down south.” he said as he went back through the door. Honey rolled her eyes and climbed the steps.

“Next time I burn something, I’ll be sure to feed your cats.” She said without turning around. Eddie smiled as he followed her back inside.

“I think they’d like that a lot.” He said with a smile, placing the pot in the sink and watching her start anew.

“Thank you for your help, Mr. Munson.” Jun said when they were done, offering the old man a glass of ice water and a handshake.

“Anytime, and jus’ call me Wayne.” The older man smiled with his tobacco stained teeth. Honey smiled right back at him, giving him an eager handshake of her own, “Thank you, Mr. Wayne.” She said giddily before running off to start the laundry.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Another day, Aaron walked over and knocked on the screen door, knowing Eddie and Wayne were inside. “Come in!” The old man hollered.

“Hey there, Aaron.” Wayne said as he tied his work boot laces on the coffee table. “What can I do for you?”

“I was just coming to see if you and Eddie—“

“What about Eddie?” Eddie exited the bathroom, looking at Wayne first before he saw Aaron. “Hey, man.”

“Howdy. Honey wanted me to see if y’all wanted to eat supper at our’s tonight.” Eddie’s heart leapt at the offer.

“Oh, I’m about to head out to work, but Ed’s free.” Wayne clapped the boy on the shoulder. “I’m headin out. Be good.” He said like he always did. The screen door snapped shut behind him.

“You wanna eat?” Aaron asked.

“Is that even a real question?” Eddie answered as he headed towards the door.

When he crossed the threshold, Eddie took it all in; the wood paneling, the long worn couch that looked so tempting to sink into, eyeing the long table in the center of the room, pillows thrown around it where they’d sit to eat their meals. He could smell the cheesy hamburger helper simmering on the stove, his mouth watering. Honey stirred the large pots, then checked the oven for her roasted vegetables and dinner rolls.

He smiled when he saw how wild hairs escaped the bandana and bun atop her head, then shifted his gaze to the way she bent over to open the fridge for the butter dish, his favorite part of her greeting him from under her red shorts. He bit back his smirk at the sight.

Before he walked in here, he was looking forward to the canned ravioli he set out. But now all he could think about is the way Honey had something cooking on every burner of the stove, large portions with spices that he’d only describe as homey tickling his senses.

He looked back at the table, traces of the dark brown wood showed through the worn paint. But the green was still prominent and beautiful.

If they were in a larger house, like the Harringtons, a table like this would’ve been compared to one of those traditional Japanese dinner tables, and would perhaps be presented with a sushi spread across the top complete with saki and matching decor. Something rich people would’ve loved to see and experience.

Here, it was just an old table with the legs cut down, but Eddie hadn’t seen a sight that made his heart feel the way it did right now, his heart’s smile reaching his mouth.

Aaron took two couch cushions and tossed them down on two spaces near the end of the table. “S’not much, but, uh, we try to eat together. Honey said something about it keeping us out of jail or somethin’” he shrugged as he settled himself on the floor, Cal joining them on the other side of Aaron with his own bed pillow acting as his seat.

“She said she read a magazine with a statistic that said having family dinners decreases the risk of kids engaging in sexual activity and drugs, so for the past year she makes us all sit down together and eat.” Cal explained easily. Eddie raised his brows at the thought, thinking of how long ago Wayne started the night shift and then tried to remember if he ever ate with his parents.

“Janie! Would you put out the plates, please?” Honey hollered from the other room.

Janie rolled her eyes from the chair she always seemed to occupy and tossed her book back on the shelf. “I guess.” She said exasperatedly, walking to the counter and grabbing the large stack of mismatched plates.

“It’s not like you do it every day, or anything.” Cal said with an eye roll as he joined her to scoop up the tin of forks and knives and set them out behind her as she went.

Honey’s voice rang out once more, “Cal, could you—“

“I got it.” The boy called back.

Honey finally reappeared from the bedrooms, Frankie walking in front of her, stark naked, with a blanket trailing behind him, Randy on one hip, and a baby on the other. Eddie remembered the baby from the first day, though he couldn’t remember ever seeing or hearing it since.

Terry and Tommy ran out of the hallway behind her, arguing about who was at fault for the broken mobile above the baby’s crib, Honey biting back her thoughts as she worried her lips and set the baby in the play pen.

“Jesus Christ, Honey, get his pants on!” Janie whined at the sight of the feral child. Aaron rolled his eyes and pulled Frankie over to his lap, covering him up with the blanket he brought with him from his sleep, smelling faintly of detergent and… urine maybe?

“Fuck off, Janine.” Honey mumbled from the laundry room, tossing a load of clothes into the new dryer. Eddie and Aaron stifled their laughter, Cal disappearing for a moment before returning with a pair of small briefs, and tossing them at Aaron’s head.

Frankie stood, shamelessly naked and looked at Eddie as he worked on putting his feet in the leg holes. Eddie noticed the marred burn scars trailing down the boy’s shoulder and arm. Eddie averted his eyes to the tabletop, an etched face in the wood staring back at him with a downturned mouth. Frankie, now properly covered, then turned to Aaron. “Will you read me later?” He asked with difficulty in his R and L sounds.

Aaron feigned a groan as he stretched, “Oh? I s’ppose.” He drawled, and ruffling the boy's brown hair that stuck out every which way, resembling Junior’s, now that he thought about it.

Terry and Tommy were shaggy little menaces, their bushy bangs reaching well below their eyes, their smiles wide and silver capped. They were currently turned towards the staticky television, their hands pushing their bangs back to see the screen.

Eddie assumed Junior looked like their dad, the youngest boys resembling him the most, while the older kids favored Honey. But it was obvious they all belonged to the same people.

Aaron and Janie were the only two with deep dark hair, resembling each other the most at first glance.

Cal favored his oldest sister the most, through and through. His eyes were the same shade of gray while Aarons were brighter and bluer like Janie’s.

Honey’s eyes always seemed gray and heavy, though they never lacked depth, containing a story to be told about whoever had stolen the light from behind them. Nevertheless, Eddie always loved the color gray.

It was then her eyes fell on him, and his place at her table. “Hi.” She said in her southern drawl, managing a shy smile in his direction.

Eddie smiled back unabashedly, fighting the urge to stand up to greet her properly. “Hey, Honey.” Is all he managed, too enthralled with her eyes on him to realize how gooey and dreamy he might’ve looked himself.

Cal noticed before Aaron as he settled back down in the seat next to him, nudging his brother with his elbow and nodding to the scene. Aaron glanced at Eddie, who was still smiling dumbly at his sister, too wrapped up in her attention to notice when he turned to share a snicker with Cal.

Janie kneeled in her seat next to Cal, setting various cups of ice onto the table. “S’there tea and lemonade?” She asked her sister, though Honey didn’t notice, still stuck on Eddie as she stepped through to the kitchen.

“Honey!”

“What??” She bumped into the cabinets and finally looked at Janie. “—yeah, in the fridge, Y’know that.” She ducked down into the fridge to pull out the two pitchers and set them on the counter. Cal and Aaron picked up their cups and walked to the pitchers, Eddie following suit.

“I’ve been lookin’ forward to this tea all day.” Junior groaned as he entered the room with a wet head and clean clothes, a towel still slung around his shoulders as he walked past the table and grabbed a cup, joining the crowd gathered by the refreshments.

Aaron and Cal fell into conversation that blended in with the rest of the chatter as Eddie found Honey again, except she was setting the food out on the table and getting the youngest kids back in their seats— or cushions. Frankie and Randy sat in their places across from Janie and Cal, sword fighting with their forks as Honey settled the baby next to her place at the end of the table.

Next to Eddie.

He blushed at the realization, and smiled at her when she glanced at him with her own flushed cheeks.

“Y’all knock it off.” Junior said from the kitchen, Terry and Tommy dropping their forks on their plates with stifled smiles that showed they weren’t afraid of a little trouble. Eddie and Honey chuckled and met eyes again, the moment feeling shorter than it really was.

Cal cleared his throat, twice, before his sister looked up at his and his siblings expectant and waiting faces. Honey crinkled her brow and shook her head, “What?” She whispered, clueless.

Junior takes a seat on a short stool at the other end of the table and sets down Frankie and Randy’s plates, stirring the pasta and meat entree and blowing as if he were the big bad wolf, oblivious to the googly eyes set on his sister.

“Can we… eat?” Aaron asked with raised brows, his eyes flickering between his friend and his sister. Honey’s shock was gone in a second, only flashing across her face briefly before nodding profusely, “Yeah! Yes—eat. There’s enough to go ‘round but don’t get greedy.” She looked at Aaron, piling three dinner rolls on his plate before he passed the basket to Eddie. Honey reached over and snatched one off her brother's plate, leaning over Eddie as she did.

“Oh, c’mon!” Aaron whined, mouth full of roll as he whined. Eddie snickered and snuck a glance at Honey, her eyes shining playfully in a way he hadn’t seen before, her smile parting to lick the top of the roll and then bite into the buttery fluff she'd been dying to eat since she popped them out of the can.

Eddie couldn’t help but notice how long her tongue was. Or how white her teeth were. And the way her lips bunched when she chewed.

How he wanted to see her lips do different things.

Eddie took a generous sip of his tea, not noticing how Honey’s eyes lingered on his bobbing adams apple. He filled his plate as the dishes came around, not having a home cooked meal like this as far as he could remember. Sure, he’d had hamburger helper, but he never had it served with mashed potatoes and gravy, roasted vegetables, and warm oven baked rolls. The sweet tea was ice cold and so sweet he thought he might fall into a sugar coma later.

Honey had made enough food for every belly to be filled. She waited until the scrapes of silverware against the ceramic plates sounded to scoop her servings. Eddie glanced over to see her portions so measly he wrinkled his nose at it.

Junior asked the kids to tell him something good about their day and something they learned about at school. Honey turned to the baby, spooning mashed potato’s into their mouth. Janie launched into a story about the new friend she made at the library, while Eddie scooped up a mouthful of pasta and plopped it onto her plate. Honey just missed it, checking her plate and then looking at Eddie with suspicion before turning her attention back to Janie’s story.

“Her names Erica! She’s in my grade but we don’t have any classes together, well, we have lunch! So maybe I’ll have someone to sit with now!” Janie shined. Honey smiled at that and nodded, ready to say something until she heard it again, another plop.

Her eyes darted to his in shock as he repeated the action, another mouthful onto her plate. “What’d’ya think you’re doin?” She whispered, turning as the baby fussed for another bite. “Bi! Bi!” They urged with an open mouth leaning towards the spoon before successfully wrapping their mouth around it.

“Your plate is pitiful.” He remarked, another mouthful on her plate.

She gaped at him. Eddie scooped a mouthful of potatoes onto his fork and took a bite, meeting her eye again before he rolled his eyes dramatically. “So freaking good—you should try some.” He garbled. Honey giggled at him, Janie giving Honey the side-eye for giggling out of turn as she talked.

“—and we were assigned our books for the semester, but I dunno about it all that much.” She stabbed her roast carrots on her fork.

“What is it?” Cal asked.

“S’called The Hobbit by some guy—“

“Tolkien! That’s my favorite book! You have Mr. Freeman?” He asked, nodding with her when she did, “He was awesome, he made us read it back in middle school, it’s really good. I’ve read it like 7 times since but that’s probably down playing it.” Eddie smiled, looking around the table as he spoke before he looked over at Honey. Her eyes sparkled as she listened to him, taking a bite of the food he insisted she eat more of.

Janie looked more hopeful about the assignment after Eddie’s review of the book, the conversation falling onto Terry and Tommy as they spoke about rock wars at recess, cleaning chalkboards and erasers for their rock wars, and long division.

“I’s just mindin’ my business when Jacob come walkin’ up to us and kicked my tower over.” Terry explained.

“Yeah, and I didn’t like that shit.” Tommy added.

“Thomas!” Honey scolded with red cheeks.

“M sorry, please don’t whoop me!” He whined.

“Boy, I ain’t gonna hit you, jus—eat your dinner.” She clipped, stabbing another carrot onto her fork. The boys turned their faces back to their plates, scooping up mouthfuls of food to clean their plates.

