#I don't know if the others had any set voices either; because I can't remember if I read about them before or after I decided to watch-

[atomicsuperrobot]

Rereading again, and it's really interesting to note just how different the early art style is from the later style- and especially from the anime itself. With the manga, you can at least see where things came from; in the anime, it's a fairly radical departure that is only barely recognizable as what it's meant to be, at least in regards to Joker himself, specifically.

The early manga has lots of sharp points and angles, creating a character that, even if he behaves in largely similar ways, still feels almost entirely different from his animated counterpart. No wonder I was so put off by the anime's designs, originally- and that I had gotten the impression that he was older than he actually wound up being, or was type-cast as. Funny how I now largely prefer his anime design and personality, even if it's altogether not that different!

Fun fact, when I first started reading, before I had started watching the anime (and even for a bit after I had started), the voice I had for Joker in my head was the same as Kaito's, from Magic Kaito- which, as far as anime goes, would be from Detective Conan and Magic Kaito 1412, specifically. Even if he seemed older, at least in looks, in my head he very much still read as a bratty teenager, it would seem.

[lonepower]

ok you know what i need more bodysharing/brain roommates. malevolent got me feeling some kind of way and I need MORE. tvtropes has like 15 different categories that are all sort-of-but-not-really under the umbrella of what I'm looking for, and sorting through all of that is a little too unwieldy, so I'm turning to you guys. 

key factors of the specific flavor of "multiple consciousnesses stuck in the same meat suit" that I'm looking for are:

any variation of, a human (or this universe's equivalent [so like, an elf where elves are commonplace would count]) has another, nonhuman consciousness attached to them and only them in such a way that the two can communicate, and subsequently

they Banter Constantly

^that^ is probably the most important qualifier here tbh

second most important qualifier is that they are not separated at the end (this obv. doesn't apply if the thing is still ongoing). it's okay if the passenger gets a new body (cf. subnautica) or is freed from their binding (cf. baldur's gate), as long as the partnership isn't broken.

Related: they don't actually have to SHARE a body (so enchanted objects, an AI implant, a Mysterious Disembodied Voice, an imaginary friend, etc., also count). they just have to be tethered to each other such that the passenger cannot move around or function on their own without a host. (I think this is part of why it's hard to narrow down on tvtropes: it's more about the dynamic than about the specific mechanism of "possession".)

Third most important qualifier is that only the current host can hear/communicate with the passenger, even if other people around them are aware of the passenger's existence.

two humans stuck in the same body is okay as long as the other criteria are met, but I would prefer it if the host is human(/equivalent) and the passenger is not (or vice versa if the passenger/possessor is the one with control of the body, as with things like the yeerks, most demonic possession, etc).

it doesn't have to be romantic. they don't even have to like each other. conversely, it absolutely can be romantic too.

They DO have to be the POV character/s for a significant majority (like, at least 60-75%) of the work, because the internal back-and-forth is the entire point.

Bonus points if: they do actually share a body; they are either never physically separated either, or are rejoined at the end (voluntarily or otherwise); passenger has lots of setting-relevant knowledge/an alien or fantastical perspective, while host shows passenger what it's like to be Alive™; despite constantly butting heads, host and passenger work patently better as a team; super extra bonus points for all of the above 

My favorite examples of what I am looking for:

Malevolent podcast (super extra bonus points x10000000000000000)

Venom movies (this is probably the codifier for most people here tbh) (super extra bonus points)

Subnautica: Below Zero (AL-AN gets their own body but stays with Robin, and it hits all of the others)

Forspoken (super extra bonus points)

the "a bagel. two bagels." vine

(I know there's a couple others that I'm just blanking on. If I remember them, I'll add them.)

other things that have moments or flavors of this, but aren't focused on it/don't quite hit all of them:

the Bartimaeus trilogy had it at the end a little, but, well. it didn't last very long. (i STILL haven't recovered from that ending and i was, what? 15 or something? g o d)

the emperor in bg3 kiiiinda counts since they're magically bound to the player/party and can't exist outside their prison, but they do have their own body and are not nearly as chatty as I'm  looking for. also, while only the holders of the prism can hear them, All of the holders of the prism can hear them and I'd really prefer one-on-one.

I think Death Note would also count? I read it in like 6th grade and never finished it so my memory is patchy At Best, but since nobody else can interact with Ryuk, he's bound to whoever holds the notebook, and he's the supplier of the holder's powers, it's close enough that I would accept something similar.

Slay the Princess has the bickering in spades and fulfills the "do not separate" criterion depending on your ending, although the jury's out on whether the voices are Actually their own entities or just symptoms of you losing it. Also, nobody in it is human. The bickering is definitely good enough to make up for it though. (The fact that it's Jonny Sims clearly having a grand old time might have something to do with it...)

with the caveat that I have not watched any of it, i think jadzia (and?) dax from ds9 miiight count, but they're part of an ensemble cast and thus fail the "pov characters for a majority of the work" and "we get to hear their constant internal banter" criteria.

things I tried that fit at least some criteria, but didn't like for various reasons:

the good demon by jimmy cajoleas. promising concept, but 1) the protagonist smokes, which is an instant and unnegotiable dealbreaker (seriously, who makes their protagonist do that in The Year Of Our Lord Anything Later Than 1950?? and to a child? DEATH. ONE MILLION YEARS DUNGEON.), and 2) I looked it up and they separate at the end anyways, so there's even LESS of a point. 

the venom comics. honestly I just... really dislike superhero comics, there's always way too many of them to keep track of + I'm very shallow and they're usually unbearably ugly to me (and also having started with the movies I just found comics!eddie really unpleasant tbh) 

parasyte manga. perfect concept, great dynamic, but its particular brand of body horror was... not great for me and I had to put it down. (horror in and of itself isn't a dealbreaker, though, so if you've got something similar that doesn't involve lots of hands bent at nauseating angles, I'll gladly take it.)

Cyberpunk 77 has the two-humans flavor of this and hits almost all of the other criteria, but i viscerally hated literally everything about j*hnny s*lverhand with every fiber of my being and the rest of the game was so mediocre already that i just gave up

....I know it's a highly specific/potentially niche dynamic, but if anyone has any recs, PUHLEEASE hmu!!! I'm looking for original work rather than fanfiction, but apart from that, format doesn't matter at all (although if it's some like super difficult indie game or something, I probably won't get very far lol). the MAIN points are 1) bickering and 2) host-and-passenger, so if you have something that hits those but not the others, feel free to share it anyway!

[wayfayrr]

My love mine all mine

Continuation of I bet on losing dogs

It's my birthday so that means I get to treat myself by writing a continuation of my Roman Empire fic <3

It's a reverse Isekai but this time it's post the event that caused him to isekai, and he's got a bit more to deal with now - but he'll be fine because he's by your side, and he won't let anything change that there is so much lore going into this fic, so there might be more to come in this saga yet :3c

[masterlist]

I’m still here? 

No - no I’m not in Hyrule now, something feels different enough that I know that. If I was still in Hyrule then that ‘sky’ would be here if I wasn’t hallucinating him. Besides that though, something feels different, I’m not in as much pain although everything feels heavier. Almost - no don’t get your hopes up yet link.

Moving still takes a painful amount of effort, like my wounds are still there but now everything suddenly weighs triple on top of those. It was the shift from feeling floaty and detached to suddenly being forced back into a body, one that doesn’t feel like my own, that makes everything feel so undeniably real. Now it’s just a matter of opening my eyes to see what’s actually happened to me. 

The room I’m in looks so similar to [name’s] when we ended up here one time chasing the shadow, from what I can see lying down like this anyway. Don’t get your hopes up until you see them link. There’s a blanket over me too, the very same that they lent to me the first time I was here; the feeling of it over me makes it the fact that I can’t barely move somewhat more bearable as I let out a low groan. Which seemed to almost summon the person who’s probably responsible for taking me in. 

“[Na]-”

“link what the FUCK did you do?”

Wait, what do they me-

“how the HELL do I have memories of you being my best friend growing up now - I know I met you for the first time in hyrule. you aren't supposed to exist as a person here and yet.”

“[name] I don't -”

“I have the most vivid memory of everything. including having to pick you and sky up passed out on the street because apparently the two of you decided to go out on a bender or something - I don't know but I can remember it somehow.”

That rant seems to have cooled them off for now, not that they're mad just concerned… not that I'm not also. Those memories they mentioned too, I know what they're talking about; it's trippy. I have two sets of my life, one that I know is true and this other one that feels like a learned lie. A cover up. It feels similar to a backstory I learned to lie during espionage, but it's information about [name’s] world. Memories of a whole life lived here, like it's preparing me… or trying to adjust something new being forced into it that shouldn't be here.

“I don't - I think it's cause… I. You said sky is here too?” 

“Yeah, he's the reason I'm so certain these memories aren't real, he only got included when I found him when I went out to buy supplies for you. Something feels off about all of this, and I think you two have the answers I need.”

Did sky..? No he wouldn't have. Would he? 

“I think so too.”

“Can you tell me what you think it was?”

My voice is dead in my throat, I can't tell them what I did. They'll lose any respect they had for me won't they? I don't even know for certain if sky did the same… but I could have sworn he was there when I - I…He wouldn't have done that to himself, surely not. Even though I could've said the same for myself before everything.

“I… would prefer not to, if that's alright.”

“Okay link, I won't push you. Either way, it's nice to be back at your side even if it's slightly different than what I'm used to.”

That's all it takes to finally break my guard and for the tears to start flowing. I can finally rest, there isn’t any expectation of me here, no pressure to be the picture-perfect hero, no nothing. I can just exist here with my lover for the rest of our lives. 

“Can you tell me why everything feels so different now though?”

“Link, haven’t you been able to tell? You aren’t a Hylian anymore. Whatever you did, you’re a human now and you've got a whole recorded history here on earth. You and sky both. Speaking of him, he’s downstairs helping himself to stuff; been awake a lot longer than you have, should probably go check on him really. You feeling alright enough to come with me?”

Moving my limbs still feels different but now it isn’t impossible to move them and seeing the smile on [name’s] face from me just sitting up to move is more than worth the slight discomfort. Falling into their open arms is just another perk of it, being helped to my feet whilst being allowed to cling to them? It’s a dream come true. But despite this there’s something that doesn’t feel right, why is sky here… I’ll have to ask him myself. 

“S- why are you drinking all of my milk straight from the bottle sky?”

“...Wanna get drunk.”

“It's milk. You’re never going to get drunk off of drinking milk.”

With the two of them distracted by each other, [name] still letting me cling to their arm thankfully, I get a proper look at him. It’s sky, it’s really sky, but he’s human. All of his scars are the same asides from a new one on his neck and a few burns on his hands ones that look like they come from holding a sword. Fi must have tried to stop him. The strangest thing is seeing him with short rounded ears though - I can’t imagine what I look like to him. This has to be the first time I’ve seen him trying so desperately to get drunk though, he saw you do it. He’s drinking to forget, like you have so many times in the past. 

“What do you mean of course I will. Why do you think milk bars were so popular in hyrule?”

“But you aren’t hylian now sky. You’re a human now, and we don’t get drunk from milk.”

“You - we… don’t? Ah. Well. That explains a lot of things then.”

“Did everyone think that I was an addict? Oh my, that explains the ‘interventions’ each of you had with me. Even my boyfriends thought I was an alcoholic.”

The sigh they let out before resting their head against me could make me an addict, as ironic as that is. Although that does bring up the question of how everything is going to be so different now, we’re going to have to relearn a lot of what we’ve always known as fact. But it’ll be by [name’s] side. And I’ll do anything to keep it this way.

[erikahenningsen]

14 or 43, either rejanis!

14. A kiss to the stomach

The fact that Janis is now a person who gets to make out with Regina George in her bedroom after school is, even three months into their relationship, mind-blowing.

Of course, it took them several months to get on speaking terms again, let alone hanging out alone together.

In all the ways that Janis imagined them kissing—although for a period of several years Janis only fantasized that Regina would kiss her so Janis could punch her in the face and then tell the entire school—it was never Janis who made the first move.

Janis remembers it like it was yesterday (and, okay, it was only a few weeks ago): they were sitting in Regina's backyard, soaking in the last vestiges of the summer air before the leaves started turning and Regina started wearing leather pants again. Regina had looked so breathtakingly beautiful in the light of the setting sun, laughing at something Janis had said, and Janis suddenly couldn't stand living her life having not kissed Regina George (that disastrous sixth grade spin-the-bottle game notwithstanding).

So now Janis finds herself on a Thursday afternoon, her mouth on Regina's as they recline on Regina's bed, hands wandering over warm curves and soft skin.

They still haven't graduated past making out and some heavy over-the-clothes petting. And Janis respects Regina's boundaries. She really does. It's just that the fact that Regina apparently has boundaries now has taken some time to wrap her mind around.

Janis toys with the hem of Regina's shirt, fingers aching to slide underneath, flexing in the material, and she decides there can't be any harm in asking.

"Can I take this off?" Janis murmurs against Regina's mouth, frankly impressed that she still retains the ability to speak in sentences with the scent of Regina's perfume enveloping her and warm hands roaming over her back.

Regina stills, and is quiet for so long that Janis starts to feel a creeping sense of dread.

"Janis," Regina whispers, pulling back a little. "You have to understand that I..." She pauses again. "I do want you to."

"Okay?" Janis says, like it's a question, because that didn't exactly sound like a yes.

"But I'm not—I don't look how you might expect," Regina says, so quietly, her eyes not meeting Janis's. "I have scars, and I'm still working on losing the weight from..."

She doesn't finish the sentence, and she doesn't need to. They've talked about this, obviously—the things Regina did to Janis, and the things Janis did to her in return. Janis knows Regina has a lot of insecurities about her body. But she never realized that this was what was holding them back.

"Regina, I'm sorry," Janis says, but Regina shakes her head quickly.

"I don't want you to apologize," she says. "I just want you to... manage your expectations."

Janis, frankly, can't imagine a more ridiculous idea than finally seeing Regina—all of Regina—and being anything other than elated, but she just nods, and Regina nods in return.

