#spring finals 2017

[rex-rambles]

➤ SEEING RED (AND ORANGE) | LANDO NORRIS

pairing: lando norris x soulmate!reader

summary: since lando turned eighteen, he has yet to figure out what his soulmate trait is, but he's pretty sure he has mastered the art of emotional intelligence, which is totally the same. right?

or: you can feel your soulmate's emotions. lando has no idea.

wc: 7.3 k

warnings: moments of angst and poor emotional management

➤ MASTERLIST

2017

Lando sits, in the middle of his living room couch, surrounded by all of his friends and family. This year had been magical, joining McLaren, becoming a reserve driver, so close to his dream he could almost taste it. And now, he was about to find his soulmate, and his entire life would be complete. 

He never could dream small, he thinks as the seconds tick down. He had this all planned out for who knows how long: he would win a world championship, have a giant family and a dog and a house in Monaco and England and maybe even one somewhere fun and tropical, and he would be the happiest, coolest person alive. His soulmate would be gorgeous and smart, much smarter than him, and run to him after every race, and-

"Five," They begin to count down for him, and Lando lets his fantasy slip away to brace for impact, arms stretched out in front of him to watch for any magical marks on his wrists. "Four." 

"Three," Lando whispers under his breath. His soulmate mark or trait would be something cool, not the stupid colour blindness one, or a hard-to-find one. "Two," 

"One." For a moment, the world is perfectly still. No one moves, no one breathes, and nothing appears on Lando's arms. No voice fills his head, no memories of past lives come flooding to him. He stands, ripping off his shirt in case it's a mark hidden someone, stripping down to his underwear as everyone laughs, and he waits. 

Mere seconds pass before the realization hits like a truck: Lando has no idea what his soulmate trait is, and it isn't obvious. "Maybe you have to write something on your arm?" Someone passes him a marker, and he frantically writes 'hello' on his forearm, and nothing appears. 

Disappointment has never felt so bitter. It's deep within him, spiralling around his chest in a way he'd never felt before, ceasing him up entirely. He didn't have a soulmate trait. Maybe, he didn't have a soulmate. Maybe, this was all stupid and pointless, and he was standing in his underwear in front of everyone. 

And then, just as he thinks he might cry, his heart very gently become warm, a slow building happiness that has Lando awkwardly smiling as he sniffs and wipes at his eyes. It's a calming notion, that comes over him next, like his heart is reminding him to take deep breathes, and he does. "So?" 

"Nothing," He says to the crowd. "Nothing changed." 

-

2023

"And you're alright with travelling?" Amanda asks over a mug of tea, steaming in the cool England air. "We've a winter house in the Alps and a summer house in Monaco, which with little ones is a big deal." 

"Travelling, if anything, would be a perk." You joke back over your own mug, hands clamped around it tightly. Why she insisted on sitting outside in the morning just after the rain, when the chill still hadn't quite left the air despite the spring weather, was beyond you. That being said, you weren't about to miss this opportunity because of the weather, or your own annoyance with the cold. This was your one chance to finally travel, to finally put all your hard work to use, even if it was chasing a billionaire's kids around. 

"Well, it's a highly stressful perk." Amanda continues, "And taking care of kids is a highly stressful job. Are you good at handling stress? Negative emotions?" 

You nod, your real answer stuck on your tongue. Bringing up soulmates during an interview wasn't exactly the smartest of ideas, considering the potential discrimination from employers who might not want to hire someone who has yet to find their soulmate. After all, soulmate tracking could lead you around the world, and above all, you can tell Amanda needs someone committed to her children and their needs. "May I be honest?" 

Amanda raises an eyebrow, mug paused just below her mouth. Based on the name scrawled on the inside of her wrist, and the fact you were interviewing to be an au pair, she had no trouble finding her soulmate.

But you? 

You were not so lucky. "I have to be good at handling emotions, because it's my soulmate trait. I feel whatever they feel, all day, every day." 

When you turned eighteen, nothing obvious had changed. Your family had stayed up to see the clock strike midnight, to see what soulmate trait you'd get, carrying on the tradition of colour-blindness, or maybe a timer, like your cousin had gotten. Instead, you saw no change, no secret mark appearing on your skin. 

You just felt disappointed, and somewhere in the universe, in yourself, the feeling of disappointment returned to you. 

It was always hard to explain that you could feel the same emotion as your soulmate, but you could. It was a separate thing, based in the middle of your chest, as if your heart could feel two things at once. It was always there, at the back of your consciousness, every feeling attached to a life you'd never seen.

Joy, you think, was the most pure and obvious emotion, something that bubbled up in you with a smile you could never shake. When your soulmate was happy, it was never just contentment, but a bright thing that made you daydream of how their grin must look, how wonderful their laugh must sound. 

Anger was the second most common. It came in short moments of frustration, or sometimes a deep, week-long affair of something blinding, a rage that seemed to consume them whole, and you by proxy. Sadness was a different sort of beast, originally all consuming. There had been long, long stretches of time where it felt as if all your soulmate could feel was anxiety, sadness, grief, and it was this period that made you seek out meditation methods, psychology courses and ways to help others. You spent enough energy sitting with your soulmate's emotions, keeping calm on your end to help them with theirs, that it just sort of became your whole life. 

They might have outgrown the sadness, but you never outgrew your ways of helping them.

You found joy in the world around you because you knew how it helped someone else feel. You pursued jobs and opportunities that allowed you to help others because you knew how to keep a level head, to hear everyone's story, to sit and mourn and love as if they were your own emotions.

Perhaps it wasn't the healthiest thing to get so wrapped up in the emotions of others instead of your own, but it was what your life had come to. Your soulmate had carved this life for you, despite the fact that you had no luck so far in finding them. The next step, then, was obviously branching out and travelling, which made this position, offered to you based on your emotional intelligence, a dream. "But besides your soulmate, how can you deal with other people's emotions, especially children's?" 

"I've spent so long studying people, their emotions and their body language in attempts to find my soulmate that it's now just sort of second nature. I can tell what people are feeling because I'm so used to feeling more than just one thing at one time." You answer, and she shakes her head slowly. 

"What an impossible thing to track. How would you know?" She sets her mug down and flags a waiter. The man stops by with the receipt, the timer on his wrist reading four months, six days, three hours. "See, a timer, that's useful. Emotions? Ridiculous, if you ask me." 

"I think I'll just know when I meet them." Or at least, that's how all your fantasies played out, just locking eyes across a crowded room and realizing that you could feel them, that it was always them, but so far, nothing of the sort had happened.  "I mean, I've experienced all of their emotions for the past five years, I ought to be able to pin that to a person." 

Amanda rises, putting on her coat, and you're quick to follow, your own half-full drink abandoned. "I would've hired you already without the soulmate trait, but I suppose that's the bonus that makes you so special, anyway." She pauses, then, and turns back to you. "If you don't mind me asking, what is your soulmate feeling currently?" 

"I think he's frustrated, but it's not the same as angry. Just sort of annoyed." You take a slow, deep breath in an attempt to calm your own racing heart. If they were annoyed, the last thing they'd need to feel is your nerves added to it. And, after enough breaths, you can feel them start to relax, all on their own. 

-

“No soulmate trait?” Oscar asks, and Lando hums over a ridiculously large bowl of salad.

“It makes no sense!” He answers, stabbing at the lettuce in front of him with a vengeance. “Like not a mark, no colour changing shit, just…nothing. I think it’s one of those things where you have to touch people to know.” 

“So that’s why you’re so clingy,” Oscar answers sympathetically, and Lando takes a crouton and throws it at him. It had been six years, and he had yet to find his soulmate, to have that connection click into place with a simple touch. Sue him for being clingy when it was the only hope he had for finding true love.

Then, just as soon as Lando begins to feel genuinely resentful, a soft wave of calm comes over him. He had joked, once, that his heart and his brain were capable of feeling two different emotions at once. Sometimes, he was furious, but in his heart, he knew he would be fine. Othertimes, his heart was just so happy for no reason. No one really understood what he was talking about, but Lando didn't mind. He was rather proud of his emotional intelligence, being able to decipher what he was really feeling under the surface. He was maturing into a proper adult who could rationalize their thoughts and feelings, but then again, proper adults don't throw croutons in dining halls.

He takes a slow, deep breath, trying to match the beating of his heart, and after he exhales, he returns to his conversation. “Does your heart ever get happy when your brain is angry?" 

“What?” 

“Like I was pissed about the soulmate thing, and now I feel all calm. Like my heart knew I was being stupid.” It was like someone reminding him to breathe, to think of the better alternatives, like the fact that his soulmate was probably out there, just with a rare trait that would make it all the more worthwhile.

Oscar, unfazed by both the strange question and the crouton, thinks for a moment before speaking. “I think you’re just old enough to know not to be mad about things. Or you have other things to focus on.” 

“Maybe.” Years later, Lando would look back at this moment and bang his head into a table, but in the present, he continues to eat his salad and ponder why no one's investigated the psychology of the heart.

-

2024

"Micah? Is that what you're supposed to be doing?" Micah, who should be unpacking his things into the summer house in Monaco, has decided he will not be sorting his socks, and instead will be constructing the world's largest indoor racetrack around his bedroom floor. Never to be left alone, his younger sister Emily is perched in the middle, drooling over a little pink car. 

"I put 'em away, Nana." Micah says, jabbing his thumb in the direction of his suitcase, half shoved in a closet. Typically, children called their grandmothers Nana, but they had adopted the word for you, a sweet little thing you were terrified they'd outgrow. "See?" 

"Ah, yes, I see." You walk over to the suitcase, gently drumming your nails on the top. "How silly of me, this is perfectly unpacked as your mother requested." 

Micah, not quite yet understanding sarcasm, beams his gap-toothed smile. "Told you!" 

"But, what if you need to get an extra pair of shoes? Or sandals? They're stuck at the bottom." Emily gives up on her determination to eat the pink car and grabs part of the track, like a baby-sized Godzilla over the raceway. "And what if we, say, wanted to go to the beach after dinner?" 

Micah pauses at that, sitting up and squinting at his suitcase. "...I can just lay the suitcase down?" 

"And if you can lay your suitcase down, you can put your other clothes away too. Now come on, before dinner. Your cars will stay exactly where they are." Then, to grant him some mercy, you scoop up Emily from the floor and try to put the pieces of his track back in place. 

And then, your heart stops beating in your chest, fingers hovering over the little plastic track. 

Disguised for a moment of panic, you realize it's your soulmate's heart that's stopped, your whole body going cold. For a moment, a terrible awful moment, it feels as if the connection is broken, that there is no emotion to be felt at all, and before you can truly grasp what is happening, a joy greater than anything you've ever known washes over you. Scientifically, you know it must just be a rush of adrenaline, of endorphins and hormones, but god, this must be the most a human body can produce at once, rendering you entirely numb to anything but the excitement, the triumph, it can't compare. It's ecstasy, with a laugh you've never heard before ringing in your ears. 

It's a bright kind of sunshine that makes you dream of how your soulmate must be smiling, what they must be doing to become so happy, how much you wish you could be there to experience it with them. Then, as it begins to wane, it becomes tinted with every other emotion possible.

Sadness, grief, pain, fear, love. It's that last one, the love, that startles you the most, because you've never felt it on your soulmate's end before. You dream that this must be how it will feel when you finally meet, so different than any other emotion you've dealt with before. It's something pure and unadulerated, with no real sign. You just know it's love, and you have to sit on Micah's bed as you try to catch your breath at the feeling. 

It's the sort of mosaic of emotions that you think must embody a person whole. That everything your soulmate has ever felt has just been channelled back inside you, taking over where veins once were. Colours are brighter, the world slower, the pain softer. Emily reaches up to pat your cheeks, startling tears from your eyes that you hadn't realized had formed. 

Micah comes to stand beside you, a sock outstretched in his hand. "I'm sorry I didn't put them away." 

"Oh, sweetheart," You soothe softly, gently parting his hair away from his face. It's sad, you think, that people don't get to experience this in their everyday life. To know what it's like to feel a partner's joy, to know that when you reach out with your own happiness for them, it gets taken and amplified a hundred times over. "I'm not upset because of you. I'm happy." 

"Happy?" 

"Your mom told you what soulmate's are, right?" He nods along quickly, face lighting up. 

"Did you just meet yours?" He almost shouts, and while she must have explained some concepts, it's obvious he doesn't understand how the whole thing quite works yet, but he has plenty of time to learn.

"My soulmate is really, really happy about something, and I'm so happy for them." It makes it all worth it, you think.

Becoming so devoted to learn about the brain and emotions was already worth it, already a passion, but feeling this, greater than any emotion you've ever felt, it's indescribable. It's something you doubt you ever could forget, the power of their excitement feeling as if it might never fade.

"But you don't know what they're happy about." Micah points out, returning to the volcano that is his suitcase. 

"I don't need to." You answer honestly. "Joy should be shared at any time, for any reason. I don't need to know the fine details." And with that, you rise, intent on finding Emily's sandals somewhere in her nursery. "And for that reason, we should go and celebrate too. We can get ice cream after dinner." 

Micah, not needing much convincing, quickly joins your side. "I like your soulmate. He should be happy more often." 

"Yes," You answer, wishing you could bottle this emotion and keep it forever, "He should." 

-

Lando knew his first win would be big, but it was the sort of dream that didn't feel real, even as he was thrown into the crowd, even as he put the trophy over his head, even as he hugged his mom, even as the night waned and the club slowed and he, inevitably, found himself back in his hotel room. 

He couldn't help it. It was just this constant rush of everything all at once, the excitement, the pride, the terrifying realization that life continues on. There will be more races that he might win, and he finds himself more determined than ever to win them. It's the delight that he did it, he finally did it, and the sadness that comes with knowing it took him so long. His younger self would be so proud, and the thought only adds more confusing emotions into the mix. Overall, however, is how much he loves this sport, despite all the pain that does come with it. This was what he was always meant to be doing. 

His heart isn't helping either. The happiness from it just sort of comes in waves, not connected to his thoughts or his words at all. It's like his heart, every so often, remembers that he has something to be so happy about, radiating a warmth that Lando's never felt before. He's never been this happy in his life, like he's perfectly whole, even with his missing piece, a small cloud he'd ignored hanging over him the entire day. 

He never could dream small, but when he had his first win, he wanted a soulmate to share it with. That being said, he's not sure it really matters now. This moment, soulmate or not, is just perfect. He can share plenty of wins with them in the future, anyway. For right now, there's just him and his heart, gently beating and echoing warmth, joy, delight, triumph, whatever you want to call it. 

Lando is very happy that his heart is happy, he decides as he finally goes to bed. 

It should feel like that more often.

-

2025

Fourth wasn't bad, Lando could tell his heart was trying to tell him, but he didn't want to listen. 

He had fucked up, plain and simple, all the way back to starting tenth like he was a fucking rookie again, and sure, he had made his way back to fourth. It was respectable, really. He made a good recovery, he was fine, but he was more furious than he had been in a long time, because this season showed that he should know better. 

He was leading the championship, for god's sake, and now he was below Oscar when he could've kept his title. It was an anger that led, rather quickly, into self-deprecation. He had failed, of course. He could have done better, could have tried harder, could have been better. He didn't have the mindset, people kept saying. What mindset? What did Oscar have that he didn't?

He had cried and fought and struggled to get here now, and he fucked up. In qualifying, like a rookie, like someone who should know better. Fourth, a burn only worsened with the thought of the meagre points he'd get. Fourth. 

Needing something to lash out against, Lando picks up his water bottle from beside him in the driver room and winds up, eyes set on the wall across from him, when his heart does what it does best, and soothes him. It wasn't telling him that fourth was okay, he finds, but rather a strange sort of sympathy that he had a right to be mad. 

It was understanding of his pain, sending soft waves of calm, a tune stuck in the back of his mind that he couldn't quite understand. He should be mad, the water bottle launched across the room, but it stayed in his hand as his heart unravelled the worst parts of him. Anger, rage, was a good, short release, but it didn't get to the heart of the problem. He needed to take a deep breath, his lungs working of their own accord as he let his arm fall, dangling uselessly at his side. 

Fourth. 

Next race would be better. Next race, he'd lock in, he'd figure out whatever hiccup had cost him podium, had lost him first. He would do better, and he would be better, and that would be that.

Even still, as he finishes up for the night, he finds a sadness coming from his heart, an emotion he didn't know would hurt as much as it did. 

-

The anger and joy, this year, kept coming in rounding bouts. Excitement one weekend, failure the next, something that could only be akin to gambling addiction, some sort of sports fan, or someone going through just a rough couple of months. Emily seems as attuned to your soulmate as you are, wailing the moment the anger occurs, rearing its ugly head, and you find yourself calming two souls at once. 

You bounce Emily in your arms, a hefty task now that she's four, humming a soft lullaby as you try to get your soulmate to take deep breaths, take apart their anger. Sorting through emotions was a tall task, even this many years in, but there were so many layers to the sadness and anger that it was just...hurtful. 

A pain you couldn't fathom. Emily soothes as your soulmate does, falling back asleep as you get her tucked into bed, your soulmate's resentment cascading away to just a tired, dull sort of thing. There's a hint of happiness, somewhere at the edges, and that's all you need to let go, to focus back on your own life. 

You don't know how often you'd done that, taken time to soothe someone who never did the same. Your own anger, sadness, what have you, never seemed to be noticed. There was never a comforting, deep breath, a calm happiness to comfort you, just whatever they were feeling, like they couldn't care about helping yours. 

You had devoted your life to the emotions of others, you realize as you peer into Micah's room to find him asleep, peacefully curled up under his blankets. You'd raised him for the past two years, taught him how to exist and grow and act, same as Emily, sleeping peacefully behind you. They were children who needed the guidance, the extra set of hands, but your soulmate was grown. 

So how could they not handle it? You took extra courses, found a career path out of it, but they just seemed to live life, going through the motions with little regard for what all the frustration might do to someone else's daily life. That spike, that explosion of joy held so fondly in your memories now only returned in shorter bouts, like a drug slipping away from someone, and you focus on tidying up the last of the toys scattered around the hall to distract yourself. 

You knew all the emotion tactics to calm yourself, anyway. 

So why would you need someone else? 

-

Lando's heart has been acting up lately, following him through Miami's second place, and into Imola's second place, and now Monaco. 