The baby shoved every piece of food into their mouth, a ring of potatoes and cheese on their cheeks and nose. Eddie smiled at the baby’s light eyes. To his surprise, the baby smiled back with milky teeth and a throaty laugh, smearing their messy hands around their belly.

“Look at ‘em.” Janie muttered to Cal and nodded to the baby, “James Harrison, what’re you doin? Gettin all messy for the bath?” She asked in a small voice that made Baby James cackle. The whole table giggled.

Honey used her napkin and wiped James’s mouth the best she could before cleaning his hands. “Janie will you run his bath, please.” Honey asked without asking. Surprisingly, Janie was compliant and scooped the baby up to take to the other room.

Aaron used his last roll to wipe his plate clean before biting chunks out of it. Honey sat with her knees to her chest as she listened to Cal talk about his first weeks as the youngest freshman, meeting a group of nice kids that were in the A.V. Club that invited him to sit at their table for lunch.

“You think I could hang out with them after school sometime?” Cal looked at Jun first before Honey, though he kept his hopeful eyes locked on his sister. They sat for a moment as she thought for a minute before nodding.

“I guess so. They seem alright?” She asked, looking at her plate again. Cal nodded earnestly, “Total nerds, all of ‘em.” He insisted. Honey chuckled and nodded. “Okay, then. You can hang out with the nerds. Just call me to tell me where you are and when it’s time to come pick you up.”

Cal nodded and ate a few more bites of pasta before launching into a new formula he learned in math. Eddie didn’t miss the way Honey’s eyes lit up the way they did. She leaned forward on her fist to listen intently, nodding along when Cals eyes fell on hers as he talked about algebra I and letters mingling with numbers and how it fascinated him.

Honey shook her head in proud disbelief, looking down into her empty cup as Aaron began talking about their time in Mr. Gregory’s shop class.

“A kid nearly took his eye out with a nail gun today! Who was that guy, Ed, Richard somethin?”

“Ritchie—“

“Ritchie! Yeah! That guy don’t know up from down. Nail when clear through the ceiling, it was awesome.” He chuckled as Jun rolled his eyes.

“I said something you learned, dumbass.” Jun chided.

“Duh, I learned nail gun safety!”

She stood to fill her glass, listening as Aaron mentioned the class giggling at his accent in English when he was called to read aloud. “It was embarrassing at first, but this girl—this beautiful, beautiful girl, Pamela DiSantis— turns to me and tells me she thinks it’s cute.” He gushed to Honey, sinking into his chair with pink cheeks.

Eddie chuckled and nudged the boy's arm, “I heard from Carla and Chrissy that she was talking about you at practice too.” He smirked as Aaron clutched his heart and swooned, the table erupting with giggles.

Honey chuckled weakly before picking up her clean plate and taking it to the sink, slipping out the front door without a word.

It took Eddie a moment to notice she wasn’t sitting next to him anymore, let alone not in the house. Aaron had begun picking up all the plates and scraping them off when Eddie joined him, placing his own cleared dishes in the sink and grabbing the last few. Junior walked over to the middle of the table, reaching under and unlatching a clasp before it popped apart into the two pieces Eddie saw them carrying in about a month ago.

Aaron started running hot water into the sink, eying the pots on the stove as Eddie spoke, “Think I’m gonna step out for a smoke, s’that alright?”

Aaron raised his brows and glanced out the open door and back to his friend with a smile. “Sure, man. Go for it! Hold on—“ Aaron fluffed Eddie’s hair and dusted off his shoulders until he swatted his hands away and rolled his eyes to hide his blushing cheeks.

“Okay, okay!” He fussed, weakly slapping Aaron’s hands away.

“Go get her, slick.” Aaron said, flicking soapy water at Eddie’s back as he walked away.

Junior watched the exchange wearily, his jaw clenched as he debated taking a smoke break himself.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Honey hated that she was feeling this way again.

She hated how sensitive she could be.

It was beyond her that physical pain didn’t ache this deeply. Blows to the head didn’t make her this dizzy. It bothered her, that she had no idea what to call this feeling. Or how to make it go away.

She lit her cigarette as soon as she stepped out onto the porch, puffing three quick times and not wincing away when the smoke stung her eyes and made them water up.

She plopped down on the step and ran a hand over her face with a deep sigh, resisting the urge to dig her nails into her palms or thighs the way she had as an angry child.

She settled for biting her nails as she stared at the grass and thought about what pretty girls Carla and Chrissy must be. She wondered how they did their hair, if they wore the skirts she wishes she could afford, if they went to the mall after school to look at clothes and boys. If they were smart.

She wondered how many girls talked to Eddie every day at school. And how many of them he said the same sweet things to. How many of them he shared cigarettes with and called sweetheart.

He only said their names, that they were talking about Aaron. She reminded herself, taking a drag and wiping her eyes as she heard the familiar pop and clank of Junior taking apart the dinner table, and the squeak of Aaron turning on the faucet.

She sighed in relief at the thought of him cleaning up without being asked, hoping he doesn’t throw out the leftovers again, but was too tired to care enough to rush back in to set out the Tupperware.

The tired screen door jolted Honey from her thoughts, “Hey, there.” Eddie said softly as he stepped onto the porch, closing the door behind him. Honey turned in an instant, his footfalls growing nearer until he sat in a chair on the porch to light a cigarette.

“Hi.” She smiled, the ache fading. He pulled the chair next to him closer and patted it. She obliged immediately, which Eddie loved.

She looked him over as she got comfortable, his long legs somehow looked sexier as he sat, his knees slightly bent and spread. He must’ve caught her looking cause the next thing out of his mouth was, “See something you like?”

She was stunned at the question, her mouth trying to form all the defenses she could, but none came to mind.

What's so wrong with a little flirting? She wondered. He is flirting with me right?

She nodded instead and averted her gaze to her hands. Eddie scooted his chair closer to her with a lit cigarette between his lips. He took it away and exhaled. “Oh, I see… tell me about it then.” He nodded and waited for her answer as she puffed a couple times. “Clamming up on me now? Cat got your tongue?” He teased.

Honey glowered with a smile nagging at her lips, “No, I just—I uh, I like… your clothes.” She muttered.

Eddie bit the inside of his cheek to conceal his growing smile. “Thanks, babe—like yours too.” He said more cooly than he felt and winked. He stole a long look at her legs stretched out in front of her, scarred and bruised in some places.

“Y’know, letting me stay for dinner is just about the same as feeding a feral cat? I’m just gonna keep coming back now.” He nudged her shoulder, his dimpled smile coaxing her own out of her.

Honey shook her head and took a drag. “Well, whenever you wanna meal.”

“Don’t tell me that, Honey, I’m a weak and hungry man.” He chuckled at the lift of the corners of her mouth before they fell again. He glanced down to her hands, her cigarette cradled between her little fingers, her once healthy and polished nails now short, chipped and jagged. He knitted his brow.

“You okay, Honey?” He asked quietly.

“Mhm!” She nodded around her cigarette, “I’m good! It’s been a good week. A really good week.” She reminded herself with another nod. A tether tugging in Eddie’s gut told him she was lying, but didn’t have any reason to believe otherwise so he nodded.

“That’s great.” He nodded.

This is so stupid. He whined internally.

“How was school?” She asked.

Eddie groaned and leaned back, “The usual torture, y’know, iambic pentameter, decimals and fractions, the ever stupid and useless Pythagorean theorem.” He rolled his eyes.

Honey tilted her head in confusion, her eyes seemingly vacant though she was panicking behind those beautiful eyes. Eddie’s eyes widened before he leaned forward, “English and math are hard for me. Along with science and history and everything else. I’m barely scraping by, actually.” He felt a pang of guilt in his chest.

She nodded her head as the tension eased. She put out her cigarette and for a moment he worried she would leave again. Instead she turned in her chair to face him better. “Could you tell me?”

“What?” Eddie asked with quiet alarm.

“What’s.. iambic pentameter mean?” She asked quietly.

Eddie could only stare back for a moment before clearing his throat and answering. “Uh, well, it’s uh… S’like…” he took a puff to buffer and blushed when she chuckled. He smiled, comfortable in embarrassment, “—See I told you, I’m not good at school!” He shook his head and continued to struggle for the right words, but met her eye when he heard the sound of her soft laughter. Immediately his thoughts stopped, his heart pinching when her eyes flicked to him behind the cigarette.

He felt the dumb smile tug on his lips as he stared unashamed. She pulled her knees to her chest as her cheeks flushed. “What?” Her smile still lingered as she ducked to hide a little behind her bent knees.

“Oh, uh.. nothin’— just uh—” He shrugged it off casually as he lost all remaining bits of his facade, flaking apart the longer she smiled at him and laughed at his foolishness. Being laughed at never felt so good before.

“—Saw something you like?” She asked daringly just above a whisper. Eddie chuckled and blushed, pressing his lips together to keep from smiling as wide as he wanted to. He failed as he nodded and leaned forward.

“Yes, ma’am.”

She took a long breath in and out to steady herself and bit back her smile. “Tell me more.. about school.”

“Tell me more about you.” He countered. She quirked an eyebrow at him.

“You didn’t answer my question yet!” She shot back, leaning back in her seat and taking a drag. Eddie’s eyes gleamed at her playfulness.

“Iambic pentameter…” he thought with searching eyes, “It’s…like a way to write poetry. Like a rhythm you follow or something.” He shrugged, “Your turn.”

“I… uhm,” she sighed, suddenly rigid. Eddie softened, the playfulness fading away.

“You said you like to be outside?” He offered. Her eyes caught his, questions forming behind glossy crystalline eyes. She nodded, “Yeah, yeah, of course.” She chuckled.

Eddie smiled, “What else do you do outside?” He handed her his cigarette.

She smiled as a thought hit her, “I like to garden, plant flowers an’ all.” She nodded and smoked. Eddie smiled, because of course she would.

“Ooh, are you gonna have flowers in the spring?” He asked with an interested smile. He could already picture her long hair tied up while she spent time weeding and mulching— bare knees on the grass and hands stained with soil clinging to her fingernails.

“I sure hope so!” She smiled in wonder, “Tulips, begonias, marigolds, roses, ugh. And all the colors!” She gushed.

For a moment Honey forgot about the girls and even the worries following her from Oklahoma. Eddie listened intently and asked little questions about planting just to see her eyes widen and make more words come out of her mouth.

But then a white Pontiac pulled up to Eddie’s trailer, the top down and stuffed full of cheerleaders and letterman’s.

Eddie sighed, “Shit.” and stamped out his cigarette. “I have some business to attend to, sweetheart, but will you be here when I get back?” Eddie asked with a small pout and puppy dog eyes. She looked nervously from him to the waiting car, Eddie whined and gave a pathetic “Pwease?” that made her grin until her eyes almost closed. She pushed his shoulder with her hand.

“Yeah, I will. Go on now.” She answered softly with a tensed smile, unable to look at him and looking ahead at the trailer across from their lot instead. Eddie’s eyes softened as he nodded at her, “I’ll be right back.” He stood up and took large strides towards his home with his hands shoved in his pockets.

Honey didn’t miss the way two cheerleaders hopped out of the car, smiles on their faces as they bounced over to Eddie with eager greetings. She glanced to the rest of group in the backseat, the remaining boys looking at her shamelessly and exchanging murmurs.

She knew their kind, too well. She hardened her face and took another heavy drag on Eddie’s cigarette before closing her knees and drawing them to her chest, suddenly aware of how short her shorts were.

Her eyes darted back to Eddie, hearing his easy laughter as he held the door open for the girls walking inside. He didn’t spare her a glance as he followed them, the ache in her chest blooming again.

“Hey, cutie!” The boys whooped and hollered to Honey. She didn’t look their way at first, opting to take a drag instead. “What’s a pretty little thing like you hanging around the likes of the freak?” A blond boy hollered, catching her attention at the mention of Eddie. The guy hopped out of the car, two more of him following as he approached her.

Honey hopped up and turned to walk back inside, “Oh, c’mon, I just wanna talk! How come I haven’t seen you around before?” He asked before she spun around, letting the door snap shut before she grabbed the abandoned shovel from Terry and Tommy’s hole digging.

The boys let out amused chuckles, staying on the grass before the first step to the porch. She clenched her jaw and stared the boy down. “I’m new.” She gritted.

