#but i am thinking about it!!! and that should count for something

[adriennebarnes]

That’s That Me Espresso

Pairing: Charles Leclerc x Hispanic/Latina! Reader

Summary: Charles and Y/N have been dating for a few weeks, they met after the Suzuka Grand Prix. Even though their relationship has been short lived, there’s something about her that has Charles down bad. They are living proof of how the boyfriend should always like the girlfriend more.

Warning: Grammatical and spelling errors

A/N: For those who voted for idea 2, about Charles being auctioned off for charity? Yeah, I'm not vibing with that idea anymore. But i am working on the fanfic where Charles thinks Y/N likes Lando.

Charles was never one to chase girls. Sure, in every relationship he was in, he was the best boyfriend he could be, he would be so devoted to them. But in his current relationship, he has never felt this way before. He was away for the Imola Grand prix and he couldn't sleep so he decided to call Y/N. After a few rings, she answered.

"Bueno?" Y/N asked sleepily.

"Hello, mon ange, did I wake you?" Charles asked.

"Sort of, is something wrong, Charlie?" Y/N asked.

"Oh nothing, I'm just having trouble sleeping without you here, you know?" Charles said.

"I’m sorry I couldn’t make it to this Grand Prix, cariño, i just have a lot of in-person meetings. Plus, you've been to countless races before, you would think you'd be used to sleeping alone." Y/N said.

"Yes, but that was before i met you. Now when i'm in bed alone, it feels like I'm missing something.” Charles confessed.

“You’re so sweet. But seriously, muñeco, you have media day in the morning, and I can’t have you be sleepy during the interviews, Fred would kill you.” Y/N said.

“No he wouldn’t, I’m il predestinato, the prince of Ferrari.” Charles said.

“Muñeco.” Y/N warned.

“Alright Mon ange, I’ll go to sleep, but please FaceTime me before you go to work.” Charles said.

“Of course, Charlie. Te quiero mucho, Goodnight.” Y/N said.

“Yo también te quiero, Goodnight.” Charles tried his best to say in Spanish and he hung up.

The next morning, Y/N woke up, showered, did her after shower routine, got dressed and she was about to make breakfast when Charles decided to FaceTime her. She answered.

“Muñeco, how are you? Did you get some sleep?” Y/N asked.

“I did actually, it took a while though.” Charles said.

“Well when you’re back in Monaco, I’ll be sleeping by your side.” Y/N said, she set her phone against something in the kitchen so she can make pancakes.

“Sounds perfect, I’ll be counting down the days.” Charles said.

“You think you’ll make podium?” Y/N asked.

“I’ll dedicate my podium to you, Mon ange.” Charles said. They kept talking while Y/N made her breakfast, Charles also took his phone with him to eat when his room service came so they had breakfast together,

“Charlie, baby, i need to go to work, okay, I’ll talk to you soon, te quiero.” Y/N said.

“Yo más.” Charles replied and hung up the call. There was a knock on his hotel room door and he opened it to see Carlos. “Good morning, Carlos.”

“Morning. Were you talking with Y/N?” Carlos asked

“Yes i was.” Charles replied smiling.

“Ay, I should have known, she has you completely smitten.” Carlos says.

“I know, mate, there’s just something about her.” Charles said, sighing like a person in love.

“You are whipped, it’s entertaining to see you like that. We need to head to paddock now for the interviews.” Carlos said before him and Charles left the hotel room.

Meanwhile, Y/N was finishing up her third meeting of the day when she got w FaceTime call from Y/N so she excused herself.

“Charlie querido, what is it? I’m technically still in a meeting.” Y/N said.

“Sorry Mon ange, I just wanted to see how you are, I am on break right now and then I have more interviews before the race,” Charles said.

“I’m fine, just a little tired, I call you later tonight okay? Then you can tell me all about your day. Te quiero.” Y/N said, blowing him a kiss.

“Yo más” Charles said, doing the same thing before hanging up. Y/N was about to enter the conference room again but she was stopped by her assistant.