Slowly, Janis pushes up Regina's shirt, not pulling it all the way off, but just past Regina's bra, revealing inch by inch pale, smooth skin that Janis can't tear her eyes away from.

There is, in fact, a scar that runs down and across Regina's side, the skin puckered and pale but no less beautiful. On either side of Regina's lower stomach are silvery, thin stretch marks, much like Janis has on her own body in other places.

After a moment, Janis realizes that she's just staring, slightly open-mouthed, so she leans forward and gives Regina a reassuring kiss.

"You're so beautiful," she whispers, her hand finally brushing over Regina's skin with no barriers. She feels Regina's stomach muscles tighten under her touch.

"I bet you say that to all the girls," Regina replies. The way her voice quivers tells Janis she's using humor to deflect her anxiety.

"Well, I only mean it when I say it to you," Janis teases back.

Janis starts trailing kisses down Regina's mouth, over her chin, to the divot between her collarbones, and then down the center of her abdomen until she's eye level with Regina's bellybutton. Regina tenses, holding her breath, and Janis looks up at her. Regina's cheeks are flushed, eyes dark. Janis never, ever gets tired of the sight.

Carefully, tenderly, Janis presses a kiss to one of the stretch marks. Though Regina's skin is warm, it erupts in goosebumps, and Janis feels a surge of lust at the realization that she is the one causing these reactions.

Janis moves across Regina's stomach until each stretch mark has been softly kissed and Regina's breath starts coming in little pants. Once she finishes, she makes her way back up to Regina's mouth, murmuring, "Gorgeous," and punctuating it with a kiss.

"You're so cheesy," Regina says, a little breathlessly.

"Keep complaining and you won't get your reward," Janis says, mock-threateningly.

Regina's eyes narrow. "Reward?"

"Yeah," Janis says.

Then she sits up and pulls off her own shirt.

Regina doesn't complain again after that.

[lowkeyremi]

The lust in his eyes was very noticeable by anyone who tried hard enough to see it.

Keigo was not even trying to hide it either. His sexiness was overbearing and you could feel it from across the room.

"He's looking over here again.." Your friend says unaware of the relationship between you and Keigo. You'd tell her, but because of your jobs it's hard to go public. He's a pro-hero and a double agent while you're an underground hero. The media would go crazy if they knew about you two. There would be a mixture of shock, anger, maybe even respect, but the Hero Commission has advised against going public... strongly.

"Really?" You ask and take a sip of whatever your friend has ordered you. Honestly your attention was lost long ago. Keigo has kept your attention all night.

As an underground hero you'd usually avoid huge social gatherings like these but Keigo convinced you to go. Popular heroes like Endeavor, Best Jeanist, and even Mirko were standing around posing, being interviewed, talking to other heroes, etc. Keigo had noticed your discomfort right away, so being as cheeky as he is he texted you to meet him in a secluded area ten minutes after he walked over there.

When you went over to him the blond started complimenting you. He talked about how pretty you look in your dress, he praised you for doing your hair and makeup, and so on. That was about two hours ago...

"Yeah, I think he wants to fuck you because if those aren't bedroom eyes then I don't know what is." She squeals and wiggles her brows at you.

A real smile invaded your face for maybe the 3rd time tonight. You were being uptight because of the Commission's words. Even though this is a private event, you didn't want to risk it. Keigo clearly didn't care (not surprising at all) because he was openly flirting with you.

You were pulled out of your thoughts by a tap on your shoulder. "May I have a dance with you, beautiful?" Some hero you couldn't bother to remember asks you. Several men and women had already asked something similar which you had kindly turned down.

"I'm good than-" A cheeky arm wrapped around your waist and you began to panic.

"What business do you have with my wife?" Keigo questions and you about have a heart attack.

"Hawks?! Wife... oh my- I'm so sorry. I didn't know." The hero scurries off and you glare at your husband.

You couldn't even get a word in because your friend yells in shock and excitement, "you're married?! To Hawks?!" You hold a finger to your lips and your eyes widen. Its no use though because people are already looking at you and Keigo, whispering things you can't hear.

In seconds there's a TV crew in your face.

"Number two pro hero, Hawks has been secretly married. What is it like being his wife?" Some lady with a mic asks.

Some other guy asks, "How long have you two been married?"

If you were overwhelmed before than you're extremely overwhelmed now.

Your friend looks at you a frown on her face as she tries to apologize for bringing attention over to you two.

Keigo scoops you up bridal style, and flies out of an open window, "Adios, paparazzi~" he says.

When you two get far enough away he lands and sets you down, "darling... i'm so sorry. I just had enough, you were hit on like eight times and it made my stomach drop." He says softly.

You glare at him, "that's no excuse Keigo! I am your wife. Which means I married you, which means I'm not going to be swayed by some random hero asking me out! Do you have any trust in me?!" You shout at him, anger seeping through your tone.

"It's not you baby, its me.. I fear you'll find someone better suited for you..." his voice is small as he speaks.

"Keigo Takami. How long have we been together for?" you ask sternly.

His golden eyes meet yours, "three years."

"Not married, how long have we been together in general?" you ask clearing up your question.

"Oh.. forever." He says with a weak smile.

"Exactly, which means I have no reason to leave you!" A sigh escapes your lips.

You gesture for him to come closer, he does. You cup his face and kiss him softly.

You can tell he wants more from the way he squeezes your hips but you pull back with a lazy smirk.

"You are going to get a fucking earful from the Commission." you say with a dry chuckle.

He pales at your statement.

"Oh shit... they're gonna skin me alive..." he groans.

"Should have thought about that before basically telling all of Japan I'm yours." You say with a shrug.

He scoops you up bridal style again and flies you two home.

"It was totally worth it though." He smirks.

You roll your eyes at him, your husband is something else.

[aziraphales-library]

Heya!

I've read a LOT of GO fics in my time, but I can't remember if I've seen crossovers/AUs of the following movies with Aziraphale/Crowley, can you help please?

So my favourite rom coms of all time are the following, and I'd love GO versions (if they don't exist I may have to write them)!

French Kiss (Meg Ryan and Kevin Kline)

You've Got Mail (Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks)

When Harry Met Sally (Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal)

Runaway Bride (Julia Roberts and Richard Gere)

Never Been Kissed (Drew Barrymore)

I won't bother asking about Pretty Woman because I've read so many versions with either of them in either role lmaooo (and I have loved Every. Single. One.)

Or basically any late 80s/early 90s rom coms with Meg Ryan (except Sleepless in Seattle because I find it incredibly boring) or Julia Roberts!

Thank you so much for everything you do! You've helped me discover so many amazing fics and writers and it is much appreciated!!! 💖💖😇😎

Hello there!

Did you know there is a whole collection from the Good Omens Rom-Com Event that was run a couple years ago? You might find what you're looking for there! (Some of the fics are unfinished so keep that in mind)

We have previously recommended a bunch of You've Got Mail/She Loves Me fics HERE, so check those out.

As for the other ones you've asked about:

French Kiss AU:

A Bit of Crumpet by Fyre [E]

With a handsome, successful fiance and a respectable home in Manhattan, Aziraphale Fell thought his life was more than adequate. He never expected to be jilted in a long-distance telephone call and so he sets out for England to find out exactly what's going on and gets a lot more than he bargained for.

When Harry Met Sally AU:

it had to be you by curtaincall [M]

“What I’m saying,” said Aziraphale, looking fixedly ahead, “and please don’t take this as a personal insult in any way, is that an angel and a demon can’t be friends.”

“Why not?”

“Because,” said Aziraphale, firmly. “It’s against the order of things. You’re supposed to tempt. I’m supposed to thwart. We can’t go being friends.”

*

A canon-divergent AU inspired by When Harry Met Sally.

I don't know of any fics with your two last wishes but there is also:

Notting Hill AU:

Soho by Lurlur [E]

Aziraphale lives a quiet kind of life, running a quiet specialist bookshop in one of the liveliest districts of London. He's content with his lot, happy with his friends, tolerant of his probably-human housemate, living vicariously through the gossip pages.

One day, a chance encounter with Anthony Crowley, lead singer of wildly successful rock band The Demons, threatens to turn his whole world upside down.

Music and Lyrics AU:

pop! goes my heart by attheborder [E], WIP

When has-been musician Anthony Crowley is recruited by pop singer Anathema Device to write a song for her new record, he jumps on the chance to resuscitate his career with a hit. There's only one problem: he can't write lyrics to save his life.

But a chance meeting with a stranger by the name of Aziraphale, with a poetic streak that's a perfect fit for the song, changes everything for Crowley. Together, they'll create something beautiful, fight the forces of the music industry, and perhaps even find a way back into love...

A Music and Lyrics AU for the GO Rom Com Event, complete with all-new original songs written and recorded by the author!

Kate & Leopold AU:

Until by Nadzieja [T]

“I don’t want to go home.” Half-asleep Aziraphale murmurs into his ear and Crowley's heart clenches. His grip tightens reflexively around the warm soft body in his arms, around the smell of old books and sandalwood.

“Then don’t.” He’s trying not to sound like he's pleading, but his throat is tight and his voice hoarse.

*

Crowley lives his average life, working in a high-end advertising company at London that pays just enough to get him a room in a shared accommodation. That's just his luck that he ends up living with a literal witch. One day she brings home an even more eccentric man that has a taste for 19th century fashion, as if Crowley didn't have enough things to worry about. Little he knows that the man will turn his world upside down. Literally. And that's just the beginning of his problems.

~Mod N

[blorbologist]

Yawns, g'morning.

I'm thinking about Vaxleth and episode 51, as. Most of us are, really. Holy shit.

And I think Vax's divine nature played a role in how Ludinus was able to set and bait this trap. I don't think we'd have gotten this outcome if Vax was still a mortal Champion, like his sister. Furthermore, Keyleth’s position as Voice of the Tempest was also critical here.

Let me explain: let's say some other half of a ship could have fulfilled this orb critera. If we pretend that any Champion could do (I think they needed the divine aspect of Vax's unlife but play along here), why not bait the trap for Vex, or Pike, or Scanlan, or Yasha?

Beyond the 'Vax is practically an angel now and has orb properties' angle, I think part of it is the sheer... everything that is mortal. If Percy was captured Vex would have any number of solutions - send Trinket in, attack at range, Rogue it up, or do the sensible thing and bring in friends. The living are variable, you can't count on them to behave as you need.

Ludinus loathes gods and their servants: of course he'd expect them to be predictable - and he'd be right! Vax is not all Vax anymore (see Dalen's Closet and Tal’Dorei Reborn), he's a deathless shepherd and servant of the Raven Queen. Why would he think this through? He has no life to lose, only Keyleth’s to save. You don’t need to consider how to use a shield, you just do. People shape their plans around the steady expectations of gods, their almost immutable domains, and Vax is divine enough for that to apply to him. They'd know he would behave exactly as he did. It could be argued living!Vax would as well, and there are several songs and historical records about him, so worst came to worst Ludinus could hope that this is maintained. But that's an uncertainty, and not fitting for a centuries-long plan.

And now the second part: it had to be Keyleth. They couldn't have used Vex to draw him out, I don’t think, as much as it pains me. Either the story of Dalen's Closet was limited to the guests and any lil kids who heard the Ballad of Derrig or it proves the Champion cannot willingly approach his sister. It took a Wish for that.

Vex has had five kids, spent thirty years protecting Whitestone, and has her fingers in the financial goings on of all Tal’Dorei. By no means does she have a small impact on the world: her smallest taxation decisions could mean poverty or wealth for thousands! But many of her biggest impacts on the future, on destiny, have already come to pass. Her adventures in Vox Machina, the children she bore, the decades of decisions she's already made (I doubt she'd be on the council for even a few years without changing much of her sphere to her liking.)

Keyleth is the Voice of the Tempest. She will, hopefully, live almost two thousand years. Imagine all the lives she will impact in that time! Directly! The Matron must be so familiar with her strand of fate because it touches so many, many others!

Even if Vax, somehow, did not remember her. Even if he was a shell of himself. This is someone the Matron cannot let die before her time (hopefully a thousand plus years from now). This is one person she would have to bend the rules for and see saved, and there's just the man for the job. She would not allow intervention for Vex, or Percy, or those nieces and nephews Vax surely watches. Not Velora, not Scanlan, not Gilmore. Keyleth, with centuries of work to do in this world, with generations to guide, is too valuable.

What I'm saying is... literally no other ship could have pulled this off. None. This was built for Vaxleth, from its very bones. You could have, say, an AU where Vex is the Champion of Ravens (wink), and this would not be certain enough for Ludinus to bank on it. Very likely, but not assured (the Matron could refuse to intervene, or they could intervene in a less 'take me instead you lil red-storm shit' way, etc.).

Evil plans bank on the inevitable. Gravity, greed, time. Their love is inevitable, a law of nature.

It could not have been anyone else

[si11yw0rm]

Day One (Thigh Riding x Ghost)

blurb: Ghost is undercover for a mission, working as a gym personal trainer. He doesn't take any clients, but you don't take no for an answer. (Ghost has blonde hair and blue eyes, i am sorry brown eyes and black hair lovers lol lol. maybe next time)

reader is gender neutral and looking for a way to self defend themselves. (no use of y/n)

tags: thigh riding (obviously), praise, dirty talk, semi public sex(in broom closet) and choking. use of love, pet, baby and doll. (because i think Ghost would definitely use doll.), murder (implied not shown, but briefly described)

i didn't do a word count or a beta read. i am running on a few hours of sleep i am so sorry.

minors and untitled blogs DNI :D

(Masterlist for kinktober)

From what the guy at the desk told you, No one ever talked to him. In hindsight, that was probably smart. He had to be well above six feet, and he was so huge that he made most people feel small.

But you had to have him. The other trainers were either too leering, or too buff. He seemed the perfect balance between muscular and just lean, having a body that could only be described as sleek.

Like a panther.

You cleared your throat, holding the file against your chest, and he looked up from the set he was doing, dropping the dumbbell so hard your ears rang. You watch him shoot out a hand to grab at it, without taking those eyes off you as it made one final clang on the floor.