It just hadn't been as happy as it could've been, as calming as it could've been, like every time Lando experienced a bump, it got less and less willing to pick up the pieces, and Lando understood. Being his heart was a big task, but it was sort of his heart. He needed it, and its strange intelligence. 

The worst part was people started noticing it, too. Not his heart, exactly, but just that as much as he was happy, it wasn't to his core. He had tried numerous remedies, chocolates, therapies, everything, including now going for runs at random hours of the day, currently on a hike in the few hours of dawn just outside of Monaco. 

But the farther he ran, the more up this hillside he went, the further his heart sank inside him, until he could only describe it as weeping.

Reaching the top, he begins to think he might be losing his mind when he begins to hear it crying, too, only to stumble across a real person, crying before him, and his heart tugs in his chest so hard he thinks it might fall out. 

-

Burnout happens far too fast to really understand it, even coming from someone who dedicated their life to understanding people's emotions.

It was hard to always be happy, to always be in tune with other people's emotions, but it was all that you knew. You were supposed to be the happy one, the helpful one, but it was hard to always be happy and always be helpful when it was all coming to an end anyway. Emily and Micah were grown, old enough to have opinions and dreams that far outshone your own, because at some point, children outgrow nannies. This would be your last year full-time, Amanda had broken to you a week or so ago. 

She wanted you around for help with Emily, at least until she was five, but after that, they were going to try functioning as a whole, with you there if they needed extra support. And it wasn't leaving the family, leaving this job, that was the hard part. You were more than understanding, after all. 

The hard part was the realization that nothing was meant to last. You weren't meant to always be there, supporting other people, raising children and sending peace out into the world. At some point, you needed to stop projecting emotions and needed to start feeling them, stunted for so long in the name of love. 

You didn't blame your soulmate, really, but it was time you started living, outside of them, outside of nannying, and that meant doing things for you, like waking early, finding a nice hiking trail, and just going. You walked until your feet grew sore, until a bench looked promising, until your emotions caught back up, and so did your soulmate's. 

Soft and on edge, a sadness that wasn't anything too deep, but just persistent. Instinctively, you take a breath, and it all falls apart. 

Every emotion you've been taught to suppress, to help others navigate through, every joyful moment not shared, every painful moment you've taken on as a burden comes out in a wail that you can't control.

It was a gift to feel your soulmate's emotions, but you shouldn't have to feel so obliged to help them through every bout of sadness and anger, exhaustion piled up from years of your own neglect.

You had been given so much joy in this life, watching a Monaco sunrise from the clifftop, but you can't help the way it's all been tainted by experience.

After all, there are no tips or courses on how to heal a broken heart, desperately trying to get out of your ribcage.

-

Lando's heart keeps tugging him toward the person currently sobbing on a bench, and he has no idea what to do about it. He's emotionally intelligent, he tries to reason with himself. If someone is in distress, like they're lost, he can help! Or, he might be ruining a moment that a stranger needs alone, but his heart keeps weeping and the sadness keeps spreading until finally, Lando takes a few brave steps forward before coming to kneel before the person on the bench. "Hey," He says, with the awkwardness of a man thrust into a truly new situation, "Don't cry." 

You blink at him owlishly before covering your face with another sob. 

Great start. "I mean, crying's okay!" He says, quickly coming to sit beside you, leaving enough space not to crowd you. "It releases stuff for you. But like, if you're crying about a reason, I can...help." 

"Oxytocin and endorphins," You sniff, a sentence that fully catches him off guard, but the weeping in his heart ebbs way for...annoyance? "Crying releases oxytocin and endorphins, they help promote-" You uncover your face to look at him, and it's just heartbreaking, truly. He doesn't remember the last time he saw someone this upset besides his own reflection in the mirror. "Helps promote well-being." 

"Maybe I should cry more often," Lando jokes softly, and happiness slips into his heart before disappearing again. His heart normally was so good at calming him, so why was it so difficult to calm other people? "But I mean it. I get that I'm a stranger, but if something's wrong, I can help." Then, because he knows better, "Or I can try?" 

You don't answer him immediately, turning to look out at the sunrise. It's pretty, he thinks. Calming. You hiccup beside him, and Lando glances over to see your bottom lip tremble with another wave of unshed tears, and his body reacts before he can.��

He takes a big, deep breath. The kind his heart is always telling him to take. One deep breath in, one deep breath out. "You can breathe like that, too. It helps." 

"It triggers the relaxation response." You answer through stuttered breath, somehow far more informed on emotions and their controls than he is. You must be a doctor or something, he thinks. Maybe one of those wellness coaches. Either way, you start breathing alongside him, in perfect unison.

"My heart always helps me breathe." Lando says, trying to make conversation, and you give him a strange look as his heart echoes confusion. "I don't know how to describe it, but my heart has its own emotions. And when I get upset, god knows it's too often, it reminds me to be calm, and breathe. Like this-" He takes in a deep breath, and releases it.

Then you take a deep breath in, and release it, and his heart mimics the action. You watch him intently, repeating the action a few times, until Lando realizes his heart is in sync with you. 

The breathing, the confusion, the weeping. 

A strange mix of emotions floods his heart seconds before he makes the connection, too. 

"You can feel me?" You ask softly, "My breathing?" 

The world sort of comes to an end on a park bench in Monaco, Lando realizes, because he can feel you breathing. When your eyebrows raise, he feels the shock deep in his heart, and his mind supplements that his soulmate trait must be feeling your emotions, and like the true idiot he is, this whole time he just thought it was his heart feeling things. 

God, it's been eight years. Eight years you've been feeling every emotion and trying to help him out, and Lando never knew. He'd never got to help you with your emotions, anyway. You've just had to suffer through all his anger, all his sadness, and he slowly lowers his head into his hands, truly unable to come to terms with what you're saying, what he's feeling, what you're feeling. 

He's been blind. Worse than that, he's been ignorant and honestly almost manipulative. All those deep breaths were you having to take the time to breath with him. All those moments his heart was sad, for no reason, or happy, for no reason, it was you living a life that he was unaware of. Every secret emotion he let out, that only he and the walls of his room shared, you knew.

You knew all the deepest, darkest parts of him, and he thought you were his heart.

It's a new sort of grief that wells up inside him, that is immediately replaced with action. This was not his time to mourn, but yours. He snaps back up, and you're still in the same, curled up position, looking at him in awe, and without much ceremony, Lando reaches over to pull you to his chest, the soulmate connection snapping in place as he gently cradles the back of your head into his shoulder. "Jesus fucking christ," He breathes out, "I thought you were my heart." 

You don't answer him, but he waits to expect the anger, the confusion, the sadness, but all he can feel is something soft and small radiating from you that he thinks might be love, and he begins to cry for it. 

He's sure that if there are any other unfortunate hikers on this trail, they'll stumble across a strange scene of two strangers hugging each other and crying, but Lando has seen stranger in Monaco. Besides, he can't care much about anything besides the soulmate in his arms, and all the ways he needs to make it up to you. From now on, his emotions take a back seat, and he'll help calm you, keep you happy. He wants to memorize every detail of your face, your smile, your laugh. Firstly, he thinks, he should probably get your number and your name.

"How do you know how to handle it?" Lando finds himself asking as he lets you pull away, wiping at your eyes. "Oxy-cotton or whatever, how could you..." 

"I studied it." You answer quietly, "For you." 

"For...for me?" You nod, and Lando's body shakes with unshed tears. 

"You experience everything so vividly. I just wanted to help." You've felt how hard he's been on himself, how angry, and you've been there every step of the way, trying to help. You studied how to help him, for him specifically, and there's nothing he could ever do to make up for it. You reach up to wipe away the tears as they fall, studying his face. "Seems like I could have taught myself a thing or two." 

"You're perfect," He says, voice cracking as he looks down at you. "I'm an idiot." 

Lando never expected to meet you here. He always thought he'd be in some strange corner of the world, where he'd lock eyes across a crowded room and just know, but instead, you're here, in Monaco, a gift from the universe because he never would have been able to find you otherwise. "Your words," You answer with a sniff. "Not mine." 

"Stop being so good at this," Lando says, rubbing his hands over his face. "I need to be the one helping you, not the other way around." He opens his fingers to peer at you through them. 

"You just being here helps." You shove his shoulder gently as you speak. "But you really didn't consider once that your heart having emotions was weird?" 

"Thought I was emotionally intelligent. Like...my heart was also a brain." He watches you suppress a laugh and he hides behind his hands again. "Shut up! I know, I know, I have a lot of work to do." 

And for a moment, you just look at each other, and then that happiness comes spiking back up, and you're slumping into his side as you laugh, a deep thing that has Lando laughing too, like some old joke you've known forever. 

His soulmate. You're his soulmate, and he can feel your emotions, and while that is genuinely probably the worst soulmate trait Lando has ever heard of, it's a trait. He has a soulmate, and he is an idiot, but as he wraps an arm around your shoulders and watches the Monaco sunrise, he realizes he has all the time in the world to make up for it. "I'm Lando, by the way." 

-

-

-

Every time you look at Lando, you feel a rush of emotions that you now know he feels too. Maybe that's why he turns to flash you a grin, just as bright as you knew it would be. Or, maybe, it's because it's your first time in the paddock, the first time Lando gets to reveal you to the world, the fact that you're real. 

You can't really fathom how he never knew he could feel another person's emotions, and with a soft groan, he leans into your side. "You're never going to let that go, are you?" 

The past months you've spent together, Lando has been determined to get to know your emotions. Every little thing you go through, you get a text, a random delivery at your door, him peering around the corner into the living room with a raised eyebrow as you angrily try to put together Ikea furniture. Nearing the end of your contract with Amanda, and trying to find your new way in life, Lando insisted you move in with him, and that he would be your emotionally intelligent student. It was a lot of big steps to take, but looking at him now, you're more than happy to take them. 

"I thought you couldn't read minds," Lando's teammate Oscar says, and Lando's quick to shake his head. 

"I told you, we can feel each other's emotions," He says, arm wrapping around your waist. "For example, I can tell that right now, they are madly in love with me." 

He leans in to kiss you, and you gently shove his face away with your hand, matching grins plastered over your faces. You were, honestly. He was a strange, strange being who defied the emotional courses you took, but it made sense. You were a rock when he was a bouncy ball - hyper and all over the place, but he was teaching you to relax, to let go, to let him go. He insisted that he didn't need your help now that he knew how much brainpower it took up, but that didn't stop you from slipping into old ways, reminding him to breathe no matter where in the world you were, calming him from a distance.

Micah makes a fake gagging sound from beside you, though he's also grinning ear to ear. Lando had given the entire family paddock passes, mostly as a gesture of goodwill, but also so that he could have an excuse to have you here for a race.  "Be nice, Micah." You say, ruffling his hair. 

"Yeah, Micah." Emily quotes, reaching for your hand. She was still quite shy around Lando, whose energy was not always appreciated. You pick her up, an old habit that will die hard, even as she's no longer a toddler, but you hold her on your hip as you hum one of her old lullabies to help ease the stress. 

Beside you, Lando absent-mindedly hums along, and you stop your own noise to stare at him. He was always full of surprises, really, somehow knowing a song that must have slipped through the cracks of your emotions. Well, all of him was a surprise, being an F1 driver more famous than you had ever expected your soulmate to be. 

To Lando's surprise, you existed. It was something to get used to, a shame that clung to him, but he was growing out of it. He wanted to know every little detail, from favourite colours to where you grew up to where you wanted to go. You weren't sure yet, really. You wanted to help people, but you needed your own time and space with your emotions, and Lando was more than willing to help grant you that.

The media, unfortunately, had also wanted to know every little detail, intent on painting you as some young mom before it came out that you were a nanny, which was somehow better and worse. People had plenty of things to say, but that didn't really matter when Lando was at your side, intent on making Emily smile and putting up with Micah's antics, who had already scored a free hat, shirt, and the fuzzy part of a boom mic from somewhere. "Who do you think is going to win the race?" Lando asks the two, who both blink back at him. "Come on, it's me, right?" 

"Or is it going to be Oscar?" You ask, the other man beside you laughing. 

"Oscar." Emily announces rather quickly. "He can win." 

Both Lando and Oscar wear matching expressions of confusion, but Oscar's quickly morphs into a grin as he does a little bow. "Thank you, I'm happy to have your support." 

"Oh, come on!" Lando says, now desperately turning to Micah. "You want me to win, right? British boy to British boy." 

Micah looks from Lando slowly to Oscar, who offers two thumbs up. "I want...Oscar?" 

"Oh, this is just not fair!" Annoyance stirs in Lando, but dissipates when he looks at you. "You're supposed to teach them better than this." 

"Oscar wins so you can stay home," Emily says, playing with her paddock pass. "You make Nana happy." 

Lando pauses, and you can feel his heart swell with love, and with little regard for the cameras everywhere, he buries his face into the side of your neck as he blushes. "Get off Nana!" Micah says, tugging at Lando's shirt. 

"Nope," Lando says into your neck, wrapping his arms around your waist and holding you tight. "S' my heart now." 

"Always was yours," You answer with a kiss to his temple, and you can feel Lando melt both against you and in your heart. "Now go win a race, yeah?" 

Lando peels back with that smile that makes your heart do things, and you can tell he knows exactly what you're feeling when that grin just grows. "Thought I was supposed to stay home to keep you happy?" 

"You've got the rest of your life for that." With a genuine sadness you can feel in your veins, Lando finally parts, sneaking another kiss before he's off, and you find yourself that much more attuned to his emotions when he's gone. You can feel the anxiety and the stress as he prepares, the excitement as the race starts up, and the inevitable growing anger and fear as he fights for pole. Second, in your mind, was fantastic, but Lando never knew how to dream small. 

Taking a deep breath, slowly in and out, you wait for Lando's heart to sync with yours, and you can feel him relax just the smallest bit, granted a moment in a corner to overtake Max, and you scream so loudly with excitement that Emily and Micah cover their ears. Lando echoes back that joy and excitement, keeping pace until the race ends. You don't get to see him when he pulls up to the parc ferme, still stuck wrangling the young children, but you can feel nothing but pure joy all the way until he's up on that podium, trophy high above his head as he scans the crowd. He belonged up there, you think, with this kind of ecstatic delight taking over him. That moment filled with joy and love, all those years ago, had been his first win. 

And yet, here, now, that memory was dull in comparison. 

Because when Lando scans the crowd, and finally locks eyes with you, you feel a burst of nothing but pure love.

It's a feeling that never goes away. 

a/n: i saw this concept for a soulmate trait and just had to do something with it!! i honestly want to write so much more between these two

[superdorkcat]

Upcoming Magical Girl Projects

Magical girl fans are finally eating good after years of starvation. So good, in fact, that I decided to make a list of magical girl projects in development. This is a continually updating list - all series that have since been released can be found here.

Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Movie - Walpurgisnacht Rising - The fourth PMMM movie, which will pick up where Rebellion's massive cliffhanger left off. While originally slated for late 2024, it has since been delayed to 2025.

Maebashi Witches - A TV original production by Sunrise, Maebashi Witches is a coming of age story focused on a quintet of high schoolers who are approached by a strange and mysterious frog named Keroppe, who recruits them to become the titular group. Now working in a magical flower shop, the girls use the "Witchverse" pocket dimension to grant people's wishes with the power of song and dance. Has the same writer as Bocchi the Rock (Erika Yoshida) and is premiering April 6, 2025.

Princession Orchestra - A TV original coming in spring 2025, Princession Orchestra is based on a concept by Akifumi Kaneko, one of Symphogear's co-creators. The land of Alicepia's peace is destroyed when monsters called Jammerwocks attack, prompting a trio of young girls to step up the plate to protect the realm.

Winx Club - The western magical girl classic is getting a CGI reboot. While comments by Iginio Straffi imply that certain characters who were introduced later in the original series (such as Roxy and Nabu) will appear earlier, no specific plot details have been revealed so far. The series is coming to Netflix late 2025.

New Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt - Panty & Stocking is getting a second season after over a decade that's coming out sometime in 2025. A teaser trailer confirmed the OG voice cast's return and announced the production staff, but plot details are still unclear.

Magilumiere Magical Girls Inc. season two - Magilumiere is getting a second season, which was announced after the broadcast of season one's finale. No other details have been revealed.

Petitcure ~Precure Fairies~ - A Precure spinoff focusing on the franchise's various mascots is coming. It's a series of dialogue-less shorts that will be released weekly on YouTube starting on April 3.

Untitled Symphogear movie - A new Symphogear movie was announced in late 2023. However, no further details have been revealed.

Hua Xianzi: Zhi Mofa Xiang Dui Lun - A co-production between Tencent Video and Toei Animation's Shanghai branch, this anime is being billed as a "remake" of Lunlun the Flower Fairy. The heroine is Rumi, an apprentice at a homemade perfume studio who awakens as a Flower Child due to the power of a family heirloom. She's tasked with collecting and purifying the Rainbow Flower's scattered petals, only to clash with another Flower Child along the way and discover the surprising past of her feline mentor/sidekick.

Maho no Shimai Lulutto Lily - Studio Pierrot, which has made a variety of magical girl anime from TV originals like Creamy Mami to adaptations such as Tokyo Mew Mew, has announced that they're creating a new TV original magical girl anime. No specific plot details have been disclosed, but the caption for the teaser image ("I want you to sing once more...") implies that it'll be a magical idol anime. In March, the title was revealed, with the rough (and unofficial) romanization being Magical Sisters Lulutto Lily. The only revealed characters are a duo of cat mascots, Uguisu and Azuki.

Lolirock season three - After Lolirock's second season ended with a cliffhanger all the way back in 2017, it seemed like the story would never get a proper conclusion. However, the series's creator and director, Jean-Louis Vandestoc, announced on his Instagram in 2023 that creative meetings for a third season have begun.

Magic Knight Rayearth revival - TMS Entertainment is making a new Magic Knight Rayearth anime in honor of the franchise's 30th anniversary. Unfortunately, it's currently unknown what the format will be.

Cute High Earth Defense Club Haikara! - Hot on the heels of the franchise's 10th anniversary movie, Cute High Earth Defense Club is getting a new anime series. Besides Shinji Takamatsu directing the series like he did with the movie and the first three seasons, no concrete details have been revealed.

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha EXCEEDS Gun Blaze Vengeance - A new installment in the seminal Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha franchise, this will be a new TV anime to celebrate the series's 20th anniversary. No other details are confirmed, but it will presumably be connected to the upcoming EXCEEDS manga that will begin in 2025.

Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card season two - The sequel to the magical girl classic is getting a second season that will adapt the rest of the manga.

Magical Girl holoWitches - A multimedia project starring six VTubers as fictionalized versions of themselves who work as both streamers and magical girls who save people when they get trapped in the magical Holocas World. There was a four minute extended trailer in May 2024, but the anime's proper premiere date is unknown.

New Ojamajo Doremi thing - As part of the celebrations for the franchise's 25th anniversary, Toei Animation released two new music videos for the series' 1st OP and 4th ED with the promise that a new project will be made if the videos reach a combined 5 million views. This goal has since been met. Due to the girls being adults in the videos, the new project will presumably be an adaptation of the Ojamajo Doremi 16-20's sequel series of light novels.

[junipersenvelope]

Sunday Morning

Alfie Buttle x Reader

Summary: A rainy Sunday Morning in the life of you and Alfie. Inspired by/based on the lyrics of Sunday Morning by Maroon 5.

Warnings: disgusting fluff (aka possible cringe warning), inaccurate AB dialogue??

Word count: 1.4k

A/N: hello ukyt tumblr!! my name is em and im soo excited to be writing for the ukyt scene. i have been watching creators like the sidemen and willne since 2017 (you can find a few posts of me rooting for will to hit 1mil on this account lol) but have never ventured into writing for this fandom. i haven’t written in 3 years so any feedback is absolutely welcomed. my requests are open as well if you enjoy this work! sorry for yapping, onto the one-shot. happy reading!

Sunday morning, rain is falling

Steal some covers, share some skin

Rain pattered against the windows in Alfie’s bedroom, the room seeming darker than usual with the gray skies. A thunderstorm had woken you up in the early hours of the morning, but Alfie slept through it. He could sleep through anything, even his alarms. One morning before a shoot his series of alarms went off around 10 times before you nearly resorted to smacking him with a pillow to get him up.

Eventually, thunder cracked just loud enough for Alfie to stir next to you. You sat up on your elbow, leaning closer to him just to admire his restful face. You quickly decided you were bored waiting up for him so you placed a gentle hand on his cheek, tenderly dragging your thumb back and forth to coax him out of his sleep. This caused his long eyelashes to flutter against his cheeks, trying to fight to stay asleep. His hazel eyes cracked open, meeting yours as a soft smile grew on his tired face.

“Good morning, sunshine,” you whispered, leaning over to place a soft kiss to his other cheek.

“Good morning, love,” Alfie yawned, pressing a kiss to the palm of your hand that was still on his face.

Noticing you had shimmied out of the covers in the night, he threw them back over you. In one fell swoop he grabbed your waist and pulled you flush to his side. Your leg rested comfortably over his waist, wanting to be as close to him as possible. His hand came up to your arm, fingers drawing slow circles as his lips came to your forehead.

But things just get so crazy

Living life gets hard to do

“I never wanna leave this bed,” he sighed, feeling content and relaxed with your body intertwined with his.

Since spring had transitioned to summer, Alfie had been so busy with brand trips, podcast shoots, and other videos that he hadn’t had much time to relax. Now that he was finally back at the grotto, he wanted to take full advantage of being able to do nothing, and especially being able to do nothing with you.

“Good thing you’ve got fuck all to do for the next week or so,” you giggled, squeezing your arms around his torso gently.

Your fingers tenderly caressed his soft skin, sending shivers down his spine. Just when he looked like he was about to fall back asleep, his stomach rumbled.

“You hungry, Alf?” You mocked, chuckling at the noise.

“Yeah, I am,” he exhaled with a small laugh. “And we’ve got about 1 egg and a monster in the fridge. Gonna have to ration like it’s war.”

Driving slow on Sunday morning

Eventually the two of you found yourselves out of bed, getting ready to head to the store for breakfast. You walked to the car, reaching for the passenger door handle, before a large hand beat you to it. You turned to look up at Alfie with a pleased grin.

“Feeling romantic today huh?” You teased as he opened the door.

You slid into the passenger seat allowing him to move into the door frame. He placed his hands on either side of your hips on the seat and leaned in close.

“Y’know I know how to treat my lady. Come on,” he winked, before leaning down to press a tender kiss onto your lips.

You shook your head at him before he moved away from your side and around the car to the drivers side, getting in quickly. The rain still poured, though it had lightened significantly from the storm earlier in the morning.

“Put a good tune on, love. Make it a movie y’know,” Alfie said in his classic joking voice, motioning to his phone on the middle console.

You scrolled Spotify before landing on Sunday Morning by Maroon 5. He seemed to like your pick by the way he began to sing along, his voice gradually getting louder as the song progressed. Driving with Alfie never lacked entertainment, as he always put on a grand performance to his playlist, singing his heart out to every tune.

He began to drive out of his small neighborhood, heading into town. His hand migrated into your lap, resting on your thigh. His fingers tapped along to the song gently, comforting you as you further settled into the car seat. Your hands got bored however, so you grabbed the hand holding your thigh and gave it a tight squeeze. Your other hand began to soothingly scratch at his forearm and he squeezed your hand three times.

The drive continued, rain still pelting down. You watched the town go by, including the grocery store.

“Uh Alf? You in there? We just passed the shop,” you inquired, wondering why he blew right past your destination.

“I’ve got something else in mind. Gonna be a great little motive, trust,” he said, looking over to you quickly with a small smile.

Before you knew it, you were pulling into a diner that you had been wanting to try. An appreciative smile pulled at your lips as you turned to look at Alfie, but he had already parked and hopped out to grab your door. He opened it with a grin, holding a hand out for you to grab.

“M’lady,” he joked, helping you out of the car.

As you sat in the quaint restaurant, you noticed the weather began to clear up. It seemed to know that your lazy Sunday was turning into something more. Alfie grabbed your hand over the table, intertwining his fingers with yours as he told you stories from all of the trips he went on.

“Only downfall was how far we were from Monaco, really. Like we weren’t properly in Nice or Monaco which was quite annoying. But other than that it was beautiful. Just wish you could’ve been there.”

He detailed his drunken adventures with Chip and Arthur in Monaco, his podcast experience with Arthur and Bach, and his most recent trip to Germany. He held your hand through each story, brushing his thumb back and forth across your knuckles, playing with your fingers, and squeezing gently during the most exciting parts of each.

Your breakfast eventually wrapped up and you began to head back. You stopped at the store for groceries, happy that you got to stock up on all of Alfie’s favorites, because it meant he would be home with you for a while.

Fingers trace your every outline,

Paint a picture with my hands

When you returned to the grotto, you began to put groceries away. You slotted the eggs in the fridge, snacks in the cupboard, and replenished his monster stash.

Just as you closed the fridge, you felt him walk up behind you. His arms snaked around your waist, and his chest was warm and familiar against your back. You leaned into him, resting your head against his shoulder, your chin up and eyes closed. You wanted to soak in this moment with him, quiet and close, appreciating the slowness of the day within such a chaotic life. Alfie’s hands ran up your sides and onto your arms, applying a soothing amount of pressure. Once his hands reached your shoulders he delicately turned your body to face him. From there, his hands moved to your cheeks, holding your face like it was an ancient artifact.

“Can’t express enough how happy I am to have you here with me. Genuinely. I don’t think I could do it if everytime I came home you weren’t here to be with me. To understand me,” he confessed, bearing his heart to you in a way he didn’t often do.

And then, before you could respond, he kissed you. Soft, but deliberate, his lips molding perfectly to yours, like you were made exactly for each other. It said everything he had just vocalized, and everything he wanted to but didn’t quite know how. It said that he loved you, he missed you, and he was grateful for how easy time spent with you was. This kiss wasn’t desperate, wasn’t trying to escalate into something heated. It was innocent and happy. It was there to remind him you were real and that he didn’t have to worry about losing you.

And he knew no matter where his career took him—out of town, the country, or continent—he would always find a way to bring himself back home to you.

[vernonverse]

🏛️ Point of No Return | Yoon Jeonghan

🕮 As a journalism major, your assignment is to write a feature on the 100 years of SVT for The Daily Carat. You expect help from your brother, but instead, he sends Jeonghan—his smug best friend you can’t stand.

ⓘ Paring. Jeonghan x f!reader ��� Genre | tags. Brother’s best friend/enemies to lovers, forced proximity, fluff, comedy. ⓘ Warnings. Swearing, arguments, pet names, suggestive. ⓘ WC. 649.

━ This is part of my series ‘The Greeks’ to celebrate Seventeen’s 10th anniversary! All the stories are in the same universe, but you can read them as standalones.

📩 Inbox — Prof. K. Chansung kchansung@caratuni.edu

Subject: Feature Assignment: SVT Centennial Piece

Hi Miss Choi,

Hope your midterms haven’t buried you (yet). As discussed in class, your next assignment for Journalism 321: Feature Writing and Human Interest will be a long-form piece scheduled for the Spring Campus Review.

You’ve been assigned to cover a unique and timely subject: SVT Fraternity — 100 Years of Brotherhood, Legacy, and Change.

As one of the oldest Greek organizations on campus, Sigma Veta Tau has a deep, complex history, complete with controversies, reform efforts, and an undeniable cultural impact. We’re looking for a feature that goes beyond surface-level coverage. Dig into what’s kept this fraternity alive for a century. What traditions have endured? What’s evolved? And, more importantly, what sets it apart today?

You’ll need to:

Conduct multiple interviews (current members, alumni, faculty, campus historians)

Attend at least 2 upcoming SVT events (calendar attached)

Submit a first draft by May 14

Final copy due May 21 at 11:59 PM

This is a high visibility assignment. Our editorial board will be reviewing it for inclusion in the commemorative issue. I trust you to bring your usual insight, edge, and voice to the piece. Reach out if you need access to archives or faculty contacts.

Looking forward to what you uncover. Best, Professor Kang Chansung. Feature Writing Instructor College of Journalism & Communication kchansung@caratuni.edu

——

——

{...}

Interview Excerpt: Vice President Yoon Jeonghan — Sigma Veta Tau Member, Class of 2017

Sitting across from Yoon Jeonghan, one quickly learns that SVT’s charm isn’t just in its brick-covered walls or century-old traditions. It’s in the people, specifically, the ones who manage to be both infuriatingly smug and surprisingly sincere in the same breath.

When I ask Jeonghan what has kept Sigma Veta Tau alive for a century, he doesn’t hesitate.

“We evolve. Not always gracefully, but we do,” he says, arms crossed behind his head, posture too relaxed for the gravity of the topic. “That’s what people don’t get about us. We’re not some relic, we’re a reflection. Of this campus. Of the times. Sometimes a really chaotic reflection, but still.”

Jeonghan is a senior and current vice president of SVT, known for his sharp tongue, unbothered confidence, and—for better or worse—a reputation for testing boundaries. During our interview, he arrives twenty minutes late with iced coffee in hand and offers an unapologetic shrug. But once the recorder is on, his tone shifts. Beneath the sarcasm is clarity and insight.

“People love to point out our past. Fair,” he says. “But I think what makes us different is that we don’t run from it. We talk about it in meetings. We changed our rush policy. We implemented accountability stuff before the school even asked. The Sigma Veta Tau I joined my freshman year isn’t the same as the one I help lead now. That’s kind of the point.”

I ask him what traditions have endured.

“Too many, probably,” he laughs, then softens. “The alumni bonfire. Every year. No matter what. It’s not about speeches or awards, it’s just people showing up. All ages. No ego. You stand there and realize, ‘Wow, this place has held people together for actual decades.’ That hits.”

What sets SVT apart today, he says, isn’t the house or the parties—it’s the level of ownership.

“We don’t pretend we’ve been perfect. We’ve made mistakes. Some big ones. But we fix them. We show up for each other. We let people change. That’s brotherhood, I think. Or the kind that’s worth keeping around.”

In true Sigma Veta Tau fashion, Jeonghan doesn’t offer the cleanest quote, or the most PR-friendly soundbite. But what he gives is something better: honesty that sounds like it’s been aged, tested, and made real within those 100-year-old walls.

Before leaving, he turns and adds, almost casually:

“Also, I looked really good in most of the photos I sent you. Just saying. You might want to quote that.”

{...}

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© VERNONVERSE. I do not condone reposting, plagiarizing or translating my work in any form.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

The Immortal Choir Holds Every Voice

I'm in the home stretch of my 20+ city book tour for my new novel PICKS AND SHOVELS. Catch me in PDX THIS FRIDAY (June 20) at BARNES AND NOBLE with BUNNIE HUANG and at the TUALATIN public library on SUNDAY (June 22). After that, it's LONDON (July 1) with TRASHFUTURE'S RILEY QUINN and then a big finish in MANCHESTER on July 2.

Margaret Killjoy writes fantasy stories of relentless tension, boundless wonder, thrilling adventure…and completely radical, unflinching anarchist politics. Her 2024 YA novel "The Sapling Cage" is a queer coming-of-age epic that motors with all the narrative energy of a genderbent Conan epic:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/09/24/daughters-of-the-empty-throne/#witchy

Today, Strangers In a Tangled Wilderness Press publishes The Immortal Choir Holds Every Voice, a collection of three linked short stories set in Killjoy's celebrated Danielle Cain series, which Alan Moore called "ideal reading for a post-truth world":

https://www.tangledwilderness.org/shop/p/the-immortal-choir-holds-every-voice

Danielle Cain is a freight-train-hopping, anarcho-queer hero whose adventures are shared by solidaristic crews of spellcasting, cryptid-battling crustypunk freaks and street-fighters. In Immortal Choir, the action opens with Danielle and a motley band around a campfire in a dark Idaho woods, surrounded by the night-screams of some distant demonic presence. It's Samhain, and the veil between the realm of the living and the dead is as thin as it gets. Bad things are stalking the night.

To save themselves, they must court their own dead, welcoming them to their circle. They pile a camp-plate high with food for the dead to eat, build the fire up, and begin the tell the stories of their dead comrades, summoning them as a defense against the monstrous forces that stalk the All Saints night. This is the setup for the three linked short stories that make up this short book.

This is a great setup: a group of endangered comrades, huddled together against the darkness without, telling tales to buoy up their bravery. It's the framing device that makes The Decameron an enduring classic after 800 years and counting. In Killjoy's hands, it sings.

The first story is "The Troll King's Court," a ghost story about a Norwegian troll cult that came to America in a failed Manhattan-Adjacent Project to create a mystical superweapon with which to win WWII. It's ultimately a story about how the competent people who have their shit together in our lives are just as broken as the rest of us, and about the many ways that release, fulfillment and actualization can take place. It's spooky as fuck.

The middle story is "The Fairies of the Spring," which summons up the old, mean roots of the Fair Folk, the cruelty behind their beauty and merry laughter. Pratchett did one of these (Lords and Ladies), and so have many others – but no one's done it where the resistance comes from a motley band of queer punk club-owners in a rural town, who team up with local shitkickers to hunt the elves and banish them to their realm.

The final tale is "The Battle of Miami," a story about a streetfighting anti-globalist battle. It's a tale of Black Bloc tactics and true queer love, that lights up with joy.

Killjoy's really onto something with this series. She's tapping into the deep roots of fantasy – maybe the socialist parables woven into William Morris's stories. She's also connecting with the roots of urban fantasy (I was delighted to see a reference to Terri Windling's superb, absolutely amazing Borderland series).

These three tales stand alone, so there's no need to read the previous volumes before diving into this one. But you should read the other two, because they're great:

The Lamb Will Slaughter the Lion (2017):

https://reactormag.com/excerpts-margaret-killjoy-the-lamb-will-slaughter-the-lion/

The Barrow Will Send What It May: (2018):

https://reactormag.com/excerpts-the-barrow-will-send-what-it-may-margaret-killjoy/

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2025/06/18/anarcho-cryptid/#decameron-and-on

[ricciardo133]

Monaco 2017

maxiel, body swap, blowjobs, frotting, dubious consent, a little voyeurism

-

Daniel wakes to the sound of an unfamiliar alarm. He swears and with shut eyes slaps around the bed in the direction of the affronting noise. He doesn't remember inviting a girl over last night, but he did get fairly drunk. He could have called up one of the many gals he fancies in the Monaco area. There was that one chick he's been seeing now and then who invited him over last night too, but maybe she came to his place instead? His memory is frustratingly blank, but whoever it was who had the gall to set an alarm on one of his precious free Saturdays is getting officially, permanently uninvited to his flat.

Finally, his fingers make purchase around a cased phone. Purely from touch, he knows it's not his naked iPhone. He blearily peeks open in the dark room, ready to see the silhouetted curve of a woman's hips and shoulders but instead being face to face with a stuffed lion plush. He stares, as if the random stuffed animal would magically come to life and say 'hey man, sorry, my bad for the alarm at fucking six a.m.'

Daniel glances at the phone in his too pale hand. Max's phone. Max's hand. But...it's his hand?

He swears. He must be immensely hung over, possibly tripping. His lips feel swollen, tongue sitting wrong in his mouth. He licks over too-straight teeth and snaps his eyes shut.

He tries to get back to bed but the sound of several text messages ping on the aggrivating phone. Why the hell did Max leave his phone at Daniel's place? He grumbles and looks at the lit up screen as messages pop up, covering the phone's artsy wallpaper of Spa-Francorchamps in a series of rapid texts.

Daniel. Daniel. Pick up. Daniel. Are you normal? Something is wrong.

It rings. It's an incoming call coming from...Daniel? He sees his face, a photo of them together post-race Abu Dhabi last year. Why would Max pick a sweaty ass photo like this for his contact? And how the hell is he calling himself? That's not possible, Daniel thinks in confusion. The mental gears chug in sleep-addled disarray like he's been handed a sheet of calculous homework. He's not calling anyone. Why would Max's phone be getting a call from him when he's naked and half-asleep and phone-less?

Confused and pissed, he silences the phone and stares at the ceiling. He scratches his chest and feels the surprising heft of much more sizable tits.

He pauses, squeezing. Unfamiliar nipples harden under his thicker fingers. The fuck? In the too dark room, Daniel lets his alien hands drag down, feeling along a softer middle and more narrow hips. Further and with mounting concern, he feels inwards, trembling fingertips brushing too-fine, too-long pubes and then reaching a hardening girth that was far too big to be his own cock.