“You got that man wrapped around your finger.” Monica commented,

“Well i wouldn’t necessarily say that I have him wrapped around my finger. Pero es si, lo tengo mal (But Yeah, i got him down bad).” Y/N said.

“How? Like what’s your secret?” Monica asked.

“There’s no secret, it’s just that me espresso.” Y/N said.

“Ha ha, no go, you have a meeting to run.” Monica said. Y/N entered the conference room to continue the meeting.

Her workday was done and she got a text from Charles and it was a link to one of his interviews. She clicked on it and she was watching it but there was a question that Charles answered that surprised her.

“Charles Leclerc, what is your favorite saying?” The interviewer asked.

“I Don’t know if it’s a popular saying or an actual saying in general, but my girlfriend says ‘that’s that me espresso’. When she was younger, her mom would say she was like a shot so espresso because of how hyper and energetic she was as a child, basically bouncing off the walls. So now when I ask her a question about anything she does, she’ll say that’s that me espresso or it’s just that me espresso, meaning that’s just how she is. How do I get crying babies to stop? That’s that me espresso, I have no idea but I guess I just have a calming presence.” Charles said laughing. Y/N stopped the video and FaceTimed Charles,

“Hey Muñeco.” Y/N said.

“Hello, ma Belle, did you see that interview?” Charles asked.

“I did, you used my phrase.” Y/N said.

“Of course I did, it’s my favorite saying in the world, it perfectly describes you. You are a shot of espresso, a moment with you has me smiling for hours, I can’t get enough of you.” Charles said,

“Eres tan cursi (you are so cheesy) but i love that about you.” Y/N said.

They continued talking until it was time for bed.

Race Weekend was done and Y/N can continue working from her home office, she didn’t didn’t have any meetings to attend to in person, she was free. She was finishing up some files when the doorbell rang. Y/N got up and answered the door and she saw a huge bouquet of her favorite flowers (mine are peonies because of Blair Waldorf).

“Whats this?” Y/N asked and the bouquet of flowers were lowered to reveal a smiling Charles Leclerc. “Muñeco!”

“Mon ange!” Charles exclaimed, they entered her apartment and they hugged as soon as charles put the bouquet on the kitchen counter, he spun her around and out her back on the ground to leave her kisses all over her face. “I missed you so much.”

“I missed you too, I thought you weren’t coming until tomorrow, did you come here straight from the airport?” Y/N asked, taking in Charles’s hoodie and baggy jeans,

“Yes I did. I stopped by the florist first, obviously.” Charles said, gesturing to the bouquet,

“They’re beautiful.” Y/N said. “What brings you here?”

“Because I wanted to tell you up something important. I know we haven’t been dating for a long time but I have never felt this strongly about someone, I love you, te amo, estoy enamorado de ti (i am in love with you).” Charles said. Y/N starts tearing up,

“Ay muñeco, yo también te amo.” Y/N said, hugging him. “Je suis amoureux de toi.” Now it was Charles’s turn to tear up, she just told him she was in love with him too. They kissed.

“I fall in love with you more and more each day, I can’t get enough of you, how do you do that?” Charles asked, brushing Y/N’s hair back. Y/N just shrugged.

“That’s that me espresso.” Y/N said and both of them laughed, Charles pulled Y/N onto the couch and started talking about where to go out today,

The End

I had no idea where I was going with this short imagine but I hope y’all like it!

[fanaticsnail]

As far as I know, you're not a big Zoro girlie, but imagine, if you will:

Relaxing with Zoro in his hammock. You're both facing each other, legs tangled together as you're both occupied with your own little activities. It's quiet and peaceful;relaxing, even.

Breaking the silence and asking him a question, only to look up and see your favorite moss-head fast asleep. Allowing yourself to relax and drif off yourself, book still resting on your chest.

Not waking up until late in the evening, when Sanji's yell of "Dinner!" sends you both tumbling out of the hammock and into a heap on the floor.

