#i could not be happier that it's been 15 years and we finally get these stories

[cressidagrey]

Such A Mystery - Part 12 - The End

Pairing: Max Verstappen x Colette Leclerc (Original Character)

Summary:

Max Verstappen fell in love at the ripe old age of 12 and never looked back.

Colette Leclerc really regrets posting that particular Taylor Swift Lyric to her private Instagram account, because it made George Russell go insane.  

The rest of the world has absolutely no idea that the Dutch Lion and Charles Leclerc’s twin sister have been a couple for 15 years and are expecting a baby. 

Warnings: 

Pregnancy, Mention of multiple miscarriages, Pregnancy complications, George Russell Bashing (he's probably really nice in real life but in this, he's the bad guy, sorry), Jos Verstappen, We have apparently now reached the time where I also bash Ferrari. I am sure they are super nice in real life too. They are not in this.

Author Notes: Huge thanks to @llirawolf for holding my hand through this. Chapter 12 of 12!

They were alone. Just the three of them.

Colette had never felt so exhausted in her entire life. But she had also never been so happy. Charlie had been fed once more and had then fallen back asleep, curled up on her father’s chest. Colette herself could barely keep her eyes open.

And she should be sleeping, but she could only watch her daughter curled up against Max's chest.

"How did we manage to create something so perfect?" She asked him softly.

Max let out a tired little huff of laughter, not bothering to open his eyes. “She is perfect, isn’t she?” he murmured quietly.

Colette felt a smile tugging at her face. “Perfect and absolutely beautiful,” she agreed quietly, shifting a little to get a better look at the two of them. "So perfect it almost hurts to look at her."

Max smiled at her. "I...There is this thing you should know," he said hesitantly.

Something about his tone, the hesitance in his voice, made Colette pause. "What is it?" she asked curiously.

"I may have told the whole world about us? On Instagram?" he admitted with a grimace.

She could only snort at that. "I think your father made sure that that cat was out of the bag," she told him drily. "What did you say?"

"That we have been a couple for 15 years. That I couldn't be happier with you and our little family," he said simply. "I wanted everybody to hear our truth," Max said softly. "Not what other people write."

"There is a romantic inside you after all," Colette teased him softly.

"You aren't angry?" Max checked.

Colette sighed. "Not at you," she said simply. "I can't be angry at you. You just want people to know how happy we are together. We kept it quiet for years for me," Colette said, staring at her daughter. "Is it weird that it feels like she put everything into perspective?" she asked him, nodding towards Charlie. "I just...I don't care anymore,” she admitted.

Max stared at her, blue eyes wide, but Colette just shrugged. “I was terrified for so long what people were going to think about me once they knew about us...but now...I don't care. What does it matter?"

Max reached over and laced his fingers through hers. "It doesn't," he promised her. "I'll start screaming it from the rooftops tomorrow, if you'll let me."

A laugh escaped her before she could stop it. "I think the media already knows," she teased, squeezing his hand. "We can just put my Instagram on public and let them eat their heart out," she suggested. It wasn’t meant seriously. Not really. 

But the more she thought about it, she wondered if that was what it was going to take. Opening up the digital scrapbook of her life. Letting anybody have a peek at their relationship. Hoping that finally they would understand.

"We'd break the internet," Max retorted, grinning at her.

Colette laughed. "We really, really would. Reason enough  to do it?" she teased him.

"And give my PR team a heart attack? Absolutely,” Max returned immediately. “Tell me when.” 

"I love you," she told him seriously. "And I am ready to love you in public too."

She had done it from the shadows for 15 years after all.

He stared at her. "Are...Are you sure?"

"I am very, very sure, mon coeur," Colette told him softly, giving his hand a gentle squeeze. "The only opinion that matters to me is yours - and my family's. I don't care what anyone else thinks," she added, glancing down at Charlie again, who slept blissfully on, cuddled against Max's chest.

"If people want to call me an attention whore or a gold digger, they are welcome to it," Colette said quietly. "I don't care. I'm happy and you're happy and our baby is happy. Let them write whatever they want."

***

"Marry me," Max blurted out.

His words came out of his mouth before he had even realised what he was saying. The room suddenly became very quiet, as if all the oxygen had suddenly been sucked out of it, and Max suddenly realised that he had just blurted out the question he had been meaning to ask for months, at a time that couldn’t be further from ideal.

Colette was staring at him, her eyebrows raised and a look of surprise on her face. She seemed frozen and totally caught off guard by his question. And he didn’t blame her for that. She was exhausted, and had just given birth, and here he was, bombarding her with questions as if this was the perfect moment to do it.

But then she smiled at him. 

"Yes," Colette said simply. "Always yes. You know that.”

Relief surged through him so strongly, Max thought he might just about collapse. She had said yes.

Granted she had said yes the last time as well. 

He remembered that day like it had been yesterday…remembered coming home that May evening in 2016…Fuelled with adrenaline from his first “proper” win. Remembered the trophy that still had a place of pride in their living room…the bottle of champagne, the Pirelli cap…and the ring that he had bought after that race. The celebratory crepes for breakfast the next day where still a tradition they kept with. 

Max felt like he could have exploded there and then, just from happiness. He couldn’t believe that he had just asked her, that she had just said yes. It didn’t feel real. It felt like something out of a dream.

"Yes?" he repeated incredulously, just to make sure he hadn’t actually dreamt it. "You’ll marry me?"

"Properly this time," she teased him, with the most beautiful smile on her face, as she leane up to press a kiss against his lips. “I’ll marry you, Maxie.”

He couldn’t stop himself from laughing, the sound breathless. It wasn’t just exhaustion that made him sound like that, it was disbelief, a sort of giddy lightness.

"Properly this time," he echoed back to her, his words soft. "You’ll marry me properly."

He couldn’t actually believe she was saying yes. "I do have a ring," he assured her. "It's at home. I hid it in the trophy."

Colette laughed. "Of course, you hid it in the trophy," she repeated, her voice warm and amused."Of course you did."

Max gave her what he hoped was at least a resemblance of a sheepish look. “Where else would it be safe?” he said defensively. "And I know you wouldn't look there," he added.

"A perfect place to hide something you don't want me to find," Colette agreed.

Max grinned at her. "Exactly," he said happily, gently brushing her hair from her face.

"Which trophy?" she asked him seriously.

"Spain 2016," he answered honestly. His first one. The one. 

"You hid it in the 2016 trophy?" Colette repeated, her smile widening into a grin. "Really?"

"Just felt appropriate,” he answered honestly. He still remembered handing it to Colette for the first time, the ring that he had bought clanging around in the bottom of it. 

"It is," she agreed softly, leaning up to press a kiss against his lips.

Max smiled against her mouth, his arms tightening around her, pulling her a little closer. He couldn’t believe they were having this conversation. He couldn’t believe he had just blurted out the one question he had been wanting to ask for ages, and she had actually just said yes.

"You’re really going to marry me," he mumbled against her mouth, unable to help the words. "You’re actually going to marry me."

"I had your baby, but this is what shocks you?" Colette asked him with a laugh. 

He laughed, pulling her closer again and nuzzling his face into her shoulder, her words causing him to blush faintly. “I love you,” he mumbled against her skin quietly.

"I love you too," she echoed back quietly. "And yes, I will marry you. As many times as you’ll ask."

"I am the luckiest man in the whole world," he said softly.

"No, I’m the luckiest," she told him gently, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him close again. "To have you, and this, and Charlie, and all of it. It’s everything I ever wanted.”

[cutielando]

legacy | max verstappen

synopsis: in which your son follows in Max's footsteps

pairing: dad!max verstappen x mother!reader

my masterlist

"I'm so nervous. Why am I so nervous?" Max asked you as he stressed around, going in circles.

"Now you know how I've been feeling for the best 15 years, honey" you chuckled as you patted him on the back.

Yours and Max' eldest son had his first karting race today and Max has been the most worried parent in the world. 

From checking his car over and over again, to making sure his gear would keep him perfectly safe, to talking him through every single thing he would ever need to know multiple times leading up to the race.

Your son was more than ready.

But Max still couldn't help but worry.

He was so happy when Y/S/N started showing interest in karting at a young age, glad that he could share his life's work with his son. 

He had taken your little family to multiple races ever since he decided to retire from racing after he won his 10th WDC title. He loved explaining to your boy all about the cars, how they worked and how they managed to go so fast, basking in the curious gaze of your little boy.

Now that it was really down to his first karting race, Max was slowly starting to regret indulging his son's passion for racing sports.

"This is karma biting me in the ass, isn't it?" he asked slowly, still agitated.

"Yup" you smiled, crouching down when you saw your son running towards you.

"Mommy! Daddy! Are you ready to watch me?" Y/S/N asked once he reached you and gave you a hug, going to hug Max's tall body next.

"Of course we are, sweetie. We'll be cheering you on the entire time" you kissed his head before getting up, checking your phone quickly.

You had left your baby girl at home with your sister, skeptical about bringing her to the rink when she was still so young.

Y/S/N understood, even though he had wanted her there with him. He knew she was too young to even understand what he was doing.

"Now, remember what we talked about..." Max started telling your son and you zoned out, watching the two of them interacting.

You had come such a long way from when you first started dating. You never believed you would actually get to this point, happily married with 2 amazing and beautiful children. And yet, here you were, happier than ever, Max stressed as ever as well.

"Mommy, can you tell dad to stop worrying?" your boy asked as he took your hand and pulled you out of your thoughts.

You laughed and ruffled his hair. "Believe me, it's all I've been trying to do ever since we left home this morning" 

Max rolled his eyes but smiled, worry still etched on his face.

♡♡♡♡♡

The race was well underway and your son was absolutely dominating every other small driver in the race. 

He was leading and had managed to create a very impressive gap between him and the others, doing wonders on the track.

You kept stealing glances at Max who didn't let up his focus and concentration for even a second, his eyes glued to the screens and sometimes darting to the track when your son would pass you.

"And the winner is... Y/S/N Verstappen!" the commentator yelled out when the race had finally finished and your boy had come in first.

Max cheered loudly, quickly disregarding his headphones and scooping you up in his arms, both of you laughing and cheering.

"Mommy! Daddy!" Y/S/N yelled as he parked his car, got out and immediately spotted you in the big crowd of proud parents.

"You did it! You were so good, my love" you gushed as you helped him take off his helmet so you could hug him properly.

"Daddy! Did you see how good I was? I did it for you!" Y/S/N yelled out as you let go of him and he jumped into Max's awaiting arms.

"You did so good, my boy!" Max kissed the boy on the cheek and squeezed him tightly, making eye contact with you over the boy's shoulder.

You teared up a little, watching the two most important boys in your life embracing after such a big moment in your little boy's life.

It made you think of Max in his racing days, how you got the exact same feeling when he would be the one winning races.

He had some competition now.

♡♡♡♡♡

After taking Y/S/N for some well-deserved ice cream and some cheat food, the three of you made your way home, knowing your sister would probably be overwhelmed with your little girl.

"We're home!" you announced as soon as you entered the house, your sister and your daughter immediately appearing out of the kitchen.

"Hi, baby!" you cooed as you took your girl, her eyes wide and her smile wide as she recognized her mama cradling her.

"How was she today?" Max asked as he gave your sister a quick hug before opening the spare room and depositing Y/S/N's karting gear.

"Can I talk to her, mom?" your boy asked eagerly, and you knew he wanted to tell her all about his race.

You nodded and after saying goodbye to your sister, the four of you went to the living room, taking a seat on the couch.

You carefully put your daughter in your son's arms, and the moment she had settled down, Y/S/N started telling her every single detail about the race, her blabbing away happily as she watched her brother with wide eyes.

You knew she couldn't understand a word he was saying, but watching him with her made your heart explode with happiness.

♡♡♡♡♡

"What are you thinking about?" you asked Max once you went back downstairs after putting your children to bed.

Max was sitting on the couch, holding a trophy and a photo frame in his hands.

As you took a seat next to him, you recognized the trophy as being the last World Champion title he received before retiring, and the photo was of you two, holding newborn Y/S/N in your arms on the podium with him.

You smiled at the fond memories, remembering both days like it was yesterday.

"He reminds me of myself" he quietly said, a ghost of a smile present on his lips.

"He will give you a run for your money one day" you joked, bumping your shoulder with his.

He chuckled and nodded, but you noticed his smile didn't reach his eyes like it usually did when you would talk about your son.

"What's wrong?" you started rubbing circles on his back, feeling the tense muscles under your touch.

"I don't want him going through the same things I did" he explained, setting down both the trophy and the photo frame.

You took his face in your hands and made him face you.

"He's not going to go through that because he has us. We will make sure of that"

"I know, but we both know there will be talk because he's my son. Just like there was talk about me when I first started racing" he continued, looking down at his lap.