He springs out of bed, disoriented in a room that's not his. He trips over a ludicrously large box of Red Bull and walks over familiar clothes littered on the floor. Max's hoodies. Max's things. Max's room.

In Max's bathroom, he flips on the light. He stares at Max in Max's mirror.

Daniel reflexively reaches for a towel and wraps it around his waist, cheeks burning crimson under sharp cheekbones. "Breathe," he commands himself nervously, but it's his teammate's voice. The phone rings again, insistent. Daniel speed walks back to the bed to pick it up and answer.

"Daniel, are you okay?" he hears his own voice say on the other line, but it's not him. Not exactly. His own voice is draped in that Dutch accent as he holds Max's phone to his ear. "Are you in my apartment?"

"Max." He swallows, free hand holding onto the wall for support. "Yeah, yes. I am."

"Are you...in...me?"

Several thoughts try to bang through Daniel's mind, getting caught up in the doorframe so all that comes out is a blank, "In you?"

"You sound like you're me. Because, right now, I'm you."

"That's not possible. This is insane." Daniel paces now, panic turning manic as he looks out the window to the slightly shifted view of the same Monaco seaside, just one floor up. It's still dim outside, headlights and street lamps sparkle while bright white yacht reflections ripple on dark waters.

"Daniel? Are you there? Please say something."

Max sounds scared, and Daniel feels like he's hearing his own nineteen-year-old self talk to him through space and time, nervous and anxious and needing reassurance everything will be okay.

Pull it together, Ricciardo.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm here. We'll figure this out, Max." Somehow. He has no idea how, but that's not what matters right now. He starts grabbing an outfit and tossing clothes on the bed. "Luckily no race today, right? I'll go upstai- downstairs to my place. If you're there, maybe we just need to see each other to un-Freaky Friday ourselves, yeah?"

"I don't know where I am, Daniel."

Pausing, he blinks and feels his stomach somehow drop further, as if he'd shit it out. "Are you in a bathroom with pink walls?"

"Yes! Daniel, I am. How did you know?"

Daniel smacks his forehead a bit too hard and groans. "Fuck, you're at her place."

"Who's place?"

"This girl I've been seeing. She invited me over last night, and drunk-me must've went."

"Oh, she was the one in the bed."

"Fuck, did you talk to her?" Or more.

"No, she's asleep. I woke up next to her." Relief. "Daniel, you are...uh...quite covered in...hickies."

Great, excellent. Max is seeing him post-coitus. "Well, at least we didn't swap bods when I was doing the deed, eh? A fine how-do-you-do to wake up balls deep in a stranger."

"Daniel," Max laughs in shock like he's just had a ballon popped in his face. Daniel feels more grounded, eased to break the tension and relieved to hear his teammate's laugh, even if it is coated in his own voice. Weird. "No, thankfully I can leave and maybe she will not notice me."

"Yeah, really rather her not get the idea I'm suddenly a Dutch weirdo after banging."

"Oh, please. I can act like you. Listen," Max clears his throat. "G'day, mate."

"Wow. That sucked. Try harder, pal."

"G'day, I'm Daniel Ricciardo and I like screaming metal and boobs."

"Hm. Getting closer."

"Do me next."

Daniel blushes despite himself. "Fine, hi, I'm Max Verstappen from the Netherlands," Daniel says, frightened how easy it is to sound a bit too pitch perfect. Max's raspy, breaking voice and lisp all come a bit too easy. He hams it up to shake it off. "I love cars so much. I'm in a committed relationship with my sim and crank my hog there every night."

A bark of a laugh. "That's very good, Daniel. But I would never come in the simulator. It might damage it."

"Great, thanks for clearing that one up, Max. Maybe I'll go sit there while I wait for you and take your hardware for a spin." Meaning the simulator. Not his cock. Obviously. Daniel feels himself flush too hot again, steeped in awkwardness as there is a silent beat where he feels he very clearly should clarify that, but then he'd have to potentially admit he has already felt Max up a bit, and why was his dick so fucking huge and why did Max never say a thing? Not that teammates and friends, nothing more, would talk about having a monster dick with each other. But the amount of times Daniel joked about having ten inches and Max saying 'oh same' and he meant it was making Daniel's head spin.

"Daniel?"

"Yeah?"

"How do I get home?"

"Oh, right." He gives directions from the hook-up's flat to their building. "And don't forget my keys and shit. Probably on her kitchen counter."

"Okay. And Daniel?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry."

"What're you apologizing for, Verstappen? Not like you did this."

"No, but I maybe know who did. But I didn't know she was serious, I-." He hears a woman call his name on the other end. "Fuck," they say in unison.

"Max. Max, be chill, okay? Don't panic."

"I'm not panicking," he says, panicked.

"Just say you have a doctor's appointment and you gotta run. Max? Hey?"

The call doesn't end but he hears a clatter as if Max dropped it to the floor.

-

Max stands in Daniel's body as a woman he's never met wraps her arms around his neck and pulls him into a deep kiss. He stares at her closed eyes and feels Daniel's heart crash and bang in his chest. Delicate, long tan fingers hold her arms and a betraying current of want makes him stiffen all over. Her fingers lace through curls as she gives them a soft pull.

"Trying to sneak out without round two, big boy?" she purrs in his ear. She is hot. Her breath makes his skin break into chills. "Why so quiet, Daniel? Cat got your tongue?"

"I have an appointment." Lie better, he commands himself. He glances at the phone on the floor, call ongoing. He's worried he might give his teammate a heart attack with how his pulse spikes. "Like, with my trainer."

"Oh, boo. Can't he wait?" Her hands drift down, caressing his ass and working inwards. "You said it was your day off today, and all you wanted to do," she kissed and sucked over an already purple mark on his neck, "you said all you needed was to run me through all day long."

And she's on her knees, mouth on his length- Daniel's length. Max is unwound, shocked and blissed and gasping as she takes him so deep so fast. He reflexively holds her head, feeling her bob up and down as he momentarily forgets everything. He's never had sex before. Late bloomer. Too busy. Too shy. No one's ever touched him like this.

And it shows, he feels the edge quickly approaching as she hums onto Daniel's length. He watches the numbers on the phone call tick up, seconds counting off in real time how poorly he's handling this, all for him to hear. The thought makes him reel. Daniel. Listening. Was he listening?

He groans, gasping as she works his balls and choking on a swear as he feels the orgasm bubble up inside his body, so flushed with need and want and urgency until he crashes out, spilling into her mouth.

This is how Daniel feels when he comes. He etches every sensation into his brain as she swallows and kisses along his well-trimmed hair and wide hips.

"You usually don't come so quick, baby."

"I'm sorry." He dips and grabs the phone, guilt hitting like thunder after lightning. "I'm so fucking sorry, but I have to go."

She calls his name as he scoops up Daniel's familiar hoodie and pulls on a pair of running shorts. He slips the phone into his pocket, says a million apologies in a barely attempted Aussie accent as he collects Daniel's items and scurries out the door barefoot. Too frazzled to go back, he books it.

Blessedly, the Monaco streets are fairly empty, and he doubts anyone would believe some random passerbys if they say they saw Daniel Ricciardo running shoeless down the street. He slips down an alley, scampering up a set of stairs where Daniel once showed him how to sneak in to avoid their building's doorman, slipping through the delivery dock and dumpsters to the freight elevator, tapping in a quick code, and riding up to the top floor to Max's penthouse suite.

He pulls out his phone. The call is still going. Max stares at the bitten-down nails gripping the iPhone as he holds onto the small, guilty hope that maybe he didn't hear Max getting blown.

As the elevator shimmies upwards, Max looks at Daniel's hands, raising the other to flip them over and clench and unclench just to feel it. He glances up the rising numbers on the elevator and, with a thoughtless rush, slips a finger in his mouth, sucking and running his tongue around the tip. He pulls it out in a flushed huff. "Stop, Max." The sound of his name in Daniel's voice makes his heart hammer and his dick twitch. He shouldn't like this all so much, but it's so close, so visceral. He wishes the elevator would get stuck, just for a little bit, to let him feel up every inch of Daniel. "Perv," he whispers, but the shame isn't beating out the high. He's reeling, being able to touch and know. He jolts remembering the phone and hopes Daniel didn't hear a thing.

He can't buck up the nerve to talk on the line until he's reached the top and walked down the hall, standing outside his own apartment's door without a key to get inside.

He holds the phone to his ear, "Daniel?"

"Max?"

"Fuck. I'm sorry. I'm here."

"Yeah, give me a second."

Max lets pathetic guilt saturate him as he sees the call end. He readies the apology he's been working on all run over, but nothing comes out as he sees his own face as the door opens. His gaze flits up and down, taking in the sight of his own body in just a pair of sweatpants, standing stock still in the doorway. It's him.

Daniel's in there. They stare at each other. Max's shoulders heave, body still wired from the run over, finger still a bit damp with spit. He watches Daniel stare back, wide blue eyes and parted wet lips.

"I'm sorry," they say at once. Max blinks. "Daniel, I'm sorry. I'm so fucking sorry, I...I should've told her to stop."

"Nah, mate. It's fine. She's a stunner, isn't she? I get it. Hard to turn down a blow job, especially in this, uh, situation, but, um, yeah I also...I should've not, um, listened and...I....kinda, y'know."

"You what?"

Daniel's blue eyes roll in exasperation. "Can you come inside so we stop talking about voyeurism in the hallway?"

Max hustles in as Daniel closes the door behind him. Max feels off-kilter, both at seeing his flat from the wrong height and knowing Daniel heard everything.

"It's okay, Daniel. If you listened."

"What if," Daniel said, sitting on one of the barstools in the adjacent kitchenette, his own fingers slipping off runny condensation from an undrank glass of water on the counter. "What if I did more than listen?"

"Like what do you mean, Daniel?"

He watches his own Adam's apple bob up and down as he swallows. "Come on, don't make me say it."

"I may be in you, but I can't read your thoughts, Daniel."

"You know how hearing sexy moaning is sometimes enough? And, well. It seemed fair to...do it. Since you were getting off, too."

"What?"

"I jerked off, Max." He says it flatly but his whole face and neck are pink, and single bead of sweat slips down his own cheeks just like the wet glassin his hands. "Sorry, mate. Like, it was fucking hot. And why the hell is your dick porno sized?"

"It is...no, it is normal sized."

"Yeah, for a fucking werewolf, not a teenage Dutch boy."

"It is only a bit bigger than yours."

Daniel gives him a withering look. "No need to lie, mate. Especially since you've seen it now."

"I think it's a very good size, Daniel."

"Yeah, does yours make girls run for the hills or what?"

"Well, a girl has never seen it." Daniel raises an eyebrow, somehow moving muscles Max has no memory of being able to flex himself. "No one has seen it, besides like doctors and stuff."

"Max. You're a virgin?"

Now it's Max's turn to swallow, reaching for the glass of water. Daniel catches his wrist mid-air, hands wet and soft.

"Max, was that your first time? Just now with her?"

"Yes. Technically, if it counts since I'm...you...right now."

Daniel's grip tightens.

-

Max lost his fucking virginity in his own body. Daniel can't seem to pull his hand back, fingers clutching Max's hand, his hand.

And it felt good. It felt so wildly good to pump and twist and listen to his own voice sigh and break in ways he's never heard. He's pretty quiet in bed himself, but Max was so vocal, so pleading. He didn't know he could make sounds like that.

"Daniel, if you're upset-," Max starts.

"I'm not upset."

Max walks around the counter, never breaking contact. Daniel looks up into his own eyes, the ghost of Max's expressions in his own features.

"I'm just," Daniel's shoulders fall. "Aw, mate. Your first time should be special. I feel like kinda shitty it happened this way."

"Well, being in someone else's body is kind of special?"

Daniel snorts. "Well, yeah, I guess." He looks over his own tattoos, twisting Max's wrist gently and ushering up his other arm to hold both of his hands. Their fingers intertwine. He wants to crack the pressure, to joke he just wants to see what his own body looks like from the outside, but the gentle tremble in Max's hands is so precious, so delicate and warm. He feels he's holding a small creature in his hands, gently smoothing small circles in the soft flesh between his thumbs.

"Daniel," Max breathes. "Was it good for you? To come as me?"

"It was. Fuck, you come so much, too. I did do it in the shower. Sorry in advance for the clog."

Max smirks. "No, I do it there anyway."

"Shit's a bitch to clean out. Your plumber will hate you."

"Then I'll start doing it in the sim like you said." Max eyes him as he leans in. "Or in the kitchen, right here."

Daniel feels Max's grip tighten. The nagging thought he should not be doing this with his lovesick colleague feels distant and irrelevant in the dreamlike haze of seeing his own face get closer. "We can only get so wet, right?"

"Like in the shower?" Max asks.

"No, like, the uh, repercussions. If that's the word. Like, we're already in this deep, so what's a little fucking between friends, right?"

He watches his own lips part. "Do you meant it?"

"Maybe give you a proper first time, so I don't feel like I ruined your deflowering."

"Daniel. Please."

Daniel finally lets Max's hands go so he can instead grip and pull him into a kiss. He always wondered how it'd feel to kiss himself and to kiss Max. The unreal combination of both, of his own lips along Max's plush pair made him feel electric and impossible. Max's own hands grip along his bare back, short nails dragging down broad shoulders. Nothing matters. Not how they'd switch back. Not what crazy magic did this to them in the first place. All that matters is seeing Max, not just hearing, as he comes for him.

"Back to your bed? Just us and the lion?"

He watches his brown eyes widen. "That's, uh, he was a gift. From a fan. That happened to be there."

"Aw, don't sweat it. It's cute. Did ya give it a good name? Like 'Daniel'? Obviously, that's best name in my humble opinio-"

Max cups his cheeks. Daniel pauses.

"Say your name again," Max says, tone taught with a sudden, heady undercurrent.

"My name?"

"I want to hear it."

"Okay, um." He takes a shuddering breath. "Daniel."

"Max," he says back, his own voice never laced with such conviction before, with such heat. "Max," he says again as his fingers softly drift into straight, cropped blonde hair. "I want you, Max."

It's weird, nearly too weird, but Daniel can't bring himself to stop. He can't deny it's good, in some perverse inversion. As if he's the blushing virgin, he whispers his own name onto his own lips as Max pulls him into a heated kiss.

"Just for now, until this wears off, right?" Max asks.

"Yeah, yes." Another long pull like each kiss was a lung-full of air before dipping back underwater. "For now, whatever you want. Touch me, touch you, however you want. It's your body, after all."

"And this is yours."

It's his. His arms that lift him and his strength that carries Max's body to his bed and gently lays him out. That pulls his own sweats off his hairy legs. He feels his smooth, tattooed thigh rub against his hardening cock. His hands rolling him over, his lips pressing hickies to match the constellation of purple cosmos on his own neck. The friction and the heat and whispered names that bounce and blend as a gasped 'Daniel' becomes a beg and a plea as they rut faster together. Daniel looses track of who's who until he realizes he's back in his own skin, coming hard on Max's stomach as the younger man gasps and comes soon after.

He falls into the bed beside him, pliant and warm as Max pulls him in close.

"It wore off," Daniel says breathlessly, relieved but also somewhat remise his time in Max Verstappen is already over. "I didn't even get a chance to see what my asshole looks like."

Max laughs. "We can maybe do it again. I think it was my mother's doing." Daniel gets up on his elbows and looks down at his teammate. "She has a little magic and said one day she would want us to see things from each other's view, you know? That she didn't like to see us too intense as rivals."

"Very kind of your mum, but, uh, any chance you were going to mention magic being real anytime sooner?"

"You never believed me about my dick length, you think you would've believed me about magic?"

"Fair."

"She taught me a little myself. It's just simple spells, and she obviously didn't know the timing was unideal when she cast this one."

"A non-race weekend's not a bad pick, just a heads up next time would be nice so I don't have my ass out."

Max, back in his own body, looks up with those blue eyes thrown into bright contrast with his own flush. "Wait, maybe a next time?"

"Maybe a next time. If your car is better, then definitely we can swap then." Max laughs.

"I'll call and ask my mum for the spell. I can do it whenever."

"And maybe...if you want to do, uh...this again." Max freezes, eyes wide. "Like, maybe we only do the deed when we swap? So, it's not really like a normal hook-up. More like masturbating, right? Sort of? So it doesn't count? You as me and me as you sometimes. If you want, Daniel?"

Max sucks in a breath and looks gobsmacked. "Y-yeah. Okay, sure. Only then...Max."

The lines are too blurred. He lays back down and lets Max's arms wrap around him to cuddle in closer, unnerved how good it feels to lose himself in his grip. He's shocked how he wouldn't mind switching again now, feeling it all over again. He'll need to keep this unreal need in check, but it all doesn't matter in this moment as he rests his head on Max's chest. Daniel's fingers drift up along those soft tits, feeling that nipple harden again between his own fingertips.

[supernovafics]

series masterlist | last part — next part

pairing: modern!college!steve harrington x fem!reader, bestfriend!eddie munson x fem!reader

word count: 6.7k words

warnings: explicit language, lots of fluff, smut (18+), fingering, protected piv sex, a bit of praise kink, mentions of reader’s strained relationship with her parents, alcohol consumption (drunk!reader and drunk!steve moment)

summary: the semester comes to an end

a/n: this turned out so much longer than expected wow but last chapter! wooo!!! (simultaneously happy and sad woo) epilogue coming next week !!

CHAPTER NINETEEN | ❝𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖❞

Fall Semester 2017

“I’m gonna come over here all of the time.”

“When we actually get a couch, feel free to be our honorary fifth roommate anytime you want, Munson,” Robin said, which made you laugh as you also nodded in agreement. 

It was the first night in the apartment and it definitely showed— there were boxes everywhere, lifeless walls, and nothing in the living room aside from said boxes and a TV (courtesy of Vickie’s mom) on the floor that you all were currently surrounding. Your bedroom was also nothing but a mess, and so was everyone else’s, which was the main reason why camping out in the living room for the night became the immediate consensus. 

At first, you expected it to be a night of watching bad movies and ordering takeout, but Talia— now deemed as one of the coolest people you’d ever met— was adamant about making an actual meal for you all. She said something about how nice it would be to have a real meal on your first night, and who were all of you to deny an actual home-cooked meal? 

Eddie came over right when you mentioned spaghetti to him over the phone. His own shared apartment was also in a state of disarray, but he was fine with setting unpacking to the side for the time being. 