-♡♡

Hey Anon. Your ask ran away with me and I had to see how some softness would play out. While Zoro is not one of my main blorbos, I do appreciate this marimo. Had to give him some appreciation with a drabble for you.

I Don't Sound Like That

Masterlist Here

Word Count: 1,400+

Synopsis: You and Zoro have grown closer over the past few weeks. Being invited to rest and study beside him in his hammock, you reflect on your journey travelling with your crew aboard the Going Merry.

Themes: Zoro x gn!reader, Fluff, teasing, tiredness, mention of injury (Zoro), kisses.

Notes: Had this request sitting in my asks for a day, and I needed this bad enough that it pushed my other thoughts aside.

Tag List: @mfreedomstuff @daydreamer-in-training @sordidmusings @since-im-already-here @gingernut1314 @indydonuts @feral-artistry @writingmysanity @i-am-vita

Lounging lazily within the hammock and entangled within a burly mess of limbs, your bodies rocked to the sway of the waves crashing against the hull of the Going Merry. The gentle rise and fall of the swell surrounding your vessel shepherding into your next adventure had you soothed from your restless day. Flipping through the pages in your book, you sigh softly and enjoy the warmth from Zoro’s encumbering embrace as he rested in his hammock beneath you. 

The reason you sought out the First-Mate to your Captain, Luffy, was not only because you felt protected under his care above Usopp, Nami, Luffy or Sanji, nor was it due to the fact that he wouldn’t likely tell you “no,” should you ask to enjoy an embrace with him. 

The reason you fell into his hammock and joined yourself in his resting space is because you had grown closer over these past few weeks. He was still healing from the large gash and soft stab in his chest from the legendary warlord, Dracule Mihawk. Fighting the Arlong-Pirates while in such a state did a number on his body, and he would constantly fall by your side and sleep within your shadow. 

He was comfortable with you enough to let you know how truly much he was struggling with his injuries. You were ships counselor, it was your job to be privy to the thoughts of your captain and crew - aiding them in their journey of reflective self-discovery. Luffy needed guidance as your captain, and as his counselor; you were ready and willing to provide that to him. 

While Zoro confided in you that his injuries truly ached, you offered to be by his side in his hammock to give him some pressure and warmth from your body to his. It was in the 'name of healing', you informed him, 'no funny business'.

As the ship waded through a particularly large swell, the hammock shook you from your thoughts and had you look up to notice Zoro had risen from his soft slumber. He was looking at your face through furrowed brows, attempting to get a read on your thoughts with an elevated brow. 

“Something on your mind, Counsellor?” he smirked, the corner of his lips ticking up as he looked down at you on your position on his chest. You anchor your chin over his heart, watching as he winces under your face. Noticing his soft wince, you mutter out a soft “sorry,” and readjust your position to not hit any of his injuries. 

Gazing up into his eyes, you look at him through narrowed eyelids and fluttering lashes. 

“Just thinking about how we all got here, is all, Swordsman,” you murmur in response. Zoro’s hazelnut eyes stare down at you, his expression softening as he witnesses your soft confession. He gently reaches his hand down and takes your cheek in the palm of his hand. Running his thumb over the apple of your cheek, his expression softens further. 

“Oh?” he murmured with a soft swell at the end of his question, “Regretting joining us already, hm?”

"Not at all," you laugh through your nose, rolling your eyes at his teasing tone. “You regret begging me to come with you at Syrup-Village?” He huffed a small shocked laugh at your tone, shaking his head slightly at your question.

“Begging?” he scoffed in return, drawing you closer to his face by your chin and jaw, “The way I remember it,” he moved his hand to the back of your head, running his fingers through your hair and smiling softly, “You were the one who said ‘Oh, big, burly swordsman. I need you so badly. Take me in your strong arms and usher me into a life of adventure at sea’.” You scoffed, hitting him on the chest playfully and earning a soft grunt in response to the small smack. 