He didn't flinch, but then, you couldn't see anything except his eyes, thanks to that mask he always wore. It was a skull mask that covered the bottom half of his face, and he always wore a beanie, but you could see the blonde thick hair always sticking out from the bottom.

"What?" His voice practically rumbled out of his chest, the unmistakable English accent clear as day. The mask made his voice sound way deeper and thicker than it needed to be.

Fuck, you had his eyes on you and they reminded you of the way a predator watched it's prey, and you knew fully well that this predator could very well kill you.

His brows arched and you suddenly remembered he asked you a question. "Oh! I paid for your classes."

His face remained chillingly blank as he spoke. "I don't have classes." He bent over to pick up the dumbbell, and you blurted out.

"The guy at the desk said you did. And I already paid for a week." You held up the file, ignoring the fire that burnt through your guts when his eyes flickered to your chest and quickly away.

"I am afraid you wasted your money." He swung his legs over the edge of the bench press, and got to his feet, towering over you.

You had to tilt your head to look up at him, and it seemed like he liked it too, because he stepped even closer.

"I can't go back." You mutter, feeling what was left off of your voice. He didn't show any proof that he had heard you, since his face remained blank.

"You can. The gym offers a refund policy." You were surprised he was even talking to you, and it made you more insistent to get him to agree.

"I can't." You said and if you didn't know any better, you would have said his eyes twitched.

He moved past you, heading for the abdominal bench press at the end of the gym. You didn't know if it was intentionally, but he had his own side of the gym, that was separate.

Hell, you had to flirt with the guy at the desk before he could let you pay for him specifically.

You didn't know his name. Everyone at the gym called him S. Whatever it stood for, you had no idea.

(a/n- i would have called him ghost, but he is undercover, so going with another code name seemed like the right way to go.)

You grab your file containing your diet and payment receipts tighter and follow him, failing to catch up with his long strides until he bent down by the press, fiddling with the screws.

"Please. I would do anything." His head came up, but he wasn't looking at you, instead getting to his feet and staring right over your head at the doors that separated this section of the gym from the main one.

Before you could follow his gaze, he grabbed your chin, forcing you to look at him. "No."

You were too stunned to speak and he bent down, finally pulling something off the press and as he straightened and slipped it into his pocket, you knew what it was.

It was just a glint of silver, but you knew it was a bolt.

You were about to question him about it when he grabbed your hand and started tugging you with him, right into the broom closet. His hand immediately clamped over your mouth and despite the breathing in your ears you heard the sounds of people entering the section.

"Ah, we can use here then, sir. I promise it is very safe and private." You knew from the voice it was one of the personal training that had made a lewd gesture when he saw you at the desk making payments.

You couldn't hear the next voice, but S did and his eyes dropped to yours, his hand still over your mouth.

"I need you to keep quiet." He waited for your nod before he removed his hand and you immediately gulped in a breath of air even though he hadn't being restricting any air.

You nodded, moving in the tight space. It was majorly a tight fit because you were in a closet with a ton of gym equipment and a giant of a man.

You must have moved wrong because you suddenly crashed against him and his hands shot out to steady you, depositing you in a position that had your legs straddling his thigh.

You held your breath because he didn't seem to notice, his hands sliding somewhere up over your head to catch something you couldn't see because you were staring at his chest, which was in direct view of your eye line.

By the time his eyes dropped back to yours, you could finally see their color, and they were a pale blue. They reminded you of the sky before a storm started.

"You have a few more sets left."

You heard that trainer's voice again and you cleared your throat, and whispered. "What's going on, S?"

His eyes snapped to yours and this time his voice rumbled over every nerve in your body. "You can call me Ghost."

That seemed to fit him more, but before you could speak, he moved again, and this time, his thigh pressed against your core and you tried to stop the moan, but it came out as a whimper.

It surprised you more than it surprised him, but you quickly remembered the reason you were doing the self defense classes to begin with.

You were tired of using vibrators and trying to get yourself off, and you wanted to try dipping your toes in sexual partners, but you knew how well things could go sour.

You wanted to be ready.

But you had also woken up to a sex dream, your alarm for the gym appointment going off.

His subtle masculine scent and how he towered over you weren't helping. Nor was the way he was staring at you.

His thigh pressed up against you again, and this time you knew it was done on purpose.

You whimpered and his low chuckle filled the room. "Christ, just how sensitive are you, doll?"

"It doesn't happen often." You manage to choke out as his hands fell to your waist, pressing you down on him just as his thigh flexed.

Sweet cheesepuffs.

"But it is happening now, isn't it?" He whispered, and your hands immediately flew to his shoulders, and he tilted his head, clearly listening in to whatever was happening outside before turning to you.

"Okay, baby. You have ten minutes."

Ten?

Ghost ignored the look on your face, instead flexing his fingers around your waist. "You want that orgasm, don't you, love?"

You were nodding before thinking, and Ghost's eyes flickered to your core, staying there. "I know. Your body is just begging for it."

He brought one hand up to tug that mask down and before you could analyze that scruff or the scars, his lips were running a path down your neck. "I can give it to you, doll. You are more wound up than a gorilla with a nail in its leg." (idk wtf that means lol)

You couldn't concentrate with the way his lips were running up your neck, nipping your ear before pressing kisses to a spot that made you feel like you were going to look down and see your brain in a puddle.

Ghost moved away, tugging that damned back up before you could see his face and his eyes were dark and filled with an expression you could only call hunger.

"Do you want this, doll?" His voice broke through the haze in your mind and the fact he was asking for consent even though he was physically strong enough to subdue you anyway had you rocking against his thighs.

He cursed and held you in place, pinning you with a stare that said "Behave."

"I do, I want this." Your voice sounded weird to your ears, but they made Ghost hum with approval, setting your blood on fire like someone had lit a match.

"Go ahead and take what you need, doll."

You adjusted your hands on his shoulders, settling into a rhythm that had your mind melting and Ghost letting out little grunts that was definitely doing something to twist the building inferno inside you higher.

His hands slid off your waist, one coming around to move around your back, pressing you down with enough pressure that made your breath catch in your throat.

"Naughty little thing, aren't you? Does it turn you on? The fact that people outside can walk in here and see you like this? Grinding on my thigh like some cock dumb little pet?"

You couldn't answer him, trying to chase the high you were already climbing over.

"Or no. Maybe you want them to see you like this. My precious little devil, aren't you? You look so pretty now, baby. Fuck, you should see yourself."

His hand slid around your neck, and when his grip tightened you could swear your eyes rolled to the back of your head. "What a vision you make, doll."

His lips brushed your ear through his mask and hearing his voice directly against your ear with the pressure he added your throat was enough to trigger you to burst into a million pieces. "I am going to put a collar around your throat one day, love. Because as soon as you finish making that mess on my trousers, you are mine."

You had barely finished coming down from your high before Ghost was tugging your bottoms off, along with your underwear and grabbing a sweatpants with the gym's logo on it and handing it to you.

He watched you wear them and when your eyes dropped to the damp spot on his trousers, he smiled, tilting his head. "God, you look even prettier like that."

You were about to ask how you would leave when Ghost spoke. "The press killed him, baby. We have to wait the chaos out a few."

"Killed who? What do you mean killed? I didn't hear anything." If you hadn't just cum all over his trousers, you were sure you would have being afraid.

Liar. You wouldn't be anyways.

"You didn't hear the scream because yours overlapped it." He tilted his head again, this time looking at you as if he was waiting for you to get it.

The look in his eyes was full of mischief and the dots started connecting, and when you got it, the look of pride that shone in his eyes for a second made you light up.

Who was he?

He didn't smile, but he held out his hand, showing that bolt. He didn't ask anything, but you could hear the unspoken question in the air.

You took the bolt.

And his eyes lit up with promise of a smile.

[fortheloveof-sebastian]

Bloody Good Luck

Pairings: Sebastian Sallow x Reader

Summary: Garreth tries to help ease your nerves about public speaking with a new potion. When things don’t exactly go as planned, Sebastian is there to support you.

Warnings: public speaking, fluff, blood and nosebleeds, playful fighting

Word Count: 2.3k

A/N: This oneshot was requested by @sallyface1726 ! I hope this is what you were looking for. I think I might’ve gone off a little from your original request, but I hope you enjoy, I had a fun time writing it🥰

"Here, this will do it."

"What is it?"

You peer into the cauldron set in front of you. Boiling inside is a sickly-looking green liquid. The creator of said potion, Garreth, beams at you with an enthusiasm that you can't muster enough to match.

"It's very...green." It's the kindest thing you can think to say.

Garreth grins. "Isn't it bloody brilliant? This should do the trick to ease all of your worries."

Using the tip of your wand, you poke at the boiling potion. It doesn't burn your wand like acid, or turn it a funny color, or any other abhorrent third thing that you have yet to imagine; not to say that it bolsters your confidence, you're still rather quite concerned that you've somehow cemented your death.

"Have you tried it?" You ask the red headed Gryffindor.

Garreth's expression wavers. "No," he admits, then quickly adds, "but that's only because I don't need it, remember? I paired up with Amit for the project. He's taken care of it all."

Internally, you curse yourself. It would've been smart to complete the project with a partner, but you dreaded the outcomes — either you shouldered the entire thing by yourself, or your opinions were smothered by an insufferable know-it-all. Besides, your grade in Beasts Class was severely tanking, and you needed to secure a perfect score without any liability.

That is, of course, not counting your crippling fear of public speaking.

You had been complaining to Sebastian and Ominis on your way to class last week; flanked by the two Slytherin, and strolling casually through the courtyard, you thought you were safe. But apparently, you hadn't taken into consideration that your fears would be overhead, especially by that of Garreth, who you either loved or tolerated based on his current antics.

"Did you say you're worried?" Garreth had asked, barging between you and Ominis, slightly out of breath as if he had ran across the castle.

Ominis scoffed at the intrusion, his expression souring. "Well, pardon me," he retorted.

"I forgive you, mate," Garreth said, oblivious. He pushed the hair from his face. "So, did you say you had some worries about the upcoming presentation?"

Your gaze has drifted to Sebastian. He shrugged.

"Um, yeah," you finally admitted.

"Listen, I've been working on something — no, no, don't give me that face. I've been working on something to ease people's fears. A potion. After you drink it, your fears will vanish."

You frowned. "And how does that work?"

"Like I said, I've been working on it." Garreth grinned at you. "What do you say? You could be the first person to try it."

"I don't know —" you began.

Garreth's eyes widened. "Please? I'm sure it will be a smashing success. I'll even share the profits with you! Everyone will be dying to try it. I happen to know a first year who is so terrified of Professor Sharpe that he might buy the 'ole lot —"

"Fine," you conceded.

Garreth's mouth snapped shut. If you hadn’t been so reluctant about accepting, you might've smiled at his childlike excitement.

You’re then brought back to the present by Garreth pushing a goblet in your hand. "You'll want to take it now, before class, so that it has time to work," Garreth instructs.

Miserably, you look down into the goblet.

"Are you really going to drink that?" Sebastian's familiar voice floats into the room. Garreth and you both turn to find him strolling into the empty Potions classroom, shrugging on his robes.

You grimace. "I think so."

"And you tested it?" Sebastian asks. He stands slightly behind you now, and his proximity incites an entire flock of jobberknolls in your stomach.

Garreth has the good sense to appear nervous.

"Um, yeah, of course," he says. He suddenly loses the ability to maintain eye contact, then mumbles some excuse about finding Amit and scurries away. Sebastian watches him leave.

"I don't have a good feeling about this."

You gently punch his arm. "You didn't have to scare him away."

"What?" Sebastian feigns offense. "I did not."

"Yes, you did," you reply, full of amusement. "After you hexed Everett the other day for pranking me, no one wants to cross you."

Sebastian pauses, seeming to digest this information. Finally, he settles on, "Well he had it coming for him."

"You don't have to defend me, you know. I can do it perfectly fine myself."

"I know." Sebastian's lips curl upward. You try very hard not to think about what it's like to kiss him. "I just like to. Is that such a crime?"

"Hardly. Although it could quite possibly turn into one if you keep on this path of leaping to defend my honor," you tease him.

Sebastian smiles, then, and the sight of it is like the sun breaking through the clouds. "Guilty as charged." His expression changes slightly. "You were kidding about taking that potion, though, weren't you? Garreth can't be trusted."

The liquid in the goblet gurgles.

"You know how anxious I get," you remind him. Even the thought of the impending presentation makes your stomach twist and turn.

Sebastian frowns. "There has to be another way."

"I'm doing it, and you can't stop me."

"Well, go on then."

You grip on the goblet tightens. Now, it was no longer a matter of easing your nerves but proving your bravery. Sebastian watches, in thinly veiled amusment, as you pinch your nose and then drain the goblet of its contents. The potion doesn't taste half as bad as you thought it would.

Slamming the goblet down on the table, you announce, "Okay, I'm ready."

"Feeling any different?" Sebastian asks.

"I don't know," you tell him, "and I don't care. I'll see you on the other side."

And then you march towards the Beasts classroom.

The class begins rather uneventfully. Professor Howin introduces the topic of presentation — the care of exotic beasts — and selects the first student pairing to present. You're grateful that you're not first, but when it's your time to present, there's a nervous stirring in the pit of your stomach. You make your way to the front of the class.

Sebastian smiles at you from the back row. Garreth gives you a double thumbs up. And Natty, who is aware of your social anxieties after a disastrous project in Charms together, straightens in her seat and gives you an encouraging nod. Emboldened, you launch into your presentation about the care of Thorny Newts, bright-colored amphibians who dwell mostly in the eastern regions of Asia.

While the presentation starts slowly, you gradually feel yourself relax. You're not even a quarter of the way through the presentation when the tightening in your chest loosens, and you're suddenly confidently carrying through the necessities of Thorny Newt care. In fact, you barely remember feeling afraid at all.

You're about to delve into the feeding requirements of the Thorny Newt when someone near the front of the class gasps. You're not sure what it's about, so you forge ahead. Only when several other students start to recoil in surprise do you suspect that something is wrong.

Panicked, you look for Sebastian.

Looking rather pale, he mimes wiping his nose.