“Okay, the food’s done, but I’m so sad that I forgot to get garlic bread,” Talia said. “Next time, though.” 

“I can’t believe you’re already thinking about next time. You’re way too good to us,” Vickie said and the rest of you hummed in agreement. 

Talia only laughed in response as you all joined her in the kitchen to grab some food and then once again settled on the living room floor. Eddie left afterward, but promised not to “eat and run” next time; none of you were entirely sure if you actually believed him. 

The rest of the night felt equivalent to the kinds of sleepovers you imagine you would’ve had if you had close enough friends when you were younger. There was a mass of blankets and pillows on the floor and you were watching probably one of the cheesiest romcoms to ever exist.

The four of you already felt like a little family. And perhaps it only already felt that way because you’d been craving a feeling like that for the past few years, maybe even for as long as you could remember. In your eyes, it was somehow so easy to immediately call the apartment your home. 

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。

Spring Semester 2018

Anyone else would’ve deemed it as horrible timing— it was the middle of finals and all that should’ve been on both of your minds was studying— but neither you nor Steve saw it that way. You two had been through worse timings, you figured. 

It was hard for both of you to focus on what needed to be focused on, but you and him made it work. Mostly. 

You could admit that there were probably too many moments where you were in the middle of working on an essay and you stopped to text him a random thought that came to mind, and then there were other moments where he was calling you when you knew that he was supposed to be studying for one of his many tests. 

Even in this instance, it probably wasn’t the best idea to be at Steve’s apartment instead of in your own space, and yet here you were anyway— “writing” an essay that was due by midnight, the last one you had to do actually, as he “studied” for the last test he had that was tomorrow. 

“Okay, we should really get serious,” You said when you pulled away from Steve, maneuvering off of his lap and settling back on your side of the couch. 

“What? We were just taking a quick break.”

“Yeah, and five minutes turned into fifteen,” You responded, and then proceeded to say the words that you really didn’t want to say. “I think I should go.”

Steve frowned; it was probably the cutest thing you’d ever seen. “No. Stay.”

“We’re just gonna keep distracting each other.”

He considered your words for a second. There was no way that he could deny them; you two were inadvertently distracting each other and had been for the past hour that you’d been at his place. 

“Okay, what if you stayed out here and worked on your essay, and I went to my room to study. We wouldn’t be able to distract each other then.”

It was endearing how adamant he was about you staying that you were nodding along to his suggestion instead of saying how kind of silly it was, like you were little kids that needed to be separated in school; but maybe that was actually a pretty accurate description of you two in this moment. 

“Okay, yeah, that works,” You told him, biting back your amused smile.

“Okay,” He nodded and smiled, giving you a quick kiss before he stood up from the couch and gathered his stuff off of the coffee table. “See you in a few hours.” 

You managed to finish your essay in what felt like record time, and you hadn’t even been trying to rush through it. You proofread it two times before you submitted it and it was only a little after eleven when you closed your laptop, placed it on the coffee table, and then headed over to Steve’s room to see how he was doing with studying. 

“I’m done.”

You gave him a skeptical look because the timing seemed a little too perfect. “You sure?”

“Yup, you can even test me if you want,” He said, giving you a teasing smile. 

You laughed a bit as you nodded and went to sit across from him on his bed, crossing your legs under yourself. He handed over his notebook and you spent the next fifteen minutes “testing” him and, much to your happy surprise, he knew everything. 

“You are, in fact, ready for this final, Harrington,” You smiled at him. “I see an A+ in your future.”  

“Thank you,” He said, smiling back as he reached out to pull you into his lap and the notebook became discarded to the side.

You rested your hands on his shoulders and his settled on your hips. 

“I’ve missed you,” You told him before you thought about what you were saying, and then you were quickly shaking your head at yourself. “Sorry, I know that probably sounds so dumb to say because, before this, the last time we saw each other was only three days ago, and it’s not like we didn’t text and stuff… But, I don’t know—”

He cut off your rambling with a quick kiss. “It’s not dumb. I’ve missed you too. I’m so glad finals are gonna be over tomorrow.” 

“Me too,” You said and then thought about something. “Well, I’m technically already done with everything, but you’re gonna ace your test tomorrow. What time is it at?”

“One.” 

You nodded at that and then looked over at the digital clock on his nightstand and took note of the time; it was only a few minutes past eleven-thirty right then. 

“Okay, good, so you don’t have to kick me out yet?”

He immediately shook his head at your question. “I’d never kick you out. Even if the test was at eight in the morning.” 

There was a playful tilt to his words, but you could also hear how true they were, which warmed something inside of you. You kissed him instead of saying anything else in response. 

Your hands settled in the hair at the nape of his neck as you pushed yourself closer to him, getting rid of the little bit of space between you two. 

It wasn’t the first time you two had been in this position— you in his lap or just simply being this close to one another. However, this was the first time that it finally felt right to do more, and you suddenly really wanted to do more. 

Other times, you and him had been at your place and things were noisy and it felt as if you two could be interrupted at any given moment, so you always slowed things down instead of pushing them forward. This time, though, you didn’t want to keep things slow or ease away from him. There was no need to— no potential interruption a few feet away, or random noises that carried through thin walls. 

You had never cherished the quiet as much as you did in this moment in Steve’s bedroom. 

Slowly, you moved yourself against him, searching for any sort of friction, and the soft groan you received from him in response made you smile and do it again and again. You could feel him growing hard beneath you with every teasing stir, straining against his sweatpants. 

“Shit,” Steve’s hands immediately went to your hips again and gave them a quick squeeze as you continued your slow movements. 

“Is that okay?” You had a feeling that you knew what his answer was going to be, but you still asked it anyway and tried to sound as innocent and normal as ever. 

He let out a contented sound. “Much more than just okay.”

“Good,” You responded and then leaned into his ear as you softly said your next words. “I want you, Steve.”

He gave your hips another squeeze. “Yeah?”

He was sort of guiding you at this point, controlling your movements; making you move a little quicker and then slowing you down again. It was subtle but so fucking hot and you could feel your arousal pooling in your underwear. You desperately wanted to slip out of the simple pair of leggings you were wearing so that there could be one less layer between you two. 

“Mhm, yeah,” You answered his one-word barely heard question and then pulled back to meet his eyes. “Please.”

Steve didn’t need to be told twice. 

He shifted things with ease— switching positions so that you were pressed back into the bed and he was settled between your now parted legs. 

His fingers teased the hem of the t-shirt you were wearing, and you expected him to push it up and off of you, but he instead slipped beneath your shirt and found the waistband of your leggings so that he could pull them off of you. 

The cool air hitting your now bare legs sent a chill through your body and your eyes slipped shut for a moment. When they opened again, you expected to immediately meet Steve’s eyes, but he was instead focused solely on the wet spot on your underwear. 

“You’re soaked, aren’t you?” He asked as he started stroking your inner thigh, another action that sent something equivalent to a chill through your entire body. 

You nodded shyly, closing your eyes again. “Yeah…”

You felt his hands find the bottom of your t-shirt again and that time he guided it off of you, leaving you in just your black bra. He leaned down to kiss you; it was slow and sweet like you two had all of the time in the world and it genuinely felt that way. “What do you want?”

“Mmm,” It was hard to answer when your brain could barely form any coherent sentences. You could feel his hand traveling upward, getting closer and closer to where you needed him to be, but it was too hard to verbalize that right then. “Fuck…”

“Go on, pretty girl, use your words,” Steve said, and the sweet term of endearment made your heart flutter wildly in your chest. 

His middle finger ghosted over your clit through your soaked underwear and your hips bucked upward, but he pulled his hand away before you could feel anything and you suddenly felt so close to crying. “Fingers— Your fingers, Steve. Please.”

“Mhm,” He hummed softly and your eyes were shut but you could tell he was smirking. You were close to playfully calling him an asshole for all of his teasing but your brain was still practically running on autopilot, and then he was speaking again, anyway. “Anything for you.”

Your underwear was pulled off of you in one slow movement and you whimpered when you felt Steve’s middle finger trace through your soaked folds, gathering your slick and leisurely circling your clit. His other hand came up to firmly squeeze one of your breasts through the thin material of your bra that was the last piece of clothing left on your body. 

“Take this off for me, honey,” He told you and you listened almost embarrassingly fast; bra gone and tossed somewhere on his floor in a matter of seconds. 

“Good,” His finger continued teasing your clit, and the thumb of his free hand moved to rub your now exposed nipple. “Good girl.”

You barely had time to process the soft praise and what exactly it did to you before two of his fingers finally entered you and you sucked in the sharpest breath, all thoughts suddenly gone again. 

“Steve…” Was all you could manage to say in the quietest voice as your eyes slipped shut and you focused on the feel of his fingers inside of you, somehow quickly finding and hitting the most perfect spots. 

“You look so good like this,” Steve whispered, fingers slowly picking up speed and making you softly whine at every movement. “Spread out for me and squeezing my fingers so tight. Fuck.”

A part of you wanted to say something back— match his words and tell him how fucking perfect all of this was, how perfect he was— but your brain was effectively mush and all you could do was moan and whimper and mewl in response to him. Lucky for you, that all sounded like music to his ears.  

He added another finger and his thumb found your clit, which made your body jerk harshly off of the bed.

“Steve, fuck. Right… Right there, yeah.”

The rough strokes against your clit pushed you so close to the edge, you could feel the pressure starting to build in your lower stomach. You turned your head, burying your face into his pillow and trying your hardest to hold back the scream you wanted to let out.

“Shit,” He said. “You gonna come, honey?” 

You quickly nodded. “Yes, yeah.”

“Go ahead,” He told you, voice low. “Come for me.”

Your eyes opened and you met his gaze as you did. He looked completely enamored by you, which only made your orgasm hit you a thousand times harder. You could feel your heartbeat pounding in your ears as Steve continued fingering you through your orgasm, trying to prolong it for as long as possible. He withdrew his fingers when he could tell that the overstimulation was becoming too much for you. 

“You’re so good for me,” He said, leaning down to kiss your cheek. “That was so fast.”

Finally, your brain was able to form coherent sentences. “You’re so cocky.”

Steve let out the softest laugh. “Mm, but you love it.”

He was a thousand percent right, but you still shook your head. “Hate it, actually.”

“Doesn’t feel that way,” He said as he pressed the most featherlight touch against your sensitive clit and all you could do was softly whine at the feeling. 

He was smiling as he lay down next to you and pulled you close to him, the side of your head pressing against his chest and one leg tangling with his. It was quiet as your breathing continued to return back to normal and your mind became clearer. After the briefest moment, your hand moved to dip beneath his sweatpants and boxers. 

Steve let out a low groan when your hand found his hard cock before he softly said, “We don’t have to.”

“I want to,” You told him and then moved so that you were straddling his lap again. Your arousal was practically dripping down your thighs and making the hottest mess against his sweatpants. “I need you inside of me.”

“Fuck,” His eyes slipped shut for a brief second as if imagining what was about to happen. “You sure?”

“Very sure. Really sure. Super sure,” You answered, smiling at him. 

Your hands went to grab at the ends of his t-shirt, pushing it upward, and he got the hint and quickly pulled it off. You then lifted your hips so that he could push down his sweatpants and boxers, and when his cock sprang free you let out a soft sound that slightly resembled a gasp. Your hand seemed to take on a mind of its own as it reached out to wrap around his hard length again and your thumb brushed against the tip.  

He let out a strangled noise. “Shit, shit.”

“Is this good?” You asked softly as you slowly started moving your hand. 

“So good. So fucking good.” 

It was nice seeing him become a mess due to your teasing like you’d been because of him a few minutes ago.

After barely a minute, he placed a hand on your wrist to stop your movements. You were about to ask him what was wrong, but then he was leaning over to his nightstand and rummaging through the top drawer to pull out a condom. You quickly grabbed it from him and did all of the work of slipping it on his cock, which he immediately thought was the hottest thing he’d ever seen and he was close to cumming right then and there, but he somehow managed to hold back. 

He so badly wanted to let his eyes fall shut as you slowly lowered onto him, but he kept his gaze on you and he promptly decided that that was probably one of the best decisions he ever made. There was nothing else that felt more like heaven to him than watching you throw your head back and let out the loudest moan as you took him inside of you completely. 

“Fuck, you’re taking me so well,” Steve groaned, still not taking his eyes off of you, and you could only nod in response. 

You didn’t move for a few moments. Instead, you savored and got used to the feeling of being so full of him. When you did finally start moving, lifting yourself ever so slightly and then sinking right back down onto Seve’s length, you let out a string of curses that morphed into soft moans.

Your hands became lost in his hair at some point and he had a near-bruising grip on your hips as he guided your movements, helping you ride him. 

He flipped you two over when he couldn’t take it anymore, hand finding your hip as he pushed deep inside of you. 

“Fuck, Steve!” 

The thrusts were rough and quick but surprisingly didn’t feel as such.

“You feel so good,” He told you. “You’re so fucking perfect for me.”

You could feel yourself clenching around him when he said his words and he squeezed his eyes shut for a second.  

“You gonna come?” You mumbled, brain barely about to form a coherent sentence, but Steve nodded wildly. 

“Yeah. Yeah, honey, so close.”

You mewled. “Mm, me too.” 

Upon hearing that, he let one of his hands slip between your bodies to find your clit. He started circling the sensitive nub, bringing you closer and closer to that edge with him. You clenched around his cock again and your back arched off the bed, hard nipples brushing against his chest. 

You came when his lips abruptly found yours in the messiest kiss; it was a mix of tongues and teeth that was perfect and pushed you over the cliff. You cried out his name again and again and again as your orgasm abruptly hit you, it almost sounded as if you were saying some sort of prayer. Steve followed suit moments after, spilling into the condom with a loud groan after a particularly hard thrust.  

Your heart pounded wildly in your chest and it barely felt like it was slowing down, but eventually it did. Steve’s weight crushed you in the most soothing way possible and he buried his face in your neck, placing soft kisses against the skin. 

You had no idea what time it was and you felt too exhausted to turn your head and look at his nightstand. 

“Do you have to kick me out now?” You asked, mostly joking with your question. 

Steve pulled away from your neck then, eyes meeting yours. “You’re staying the night.”

You were too tired to play into your joke further so you nodded your head at his words and simply tilted your head up to kiss him instead. You two fell asleep just like that for the time being, exhausted bodies and tangled limbs.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。

You smiled when Steve opened the door and you fought the urge to greet him with a hug and kiss like you normally did because in this instance you were holding something behind your back. “Hi.”

“Hi,” He smiled back before giving you a curious look when he noticed that you were hiding something. “What do you got there?”

“A surprise,” You answered as you stepped inside his apartment. “A very important surprise, actually.” 

“Really?”

“Mhm,” You nodded and he looked at you expectantly but you let a silence linger for a few beats to make things more dramatic. After what felt like way too long of a pause, you showed him what you were holding, which at first didn’t look like anything special since all he saw was a gray plastic bag, but then you pulled out the package inside. “They’re curtains for your living room!” 

Steve smiled at you immediately and you could tell he was trying to hold back a laugh. “Finally.” 

“Do I get the ‘best girlfriend ever’ award now?” 

He couldn’t help but laugh a little then as he reached out to pull you into his arms and then he pressed a kiss against the top of your head. “Yes, a thousand percent.”

“And they’re black too so they’ll block out the sun perfectly in the morning,” You told him as you returned the embrace for a brief second and then pulled back. “Come on, let’s put them up now.” 

It took an hour to put the curtains up— the directions were a lot more confusing and meticulous than expected— but once it was done they looked great.  

“Now we can fall asleep out here whenever we want,” You said when you and Steve were settled on his couch.

His hand mindlessly stroked one of your legs that were resting in his lap. “I think I’d much rather be in my bed with you.”

You looked at him, a teasing smile on your lips. “We haven’t had sex on the couch yet, though, and now it’s a possibility because we don’t have to worry about the people across the street looking in.” 

“That’s a great idea,” Steve said, smiling back as his hand moved up to slip beneath your shirt and rest on your waist.

You were slightly tempted to lean into his touch, but you shook your head instead.

“Wait, no, let’s save that for later. We have other important things to do right now,” You said, and when he gave you a confused look, you leaned over to lightly poke his side. “You said you were gonna show me your favorite movie. That was the reason why I came over. Aside from gifting you your curtains, of course.”  

“Oh, yeah,” He nodded as he leaned over to grab the TV remote off of the coffee table. “I haven’t seen this movie in a long time, probably since I was a kid, but for some reason it was the first thing that came to mind when I was thinking about movies I really like.” 

Seconds later, he was pulling up Big Fat Liar, which you didn’t at all expect, but it was the best surprise. The smallest part of you had thought that he was going to out himself as a film bro and force you to watch some Martin Scorcese movie with him. This outcome was a thousand times better. 

“I love this movie,” You told him, smiling. You also hadn’t seen it in forever, but in your eyes, it was still a classic. “It was one of the three that would play on repeat in my house when I was a kid; the other ones were Mulan and the second Spy Kids movie. At one point, my parents hid the DVDs away from me since I played them so much. I did manage to find them, though.” 

Steve gave you an amused smile. “Now I’m imagining a five-year-old you ruining your entire house to find the movies.”

You let out a laugh. “Whatever image you’re coming up with is probably very accurate.” 

“Hey, since we’re on the parent topic, I feel like I need to talk to yours.” 

You immediately laughed again, assuming he was joking, but when he didn’t join in on your laughter or give you a playful smile, you stopped. “Oh, you’re being serious.” 

“As your real boyfriend this time around, I think I should probably meet your parents before we go to a different country again,” He said, playfully smiling at you, but you were certain that he was actually being serious. If it weren’t for his abrupt mention of your parents, you would’ve happily smiled at him bringing up your and his plans for the summer; plans that actually managed to come together pretty fast. 

The day that Steve finished his last final, he came over to your place and you two spent hours upon hours figuring out your plans for the summer; the places you both wanted to go, specific things to do and spots to eat in said places, where to spend the most time and where to spend the least, etc. All of the research was exhausting— you had ended up falling asleep around three in the morning with your head on Steve’s shoulder and your computer opened up in your lap— but it was the good kind of exhausting if that was even possible. The entire thing was impulsive and abrupt, two factors that could’ve easily made the whole thing be deemed as a bad idea, but you truly felt like it wouldn’t be. 