The boy nodded, “You, uh, you goin’ to Hawkins High?” He asked as his eyes raked her over again, his friends snickering behind him.

She shook her head no, looking to Eddie’s door again, willing it to open any second. “You should come hang out with us.” The boy said, the other boys agreeing. “Got some drinks, some snacks, getting some party favors from Munson… gonna go down to the lake to swim later. Do you like to swim?”

He seemed almost genuine, Honey almost answered his question, but before she could answer, the screen door behind her busted open, Aaron charging outside with Jun hot on his heels. “What the fuck are you doing here?” Aaron asked with bile on his tongue.

The boy looked surprised when he saw Aaron behind Honey. “Oh my gosh, Aaron Haller! Why am I not surprised to see you here of all places?” The jocks snickered yet again, the scene being good fun for the likes of them.

“I asked ya a question, Jason.” Aaron took a step forward before Honey blocked the way and Jun placed a firm hand on his shoulder.

“Nope, nope.” Jun muttered quietly, as if to say ‘not yet.’

Jason turned his attention back to Honey, “To answer your question, Aaron, I’m here to pick up from Munson. But you should know all about that don’t you, farm boy?” He asked, mocking his accent.

Honey scrunched her brows and looked to Eddie’s trailer, where the girls were emerging with a fairly large brown paper bag in hand, Eddie behind them, smiling until he followed their line of sight. His eyes were wide when he saw her, clutching her shovel and looking like a wild animal backed into a corner.

“Jason!” The blondest girl shouted from the car, “Quit messing around, we got the stuff.” The two girls looked at Honey once more before exchanging words and smiling to one another, it made Honey’s stomach churn. Jun sighed and turned to the door, disappearing inside.

“That’s enough.” Eddie muttered, shoving his way between Jason and Honey on the stairs, the boys retreated slowly as if they didn’t even want to risk touching him, except Jason.

“Why don’t you let her tell me that?” Jason asked, his eyes back on Honey.

Her mouth opened to respond, but Eddie was faster, a mocking chuckle leaving his smile before he said, “You think she’s holding a shovel for fun? Get outta here, man, you got your stuff, now get lost.” Eddie’s jaw was clenched as he waited, wondering if this was about to turn as bad as he suspected it would.

“Last time I checked this isn’t your property, freak.” He spat.

Just as Eddie was going to speak, the door burst open, hitting the side of the house to reveal Jun looking more tired than anything as he held a broken over shotgun at his waist, casually sliding shells inside, “Yeah? Well, it’s mine,” he racked it, Aaron yanked Cal and Janie backwards against the house at the sound, “—so get the fuck out.”

“—Honey?” Terry rasped through the screen as he rubbed his tired eyes. Janie made a break for the door, scooping up the boy and wordlessly running into the house to lock the door behind her. The sound made Jason almost shiver.

Jason stared at him with wide eyes, fear filling them before they eased as of a realization came to him, making him chuckle half heartedly. “D-Do you know who I am?”

“I don’t care who your daddy is, you little shit.” He raised the gun, “I ain’t afraid of another charge. I suggest you get a move on.” Jun warned one last time. “One…” He started.

Jason stood, the only one still left on the patchy lawn. Jun cocked his brow at him daringly.

“Jason, come ON!” Another girl shrilled.

Jason swallowed hard at the vague threat. “Just trying to be friendly, sir, that’s all.” He raised his hands as he retreated to the car.

“I’ll see you around.” Jason muttered, his eyes not leaving Honey’s until he was in the car, driving away.

No one moved until the car turned onto the main road, then Honey sighed and dropped the shovel with a heavy clunk.

“Fuck, Jun, you didn’t have to pull a gun on em!” Honey scolded at her brothers back, the man knocking in a set rhythm before the locks clicked and the door opened back up to reveal Janie’s tear stained cheeks. “You really wanna be that family here too? You want people to think you’re a criminal??”

“And what, let ‘em get comfortable on the porch? Not everyone that turns up on our step is the welcome wagon, Honey!” Jun hollered as he unloaded the gun, letting the shells clatter to the floor.

“I didn’t say that—I coulda handled it!” She followed him as he went to hang up the gun on the wall.

“Yeah, sure looked like it, were you planning on using that shovel or?”

“If you would’ve given me a chance to—“

“Jason Carver doesn’t take no for an answer.” Eddie piped up by the open door, his arms crossed in front of him as he leaned against the frame. Aaron nodded. Everyone’s eyes were on Eddie.

“He may seem real nice and all, but when he isn’t with his girlfriend,” Eddie stared into Honey’s eyes, “He’s with anyone else.” The words were sour even at the sound. The phrase burned Honey’s chest.

Anyone else.

“Thanks.” She said dryly, her tone cutting through Eddie and making him almost flinch. “Janie, will you put Terry back in bed?”

“Aaron’s gonna read to all us.” Terry said into his sisters shoulder as she walked, the older boy sighing and walking along reluctantly, tossing Eddie a ‘be right back.’

“I’m gonna hit the hay.” Jun said, walking down the hall to his room.

Then it was just Honey, Eddie, and Cal, standing in thick silence. Cal cleared his throat and made an excuse about homework before escaping to his room with the boys.

Honey sighed when she heard the door shut and finally took a peek back up at Eddie. His eyes were already on hers with concern. “Are you okay?” He asked.

She nodded unconvincingly, “Yep. ‘M fine.” She unfolded her arms taking a couple steps back, Eddie spying the slight tremor she had in her hands.

“I don’t believe you.” He whispered, taking a step closer, daring to catch her hand as she turned. Her eyes snapped to his again, her heart pounding in her throat. “Those guys—those guys can get very scary, very fast, you know what I mean?” He asked gently. Honey’s eyes softened as she nodded understandingly.

“I know you’re tough, Honey.” He stepped closer again, still not dropping her hand, “I know you can handle your own. Hell, if I needed someone to fight, you’re the first person I’d think of— don’t tell Aaron I said that.” He joked, smiling a bit when her frown cracked from its place. “But I don’t want, uh, I don’t want Jason Carver—or anyone else— messing with you—guys. So if anyone starts shit with you, you tell me. Okay? You tell me.” He nodded, moving to bring his hand up to her cheek until she flinched away.

Eddie’s mouth parted with a gasp before she yanked her hand back, stepping into the kitchen and wiping her face with her hands as she assessed the dinner mess. She nodded, “Yeah, uh, I will. I’ll let you know, Eddie. Thanks.” She glanced at him as she opened the fridge, putting on a semi-convincing smile before she ducked to grab the lunch meat, bending at the waist.

Eddie watched the fabric stretch over her ass as she did, but the sight didn’t bring him joy the same way it always did. A heavy sigh escaped him before she shut the fridge and opened a cabinet, pulling out stacks of Tupperware and brown paper bags. “Thanks.” He said dejectedly.

He watched her work in silence before walking up behind her, closer than he’d ever been before. He placed his hand on the counter next to hers. She smelled him before she felt him behind her, the heady sweet smoke following him and making the back of her mouth tingle with want. “Honey, are—are we okay?”

Honey looked at his hand first, debating on slipping her fingers through his right there to tell him what was on her mind. About the pretty girls that made her feel bad about herself, about the weird, scary way Jason looked at her. She wanted to tell him a lot of things. She put down the spoon but didn’t turn, their fingers brushing but not overlapping just yet. She sighed as words failed her and settled for “Course we are.” instead.

Eddie’s eyes looked sad when she finally peeked up at him. He shook his head ever so slightly, “I don’t—“ the sound of a bedroom door opening jolted them apart, Eddie stepping back to lean against the sink while Honey returned to her leftovers, boxing the last of it up for Jun’s lunch.

Aaron came out of the hallway with a sigh, “Dr. Seuss never lets me down. S’like magic sometimes, don’t you—” He stopped just short of the kitchen, looking at his sister and then Eddie, “What’s up? We good?”

The pair nodded and confirmed, “Yeah! Great!”

“Absolutely.”

Aaron looked less than convinced before he flopped on the couch, “Alright, weirdos.”

“I’m gonna go.” Eddie said, turning for the door.

“See ya, man.” Aaron said as he looked around for the remote. Honey was setting out all the bread she’d need for the kids sandwiches when she looked back to sneak a peek.

When her eyes landed on the door, she found him waiting for her with one foot in and the other on the porch, his eyes set on her, “Bye, Honey.” He said in the quiet, dreamy way he always did sending a little wave her way. He waited for her to say something back— for that assurance.

She sighed before her face softened, “Bye, Eddie.” She wiggled her fingers the way he did, turning back around before he could spot the blush and smile blooming again on her face no matter how much she bit it back. She shook her head at herself as the warmth faded into that ache again, and slapped some mayonnaise on the white bread.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

The next day at lunch, Aaron flopped down in his chair next to Gareth, digging out his sack lunch from his bag as he voiced his loud opinion on the schools ‘no hats’ policy, then tossed another to Eddie at the end of the table.

Eddie looked at the boy like he had two heads, “What’s this?” He opened the top and peered inside.

“Sister sent it for you.” Aaron said through a garbled mouthful of sandwich, bouncing his eyebrows suggestively. Eddie dumped the contents out on the table, a ham and cheese sandwich, a ziploc bag of chips, a small red apple and a Twinkie. He smiled to himself before he noticed the yellow sticky note still stuck inside the bag.

“No fair! She gave you a Twinkie and I got a ding-dong, what the fuck!” Aaron complained, looking at his own lunch. The guys chuckled and made awful ding-dong jokes as Eddie carefully extracted the note from the bag without drawing attention. He took a bite out of the apple and looked to the paper in his lap, only to find a simple smiley face looking back at him.

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💖Taglist darlins (please lmk if you wanna be added or taken off!) 💖

@gaysludge @feminist-mina-harker @superbcoffeedrinkersubparwriter @superbreblogger @dylanmunson @miarosso @madmaxoolitchi @bimbobaggins69 @cherrycolas-things @big-ope-vibes @k8loo @loving-and-dreaming @jadequeen88 @josephfakingquinn @v0relino @newshade

#a girl called honey #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson #eddie munson fluff #eddie munson x you #eddie munson x y/n #eddie munson fanfic #eddie munson fanfiction #eddie munson x fem!reader #eddie munson x anxious!reader #Eddie munson x neighbor!reader #neighbor!eddie #eddie munson x oc #eddie munson imagines #eddie munson au #eddie munson pov #eddie munson x fem!reader fluff

[messedupfan]

The Battle of the Multiverse Part 1

Summary: The enemy has arrived.

A/N: Hello! This story is almost complete! Thank you everyone for following along on this journey! I have loved all of the reactions on the posts and I hope you enjoy!

Masterlist | All Chapters | All Stories Taglist

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Not a single member wakes up until well into the next day. Their bodies desperately needed the rest. Although the Nexus beings cannot get as drunk as they had the night before with normal alcohol a mortal being were to consume, the beverages you provided the Nexus were not made for any mere mortal. In fact, the few non-Nexus that are on the team that wanted the challenge got wasted off of a sip of the stuff. 

Luckily, none of the Nexus are tired or hungover. In fact, they haven't been this energized and alert since the failed recruiting mission. Since they began to only live and breathe training. Since they were too afraid to sleep, not wanting to witness another one of themselves dying. Since they lost most of their simulations. 

You and Wanda are among the last few to come out of their rooms. With your night being the only one interrupted, you and your wife are the only ones tired. You want to warn them. But figured it was no use. They know what they signed up for.  You don't need to remind them of what’s at risk. 

Everyone greets the two of you with suspicious smirks, taking notice of your late arrival and tired eyes. You shake your head at Thor and Carol for their insinuating brow raises as you take your seat next to Wanda. Though they weren't wrong, they didn't need to know that. Wanda leans her head on your shoulder and you wish the two of you were safely at home, snuggling on the couch, watching some bad reality show. But you can’t dwell on that too much. It was just another reason to fight to win. 

“Alright, team,” Raven claps her hands as she starts the meeting. She has everyone pay attention to a monitor playing the last unsuccessful run through of the plan. You make notes of actions you could have done better and mark a few things down of your teammates as well. But, you keep most of your focus on yourself because at the end of the day, that’s the only person you need to worry about making mistakes. 