You copy the gesture, and immediately feel a thick wetness; you pull away, and find blood now smeared across your hand and sleeve. Horror yawns inside you. Your speech falters as even more blood begins to seep from your nose.

In an effort to stop the bleeding, you hold your sleeve firmly against your nose.

"Thorny Newts? More like Bloody Newts!" One of the other fifth years shout. This provokes a chorus of giggles. Several more students chime in on the unfortunate situation, until everyone is either covering their mouths in disgust or laughing uproariously.

Tears spring to your eyes. You wish desperately that a portal would open under your feet and swallow you up, take you somewhere where nobody knew your name. A mixture of humiliation and sadness crash over you.

Professor Howin approaches you. "Oh, dear —" but it's all the time she has to say before there's another eruption of gasps.

Grateful for, well, only a portion of the attention to be diverted from you, you stare in wide-eyed confusion as Sebastian shoots to his feet. Crimson blood dribbles down his lips and onto the front of his robes.

The class has lost all means of respect. Chants of "Bloody Newt" echo and disturb the nearby beasts in their pens. Students laugh at you, and now Sebastian. Professor Howin swallows thickly, then glances between the both of you.

"Infirmary, now!" She orders. "And if this was just some ploy to get out of your schoolwork, we will be having a firm talk with the headmaster."

Ashamed, you duck your head and scurry away. You're about halfway up the path to the infirmary, nose still gushing blood, when Sebastian catches up with you. His laughter, which usually comforts you, only makes the blush burning your cheeks even warmer.

"I can't believe that happened!" He cries, delighted.

Doing nothing to staunch his own bloody nose, it runs freely down his face. You find it highly annoying that he still manages to be painfully handsome.

You don't reply, and just walk faster.

"Hey, Y/N —" he grabs your shoulder. "Are you crying?"

You yank away from him. Tears mix with the blood. Swallowing, you try to disguise your sadness but fail epically. "I—yes. That was properly embarrassing. In front of the whole class, too." You shake your head. "I'm probably going to fail Beasts Class now."

Sebastian scoffs. "No you won't. Not if I have anything to do with it."

"Why is your nose bleeding anyway?" You ask. "If you did it just to save me, I already told you that I don't need you doing that. And now Howin thinks it's something we planned."

You hiccup.

You hated crying. Your face got splotchy, and you could hardly control your voice from revealing your emotions. Perhaps you were a fool to think that taking a potion would magically fix your fears, or that a presentation could actually go well.

Sebastian persists, matching your pace despite your efforts to lose him. "If you want the truth, I took some of the potion after you left. I knew Garreth would mess up somehow."

You shoot him a glance. "Really?"

"Swear." Finally, he swipes at his bloody nose but it only seems to make it worse. "You were doing so well that I thought the bastard actually did something."

You sniff. "You think?"

"Yes! You were brilliant!" Sebastian exclaims. "Howin would be foolish not to give you credit for it, bloody nose or not."

You had almost made it to the infirmary. Your tears had nearly ceased, although the blood had not. "I should've taken your word about trusting any potion made by Garreth."

"I will abstain from my right to say I told you so," Sebastian teases.

The nurse at the infirmary immediately ushers you both onto side-by-side beds and begins working. Sebastian and you share small, secretive smiles when she asks what happened. Neither of you tell her the truth. She doesn't seemed convinced, but manages to find a cure despite your lack of answers.

You're given instructions to wait half an hour, in case the bleeding starts again, and then return back to class.

"What I don't understand," you say, as the nurse leaves to tend to another patient, "is why you took the potion too. You're not scared of public speaking."

Sebastian shrugs. "You're not wrong."

"So why then? Especially if you don't trust Garreth."

"I couldn't let you take it alone. Whatever was going to happen, we were going to go through it together," he explains. Somewhat sheepishly, he adds, "I should've told you not to take it in the first place instead of challenging you. You do a wonderful job in everything you do, there's no need for stupid fear reducing potions."

Your previous humiliation melts into bliss. "It's sweet of you to say that."

"It's true, though," Sebastian says. "I know you don't like talking in front of others, but you're obviously so passionate about everything you do that hardly anyone even notices."

"They notice now," you remark.

"Shame on them, then. It shouldn't take a little blood for them to notice how great you are."

"Just a little?"

Sebastian snorts and rolls his eyes. "Did you have to ruin a perfectly nice sentiment?"

"I just wanted to confirm your perspective on the amount of blood that you qualifies as little," you reply with a laugh. Both of your robes are stained with dried blood.

The nurse dismisses you both.

You and Sebastian lapse into a discussion about how the rest of your day will look — now that you both look as if you've been in a horrendous battle — when he catches sight of something across the courtyard that makes him freeze.

Following his eyes, you spot Garreth moving through the crowd of students.

"Sebastian —" you warn.

"Weasley, c'mere you little twat!" Sebastian shouts. It's as if you hadn't even spoken.

He tears himself from your side in order to pursue the Gryffindor.  You watch, partly in amusement and partly in disbelief, as Sebastian races across the courtyard and finally manages to tackle Garreth into a pile of leaves. Sounds of their tussle rise above the chatter of students, interspersed with the flash of red and green robes as their identities get lost in a tangle of limbs.

"Who messed with you now?"

Ominis appears at your side. His features are the picture of nonchalance.

You sigh. "Garreth."

"Bloody nose?"

"How did you know?" You look at him skeptically.

Ominis clicks his tongue. "Just because I cannot see does not mean I cannot hear." There's a pause as you, watching, and Ominis, listening, observe the fight between the two boys. "Should we stop them?"

You frown. "Mm. In a second."

Sure, you didn't need Sebastian to leap to your defense like a rabid dog, but it didn't mean that you didn't like it. It brought a certain kind of warmth to your body.

Besides, there were far worse things in the world then to be loved fiercely.

[obsidiancreates]

Taishen's Guide On Being The Best Uncle You Can Be

(Somehow I hit exactly 1,400 words for this. I just wanted to say that because that is a damn satisfying wordcount.)

It takes just about a year after traveling with Gricko and Frost for Gideon to start being called "Uncle Gideon" whenever Gricko mentions him to Hootsie.

"He sure warmed up to us quick," Kremy had said one night, sitting by the campfire and keeping an eye on his roux. "Callin' us family already seems a little much, don't it, Gid?"

"Yeah, but he's a fuckin' weird little guy. Not really surprisin'."

"True."

Truth be told, Gideon doesn't mind it. He thinks Kremy doesn't mind the "Uncle Kremy" title either, because there's always just enough room in the budget to buy Hootsie a trinket, or snack, or new little hat. And sometimes Gideon decides not to go back for thirds of whatever Kremy cooks so Hootsie can have seconds, and sometimes Gideon doesn't even need to hold back because Kremy sets aside extra just for her.

The first time Gideon accepts it aloud, though, is when they're staying in a little inn, and Hootsie is dancing just for fun in the tavern area, and someone throws a tankard at her and calls for the "wild beast" to be thrown out.

The man finds himself thrown out, his throwing arm broken, and the shout of "That's my fuckin' niece, asshole!" haunting his drunken dreams.

"That was very violent, Gideon," Gricko says later as they're all prepping the single room they could get. Hootsie is curled up in the corner, a little rattled still, but Gricko already has his pack set out and is making up a little bed for both of them where she lays. Gricko's tone is scolding, but he mouths "Good job," when he knows Hootsie can't see it.

"People shouldn't be throwin' things at her," Gideon says with a shrug, fluffing up his thin-as-paper pillow as much as he can. "She's just a baby."

"Your little baby niece," Gricko says with a wide grin. "Isn't that right, Hootsie? You've got big strong Uncle Gideon to protect you!"

Hootsie looks up at Gideon with those giant round eyes and hoots. Maybe Gideon's starting to catch some of Gricko's strange brand of cookoo-bananas, but Gideon could swear she looks and sounds grateful.

"Yeah yeah, I'm Uncle Gideon, we all heard me say it." Gideon gets into the bigger bed in the room as Kremy and Frost play a game of cards to determine who gets the other one (card counting versus slight-of-hand cheating, mind-reading versus shadow magic, it's tough to know who'll win) and shuts his eyes. The sounds of shuffling cards, Gricko telling Hootsie a bedtime story, and the bed likely splintering beneath Gideon's own weight lull him to sleep.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gideon walks into a tea shop. He doesn't really drink tea, that's more Frost's thing, but he's here anyway.

He doesn't question it, as is the nature of dreams.

"Finally!" an excited voice rings out in the empty shop as Gideon finds himself sat down at a counter. The golden dragonborn on the other side grins brightly at him as he pushes a cup of fresh tea forward. "I've been waiting so long for you to finally realize you're an uncle!"

"Uh... what?" Gideon takes a sip of the tea. It's actually not bad. He didn't know tea could be spicy.

"That little owlbear has a lot of support, but that doesn't mean you can take being her uncle any less seriously." The dragonborn gestures at an ink painting hanging on the wall, of himself and a younger dragonborn girl. "Mei Li taught me just how important this role truly is, and I'm going to help you be the best possible uncle you can be."

"Hey man, listen. I appreciate the fuckin' thought and all, but, I don't know who the hell you are!"

"You won't remember once you wake up anyway," the dragonborn says, pouring himself a cup of tea and pulling a stool over to his side of the counter. "We've talked a few times, actually. But those were usually extremely upsetting times, and now we finally have something to celebrate!"

"Celebrate with tea?"

"I know you prefer alcohol, but if I can get Skrimm to enjoy tea I can get you to enjoy it as well."

"Well, I dunno why I'd need any advice on bein' an uncle, 'cause it seems pretty fuckin' easy t'me." Gideon knocks the rest of his tea back. The cup is full when he sets it down. "Give her treats, buy her stuff when she wants it, and punch guys who're fuckin' dicks to her."

"Those are all part of it," the dragonborn agrees, "But there's more to it than just spoiling her and protecting her. You have to nurture her as well!"

"I mean, Gricko's her dad, he's the one who's doin' all the raisin' and stuff."

"If you all lived in a town, that might work out just fine. But you're always on the move! You're the only four constants in this young girl's life, so you're all very influential on her as she grows!"

"Aw, man. I gotta be a good fuckin' influence now? I just got outta havin' to watch my every fuckin' move all the time, man."

The dragonborn seems to deflate, suddenly growing weary and ancient. "I'm... very aware. But I promise it's nothing like that. I just mean that Hootsie is an impressionable little girl right now, and it's a good idea to teach her important, valuable lessons."

"... Like... if somebody's bein' a fuckin' dick, she can bite their fingers off?"

"Well, I don't know if I'd encourage it to be that extreme, but self-defense is a good lesson, yes! And self-respect, it's much easier to defend yourself when you respect yourself and your value."

"Okay... I think I get it. And uh... knowin' when somebody's talkin' a load of bullshit."

"Exactly! Not to insult anyone but, you and I both know that Gricko can be... quite gullible. I mean, I understand him, I was very much the same way for most of my life, and can still be now. Oh, I remember Skrimm told me that a certain gesture was a universal greeting-"

"Which one? This one?" Gideon flips him off.

"That's the one! He always managed to find me when no-one else was around and pull pranks on me like that." The dragonborn laughs a little, fond. "Oh-ho, when it was a matter of life or death I was truly distressed, but now it's easy to look back and laugh."

"Alright, so, make sure she knows she can bite people, make sure she knows when she's bein' tricked, and I guess... make sure she knows how to get outta tough situations!"

"That's another great idea!"

"Man, I knew this whole uncle thing'd be easy." Gideon knocks the tea back again and looks around the shop. There's lots of ink paintings like the one he saw before, with these two dragonborn enjoying life. One catches his eye, of the man who sits across from him letting the young girl ride around on his shoulders.

"That'll be easy too," Gideon says, gesturing at the painting with cup in hand and sloshing spicy tea all over the floor- or would, if it ever hit the floor, but the tea just ceases to exist before it makes an impact. "Fuckin' piggyback rides and life lessons, easy as hell."

"And best of all, rewarding. It's an incredible joy to care for a child, as much as it is a serious responsibility." The dragonborn looks around. "And if you see Yorgrim when you leave here, let him know about the piggyback rides you plan to give. I think he'll appreciate a little warning."

"Who?"

"You're right, I'll tell him. I think you're waking up now anyway."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gideon picks Hootsie up and plops her onto his shoulders as the group exits the inn and gets going. Hootsie gives a startled hoot at first, and then looks down. Her face lights up, eyes ghetting as big as possible, and she gives another, more excited hoot as he leans over to watch everything from her new height!

Taishen sighs happily as he watches, and looks up at Yorgrim. "Does that help soothe some of your old wounds?"

Yorgrim huffs a little. "It's... bittersweet."

Taishen reaches up and pats Yorgrim's arm. "I understand. ... Tea?"

Yorgrim is quiet for a moment before sighing and holding his hand out. "Thank you."

"Of course, my friend."

[bisexualhomelander]

despite everything, i'm still human (but i think i'm dying here) - chapter iv

Ryan gains a new ability.

Ryan didn't enjoy being out in the woods. For one, they were dense, and he always feared he couldn't find his way to the house again. He was also scared that he'd accidentally stumble upon a ghost there. Sometimes, when the nightmares came, his mother called from the woods, gurgling on blood. Ryan hadn't meant to, he really hadn't, he'd just wanted her to be safe-

He bit his lip and moved on.

It all looked different now, no leaves on the trees. The only way to really tell the time in the house was the date set on his camera, so he knew it was November. They'd been living here for half a year.

He made his way through the skeletal branches. From time to time, he turned his head to check for the house. It was always there, like a ship in a sea of yellow leaves. He walked until he couldn't see it anymore, and then walked some more to make sure he was also invisible from inside the house.

He and Dad had had a fight. It had been their first actual fight if one didn't count the time Ryan yelled at him to leave him and his mother alone. But that hadn't been a proper one. Not really. They'd hardly known each other then, and it hadn't been like now because Mom had still been there, and Dad hadn't talked back at all.

Well, he hadn't talked back this time, either. Ryan felt guilty over yelling, but he knew he shouldn't. And yet, that utter look of devastation that had crossed his dad's features when he'd said what he had wouldn't leave his mind's eye.