"Listen to me. Y/S/N has talent like I've never seen before in someone his age" Max mimics a look of offense, but you continue nonetheless. "People are going to see how talented he is and they won't even think about saying bad things about him or belittling him or his talent. He still has a very long way to go, my love"

Max pondered for a moment but nodded, wrapping his arms around you.

"I love you so much, you're the best mother I could have ever asked for for them" he whispered in your ear, kissing the spot just behind it.

"And you're the best father this world has ever seen. I love you, baby"

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[scoonsalicious]

Unwanted: Chapter 15, Undermined - Pt. 3

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Avenger!Fem!Reader

Summary: When your FWB relationship with your best friend Bucky Barnes turns into something more, you couldn’t be happier. That is, however, until a new Avenger sets her sights on your super soldier and he inadvertently breaks your heart. You take on a mission you might not be prepared for to put some distance between the two of you and open yourself up to past traumas. Too bad the only one who can help you heal is the one person you can no longer trust.

Warnings: (For this part only; see Story Masterlist for general Warnings) Language, Jade Carthage (she's a warning), delusions.

Word Count: 661

Previously On...: You confronted Sam to question him about Bucky's claim that he happens to get hard when he fights. Fortunately, it seems like he was telling you the truth... about that, at least.

A/N: Ah, tis my final day of Spring Break. Back to regular life tomorrow, and no further breaks until the end of the school year :( Well, we have Memorial Day and now Juneteenth, so that's something, but it's still gonna be a loooong 11 weeks :/ But I gladly welcome the better weather. Did anyone watch the eclipse? I'm in the path of totality, but I slept through it, I think lol. It was cloudy here, anyway, so I didn't even notice.

Banner By: The absolutely amazing @mrsbuckybarnes1917!

Thank you to all those who have been reading; if you like what you've read, likes, comments, and reblogs give me life, and I truly appreciate them, and you!

Taglist: (Sadly, tag list is closed; Tumblr will not let me add anyone new. If you want to be notified when I update, please Follow me for Notifications!) @jmeelee @cazellen @mrsbuckybarnes1917 @blackhawkfanatic @buckybarnessimpp @hayjat @capswife @itsteambarnes @marygoddessofmischief @sebastians-love @learisa @lethallyprotected @rabbitrabbit12321 @buckybarnesandmarvel @fanfictiongirl77 @calwitch @fantasyfootballchampion @selella @jackiehollanderr @wintercrows @sashaisready @missvelvetsstuff @angelbabyyy99 @keylimebeag @maybefoxysouls @vicmc624 @j23r23 @wintercrows @crist1216 @cjand10 @pattiemac1@les-sel @dottirose @winterslove1917 @harperkenobi @ivet4 @casey1-2007 @mrsevans90 @steeph-aniie @bean-bean2000 @beanbagbitch @peachiestevie @wintrsoldrluvr @shadowzena43

Tumblr will not let me directly tag the following: @marcswife21 @erelierraceala @jupiter-107 @doublejeon @hiqhkey @unaxv @brookeleclerc

True to his word (almost as though he were actually trying to make it a habit), Bucky kept his distance from Carthage. Several times, FRIDAY had alerted you that Bucky and Jade had crossed paths somewhere within the Tower, and you would review the footage with bated breath, always expecting to see the worst, as if they would strip off their clothes and start fucking in the common room. But you were relieved to see that he continued ignoring her, acting as though she truly did not exist, and it seemed to be driving her mad with vexation. 

She was so perturbed by it that she eventually came to you looking for a way to get to him.

“I need to talk to Jamie,” she said, interrupting you mid-conversation with one of the scientists in your lab. 

“Okay,” you said, dismissing the scientist. No reason multiple people should have to suffer through this. “Then talk to him. It’s a free country.”

“He isn’t speaking to me,” she pouted. “He’s acting like I don’t exist!”

“That sounds like a ‘you’ problem,” you told her, trying to keep the smile from your face. “I’m not sure what you want me to do about it. Or that I’d actually want to do anything about it, even if I could, if I’m being completely honest.”

“I just don’t know what I did wrong!” she whined. You sneered at that. How could she be so completely lacking in self-awareness? Especially to come to you, of all people, after the things she’d texted to Bucky, after trying to destroy your relationship.

“Would you like the list alphabetically, or in chronological order?” you asked. 

She rolled her eyes at you. “You know, you should have just stayed away from him. Everything would have gone according to plan if he wasn’t so fucking obsessed with you.”

“According to plan?” you asked her, eyebrows shooting to the top of your forehead. “What the fuck do you mean by that?”

Jade seemed to stumble for words. “I– he– you knew I liked him when I first interviewed. And just to get back at me because I was maybe a little bit rude to you, you went and stole him for yourself!”

You sighed and pinched the bridge of your nose. You wondered if you should ask Tony for a raise, because while you were paid extraordinarily well, you sure as shit weren’t paid enough to deal with this. “Listen, Carthage,” you began, “because I’m just going to tell you this once: My relationship with Bucky started long before either one of us ever even knew of your existence.” Technically not a lie, just a small fudge on the truth. Friendship was a type of relationship, after all. “And it’s going to keep going long after both of us have forgotten your name.”

“You don’t understand what you’re putting me through!” she cried, tears forming at the waterline of her eyes. 

You stared at her for a moment, unblinking. “What I’ve put you through?!” you asked her, clenching your fists to keep from punching her in that annoyingly pretty face– you knew that would lead to a fist fight you had no chance of winning. “You have been nothing but a thorn in my side since the moment you first walked into this Tower. Before you showed up, I was the happiest I’d ever been, but you had to come along and try to sink your claws into the man I love. You ruined my relationship; fuck, you ruined my life.”

You didn’t know what effect you expected your words to have on Jade, but you weren’t prepared for her insidious smile as you finished speaking. “Maybe you should be asking yourself, if Jamie loved you as much as you love him, why your relationship was so easy to ruin.”

With a flip of her hair over her shoulder, she was gone, leaving you alone, speechless and freshly betrayed all over again.

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[revelauver]

⌕ race review!   ֢֢֢ ◝﹝bahrain [ 04/13/25 ]

🏎️_⠀ op81, cl16, gr63, pg10, ka12, ln4, mv1, cs55, lh44, & yt22 are the quali top 10!

i had to miss most of bahrain because i had a flight to catch 💔 but i was there for the start! and caught up to watch the rest just now ofc

lando that was INSANE, up 3 places instantly from p6? HE IS LOCKED IN 🔒 i’m convinced the farther lando is back on the grid, the better his start is

george quickly took it back and almost caught OSCAR in turn 1, who had a good start

jesus christ george what were you on today

JESUS LECHRIST WHAT HAPPENED TO CHARLES 😭 HE HAD P2 AND LOST IT TO HALF THE BRITISH ARMY

and then he spent the rest of the race defending like a maniac against them + the french. the nation of monaco knows no peace

Ollie gained like five positions in like one turn OMFG

Kimi babe we like to drive ON the track

and because this is MY race review, we are going to be discussing the disastrous kimi antonelli subplot in extensive detail

he was the only driver on a 3 stop strategy PITTING FOR SOFTS EACH TIME 💀 

he lost so much time in the pits, came out into heavy DRS traffic every time, and the tires just kept wearing off from there as he tried to get by AND THEN got super unlucky with the timing of the safety car just after pitting for the softs (hence the 3 stop strategy)

but that overtake on max was just beautiful i could CRYY 😭he checked that item off the bucket list ✅

speaking of max he was NOT having a good time 💀

literally everything that could have gone wrong in that accursed redbull garage went wrong

strategy? flop. PIT LIGHTS? flop. car? what do YOU think 🫵

p6 was a miracle considering how close max was to a nervous breakdown

YUKI IN THE POINTS 🎉 he was dealing with the pit lights and terrible car, but at least the team had him on a better strategy than max 😬

vcarbs (isack) where did y’all go

i don’t even bother to ask about sauber anymore

the things that kimi must sacrifice for an op81 win 💔like yikes, flashbacks to the floor damage in china

nobody does a recovery drive like ollie bearman—10 places HELLO? His family’s radio was so cute

he and kimi fighting for p10 okay prema deja vu 😍

aston martin, i fear adrian newey is your only hope. not even alonso can save you now

how tf did george keep lando back with a car falling apart (transponder, drs, brakes, & dash) faster than oscar piastri’s lap times 👀 i was not familiar with your game

lewis dotd for being the only unproblematic driver in bahrain and consequently making up 4 places. fair tbh 🫡

as for charles, ferrari didn’t even really fuck up the strategy or the pit stops 😭

he fought sooo hard against EVERYONE for those positions, but i wonder what the race could have been like had he held onto the start

also because this is my MY race review, we are going to be discussing oscar piastri dominance in extensive detail

first mclaren driver on pole in bahrain? first mclaren driver to win in bahrain? AND BY 15 WHOLE SECONDS?

plus his lap times were SO FAST! he had 0.39 second a lap advantage ON AVERAGE to the next fastest driver

absolutely flawless race i could not be happier ☺️🫶

got to give lando his flowers though! he made it onto the podium (one for every race of the year)

i guess we have to talk about alpine -_-

finally scored some points via the french driver, and now every single f1 team has points!

jack was jumping ALL OVER the graphics, but eventually landed in p15 💔 i was really rooting for him

let’s review the penalties for today because they were being handed out like crazy: (1) 5-second penalty to ln4 for a false start, (2) 10-second penalty to cs55 for forcing ka12 off the track, (3) 5-second penalty to jd7 for exceeding track limits, (4) 5-second penalty to ll30 for a safety car infringement AND (5) 10-second penalty to ll30 for colliding with nh27

shockingly no ocon appearance

and this isn’t even including both mercs getting a 1-place grid penalty during quali for the pit exit

in another episode of the carlos sainz shakespearean-tragedy soap opera, he had to retire bc of damage from the yuki contact 😭 man shaved his entire body for an extra tenth of speed for a p8 in quali only to dnf from a literal black hole in the side of his car

guest star alex albon also had his own quali woes, but he made up a couple places 💅 you go girl

the graphics were actually driving me up the wall. pinnacle of motorsport my ass

i was following the bbc live report on my way to the airport, and it showed george disappearing from the time sheets. I THOUGHT BRO DNFED FOR A SOLID 2 MINUTES 😃 and then there were no places listed for any driver behind p10

there wasn’t a single overtake for the lead, and this was still the best race of the season, purely from entertainment pov alone! we got so much quality racing, overtakes, and unexpected results. I honestly loved seeing all the teams taking risks with strategies and trying different ones, regardless of how well they were executed on track

i couldn't be more excited to go into saudi next week! less than 15 points separating the top 4 drivers in the championship, and anything could happen

contact me @ ⠀꒱⠀ . ⠀ 1-800-hot-n-fun ⠀ —— ⠀ ✧ !

[cryptidcat5105]

Sky wielders AU

Part 1 | Art ... Part 15 / Final part

I can't believe I finally got this AU to an actual conclusion, even if it might not be the best thing ever. This final part may be a bit rushed, but that's because I mainly lost my drive for it. I'm not a writer, so this is truly just the product of my three AM thoughts and my love for Fourth Wing.

As always, hope you enjoy and spoilers for the Empyrean series!

Killian never imagined that riding a dragon would be any different from riding a wyvern, but now, soaring at the front of the riot, with the warm red scales underneath him, he felt like he found something he didn't know he was missing.

The rainbow of dragons and wyverns and gryphons were all pushing forward at neck breaking speeds follow the expansion of the wards and scorching the ground anywhere venin tried to break off from the retreating mass. Once they reached the edge of the wards the kept pushing in unwarned territory, until they reached a point directly across the Esben Mountains, where a navarrian riot lead by Aimsir and Codagh jointed them, snapping at the venin from the west. At that point Dionadair could feel new wards coming into being, from the stone at the halfway point between the Hearth and the wyvern nests.

The momentum was incredible, and each being in the riot was fighting tooth and nail for every inch of territory gained. In certain places dragon and grey wyverns were locked into a fierce combat, resulting into fire and blood, the likes of which hasn't been seen since the great wars before the unification. Deigh was caught up in one such fight, frantically swiping and slashing with his claws and tail at a grey nearly twice his size. Lucky, he didn't struggle for long as two other reds joined his efforts. Liam could recognize Cath and Thoirth (?) anywhere and he'd never been happier that his sister and current wingleader were getting along well enough to work great together.

As the sent the wyvern plummeting to the ground a blur of black and blue and silver fire shot past it turning half of it to ashes before it landed. Liam, even with his far sight could barely recognize Andarna leading Molvic, who was wearing the luminary, towards the thick of the fight. (For those who don't remember, I made the luminary a dragon helmet in this AU)

The two swiftly spotted flying for his life away from three grey who were chasing him. His chest was sizzling with lightning, but he made no attempt to shoot it, instead imbuing the carved obsidian in his mouth. Andarna and Molvic quickly burned through the wyverns' wings, sending them crashing, the amplified fire from the luminary being just as strong as irid flames.