“I don’t sound like that, and I never said those things,” you scrunch your nose up at him, “You were the one that said: ‘Luffy. You need guidance, and I’m not smart enough to give you the help you desperately need. We need someone way smarter than I could ever dream of being,” that comment had a small chuckle rise in his throat.

You continued to deepen your voice, openly mocking him with joy, “We need to get you a counsellor, and someone I can bare my soul to when I keep watch alone at night. The sea gets so lonely, and I need someone in my arms at all times. I am a sucker for comfort, and I need to cradle something into my stocky, broad chest after I get lost- mmfhph!” 

Zoro cut you off by joining his lips against yours. His lips were chapped and tasted of salt from the sea, and slightly sweet from the hard sake he drank earlier. Your eyes were wide and staring at his fluttering eyelashes. His brow was furrowed in deep concentration as he breathed in a sharp inhale through his nose, his lips parting to deepen the soft oscillation. He groaned at the feeling of you opening yourself up to him, enjoying the soft kiss he was pressing against you.

This was not something you had anticipated on receiving from the swordsman, particularly because you were yet to formally begin anything together. You shared embraces, sure. The odd sparring session, certainly. Using your body to sit on his back while he did pushups, or sit on his feet to hold them steady while he curled his stomach in a flurry of sit-ups, absolutely. But kisses? Not something you expected. 

After breaking the soft kiss, he cradled your chin in his hand and thumbed over your bottom lip affectionately, uttering a simple, “You talk too much,” before scolding you, touching his forehead to yours, “And I don’t sound like that.” 

You shook your head at him, placing your book face down and open on his chest beneath you, rubbing the tip of your nose against his affectionately. 

“That may be true,” you utter softly, “But you don’t deny you said half of those things I said.” He chuckled, removing his forehead from yours and giving it a soft shake. You laughed alongside him, scrunching your nose and looking at the mossy-haired swordsman cradling you in his arms with soft adoration. A flutter ignited in your chest as he pressed a soft kiss against your temple. 

“Get back to your reading, Counsellor,” he murmured, giving you a soft nudge and rolling you off his chest and onto your back beside him. He laced his arm over your side, handing you back your book that was once on his chest, nuzzling into your neck and pressing a soft kiss against your shoulder. “Let me know if you read something interesting enough to bother me with it.” 

Your mind was racing, knowing that he desired to leave the soft kiss at just that for now -  not desiring to dive into a flurry of: ‘what does that mean, what does that make us, how are we going to go about everything as if we didn’t just share a kiss’. You gulped back your racing thoughts and reopened your world discovery novel, choosing to ignore the tingle of his breath igniting your skin with gooseflesh. 

You do as you’re told, enjoying the warmth he was giving to you behind your body within the hammock. As you read further, you found something interesting regarding the metal and make of sword wielders in a distant land on the other side of the world. You turn in his arms, attempting to look at him over your shoulder as you ask him your question.

“Zoro?” you whisper softly, “Zoro, do you know anything about a country called ‘Wano’?” You turn to face him in his arms, noticing the heavy rise and fall of his broad chest before anything else. You gaze up into his face, his brow relaxed and his eyes clamped shut enough to indicate heavy sleep. 

Taking a moment to study his face, you allow yourself the luxury of giving in to the warmth in your face and simmered fluttering in your chest. These past few weeks of getting to know him further, and the soft kiss he placed against your lips and shoulder moments ago, had your mind running away with you. Taking a moment to appreciate his proximity, you realize there was truly nothing that could tear you away from this moment. 

Closing your book shut, you enjoy nuzzling into his chest and you press a soft kiss against the indent of Mihawk’s stab-wound over the swordsman’s heart. Eyes fluttering shut, you are ushered into a soft and blissful slumber within the cage of his body holding yours firmly against it. It does not take long until your breathing synchronizes, your dreams of what's to come on this next adventure a distant thought…

…Until the loud alert of your blonde chef wakes you from your slumber, his voice yelling a booming, “Dinner, moss-head! Get your idiot-ass down here and eat! Also, has anyone seen the Counsellor?” 