"You're a fucking Dad! You are supposed to know those things!"

He leaned against a tree and slid down. In the bark, he could hear the insects carve their way. He envied them. Those small creatures instinctively knew what they were good for. They hatched and just... got it.

"Buddy... I... Ryan, please."

Ryan had spent all his life thinking he was a normal boy, but instead, he was a killing machine resembling a normal boy. There were days when he got mad at Mom for never telling him about his powers. Not because he had ever been invested in using them, but because he would have protected her. Even from his dad.

"No, fuck off! I don't wanna see you anymore! Go away!"

He remembered being fascinated by watching Homelander shoot his lasers in advertisements. He'd sometimes wished he could do it, had practiced in the mirror, had imagined red shooting from his eyes and killing his enemies.

"Ryan. Don't make this difficult."

At that point, Dad's voice had started to waver, but Ryan had been so angry that he had felt heat gather in his face and focus behind his eyes. It had taken most of his attention just to refocus all that energy on yelling instead of shooting twin beams into the wall - or his dad.

"Let me go! There's nothing you can do for me. There's nothing you can do at all! You're a shit dad! You're the worst dad in the world, and I hate you."

"I don't hate him," he told the little bugs in the bark. "But I hate that he can't help me. And that's unfair, right? He's the reason I'm still alive. Granddad would have killed me without a second thought. I know he's not that good a man, Dad. I know that. But he gave up all he had just so Granddad wouldn't hurt me. That's what a hero does, right?" He looked at the bark, focused his eyes, saw the moss melt away and let him peer inside the bugs' little pathways. "You don't even know I'm watching you. Vought does that to us, did you know? Dad doesn't know. He can't hear that kind of stuff any longer. His hearing's bad now." Ryan corrected himself. "His hearing's... normal now."

The bugs, once on the surface, just spread their wings and flew off. Ryan wished he knew how to do that. He really needed it now.

Experimentally, he hopped off the ground. Nothing. He copied the weird little crouch he had seen his dad do before jumping. Still nothing. He looked up at the trees and wondered if he could climb one and jump from there, but he just remembered the roof and the man his dad used to be, and then he remembered his mother.

"Don't you worry," he told the bugs. "I got a plan. Butcher knows about it, but Butcher's dying, so he can't help, either." Ryan pulled the phone out of his pocket. He showed it to the bugs in the bark. "See? He brought that to me in the cookie tin. With the toys. Vought didn't even check it, just like he said! They're cunts at Vought, you know?" Dad didn't like him saying that word, but the bugs didn't care. "They make people have powers, and then when they got us, they just lock us up forever. Why make us in the first place, right? Just so we can be in movies! Well, I'm making a movie, too. Do you want to see it?"

He showed them the video footage he had, two yellow Lego figures hugging in a living room. "That one's me, and that one's my dad. And this," he fast-forwarded the video, "this is my plan. D'you think it's a good plan?"

The bugs didn't agree or disagree, but he felt better after telling them. He didn't know how to tell his dad because Homelander had a tendency to overreact to those sorts of news, and he was so sad all the time. Though less after Ryan had started to show interest in his own powers.

He knew he had to go back home. He knew there was no running from it anymore.

Dad was sitting on the couch with his legs crossed when Ryan came in. He was holding a book, nonchalant as could be. The book was upside down, and Homelander's shoulders were rapidly moving with his quick shallow breaths like he'd run to the couch. His heartbeat was like a rabbit's, fast and scared.

So he'd been watching Ryan come closer from the window and didn't want him to know that's what he'd been doing.

Ryan toed off his shoes and walked over to his father to wrap both arms around his shoulders from behind the back rest. He buried his face in his father's clothes, inhaled that no-longer-new human scent of him, and broke down. "I'm so sorry, I'm so, so sorry!"

He didn't even pay any mind to the low hum that signalled they weren't alone.

Dad started crying, too, after a while, rubbing Ryan's hands in a gesture of comfort that managed to calm them both down. "I really thought you hated me, bud."

"I couldn't," Ryan said. "You're the only dad I have."

"You have time, Ryan."

They were walking side by side, Dad with his gold-rimmed glasses and a beanie, Ryan with his grey-sleeved Vought brand jacket. They must have made such a normal sight.

Ryan was glad there were never many people on the paths you had to walk on before you could get to the woods proper. Dad always got a little sad when they walked past others and they didn't recognise him at all. But when Ryan asked him about it, he said he was happy they didn't because being seen like this would be worse.

"I don't think I have any left."

"Why's that?"

They were in the woods by now, so Ryan knew he could speak freely. "Houses don't make noises, usually."

Dad's brows furrowed. "Yeah?"

"When I was small, I used to ask Mom why the house sounded like a bumblebee. There was a constant humming sound that I couldn't understand. Mom told me she heard nothing, but she seemed sad when she said it. I figured it was because she was jealous I could hear something she couldn't. I didn't know back then that it was because she was human and I was a supe. Anyway. I didn't hear that noise in any of the houses I've lived in afterwards. But our house has the hum. And you know why? I know why. There are cameras and microphones everywhere. In every wall. On every floor. In every single room apart from the bathroom."

His dad paled. There was a moment where he went through a rapid selection of expressions, and then his face was empty like he'd accidentally dropped all his emotions on the floor. "They wouldn't dare."

It had been months since Ryan had last heard him sound like... well, like Homelander. Dad's face had finally settled on a rage so overwhelming that Ryan instinctively took a step back, but he quickly recovered and grabbed his father to force him to look at him. "So they're watching. Vought. I've known this for a while. But don't worry, I've got it all figured out. Look!" He pulled out the phone.

"Is that-?"

"Your very first gift. That phone. I had it in my pocket when I... had to leave. So I just held on to it whenever I switched to a new safehouse with Aunt Grace. I kept it in a cookie tin with some toys. Butcher brought it to me because he knew it was in there. Ever since, I've been planning our escape."

Dad's face could have said anything and nothing at all. There was confusion, sadness. Mostly, there was fear. Not on his face, but in his blood. Adrenaline. Ryan didn't enjoy that smell. It gave him goosebumps. "So your movie..."

"I didn't want Vought to know that's what I've been doing. But I had to figure some things out, and I think best when I make movies. It just makes it more real. Well, I'm almost done, but I'm missing one key point: the escape route." Ryan had talked himself into a frenzy. His cheeks were burning, and his heart was beating almost painfully. He walked over to the trees. "We don't have a car, and it wouldn't do anything anyway. Vought would find a way. It's easier to smuggle a phone into the house than it is a car. But I can fly us out. If you teach me how." He turned back around to his dad. "Teach me."

"Now?"

"Right now."

"Where would we even-? Ryan, it-"

He took his father by the hands. "I know you're scared. I'm scared, too. But we'll figure it out, Dad. We'll figure it all out. We'll have help, I'll make sure of it. Butcher will help. And Aunt Grace will help, too, if I ask her. I just needed to run it by you first."

"It shouldn't be your job to get us out of here."

"I can't do it without you, Dad. You've already taught me so much, and you're always there for me when I need you. And you'll teach me everything you know. You made me that promise."

Homelander's eyes softened, and while his smile was unsteady, it was undoubtedly real. "I'm proud of you, you know? I'm really proud of you."

Ryan shrugged happily. "We got a lot of work to do, Dad."

Homelander clapped. "Let's get to it." He looked around, surveying their surroundings. "There is... nowhere we can train, really. But that's not important now. What's important is that you get a feel for your body in the air. I'll just have to lift you."

Ryan extended his arms, and Homelander took hold of him and hoisted him up. That had been a lot easier when he'd been smaller, Ryan knew. Within the past six months, he'd had to ask Vought to send him an entirely new wardrobe. Sometimes, his joint hurt with how fast he got taller.

The few times his dad had tried to hold him like this, his knees had started to buckle immediately. This time, it was different. His dad huffed a little, but his arms remained steady all the while. Ryan felt safe in his hold, not like he was weighing him down. It reminded him of back then. Of when Ryan had foolishly run away from his mother's house with his dad and this cruel woman.

"You can lift me up so easily now."

"Hm. Maybe I'm slowly building muscle. Wouldn't that be a thing? Your dad, finally as buff as his suit!"

"You'll be so ripped!"

They had a laugh about it, and it got rid of the last tension in them.

"So," his dad began to explain. "I know the rooftop was one of my worse ideas, but I wasn't wrong about what I told you that day. Your body knows how to do it, you just have to trust yourself. So what I'll do is this." His dad let him go, and Ryan landed on the ground. "I'll do it as often as I have to until you feel the weight of your own body taking up space in the air."

It was easier when he closed his eyes. The repetetive motion of Dad lifting him up and letting him go was meditative. Ryan moved his feet in the air, let them dangle, tried to go limp in his father's hold. He didn't even necessarily try to fly so much as try to make himself weightless, like an astronaut floating about.

"Like this," Dad kept saying. "Just like this."

Ryan didn't know whether he was doing it right, but his legs did feel a bit lighter. At first, he'd felt his blood rush into his extremities, feeling his weight most acutely in his legs. Now, his upper body above his dad's grip felt heavier than the rest. And Dad's hands felt different, too, his touch light but constant, and wow, he hadn't let him drop down in a while now.

"Dad, you can let go."

"You might wanna open your eyes, buddy."

Ryan did.

His dad's voice hadn't come from where he'd expected it to be. When he opened his eyes, he wasn't face to face with Homelander anymore. No. Homelander was looking up at him like Ryan had grown four inches over a minute.

He'd never seen his dad smile like that.

Dad's hands were hovering over his sides, but they weren't touching him. Ryan hung suspended in the air. He finally chanced a glance downwards. The sight shocked him enough to have him lose balance and slump down, barely landing on his feet. He staggered, and his dad caught him and held him upright immediately. They were hugging before Ryan had even regained his whereabouts.

"Didn't I tell you? Didn't I tell you you could? I knew you can! I knew you can fly!" His dad was rambling, ruffling his hair, and Ryan's heart soared. He'd almost forgotten what it felt like to have zero worries.

"Again!" he said and almost hopped into his father's arms.

Homelander willingly held him up until he was ready. This time, Ryan didn't keep his eyes closed. He wobbled a little as his father let go of him, but he managed to shift his weight just in time and stay where he was.

"Now, try moving." Homelander stepped back, giving Ryan plenty of space. "Maybe try flying towards the tree over there. This one right there." There was a lonely birch in the middle of the clearing, like it had been planted only with Ryan in mind.

Ryan's feet felt like they were in chains. His upper body moved easily in the right direction, but the rest of him didn't want to. He tried to put his all into it-

-and flopped forward onto the ground, landing on his face.

He was spitting out leaves as his father walked over to him. "You alright, bucko?"

He picked a leaf off his tongue. "Fine," he said, but it sounded petulant even to himself.

"Don't get angry at yourself. That was a great first try."

"We don't have time for first tries here. I need to do this. If they find out we're planning anything-"

"The cameras are probably watched by Crime Analytics, that's The Deep, that's- I wouldn't be too scared too quickly about them. Don't hurry. We'll do it like we did before. I'll guide you there, and you'll just hold on."

It took Ryan several tries to even get close to the birch, his father's hands acting as training wheels. But eventually, his hand touched the bark, and he held onto the stem for dear life.

"Can I try something?"

"Anything you like. Nothing can stop you now."

That was an exagerration, but his father by now seemed almost drunk on Ryan's quick success.

Ryan tried to reach for an upper branch, pulling himself upwards by it without letting his feet touch the stem. At first, he still used the strength of his arms, but then his entire body moved upwards of its own volition.

He didn't look down.

He didn't look down with the next three branches, either. Looking down would just unbalance him, and he didn't need that. It was just like climbing, really. He reached the top of the tree without further problem. He could see the house from here.

And if he could see the house, then that meant the cameras might pick him up, and-

He gasped, lost hold of the branch, and fell to the ground. His teeth rattled in his skull from the impact, but his back - that he'd awkwardly landed on - didn't even smart.

"Ryan!" Homelander was there, helping him up, but Ryan shooed his hands away and got to his feet.

"Weird." He looked at his palms where he'd tried to hold onto anything. His skin was unblemished without any scrapes. "That would've hurt me before."

"You're getting stronger every day. Developing your powers comes with some bonuses." Homelander looked up at the birch, mouth almost twisted into a smile.

Ryan understood why when he followed his father's gaze. The branches on his way down had been torn off by his hands in a panicked attempt to grab onto them. The birch looked mangled beyond belief.

"If someone sees this," Homelander said as they got ready to go, "what will they think happened here?"

"Stupid baby bird fell out of the nest."

"That was a huge baby bird if it took all the branches."

"Eagles are kinda big, no?"

Ryan really, really didn't know if he'd ever heard his dad laugh out loud before.

"Is it normal to see better without the glasses on?"

"Uh, I think you can become far-sighted if you get old." His father visibly flinched at those words, so Ryan was quick to go on. "It cancels each other out or something. So if you're short-sighted, but then get far-sighted, you don't have the same prescription. I think? I don't know."

"I'll have to send for someone to see what's up with my eyes, then." He set the glasses down and looked at Ryan. It was almost an uncommon sight to see him without the gold-rimmed glasses around his eyes. He looked more like he had back then, when they'd first gotten to know each other, except his hair was now a solid dark-blonde, almost brown. Like Ryan's. It had bothered Ryan whenever he'd find a new piece of himself in his father: they eye colour, the smile, the shape of his cheekbone when he grinned. Now the hair. The powers, always those.

Today, it didn't bother him at all. They had snuck back into the house like two boys with a secret, spending the way back home with over-exaggerated shushing gestures.

Now, they were in front of the fire with some hot cocoa. They were waiting for nighttime. For the plan to properly begin.

Ryan kept staring into the fire, and apparently his dad could read minds now because he figured out why pretty quickly and grabbed for Ryan's hand when he wanted to extend it toward the fire.

For a few months now, his experience with temperature had been gradually undergoing change.

He remembered shivering in his snow suit as a toddler when Mom had thrown snow in his face. He had felt the cold like a bite to his skin. The heat had driven sweat on his brow. Now, he could lean as close to the fire as he liked, and while he could always feel the warmth, there was never a moment where he recoiled from it.