A loud explosion outside catches everyone’s attention. Raven stops the stream and looks around the room. “Where’s Jean?” She looks at the faces around the room as she realizes she hadn’t noticed her friend's absence. Another loud explosion has most of the people in the room running to the nearest window to find the source. 

“It’s the cannons I set up to warn us of her arrival,” Vision says, still sitting in his seat. “She’s here.” He rises and scans the room for his device. “Raven,” he pulls out the broken device from where it had been hidden after being destroyed. 

“What is that?” You ask as you look at the odd object in the robot's hand. 

“Where the hell is Jean?” Raven shouts as she makes it across the room before Carol stops her. 

“We’ll send someone to find her, but right now, we need you to lead us,” Carol says with both hands on the woman's shoulders. 

Raven shakes her head, “You don’t understand, I need to find her. Before she does something stupid.” 

“I’ll go find her,” Carol volunteers, she wastes no time in running out the door and starts the search for the Phoenix. 

Raven clears her mind, she couldn’t let herself get stuck on what Jean possibly did. For all she knows, a few of the Asgardians found it and played with it like it was a toy. It couldn’t have been Jean. She wouldn’t do that. Right? Another cannon goes off and it springs the shapeshifter into action. “Vision, get the forcefield ready. We want her trapped with us as much as possible.” 

“Already on it, once she is in the perimeter, it will activate,” Vision confirms. 

“Thor, get your army outside and ready to fight,” Raven turns to the God. He marches out of the room to get his people to the frontlines. “Everyone else, get in your positions. You know what you need to do.” 

You look at Wanda and swallow hard. This is why you had the nightmare last night. It wasn’t a warning to quit. It was a warning of her arrival. Wanda squeezes your hand, knowing exactly what was on your mind. You aren’t ready for this. It can’t be happening. The Scarlet Witch can’t be here already. What had kept her away this long? Why did it have to be today?

Carol returns on her own with wide eyes, “Okay, don’t be alarmed–”

“Where is she?” Raven shouts.

“She wasn’t in her room, I couldn’t find her anywhere,” Carol admits. 

The blonde woman shuts her eyes, there wasn’t time for this. They had to continue on without her. Trust that she would pull through. Trust that her friend knew what she was doing. “We have to go on without her. Simon,” she summons the Wonderman forward. “Do you think you can take Jean’s position?” 

“Yes ma’am,” then he hesitates, his skill set isn’t Jean's, he might not be able to cover her position properly. But there wasn’t time to go looking for her. He had to step up. 

“Good, now go. We don't know how much time we have to execute the plan,” as Raven says this, there is a massive explosion outside that shakes the building. “Vision,” she turns to the synthezoid rapidly typing away on his supercomputer. 

“She obliterated one of the cannons,” he informs. “We have to move fast.” 

With his superhuman speed, Simon runs out of the building and goes to the position that he knows. Doing what he trained for. Not remembering how vital Jean’s role was in his part. With Jean missing from the lineup, the Scarlet Witch sweeps away most of the Asgaurdian army with a deadly wave of her hand and lands right in front of Wonder Man. The man keeps a strong stance, preparing himself to go against everything he believes. Everything he once knew in his heart. He never hurt the Wanda he knew, and to have to hurt this woman felt wrong. She tilts her head with a smirk, hearing the battle in his mind. She knows about the love he once shared with her variant. Knows how heartbroken he was when she ultimately left him. 

Simon raises his fists, preparing to emit an ionic energy blast. The purple energy glows in bright strings, wrapping around his arms and meeting full force at his knuckles. His eyes glow as he winds up and pushes his fist out. She stops his punch with her hand causing him to break every bone in his. The man hasn’t felt this sort of pain since he gained his powers. Part of his abilities is that he heals rapidly, but something she must’ve done prevents that from happening. She towers over him as he falls to the ground after facing the full force of his own power blast. 

There are weapons and arrows being flung and fired at the Scarlet Witch, but she pays no attention as they are unable to pierce her skin. They either break or bounce off of her magic shield. Those that bounce off impale a few of the  soldiers causing them to drop. Simon starts to crawl backwards away from the Scarlet Witch, almost pleading for his life. The corrupted woman takes delight in watching him struggle. She lifts him up by his throat. The red and black wisps of energy wrap tightly around his throat closing his airways. 

Simon tries to fight against her but every time he exhibits any kind of power, it weakens him. The Scarlet Witch prolongs the man's suffering as the black magic penetrates through his skin and fills his blood with a poison that paralyzes him and his abilities as she drains him of his energy. 

Thor flies in her direction, intending to knock her over with his hammer as he has done many times with enemies bigger than her and seemingly stronger. Except she is much stronger than she appears. While she lets her magic focus on Simon, the Scarlet Witch turns her attention to the God of Thunder just as fast as he was coming at her. She catches the top of the hammer at the palm of her hand, shocking the man that has never witnessed anyone with the capability. Before he can question her, lightning that is coursing through her the way it does him shoots out and destroys his hammer. Creating a massive blast that would throw him into the woods but instead his back hits the forcefield that Vision was successful in activating. 

What's remaining of Simon's body falls to the ground at the same moment Thor hits the ground and is knocked out from the impact. The Scarlet Witch grins as the army stands before her, ready to put up their best fight against her. Instead of killing each one of them with a snap of her finger or the bat of an eye, she instead raises the dead members and has them fight against the alive ones. The new zombies charge against the living army with a new strength stemming from the Scarlet Witch herself while she progresses further towards the building.  

Ghost Rider blocks her path next with a blazing wooly mammoth. He knocks over her undead army, but not the Scarlet Witch herself. She tilts her head ready to face him and his mammoth head on. 

From the window, seeing the effortless damage that the Scarlet Witch was causing you began to panic once again. You thought you could be okay fighting this with Wanda by your side, but you couldn’t. Not this time. You couldn’t gamble her life away like you almost had in the past. Grabbing the device you had arrived here with, you take Wanda and pull her to the side. “You have to go, now! This isn’t up for debate anymore.” You try to set the device to your universe but with the adrenaline pumping through your veins it was hard to remember what number you were. 

Wanda pulls her arm out of your grasp, “N-no, I'm doing this with y—”

“Wanda, listen to me!” You cut her off desperately and grab her shoulder. She needed to hear you, this time you wouldn’t let her stubbornness win. “I can't lose you, do you understand?” 

“I-I can't…” the words get stuck in your throat as she tries to argue but with the urgency in your voice and fear in your eyes, she can hardly get a sentence together. 

“Please, take this, and go home,” you grab her hand and place the device in her hand. Turning it on and making the platform appear for her. 

Before she goes, she gives you a desperate kiss. To remind you of everything you have to live for. Remind you of what will be waiting for you on the other side. To tell you everything there isn’t enough time for. “I'll see you soon,” she says as she takes a step back onto the platform. A loud explosion takes your attention away from the last sight you might have of your wife. You run off to throw yourself into the battle.

Making it into the building after slaughtering her way through, the Scarlet Witch searches for her target. This was the worst case scenario for the team. Jean is still nowhere to be seen, Raven is running around looking for her, you are hiding in the area you were meant to be if she made it inside the institution, Carol is next at the frontlines and Vision is still managing and protecting all of the devices. Storm thought a way to keep the Scarlet Witch occupied was to have the ground beneath her concave causing her to be in a twenty foot deep sinkhole. Ororo was an addition to the undead army before Scarlet Witch even made it out of the hole. Charles tried to reason with the woman that once was, but with no luck the demon that was taking over swiftly snapped his neck from inside his mind. Wolverine couldn't get close enough when he charged forward with his adamantium claws out. She made the metal inside of him melt, poisoning his bloodstream much faster than its initial course. Just for safety measures, she then manipulated the metal inside of him to form back into a solid state and expand until every piece of metal was ripping through his skin and bones. When it was clear there was no sign of life in him, she continued on. Thor met an unlucky fate when he attacked her from behind. She spun around and this time instead of going for the hammer, she went for his throat. She pulled his head off as easily as one would with a doll and crushed it like a soda can. 

Captain Marvel surprises her with a side attack. She wastes no time in punching her the entire way to the ground. Once the Scarlet Witch hits the ground, Carol digs her head into the hardwood floors. Tearing apart the wood and making a destructive path until the Scarlet Witch has enough and red energy bursts from her sending Carol flying off of her. 

“Evil does not suit you, Maximoff,” Carol rises from where the blast had sent her flying into a wall. She rolls her neck and shoulders as she gets ready to go head to head with the redheaded woman again.

The woman is impressed with Carol’s will to continue to fight but is annoyed by her observation. The Scarlet Witch thought this woman's interpretation of evil suited her very well. She enjoyed her current position, finally she was close to having it all without losing it ever again. “It appears that you don't know me very well,” Wanda says as she quietly beckons a vehicle from the parking lot with her magic and takes slow intimidating steps towards Captain Marvel.  

Although she can see the physical resemblance, Carol does not recognize this woman at all. She could be seen as broken beyond repair but Carol had to try. She had to prove herself wrong. Her life depends on it. The universe depends on it. “Wrong,” she starts in a strong tone. “You're my best friend,” her voice softens to appear genuine, but is still confident. Certain that this is the same person she knows and that she could bring her back to who she once was. Find the reasoning in her. Find her friend Wanda. 

This doesn’t make the Scarlet Witch think twice as she strikes her so-called friend with the first vehicle. “Good, then. It means you'll be easier to kill.” One vehicle after another tries to pin Carol down but none of them successfully hit her. Which bores the Scarlet Witch. She was far too powerful to be wasting her time with destroying property to kill someone. She wanted a real fight. So, after the last car is incinerated by the Captain, the witch makes a deadly rope of magic and swings it at her. Carol is thrown off with the first swing and barely dodges it. However, it does cut through the fabric on the suit of her shoulder and burn her skin. The second time Scarlet Witch swings, Captain Marvel catches the rope and sends a powerful photon blast through it. Sending the other woman clear across the hall. 

Scarlet Witch rises with a sinister smirk. “Game on,” she whispers as she hovers in the air. Carol mimics this and floats in the air as well. The two stare at each other with glowing eyes and angry glares before they both charge forward. Their fists charge up with as much energy as they can handle to use. When they meet in the middle it causes a massive explosion that destroys part of the building. The two women that have been blown away from each other are both buried under the contents of the structure. 

Carol makes it out first and tries to locate the Scarlet Witch before she can get out. Unfortunately, she wasn’t careful with her step and a hand with blackened fingertips shoots out and pulls her back under the rubble. The Scarlet Witch tries to tap into Carol’s mind and convince her that she is drowning. But the helmet on her prevents anyone from breaking into her mind. It was a gift from her best friend, to protect her. 

From his control room, Vision finds Jean running in from the garden and with the communication program he connects to Raven’s earpiece to inform her. The shapeshifter cannot be bothered as she holds her breath waiting to see if Carol is another one of the Scarlet Witch's victims or not. 

She fills with relief as the witch is thrown out with the Captain flying up with her glowing fist ahead of her. She knows that she shouldn't run in. She knows she should find Jean. But she can't just stand here and watch and hope for the best outcome. Seeing as Carol is the only one fighting, the odds weren't in their favor.  Thinking on her feet, Raven transforms herself into a version of Pietro Maximoff that she was familiar with. Not aware that he wasn't an identical variant. 

“Wanda! Please, stop!” Raven calls out in Peter’s voice. The witch pauses in crushing Carol's throat. She looks over and tilts her head at the new presence. “You don't have to keep doing this!”

The Scarlet Witch drops the gasping body to the ground. Carol coughs up blood as she catches her breath. “Why should I stop?” The woman asks as she glides closer to Raven. 

“Because, sister, I'm begging you to,” Peter pleads desperately. 

The Scarlet Witch casts her eyes down with a sorrowful expression. “I’m so sorry,” she starts as she gets closer to the man. “That you think I would fall for your silly tricks,” she raises her hand out before her and chokes Raven with her deadly strings of magic. Razor sharp spikes penetrate the shapeshifter's skin in order to control her abilities to reveal her true form.  “I should thank you though, for doing the hard work for me. You would not believe how difficult it is to find one Nexus Being let alone six of the most powerful.” 