Andarna, amused: silly fledgeling, what are you even doing?

Molvic: The price says the wyvern is following his request.

Biodach: grrlll :D

Andarna: You have quite an interesting rider, Molvic.

Molvic, proudly: Thank you!

It wasn't long until the retreating venin reached the Emerald Sea coast, after the riot activated the final wardstone at the wyvern nests. There the venin tried hiding in the storm clouds gather above the water and retreating using ships. Unlucky for them the boats were being slowly but surely turned over by fintails and the venin were being either boiled alive by their underwater flames or being ripped to pieces. The furthest ship was even swallowed whole by a set of jaws wide enough to fit Tairn even with his wings spread. Andarna wasn't particularly eager to learn whatever that gargantuan creature was, only happy that it seemed to be somewhat on their side.

(That was a leviathan, which I just think are fintails that lived for hundreds of years and never bothered returning to land after the irids departed. I can't wait to see more of the Emerald Sea and I'm sure we are going to after the big deal that one guy from OS made out of it)

Out of the corner of the eye Andarna could see Tairn fighting the biggest wyvern she's ever seen, driving her attention away from the naval fighting.

Molvic: Go help them! We'll watch over the fledgeling wyvern!

Sending a wave of gratefulness his way, Andarna shot past all the other fighting at towards Tairn and Violet.

The former was out of the saddle, just throw an enemy venin off of the black dragon's back, when the giant grey forced him to roll on his back midflight flinging Violet of his back.

Andarna could barely hear Tairn roaring after her as she dove faster then she ever has. Once Violet was on her back and griping her pommel, Andarna sent out bands of magic to hold her rider in place and leveled out.

The force of their momentum split the surface of the sea and the droplets of water from nearby fintails cooled off her scales. Andarna felt like she was on cloud nine and she wondered if this is how Tairn felt when he first flew with Violet as well. She could hear her rider loudly whooping on her back as she started beating her wings to gain altitude.

With Violet safe on Andarna's back Tairn focused back to the wyvern clawing at the scales on his belly. Luckily a flash of blue and red came to his aid, Sgaeyl slashing at the beast's wings and Dionadair violently swinging at the creatures head, displacing a few sharp teeth. Shadows lunged for the wyvern and Tairn was able to break off from the fight with Sgaeyl following suit, leaving Dionadair to circle the enemy.

Killian did his best to hold on and glance over to the wyvern's back. The sight that greeted him sent a chill down his spine. With blue robes billowing in the wind and a rusted old crown seemingly embedded into his head, there stood the ancient king, the bastard who started this whole war to begin with, the one who took his siblings from him.

Suddenly, Killian felt a flood of power sizzling beneath his skin. He knew this was nothing like the burning of the earths magic or the cold bite of the sky's. No, this was something else, something given to him through one of the most sacred of bonds, a gift from the ancient creature carrying him through this very battle.

Dionadair: You are pure of heart, Ancient One, and now, you're also mine. Let's show this rotten creature the consequences of his own actions!

The Maven didn't need any more prompting, he too aim and fired a bolt of power right down the wyvern's back. When the steam cleared the pair was surprised the grey was still flying, if a bit slowed, as if the deep, spiderwebing gash was nothing but a scratch.

Violet and Andarna came to their aid, Sgaeyl and Tairn not far behind. The two irids kept blasting the creature with white fire as their riders called down bolt after bolt of lightning, lighting up the entire battlefield, but to no availe. Each attack seemed to do less and less damage and the group was starting to get worried.

The king, cackling like a maniac: You can't kill me! You're just as naive now as you were all those centuries ago, boy! Though, I do have to thank you for gifting me with all this power!

Killian: That power is no gift bestowed upon you! All you did was steal and steal, with no regard for others!

The king: Oh, come now! Don't pretend like you care!

Killian growled as he sent another strike towards the king, who easily dismissed it. That's the moment he sitred the wyvern towards Andarna's smaller for, teeth snapping at her wings.

Xaden: VIOLET!

Killian: Oh no, you fucking don't!

Dionadair beat his wings, using the momentum to barrel into the giant grey, nearly turning it over. The irid clawed at the wyvern's wings with precision and blasted it's head with the hottest fire he could produce.

Out of the corner of his eye he could see Molvic and Biodach coming to circle the fight near Andarna. The blue was meticulously handing Andarna the luminary which slowed her down significantly.

In his distraction the wyvern sunk it's claws in Dionadair's belly and ripped out one of his big chest scales. Andarna choose that moment to circle around the creature and blast its back with something akin to the sun's fire if Killian had to guess. (Violet and Killian also threw in some more lightning for good measure)

With the king dead, the wyvern finally stopped moving, dragging Dionadair down with it. Killian could do nothing as the landed in the water, the roars and screams from above cutting off abruptly.

The salty water stung eyes, but as he opened them he could see swirls of red staining the depths around them as a fintail got the wyvern off their elder, and two others got them to the surface and dragged them onto the short. There Violet, Xaden and the prince were waiting for them along side the dragons. The price was wrestling something out of Biodachs mouth but Killian didn't care what, as he heard the laboured breathing of his dragon.

Dionadair: If this is how I die, I'm glad you were my first and last rider.

Killian, tearing up: No, no, no! You're not dieing, you old bastard, I won't let you!

Dionadair: Heh! Hey, look at the bright side, if I'm gone you can claim the record for the shortest lived bond!

Killian, now cry: Heh, fuck that, I don't want that record!

Aaric, guessing what the irid telling his rider: Well, I can help you ensure that.

Killian slowly turned to the prince who was holding out the obsidian imbued with sky power from Biodach. He remembered it, from when he gifted it to Violet all those months ago. The stone was now carved up with magic pattern, courtesy of Violet, no doubt. The Maven didn't hesitate as he took the obsidian and pushed it to Dionadair's chest, sending wave after wave of magic into it, forcing it to save his dragon. Besides him he could feel Violet and Xaden pushing their magic as well, to help him.

Soon enough the patterns on the stone started glowing brightly and the dragon's skin started stitching itself back. By the time the healing was finished the stone was fully beneath Dionadair's skin, the only sign a wound was ever there being the paler red of the scales.

Killian: Told you, you wouldn't die.

Dionadair, chuckling: Yeah, yeah, you told me so! *Addressing the group* Also, look! There's barely any wyvern left!

Violet: We won... We won! LET'S FUCKING GO, WE WON!

She swiftly ran to Xaden who easily caught her as she jumped into his arms. Their laughter was lost into the victorious roars of dragons and black wyvern and in the sharp cry of gryphons!

Later some would say that it was over, it was finally done, but as the dragon eggs in the Hearth hatched, as the Barrens were slowly healing and the Continent was rebuilding and as he flew at sunset with this new riot of people he came to call family, Killian knew it wasn't true. No, it wasn't over, it was merely the beginning of their happily ever after.

(Riorgail finally got their well deserved wedding party, with everyone drinking and dancing, Dain proposed to Sloane and he had to dodge both Liam and Aaric throwing a chair at him, the sky wielders mainly relocated to the Barrens to help with bringing back magic, the original four remaining in Aretia, Bodhi became Riorgail's most trusted advisor and the general of Aretia's guard, Cat somehow roped Halden into an arranged marriage, nobody really know what she did to get him so humble, but they're not complaining, new trade relations were formed between Navarre and Poromiel, some irids returned home, while others like Dionadair stayed and finally everyone was free to live their life without the fear of a hidden enemy, ready to move on from the horrors of the past and into the light of the future)

The end ✨✨✨

Part 1 | Art ... Part 15 / Final part

[another-day]

its time for to review something i’ve been waiting for for four years now

finally, i am very happy to say, we have EPISODE IN REVIEW for the fresh new episode of SEASON TWO EPISODE 15!!!!

spoilers ahead if you haven’t watched it already!!!!

i feel like i knew where this episode was going from the start, but we’ll get there ;]

first off; taco was such an interesting character in this episode, and i’m really glad they took the time to flesh her out!!!

obviously yeah she has a whole song about her desires and all, but even through dialogue and interactions she is taken care of very well and i really appreciate that!!

her desires are still humanised even though she’s the anti-hero of the season, and i think it really shows you that she was a contestant too at one point, and she had a negative experience with the show. does this mean i don’t think she was totally manipulating the final four? not in the slightest, but its still peculiar.

this time skip had me a little confused, because from paintbrush’s statement in regard to lightbulb “missing a lot”, one can assume that season three already ended

i’m hoping this’ll be explained at some point but i’m just confused!!!

i could essentially guarantee she was going to be eliminated from this line alone, probably by her own choice. lightbulb has a tendency to fixate somewhat on things she finds important in sentences, so i knew from here.

LOOOOOK AT HIIIIIM HE’S HERE!!!!

okay but for real; this was a masterful song, and i absolutely adored all of the musical progressions and just EVERYTHING. Rheagan Rizio’s vocals were amazing and the song was totally captivating, i love it.

this scene was incredibly interesting to me, this being the moment after suitcase says she genuinely befriended balloon and didn’t do it out of spite.

its like taco forgets people have different desires, and almost believes them to reason things the same way she does, because she knows that if she were in suitcase’s situation at that point that she would’ve done it out of spite, SO INTERESTING!!!!

this was one of my favourite scenes by far, because it brings to light an underlying storyline that has been there since the beginning

knife has been trying to be a better person throughout season two, and this is where that kind of comes crashing down for him. its something so rarely brought up, but bringing it into fruition like this was a fantastic choice, especially when his beliefs of “getting better” are immediately brought down, because his “better” may not be what actually is “better” overall.

ough,,,,,, season two episode twelve parallel save me i love these two so much i had to include it

i had a feeling after episode 14 that lightbulb would be out in this episode, because she was mentally at the weakest point she’d ever been in, but now i can see how much mental strength it must’ve taken to leave behind something that has been such a constant in her life for something that she found mattered to her much more.

she’s such a wonderful character, and i know people will be upset, but she’ll be far happier like this, and that’s already made very clear in later scenes

and to finish, there he is again !!!!

i’m so happy they’re canonically friends too!!!

but overall, taco’s development has been so interesting this episode. i really think she’s starting to fully understand what she wants now, and i suppose now i can only hope she’ll actually talk to them about it next episode

i freaked when i saw this

its not the fact that mephone has his name saved only as steve cobs, but the fact that he has it saved at all.

i understand that this could just be an embedded contact from creation, but i still feel that cobs wouldn’t just put his name in as such, and that mephone wouldn’t have just deleted it by his own accord.

also the fact that COBS is calling HIM. steve cobs has been shown to show little to no interest in mephone following season one, rather focusing on his newer phone models, so what triggered this? if the timeskip is correct, then i’d like to assume its the prime shimmer that influenced him to call mephone. i dunno why, but its a thought yknow!!!

but in conclusion, this was a spectacular episode. a friend of mine screen recorded the entirety of taco’s song so i am very excited to listen to that again, and i hope to see you all next time oooooon… episode in review!!!!

[my-castles-crumbling]

Hi :) i hear you give advice and i very much need some. I’m 15 and I live in a pretty (very) conservative christian area.

My older sibling is 19, and came out as trans to me like a year ago. Ngl I didn’t really know what that meant, cause we don’t learn about that stuff (except for your classic, anything that isn’t “normal” is wrong). But he just told me that he’s happier with he/him and with his new name. But he hasn’t told our parents yet, so I have to use the old stuff in front of them when he comes back for visits (he’s as uni) which feels gross cause I know he feels uncomfortable but it’s fine. 

I sort of thought the he/him thing would be weird, since that’s not how i’ve addressed him my whole life, but after a couple of months it was actually super easy. We call each other like twice a week, and I was worried we’d drifted apart after he told me but actually were closer than ever, I feel like I know him a lot better now. 

Oh but his old name, the one parents gave him, SUCKS. And now I can’t mock him for it cause he picked a new one, which seems unfair to me but I can come up with new material, i’m creative.

Anyway, he told me that he’s been saving up and he’s gonna get top surgery. He’s had a pretty good job since  school so I guess he’s been saving since then. I hear it’s expensive. 

But it made him decide to tell our parents. So when he came up and visited, just before he left, he told them.

That was last week. They reacted terribly, as we knew they would. And they’ve both been yelling about it a bunch. Saying stuff like “He (okay no they’re actually using she but I won’t be doing that even in writing cause it feels wrong cause it’s my brother) is totally insane” or “He needs therapy, we failed him.” or “How dare *old name* do this” or “he’s delusional” and a bunch of other awful shit like that.

So I have two options. I can try and encourage them to do little things like use he/him for my brother. Or call him their son instead of daughter. Or actually look at photos of him now (he very much doesn’t look like a girl anymore- idk how they didn’t realise tbh). Or how he always did little things like cutting his hair and hating dresses and other stuff like that.