"Will it hurt if I touch the flames?"

There was a beat of silence. His dad was still holding onto his hand. "It'll hurt. I can't promise it won't burn you a bit. Wait a while until you're sure it won't. You've seen you're getting strong."

"You were probably immune to damage at my age."

"Yes."

"Why were you so much better than me? You said you were breaking the sound barrier when you were something like six or seven. I can't even fly." It felt amazing to lie. His mother wouldn't be proud of that. Or maybe she would.

Homelander tried to look around the room inconspiciously. Ryan wished he hadn't told him about the cameras, but it felt good to no longer have to keep it secret. Eventually, Homelander heaved a sigh. His voice was low. Angry, but low. "When I was five years old, the doctors shoved me into an incinerator. Hand first. Like you want to try. My skin blistered, so they broke off the experiment. And did it again and again until my skin didn't start peeling off. When that was the case, they asked me to get into the incinerator entirely. My whole body. I was... maybe seven at the time. I don't remember anything about the heat. I don't think it was painful at that point. I certainly would remember sustaining an injury. No, funnily enough, the only thing I remember is hearing my own scream. Inside of there. The roar of the flames and then my voice."

Ryan felt nauseous. He drank down the last of his cocoa, snuggled into his father, and whispered into his ear: "They won't do this to you or me. Ever again."

The bathroom didn't have cameras, so leaving out of that window was easy enough. Homelander wouldn't fit through, but Ryan did. He climbed out, made his way over the roof, then took a deep breath and decided to just step into the empty air. His stomach dropped, but his body didn't fail his leap of faith. He drifted to the ground slowly and quietly.

There were no lights outside anywhere, so he made his way through the dark until he stepped off the paths and into the- into his- into their woods. He wasn't scared of seeing Mom's ghost this time. He wasn't scared of anything right now.

The dark and quiet didn't have to be dark and quiet at all. When he started to feel alone, he tuned his ears into the sounds of the woods. Thousands upon thousands of insects and other animals. He wasn't alone. He could hear his dad's heartbeat from here. When he felt like he wanted to see, he powered up the lasers, and the woods began to glow. When he wanted to find a spot with good reception, he didn't have to traipse around the forest floor. He floated above the treeline until his phone showed a full three bars.

He settled into the branches and put the phone to his ear. His hands were shaking when he waited for the voice he needed to hear, but he found it was from excitement.

"Newark?" she said. The codeword for this particular number.

He didn't bother replying in kind. He just got right to his point. "Aunt Grace? I need help."

[photogirl894]

@clonexreaderbingo

Square: Kix

It's been a bit since I've posted a bingo one shot; I had a slight block with this one, but now it is complete! Shoutout to @l-lend for helping me with the idea 😊 Love you, bestie!!

"Kix, you've got to take a break. You're gonna work yourself to death."

Your best friend, Kix, who was a medic of the 501st, had been dealing with so many patients in the past couple weeks. You weren't even sure when was the last time he'd slept. He'd been practically living at the Coruscant med bay and you had barely seen him pretty much until now. He'd only gotten back to the apartment you two shared to pick up some more medical supplies. 

"I can't, I've got too many patients," he told you. 

"You know there are other medics in the GAR that can take care of things for you," you told him. 

"I'll be fine. I have to help my brothers," he replied, digging through a case of vials. 

You put a hand over his to stop him from grabbing more vials. "Kix! You're not the sole medic of the entire Clone army!" you scolded him. Being closer to him, you could now see the dark rings under his eyes. "When was the last time you even got any sleep?"

He sighed. "I don't know…but I'm fine."

"Kix…!" you groaned, irritated. 

He collected all the supplies he'd gotten into his pack and called over his shoulder, already halfway to the door, "I'll be back later!"

You groaned aloud again. You were getting worried about him. If he kept this up, he was either going to get himself sick or worse, but he was a stubborn one. When he set his mind to something, he stuck with it. Some days, you loved that about him; other days, like this one, it infuriated you to no end. It didn't help that you secretly held deeper feelings for your best friend, not wanting to potentially ruin your friendship, so when you worried about him, it only doubled because of that. 

"Medics are the worst…," you mumbled to yourself. You yourself were a technician who'd been hired by the Grand Army and by now, it was time for you to go to work. You had an appointment to make, so you got your datapad and other tools needed and left the apartment.

Over an hour passed and, just as you were finishing up with your work for a client, your commlink chirped, followed by a voice you knew, saying, "(Y/N), it's Captain Rex. You need to get to the med bay. Kix has collapsed."

Kix's body ached, his head throbbed, his throat was on fire, he felt hot and cold at the same time and he had shivers. His eyes heavily fluttered open and he realized the ceiling didn't match the med bay's. It looked like…the ceiling of your apartment. How did he end up here? The last thing he remembered was getting a med patch for another injured Clone and then things got fuzzy. Why was he back here and not with his patients?

He attempted to move and his whole body and head twinged in pain. A moan escaped his mouth as he tried to push himself up, noticing his armor was gone and he was only in his black undersuit. 

"Oh no, you don't. You are not getting out of that bed."

Your voice sounded from a few feet away and, with another groan, he turned his head to see you coming towards him with a steaming bowl in your hands. The look on your face was a mix of relief and immense irritation. He recognized your surroundings and realized that he was indeed in your apartment somehow. 

"How did I get here?" Kix asked you as he forced himself to sit up and put a hand up to his head. 

"We had to bring you here on a stretcher. It wasn't easy, but luckily, Rex and Jesse helped me," you told him. 

Kix sighed, trying to push aside the aching throughout his body. "What are you talking about?" Then he let out a startled yelp as you pulled out a pain relief stim from your pocket and injected it into his neck without warning. 

"You collapsed in the med bay, you idiot!" you exclaimed as you put the stim down and sat on the edge of bed, carefully handling the hot bowl you had in your other hand. "I got a comm from Rex telling me to come get you because you had passed out. I told you that you've been working too hard and look at what happened."

Kix rubbed at his neck where you had just injected him and said while shivering, "I'm sh--sure it was j--just coincidence. If I…get back up and moving, I'll be f--fine."

"You're really still going to argue with me about this?" you asked back. 

By this point, he was attempting to move his legs to the edge of bed while still moaning from aches. "I h--have patients to attend to. They n--need me," he said, almost slurring his words as he got over the side of the bed and stood up shakily. 

You spoke up, "What about me, Kix? Don't you think I need you?" When he looked back at you through heavy eyes, you said to him, "I need my best friend and if you keep this up, he's going to slowly disappear. I've been charged by Captain Rex to take care of you and keep you here until you've regained your health."

His lips curled down, unamused. "Are you...s--serious?"

"Yes. So get back in this bed and eat this soup. That's an order."

"You can't…give me orders."

"I can when I've been ordered by your Captain to look after you. Now get back in bed right now before I have to sedate you."

The firmness and authority in your voice right then was strangely intimidating to Kix. It was almost scary. He knew you could be tough when you wanted to be, but you'd never gotten this way with him. He was going to respond, but he could feel his legs shaking and his body was weak. He lost his balance, but you stopped him. You moved quicker than he'd ever seen you; putting the bowl down on a table at the end of the bed and jumping up to catch him around his waist.

"You medics really are the worst patients," you commented to him as you pulled him back and helped lower him back onto the bed.

As you turned him, got his legs under the covers and sat him up against the wall, he said back tiredly, "You technicians are the worst doctors."

Picking up the bowl and scooping some soup into the spoon, you replied, "Yet I'm the one doing a better job at taking care of you. Now, shut up and eat." 

You held the spoon up to his lips and he reluctantly opened it, letting you feed the hot soup you'd made into his mouth. It was savory and tasty and the heat helped the soreness in his throat. You had figured Kix would resist staying here, but he was really giving you a run for your money. Luckily, once the first bite of soup went down, you could see him physically start to relax against the wall and sink just slightly into the bed. It seemed like he was now allowing himself to relax. You got another spoonful of soup ready, held it up and fed it to him. 

After a couple more bites, Kix said your name in a weak voice that made your heart swell with pity for him. You looked up and found him looking at you with exhausted eyes and a tired smile. 

"Thank you…," he said through an exhale. 

You smiled back. "Of course, Kix."

His head began to fall forward and you could tell he was going to succumb to sleep at any second. You urged him to lay down flat on his back and pulled the covers up all the way to help keep him warm. Almost immediately, he was out. As he lightly started snoring, you ran your hand over his buzzed, tattooed head.

"You idiot," you said affectionately before softly kissing his forehead.

Fortunately for you, you didn't have anymore clients for work for the rest of the day or the next day either, so you were able to just stay home and be there for Kix, if he needed you. Though, you could tell that the Clone was incredibly sleep-deprived because it wasn't until the afternoon the next day that Kix woke up. His rest had been a bit fitful from time to time from aches and chills, but you had given him medicine and helped lull him back to sleep each time. 

When he awoke, he took a moment to assess his situation. It appeared his fever had broken and he no longer had chills. There were still slight aches in his muscles and he still felt a bit weak, but it was already a vast improvement. He slowly sat up, grunting loudly enough for you to hear him waking up in the other room.

A few seconds later, you walked into the room and quietly greeted him. When he looked up at you, you had a sweet smile on your beautiful face that made him feel warmer than any of your homemade soup ever did, which only prompted him to smile back. In your hands, you held a cup of steaming tea and you brought it over to him. 

"How are you feeling?" you asked him as he took the cup. 

He heaved a heavy sigh. "I'm still a bit weak and will need more time to properly recover, but all things considered…I feel much better. Especially with you here."

You grinned timidly. "You definitely seem better," you commented. 

He took a sip of the tea and then asked, "How long was I out?"

Your eyebrows shot up and you answered, emphasizing each word, "Twenty. Whole. Hours, Kix."

His eyes widened and he nearly spit out the second sip of tea he'd taken. "What?"

Nodding, you said, "Yeah…you haven't slept in days, so I'd say you needed every second of that very long rest."

Kix looked down into the dark tea, catching a glimpse of his tired reflection. "I really have been bad about taking care of myself lately, haven't I?"

"You're dedicated to your work and to helping others and I admire that about you," you said, laying your hand on his shoulder, "but sometimes, you get too caught up in what you do. You try to take on the entire workload of the whole Grand Army all on your own, it seems, sometimes. It's okay to take a step back when you're feeling overworked and take a break."

He sighed, closed his eyes and nodded. "I know you're right. I just hate feeling like I'm letting my brothers down if I do."

Your hand came up to his cheek and you gently urged him to look at you. "You know none of the Clones would ever think that of you," you assured him, your thumb rubbing his cheek. "Taking care of yourself isn't selfish. Taking care of yourself makes it so you can still continue helping others, which is what you're best at." Then you worked up what courage you had and placed a kiss on his other cheek. 

At the contact of your lips on his skin, Kix froze up slightly in surprise and turned to meet your eyes when you pulled back, reaching up and grasping your hand on his cheek. Something about the look he could see in your eyes was stirring up a wave of emotions within him that he hadn't felt before. 

"I don't know if I'm still delirious from being sick or not…and you don't have to say 'yes', but…can I kiss you?" he asked of you. 

For a moment, you wondered if you were now getting sick because there was no way you'd heard him right…but the way he was looking at you and the fact you could feel him ever so slowly leaning towards you told you otherwise. 

In a shaky whisper, you replied, "Kix…I've never wanted to say 'yes' to you more than I do right now."

Kix's eyes went wide a little, shocked at how quickly and how positively you responded to him. Then, with a relieved smile, he closed the distance and pressed a sweet, chaste kiss to your lips. You felt a small shiver go up your spine, hardly believing this was actually happening. 

When he pulled back, he said hesitantly, "I know you're not supposed to kiss anyone when you're sick…but I couldn't help myself."

"I don't care," you said back. "I've…actually wanted to kiss you for a while. I was afraid to because you're my best friend and I was worried it would ruin our friendship."

"Honestly…I had thought the same thing," he admitted. 

"Wait, really?"

"Yeah, really."

You smiled again with giddiness and nuzzled his nose. "We're both pretty hopeless, I guess. Now, keep drinking that tea, soldier."

He looked down at the tea and then back at you. "I don't know. I think that kiss helped cure me and I feel a lot better."

"Mmm nice try," you said, smirking knowingly. 

"Ah, really thought I was gonna get away with that," he said with fake disappointment.

"It's like I said: medics really are the worst patients," you responded. 

He grinned back. "Well, I have to be in order to get someone like you to take care of me."

Even though you couldn't deny the butterflies you got in your stomach at his statement, you just smiled at him and replied, "Flattery is only going to get you so far with me." Then you kissed him again before ordering him, "Drink your tea and I'll get some more medicine for you."

"Yes, ma'am."

Clone x Reader Bingo 2023

[aydience-world]

With the latest leaks about Overhaul's quirk being the origin for Decay, I just can't stop thinking about Kai's possible background and I've been reading other people's theories like a madwoman, so I need to write this down to help me get some peace of mind and will revisit this later if we get more information. Important things we learned about Kai so far:

He lived in one of Garaki's orphanages, possibly the same one as Touya was in, based on the decorations on the wall.

In the panel showing him in the orphanage, young Kai is mumbling about disease. This must mean he already had his mysophobia at an early young age.

Decay is a subpar copy of Overhaul. This experiment did not cause Kai to be stripped of his quirk.

We don't have any idea yet how he got away from the orphanage but AFO was still updated on what Kai was up to. He knows Kai became the head of the Shie Hassaikai and kept a picture.

Kai is very sensitive to external irritants, which cause him hives.

Kai mentioned he had nowhere to go prior to meeting Pops.

Kai has an unhealthy attachment to Pops and feels intensely indebted to him, even when Pops clearly voiced out against his methods.

When meeting Tenko for the first time, he mentions that they treated AFO like an urban legend. Could it be that he didn't meet AFO in person or doesn't remember/recognize him?

Kai is very knowledgeable about quirks, mutations and evolution and knows how to study and extract a quirk.

He's willing to do anything and everything for the Shie Hassaikai and Pops, even the most atrocious things.