“Please,” Raven chokes out as she begs for her life. She manages to catch Carol's eye and the Nexus finds the strength to get up again. She charges her fists, ready to break Raven free. 

“Oh alright,” the Scarlet Witch sighs, “I won't make you suffer.” Without so much as a twitch of her fingers, she orders her magic to twist Raven's neck.

“NO!” Carol shouts as she tries to stop the woman but it's too late. By the time she reaches them, all she can do is catch Raven's body before it hits the ground. “I’m so sorry,” Carol says through her tears as she holds the cold blue body in her arms. She doesn't have any time to mourn as she is quickly reminded of the goal. Kill the Scarlet Witch. She lifts her head to glare at her target with glowing eyes as she prepares her body to exert every ounce of her powers as possible. 

Carol lets the body fall as she rises and takes steps towards the witch. Screaming at the top of her lungs she launches all of her power at the redheaded woman. Vision drops in behind the witch to help Carol weaken her. Unfortunately, while it does harm the Scarlet Witch, she was able to more easily absorb their powers until it was just her standing with two more bodies added to her count. Leaving you and Jean as the last to put an end to this once and for all. 

“Finally,” she says breathlessly as you and Jean arrive at the same time.“All of this,” she gestures to the destruction, “Could have been avoided if the two of you weren't so damn hard to find.” You clench your jaw and glance at Jean, believing it could have been avoided had she not done something and gone missing. You still weren't certain if she was the reason why the enemy had arrived when she did. But you know that her hiding away when she was an important part of the plan is her fault entirely.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Jean asks. 

The Scarlet Witch doesn't waste time with words. She tests out her new abilities by hitting Jean with a photon blast. Luckily, Jean is able to deflect it with a forcefield of her own and strike back with a power blast of her own. The Scarlet Witch redirects it to you and you manage to catch it and charm it so that it only hits the enemy. When it does, she is unable to absorb it and is knocked down for a second. 

The three continue to fight while Wanda hides behind one of the few remaining walls in the destroyed area of the building. She is struggling to figure out where she can insert herself into the fight where it will be most effective. She only has one shot at this. She isn’t nearly as strong and powerful as the rest of her team was. But she is hoping none of that matters in the long run. She takes a step forward to jump at her more powerful variant as she is currently being pinned down by you and Jean. 

Then suddenly, everything goes dark.

The Scarlet Witch

Taglist: @princessprudy @sayah13 @agaymilflover @awkwardmandalorian @bentleywolf29 @evenbeingcrazy1998 @olsensnpm @artisannat @thisischaismagic @wqndanat @madamevirgo @likefirenrain @tearsofglitter @feltlikethat @the-writer-arcane @natashasilverfox @karsonromanoff @aloneodi @lovelyy-moonlight @red1culous @jovialsublimecomputer @natasha-maximoff @iliketozoneout @doudouneverte @druggedduck @notbornbutforged @when-wolves-howl @lifespectator @justyourwritter69 @wandaromamoff69 @awesomelygayasf @nekoannie-chan @diaryoflife @wuwu96 @wandanats-goodgirl @imamethysthailee

#the scarlet witch #The Scarlet Witch: Enemy of the Nexus #fanfiction #wanda maximoff #wanda maximoff imagine #wanda marvel #wanda maximoff x you #wanda mcu #carol danvers #simon williams #captain marvel #raven darkholme #mystique #jean grey #wanda x y/n #wanda x reader #wanda x you #thor odinson #wolverine #professor x #ghost rider #wonder man #storm #the vision #pietro maximoff #peter maximoff

[surgepricing]

That RWBY retrospective was a great read. Would you be willing to share the rest of your deep dive? I would love to read it

Thought long and hard about what I wanted to show off next; very rarely did I get into discussing RWBY in later volumes without stepping on some toes. I decided I'd post one of the more tame chapters from the Volume 2 recap, just to see what people have to say. I hope you enjoy it.

I won't be able to do this with every recap while preserving the images and gifs I used, since there's a limit of 30 and sometimes my posts went well beyond that, but I can always try other options.

Title: RWBY 09 – Volume 2, Second Arc (Part I) Original Posting Date: Dec 19, 2020 Episodes Covered: Volume 2, Episodes 5 & 6

Alright. So far, Volume 2 is not taking me to happy places. But why stop now?

We ended on a gigantic fight between four girls and a robotic mech.

V2E5, “Extracurricular”

The first thing I get to recap to you is a fight scene, right out of the gate. We open on Pyrrha, seeing her gear up for combat, spliced inbetween flashes of the fight itself. Now, for once, since this fight is neither the focus of the episode, nor that important overall, I’m not going to slavishly transcribe it, but rather give you the rundown:

It’s Pyrrha versus the entirety of Team CRDL (Cardin, Russel, Dove, and Lark, in case you forgot). Cardin’s packing his big giant mace, Russel’s armed with dual knives with what look like dust rotors, Lark is swinging around a halberd that looks completely unaltered, and Dove is armed with a slim double-edged blade that can fold into a pistol. If you want to see the fight that badly, I have good news: it’s easy to gif, since it’s brutally short, a mere minute and a half (1:40 to 3:14). So here, my treat:

As you can see, Pyrrha is completely untouchable here, even four-on-one. She sends CRDL’s members flying with precise strikes and sweeps, and deflects Dove’s and Russel’s blades with only the shield braced on her one arm without even going off-balance. Sky and Cardin hit a bit harder, and Cardin gets points for being the only one to take more than three seconds to demolish, but she trounces him, too, the minute she sees an opening. All in all, she was in complete control of the battle and it showed.

You might be wondering how Pyrrha could so skillfully dismantle four attackers, some of whom have clear advantages on her in size and weight and who were attacking together. Don’t worry—you’ll see.

The lights come on in the arena, and Glynda’s voice again announces the end of the match, complimenting Pyrrha and mentioning she’ll have no trouble qualifying for the Vytal Tournament. She turns to the stands, asking any of the attending students if they’d like to fill one last match. RWBY, who are in the stands, appear uninterested, but we can see two familiar faces sitting just behind them. Glynda zeroes in on Blake, who hurriedly snaps some book shut, accusing her of being rather ‘docile’ in recent classes, but before she can volunteer her, a hand is raised and Mercury’s voice pipes up.

Glynda makes to select an opponent for him, but he stops her—he wants to go a round with Pyrrha. Glynda, clearly a tad peeved at having been interrupted twice, tries to tell him that she’s already finished a match, but Pyrrha welcomes another fight, very happy to take him up on it.

Mercury, legs greaved in black metal and showing off glinting silver bullets loading the chambers, slowly struts onto the field to meet his opponent, and in the background, Emerald glances at the back of Ruby’s head, then at the match, with a pointed focus on her eyes. Mercury takes a kickboxing stance, while Pyrrha stands with shield and xiphos at the ready. The two of them rush to meet each other, and Mercury throws a kick that meets Pyrrha’s shield before she sweeps his other leg out from under him. He makes distance with many an unnecessary backflip.

The two fighters clearly appraise one another, before Pyrrha runs forward and presses him. Mercury goes on a fantastic defense, deflecting her strikes and trying to get around her shield, but this enables Pyrrha to just butt him in the chest and send him skidding back.

Mercury nods, as if to say ‘eh, pretty good’, and in the stands, Ruby turns to compliment Emerald on how well her ‘friend’ is doing, who smiles and then rolls her eyes as soon as Ruby turns back towards the match. The two in the arena continue:

Mercury launches a fast and furious series of strikes with the goal of bringing a heavy boot down on something that gives, and Pyrrha performs the sickest move ever, throwing her sword into the air behind her and then just catching Mercury’s next kick with the back of her arm. Mercury undercuts the coolness of this just a bit by answering her next series of slashes with the re-equipped sword and knocking the xiphos out of her hand and some distance away. Pyrrha doesn’t look too concerned about this.

When Mercury makes to pounce on this advantage, she raises her free hand as if to catch his boot, but it doesn’t make contact. We the viewer see a very faint black outline around her hand and his boot as she does it. Mercury is sent off-balance, and takes a moment to absorb what just happened. Pyrrha rushes him, and he gets back up in time to meet her shield with both legs and fire his greave-guns, sending him shooting off of it and a good distance away, just in time to say the magic words before she can press her assault.

M: I forfeit.

Pyrrha is thrown off, and skids to a halt, surprised and rather annoyed at this turn of events. Mercury dismisses her—she’s a world-class fighter, and they’re obviously leagues apart. Glynda understandably shares her irritation, given that Mercury chose to fight her in the first place. Mercury and Emerald are both grinning.

Glynda reminds everyone that “the dance is this weekend” and their first mission is on Monday. RWBY file out of the arena, Blake’s nose buried in a notebook and Emerald watching them as they go. Mercury dryly remarks, as he comes up to Emerald, that learning is “so much fun”.

Now before I pounce on the words that I just bolded, which the next scene that we cut to would like to elaborate on, let me draw your attention to something:

Do you see this overhead shot of Beacon’s courtyard? To the right of RWBY, heading out, you will see Sun’s team, SSSN (pronounced “Sun”)—himself and Neptune, plus Scarlet and Sage.

That is their—Sage’s and Scarlet’s—only appearance this volume.

No, they do not actually interact with anyone nor are they involved in this scene whatsoever, they’re literally in the background and stay there. I don’t feel bad about spoiling that. Better we got it out of the way now. Do any of you remember something I highlighted in my Volume 1 Final Thoughts?

I said that slow pacing wasn’t something we could afford when this show only runs for 25% of the year and is on hiatus the other 75%. It’s not like live-action dramas, either, able to make up for that by running for 50 episodes at a time or packing 30-45 minutes into each episode. It seemed, at the time, an astounding feat of juggling to introduce so many new characters in the very last episode and then even more in the Volume 2 trailer and opening—but now we can see that it evens out, because they don’t intend on using any of them.

By this point in time, RWBY fans had been sitting on the knowledge that Sun had his own team, salivating in the aftermath of his glorious first impression, and hungering for some details on his crew for quite a while, and have at this point gone five weeks with nothing but scraps. They will go the rest of the volume—ten more weeks, what with the World of Remnant introduction—and then the rest of the Volume 2-3 hiatus with yet more nothing to go on.

Release date of Volume 2 Trailer: July 4th, 2014 Release date of Volume 3 Episode 2: October 31st, 2015.

Fifteen, almost sixteen months. Over a year. Not a year in which consistent content was coming—a year in which an official entry to the series’ collective body came and went. If you were actually interested in these characters as a team, any sparse involvement of the remaining two, or anything deeper than a petri dish from Sun and Neptune, you were absolutely not going to get it. Sucks to be you.

Love to Be a Part of It Someday: 10

*idly twirling a foil scraper* That’s not good. That is, in fact, pretty fuckin’ bad. Dickish, even. A point each for Sage and Scarlet, plus a point for the lack of unit behavior with Sun and Neptune—plus another for the conspicuous amount of time spent ignoring these dudes whose names haven’t even been said in-show. Fairest arrangement I can think of.

But that’s all I can say now. I will be bringing this back up later, near or at the end of the Volume. The same goes for the hair-ripping Exit Stage Left from last post that had me so bald.

So let’s move on to the issue actually comprising this scene.

Blake is lagging behind her team, head still buried in her notebook. Sun breaks off from his own team to catch up with her.

S: Hey, Blake! You, uh, doin’ okay?

B: I’m fine.

S: *clearing his throat* So I hear there’s this dance goin’ on this weekend… Agh, sounds...pretty lame, but you an’ me, I’m thinkin’, not as lame? Huh?

B: ...What?

S: The dance, this weekend! You wanna go, or what?

B: ...I don’t have time for a stupid dance. *turning and walking away* I thought you, of all people, would get that.

In case the tone of this conversation is not clear to you, here’s a gif, so you can see their body language like I can.

Sun is being his usual chill and somewhat dorky self, if a little nervous, not pushy or rude. Blake, who has suddenly developed noticeable circles under her eyes since leaving the school arena, responds in a much rougher tone than we might have expected given her previous characterizations. Sun is visibly deflated and her teammates eye her as she walks off. Ruby spares sad boi Sun a glance before we cut to the next scene.