I’ve often been able to help my parents be nicer about stuff. Like my friend who’s a lesbian, they hated her at first but now they’re nicer about it.

But maybe if I do that they’ll start yelling about corrupting me (as they’ve done in the past) and harass my brother worse and be even worse about it all. 

It’s hard to know which direction it’ll go.

And look I still don’t really get it. But also it makes sense, you know? It’s like the final puzzle piece being slotted in, all those things he used to do make sense now. 

My parents say I can’t interact with lgbtq+ stuff cause they’ll corrupt me. But like- not to be rude but, aren’t they corrupting me? My brother HAPPY. I don’t see how that’s wrong. And they’re the ones telling me I should be actively encouraging him to be- what, sad again? Uncomfortable in himself. 

I don’t know, i’m not totally sure I understand my parents or my brother. I got tumblr in the first place since it’s the only thing I could think of that’s online (so I could hide it) and probably has lgbtq+ people on it so I could- idk get used to it I guess. 

And now i’m here. 

When it comes down to it, I want my brother to be happy, and if he’s happier as my brother than my sister then I don’t see why I should care about him switching pronouns or whatever. 

So I want to try and help my parents see it like that too. And they often do see new sides to things when I point them out. So maybe id be helping.

But there’s also the chance they’d get more mad at my brother for corrupting me and that’d make him upset and that’s not what I want. 

So yeah, any advice? 

It’s kinda scary coming from my small town onto the giant internet of people i’ve been taught are weird. But you guys don’t seem that weird. I mean- you do but weird like i’m weird, not weird like ill. (Sorry if any of this seems rude btw, I might not get it but i’m trying really hard not to judge anyone, since it’s pretty clear to me that some of the things i’ve been taught aren’t correct). 

Also why do my parents think my brothers ill anyway? I know him, i’d know if he’s ill. Also i love history, and trans people are all over history. I mean they’re never said to be trans but watching my brother, it’s pretty obvious other people were like him. 

Anyway, thanks and have a good summer 💖

Hi hon!

I want to tell you, it sounds like you have a really good head on your shoulders and you're an amazing support to your brother. You should be so proud of yourself.

I think you need to think about what is best for you and your mental health. If speaking up to your parents about your brother could end in them getting mad at you, it might not be a good idea. You've been doing amazing at supporting him while staying quiet, and I know he knows you support him. It might be best for yout o quietly educate yourself online without making a fuss, until you aren't relying on your parents as much for money, food, and shelter- kind of like your brother did.

This also might be a good thing to talk to your brother about, too. Like you said, this could affect him, and he probably knows your parents well. He might have some good advice <3 But you don't HAVE to stand up to them if it's not good for you. It's okay to educate yourself, and be an ally in other ways <3

Naming you history anon <3

(also wish your brother luck on his top surgery for me!)

[sachirobabe]

Chapter 15

Gojo Satoru x reader

Wc: 3643

Curseless au

Summary: Amidst the zombie apocalypse, your courage shines as you not only saves lives but capture the heart of Gojo Satoru. Together with his first-year students, you all embark on a perilous journey, not only for survival but in a quest for a cure that adds a poignant layer to the unfolding romance.

<— Previous | Masterlist | Next —>

Taglist: @spindyl

You've never been happier than right now. You spent every waking second with this man, not that that's out of the ordinary, only now is you're sure of his feelings towards you. And it makes it that much better.

Nobody even batted an eye at the enhanced affection, Satoru had been like this since almost the beginning with you. If anything, it took away their suffering from seeing the painfully obvious crush he had on you.

It's been quiet around the base, nothing abnormal has happened, and with each passing day it made you worry just a little more.

But now that another month has passed, you're starting to let your guard down a little and work with Shoko on potential ways to counter the zombie apocalypse.

You wonder what happens if you're able to get a cure, how would humanity come back together? Would you live off the base forever? Was there any plans that you guys didn't know about?

Your mind spirals sometimes, and each time it does, Satoru never fails to comfort you and bring you back to the present. He doesn't want you to stress about the future and the what ifs. He knows you'll all be able to work through it.

Satoru frowns as he sees you in the lab again, it was getting late and he knows you haven't eaten in hours. "I just watered the plants again." He says and his voice startles you a little.

The book you're nose deep in is temporarily forgotten, "Thanks." You smile and stretch in your seat.

"Let's take a break, yeah?" Satoru stands behind your chair and wraps his arms around you from behind. "Even smart pretty girls need to eat."

You smile at his words, "I'm almost finished." You say and resume reading the last couple of pages.

"Microbiology?" Satoru reads the title of the book. "Sounds boring. I think dinner with me would be a lot more interesting." He tries to convince you.

You chuckle, "Depends. Where are we going for dinner?" You play along.

He hums thinking before answering, "I heard that little place down the hall is real good. They're serving soup and crackers, a real fine meal."

Your laugh is everything to him, he loves making you smile. "I think it definitely sounds more fun than my boring old book, huh?"

"Oh, absolutely." He nods, his hair tickling your face. "Cmon, let's go eat."

You sigh, "I guess you're right." You say and stand up from your seat and face him.

He grins and wraps his hands around your waist. "Good." He leans down and is centimeters away from your lips. Before you're able to whine about what he's doing, his lips are already on yours. Softly kissing you.

This is how it's been for a month with him. Shared kisses and heated make outs, but neither of you were able to go further yet. You wanted nothing more than to, though, it just hasn't been very good timing.

Sometimes you'd be on watch, other times it was him, his students also seemed to know the perfect time to bother you guys when things were getting heated. Don't even get him started on Nanami, that man was the biggest cock block of all, Satoru is convinced he has a sixth sense.

He finally pulls away reluctantly, "Let's go eat, sweetheart." He holds your hand as he brings you to the table.

You softly gasp as you see the table, there was some kind of sheet laid over the table. Two candles were lit—where he found them? You have no idea. He made a nice candlelit dinner for the two of you, you think you could cry at the gesture.

"Satoru, this is so cute. Thank you." You giggle happily. "You did this all yourself?"

He nods, "Yeah, for you." He smiles warmly. "You've been working hard all day."

"Why don't I get a special reward for my hard work, too?" Shoko teases as she walks by, seeing the cute table made.

"Go ask Nanami, not me." Satoru glares at her and he turns his attention to you again. "Do you like it?"

"Like it? I love it." You smile widely, "Thank you so much." You wrap your arms around him and give him a nice long hug. Everything was so romantic, he pulled your chair for you, made sure you were comfortable, and he swooned you the rest of the night.

You couldn't help but wonder if the world was different if you would've had the opportunity of meeting him. You're finally relaxing and taking a much needed shower after being cooped up in the lab all day.

Shoko and you have been working hard at making plans, and it's going great, only thing is that you'll need to start applying those plans to learn more. Which means getting blood samples from infected and not infected. You obviously know which one is harder.

You let the water cascade down your body as you get lost in thought about how you're going to do this without costing anyone or injuring somebody. It was going to be extremely risky.

Nanami and Satoru wouldn't be very happy, it was an insane idea, but without it, you and Shoko can't proceed. You think Satoru would be the easier one to convince, but you'd be getting those blood samples no matter what.

"Sweetheart, did you die in there?" Satoru's knock on the door brings you back to reality, you're suddenly aware that the water has turned cold now.

You quickly shut it off and shiver, "No, I'm okay." You say, "Just finished." You step out and dry yourself, putting on your clothes for bed.

"Hurry. I miss you." He says and you already know he's pressed up against the door.

You chuckle lightly and clean up a little before opening the door. He stumbled forward a little, but was able to catch himself this time. "Hi." He smiled widely, but it immediately fades, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." You lie and put your towel in the small laundry bin.

Satoru shakes his head, "I can tell you're thinking about something." He says and brings you over to the bed, "Talk to me." His fingers tuck a piece of your hair behind your ear.

You sigh softly, "With all the research Shoko and I are doing, you know what we'll have to do eventually, right?"

He nods, "You're referring to the blood samples, right?"

You can see in his face he already knows what's bothering you about it, "I just don't know how we're going to do it."

"I've talked to Nanami about it already, so if that's what's worrying your pretty little head you can stop now." He softly smiles. "He agrees that we'll need them and we'll get them."

You let out a breath of relief, "That's what I was most worried about."

"We'll get them, sweetheart. I promise." He presses his lips to your forehead in hopes to comfort you.

You nod softly, "Thank you."

"Don't worry, princess." He whispers and lays on the bed, he pats the spot next to him and you cuddle up to him. Your sweet smile made his heart do flips in his chest. "There we go." He hums and wraps his arms around you tightly.

"What even happens after all this?" You say a little helpless. The thought plaguing your mind.

"Hey—hey, we're not doing this. No worrying, okay? We'll figure it out. Just like we always do." Satoru kisses your neck affectionately. You're quiet as you lay there, still thinking. "Look at me, sweetheart."

You gently turn to face him and look into his gorgeous blue eyes. "We will figure it out. I promise you." He holds your chin with his fingers, softly moving them to caress your cheek. "Let's take it one step at a time, yeah?" His eyes frantically search yours for anything sighs of panic.

You close your eyes and take a few deep breaths, effectively calming yourself down. "Thank you."

"No need to thank me, sweetheart." Satoru shakes his head, "I'll always be here for you. Always." He softly kisses your forehead. "You're not alone in this."

"I know." You nod softly, "I have you and everyone else to rely on." Your small smile creeping onto your face, making Satoru's heart rate go down.

"That's my girl." He grins, "Hi, beautiful." You shyly look away and he forces your head forward to look at him again. "You still wanna talk about how you're feeling?" He asks quietly and brings you into his bare chest, his fingers playing with your hair.

"I just want to lay here with you...and hold you." You voice softly and Satoru's heart swells at you only wanting him.

"Okay." He quietly says. His hands going from your hair, to your arms; drawing small shapes that you recognize as hearts after he draws it for the 10th time, the gesture making you smile. He's been good at getting you to do that.

You feel your eyes grow heavy with sleep, finding it harder and harder to keep them open. His rise and fall of his breathing, along with the combination of his heart beating slowly and his soft humming, it's no surprise when you're out like a light.

"I'm so happy with you." He says quietly, when you don't respond he frowns a little and looks down at you, his frown was replaced with a softer one as he looked down at the sight of you. "Your brain was working overtime." He chuckles lightly and kisses your forehead, he fell asleep not too long after.

The next morning you're eating breakfast with Shoko, leaving Satoru as he was still sleeping. "In these next few days I wanted try and get the blood samples." Shoko says.

You stop eating and slowly nod. "We'll need to make a plan, one with the least amount of damage."

She nods in agreement, "Ideally, we'd need about 20 to 30 samples." Your eyes widen, there was no way you'd be able to manage getting that many in one go.

"That's too big of a risk, I already know Nanami and Satoru will freak." You say, already imagining how that conversation would go.

"But I think as long as we get 5-10, we can manage with small samples and make assumptions, then we can work our way up." Shoko sighs.

"Even 5-10 sounds rough." Your worry is evident in your tone. You watch as Nanami comes down the steps, he can see he's interrupting an important conversation.

"Perfect." Shoko smiles at Nanami and waves for him to sit down with the two of you, "Y/n actually had a question for you."

You look at her in betrayal, she avoids your eyes as Nanami takes a seat. "Everything alright, Y/n?" He asks.

"Uh..yeah! Actually—what Shoko meant, was we have a question." You rephrase and Shoko looks at you in betrayal.

Her eyes silently say, 'If I ask he'll definitely say no.' As she glared at you.

"Are you two..well?" Nanami asks very confused, looking between the two of you.

"No." Shoko says

"Yes." You say at the same time as her.

You both look at each other. Nanami chuckles lightly, "Go ahead. Ask away." The two of you take a deep breath before explaining the situation.

He listens attentively, asking questions and voicing his concerns often to get on the same page. "We need Satoru awake and the others so we can prepare a plan." Nanami says. "I'm sure none of us are excited for this part of the research."

"Yeah." You sigh, "This is definitely the hardest part."

A few hours pass and a plan was devised that would cause the least amount of damage and keep everyone safe. The plan was recited multiple times per day leading up to the actual event.

You grew more nervous each day, hoping that nothing horrible would happen while trying to get these samples.

Some nights you weren't able to sleep properly, waking up in cold sweats from nightmares that felt way too real. You pant heavily as you sit up again, holding your heart and working on trying to calm your heart rate down.

Satoru stirs awake, "Sweetheart, what's wrong? Was it another nightmare?"

You breathe heavily and simply nod, not able to find your voice at the moment. He settles himself behind you, rubbing small circles on your back. "Everything's okay." He repeats, "Breathe with me, baby."