You were quiet for a few moments, processing Steve’s previous words, and then you gave him a quick nod. “Okay, yeah, um, sure.”

He was easily able to pick up that something was at least a little wrong. “Yeah?”

“Yup,” You nodded again, looking away from him then and focusing on the TV. You were about to shift the conversation back to talking about the movie, but he started talking before you could.

“If you don’t want them to meet me yet, that’s okay.” 

“No, no, you’re right. It would make sense if you met them. Like, if we did a quick phone call or whatever,” You said and then let out a sigh. You got quiet again and tried to figure out the best way to say what you really didn’t want to; talking about your parents was a hard feat. You had barely gotten to the point where you felt like you could easily do it with Eddie or Robin or anyone else.

Your eyes were still on the TV when you spoke again and decided to be entirely honest with Steve. “It’s just… It’s really hard talking to them sometimes. Like, talking about myself with them. Life stuff. It always feels like they won’t care.”

Steve’s hand found yours, intertwining them and giving a light squeeze. “I’m sure that’s not true.”

“You’d be surprised,” You told him and then finally met his eyes again. There was a soft look on his face that you wanted to get rid of, so you quickly tried to make things lighthearted and a lot less serious and sad. “You don’t need to talk to them. The only parental approval you need is from Robin, which you have, so everything’s fine.”

Steve nodded and didn’t push you further on everything, even though you could tell he kind of wanted to. Weird and strained parent relationships weren’t foreign to him, but you could tell that he was wondering if it really was only just about that. It was a thought that you quickly wanted to shut down.

“And I promise this really isn’t about you. It’s completely about them. If I had actual good parents, I would love to tell them about you and how much I adore you, and how I can’t wait to spend the summer with you. And I’d probably go into an annoyingly deep amount of detail about what all of our plans are,” You rambled and the smile he gave you warmed your heart. “But, I don’t have good parents, so we don’t need to worry about telling them anything.”

“So, if they randomly call when we’re in London, that’s when you’ll break the news?” His question was playful and lighthearted and just what you wanted to hear right then.

“Yes, exactly, that sounds like perfect timing,” You answered, laughing a little. “Y’know this whole parent conversation is making me realize that your parents are probably gonna hate when you tell them that we’re together, or I guess, “back” together. Your mom really didn’t like me.” 

It was a weird set of circumstances that you weren’t entirely sure how it would be solved. Even before Steve told them that you two had broken up because you “cheated,” you could tell that his mom wasn’t at all a fan of you and wanted Steve to be with anyone else. Probably a girl handpicked from a specific list. 

“Remember when you told me that it’s my life, and I should do what I want because I have to live it?” He asked, and you nodded, the smallest smile on your face.

“I’m what you want?” It was a question that you were certain of the answer to, but you still had the urge to ask it. 

Steve nodded as he pulled your intertwined hands up so that he could press a quick kiss to the back of yours. “Always. You just got the ‘best girlfriend ever’ award, remember?”

You smiled wider as you nodded back. “Ah yes, you can never break up with me, no matter what your parents say, because of the curtains.”

“Exactly.”

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。

The party had been an idea since mid-March. Robin randomly suggested it to you and Vickie one night— “How fucking cool would it be if we threw a graduation party for Talia?”— and you both immediately agreed. 

And now, a month and a half later, here it was. Over thirty people were crammed into your guys’ apartment, but everyone was having fun— especially Talia, which was all that really mattered— so it made the mess that you’d all have to clean up in the morning worth it. 

It was pretty safe to say that you were drunk. It was actually a statement that could’ve been said just an hour into the party, but it was even more certain now as the second hour moved into the third. 

You currently lingered by Eddie who, right at the start of the party, had appointed himself as the one in charge of the music, which didn’t surprise any of you. He was sitting with your laptop that was connected to the speakers set up in the living room. Every few minutes you jokingly suggested songs for him to play and he kept playfully shooing you away and vetoed all of your suggestions. When he actually did play the Pitbull song you requested, you laughed for what felt like five minutes straight. 

Eddie shook his head at you, but there was a smile on his face, like he wanted to laugh at your current antics. “You’re so drunk right now.” 

You had enough self-awareness to know that you couldn’t argue with his words, so you simply stuck your tongue out at him instead. 

He couldn’t hold back his laugh that time. “And that confirms it.” 

You started walking away then and gave him an enthusiastic thumbs up when he told you to “Stay safe!” as you wandered off. You headed into the kitchen for no particular reason— a part of you wanted another drink, but you could also recognize how bad of an idea that would be. You considered grabbing some food; a room-temperature slice of pizza didn’t sound like the worst thing in the world right then. 

A pair of hands abruptly grabbing your waist made you jump and yelp. The touch didn’t feel entirely unfamiliar, though, so when you turned and saw Steve in front of you, you were quick to smile at him even though your heart was still racing.  

You couldn’t remember the last time you’d seen him tonight, and you also couldn’t remember how exactly you two had gotten split up in the first place. 

“Sorry for scaring you.” 

That was suddenly the last thing on your drunken mind. 

“Hi,” You said, practically jumping into his arms. “Where’ve you been?”

He laughed a bit at your enthusiasm. “Talking to Robin. She was rambling about this one summer class that she signed up for, and then she roped me into playing a drinking game version of Uno with her and a couple of her music major friends.” 

“Oh, that makes sense. That’s one of her favorite things to do at a party. It gets very intense so I always stay away,” You said, and then noticed his flushed cheeks and lazy smile which made you laugh a little. “How much were you forced to drink during the game?” 

“A lot,” He admitted and then proceeded to give you the most exaggerated sad look that you’d probably ever seen. “Turns out I kinda suck at Uno.”

You let out a soft “Aw” and leaned in to kiss his cheek, playing into how “sad” he was. “You should’ve let me warn you how good Robin is at that game. That’s why we never play it at game night anymore.” 

Steve’s hands settled on your waist and he pulled you close. You so badly wanted to kiss him at that moment, and there was so much going on around you both right then that you were certain that nobody would’ve paid attention to the two of you making out in the kitchen. 

Instead of doing that though, you pulled away from him abruptly. Your hand found his and you started pulling him out of the kitchen.

“Where are we going?” He asked, and you weren’t looking at him, but you could hear the amused smile in his voice. 

“I need to show you something in my room,” You answered and then took a quick glance at him. “It’s super important.”

When the door was closed behind you two, you looked at Steve and he gave you a certain look. 

“What did you wanna show me?”

“Hmm, weirdly enough, I completely forgot,” You gave him a quick shrug and a small smile before getting closer to him and circling your arms around his torso.

“Oh my god, did you bring me in here to seduce me?” He asked, returning the embrace immediately, and the playfulness in his tone made you let out the softest laugh. 

“Maybe a teeny tiny little bit.”

“That’s very cute.” 

You lifted your head from his chest and finally kissed him. It felt like it had been years since the last time you’d kissed him and it was definitely your inebriation making you so hyperbolic and over-dramatic because the actual last time was definitely just a few hours ago, but you still savored the feeling of his lips on yours. 

Steve’s hand found your cheek and he deepened the kiss immediately. You inwardly sighed in contentment and your hands fisted themselves in the shirt he was wearing and pulled him impossibly closer to you. 

It was when he started guiding you back toward your bed that the tiniest bit of logical thinking suddenly sunk in and you broke the heated kiss. “Wait, shit, anyone could walk in.”

Steve considered your words for a moment and then walked over to your door to lock it. “Problem solved.”

The door being locked didn’t change the fact that you could still be interrupted by any sort of harsh knock against it, but who were you to deny his logic in this moment and the stupidly happy smile on his face?

You let out a breath of a laugh as you nodded in agreement. “Problem solved.” 

It was a blur of movements that led you two to laying on your bed— Steve on top of you and settled perfectly between your legs. Your skirt had ridden up into oblivion and his jeans-covered hard-on was rubbing against you in the best way possible. 

“I can’t wait to spend the summer with you,” You mumbled at one point. Steve’s mouth had moved from your lips to your jaw and then down to your neck. 

“Just the summer?” He mumbled against your skin. “You planning to get rid of me after that?”

You mock gasped. “Oh no, you caught me.”

He nipped harshly at your neck, which made you giggle. 

One of your hands came up to find his face, pulling him away from your neck so you could meet his eyes in the darkness. “I can’t wait to spend the summer with you, and also many, many days and years after that.”

“Mm, that’s what I like to hear.”

You two were very drunk and it was obvious that most of your words were exaggerated, but your previous statement didn’t entirely feel that way. 

Steve’s lips found yours again and you let out a happy hum in response. His hand moved higher and higher on your thigh which made you moan softly, and you felt so tempted to grab his hand and guide it right where you needed it to be. 

Before you could do any of that or even contemplate it further, there was a loud knock on your door and then you heard Robin’s voice. “Are you two in there?” 

“No!” You yelled out loud enough for her to hear. “Nobody’s in here.”

“We’re about to do the cake, so your presence out here is very importantly needed!” 

The smallest part of you wanted to say no and resume what you were doing with Steve, but you couldn’t.

Your eyes met Steve’s for a second before you shut them. “Okay, we’re coming!” 

“Thank you!”

Steve pressed a quick peck against your lips and then rolled off of you. “We’ll pick this up later.”

You followed suit and stood up from your bed, readjusting your skirt in the process. “I can’t promise I won’t pass out before then.”

“In that case, I’ll make sure to carry you back here and tuck you into bed,” He said with a smile as he circled an arm around you.

You sighed dreamily and leaned into his touch. “Ugh, you’re too good to me.”

He laughed a bit and then pressed a kiss to the side of your head. “You’re also way too good to me. Remember last night at the arcade? You actually let me beat you at air hockey.”

You quickly shook your head. “Shh, you weren’t supposed to know that.”

“I’m sorry, but you made it very obvious,” He said, laughing again, and that time you couldn’t help but laugh too. 

You got the sudden urge to pull him back into your bed. Not even to do anything that would lead to both of your clothes coming off in the process, but to just simply talk to him. About nothing and everything until you fell asleep and woke up with what you assumed would be the worst headache. It had only been a few weeks, but you had quickly gotten to the point where you wanted to tell everything to Steve; every one of your random thoughts or whatever else was on your mind. And you always did, and he did the same. 

Of course, you knew that you couldn’t do that right in this moment because another knock from Robin was inevitable. So you instead laced Steve’s hand with yours and led you both back into the noise of the party. 

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。

next part!

taglist (lmk if you want to be added or taken off<333); @eddiernunson , @loulouloueh , @the-aster , @blckburd , @totally-bogus-timelady , @yujyujj , @irhdifartzamfyaa , @mochminnie , @munsonssweets , @blckbrrybasket , @xprloki , @definitionwanderlust , @dwcode , @sun-fiower-seed , @keerysfolklore , @damon-loves-pie , @lodeddiperrodrick , @bisexual-and-intellectual , @munsonburn3r , @negomi123 , @khena , @facexthexsunshine , @seatbacksandtraytables , @suckerfordylansstuff , @lilacccs , @thehairington86 , @welcometohellsock , @dreamerjj , @newyorkangelbaby

(if your user is crossed out it means i can’t tag you</3)

[tenzingfilm]

Exciting news is brewing in the world of cinema: Hollywood stars Tom Hiddleston and Willem Dafoe are in Kathmandu, Nepal, to begin work on the highly anticipated biographical drama Tenzing.

Insiders suggest they’re gearing up to bring Tenzing Norgay Sherpa extraordinary story to life.

Jennifer Peedom is at the helm, with spring 2025 marked as the start of principal photography, and Kathmandu, rich in mountaineering history, is the perfect backdrop.

Here’s what we know so far.

The Insider Scoop

According to our source in India, Tom Hiddleston, who’ll play Sir Edmund Hillary, and Willem Dafoe, cast as Colonel John Hunt, are in Kathmandu to kick off pre‑production and possibly even some early filming.

This fits the spring 2025 timeline that the team announced.

While the production hasn’t made a formal announcement yet, word is that Tenzing is moving full steam ahead in Nepal.

About the Film: Tenzing

Tenzing celebrates Tenzing Norgay, the Nepalese‑Indian Sherpa who, alongside Sir Edmund Hillary, became one of the first people to summit Mount Everest on May 29, 1953.

The filmmakers aim to spotlight his remarkable journey, honor his cultural heritage, and highlight the vital role Sherpas play in mountaineering, stories that often get glossed over.

See‑Saw Films is producing, with support from Apple Original Films, promising both breathtaking visuals and a narrative with real heart.

The Cast

Tom Hiddleston as Sir Edmund Hillary: Best known as Loki in the Marvel universe, Hiddleston will portray the determined explorer who forged an iconic partnership with Norgay.

Willem Dafoe as Colonel John Hunt: The Oscar‑nominated actor (seen in Platoon and Poor Things) takes on the role of the expedition leader whose strategy made the historic ascent possible.

Tenzing Norgay: Casting for the legendary Sherpa is still under wraps, with the production committed to finding someone who can truly embody his spirit.

Casting for Tenzing Norgay

One intriguing possibility floating around is Tenzing Norgay Trainor, the actor and grandson of the climber, known for his work in Disney’s Liv and Maddie and Netflix’s Abominable.

His personal connection could bring an extra layer of authenticity, though the filmmakers have yet to confirm any names.

The Director

Jennifer Peedom, an Australian filmmaker who earned the Sherpa community’s trust through her documentaries Sherpa (2015) and Mountain (2017), is directing.

With a screenplay by Luke Davies (Lion), you can expect an approach that’s both respectful and deeply moving.

Why Kathmandu?

Kathmandu isn’t just a convenient shooting spot; it’s the heart of this story.

Roughly 160 kilometers from Everest Base Camp, its bustling markets, ancient temples like Boudhanath Stupa and Pashupatinath, and easy access to the Himalayas make it ideal for scenes depicting Norgay’s early life and the expedition’s final preparations.

If our intel is right, the cast and crew are already in full swing.

Hollywood’s History with Nepal

Nepal’s cinematic appeal isn’t new: Doctor Strange (2016) highlighted its mystical temples and winding streets, while Everest (2015) captured the raw power of the mountain itself.

With Tenzing, audiences worldwide will likely get another breathtaking glimpse of the Himalayas, and perhaps plan their own journeys there.

Production Details

Filming is slated to span both Nepal and New Zealand, with Kathmandu as the central hub.

Producers Liz Watts, Emile Sherman, and Iain Canning, known for their attention to detail, are overseeing the project, and Norbu Tenzing, the climber’s son, is on board as an executive producer to ensure cultural alignment.

While our source hints at significant activity already underway, the team seems determined to keep specifics close to the vest, perhaps to avoid crowds during filming.

[ms-demeanor]

*screaming*

*continued screaming*

Okay. So. My introductory Visual C# class.

The professor for that class was Alice. Alice was the person who spoke in the introductory video and the person who we were supposed to email if we had any issues.

But all of the assignments, lectures, and quizzes were written and delivered by Bob. On the youtube channel "Bob's programming academy." The quizzes included Bob's name, like "if you do X will it return the string ProfessorBob, Professor, Bob, or Professor.Bob?"

This class was really frustrating for me because it was structured in such a way that you could easily pass the class with zero knowledge of the subject - it was totally based on quizzes that you could take an unlimited number of times and we *had* weekly programming assignments but they weren't graded so there was no incentive to do them (and look, if I wanted to teach myself programming with no incentives I could fail for several years to do that on my own, I don't need to pay fifty bucks a unit for that; the reason I am in a *class* and am not self-taught is because I need external motivation. That's why I sought out a class).

Also when there *was* a problem with an instruction that was unclear in one of the videos for the assignments, or if I thought I'd done something correctly that was very much incorrect, it wasn't Alice who had created the instructions, it was Bob - in 2017 no less - and I didn't really feel like I could ask Alice for help with an ungraded assignment that she hadn't written.

So. Now. My Python class.

Today is the first day of class. Professor is Charles.

I go to the mandatory attendance quiz and it is word-for-word the same mandatory attendance quiz as the C# class, down to the final question "what is your personal email address so I can keep in contact with you after the semester?"

I look at the syllabus.

Class grade is based on quizzes. We have assignments but none of them are graded. There's no textbook, just a series of videos from Professor Bob's Programming Academy.

So I'd been toying with staying at this school and trying to take more CS classes instead of going to another school, just to try to keep my records easier to manage, but since it seems like that *ENTIRE DEPARTMENT* is five Professor Bobs in a trenchcoat, I will probably be going somewhere else (and once again trying to force myself to do projects that I already know are *good for me to do* but *useless for the class and a massive time suck*)

I should drop this class. I should drop this class and apply for the other school so that I can start taking classes there in the spring because if I take this class and then go into the object oriented programming class in the spring and it's another professor bob sock puppet and I end up taking twelve units of programming classes where all I learn is how to google answers in a short time frame (something I already know how to do thanks) I am going to fucking lose it.

Also, again: I have a Bachelor's Degree. I spent five years at a community college when I was getting that degree. I took probably a dozen online classes starting in 2005 and going until 2011 in the process of getting that degree.

THIS bullshit, this "I'm your professor but actually I'm not and all the materials were created by someone else in the department or came directly from the textbook publisher and there is no writing and there are no assignments everything is multiple choice quizzes that are automatically graded" is *dogshit.*

This is NOT how online classes worked back in my day, not even online math classes, and as much as I know adjuncts are getting fucked over by academia in general, this isn't something that these professors should be getting paid as much as they are to do. Alice checked whether or not students turned in a hello world assignment and gave a pass/fail grades for three discussion boards that were responses to youtube videos. Nothing else in the class required her input. If this is the level of instruction that students are getting then the class is already automated and the students shouldn't have to pay for it.

This is crap. This is an incredible level of crap.

[martiandmichelle]

Yes, of course that's me (Marti) in the photo. My bottom half is dressed pretty conservatively, but my top half, well, isn't. . .

But this post isn't just about me, it's also about two ladies who have given me permission to write about them: Sherry and Liz. Our story started in the spring of 2017 and lasted until the fall of 2021. I haven't written about it here because they asked me not to. But, from nowhere, I heard from Liz a few weeks ago wanting the three of us to get together once again - their life circumstances had changed and they could be more free and open. (Of course, mine has changed, too.) They had been best friends for many years and had both married wealthy men. When I first met them at a hotel bar in Florida, Sherry was 55 and Liz was 54. I would have been 66.