B: You what?

Ruby answers that they want her to go to the dance. When Blake calls that ridiculous, Yang mentions that they’re worried about her. This investigation, she says, is starting to mess with her head.

Ohhh, the investigation! Yeah, that was a thing that happened last episode, wasn’t it?

Wiess mentions that Blake can’t sleep, hardly eats, and her grades are tanking. Blake wants to know why she should care about grades when lives are at stake! Yang responds that they know, and they’re still trying to find out what Torchwick is up to.

Ruby mentions that thanks to Blake and Sun, they know that he and the White Fang are operating somewhere outside of southeast Vale, and Weiss follows up that Schnee records indicated that Vale was clearly the primary target of dust robberies over the last month.

Not to interrupt yet more blossoming angst from Blake, but yeah, this is our reward for following that three-episode ‘arc’ that culminated in the Paladin fight. Weiss lists that last bit off as if it’s useful information—it isn’t, because the characters live in Vale, among the robberies, and the viewers have so far only been shown Vale, and robberies happening there. It gives them nothing to go on besides “hey, at least the plot isn’t operating outside of our reach, like in other countries!” and that is why I remain firm in my decision to award it the Road to Nowhere point.

But seriously, think about what’s going on here. Blake’s grievance about lives is that they’re at stake, not that any have been lost, just in case you don’t believe that all those massacred people on the interstate really last episode didn’t matter. They don’t even register here. As if to underscore the fact that we just hit the reset button—on everything, including Blake’s inner turmoil over Torchwick that seemingly got resolved in Episode 2—they’re even back in their standard outfits, with the cool, unique, badass outfits that they wore for an episode and a half completely ditched, forgotten, and never brought up again.

None of that mattered. We went nowhere.

Alright, now that I’m good and mad, let’s continue with the scene.

Y: Don’t forget about their missing military tech, too.

I’m fine! I’m cool, I’m calm, I’m fine!

(for reference here, the recap before, I had gone into an extended rant about how Torchwick just having a gigantic military mech made no sense, since it's not feasible for him to steal it undetected with his level of resources, and how barreling down a public interstate in it with the White Fang emblem stamped on it pretty much broadcasted his location and claimed the carnage so that it couldn't even be used to sow distrust against Ironwood).

When Blake protests that there’s still unanswered questions, Ruby responds that she won’t find any answers if she can’t even stay awake. Yang reiterates that they want her to relax a bit for one day, and Weiss insists it’ll be fun—because after all, Weiss and Yang are going to make sure of it! You see, they’re planning the whole event!

Yes, Yang said that verbatim. They—two girls—are planning a school event comprising not just the hundreds of students living at their campus, but hundreds more students coming in from three other countries! Sorry, I’m not letting you get away with that.

Ill Logic: 16

It isn’t alleviated by the fact that the event was originally being managed by four students instead of a mere two. Weiss mentions that upperclassmen team CFVY (pronounced “coffee”) aren’t back from their mission yet, so she and Yang were asked to pick up where they left off. Weiss promises that after the dance, they can return to their regularly scheduled business, nose in Torchwick’s business and all.

B: I think this is a colossal waste of time.

She gets up and strides out, mentioning that she’ll be in the library, with her team bemoaning that she can’t keep going like this.

But enough about that! There’s a knock on the door, and Weiss answers it. Guess who it is!

What he’s here for is obvious before he even says it. Weiss shuts the door in his face, and he knocks again, begging that she open it, and promising not to sing.

J: I lied!

W: [facepalming]

J: Weiss Sch-nee! ♪ Will you accompany me? ♪ To the daaaaance on! ♪ Sunday? ♪

W: Are you done?

J: ...Yes?

W: No. [she shuts the door in his face, then turns to her teammates] ...What?

Y: And that, is why they call you the ice queen.

W: All my life, boys have only cared about the perks of my last name. [crossing her arms and turning away] Besides, I already have a date in mind.

R: Date or no date, none of this will matter if we can’t get Blake to go.

The scene here ends on a zoom-in towards the sky outside the open window. But first…You didn’t think we were going to escape this shit without a little commentary on boundaries, did you?

Mkay. We’re not quite done with this issue, but we may as well do this—you may be flashing back to the first interaction Weiss actually had with Jaune, and his very pushy and rude flirting in the same scene. I mentioned there that it translated worse when written than watched, and could easily be brushed off as harmless even though it wasn’t. There is no such allowance here.

We’ve already established, through that scene and through the recent cold shoulder she gave him in class, that Weiss has no interest in Jaune’s time. Trying to ask her out to a dance, therefore, is a bad idea, but not necessarily a full-stop no-bad-wrong. Once she made it clear via door slam that she still wasn’t interested, that was the official cutoff, and any further pursuit should’ve been given up. He continues to pester her, and then she still gives him the official “No”.

If, like me, you mis-remembered this as Jaune asking her out like four or five times past a clear “No”, don’t worry, there’s still more to talk about. Because while Jaune is still over the line—

Jaune: 8

—what the real issue here is, is the framing of Weiss’ answer. See, it’s not because Jaune has qualities that turn Weiss off, or that his behavior is bad, or even that she simply doesn’t want to go to the dance—it’s that she assumes that Jaune only wants her because she’s the illustrious Schnee heiress. It is framed as though Weiss’ ‘no’ to Jaune is simply one of caution rather than actual disinterest in him—as though he ‘deserves a chance’, and the only reason he isn’t getting one is because a) Weiss made the wrong assumption and b) she already has the spot filled.

The problem is that Weiss doesn’t need a reason. She may hate Jaune’s guts, or may be head-over-heels with him. She may simply find him unattractive, or may simply not enjoy his company. She may not enjoy dances on principle. She may already have a date, or may not. She may have no reason whatsoever to say no to Jaune.

And she can still say no to him, and deserves to have that respected. Because a girl doesn’t need a ‘good’ reason to reject a guy. The ‘no’ is the beginning, middle, and end. She says no, and that’s that.

Fauxminism: 6

There’s shades of this with Blake, too, mind, what with her team trying to push her to go to a dance she has no interest in. Blake may, like myself, simply not find dances enjoyable and want to skip it, regardless of whatever turmoil is causing her to lose sleep, but this passes just a tad more easily because her physical health and mindset are clearly not their best.

Back to the next scene. We are shown Jaune training with Pyrrha. Both of them are wielding their swords with both hands and have gone shieldless, so Pyrrha seems to be teaching him the basics. He presses her into a couple of sword locks, before she sweeps his legs out from under him with her own. She laughs, and compliments how much his swordplay has improved, extending a hand to help him up (while a very creepy but un-commented-on green glow emanates from the headmaster’s tower in the background).

She asks if he wants to go ahead with Aura training, and Jaune hesitantly wonders about skipping that for tonight. She recommends he keep at it, and that she’s sure they’ll discover his Semblance in no time (hinting for the audience that one is attached to the other). Jaune dismisses this as the problem, saying “It’s dumb”. Pyrrha presses him when he clams up, and he admits he wants time to lament about Weiss.

What about her, Pyrrha asks, and he confesses he asked her to the dance and she promptly shut him down. Pyrrha, quite stiffly, mentions that there’s plenty of fish, as the saying goes. Easy for her to say, he says, since she probably has guys falling over themselves in line to hit that up. She subtly hints that this isn’t the case, only to be blown off. If she doesn’t get a date to the dance, he says, he’ll wear a dress.

Wait for it. I’ll comment on it in time.

Pyrrha gives Jaune’s retreating back the solemn gaze of the unrequited crush, and all I can do is question her taste, which I will do in detail soon enough.

The next scene we cut to is the dorm room where Cinder, Emerald, and Mercury are staying. They’re commenting on ‘the invincible girl’, Pyrrha Nikos, who Mercury appears to have figured out. He and Emerald explain that her semblance is ‘polarity’, but she hides it well, using it to manipulate combat in her favor in subtle ways that won’t be noticed if you aren’t looking. In this way, she creates the impression that she really is untouchable in combat on skill alone, rather than because most fighters would realistically be helpless against her.

We will ask a question now: if Pyrrha’s so good at being subtle about her abilities, why did she magically wave Mercury’s foot away from her face rather than simply catching it? She proved she was capable of doing just that. One looks significantly less suspect than the other, and likely wouldn’t have actually been caught by Mercury’s oh-so-clever analysis!

Ill Logic: 17

Your Fight Scene Sucks: 10

C: People assume she’s fated for victory, when she’s taken fate into her own hands. Interesting. Add her to the list.

How very ominous. Mercury mentions that Cinder should be able to take her easily, and she adopts a more serious demeanor as she declares that it’s not about overpowering the enemy, but taking away what power they have. How different those two things really are, in this context or any, is something I’ll leave up to readers.

When Mercury bemoans more waiting around, Cinder mentions a ‘fun weekend’ in store for them, while holding up a needle she’s using to sew something. The episode ends.

Before I move on to the next episode, I need to air an issue I’ve been saving since the beginning of this one, and I will preface it with an apology, because one last time, I’m about to use the j-word: juvenile.

It took me a while to find that word, you know, when I was first outlining a spork of this animation, and when I was searching for and finally settled on it, I was thinking of this plot point right here, and nothing else. It didn’t occur to me until I was actually writing the recaps for the preceding episodes just how many times I could, and would, apply that word.

And it does occasionally hit me that I may come off as snobbish or elitist for that, and I apologize if so. I promise that’s not my intention. I’m not some fun-hating asshat that takes issue with a show being accessible to kids and not being filled with blood and gore and sex and f-bombs. I’m not trying to put RWBY ‘beneath’ me.

But there is nonetheless a problem with how this show is treading its water. There are certain things the audience is expecting, was expecting, and some they most certainly weren’t—and probably didn’t welcome. And as for me, I would call this one of them. Let’s lay our cards on the table here: we now have a dance arc to sit through. Dance arcs are restricted, generally speaking, to a few different settings, and it’s rather difficult to make most of them cross over with the dramatic, monster-slaying world of Remnant. And failing the one, rather more flexible type of dance arc—the whole ‘regal, fancy high-society ball’ type—we instead are being handed the other type. Say it with me now, what we’ve really got is a prom arc.

I cannot fucking stand the prom arc.

Suppose for a minute that I did enjoy high-school shows, of which the prom arc is the most standard, inseparable staple. Regardless of the fact that I detest them in general, there are interesting things you can do in a high school setting, especially if there are fantasy elements involved. If binging Supernatural doesn’t scar me deeply enough by the time I’m done, hell, the one I’ll probably move on to is Teen Wolf, in which I understand this problem to have reared its ugly head. The prom arc is emblematic of both high school shows and what ends up being wrong with most of them, in that it’s the least interesting thing you can possibly show me.

Absent any monster-slaying or teens with superpowers, maybe on occasion I can still get invested in a plot about how some chick is trying to hide her pregnancy, about how a bully gets his due (one we had in this show, as it happens!), or how some kid getting in with the wrong crowd tries to get out before it destroys his life. To say nothing of the oft-ignored or mishandled potential of trying to watch teens struggle through things like sexuality or gender, which more and more of us could relate to and want to see. And yes, even that is relevant to what I will say later on.

The fact of the matter is, ‘who is taking who to prom? Tee-hee! Ooooh!’ is the plot point that is both the least interesting and the one that often takes up way too much time and attention. It’s tired, annoying, endlessly-retreaded, boring…and now we have one right here.

Coming right off the heels of Torchwick chasing gun-and-sword-wielding teens down a crowded freeway and the large-scale implications Blake keeps babbling about, why should we disagree with her assessment of this? Why on earth would we care about some freaking prom? Do we not have a million more interesting things to look at?!

And don’t think that it ends with me calling this farce for what it is. There’s also the fact that it doesn’t make sense. This prom is happening on the heels of a bazillion exchange students arriving to stay on campus.

Really? You want to ask hundreds of people who are unfamiliar with the city and have never been here before to try and find dates, ostensibly with people from other countries that they hardly know, when they barely know their way around? That makes sense to you? Someone should bitch slap Ozpin upside the head for thinking that’s a good idea.