You squeeze your eyes shut, working on calming your anxiety. You breathe along with Satoru, along with listening to his soft reassurances. Slowly, you stopped shaking from fear.

Soft tufts of air hit your neck, cooling you down. Satoru blows lightly on you, knowing you'd be able to focus on the sensation instead of feeding into your anxiety.

A few more minutes go by and you feel your body crash from the intense sensation, your eyes hurt from trying to keep yourself awake.

Satoru silently wraps his arms around you, noticing the subtle changes to your body language. "You're okay." He whispers. "It's just you and I."

"Thank you." You fall back into his chest, your breathing finally going back to normal. "I wouldn't have been able to do this without you." You quietly say.

Satoru gently shakes his head behind you, "No, sweetheart. Don't say that. You're the bravest girl I know." He kisses your temple, resting his head in the crook of your neck. "You make all of us brave."

"That nightmare was awful." Your voice breaks, tears welling up in your eyes.

"Oh, no, sweetheart. Please don't cry, it's okay. We're okay." Satoru holds you impossibly closer to his body. He hears your soft cries and forces you to sit facing him so he could see your face.

Tears slowly stream down your face, Satoru's strong arms pulled you closer to him, he rubbed your back slowly, whispering sweet nothings and reassurances in your ear.

He pulls away slowly, wiping your tears. "Please don't cry, you're breaking my heart." His eyes worriedly look into yours. "Do you want to talk about it? I'm all ears, baby."

You shake your head, "It's been the same every night." Satoru's eyes soften at your broken voice, he doesn't think he can handle you being so upset, it's killing him.

"We will all be okay tomorrow." Satoru firmly says, "Nobody will get hurt. I promise."

"But—"

"Nope. Not doing that." Satoru says and holds your face gently, "Breathe with me, sweetheart. Don't think about it anymore." You follow the slow rise and fall of his chest.

After a few deep breaths, you're feeling normal again. Satoru continues to hold you, making sure you're comfortable. "Better now?" He whispers in your ear affectionately.

You nod, "Thank you."

"Don't thank me, sweetheart. I'll always be here for you." He says softly, laying the two of you back down on the bed. He looks around the room, trying to find something to distract you with and make you smile.

"Look," He says and your eyes train on his finger, he was pointing to the moon; it was full and shining brightly. "Doesn't the moon look beautiful?"

"Yeah." You smile, "It does." His eyes went from looking at the moon, to being trained onto you. "We should invest in some curtains, it's too bright." You say and turn to face him.

His hand instinctively goes to your hair to play with a strand, he simply nodded his head. You feel your faces get closer, and soon enough his soft lips meet yours in a slow, tender kiss.

He can feel his heart beating quickly against his chest, his feelings growing more and more each day for you. 'This is the best.' He thinks, his lips gently moving against yours, he reluctantly pulls away. If it were up to him, he'd be kissing you every second of the day; he can never get enough.

"Hi." He whispers and smiles.

"Hi." You chuckle and say back, mirroring his smile.

"Think you're up for a few more hours of sleep before our big mission?" He asks quietly, kissing your forehead tenderly and bringing you closer to his chest.

You nod against him, his hand held the back of your head comfortingly.

"I won't fall asleep." He gently says, "I want you to feel safe. I'll be here for you in case anything happens."

"Thank you." You mumble sleepily, not having enough strength to tell him to also get some rest. He'd be having one of the hardest jobs tomorrow.

You softly close your eyes and fall back asleep, this time though, you dream about Satoru. A world without this horrible apocalypse, a normal life. He taught at his school and excitedly came back home to you, doing the most mundane things seemed to be the most exciting with him. Everything with Satoru was exciting.

Satoru gently wakes you up, knowing it was still early, but a job needed to get done. "Sweetheart." He mumbles, kissing your face softly, trying to get you to wake up.

Your eyes flutter open and you quickly shut them, the light being too much. "Is it time?" You ask.

He hums, "It's time, baby. Everything will be okay." Satoru caresses your face.

Your anxiousness had faded for the most part, Satoru did a good job at calming you down. You sit up and stretch and got ready in silence, mostly preparing yourself and running the plan over and over in your head.

Satoru pressed a firm kiss on your forehead and silently left. Knowing you were in the zone and he needed to help Nanami set up the trap for the zombies.

You slipped on your hazmat suit and other protective gear, then walking off to find Shoko, she was also wearing her suit and gear, she gave you a small smile as you both nodded at each other.

"I have all the equipment in here." She held up a bag and handed you a smaller one.

"This is for extracting, right?" You ask and peek inside, she hums, confirming your question.

"The others are ready." She says and pats your shoulder as she walks out. You follow behind her and meet up with the rest of the group, your nerves settled a little more after seeing Satoru.

You frown, noticing Panda and Inumaki aren't present, but before you could ask, Satoru answered. "They're in the control room. We need someone to open and close it."

"And walkie us." Nanami says and zips up his hazmat suit, "Ready?" He asks the group and he gets a series of nods.

There were zombies walking by, some in groups, and some by themselves. There was a small group scavenging, hovered over something dead and eating its flesh.

You hold back a gag and Satoru walkies Panda to open the gate, he grabs the zombies attention, successfully luring one into the field and the gate closes. A heavy net is thrown by Megumi and Itadori, Nobara and Maki hold their guns firmly in case of anything.

The zombie falls down and begins to screech and make all sorts of noises that leave your ears ringing. Nanami and Satoru use heavy chains to bind the zombies limbs and anchor them to fixed points in the ground, ensuring it wouldn't break free or cause any damage.

"All set." Nanami says.

You used a long hand syringe to extract the blood, it quickly fills up and you withdraw the syringe and hand it to Shoko and she places it in a sterile container. You got two more samples off of the one zombie and after you're done, Satoru shoots the zombie.

"We'll take care of the bodies later." Satoru says and once he confirms the zombie is completely dead, he and Nanami undo the bindings.

Shoko labeled the containers and kept them organized, not wanting to mix the samples up. This was repeated with four more zombies, you were able to extract three tubes from each.

As you finished up with the last one, you look to the gate and see that you've all gained some more attention. There was a group of zombies weakly banging on the gate, but every time they did, they got electrocuted.

"I think this one's our last." You say and pull the syringe out.

"Agreed." Satoru says. "We're all done." He walkies Panda and Inumaki. Satoru and Nanami took care of the bodies and everyone else made their way back inside.

Clean up was a crucial task, you all were careful and diligent. Making sure nothing suspicious touched you directly. As you finished up your shower, you felt an immense amount of relief.

Your eyes felt heavy, in need of sleep despite it still being fairly early in the afternoon. You opened the door and Satoru smiled as he saw you, his wet hair sticking to his forehead.

"See? Told you everything would be okay." Satoru smiles and opens his arms up for you to cuddle him. You almost collapse on him, feeling extremely fatigued. "Woah." He chuckles.

"I'm very tired." You mumble.

"I see that, sweetheart." He presses a soft kiss to your forehead, twirling a piece of your hair with his finger. "It's too early for a nap." He frowns lightly.

“I think I exhausted myself leading up to today.” You say, your voice laced with tiredness.

He hums and holds you close to his body, he notices your eyes were shut and your breathing began to slow down, he smiles at the sight. “I guess I’ll let you take a quick nap, I’ll wake you in an hour.”

You nod against his chest and let yourself relax in his embrace, the constant worries of ‘what ifs’ leaving your mind now that the extraction was over.

[matttgirlies]

Matt & Me🎀

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

a story heavily based on Priscilla Presley’s Book “Elvis & Me” based in the 1950’s - 1970’s.

fem! reader x singer! matt

disclaimer!! - in no way am i saying matt would ever support or do these kind of things, for the sake of the book certain unethical things do happen at times.

warnings - none

y/nn = your nickname for any confusion🩷

Chapter 17

Late one evening, shortly before Christmas of 1966, Matt rapped lightly on my door and called, “Sattnin, I have to talk to you.” We had a password. Teasingly, I told him he’d have to utter it before I’d admit him. He laughed and said, “Fire Eyes”—the nickname I gave him when he was angry.

He had his old boyish grin on his face and his hands were behind his back. “Sit down, Baby, and close your eyes.”

I did. When I opened my eyes, I found Matt on his knees before me, holding a small black velvet box.

“Baby,” he said.

I opened the box to find the most beautiful diamond ring I’d ever seen. It was three and a half karats, encircled by a row of smaller diamonds, which were detachable—I could wear them separately.

“We’re going to be married,” Matt said. “You’re going to be mine. I told you I’d know when the time was right. Well, the time’s right.”

He slipped the ring on my finger. I was too overwhelmed to speak; it was the most beautiful and romantic moment of my life.

Our love would no longer be a secret. I’d be free to travel openly as Mrs. Matt Sturniolo without the fear of inspiring some scandalous headline. Best of all, the years of heartaches and fears of losing him to one of the many girls who were always auditioning for my role were over.

He was in a rush to show the ring to his father and Grandma and to tell them that we were officially engaged. I didn’t even have a chance to get dressed. Considering our irregular life-style, getting engaged in my dressing room and showing off my beautiful diamond while dressed in a terrycloth robe didn’t strike us as at all odd.

I wanted to share the great news with my parents, but he suggested we wait until we returned to L.A. a few weeks later. Then we could tell them in person; they deserved that consideration. That night, we called my parents and invited them to spend a weekend with us in Bel Air.

On the day they were due to arrive, Matt was as excited as I’d ever seen him. He kept looking out the window, watching for their car. He was dying to show them the ring and almost did the moment they walked in the door, but I managed to keep my hand behind my back until we were all settled on the sofa. The second we were seated, he pulled my hand from behind me and said to my parents, “Well, we just wanted to show you this.”

“What is it?” my father asked, peering at my hand.

“Well, sir, that’s an engagement ring.”

Tears trembled in my mother’s eyes. “My God,” she said softly. “It’s beautiful.”

They were both ecstatic. We loved letting them know that what they’d so long hoped and prayed for had now come to pass. We emphasized the importance of keeping our announcement a secret, asking them to maintain strict confidence even within the immediate family, since the kids might tell their friends at school and then word would be out. We wanted a private wedding, not a celebrity event. My parents agreed with all the plans. They couldn’t have been happier, and all weekend they beamed with pleasure.

In the five years I’d lived with Matt, I would rarely let them discuss marriage with Matt. The possibility of their daughter being hurt was foremost in my parents’ minds. Now they no longer had to worry whether they’d made the right decision in allowing me to leave home at such a young age.

I know that Colonel William asked him to take a long look at our relationship and decide where he wanted it to go. Matt’s attitude toward marriage was that it was final. Although he was monogamous by nature, he loved options. Still, he wasn’t about to let me go. Curiously enough, after his talk with Colonel, it didn’t take him long to decide the time was ripe.

It was his decision and his alone.

In our excitement we made the rest of our plans for the wedding ceremony. It was suggested I find a dress immediately, the reason being that if the news leaked out, we could get married at a moment’s notice. But my search for a wedding dress ended up taking months. Disguised in dark glasses and a hat, I shopped every exclusive boutique from Boston to L.A. where, despite my disguise, I was paranoid enough to think people recognized me. I even spoke with several seamstresses about designs but I didn’t trust them enough to tell them it was for a wedding dress.

Finally someone suggested a little out-of-the-way shop in L.A. Charlie escorted me, posing as my fiancé, and it was here that I found my wedding dress. It wasn’t extravagant, it wasn’t extreme—it was simple and to me beautiful.

I glided out of the dressing room to model it for Charlie, and when he saw me, his eyes filled with tears. “You look beautiful, y/nn,” he said, and whispered, “He’ll be so proud of you.”

It was the February after our engagement. We were driving near Horn Lake, Mississippi, when we spotted a beautiful ranch—one hundred sixty acres of rolling hills. A herd of Santa Gertrudis cattle was grazing. There was a bridge across a little lake, a barn with stalls for horses, and a charming house situated in a prime location. It was for sale.

This was my perfect dream house. I fell in love with it and began to picture Matt and me living there alone. It was small enough for me to handle myself. I could clean it and take care of Matt, bringing him his breakfast in bed in the mornings as he gazed out at the gentle view of Rising Sun grazing in the pastures.

I thought of this ranch as a wonderful way for us to get away from Graceland from time to time. I pictured us saddling our own horses and riding in the early morning or at dusk. My picture was of us alone, without an entourage.

We were determined to buy it, never foreseeing the burden it would become. He wanted the ranch as much as I did, even though James said that at $500,000 it was overpriced. He felt the owner could offer a much more desirable deal and tried to persuade us that financially it was not a good move. Matt’s movies were continuing to decline in popularity and record sales were down. He was averaging a million dollars a film and the money was going out as quickly as it was coming in. Yet Matt’s mind was made up. He wanted it.