When stripped of pretty much everything, Pops is all he can think of and the regret of putting him in coma.

His mysophobia did not seem to affect him anymore after Tartarus.

Even in his defenseless state, AFO still doesn't steal his quirk. Based on these facts, I've come up with some theories:

Kai was most definitely put in the orphanage due to his quirk. Likely hurt or scared his parents with it. Possibly similar to what happened to Eri.

AFO mentioned that the quirk was acquired from one of the doctor's facilities. Kai was more than likely born with his quirk.

Given his knowledge about quirks and surgical procedures, it's possible he learned this from Garaki or his assistants, the knowledge or experiments might have triggered a deep fear and disgust for quirks, causing his mysophobia and stemming his theory that quirks originated from rats.

I believe Garaki kept a copy of the Overhaul quirk in his lab which is why AFO doesn't need to steal it from Kai.

Kai was possibly also experimented on to create Decay. The things he did to Eri may have been a projection of his own unresolved trauma.

I believe Kai left the orphanage at age 12. This is because Tenko's Decay successfully manifested at age 5 and once this happened, AFO's focused all his attention to his successor. So there are two ways I can imagined that happened. (1) Since all attention was now diverted to Tenko, this must have been the chance for Kai to escape. Or (2) since the experiment was successful, Kai was not needed anymore and he may have been abandoned or given away.

Either Kai was found by Pops by coincidence or them meeting was a set up. If it was a coincidence, then likely AFO didn't want to waste more resources to retrieve him since he's busy grooming Tenko and instead showed Tenko a picture of Kai to let him know who he is, maybe to recruit him in the future. (Which seems such a waste since Kai could have been a great asset.)

If it was a set up, I can imagine AFO having connection with someone from the Yakuza (like Pops) to find someone else to groom Kai and keep AFO updated on his progress. (Although I still couldn't come up with a reason for doing this. Could Kai be part of a greater plan by AFO?) Maybe Pops was interested in adopting Kai for his quirk which would help the Shie Hassaikai and they struck some kind of deal. Appearing to rescue a vulnerable Kai that time would make him absolutely loyal to that person and this later on backfires. So this is what I've come up with so far. I just cannot wait to learn more about Kai, where he came from, what happened to him, etc and I really wish Hori enlightens us soon. If I missed anything else or if there's anything else that should be added, please let me know.

[aurumacadicus]

AU+ Pairing = Headcanons: Tony/Bucky and Space Opera AU

Me: I know exactly what a space opera is. Me: *looking it up* Turns out I didn't know what a space opera is.

Anyway I'm still obsessed with feline-alien Tony I guess.

Tony runs away from home and joins the Art Circuit--a special fleet of ships traveling from planet to planet to put on theatrical displays like plays, concerts, and ballets. It's all he's ever wanted to do, and quite frankly, he thinks royalty should be abolished anyway. Still, though, he can't really... do anything on stage. He wants to. More than anything, he wants to be able to sing on stage. He doesn't. He knows he'll be found by the mercenaries looking for him if he does. He aches with the desire to perform, but... it's better this way. He can do the stage stuff. Help with costume changes. Practice lines with the actors. He can be helpful. He can watch others succeed and know he helped them. Still. On opening night, Ms. Carter seems to understand that the show is something that makes him ache deeply. So she allows him to stand at the edge of the curtain, watching from the shadows as the packed audiences ooh and ahh over the actors on stage. Maybe one day, when he's older and doesn't fit any missing posters anymore, he could be out there. But usually it was better not to hope, and so he closed his eyes, and pretended it was him on the stage.

The Barnes family is famous for their work in the Art Circuit. Each ship has at least one of the Barnes family in it--Bucky's parents started in theater, and his sisters had each gone into the symphony, the ballet, and the opera. Bucky hadn't really had their artistic talent. He'd never actually wanted to be on the stage. But, he'd been around them since he was born, so he knows his way around the backstage and tech booths like the back of his hand. It's easy as breathing to slip into that role rather than try his hand at performing himself. He wonders, sometimes, if it was the correct decision. If his family things less of him. Then he remembers the day that Becca had come to him in tears because the stage manager wouldn't listen to her when she said she didn't feel safe in the hoist that would keep her aloft over the audience. How he'd patted her head, told her it would be okay, and then went and told his parents he was about to use the family name very aggressively. And with their blessing, he'd stormed onto the operatic ship and shamed the stage manager into checking every single piece of equipment. Ms. Carter finds out that the rigging was faulty and fires the stage manager on the spot. She makes Bucky the stage manager instead.

Bucky meets Tony on his first day. "He knows everything," Becca had said. "He'll help you." Tony does know everything. He knows who is playing what part, where everything on set should be, how to play the piano while it's being moved around (Bucky is experimenting with the set, and Tony is determined to see to it that the actors don't suffer for it), and when someone needs a break and needs to sit out. Bucky has no idea why Ms. Carter didn't make him stage manager, except that maybe she liked Bucky's willingness to punch someone to get things done, whereas Tony had simply planned on pulling on overnight and fixing everything while the stage manager was gone. He doesn't understand why Tony isn't on stage, either. Bucky's not sure what planet he's from (or even what part of the galaxy, Tony's that tight-lipped), but wherever he's from, he must be the most beautiful person there. He's heard Tony sing sometimes, too, when he thinks he's alone after the rest of the crew has gone back to their quarters to sleep. He's got a voice that could make angels weep. He's a good actor, too, from what Bucky's seen of Tony helping everyone with their lines, and Becca has gushed talked about how nice he is to all the younger actors. Why is Tony backstage, when he should be front and center? "That's Tony's spot," Ms. Carter tells Bucky, firmly but kindly, when he goes to stand in the wings to watch the opening of the show. Bucky doesn't understand much of anything, he thinks, as he steps back and watches Tony as his face fills with longing as he watches the crowd.

Apparently, some of the other ships have bad stage managers, too. Ms. Carter took one (1) year to vacation with her family in a resort planet and some guy named Pierce cut every corner imaginable. Ms. Carter is furious. Tony is mostly glad he's not on her warpath, instead simply taking her assignment to check everything out with a fine-tooth comb. It's good to keep busy. Mostly he just needs to do reports to get new parts. He's pleased, though, because Ms. Carter has said that he's fully approved to do improvements. He tries to keep his improvements moderate. He doesn't want to do anything too expensive. Bucky is helping him, mostly by taking notes. He looks like he understands one out of three words Tony is saying, but also like it doesn't bother him, which is something that Tony isn't really used to. Most other races got prickly with how quickly his kind's minds worked, how fast their reflexes were. Bucky looked like he didn't care at all, which makes Tony eye him skeptically, but Peggy isn't in the habit of hiring idiots. (Most of them had quit en masse after she'd almost murdered Pierce.) Then the catwalk they're on creaks ominously. Tony and Bucky look down at it, stunned, and in that moment, it lurches downward, jerks, and snaps the wires holding it up. Tony grabs Bucky and leaps toward the curtains, claws tearing through the fabric as they plummet to the ground, trajectory only slowing a little. Tony could land on his feet and be fine, he thinks, but not holding Bucky. Bucky is too heavy. His legs would snap. So he wraps both arms around Bucky and turns, taking the full brunt of the fall so hard that his body cracks through the metal paneling under the wood veneer they used on the stage.

Tony survives. His race is hardy, Ms. Carter assures Bucky. She says she once watched Tony's father get wrecked by a shuttle bike and he had nothing but some bruising and road rash. ("His feet left the ground and he whipped around in a circle twice! I suppose that taught him to look both ways before he crossed the thoroughfare though.") Tony will probably be up and about in a week. All Bucky can think about is the way Tony's arms wrapped around him. The way he'd managed to whisper, "I've got you," right before they hit the ground. The way Tony had looked up at him after someone else had helped Bucky up off of him, teeth gritted to bite back a guttural moan of pain, even as his eyes tracked his body to make sure he wasn't injured. The way Tony had smiled when Bucky had helplessly reached out to take his hand. The way he'd squeezed back, so gently, when Bucky knew he could have easily crushed his hand instead. "This has awoken something in me," Bucky says miserably. "Do you think he likes flowers?" "I think he'd love flowers," Ms. Carter answers, then adds, "Don't ever give me an inkling of your sexual proclivities about my godson again." "YOUR GODSON?!" Bucky shrieks. Ms. Carter scoffs. "You think his family doesn't know where he is? The only reason they haven't come for him is because they're scared of me. ...Howard is scared of me," she corrected. "Maria... thinks me a worthy adversary. But she likes the arts too much to kill me." "Everything you just said is horrible and it didn't turn me off at all will they kill me? I feel like they'll kill me," Bucky begins, and then slumps miserably to the floor when she simply shrugs at him.

[knickynoo]

Hi there! Me again.

I’ve been rewatching Family Ties (thanks again for showing me where!) and noticed something about Alex’s character that i don’t care for/think you have touched upon.

What are your thoughts on his views of women?The advice he gave Jeff on his date with Mallory appalled me. Do you think it’s just a product of the time- how right leaning people were expected/did to treat women? Or is it something deeper? I don’t understand how he thinks this way after seeing how amazing Steven and Elyse are toward each other. (Even if the kids are disgusted every time they kiss lol)

I would love to hear your opinion!

Hello! Nice to hear from you again :)

Yeah, so, a lot of the words that come out of Alex's mouth regarding women are 😬😬😬

I can't recall the exact advice you're referring to, but I do know it's bonkers. Something about how women want a man to make all her decisions or something? Boss her around and take charge? It's honestly not only some of his worst advice, but I also think it's one of the more outrageous things he says in regards to women out of the whole series.

It's especially weird considering he's giving advice on how his sister should be treated by Jeff! And we know that, while Alex isn't always the nicest to Mallory, he loves her very much and wants to protect her. I mean, there's an entire first season episode centered around Alex losing his mind over Mallory going out with a guy who Alex doesn't like or trust. He's so worried about this guy taking advantage of Mallory and not treating her right, then he goes and gives bananas advice to Jeff. So...what's the deal?

Honestly, I don't know, lol. If I had to guess, there are probably several different factors at play that contribute to those moments Alex says Horrible Things.

1. He operates with a set of standards and values from way before his time. The thing is that Alex isn't even a product of his time—a lot of the opinions he holds would be considered outdated in the 80s by the majority of people, regardless of political leaning.

I can't for the life of me remember the episode or the exact quote, so I'm going to butcher it I'm sure, but there's a scene where Alex is lamenting how no one holds the same values he does, and he and Steven have an exchange like this:

Alex: "I should have been born in the 40s."

Steven: "Even then, you'd be a little conservative."

Alex: "The 1740s."

Steven: "....Even then, you'd be a little conservative."

It's something like that. If anyone knows what episode this is from or what the exact line is, lmk because it's one of my favorites.

2. Alex is an extreme black and white thinker. I think this is the number one trait of his that impacts him the most across the board. So many of his problems boil down to him just not seeing nuance. It's not that he's unwilling to. The guy just can't.

It makes Alex very rigid in his thoughts on things, and that absolutely spills over into situations like when he gives advice to Jeff or voices any other wild opinion. He's going to automatically go to the extremes because that's all he can wrap his head around. In a relationship, men should have all the control. They should make the decisions and say specific things and so on. It then leads him to make generalizations about women and their roles.

I think he also finds some security in these thoughts, honestly. Alex clings to facts and things that he feels are concrete and reliable. We also know that he has a very hard time processing and acknowledging his emotions. Putting people into two neat piles is comfortable for him, and anything that doesn't fit into either of those piles is too overwhelming. Alex's world needs rules for it to feel stable to him. Unfortunately, a lot of those rules are...not so great.

3. Shock-value: This is more about Alex the TV show character rather than the "real life" in-universe Alex Keaton, but still. A good deal of his character, especially in the earlier seasons, hinged on him saying or doing things that got a reaction from the audience. You can't have a show about ex-hippy, progressive parents without someone for them to knock heads against. The early episodes in particular seemed to really lean into this, and I feel like he gets toned down slightly as the series goes on? Don't get me wrong, it doesn't go away, but he does grow.

• The "Ladies Man" episode has him realizing that, while he may not support a particular movement, he absolutely respects the rights of the women in the movement. Him jumping up to defend the woman being heckled by a guy, and then his little speech to the women at the end are two of my favorite Alex moments.

• After a very difficult adjustment period when he gets a new job and learns his boss is a woman, Alex ends up really respecting her and becoming friends with her. (Wow, this ep is uncomfortable for the first half, though!)

• Ellen in particular has an impact on helping Alex to see those "in-between" areas, in my opinion. Some heart to hearts with Elyse help as well, and it's clear through the series that Alex loves and respects his mother a great deal.

Idk if this response was coherent, but there you go, haha. Alex is such a complicated character, and whenever I write about him, I feel like I'm trying to untangle a gigantic mess of yarn. But I do love him! Sometimes he is a menace, though!! He should, perhaps, simply keep his mouth shut a lot of the time.

(Also, Steven and Elyse don't discipline him ever, so it's partly their fault if we're being real here)

What? Who said that?

Thanks for the ask!

[russellsppttemplates]

Always want you with me (Mick Schumacher)

Note: english is not my first language, I was exploring some Seb and Mick moments and came up with this in my head

Feedback is appreciated 🤍 and although I'm not taking requests per se, if you have any ideas or concepts you want to share, feel free to do so!

When Mick invited you to spend the race weekend with him, you were unsure. It had crossed your mind that you'd end up watching him race from the garage and not from your sofa at home, and you wanted to be there closely so you could support him, but that came with a lot of things as well, media, fans, his team and all of his drivers friends, so loads of new people to meet. Your and Mick's relationship was still new and your studies and work hadn't allowed you to support him at the races, and you had only met the people who worked really close to him so you were a bit nervous about it all.