I spoke with them by phone a few times since 2021. Sherry had gone through a protracted, rather bad divorce after she caught her husband with a younger woman. Liz had nursed her ailing husband until he died in 2024. They were both ready for new lives now in their early 60's. So they thought I would be a good place to start - or restart, rather. They'll be coming to visit me here in the mountains in a few weeks. It will be great to see them again.

I'm telling you this now because I want to finally talk about my relationship with them those years between 2017 and 2021. AND, YES, IT IS VERY SEXUAL.

Oh, and just so I don't have to write about it again, they are both fairly petite women, about my height (5'4"), slim, with small breasts. Sherry is a brunette while Liz is blond.

Sorry, but I just wanted to introduce the story here; I'll write about it in upcoming posts. I've gotten several messages and comments lately saying how much my "story" posts were appreciated and that they wished I'd write more of them (with Roxy's help). This will always be a hot story in my history - to me anyway.

More soon!

[marimayscarlett]

The untitled album turns 6 today 🎶💿

On this day in 2019, Rammstein released their seventh studio album. What was significant and different compared to previous albums was that this one had no written title on the cover—just an image of a matchstick. As a result, it came to be known as the “untitled” or “matchstick” album.

Richard's recurring statement in past interviews that no new album was planned is widely known. After the LIFAD tour ended in 2013, the band took a year off, and after one more meeting, another year. The general consensus was that they didn’t want to pressure themselves or each other, since the working phase for the LIFAD album had been very exhausting in terms of group dynamics. In an interview in 2015, Till revealed that the band would be meeting in September 2015 for a casual, creative gathering. In October 2015, this photo was published on the official website, showing the band improvising in Schneider’s studio:

It was decided that the band would work between the festival tours of 2016 and 2017, and that rest periods should be respected. Richard worked on his demos together with Till; the final results were presented to the rest of the band during their meetings and discussed.

As the first result of that creative period, the song 'Ramm4' was introduced during the 2016 tour. Flake commented: “We wanted to show the world that we are still together and that we are creating new music.” To this day, the song hasn’t been officially released, although it was used again as the opening song on last year’s tour.

At the end of 2016, work resumed. In March 2017, Richard mentioned in this interview for the Rammstein in Paris film that at that point, 35 almost-finished songs existed, and that the wait would be worth it. Over the course of the year, these drafts were reduced to 28. Sky van Hoff also mentioned that same year that he would be working with Rammstein. Work on the compositions continued until spring 2018, apparently under a rule of four working days per week (Monday through Thursday). The song “Deutschland” in particular weighed heavily on the band - the lyrics prompted them to repeatedly look back on their own past and exchange their views:“Everyone of us expressed his opinion in detail. All of us talked about our experiences and feelings with respect to Deutschland. Some of us even told stories about themselves that I never heard before.” (Deutschland Photobook)

Recording took place in spring 2018 at La Fabrique Studios near Nîmes in southern France, with recordings made for a total of 16 songs.

Jacob Hellner was no longer involved, his role was taken over by Olsen Involtini. In late summer 2018, the orchestral and choir parts were recorded in Minsk. In December of the same year, 11 of the 16 songs were mixed by Rich Costey, Olsen Involtini, and Richard in Santa Monica, California.

As a teaser for the album, a tracklist with placeholders for letters and durations was released in 2019, hinting at the song titles:

DEUTSCHLAND – 05:26

+ADI+ – 03:00

++++ DICH – 03:00

A+S+Ä+D+R – 03:00

++X – 03:00

P+PP+ – 03:00

+AS +CH ++E++ – 03:00

+IA+AN+ – 03:00

WE++ WE+ – 03:00

+A++OO – 03:00

+ALL++ANN – 03:00

Audio snippets, each featuring a short instrumental segment from one of the songs, gave further clues to the tracks.

Starting on the album’s release day, a large truck toured various cities in Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Austria. At each stop, visitors were given a special code they could use to win 2x2 tickets to the sold-out shows of the 2019 Europe Stadium Tour.

The album itself was visually dominated by the colors white and white. A making of video was released showing the photo shoot, which featured photographer Jes Larsen working with the band.

More little facts:

If you ordered the album in Germany from Saturn or MediaMarkt, you received a free promotional T-shirt, which has still never been officially released. Another special promotion took place in Long Beach, California: if you bought the album at the store Fingerprints Music, you had the chance to receive a free Rammstein logo tattoo.

The song “Deutschland” triggered a wave of outrage in Germany, as it was frequently misinterpreted and the music video was considered offensiven - particularly due to its references to the Holocaust.

The music video for “Radio” was projected onto a building wall in Berlin-Mitte on April 25, 2019, at 8:55 p.m., shortly before the album’s release. About 1000 fans attened the presentation:

Olsen Involtini also took on the role of mediator during the creative process. Richard reported the following: “Because of his presence, the energy between Paul and I changed dramatically. I don’t know why. It’s almost like couples therapy. It’s not about going there and getting advice from a therapist. It’s more about if you go to a therapist and you’re sitting in front of another person, you’re listening to what the other person is saying, and while they’re saying something, you’re thinking of strategies on how to fight against it. So, all of a sudden, I was listening to what he was saying and he was listening to what I was going to say. Individually, we are very, very different. Black and white. If he says ‘Yes,’ I say ‘No.’ It’s always the same story. But somehow we need that for the Rammstein universe.” (Revolver)

Sources: rammsteinworld rammwiki affenknecht discogs dw.com kerrang

[drvscarlett]

About You Pt 21

Sebastian Vettel x Webber!Reader

Summary: Everyone knows about the history of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber. But there's a well kept story within the paddock about Sebastian Vettel and another Webber. This is that story.

A/N: our final chapter! thank you so much for reading this series. will be now working on jenson's fic and maybe an about you special chapter if you folks like that??? hehe enjoy

About You Series

2019, Suzuka Circuit

Mark watched the couple have a table for themselves. The body language alone could talk about how delighted Sebastian was and how comfortable Y/N is back in his presence. He smiled as he sips his cup of coffee.

"Uncle Mark, who is the pretty girl?" Margarette asked.

The little girl didn't stop asking question after recognizing Y/N as the girl who saved her from getting lost in Singapore. It took a lot of begging for her to part ways with Y/N so she could talk to Sebastian privately. Mark smiles thinking how Sebastian doesn't seem to be the only Vettel that Y/N charmed now.

"My sister and your Papa's..." Mark answers and he debates how to answer Sebastian's relationship with Y/N "bestfriend, your Papa's bestfriend"

Margarette's eyes widened in surprise, "if that is Papa's bestfriend then why don't I see her a lot?"

"Its complicated"Mark sips his coffee again to hide his nervousness.

"Compwicayed?"

The confused look in her face seems to signal to Mark that its the first time that she encountered the word. Mark tried to wrack his mind a way to explain the situation to the kid.

"You'll get it when you get older"Mark assures.

"But Y/N should come visit me more often if he is Papa's bestfriend" Margarette insists.

"I sure hope so"

Back at the other table, the conversation seems to be more quiet as if they were both not sure which part should they talk about first. After so many years of waiting for each other, they just felt speechless because this moment seems unreal. Sebastian feels like any second now, the alarm would ring and everything will fade away.

"All those years? You were just here in Japan?"Sebastian could not believe it.

She nods with a shy smile on her face.

"The community is well nice here. A good rehab to help me walk again. People here respects privacy" she enumerates.

"And since when did you start walking again?"

"I think spring of 2017"Y/N recalls "It was not easy to walk again and it really was more of a mental strength issue.."

Her right hand fiddles with the necklace, a habit that she never outgrew. Sebastian finds comfort that there may be some changes in her life but she is still the same old girl that he met years ago.

His eyes trailed at the pendant on the necklace and that's when Sebastian noticed the familiar piece.

"You kept it?"

"Why would I throw it away?" she asked

"I thought you hated me" Sebastian knew that he deserves to be hated for everything he said that night.

"And I thought you hated me"she rebuts.

The driver immediately shakes his head sideways. There is a higher chance that he would hate himself before hating Y/N. It was frankly impossible for Y/N to do anything to make him hate her.

"I searched for you ever since I went back to my senses that I said some hurtful things that I didn't mean that night" Sebastian held her free hand.

The feeling of holding her hand again just felt right.

"I wanted to hold your hand again and we will go to your rehab sessions. I wanted to pick you up when you fall. I wanted to cheer you on when you take your steps again. But I wasn't there because my stupid words created a wedge between us" he continues.

There were tears on her eyes. Sebastian doesn't know it but she remembers all those times where she suffered alone. She didn't have anyone, just strangers or staffs in the hospitals. Maybe she have tried to imagine Sebastian being there for her as well during that time.

"But I'm not going to let you walk alone again, I'm here to stay. I promised myself to be a better man when you come back so you don't have to leave again. I promised that while you rebuild yourself, I will also do that so that when the time comes and we meet again, we can get a shot at this." Sebastian's words were determined and sincere.

Y/N looks at him hopefully. However, her eyes found the figure of little Margarette and remember the dilemma that she may put her through.

"What about Hana and..." she whispers "Margarette?"

"We're coparenting and Hana has long moved on with a guy in Switzerland name is Connor and they are pretty serious" Sebastian updates.

She nods in understanding.

"But Margarette, I can't let go of her" Sebastian admits "She is my world ever since we got seperated"

This time, Y/N's hand other hand found its way on top of Sebastian's. It was like a gentle way of her assuring that she wouldn't ask for that.

"I would never ask to seperate the two of you" she states "if you would have me then I would like to not just get to know you again but get to know Margarette as well"

It brings tears of happiness in Sebastian's eyes. It was like everything was finally falling back to places. Even if it took so long to happen, he was so glad that it was happening.

"We'll be okay?"

And Y/N nods.

2019, Interlagos

F1Gossips In a surprise turn of events, Sebastian Vettel reunites with Y/N Webber as they arrive together for media day

User11 MY PARENTS!!!!

User7 everybody stay calm, whats the procedure!!! User8 no one is calm, we have prayed for this for years

User9 they look so happy

User18 ikr, even if seb has a bad car, he smiles like he is a world champion here User17 and lets talk about how i was so happy to see Y/N again

User81 was there! and i saw her and i couldnt believe my eyes!

User5 she is so brave and she is so strong. we hope she feels the warm support

Webber Returns for an Australian driver

The paddock was buzzing with excitement as news spread around the return of the infamous Y/N Webber to the public eye. After disappearing for several years, she walks to the free practice of Interlagos with a rising australian driver, Oscar Piastri.

She confirms in an interview that she will be back to work with her brother Mark, who is currently Piastri's manager. After the successful win of Piastri in Eurocup last October, Y/N announced Piastri is now moving up to Formula 3 in 2020. The reason for their presence in Interlagos is purely out of the invitation of the Renault garage but she states its a way to motivate Piastri to find his direction.

"It won't be difficult to move Oscar up. I definitely think that in a few years or so then he would be competing here in Interlagos with the rest of the Formula 1 drivers" states Y/N.

When asked about her personal life, Y/N redirects focus towards Piastri's growing career. However, the clear joy from some of the old drivers have been evident with her return. Lewis Hamilton described that "it was nice to have an old friend back in the paddock" and Y/N has been photographed with the Mercedes driver together with Scuderia Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel in several free practice pictures.

2019, Yas Marina Circuit

When Sebastian called asking that he needs help and he sent a location for a very expensive jewelry shop, Mark almost had a heart attack. He probably broke all the speed limits just to get to the store at a records time and prepared his fist to strangle the German driver.

"Where is that piece of shit?" he shouts as he opens the door.

A startled Sebastian rises from one of the waiting area chairs.

"Do you have to be so angry?" Sebastian complained.

Mark tried his best to calm himself down. Thinking happy thoughts and world peace before he says his next few words.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Mark asked slowly "Why are you buying a ring?"

It was now Sebastian's turn to look at Mark as if he was crazy. Mark just kept his harsh glare towards Sebastian and it was like they were transported to those years when they were crashing with each other in Red Bull.

"Did you get her pregnant? I swear to God sebastian, I'm going to kill you right here and right now" Mark threatens.

"What? No!"

"Then why the hell are you buying a ring?"

"Because I love her"

Suddenly the buzzing of the shop suddenly goes quiet with the declaration of love of Sebastian. Mark's glare softened with the realization that maybe he overreacted and overthinked the whole thing.

"You thought" Sebastian catches on "That I'm proposing because I got her pregnant? Do you really think I will just marry her out of obligation?"

"Hey, its my job as a brother to overthink that all men are never good enough for my sister" Mark defended himself.

Sebastian shakes his head in disbelief

"Just help me pick out, I need your opinion because maybe the stuffs she liked changed over time" Sebastian went back to the original dilemma that he called Mark for.

Laid out in front of them were different cuts of diamonds in different designs. Sebastian was torn whether to pick something simple stone or should it be an extravagant as a marquise.

"They told me that I should give her something heirloom since its just an engagement ring but then I told them I already gave them that ring years before as a promise so this has to be different..."

While Sebastian is ranting, Mark was trying his best not to show emotions. He was reeling back to moments of a younger Y/N who wished to have her very own prince charming and now here she was about to be swept away by his former teammate.

"The oval one with the pretty blue diamonds all over it"Mark pointed out.

"Yeah, that was like the necklace I gave her for her birthday" Sebastian picks it up delicately "You think she will like it?"

"She would love it"

"Okay please ring this up and charge me" Sebastian instructs one of the sales assistant present.

Mark couldn't believe what was happening. A part of him was overjoyed to be included in the ring picking but there was this other part that knows that he will have to give her away.

"I thought you two are taking things slow?" Mark wondered.

"That we are but I just want to be ready" Sebastian agrees.

"Ready?"

Sebastian runs a hand over his hair, a sheepish smile on his face. It was the same kind of smile that he has whenever he talks about Y/N. Mark doesn't know how he missed it all these years.

"We waited for each other to be better version of ourselves. We gave each other time and now we meet again. We have some catch up to do and so but after that I feel like its just a few months before we level up this relationship" Sebastian explains.

Mark nods in understanding

"I'm really serious about her, Mark. I know I have been very stupid before but I have grown and I have learned. I'm not hurting her or even losing her ever again"

There was something that made Mark resign and give him the complete sign of approval. He knows how much Y/N have also loved Sebastian and maybe it was about time for Y/N to make her own family with him.

"Just take good care of her, she deserves good things"

"That's what I intend to promise her when I marry her" Sebastian assures.

2020, Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya

A group of drivers were huddled up in a room and they were all engaged in a very serious conversation. One may think that this was a grid meeting but it seems like it was all centered to the whiteboard with the messy writing "how will Seb propose?".

Sebastian was actually quite desperate to ask help and initially he sent the message to the groupchat he had with Charles and Mick. However, he wasn't particularly tech savvy so it was sent to the grid group chat.

With everyone finding out the information, everyone is pitching in their ideas.

"I know, you should set up a picnic and then propose to her while eating" Daniel suggested.

"And then a bee or a wasp will invade their space and it will ruin the whole thing" Kimi countered.

"What about a stargazing" Charles pitched in "And then you get this telescope and then she looks at it then you get on one knee and when she looks back at you she is surprised"

"That's actually a good idea" the room murmurs in agreement.

"But what if there are no stars?" Sebastian worriedly asked.

So there goes the stargazing idea scratched out in the perfect proposal plan.

"Just propose to her at a Grand Prix" Lewis suggested "We're always in a Grand Prix"

"But its too much attention and I'm sure they want this to be intimate" the young Max Verstappen voiced out.

"But isn't it romantic to have a grand gesture at the place where their love story revolved?" Carlos backed up Lewis' suggestion.

The Red Bull driver shrugged in response.

"I think the best way of proposing would be in your flat or when you are feeling domestic, its a moment for you two and its going to give you a more real speech without all the fanfares and pressure" Max explained.

Charles shakes his head violently.

"No, you see this is why romance is dead." Charles argues.

The whole room was chaotic and ideas were pitched left and right. Sebastian felt like banging his head to the table but the heaviness of the box in his pocket is much more heavier.

"I still can't believe you didn't try to propose during the holidays" George exclaimed "That would have been perfect and no fuss at all"

"He tried to but then he got food poisoning during Christmas and flights got cancelled for New Year" Mick retells the unfortunate story.

"Maybe its the universe way of telling you that its not the right time"Sergio joked.

It immediately earned him a kick for his chair from Charles and Mick.

"We have waited for this for years so don't jinx it" Charles whined.

Their whole meeting was interrupted by a knock, a steward announced that the testing will commence in 10 minutes so they should be back to their garages.

"Don't worry Seb, we will help you out on this" Kimi patted his former teammate's back.

"Consider my suggestion" Max insists.

2020, somewhere in Japan

Usually its already halfway through the season already but June rolls in without any races. The whole world seems to stop because of the pandemic and its something very frustrating for most. However, here in Japan, Sebastian and Y/N were locked down since March and somehow they are enjoying the domesticity of life.

"Isn't it my shift today to cook?" Sebastian asked as he saunters to the kitchen.

The smell of a freshly cooked breakfast made him smile. He is still getting used how lucky he was that he gets to wake up with this kind of view.

"It was but you had a long round of meetings last night so I figured I'll do the cooking today" Y/N smiled.

Sebastian hugs her from behind and clings to her as she cooks.

"How was your meeting last night?"she wonders.

"Ehh could have been an email" Sebastian shrugs "And maybe I need to get back in shape to race for July"

Worry flashes across her face and it was not missed by Sebastian. She knows how much he misses racing but she wanted him healthy and safe.

"July, isn't that too soon? Is it safe?" she questioned.

"Relax" Sebastian assures "They are making sure that they are going to lessen the risk and the crowds. Its still up for negotiation"

"I supposed if Formula 1 is coming back then maybe Formula 3 is also going to follow soon" she sighs.

"Our vacation is ending" Sebastian jokes.

Y/N turns off the stove and faces Sebastian. She returns his embrace and stayed in that hug as if a bubble protecting her from whatever is happening in the outside world.

"I just want to stay like this forever" she mutters.

She knows its quite an awful statement. Some people have a hard time and they have to go back to their old lives soon. However, for the two of them, it was the break and the catching up that they needed.

Little did she know, these past few months seem to be Sebastian's vision of the future. It was something that perhaps what he looks forward to retirement.