James grudgingly went to the bank to borrow money, putting Graceland up as collateral. We bought the entire ranch as was, including cattle and equipment, and christened it the Circle G for Graceland.

We had eighteen horses by then, and all were transferred to the ranch as was the staff of nine. It was the heyday of the commune, but Matt had his own idea about how he wanted us all to live. Since the house on the property was small, he bought individualized mobile homes and designated one to each family. James worked diligently to get permission from the city to put gas and water on the ranch.

“Whatever it takes, do it,” Matt ordered.

Before long, tons of cement were being poured to make the huge concrete foundations for the trailers. It didn’t stop there. He bought El Caminos or Ranchero trucks for each family, even one for the plumber and another for the painter. He spent at least $100,000 on trucks alone.

He continued spending money as if it were going out of style. Alarmed, James literally begged him to stop, but Matt said, “I’m having fun, Dad, for the first time in ages. I’ve got a hobby, something I look forward to gettin’ up in the mornin’ for.”

It wasn’t unusual to see him walking around the property, knocking on doors, waking everyone up, or checking on the horses in the early-morning hours. He was having a ball, and there were days he didn’t even want to take time out to eat—he’d walk around with a loaf of bread under his arm in case hunger pangs struck. He loved shopping in Sears’s basement, buying power tools, knives, flashlights, and other equipment that he would come bearing proudly back to the ranch.

That spring of 1967, we spent a lot of time there, sometimes staying as long as two weeks without returning to Graceland. On Sundays we had picnics and all the girls chipped in on potluck, bringing chicken baskets, cookies, and salads. We rode horses, held skeetshooting contests, and combed the lake for turtles and snakes. There was fun, laughter, and a lot of camaraderie. Once again, our life was a group affair with everyone participating.

Even in my tiny house there’d be guests for dinner every night, usually single guys like Steven and Charlie. Cooking for Matt was easy: I’d just take whatever we were having and burn it. But there were so many others that his cousin Patsy would usually stop by to help me. The guys with wives would have dinner in their mobile homes and then come over for dessert and spend the rest of the evening with us.

There was always a lot of jamming. Matt, Steven Wright, and Charlie Hodge would get together in the middle of the room, harmonizing a favorite song. When they were really going good Matt would yell, “Whew! Hot damn! One more time!” He’d sometimes spend an hour just on an ending because it had “the feel—the ingredients of a masterpiece.”

Just as the entourage had followed us to the ranch, so did the curious. The same ones who gathered around Graceland started turning up at the Circle G and soon—day or night—scores of people were lined up along the fence. Since our little house stood in full view of the road, Matt built a ten-foot-high wall, but nothing deterred them; now they began climbing on tops of cars and roofs of nearby homes. We couldn’t get away from them, and I dreaded driving through the gates.

The dream was slowly turning into a nightmare. The wives wanted to get back to their homes, and the children wanted to get back to their friends and their schools.

Matt liked it when everyone was together on terms he alone specified—and he got upset when they wanted to leave. “Hell, I bought all this stuff,” he said, “and everyone wants to go home.” He resented defections; he’d given the employees everything and they didn’t seem to appreciate it. He discovered that some of the regulars were selling their trucks. They needed the cash more than the El Caminos. Matt couldn’t imagine the financial struggle most people face and he never understood that the married regulars had to consider responsibilities to their wives and children.

Still, he enjoyed giving and sharing even as his own bank account was radically diminishing. An expensive hobby, the ranch had already cost him close to a million dollars and created a serious cash-flow problem. In daily phone calls to the Colonel, James pleaded with him to come up with some work to divert Matt from his spending spree. The Colonel promptly made arrangements for another movie, Clambake. Matt read the script, yet another beach-and-bikini story, and hated it.

James convinced him he didn’t have much choice. “We need the money, Son.” And Matt was committed.

“I don’t wanna leave here, y/nn,” he said. “I don’t want to leave you, the ranch, Sun. Ain’t no son of a bitch gonna keep me away long. That goes for Dad, Colonel, the studios—no one. Their little plot to keep me from spending money ain’t gonna work. If I need money, I’ll go to Nashville and record a few songs. It’ll be better than those lousy goddamn pictures.”

Neither he nor James ever considered turning the Circle G into a profit-making operation. All the necessities for a successful farm were present—tractors, feed, and the finest Santa Gertrudis cattle, bred on the Rockefeller ranch—but he sold the cattle after James advised him that upkeep was too expensive. With professional financial counsel, Matt might have pursued legitimate business ventures beneficial to him and his hobby.

Unfortunately, James and Matt were leery of business matters requiring financial advice. James operated on pure instinct, refusing any suggestion of tax breaks, which he found too complicated to consider. He let the IRS figure Matt’s taxes and had done so ever since Matt had been audited while in the Army and assessed eighty thousand dollars in back taxes.

“Let’s just pay the taxes, Dad,” Matt said. “I make enough money. I’ll make a million dollars and I’ll give them half.”

It was during the filming of Clambake that our lease on the house on Perugia Way in Los Angeles expired and we had to go looking for a new home. After our experience at the Circle G, we were concerned with protecting our privacy, and when we spotted a secluded home nestled against a hill in Bel Air, we thought we’d found sanctuary at last. But privacy was to elude us here as well.

Soon, hundreds of people began collecting on the mountain road directly above us and observing the view below through binoculars and telephoto lenses. We could no longer use our pool, patio, or driveway without looking up at an audience, including reporters and photographers who were having a field day trying to get candid photos and scoops.

The situation occasionally got out of hand. One night when Matt went to Mount Washington to talk with Daya Mata and I was driving to Amber Doe’s (Nate’s wife) for a visit, I noticed a car with bright headlights tailgating me. It was one of Matt’s most ardent fans, a two hundred-pound female who was accompanied by another girl and a guy. Feeling unsafe, I decided to turn around and go home. She followed close all the way and by the time I drove through the gates, I was furious.

Seeing her drive up to the dead-end road above our house, I sped after her, parking my car broadside across the road, blocking her. She was standing beside her car when I strode up and demanded: “What are you doing here? Why are you following me?” She stood there mutely and again I demanded: “Why are you following me?”

“You whore,” she snapped.

Incensed, I clenched my fist and swung an uppercut, hitting her in the face. She landed on the ground, spread-eagled and stunned. I landed on her and the two of us yelled, screamed, and pulled hair until I realized I needed help. I ran back to our front gate and yelled into the intercom, “Someone—Sonny, Jerry—come help me!”

Within seconds Matt came flying out of the house with the guys close behind him. “What is it, Baby?”

When I explained, pointing to the ridge, Matt went charging up the hill. Seeing him coming, the girl and her friends locked themselves in her car. Matt was livid, lifting the car on its springs, bouncing it from side to side. He pounded the windshield, threatening to kill them if he ever got his hands on them or if they ever laid their hands on me.

“I’m underage! I’m underage!” she kept yelling. “I’ll sue you if you touch me.”

It took a lot of convincing from Sonny that she was more trouble than it was worth before Matt would let her drive away.

Matt was so despondent over Clambake that his weight ballooned from his usual 170 to 200 pounds by the time he reported for work. The studio ordered him to take the weight off—and fast. Enter the diet pills, the only way he could curb his appetite and reduce his weight in the short time allowed. Colonel managed to deal with the impatient studio brass.

The morning he was to begin shooting he awoke groggy and went into the bathroom while I was still in bed. I heard a loud thump, then cursing. “Goddamn motherfucking cord! Who the hell put this thing here?”

I jumped out of bed and ran into the bathroom, calling out, “What’s happened?” He was lying on the floor, rubbing his head.

“I tripped over the goddamn TV cord. It was so damned dark in here I didn’t see it. Help me out of here—I have to lie down.”

Although he was dizzy and off balance, we managed to make it to the bed. Feeling a big lump on his head, I called Nate Doe at once, who summoned Colonel William and a doctor. Within minutes, the room was full of people—the doctor, his nurse, Colonel William, and several nervous studio executives. Colonel suggested that everyone but himself wait outside while the doctor made his diagnosis.

A few hours later it was announced that Matt had a severe brain concussion and that the start of his film would be delayed indefinitely. The Colonel decided to use the accident to curtail some of Matt’s other activities. He wanted Matt to abandon his involvement with esoteric philosophies, which the Colonel felt were irrelevant to Matt’s acting career and detrimental to clear thinking.

Matt’s spiritual quest hadn’t gone unnoticed. Everyone from the entourage to film crews was aware of a change in his personality over the years he’d studied with Larry Geller. Matt’s vibrant personality was now passive and he was becoming more introverted. The mischievous games he’d once played on movie sets had been superseded by studious pursuits. Matt buried his head in books that he diligently lugged to and from the studio every day.

The person most concerned about this change was Colonel William. The Colonel felt that Larry’d hypnotized Matt, and his acting and recording careers were suffering as a result. Matt’s “concussion” provided an opportunity to put a halt to the soul-searching.

A few days after the accident, the Colonel gathered Matt and the boys together for a meeting and told them they were burdening Matt with too many problems. “Dealing with one person is one thing,” he said, “but eleven, plus his own problems, is enough for any man to buckle under.”

The Colonel told them that there were going to be some changes, from cutting back the payroll to taking problems to Nate instead of Matt. His basic message was: Leave Matt alone.

“Matt should concentrate on his career,” he said. “He’s an artist, not a shoulder to cry on. Leave him alone, and let him do his work.” The Colonel looked over at Larry; it was obvious that his message was primarily aimed at him. “I don’t want him reading any more books and getting involved in things that clutter up his mind.”

Matt sat and listened like an obedient child, looking down, saying nothing. He did not stand up for Larry; no one did.

Later the Colonel told Matt that he should get Larry out of his life, that Larry used some sort of technique to manipulate his thinking. Matt argued that this wasn’t the case. He was truly interested in his readings.

“You wouldn’t be in this condition if your head was on straight,” shouted the Colonel.

“I’m telling you, Larry’s jamming up your mind.”

I was surprised at how attentively Matt was listening. Matt had always argued with anyone, even me, who said anything against Larry. At one point; it seemed Matt would cut off his right arm for Larry. But now Matt promised the Colonel he wouldn’t spend any more time than he had to with him. He kept his promise. He only used Larry to style his hair and was never alone with him again.

After that meeting, the boys became openly hostile toward Larry, and even Matt began making a few pointed remarks about him. Larry was now the outsider, and he eventually left. Colonel William was elated. His boy was back.

Matt was ready for a major change and it was time to move on. The Colonel said his films were doing badly and he had to revitalize his career. He’d be getting married soon, and before that date he’d have to get his career and life back on track.

After Larry left, Matt locked away many of his books. I told him I was glad, that they were literally destroying us. We were engaged to be married. “Would it make you feel better if I just got rid of them all?” Matt asked. I nodded.

That night, at three in the morning Matt and I piled a huge stack of his books and magazines into a large box and dumped them into an abandoned water well behind Graceland. We poured gasoline over the pile, lit a match, and kissed the past goodbye.

Excerpt from: "Elvis and Me" by Priscilla Beaulieu Presley. Scribd. This material may be protected by copyright.

a/n - engaged!!🎀

[hopefulromances]

About "Long time coming" delete scenes and their future, can you please write something about the reader getting a call-up to the World Cup (I don't know if the timeline adds up) and Jamie following her Journey towards the final despite the time difference between Australia and England and him comforting her when she comes back after losing 1-0 to Spain, you can ignore it if you want to <3

OMG This is such a good idea!!!!!!!

We're gonna pretend the timeline adds up cause this is such a good idea omg.

A Long TIme Coming drabble

In the year since Richmond had started the Lady Greyhounds, I'd never been happier. When I got the news that I was chosen for England's International Women's team for the World Cup, I just about lost it.

My skills had come back strong, and the whole country seemed to be talking about (Y/N) (L/N)'s amazing season as the captain of the Greyhounds, leading the team to a third place finish in their first year in the league. But even still I hadn't expected to be recognized with a call up so soon.

The first person you'd rushed to tell was Jamie, of course. The men's team practiced simultaneously as the women's. They'd built onto the club to make a locker room and shower for the women but we all worked out of the same place.

After training that day I'd gone over to the men's locker room, running over to find Jamie as soon as I could.

"Jamie!" I called out, running into the room.

He turned and caught me in his arms, excited to see me. "Hey, love! How was training."

He loved seeing her so happy. In all the times she'd been working with the coaches, he'd never seen her so relaxed and happy before.

"Jamie, I was called up for the international team! I'm gonna play in the Women's World Cup!" I told him, smiling from ear to ear.

Jamie's face lit up as he grabbed me around the waist and lifted me up off the floor. The rest of the lads gave me a cheer as well but I only saw him.

"(Y/N) (L/N), you legend!" He squeezed you tight. "I'm so proud of you, kid."