Ill Logic: 18

It’s not getting Reliable Leader points because I can’t prove it was him that organized it, but it’s still a terrible idea nonetheless. Whatever, let’s move along.

V2E6, “Burning the Candle”

We open on Ruby sitting at a table when set upon by Weiss, asking her opinion: which tablecloth should she go with? But they’re both the same, and Weiss leaves in a huff when this is pointed out. Yang is carrying a huge amp and sets it down with a colossal thud. She asks if Ruby has picked out her dress yet, and Ruby, incredibly down in the dumps, asks what the point is if Blake isn’t going.

You have a weird fixation on Blake attending a very pointless event, you know that? Do you have some terminal inability to enjoy anything if it isn’t being done with your whole teeeeaaam? I’m gonna start calling you Esme.

Yang waves this off: don’t worry, Ruby, Blake’s going! Said with a confident smirk, which given Yang’s track record with coercion so far, does not make me think the things I imagine Rooster Teeth wanted me to think, so great work there. She then snaps at Weiss that she doesn’t want doilies everywhere. No doilies, no fog machines, Weiss answers.

This leads to a comment from Neptune, who walks in with Sun. Lovely to see you two again, did you ever find your missing two team members? No? Sorry to hear that, keep at it! Neptune thinks this might be pretty cool, and Sun asks if the ladies are all ready for ‘dress-up’. Ruby is not as enthused as Yang and Weiss are at the idea of getting all dolled up to turn heads. So what are they going to be wearing, the latter asks?

S: Pfft, uhhh, this?

Before I can point out that this is yet another detail implying that Sun is poor, Neptune tries to wave him off, but Sun will not be ignored. He mentions that, despite having moved to Mistral, he grew up in Vacuo, which viewers will by now understand to be a desert nation and rather dangerous.

S: It’s not exactly a shirt-and-tie kind of place.

Y: Yeah, we’ve noticed.

Holding my tongue here.

Sun, visibly uncomfortable, asks what Blake thinks of all this, and if she’s still in her ill mood, and they confirm that she is. Yang, again all a-smirking, says to just trust her, because Blake will definitely be at the dance tomorrow. Whatever could she mean?

She means racism, of course! See, in the next scene, she’s got a laser pointer, and interrupts Blake’s time poring over a library computer by bothering her with it until she gives in and tries to follow it to the source. It is an extended sequence and very uncomfortable. Remember: this would not matter if Blake was just a cat person, and cat people and humans coexisted with nothing else said about it. But the faunus in this show are explicit stand-ins for people of color! So this joke is unfunny and offensive by default. Imagine if some black kid was hanging out on the computer and some rudeass white kid started trying to dangle fried chicken or watermelon in front of them, ‘cause black people love that stuff, right? Ha. Ha. Ha. So very funny.

RSVP: 22

When Blake finally finds Yang holding the laser pointer, the latter drags her off by the arm, claiming they ‘need to talk’ and no, it’s not funny. Cut to the next scene!

Lie Ren walks out of the JNPR dorm’s bathroom wearing only a towel. In the exact same manner, Jaune comes out of nowhere and grabs him by the arm, claiming they need to talk. Ha, funny, hee.

J: Ren…I’m just gonna come out and say it. You…are one of my best friends. These past few months, I feel like we’ve really bonded! Even though...you don’t say much. I mean, you’re really quiet. To be perfectly honest, I don’t know that much about you personally...but darn it, I consider you to be the brother I never had!

R: [still in a towel and visibly uncomfortable] ...And I you.

J: Which is why I wanted to get your advice on...girls!

I love when racism is followed by good old-fashioned homophobia! Because yes, that’s what this is. The fact that Ren’s in a towel and Jaune starts by using language like “you’re one of my best friends” and the ever-suspect “come out and say it” make it clear that this is obviously a funny joke meant to make the audience laugh because oh, he sounds like he’s about to confess his love to another man! Isn’t that funny?!

*icily* Miles Luna, you see this big fat dick? Eat me. It’s fucking scary as hell for gay people trying to approach love and you don’t get to make us the butt of your jokes.

And for the record, no, I don’t think that was a one-off. See, people watching RWBY had, before Volume 2 even aired, asked about the topic of sexuality within this show. They wanted to know...well, mostly whether their favorite ships were gonna happen, but beyond that, they wanted to know whether Rooster Teeth intended to display non-heterosexual identities and how they felt about doing so. Monty went on record and assured them the characters would figure that sort of thing out under their own power and on their own time, and that it would not be brushed aside but also wouldn’t be a huge part of the story. So by this point, Rooster Teeth are already aware they had an LGBT audience...and this little scene still got greenlit.

Malevolent? Malicious? No and no. But abso-fucking-lutely in poor taste? Definitely so.

Jaune eventually says that he wants to know how Ren and Nora got together, only for them both to uncomfortably clarify that they’re not a couple. He urges her to put her headphones back on, since obviously he wanted Ren’s opinion on this and not hers. Dick. Ren asks him what this is about.

J: It’s Weiss. I’m completely head-over-heels for her, and she won’t even give me a chance. She’s cold, but…she’s also incredible. She’s smart, graceful, and talented...I mean, have you heard her sing? I just wish she’d take me seriously, you know? I wish I could tell her how I feel, without messing it all up.

Yes, we are still not done with this tiresome matter.

First, this was clearly an attempt to back up what I said above: it’s all a misunderstanding! Jaune doesn’t want her because she’s a Schnee, (or just because she’s hot), he’ll have you know! It has nothing to do with superficial qualities like her money (or her hotness). It’s all about those other not-at-all-superficial qualities like how graceful she is, what a beautiful voice she has, and uhh, what was that last one? Oh yeah, how smart she is! Notice that Jaune said nothing that actually indicated he knows her. Is she a kind person? Does she have passion or drive? Does she care about others? Does she put forth effort to be the best she can be and make every day great? What are her interests and hobbies? The best you could say is that ‘smart’ technically isn’t superficial, but it’s one short step away from ‘aw yeah, she’s got a brain to go with those hot titties!’

This was clearly a transparent attempt to smooth over burgeoning distaste for Jaune and his interactions with women, so it’s getting two points, and one of them is our very first!

Jaune: 9

Band-Aid Brigade: 1

Moving on. Pyrrha cuts in, telling Jaune that if he really feels that way about Weiss, he should just tell her. No schemes, no pick-up lines, just honesty.

P: Jaune. You can’t get it wrong if it’s the truth!

I beg to differ! He can get it very wrong! He’s gonna show us that much very soon!

But Jaune likes this advice and hurries out, leaving Nora to sadly advise Pyrrha to practice what she preaches.

Now we cut back to Blake and Yang. They are occupying some unused theater classroom, with Yang sitting cross-legged on the teacher’s desk and Blake pacing back and forth with her arms crossed. Blake insists that they can’t afford to slow down, while Yang says that taking a break isn’t a luxury, but a necessity. At Yang’s invitation, Blake reluctantly sits down to listen to her story.

Cuz it’s story time!

Y: Ruby and I grew up in Patch, an island just off the coast of Vale. Our parents were Huntsmen. Our dad taught at Signal, and our mom would take on missions around the kingdom. Her name was Summer Rose. And she was like...Super-Mom. Baker of cookies and slayer of giant monsters. And then...one day she left for a mission and never came back. It was tough. Ruby was really torn up, but…I think she was still too young to really get what was going on, you know? And my dad just kinda...shut down. It wasn’t long before I learnt why. Summer wasn’t the first love he’d lost. She was the second. The first was my mom. He wouldn’t tell me everything. But I learnt that they had been on a team together with Summer and Qrow. And that she’d left me with him just after I was born. No one had seen her since.

Yes, this is belated Yang Time. Pay careful attention to what she said here. I’ll be talking about it in just a minute.

Blake asks why Yang’s birth mother left. Yang answers that it’s that exact question that ate at her as a kid and drove her to find out why. We transfer to art deco as Yang delves deeper into her backstory. She found a clue, she describes, while the art deco shows us a picture in a broken picture frame, that she thought would lead her to her mother or answers thereabouts.

Y: I waited for Dad to leave the house, put Ruby in a wagon, and headed out. I must’ve walked for hours. I had cuts and bruises, was totally exhausted…but I wasn’t gonna let anything stop me. When we finally got there, I could barely stand. But I didn’t care. I had made it. And then I saw them. Those burning red eyes. There we were. A toddler asleep in the back of a wagon and a stupid girl too exhausted to even cry for help. We might as well have been served on a silver platter. But, as luck would have it...our uncle showed up just in time. My stubbornness should’ve gotten us killed that night.

The bolded material, this time, is for me. First, I know a lot of you will expect me to comment on Yang’s parents and what they’re like, and on this matter, one in particular. But please wait. Give it time—there is an appropriate moment to talk about this, and you need the full effect. For now, let’s just focus on the first one: Ruby.

In addition to Yang Time, we now have our very first details about Ruby’s mother, Summer Rose! Fans had been itching to hear about this ever since that extremely loaded song, Red Like Roses Part II, debuted in Volume 1. A dark past, trauma, a desire to know why her protectorate left her...and then we find out Ruby was too young to understand Summer dying. That handily puts a stopper in any of that juicy development we were kind of relying on for Ruby, not to mention any development of it in the future, too. It’s not as though it doesn’t make sense for Yang to angst about a missing mother as much as Ruby, but this kind of locks it onto Yang and away from Ruby. And with Yang focusing on her birth mother over Summer, that means Summer will continue to be unexplored. And Rooster Teeth will continue to fumble this going ahead.

At the end of this story, Blake makes a very good point: these situations are not the same, and she is not a child with no sense of scope. Yang, gripping the desk rather hard, reiterates that she isn’t telling Blake to stop. After all, she herself hasn’t—she’s still looking for details about her birth mother. The difference is, she doesn’t let the search control her, which is what she wants for Blake. Blake insists that she doesn’t understand. That she’s the only one who can fight this. Why…? I’m not sure. Perhaps you guys need to see how this goes down:

Y: No, you don’t understand! If Roman Torchwick walked through that door, what would you do?

B: I’d fight him!

Y: You’d lose!

B: I’d stop him!

Y: You can’t even stop me!

I’m not of the opinion that Yang shoving Blake necessarily constitutes abuse, or even just an unhealthy scenario. Certainly I wouldn’t do it, but Yang is supposed to personify ‘tough love’, and she’s right: Blake is literally running on fumes and would suck ass if the time came for her to get what she wants. That said, this is another one of those Yang ThingsTM that looks way worse when considering prior missteps surrounding her. Fortunately, I think this is one Rooster Teeth actually caught onto in time—but that’s for later.

Yang gives Blake a hug, reiterating one more time that even though she supports what Blake wants, the way she’s going about it is self-destructive. And that’s why they want her to get some rest, for both her and the people she cares about. And...maybe try and head to the big event tomorrow, if she feels up to it? Yang’ll save her a dance, she says. They both leave, allowing us to get a good look at the winged gear emblem Yang was drawing on the chalk board.

(I will, even with what I said earlier, condemn anyone that, like Certain People Back in the Day, has the audacity to say this would’ve been a perfect time for them to kiss or for Yang to ask Blake to the dance. That turns what is framed as a gentle suggestion into the sort of thing that you do not do to an emotionally unstable and hurting person. You wait ‘til a person is stable and in good health to put the moves on them or you face my fiery wrath.)

That was pretty okay. A bit belated, and a bit of a forced fit for Blake’s problem, but we did indeed get two things I said we needed in my Volume 1 Final Thoughts—in-depth Yang characterization and one-on-one interaction with her team members. Here, have a cookie.

We cut to Jaune strolling down the sidewalk with a big ol’ smile on his face, holding a white flower and yes, he is doing exactly what he shouldn’t be doing—!

Jaune: 10

Pyrrha, I gotta pin this one on you. You were in the room when Jaune said he got turned down, why did you encourage this?

Yes, he’s off to go announce his feelings for Weiss! On...the night before the dance. And unless I’m just dumb, hoping to get a date with her. But his attempt is, as we already know, doomed. Jaune passes an alleyway, only to hear Weiss’ voice...calling Neptune’s name. Peeking around a corner, he (and we) watch Weiss catch up with the man himself, who asks what’s up.