"We can stay like this forever" Sebastian agrees "Just domestic life, farming, cooking, reading"

"I still have to work for Oscar" she reminds.

"Then you can work for Oscar and then we will be following you around" Sebastian smiles.

"What?" she laughs "You mean to tell me you won't be racing?"

It feels weird for Sebastian to reach that realization that he may have to retire some time soon. He loved what he did but he thinks its time for him to take on a new role and just enjoy life in a slower pace.

"I wanna quit racing and I wanna marry you" Sebastian finally makes the statement.

Y/N looks at him as if he misspoke something but Sebastian pulls out the box. He carries it everywhere with him just incase he decides its the perfect time to propose. He has been carrying it with him ever since this pandemic started because it was only during that time that he realized that moments are fleeting. If the opportunity exist then go and seize it.

Maybe this isn't in a fancy place to ask for marriage or maybe its not too publicized but this is the moment he has been waiting for. He would be a total idiot to lose it again.

"You are the love of my life that I have waited for a very long time now" Sebastian goes down on his knees and opening box "I have already achieved a lot of stuffs and won my fair share of championship or podiums. I achieved most of my dreams already and now I want to focus on my dreams of spending life with you. If you would have me then I would like more peaceful mornings like this one. I want to be that person that you come home after a long day at work. I want you and Margarette in those spontaneous grocery trips or the midnight snacks. I see you being a part of my life for as long as I live so if you will have me then I promise to be the best husband you could ask for"

The whole speech was not prepared. Even if Sebastian has visualized this speech for a while now, he seems to be underprepared and spewing out nonsense. He could only hope to hear a positive response for her.

"You are an idiot proposing to me in our kitchen" she finally says

A breath of relief rushes over Sebastian. He stands up to wipe her tears away and places the ring on her finger.

"Hey, I haven't said yes yet!" she jokes.

"I don't see you saying no"

2021, Spain

F1Gossips This year's silly season seems to be pointing in Spain. Drivers both current and former were spotted in their suits in a church in Spain.

User6 who is getting married???

User7 MARRIED???? User9 is jenson making poor choices again lol User10 thats just mean.

User5 i dont see pictures of sebastian here. thats weird, that's suspicious

User19 maybe he wasnt invited User55 lmao, why would they not invite seb?? User3 what if its seb's wedding User15 time to take your delulu pills User3

User13 let me innn, i wanna know who's marriage is this that got everyone in the new grid and old grid in.

User17 can drive to survive cover this event??

Y/NPrivate we waited for so long for this moment to happen. i still can't believe that i get to marry my first love. this relationship was a rollercoaster and we have spent years before coming to terms about our feelings. all i can say is everything is worth it because now i am building a family with you. thank you for bringing joy into my life. thank you for waiting for us to be the healed version of ourselves. and like i said, i'll be yours for eternity. kisses

CharlesLeclerc i swear i just finished crying and now i am crying again??!!

Y/NPrivate you always cry with ferrari -seb CharlesLeclerc you better watch out!! Y/NPrivate what are they gonna do fire me? i mean they already picked a replacement for me so they don't scare me -seb CharlesLeclerc Y/N YOUR HUSBAND IS RUDE, GET HIM OFF YOUR ACCOUNT Y/NPrivate its a conjugal account now hahaha

MickSchumacher papa would have been so happy to see his two favorite people finally get together

Y/NPrivate we wish he was there to see us

JensonButton im really happy for you Y/N, seb you know the rest mate

Y/NPrivate thanks Jenson, seb also sends his gratitude. PS we got to chat soon about the girl you are seeing JensonButton whatttt thats crazyyyyyy how did you know that Y/NPrivate duh i have eyes -seb JensonButton make your own instagram account seb!

Hanna_Prater its a very lovely wedding, thank you for inviting us!!

Y/NPrivate thank you for designing the venue, i really love it hanna! Hanna_Prater were coparents so only the best for you! Y/NPrivate love u hanna! sending my regards to connor as well

[vestaignis]

Вот так цветёт дикая китайская слива - Мэйхуа. Мэйхуа - самый главный поэтический символ в Китае. Слива входит и в "4 благородных", и в "три друга зимы". Её цветение приходится на конец зимы-начало весны. В Китае слива мэйхуа была вестником весны, нередко её цветение совпадало с празднованием китайского Нового года — Праздника весны 春节 чунь-цзе, который отмечается в конце января-начале февраля по лунному календарю.

Родиной мэйхуа считается район реки Янцзы, откуда она широко распространилась по всей Восточной Азии, включая Японию, Корею, Тайвань, Вьетнам. Произрастает на каменистых склонах гор на высоте от 300 до 2500 метров над уровнем моря. Мэйхуа зацветает раньше других цветов и выдерживает морозы до -50°. Нежные цветы нередко покрывает снег, создавая удивител��ный контраст. Цветы сливы отличаются разнообразием: есть белые, розовые, красные.

В эпоху Тан (618-907) в китайской живописи появляется отдельное направление — живопись мэйхуа, которое окончательно оформилось в эпоху Сун (960-1279). 

This is how the wild Chinese plum, Meihua, blooms. Meihua is the most important poetic symbol in China. Plum is included in both the "4 noble ones" and the "three friends of winter". Its flowering occurs at the end of winter-the beginning of spring. In China, the Meihua plum was the herald of spring, often its flowering coincided with the celebration of the Chinese New Year — the Spring Festival 春节 Chun-tse, which is celebrated in late January-early February according to the lunar calendar.

The birthplace of Meihua is considered to be the Yangtze River region, from where it has spread widely throughout East Asia, including Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and Vietnam. It grows on rocky mountain slopes at an altitude of 300 to 2500 meters above sea level. Meihua blooms earlier than other flowers and withstands frosts up to -50 °. Delicate flowers are often covered with snow, creating an amazing contrast. Plum flowers are diverse: there are white, pink, red.

In the Tang era (618-907), a separate direction appeared in Chinese painting — Meihua painting, which finally took shape in the Song era (960-1279).

Источник://anashina.com/sliva-meihua/, //russian.news.cn/importnews/2019-02/01/c_137791307_10.htm, //russian.people.com.cn/n3/2017/0130/c31516-9172556-5.html, /chainka.com/blog/simvolika/255-tsvetushchaya-sliva-mejkhua, bogachkova1957.livejournal.com/86338.html, /koryo-saram.site/glavnyj-simvol-nachinayushhejsya-vesny-i-zhizni-czvety-slivy-매화/, /dveimperii.ru/articles/tsvetuschaya-dikaya-sliva.

[honeyspeeches]

Thinking about Keith’s flashbacks with the context of him becoming leader again and knowing the MFE focused scenes were added in… could it be possible that Keith actually punched Lance, not James? Or the punch replaced a Klance fight? I have no proof of this, but it could explain odd placement and missing cadets if they changed the lineup to add James. (+ James face in the split screen looks different than the others. it's more detailed than even Keith and way bigger? it just stands out so much) 

We never learned how the rivalry started, only Lance saying they were neck and neck, and the flashback shows Keith knocking Lance’s plane out of formation, not James. Other than everyone getting scolded I’m not sure what James would single Keith out for? Also a lot of stuff Lance said about Keith in s1 was just assuming the worst / that he would choose violence first. 

If it was the case that Keith punched/fought Lance (and forgot lol), that would have set the precedent for him assuming Keith would shoot first ask questions later. (Honestly I don’t see Lance saying the same line as James, I doubt he would throw dead parents in Keith’s face just because he rammed his plane but idk)

Using s7 to establish how they started vs where they ended up in s8 (sunset scene/endgame) would have been interesting. We’d finally have context for how much the lion switch era meant to both of them too. Idk what i’m saying, this may as well be a headcanon, but it crossed my mind and I’d love to know if you had any thoughts 

Thanks for your ask anon! It’s easiest for me to answer this by breaking it down point by point so bare with me for a sec haha

Was Lance replaced with James in season 7?

“Knowing the MFE focused scenes were added in… [...] (+ James face in the split screen looks different than the others. it's more detailed than even Keith and way bigger? it just stands out so much)”

I don’t think the MFE scenes were added in post/mid-production because all of their scenes are in style and they flow pretty well with the storyline. This podcast with Zehra Fezal (the voice actor for Rizavi) also tells us that they already did the voice casting for the MFEs a little bit after the release of season 2 (05:03, she says Spring 2017 specifically, which also confirms my timeline in the analysis) and she stated that she thought she was going to be in season 3 (which would just be crazy I mean season three released a couple months after the casting call like they would NOT have had enough time to produce that properly if that was the case as we’ve already seen).

So, the MFEs were always going to be a part of season 7, however, their presence was probably increased because the executives saw this as an opportunity to create a spin-off show with them. Typically in animation, the design of a character comes first along with their story and it is first AFTER their character is developed as well as their role in the story that they start casting (see the art of ATLA for a lot of details in producing an animated show). So the MFEs have been a part of the project for a long time, but I think the feedback they received for approvals included that they should use the MFEs as an opportunity for a spin-off show (again, this was wayyyy before the reception for all the rest of the seasons; I think they had a lot of high hopes), and it was most likely an early enough feedback for them to develop scenes for them. Again, I haven’t found any of the MFE scenes to be out of style or suspected of being added in last minute. I think James’ split view in s7e1 is bigger because they wanted to emphasize him as an important character.

“Could it be possible that Keith actually punched Lance, not James? Or the punch replaced a Klance fight?”

No, I don’t think so. Speaking just generally, when you write a convincing romance between two love interests you don’t want to associate violence with them. Keith punching Lance would speak massively against any potential romance they would have (which we know they aimed for).

Keith was always supposed to punch James, because it was meant to emphasise the contrast between their dynamics. In Voltron is a Love Story, I establish that Keith and Allura are foiled against each other to emphasise points of contrasts in their dynamic with Lance. Allura always rejects Lance but Keith is always receptive of him. Allura doesn't love Lance but Keith does. Well, that was when Lance was the main character, but in season 7, Keith is the main character, and Lance is the one who gets a foil (again, switching their roles as I said here and here).

In my very first analysis I pointed out how Keith’s dynamic with James is weirdly similar to his dynamic with Lance. At the time I thought that this was the creators' attempt at a do-over, because I thought they didn’t like Lance, but that’s not true as it turns out, since both LM AND JDS have spoken out to say that Lance is their favorite character (here, here and here). And if I’m going to do this in good faith, I need to not assume anything in bad faith. All I can do is observe and draw conclusions based on what I see. And what I see is a character who is very like Lance in many ways: 

Both want to be (fighter) pilots:

both are jealous of Keith’s skills (though even their jealousy is contrasted. James denies Keith's skills, but Lance doesn't, rather he wants to live up to it)

both get crushes on girls…

both look up a lot to Shiro

both have short brown hair and similar appearance, 

both had conflicts with Keith (though Keith never got violent with Lance… and Lance never insulted Keith’s parents) 

and like Lance, the rest of James' MFE crew is introduced through him. 

James is introduced first, then everyone else is introduced after him, named by Iverson, as members of his squadron:

James is a direct foil to Lance to emphasise the contrast between their dynamics. James looks down on Keith, but Lance admires him (which I also established in Voltron is a Love Story). James doesn't love Keith, but Lance does.

"We never learned how the rivalry started, only Lance saying they were neck and neck"

We do learn how the rivalry started. It started here:

[Season 1, Episode 1: The Rise of Voltron, 04:55]

As I said in Voltron is a Love Story, Iverson is breeding Lance's animosity towards Keith and fueling his already present insecurities by comparing him directly to Keith and calling him a failure. We all know that the "rivalry" was one-sided, which means that Lance wants to paint this picture that he was somehow on equal footing with Keith this entire time. But we know this isn't true, because they weren't even on the same track until Keith gets booted. That is why Keith doesn't remember him, because he was never competition for Keith. Lance saying that they were "neck and neck" is purely his bravado talking, because he wants it to be true.

"and the flashback shows Keith knocking Lance’s plane out of formation, not James. Other than everyone getting scolded I’m not sure what James would single Keith out for?"

James singles Keith out because he doesn't think Keith deserves the spot in the program. James is an overachiever, and seems to want to succeed very badly, putting a lot of effort in his skills. He is very jealous by all of the attention that Keith gets based on his raw talent, because he feels that it is a slight against all of his hard work, which is emphasised by this:

[Season 7, Episode 1: A Little Adventure, 10:44]

Basically he's saying that Keith never would have made it if Shiro hadn't called in a favor and gotten him in, implying that he doesn't think Keith is good enough to be there.

But Lance doesn't think this. He's never thought badly about Keith's skills, again because he admires Keith a lot, which is why he emulates Keith's flying style after the incident that you're talking about

[Season 1, Episode 1: The Rise of Voltron ; Season 7, Episode 1: A Little Adventure]

and he calls him cool in season 2:

[Season 2, Episode 10: Escape From Beta Traz, 13:49]

"Also a lot of stuff Lance said about Keith in s1 was just assuming the worst / that he would choose violence first. If it was the case that Keith punched/fought Lance (and forgot lol), that would have set the precedent for him assuming Keith would shoot first ask questions later."

well... the only time he actually says anything like that is here:

[Season 2, Episode 8: The Blade of Marmora, 03:53]

but he says this after having witnessed Keith in battle, where he is impulsive and doesn't think things through:

[Season 1, Episode 3: Return of the Gladiator, 05:03]

[Season 1, Episode 7: Return of the Balmera, 07:26]

[Season 1, Episode 10: Collection and Extraction, 10:17]

Lance's point with that wasn't that Keith is violent, it was that Keith is impulsive and a bit of a hothead. When they're trying to build an alliance, he's not the one you'd want to speak for your case, because his temper easily rises. Lance is making a very good point, to the point that even Keith is kinda looking like, "uhhh, he's right."

Lance doesn't assume the worst of him, he's merely pointing out a pattern of behaviour that they have all witnessed at this point. Again, Lance admires Keith a lot and two episodes after this he calls him cool with a very fond look on his face, so he definitely doesn't think the worst of him.

"Using s7 to establish how they started vs where they ended up in s8 (sunset scene/endgame) would have been interesting. We’d finally have context for how much the lion switch era meant to both of them too."

I think we were definitely meant to see more of Lance’s dynamic with Keith back then, to further emphasize the contrast between him and James, but as I found in my last analysis, Lance was cut out of a lot of flashbacks (not just Keith’s). That’s why he’s missing in the flashback from episode one, cause it was most likely meant to further inform on their dynamic now, as you say. My best guess would be that either he tells James to knock it off or he reacts to their fight in a way that was meant to be explored in the other flashbacks as well, but I can't say that for sure.

As for the lion swap, we already have context from the first two seasons. The first two seasons are meant to build up to that moment in season 3. We see several times that Lance struggles with his confidence, and we also see several times Keith's struggle to work in a team and connecting with other people besides Shiro. Season 3 was meant to be the start of Lance and Keith's relationship changing exponentially (for the better), had Shiro stayed dead.

I hope I've clarified some things!<3

[elrielsgarden]

Elriel: A Note on the ACOTAR Coloring Book

I don't know how I missed this before, but the official ACOTAR coloring book, which contains art for the first three books, indicates the couples SJM knew would happen in some of the spinoff books.

The coloring book was published in 2017, a year before A Court of Frost and Starlight was released. When the spinoff novels were announced, SJM said at one point that while writing A Court of Wings and Ruin she had stories she wanted to tell about some of the major side characters. We now know this included Nesta, and her love story with Cassian in A Court of Silver Flames.

So the coloring book: it features art of scenes between Nesta & Cassian and Elain & Azriel. Given how limited the coloring book is to be able to cover all three original books, this seems quite significant.

An image of Nesta standing before Cassian, her face set in what one could call her "I don't want Cassian to know I'm reading smut" face. The quote from A Court of Wings and Ruin is this:

The moment my shoes scuffed against the stone floor, she shot straight up, back going stiff, closing her book. Her gray-blue eyes didn't so much as widen as they beheld me. As I took her in. Nesta had been beautiful as a human woman. As High Fae, she was devastating.

The coloring book also chose to include the scene in which Azriel loans Elain Truth-Teller before the final battle of A Court of Wings and Ruin. The quote shared in this:

"This is Truth-Teller," Azriel told Elain. Elain's eyes widened at the obsidian-hilted blade in his scarred hand. The runes on the dark scabbard. "It has never failed me once," the shadowsinger said, the midday sun seeming to be devoured by the dark blade. "Some people say it is magic and will always strike true." He gently took her hand and pressed the hilt of the legendary blade into it. "It will serve you well."

We also see another image focused solely on Nesta, the moment in which she emerges from the Cauldron as High Fae in A Court of Mist and Fury.

I knew that she was different. From however Elain had been Made . . . Nesta was different. Even before she took her first breath, I felt it. As if the Cauldron in making her . . . had been forced to give more than it wanted. As if Nesta had fought even after she went under, and had decided that of she was to be dragged into hell, she was taking that Cauldron with her.

Elain, too, is the focus of another illustration, this time from A Court of Thorns and Roses.

"These bulbs," Elain said, pointing with a gloved hand to a cluster of purple-and0white flowers, "came all the way from the tulip fields of the continent. Father promised that next spring he'll take me to see them. He claims that for mile after mile, there's nothing but these flowers." She patted the rich, dark soil. The little garden beneath the window was hers: every bloom and shrub had been picked and planted by hand; she would allow no one else to care for it. Even the weeding and the watering she did on her own.

It is no accident or coincidence that the two other Archeron sisters are highlighted this way in the coloring book. Nor is it coincidental that both Nessian and Elriel scenes are included either. No, it is not "proof" of Elriel. Look to the books themselves for that. However, it is another little piece in a long collection that all point in the same direction: Elain's book, and her love story with Azriel.

[bisexualmcqueen]

some apoc au thangs

fun fact the 1st image was one of my first ever paper doll attempts so they have a couple versions too. theyre drawn here about 2ish yrs into the apocalypse.

and the last pic is a reference to 'excited about my new toothbrush!' its the apocalypse and he is always looking for expired tubes of toothpaste.

ALSO the gold bolt necklace, i drew it once in 2017 but both the art of @/yogurtgut and @/kkelsey--spring inspired me to bring it back, its a fun detail to draw :D

the canon apoc au art (car) is a modified version of my previous apoc au lightning design- neither one is final, still working on him!!