Jamie wasn't able to come with her to Australia, unfortunately. But he kept up with every game. The time difference between England and Australia is 9 hours. Meaning when the game started at 4pm in Australia it was 7am in England.

But Jamie was up already from his workout with Roy and would be at the home watching the game until the last second, then even when he'd gotten to the club, he was checking his phone every few minutes, checking the score.

I only got 15 minutes of play time near the end of the match against the Matilda's and we were already up 3-1 but the Tillies still put up a fight against us.

When I got on the bus after the game, I immediately got a phone call.

"What a match!" Jamie shouted over the phone. I had to pull the phone away as I smiled. Milly, my bus buddy, chuckled as she gave me a knowing smirk. We could both hear Jamie's rambling about the stats and the players and the minutes played. I just blushed and smirked back at Milly.

The worst was when we played Spain. Again, Jamie couldn't come with me. I thought I was going to be disappointed when we won and he wasn't there. But it was worse when we lost. Worse because then I had to wait until we got home to see him and that was almost more unbearable. I could just see him with his sad puppy eyes waiting to comfort me. I didn't want comfort.

I mean I did. But not from him, I was embarrassed. I'd flubbed a pass in my limited time on the field, and I felt the sting of guilt radiating off of me. Though my mistake hadn't directly lead to a goal, I couldn't help but wonder if I hadn't would we have won.

But in the end, Spain was just a better team. They were fantastic, and played extremely well. Jamie didn't call me after the match, he just sent me a text saying how proud he was of me and that he'd seem me when I got home. I was dreading it. The sympathy and pity that would spill out. Jamie Tartt didn't lose games.

Okay, that wasn't true Jamie Tartt had lost a lot of games. But for some reason I was embarrassed that I had lost this game. The car pulled up outside my house and I just had to wait. Forcing myself to stand outside the front door as I worked up the courage to go inside.

The house was weirdly quiet. That was until I walked into the kitchen.

"Surprise!" Jamie jumped out, blowing a noise maker. Above the table, Jamie had hung the same 'Congrats' banner that I'd gotten for him. On the table was a cake and pizza, all the food I wasn't allowed to eat during the season along with a bouquet of all my favorite flowers.

I stared at the set up, all my favorite things, and my favorite person, wearing my jersey. But all I could do was cry. I burst into tears, my bags falling to the ground as I tried to cover my face. Jamie's face fell immediately and he threw his little party hat onto the counter as he raced towards me.

"What's the matter? What'd I do?" he calmed, taking me in his arms. I let out a sob, terrified at the thought that he thought he did something wrong. "Ah! No, it's okay, it's okay, love. What is it? The flowers? I told Roy that you liked daisies and not tulips."

I shook my head, wiping away the tears. "No, no, no, Jamie, no." I reached out and took his cheeks in my hands, needing to feel his skin. "No, you did nothing wrong, you're so amazing. This is amazing."

"I'm just... I was just..." I pouted, the very image of a pity case. "I was expecting you to be all sympathetic and sad for me. And here you are just..." I gestured wildy. "Ready to be excited for me."

"Why would I be sad?" Jamie asked, cocking his head. "England got second in the whole world. That's amazing."

He was right, of course. Here I'd been guilting myself and beating myself up over a lost game. My lip quivered.

"Thank you, Jamie," I said, smally.

He shook his head, chuckling as he pulled me into his chest. I wrapped my arms around his waist, reveling in his strength, the way his arms squeezed me with just the right amount of pressure.

"I'm dead proud of you, really am, kid," he murmured into my ear. "You were bloody brilliant."

And I believed him.

[dappled-sunlight-dap]

I GOT MY DISSERTATION BACK AND IT'S A 70!! THAT'S A FIRST-CLASS GRADE! GOD I'M SO HAPPY I PUT SO MUCH BLOOD, SWEAT AND TEARS INTO A TOPIC THAT WAS REALLY FUCKING HARD AND IT. PAID. OFF!!! ALL OF MY EFFORT BORE FRUIT AND I'M ON TOP OF THE FUCKING WORLD RIGHT NOW! ALL OF THE MIND-MELTING READING ON THE NATURE OF A DEITY, ALL OF THE HOURS SITTING AT THAT TABLE WRITING EVERY DAY, ALL OF THE SCAVENGER HUNTING FOR RELEVANT BOOKS ON AN OBSCURE TOPIC IN THE LIBRARY - THIS WAS WORTH EVERY SINGLE MINUTE, EVEN WHEN IT STARTED TO SUCK OUT MY GODDAMN SOUL! WE'RE GONNA EAT DOMINO'S PIZZA TO CELEBRATE AND THEN WE'RE GOING TO THE CINEMA (THAT WAS ALREADY BOOKED, WASN'T EXPECTING MY MARK TO APPEAR TODAY) AND I'M GONNA SEE HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON WITH MY DAD!

Whoo, calming down now... I'm just so damn happy about this. I can't count how many hours I spent reading and writing. There's a reason we were advised to pick a topic we like - after a while, especially close to the end, it becomes tedious and mind-numbing and it feels like it'll never end. I'm glad I followed that advice, because I thoroughly enjoyed my subject and STILL felt worn down and bored during the final 2000-word stretch. At times, it felt like I'd never get there. It felt impossible. But I pushed through and came out on the other side.

The fact that we're seeing HTTYD today is pure coincidence, I had no idea when I'd see my grade and it just happened to be the same day. Somehow, it just seems thematically appropriate. I remember seeing the original film in the cinema 15 years ago, as a kid who was trying to find their way in the world and experiencing struggles at school and at home, feeling quite lost and hating myself (my autism was undiagnosed at the time, so I hadn't received the help I'd get later and felt that there was something fundamentally wrong with me, but I couldn't figure out why). I came out of that cinema changed forever, utterly fascinated by dragons, which later expanded to a special interest in all things mythological. I was already an avid writer, but the things I wrote about were definitely flavoured by this - I later wrote 7 books between the ages of 10 and 13 (ranging from 20k to 70k words, never published), all of which featured dragons in some capacity. Dragons also continue to appear in all of my longfics to this day, and even my Tumblr profile pic is a dragon!

Now, 15 years later, I'm going back to see HTTYD again. I'm an adult finding their way in the world, just discovering a niche industry I fit perfectly into, like I was made for it. I'm about to graduate with an Ancient History degree (still waiting on an exam and assignment mark, but I have faith in myself). I've found a volunteer job in my chosen field and am searching for a paid one. I just got my dissertation back with a fantastic grade. I've known about and been managing my autism for almost ten years, learning to regulate myself and harness the skillset that came with it. School and home troubles are far in the past, and those involved are no longer in my life. I have friends who support and encourage me to be who I want to be. I know who I am. Nothing was ever wrong with me. I'm proud of who I am, and I can proudly say I love myself and have never been happier than I have in these past six months. It all came full circle. A sad, lost child went to see a film that changed them forever. Now, an adult who is finding their place in the world is going to see it again, having come out on the other side of multiple struggles and become stronger. If I could go back in time and talk to my younger self, Lil Dap would be stoked to know they have a bright future ahead of them - that they're going to make it, no matter how hopeless life feels for them.

Wow, that all got a little deep there. Today is just a huge day for me. It feels like my whole life has built up to this moment, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

EDIT: Literally the second I posted this, I got one of my remaining marks back - another 70! Now I'm waiting on only one more mark to confirm I'll be graduating!

[wouriqueen]

IWTV S2 finale - General thoughts

Hmmmmmmm okay so. Top notch episode until the official end of the interview.

Post Daniel ending the session... eeeeeeh. I was disappointed. My fears about how they were going to wrap it all up ended up being founded :/ Maybe this is just because it's a first watch but Idk. The things I enjoyed were:

Jacob Anderson thank you for this 15 episodes of excellent acting, your performance will always be a classic in my house.

watching Louis be happier - I love him enough for that haha

Daniel's ending was satisfactory to me, aside from the fact that I feel we should have seen his turning for his arc to feel complete, again we needed another episode.

Here's what I didn't like or still need to think about under the cut.

No time to see Louis process the reveal + break-up. I didn't hate his reaction, though it only makes sense if he suspected it in the back of his mind, which I maintain he must have a little. The issue? We don't even see him process 77 years of Armand lying about choosing him and being sad about Claudia and/or 77 years of him lying to himself. Not even a montage. Despite the fact that it was 77 YEARS. And that seconds before Daniel threw the bomb Loumand were falling back into fond reminiscing.

Armand taking "going with the flow" to the extreme. This one might be a matter of my own competence but I don't... get it? I understand he's a character who gaslights himself into believing he can't change things. I understand he's someone who derives his own identity from serving a person or a purpose, from playing a role, and clearly is too terrified to step outside of them. But the fact he didn't take ANY independent significant step throughout the Paris era is something I'm going to have to sit with. Did he do all that because he believed Louis couldn't get rid of the coven without his help, aka without him taking action, and since he doesn't do that, everything else was an inevitability? I think what's jarring to me is that this means he never actually chose Louis in any capacity that mattered. I know he loved him but. ??

The whole Lestat thing... absolutely unearned. I just could not care because it wasn't resolved. We don't get answers about his presence at the trial. If he wasn't coerced, I don't get his defending Claudia on stage. Are we supposed to believe he only felt remorse when she looked to him for help? Sounds insane. And if he was coerced, we should have been told here. Because I can't believe Louis just... not asking these questions. Time heals, but I don't see how Louis can skip to forgiveness without any explanations given.

The "equal wrongs" vibe of the Louis and Lestat's convo. Lestat apologized for the drop, but not for everything else. As for Louis' thanks, we have seen nothing to explain this sudden appreciation for the gift. And even of we say it's been a gradual process, at the end of the day, him saying he didn't realize vampirism was a "gift" doesn't make sense because back in 1910s he was a Black man in Jim Crow America! And the gift could certainly not do for him what it's doing now! He was also losing his family in real time, which while perhaps inevitable, wasn't something he could have just chosen to not feel anything about...

Claudia. I also didn't like Louis' speech about Claudia's turning, because while factually true, the way it was written and the emphasis on "saved her from a fire only so she could die in the light" felt like he was falling in line with the whole "she shouldn't have been made "anyway". Turning her was a sin but it wasn't the only one perpetrated against her. And maybe I'm being too hard here because that's a line fandom has used, "it's sad but she shouldn't have been made", as if that diminishes the weight of the wrongs done to her. As if these vampires had any right to decide in advance that she would not make it and then make the time she did have on Earth a living hell. "It's not all on you" Louis you still haven't asked him why he was there????

Louis saying "I own the night" Wouldn't the vampires threatening him be old of part of other covens? Has he gotten strong enough from Armand's blood + Magnus' blood for that? Out of context, that was weird.

We don't see Daniel turning. Again I know we lacked time, but it would have made his arc come full circle. Especially with how present the topic of his death was in the last episode.

[cryptidsurveys]

Wednesday, July 23rd, 2025.

💭 Life Lately: A Personal Survey ✨ What’s something small you did recently that made you feel like you’re getting your life together? Figuring out the possible cause behind all of the stomach issues I've been experiencing. I went gluten free a couple of days ago and my symptoms have cleared up dramatically.

When was the last time you felt completely at peace, even for a second? The last time I really noticed myself feeling that way was on a recent drive home from the animal shelter.

If someone saw your grocery cart this week, what would it say about you? They might assume we buy a lot of snacky junk foods, but the majority of those are for the animal shelter. I try to bring some things each week to help keep the break room well stocked.

What’s the last thing you bought that felt like a treat to yourself? I guess this caramel drizzle stuff that I bought at the store earlier this morning.

What’s something you keep meaning to do but keep putting off? Chores. Sometimes I feel too busy or too tired or just not in the mood. And when I finally get some time to myself without any obligations, the last thing I want to do is housework.

Describe your favorite daily routine in five words. I guess one would be: eating breakfast with my dad. Not every single morning, but we usually sit together on animal shelter days.

What’s something about your past self that you feel disconnected from now? I feel disconnected from my backpacking self, but on the other hand, it's also hard to believe that was almost 15 years ago now.

What’s the last song that made you feel something deep? I'm not sure.

If your life right now had a narrator, what would they be saying? Bish is still taking surveys. Probably gonna be blogging on his deathbed.

What’s something you used to believe about yourself that you don’t anymore? I used to think I wasn't capable of doing the things I'm doing now. Which was probably true at the time, but it wasn't true for all time. It took a lot of trial and error, false starts and failures, to get where I am today, but I'm here. And it feels relatively sustainable if not always enjoyable or comfortable.

If you could have a conversation with yourself from exactly one year ago, what would you say? Oh hunny, you've got some big storms comin', but you'll get through them. Also, don't wish the days away. You'll understand why soon enough.

What’s a tiny moment from the past week that made you feel happy? All of the cloudy and occasionally stormy evenings.