W: I know this is a little...unorthodox, but…I wanted to ask you something. Would you...like to accompany me to the dance tomorrow?

Neptune’s hand is behind his head in apparent recognition of how ‘unorthodox’ this is. Jaune, crushed, backs away from the alley and goes back to his dorm, the flower discarded, and since he didn’t stick around to see Neptune’s answer, neither do we.

We cut to the very next night, where the dance is happening indoors. Yang, in a very untypical plain white dress and heels, is hosting, and yes, before you ask, every single one of the couples in view behind her is visibly a man/woman pairing. The latest visitor Yang welcomes is her very own sister Ruby, who she gushes over for having gotten all prettied up, including heels. Ruby would like to complain about those in particular, lampshading Weiss’ uncanny ability to fight in them. We then cut to Sun.

Sun is wearing…black? His tail is swinging behind him and we see that he’s swapped out his white jacket and lack of shirt for an identical jacket in black, this time buttoned up just high enough to let him display his necklace, and that he’s also wearing a white tie, which he is very unfamiliar with and struggling in. Behind him, a quiet voice reaches him:

B: I knew you’d look better with a tie.

Awwww!

She takes his arm, and he asks if this means they’re going, yanno, together. Technically yes, Blake says, though her first dance is spoken for.

Cutting back to the dance, we get a lovely view of all of those cookie-cutter heterosexual couples dancing, before...

…Blake finishes one dance, and starts another.

*tapping a foil scraper on the desk* Yes, I know I was a tad snide about the background characters, but we got the important bits here with the main characters. Via Blake dancing with Yang, we are being shown that it’s not a stigma for people of the same sex to dance together, even if they’re not there as a date, so to speak. I’m not going to call that an accident, because that was the purpose of the scene and that’s what it did. I am going to call this dangerous, because even if the intent was clean and hit the mark for once, this also adds potential energy to a burgeoning fandom war.

See, what they aimed for was “Same-sex couples can go to the prom dance!” And they got that. They did. Laud them for it. What they also got was “Blake and Yang went to the prom dance—right before she got together with Sun!”

Yang bows out, Sun steps in. I’ve already commented on the...particular energies of certain shippers in this fandom. I also mentioned that, with the somewhat-too-close relationship Rooster Teeth have with their fans, and the way they like to eat away at what gap there is between them, they can invite bad things. A lot of people were not happy with how Sun, the resident love interest, was still ‘getting the girl’. And yeah, that’s entirely on them—shippers take things too seriously and get very up in arms over shit that doesn’t matter. We know that, that’s what they do. But things like this stoke the eventual fires that break out. I, personally, would’ve had Blake dance with a woman that wasn’t the other half of the biggest ship in fandom at the time—Pyrrha or Weiss, perhaps—but I’m not going to berate RT for not thinking to do that.

Enough about that, though. Sun and Blake are very cute dancing together, as commented on by the others, who are very happy that Blake is happy and is going so far as to laugh, apparently having gotten some rest and improved.

When Ruby asks what they do now, Yang just tells her to have fun before walking off, as does Weiss. She’s left alone to complain about her dumb stilt heels she can barely walk in. The music takes on a twinkling tone as Ozpin shows up, asking if she’s not enjoying herself.

They talk about nothing. No, I’m serious, nothing of any importance is being said here. Ozpin and Ruby bemoan that life is more than just fighting, Ozpin says fighting and dancing aren’t that different, and then muses on bonds becoming stronger. I think he showed up just to give this closing line:

Oz: Nights like these are ones we’ll never forget.

Yang then welcomes in two more guests—Emerald and Mercury.

The episode ends. And so does this post—unfortunately, this arc has to be split in two as well. Like the last one, it’s a bunch of little annoying fails leading up to a huge fail-fest that will get me absolutely furious and chatty about it. Then we’ll do the World of Remnants, and then the last arc, which will take...three posts? Maybe four?

Counts:

Jaune: 10 It Was Right There: 3 Fauxminism: 6 Hypocrisy: 1 Ice Cream Queens: 0 Reliable Leaders: 4 Prowling Wolf Fallacy: 0 Threatening Enemies: 2 Love to Be a Part of It Someday: 10 Your Fight Scene Sucks: 10 + 2 Evisceration Evasion: 2 Ill Logic: 18 Pay No Attention to the Man Behind the Veil: 4 + 1 Wink Wink, Nudge Nudge: 0 Band-Aid Brigade: 1 RSVP: 22 Road to Nowhere: 6 Y.A.S. Queen: 3

#rwde #rwby #asks

[claudiajcregg]

Tell Other People About Your WIPs

make a list of all your WIPs with a brief description of each and then people can ask you questions about them and then tag other people.

Tagged by both @onekisstotakewithme and @miabicicletta 💜💜💜 Thank you, guys <3 I don't know who to tag that hasn't been tagged already. Interested? Tag, you're it! :) (Please do know that there are no set sections. Pick whatever you want. I went the deranged route.)

I have an outdated WIP list, and many others unaccounted for. This is just a selection of stuff I could see myself posting or editing/retooling to write something new. I love talking about my WIPs, about as much as I hate being perceived because they are not remotely interesting. (I also love knowing which ones people are interested in! I have an incentive to work on them!) (Instead of snippets, part of my feedback loop is sending actual rough drafts to get a sense of whether it's worth working on more.)

Multichapters, different levels of completion.

S5 Pregnancy AU. My main WIP. Can you believe I’ve had this idea for a year… almost to the day? I’ve been stuck since November bc I don’t know how I want this one to end, beyond a birth. (As I’ve mentioned in the past, I feel like this has legs to become a fluffy universe. I have ideas! Timelines!) Gist of it: CJ gets pregnant circa Zooey's kidnapping. How does it change S5? It's less angsty than you think.

Campaign bars, aka campaign conversations sometimes happened at bars in the 1998 campaign. Fun stuff. I need to pick it right back.

What Once Was Ours or the IM AU (2021), aka IM ends with a breakup. Not a WIP. Not a UFO. A secret third thing. (“Finished” but not edited, and I’m doubtful people would be interested. Probably bc of some bittersweet ~memories~ attached to it. I mean, I shared a third of it to discord and people couldn’t care less, at least after a while. Now, better IM AUs are being posted these days; I'm not in a rush.) 33 chapters. 150k words. I do reread it every once in a while, and I cannot put it down. But its 'age' takes me aback. If things had been different, I'd have posted this in H2 2021/Q1 2022 (or even the planned Q2-3 2021). But alas.

The “Almost Ready, question mark” Category

Another SVD prompt meme claim: what if CJ has the crush first. The thing is, I tend to write her as having a relatively obvious crush on him at first until something makes her wise up. So this is just some ridiculous, post-first-meeting thoughts. Most of it was written in one sitting! It kinda fits with something in the campaign bars fic, too.

Post birth, hospital story: A couple of hours after their bb girl is born. Pure fluff. Recently reworked it to make it less wordy. Still failed, but it’s better focused now.

Many ficlets – the few I did post on Tumblr that haven’t been posted to the story I’m collecting them in, plus a couple more. I'm thinking the ice skating one, Jan 22, a few post-eps I wrote last year, etc.

Ambitious Projects I don't think are happening right away (or ever), but probably have a detailed outline somewhere

(I put this up instead of last, because the next category has faves, but it's also a long one.)

Danny is back a bit earlier on s7. Toby leaks (or tries to leak? I always wavered) the shuttle to him, as he and CJ are getting closer.

Simon lives. How does his relationship with CJ evolve post-honeymoon phase? What is it like when Danny returns?

You’ve got mail AU. This outline had two ways the climax could go. I had fun.

Epistolary collab (?) fic. Probably an X + 1 fic. The only one with nothing written; don’t rule out writing it individually at some point.

And because this is so long already (but not as long as it could be)… A few more under the cut – more "I just want to make sure I like them" and "this meme reminded me I meant to pick those back up." And they are still not all. (How do you summarize seven years of writing?? I've only posted 20-something of them, lol.)

“Almost Ready (but I feel like I want to make changes to them) (might just redo them altogether)”

Haunted by the Notion, 2007 edition. My beta Ruth suggested this when she edited the other story, and I wrote it around then. It’s another Christmas dinner at Filomena, and, eight years later, things are different. I feel like it hits expected beats, and is just missing some oomph. Maybe. (As much as I do like it, half tempted to make it 2009. Or later.)

Heaven’s here…: A interrupted proposal. I’ve written many proposals over the years, and I love toying with different ideas and setups. Danny takes the lead here, but I’ve been intrigued by the idea of having CJ do the final twist.

5 to 6 am 'me' time. Another story inspired by last year’s rewatch that I wrote right at the start of it (so Jan 2023?). It has five short parts with five different years of what CJ describes in the pilot as her “me time.” This is one when I think one per year would be fun, but I don’t want to repeat myself.

One bed, “sexy” edition. An AU to a sort of AU (one of the drabbles from this summer) and… it's what it says on the tin. The world does not need to read my attempts at smut. If I didn’t put it in the previous category, it’s because I am not sure that I want to post it. (All the previous attempts are locked somewhere; unfortunately, someone loves this one and noticed when I tried to do that, lol.)

First baby kick: I remember writing this while in grad school (so, late 2017? First half of 2018) but I lost it, along other fic, when my laptop had to be reset because I used Bear to write back then, but didn’t have sync across devices. I rewrote it, and I feel like it's not the same, but still. It's sweet! Includes: Danny talking to the baby, domestic fluff, and… baby kicks!

“This meme reminded me they exist and I love them, so don't be surprised if they are posted before anything in a previous category”

(Lbr, if I added something about them in this post at all, it’s because they sparked some memory.)

Mosaic broken hearts: CJ, circa S4, jealousy. Prompted by a former fandom friend, back in my productive era (first half of 2021; before that friend just ghosted me.)

I can’t believe I captured your heart (pancake breakfast, three words and eight letters). For a while there, I edited it so much but then I fell off. iirc, it was part of some morning-related prompts I saw around that I tried to fulfill in 2018? 2019? And they had like internal progression. But this one was the best of the 3-4, and I kept tweaking it.

Green light of forgiveness (IM-ish) — there are many other IM/IM-Tomorrow snippets I’ve written over the years. I’m not sure if this one makes much sense, but I liked it enough.

Distance — I recall liking this one! Might have to bump it up. CJ is in Africa, Danny is at the Farm and sulking because they left off on some sort of argument. There is some Danny-Abbey friendship goodness here. I even have a second file that is “Distance - shorter version (it’s not)”

Danny writes fiction, shows it to CJ during her pregnancy and she’s into it. Technically written. I would probably try to take another stab at it. Third time might be the charm?

San Andreo phone call/fallout from ID. I just had the idea of CJ reaching out once things calm down. This is one of those fics I’ve written a version of every year or so, but I think there was one I liked quite a bit.

Terrible taste in men — a run-in with an OC ex of CJ. It was so dumb.

Fka Impatience - actually beta’d three years ago (by that fandom friend I've mentioned twice before… actually, three times) and “done”. I just think I’d change so much about it these days. It started being something else but ended up being a CJ-Toby friendship story in which they have lunch and catch up. But I would want to rewrite most of it now, and not just because it’s from like… 2019 (but finished in 2021).

I forgot this one initially! he's passing by, rare as the comet in my sky - 2? 3? times CJ thinks she sees Danny somewhere, and one time she does. (Which tried to work in the 'I remember shunning you' line.) I even wrote some sort of sequel later! Probably useless.

I said I would post a lightning round with fics that are either also done but not ready for me to mention them, or just… not done at all. The length of this post and how much I've spent on it is embarrassing. To give a general overview: in line with the nonsense I've been mentioning, includes phone calls at the end of S7, also a few friendship-focused fics around that time, too; present-day stuff; anniversaries; Hollis fundraisers; weddings; many ficlets, introspective thoughts, a “yes day” fic that's super sweet but needs better dares, the third memoir idea (the original one!!!!) that I had three years ago… And those are mostly the ones I had preselected, lol.

If you're interested, I can screenshoot this part in the notes app if you message me!

Anyway, this is embarrassing, and the worst part is that it's not all. fml.

#tell other people about your wips #wip memes #my writing #should I even tag this with the show or the pairing????? #long post