"It's fine if you don't want to come, but I'd like you to be there. I understand though, I don't want you to do anything you don't feel comfortable", Mick said smiling although you could see a slight disappointment in his face at the prospect of not having you there. "No, my love, I want to go and I'll go! I want to support you from the garage and be there cheering for you!", you said, grabbing his hand over the table, "might have to control myself though, because at home I tend to shout at the TV and sometimes I call other drivers names that I'm not too proud of", you trailed off, blushing as you remember the last time you watched a race, many shouts flying around. "I can't wait to have you there then, I'll inform the team so they can have your pass ready", he said squeezing your hand and looking at you, his blue eyes and smile radiating all his love for you in a silent way.

By the time the weekend came around, you were cladded in a comfy pair of wide leg linen pants and a simple vest top with little ruffles on the sleeves, not wanting to draw much attention to yourself even though you knew you'd be the talk for a little bit of the time despite your efforts, "does this look good?", you asked Mick, turning around to face him, "you look gorgeous schatz, I love this colour on you", he said referring to the red piece that covered your upper body, "come here", he ushered you to come closer to him so he could grab your hips and look up at you from his sitting position on the edge of bed. You took the opportunity to run your fingers through his hair, careful to not mess up the work he had done, "I know you'll do amazing in Quali today", you said, your voice soft, "Of course I will, I have the most amazing supporter cheering me on", Mick replied in a tone that matched yours, "right, like that is what makes you win. Not your talent", you reasoned, giggling at his expression, "meh, that might have to do with it to", he said before pulling you down a kissing your lips.

As he parked his car and you both headed to get your passes scanned, more people started to gather around, either asking for a picture or for Mick to sign something for then, some curious eyes and a few smiles thrown your way. Truth was you and Mick had kept your relationship pretty private, only a picture here and there on his instagram stories that showed a little bit of a second person other than Mick but enough to leave the curiosity and a certain speculation about the Haas driver dating life. So you weren't all that surprised about the attention, which didn't mean that it hadn't left you feeling nervous. Arriving at the garage, there was a commotion set already and after greeting the people you already knew and meeting some new ones, Mick led you to his driver's room where you could sit, "was that okay? Not too overwhelming?", he asked, sitting next to you so you could be face to face, "I figured people would be all over the place but everyone was very polite and didn't push around or anything... it's just first time in here jitters I guess", you replied, "if you need anything, just calm anyone on the team if I'm not around, I'm going to try to spend as much as I can with you, I don't want you to feel left out of all of this...", he voiced his concerns, "this is a big important part of my life but so are you, darling", he looked at you, grabbing your hands and rubbing his thumbs over them, "I'm a little nervous but I think it went down a bit already, I think knowing that I know a few people already helps too, but the buzz is even bigger than I anticipated...! The rush of everyone trying to get car parts to the car so it is ready for you guys to race it, all the fans are excited to just be here, let alone when they meet you and get their caps signed", you blurted, not really containing yourself as you let your thoughts go straight out and Mick is just appreciating how your nerves are turning to excitement, the little things you had noticed making him fall more in love with you when he didn't even think it was possible to love you more. As he was ready to smash his lips on yours, someone called his name "Mick, meeting begins in five!", prompting him to settle for a quicker kiss that he had wanted to, filled with all the giddiness he was feeling still, "I have to go, but maybe you can head upstairs if you feel like it, grab something to eat or drink if you want to", he said as he grabbed your hand, the both of you exiting the room and heading your different ways. With some directions from Mick, you eventually found the area, grabbing a bottle of water and sitting in one of the sofas overlooking the track when you heard your name being called, "Y/N, so glad to see you here, how are you?", one of Mick's assistants said, "Hi, good, especially now that there's another familiar face, and you?", you asked back as she sat next to you, "Ugh, happy that I'm resting my feet for a bit, I've been running around all morning!", she said. You caught up with her for a bit, having known her from previous visits you payed to Mick when he was in the factory until a group of male voices was heard, "there they come", you whispered as you both turned to the entrance of the room where the engineers and both drivers were coming in.

"Hi schatz, did you have a good time?", Mick said as he pressed a kiss to your head, leading you to hum in agreement, "how was your meeting?", you asked as you felt some eyes on your interactions, "the car issues we've had seem to be solved, only Quali will tell but we're confident", he said smiling. "So this is the famous Y/N, actually, both famous and mysterious", you recognised your boyfriend's teammate's voice, "Hi, I'm Kevin, how are you?", he finished as he greeted you, "Hi, I'm Y/N, but apparently you already knew that", you said blushing as you looked at an equally blushing Mick. You all fell into comfortable conversation until lunch, the easiness of the conversation still there until you were interrupted when they needed to get ready for the qualifying laps.

"Go on and show them how it's done, my love", you said, pulling him closer to you as you pressed a kiss on his lips and gave him a squeeze.

Mick got involved in a few risky moves but at the end he was able to secure P8 for his beginning place in the race tomorrow. Congratulating and receiving congratulations from everyone in the garage, Mick ended up having you back in his arms, "I want to celebrate every Quali like this, with you in my arms", he whispered near your ear as he chastely kissed your neck. After a quick team meeting and some media duties, you and Mick were walking through the paddock, the sun setting as you made your way back to the car so you could get to the hotel and rest for the big day tomorrow. As your boyfriend was stopped by a few fans, you distanced yourself a bit, watching the support he got (and deserved) and that's when you felt a tug on your pants, making you look down to see a head full of brown curls and some green eyes staring at you. "Oh I'm sorry, he usually doesn't do this. What do we say to this lady?", you heard after both a female and a male voice called a name "Hi buddy, how are you?", you squatted down so you were face to face with the little boy that couldn't be more than 5 years old, "I'm Rudy, and I'm sorry to bother you but do you think I can meet Mick, please? I want him to sign my cap, do you think he will? And I'm sorry again lady, I didn't mean to hurt you", and your heart melted at his politeness and pouty lip. "Well, it's just your lucky day because I think he has seen you", you replied, turning your face slightly to see your boyfriend coming to join you, "Why don't you ask him yourself?", you encouraged the boy. As Mick approached you, you got back up, "Mick!! I'm a big fan of yours! Can you sign this for me?", he said handing him the cap, "Well, thank you! What's your name?", Mick asked, "I'm Rudy and one day I'm going to drive fast cars like you, thank you so much", he thanked him as he placed the (big) cap over his head, "Thank you so much, this means a lot to him. He always watches your races and cheers you on!", his father said, "Do you want me to take a picture of all of you?", you asked. "That would be lovely if you don't mind", his mum said as she handed you her phone and allowing you to take a picture of the family of three and your boyfriend. Wishing Mick a good race, they bid you farewell and you went on your way back to the hotel, heading straight to your room.

When morning came around, you opened your eyes to see your shirtless boyfriend lying on his front, the light that seeped through the curtains landing on his back. You were appreciating the view, as it wasn't often that you got to wake up next to him, when you saw his back muscles tense as he also moved his arms, "Good morning handsome", you whispered looking at his eyes now as the opened and revealed the blue colour you loved so much. Stretching his arm so he could pull you closer to him, your hands landed on his chest as you took the opportunity to kiss his jaw, "Morning darling", he said, his voice filled with sleep as he returned your affections, "how about we go get ready, have breakfast and we'll head to the track?", he whispered, leading you to get up to get ready for the day.

Since the weather seemed nice enough, you went with a flowy midi dress that you had packed, grabbing the necklace you always wore, "is that an angel I see?", you heard Mick say as you exited the bathroom, already looking for your shoes. Leaving you a blushing mess, you went over to him so you could kiss him, "Thank you bub, I had this dress that I hadn't worn in a while and I thought it would match you too", you referred to the embroidery details in red and blue, "Everyone in the paddock will know you are mine", he said helping the both of you up as he pressed a final kiss on your forehead.

When you arrived in the paddock, other drivers were arriving too, and Mick introduced you to them, making small talk as each of them got in their garage. When you and Mick were just waiting around, you noticed someone in a green coloured top approaching and you immediately knew who it was. Your boyfriend had told you so many stories and adventures about Sebastian Vettel it was impossible to miss the amazing connexion he had with the Aston Martin driver, "Mick!", he called for your boyfriend, who turned his head immediately and went to hug him, "Seb! It's the first time I've properly seen you this weekend", he said as the older man greeted him back, "I saw you yesterday for a little bit but I also had things to do so I didn't come to you", Sebastian said. Turning to your direction and approaching you, you heard your boyfriend introduce yourself, "This is Y/N, my girlfriend. Y/N, this is Sebastian", he finished, a proud smile on his face. You hugged the german driver, "It's so nice to meet you, I have heard so many stories about you", you smiled, "well, I've only heard good things about you so I hope Mick didn't do me wrong", he chuckled, the both of you looking at a blushing Mick. Falling into comfortable conversation about the race until someone called them back to each of their garages, Sebastian forwarded some plans, "you're staying until tomorrow too right? We can have dinner together tonight! We're staying in a house this time and Hanna is cooking for us, you should come", and after looking at you for confirmation, not sure if you felt comfortable to do it, Mick saw reassurance in your eyes, "Yes, sure!". Thanking him and wishing him a good race, you and Mick went back to his room so he could get ready.

The race was going well and Mick ended in the Top 10 again, meaning points for the Haas team. Everyone cheered in the garage, some of them hugging you as you waited for Mick to come back. Unstrapping all the safety belts and removing the wheel, Mick jumped out of the car, congratulating everyone on the team before getting to you and removing his helmet, "The streak continues, my love! I knew you could do it, I'm so proud of you", you said before pressing your lips in his, receiving a chorus of noises that ranged from 'aw' to puking noises followed by another wave of cheers.

After his media duties and talking to the team for a bit, you left the paddock and headed to the hotel so you could have a quick shower and get ready to go for dinner. "Did you enjoy the day?", Mick asked, "yeah, it was amazing! The whole atmosphere on the paddock is insane, in a good way, and I enjoyed it a lot, just watching you do your thing, and get more points too!", you smiled. You were starting to believe that your heart would burst at any minute because of the pride and love you had for the driver. "I'm very glad to hear that, I liked having you here too. I know work and school keeps you busy but I want to make an offer to you. Everytime you are able to, and want to, you can come and support me. Mum and Gina also said that they were planning to come to some of the next ones", he said mentioning his mum and sister who you had met a few times, some of them even before you were officially dating. "Yeah, I'd like that. It's nice meeting everyone that you care about... and it was very kind of Sebastian to invite us for dinner too", you said, some nerves creeping back in, knowing fully well how much he meant to Mick and wanting to leave a good impression, "you don't need to be nervous you know, I think he likes you already", he replied, looking into your eyes. "Yeah, from all you've said to him before right? I can only wonder what you have told him and hope that it wasn't anything bad", you teased him, pressing a kiss to his cheek as you clasped your watch on your wrist, "I'm ready".

Making your way to the address the Aston Martin had given, you arrived at a cosy house and made your way to the door. After a few knocks, a women you recognised as Hanna from some pictures greeted you "Hi, you must be Y/N, come on dear", she said pulling your extended hand for a hug, "you are so beautiful dear, come on in! And you Mick, congratulations on today's performance", she said, ushering you inside where a lovely aroma was on the air and some distant young giggles could be heard, "Seb, they're here", she called for her husband. "Girls, do you want to go and see who arrived? We have special guests for dinner!", you heard Sebastian say before two running girls came to greet your boyfriend, "Mick! Mick! Daddy, it's Mick!", they shouted to their father like he hadn't been the one to invite you over, "Y/N, glad you guys could make it", he greeted you as you both looked at his daughters hugging your boyfriend's strong legs.

You were talking to Sebastian and his wife when you felt a tap on your thigh, "Hi, I'm Matilda. And I really like your jeans, lavender is my favourite colour", she said, looking at you. Crouching down so you were eye level with her and her sister, who joined in as she watched her sister interact with you, leaving your boyfriend's fingers laced on hers, "Hi Matilda, I'm Y/N, and thank you. I really like the bow you have on your head", you complimented her back, earning a blush on her cheeks as she looked at her parents smiling. "I'm Emily, and my socks have sparkles on them", the other girl introduced herself as she set her foot on your thigh, "Oh yes they have, they're very beautiful. I wonder if they make them for my size because I might get some for myself too", you said, tickling her feet slightly and earning a giggle, "I don't think so, but me and mummy can look in the store for you. Can't we mummy? Although you have a big foot", she said as she lowered her foot back to the ground and placed it next to yours, the differences in sizes clear as water. Her comment earned laughs from everyone and then the little girls grabbed your hands and lead you to play with them, making you excuse yourself really quickly after no one opposed that you go and play with them.

In the kitchen, as they were waiting for everything to cook, you became the topic, "She seems like a great girl Mick", Hanna started as she stirred the contents in the pot, "Yeah, I still can't believe she's dating me. Obviously everything is very new to her, but I think that waiting until now to go in public was a good decision. It wasn't necessarily that she didn't want to come, her work and studies made ir really hard but yeah, hopefully from now one she is going to be around on the weekends a lot more", he said smiling. "You had told me how beautiful, and kind and amazing and lovely she was, but I didn't think she would be like that... how you described, or even more! Yesterday I saw you both in the paddock, when the little kid pulled her and she was so amazing with him. I mean, how she handled it, I don't know what she said but the little boy was so happy just by talking to her", Sebastian said, revealing that he had been watching from afar, "Oh, and today she was in the garage supporting you all through the race, I saw her when we had to get inside because the girls were getting cranky without their sleep, but she was nearly bitting her nails off, bless her", Hanna joined in. "I'll do my very best to keep her happy and in my life for as long as she wants, and hopefully that is a long long time", Mick said, "She's a keeper Mick, I can tell you that", Sebastian said while patting the young driver's back, "If you don't keep her I will", Hanna said, "she's really nice and the girls love playing with her, I think we found ourselves a babysitter", she smiled as she high-fived Sebastian's hand, "they're playing happily, without screaming and pulling eachother's hair, I'm telling you, she knows".

Calling your name and her daughter's name, Hanna and Sebastian carried the pots to the table as you and the girls went to the nearest bathroom to wash your hands. As you entered the dining area, Mick had this really dreamy smile on his face, "What are you smiling for?", you asked while fixing your fringe that had fallen on your eyes, "Just you and how I love you", he said before placing a sweet kiss on your forehead and opening the chair for you to sit, the rest of the table smiling at the young love affections you shared.