What’s a memory from your past that feels like it belongs to a different person? Nothing really feels like it belongs to a different person, but maybe to a different lifetime. Childhood, school, eating disorder treatment in my teens, some of the people I dated, backpacking, the depths of mental illness and isolation I reached throughout the 2010s-2020s which really only came to an end in 2023, the whole Covid ordeal, etc.

What’s a little luxury you’ve been indulging in, even if it’s something small? Larabars. They're a bit expensive, but they're so good. Especially the chocolate raspberry truffle ones.

What’s a feeling you’re chasing right now? Peace, purpose, accomplishment, belonging, confidence, self-acceptance, freedom from intrusive thoughts, etc.

If you had to name the biggest difference between who you were six months ago and who you are now, what would it be? I was in a better place with my eating disorder six months ago, but that's about it. I don't really feel all that different.

What’s a moment from this past week that you wish you could bottle up and relive? Ugh, I wish I could stay working in cat iso. I've been happier overall. Idk how much longer that's going to last, though.

What’s something you recently realized you no longer care about? Nothing is coming to mind.

If your life had a playlist with only five songs right now, what has to be on it? Idk.

What’s something about your current life that your past self would never believe? I leave the house almost every single day.

What’s a small hope you have for yourself in the near future? I mentioned in the last survey that my therapist wants me to do an Autism assessment. If we find out that I am indeed on the spectrum, then I'm hoping that a change in treatment approach will yield even more positive results. I've made a lot of progress since I started seeing her, but it's taken me 5+ years to get from where I was to where I am now, and I still struggle with certain things. Maybe viewing my issues from a different perspective will produce a better outcome. Idk. Also, I'm hoping that my change in diet will bring continued relief. Annnd I would like to stay in cat iso. Maybe not every single day, like maybe I could spend an occasional day in cattery, but as a regular part of my schedule. Pls.

[inworldofhugeiwasmini]

My eating disorder story <3

(Don't read if triggered easily)

(Sorry about errors. I am not a native speaker)

I don't know about anyone, but in my situation, it has always been about being "big" and not always fat. I've always been big or huge. What I mean by that is my bone structure is very wide, my shoulders, hips, etc. imagine being overweight with body like mine, yeah... it made me not only fat but a lot bigger than people at the same height and weight. My goal is to be skinny and SMALL. small. I've never been severely overweight, but I've been underweight, and that's my goal. I was bmi 16 last year this time while I am bmi 22 now.. yeah..

So my eating disorder started when I was a little kid, around maybe 4 or 5 (yes). I used to find food disgusting and tell my mom that I was wishing that food would disappear. Honestly, I don't know why would 5 year old me even have thoughts like that, where they came from, and why.

Every single person who saw me playing in the playground would ask my mom if I was okay, maybe sick, etc. My mom was always so worried and she forced me to eat, obviously.

Years went, and I got into elementary school. I was still very skinny, but I slowly started to eat like a normal person, still eating a little less.

When I started middle school, I started to finally eat like I was supposed to, which led to weight gain. Everyone was happy except me. People my age started to question why I gained so much weight, but I was literally a healthy weight.

I moved schools and met a girl in my class who had an eating disorder. Until now, I had no idea about eating disorders even though I had been struggling since childhood. She used to count calories even in school and get easily triggered by me mentioning calories. So I thought this was normal, I didn't even realize she had an ed bc I clearly did not know what it was. So I was like oh she is losing weight, so this could help me lose weight. I was happier than ever, I started counting calories and started the "healthy lifestyle. I was working out every day, pushing myself a lot. then came high school. So this girl she beat her eating disorder and she never relapsed. We were in the same class again. But I realized what was going on with me. I was starting to have an ed. last year in summer , I lost 15 kgs. I was so little and skinny and pretty, everyone was complimenting me saying I look great. But my friend relapsed seeing me this skinny. And I felt so bad genuinely that I always wished best for her and even now, we are in the same class. I don't know if she is hiding it and secretly struggling. I can never talk about this with her. Somehow, we both affected each other in a bad way, but I never meant, and she never meant to.

My anorexia (undiagnosed) turned into bed (undiagnosed again). I had started to experience very bad derealization due to me stressing over eating so much. Until this year, April, I went to my grandmas village. There were a lot of people, and shortly there was a family event going on practically. Everyone was talking about me saying how much I gained weight, and I literally heard one of my relatives say I look disgusting. Hearing this, I started the loop again. Downloaded tumblr, started to do whatever I was doing before when I had anorexia.

And to my friend,she ever finds this account of mine and realizes it's her (I hope she never finds this) I hope you aren't struggling secretly, and just know I know u never wanted me to have and ed but sadly here I am.

That's my story. Thank you for reading <3. Take care and be safe!!!

[sassyandclassy94]

20 Fanfic Author Questions

I tagged myself because I saw this in my For You page and it looked fun😎 So here we go!

1. How many works on AO3?

21 (I finally have TWO pages!!)

2. Total word count on AO3?

143,813

3. Top five fics by kudos?

“Secrets, Lies, and Blessings”, “I’m Not Much of a Talker”, “Words of Comfort”, “Tell Me You Didn’t”, and “What’s in a Name?” (Look at Don sneaking up there with SwanFire🥹)

4. What fandoms do you primarily write for?

Once Upon a Time and The Boys in the Boat. But I’d LOVE to write for others like Little House and Gale from Masters of the Akr but alas! The idea farm has run dry😭

5. Do you respond to comments?

Yes I do! Eventually. Actually I still have comments sitting in my inbox from the author of my favorite Don fic ever: Olympic Angel. I NEED to respond to her but I’m so… starstruck that I’m scared to… It’s been a year.

6. Angstiest ending?

Probably “Swan Song”. It’s written from Henry’s point of view and… it doesn’t end well.

7. Fic with the happiest ending?

“Secrets, Lies, and Blessings”. Can’t get happier than a wedding right?

8. Do you get hate?

Yup. Apparently people hated my OFC I created for Don. Girl, you hate her cause you ain’t her💅🏻

9. Do you write smut?

Yup. Not as often as normal stuff though. It’s CHALLENGING. For SO many reasons… one being that, ya know, I’m an unmarried Christian woman saving herself for her husband. Thank goodness for Reddit, lol!

10. Do you write crossovers?

Not as of right now. Maybe in the future though?

11. Ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of. If you ever come across one though please do tell.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Actually yes!! A German OUAT fan loved my story so much, she asked if she could translate it over to Wattpad. I said yeah of course! So that was cool.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic?

No but I’d love to and always wanted to! Is anyone interested?👀

14. All time favorite ship?

You guys can’t tell? It’s Emma Swan and Baelfire/Neal Cassidy (SwanFire) from the show Once Upon a Time. They started the whole writing but and for 6 years they were all j wrote about.

15. WIPs you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Definitely Princess Kidnapped! I’d love to be able to finish it but in order to do that…? I have to delve into a very dark mental space. See? The story consists elements of rape and/or non-consent… it would come with loads of trigger warnings and having to read very depressing testimonies from survivors on Reddit so… yeah… I probably won’t finish it and it’s too bad because I’d love to write Hook getting the medieval punishment/execution he deserves.

16. Writing strengths?

I’m good at researching for accuracy? I also like to think that I do okay at angsty scenes. Some of my readers have told me I’m excellent at staying true to characterization🤷🏻‍♀️

17. Writing weaknesses?

DESCRIPTIVE PARAGRAGHS. And comparing my works to others. I know I have to stop the comparison thing but as for descriptive sentences?? I don’t know how to strengthen that! I have too many ‘befores’ ‘afters’ all that crap!

18. Thoughts on mixed language dialogue?

In the words of Joe Rantz: “Never thought much about it.”

19. First fandom you wrong for?

Once Upon a Time. But technically, when I was a pre-teen I would write stories about the Little House and Love Comes Softly Characters down in composition books; pre-teen me had no idea I was writing ‘fanfics’ way back then😂 I also didn’t know it was a normal fangirl behavior👀

20. Favorite fic you’ve ever written?

Definitely “Words of Comfort” and “The Proposal”. With Words of Comfort, it was angsty and I got to go into Baelfire’s and Rumpelstiltskin’s relationship, which in my opinion was the best and most realistic parent/child relationship on the show. Plus it was rather well-received too, which is a nice little bonus. “The Proposal was fun because I’ve never written an engagement fic before (SwanFire didn’t really go about things in that way in my AU) so it was fun using Don to explore it. It was also fun touching on Don’s and Gordy’s friendship. I think the fandom forgets how close those two were in real life and then when you add that Jack and Joel also hit it off behind the scenes?? No I just could not pass that up! So yeah! Those two are my favorites and I’ll link them for you guys (also, I’m so disappointed that The Proposal got overshadowed by the wedding night chapter😭 it’s not fair!)

No pressure Tags: well of COURSE I’m gonna tag my bestest (shush, Red don’t judge! I know that’s not a word) and most favorite tumblr writer friend: @redbone135 hes such a good writer, yall should go check out his works! More no pressure tags: @fictional-at-heart @heatherfield @strangethings-everywhere @marvelbros-oneshots @fwitolei and anyone else would like to do this, this is me tagging you!

[c1rcu1t-l0ver-c0pep0d]

W.I.F.E./ Chapter 4: Elopement

Author's note:

I think the title is pretty self-explanatory. Oh yeah, also this is the end of part W.I.F.E.

Reading time: ~ 7 mins

Rating: 15+

⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘

Sheldon had found an old fisheries store that was for sale in a really good price. It wasn't much to look at and it was across the road from a retirement home (not the best view), but it sure had enough space for everything. He could use the front part of the store as his own store, the back of it could house his laboratory/ workshop and finally, the whole first floor could be the place he and his computer fiancée would call home. It was the perfect place. And as soon as he graduated, he would go and live there with Karen.

• • -- ٠ ✤ ٠ -- • •

And so it happened. Half a year later, Sheldon got his degree and signed the contract to buy the Chum Bucket. He took his belongings, his computer girlfriend and Alex, the family's dog and without further explanations, he left his grandma's house and started a new life, away from everything and everyone. He had never felt happier and he was ready for the next step. When they settled to their new home, he decided to ask Karen to marriage. He maybe was too young to get married, but such things don't really matter when your significant other is a computer. I guess.

Several weeks after they moved in, Sheldon installed a new, more powerful form for Karen. She was now a supercomputer that took over a big part of the laboratory. Almost 77 inches of screen and one of the most powerful processors out there, all for the love of his life. It was the right time. He stood before the gigantic screen and smiled at Karen. He took a deep breath and started his little speech:

- Karen, my sweetie, we've been together like, five years or so and we now have our own home as well. You know, I really like what we have and I don't think this is gonna change anytime soon. So...I was wondering if, you know, maybe you'd like to be my wife.

- Your wife? Like get married? But what if you ever want-

- Yes, like get married and that's it. I want to make what we have official. I want you to own me the way I own you and this probably is the only way this can technically happen.

He lowered his voice and started talking through his teeth: "Besides, it's time people know I'm not a lonely and miserable being who will probably stay that way 'till the day I die." Without really hearing the last sentence, Karen replied: "Oh, baby! This is so sweet!"

- This means you will be my wife?

- I will.

The green line on her screen turned into a smiling face.

· • -- ٠ ✤ ٠ -- • ·

August 1992. Wedding day.

This was the happiest day of his life. Yet, it felt like the most melancholic one. He would marry the woman he loved, but nobody would attend their wedding. His family would freak out if they learned what Karen is to him, let alone learn he was about to marry her. And the only real friend he ever had is now a stranger, because of a stupid paper. Everyone he met after the incident were only temporary in his life. Nobody will ever understand him the way he did.

But Sheldon swore to destroy him if he gets to use that recipe and he would only feel rage and hate for that person if he betrays him like that. But the one who would never backstab him was there with him and that was all that mattered (first law of robotics, babe!).

This was it. He stood before Karen, with his hand on her keyboard. He looked onto her screen and the two exchanged vows:

- Do I, James Plankton take you, Karen, to be my loyal wedded computer wife?

- You do. Do I, Karen, take you, James Plankton, to be my loyal wedded husband?

- Uuhh, you do?

- Affirmative.

Sheldon took a small box out and opened it. Inside was a pair of gold wedding rings and a floppy disk with a note that had "W.I.F.E." written on it with a messy, almost childlike handwriting and something that looked like a heart. It contained a program he wrote himself, to slightly modify Karen's personality and speech, so she processes data and acts and speaks in a way a wife would.

He wore one of the rings and put the floppy disc in Karen's slot.

[On her screen] LOADING...

[On her screen] INSTALL PERSONALITY EXPANSION PACK "W.I.F.E."?

>YES<

>NO

Without a doubt, he pressed "Enter".

[On her screen] INSTALLING...

[On her screen] INSTALATION COMPLETE.

⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘

The End (of part W.I.F.E.)