[adora-but-ginger]

Aspersion

aspersion (noun): an attack on the reputation or integrity of someone or something; an accusation.

pairing: eventual spencer reid x gender neutral! reader

synopsis: in which spencer reid pushes a little too far

warnings: both spencer and the reader are assholes to each other a little, but it is justified! swearing (probs), typical cm violence and such, tension thicker than a cement wall

masterlist

word count: ~2.1k

a/n: hello and welcome to my first official criminal minds fic! all of the pieces in this anthology can most likely be read individually, but they will have connected themes throughout! please enjoy the first work in my "psych you out in the end" collection. want to be tagged? Let me know!

also casual reminder that this is glasses reid because i am gnawing at my enclosure over him

not proofread whoops

credit to gif owner!

It had been a long case. Five days in and little to no leads, yet a serial killer was still on the loose. This was your fourth case with the team now, most of which were still pretty apprehensive of your "psychological abilities." Penelope, who you've come to like the most, has been the kindest to you, even asking as far as for you to do her tarot. The rest of the team weren't as easygoing, but that wasn't the point right now.

It was of upmost importance to check out the latest crime scene, and you were paired with the hyper-suspicious Doctor Reid. He out of everyone trusted you the least, but now was the time to hopefully change that. He was a genius and you could read people, after all. You couldn't get a good read on him though, mostly because you two hadn't been around each other long enough to have more than a professional conversation. This was the first time it was the two of you, and you were going to make it count.

You could decipher anyone's aura, yet you were still a people pleaser. Ironic, almost.

"It looks like there was no forced entry, meaning that the unsub was someone they either knew or felt safe with." He darted his tongue between his lips after he spoke.

"Yeah, but aren't people in this neighborhood generally trusting? I think we should focus more on what he took." There was something itching at you about this scene, something that felt off.

You were a professional profiler, but you could just sense people's inner selves and auras--auras helped direct you into a person's mind and feelings. It varied per person and you weren't the best at explaining it, but you could tell a lot about someone if they even walked past you.

"Are you saying that the door might have been unlocked?"

"I'm saying it's a possibility."

Reid without a glance in your direction shook his head. "You know that's a very unlikely scenario, statistically women will secure their home much more than men, especially if they're living alone. Research also shows that when someone is under the impression that they can hold more than average strength either physically or mentally, they act out in irrational ways." He shrugged his eyebrows before murmuring quietly. "Like joining the FBI."

Did he just insult you? "Excuse me? Reid I'm just saying that we should shift our focus. Gideon said you had trust issues, but he didn't explain their severity." Had he really tried to undermine you in a way that he thought you wouldn't notice?

"Gideon makes decisions that could end up hurting the team more than helping them sometimes."

Okay now that was a diss. Wasn't he the one who hired Reid, too? You had dealt with people like this before, and you weren't going to let him get to you. "Let's just finish up and go meet up with everyone else."

--

The unsub was found and arrested two days later. Ironically, he was entering through unlocked doors, a detail that you were sure Reid was not too happy with when he found out. You were all on the jet ride home now, and would be here for the next few hours. This was the farthest case from Quantico yet, meaning the team finally had time to interrogate and learn more about you. Something that Emily and Derek were jumping at.

"Can you read my mind?"

"Can you tell what I want for dinner?"

"Can you tell when it's going to rain?"

They had both sat down across from you simultaneously, overwhelming you art first.

"Okay hold on." You threw your hands out slightly as a cue for them to stop. "Kind of, no, and yes--I check the weather station."

"Huh." Emily scrunched up her face, another question brewing. "So how does this psychic-ness work?"

You took a deep breath before starting. "I can just read you. Yes, like a profiler reads you, but also more than that. Profilers can only see the outside, but I can see the inside as well."

"Prove it." Derek crossed his arms. "Inside profile me."

Now that was a choice of words.

You held a finger up. "I will only if you promise to never say that phrase to me again."

He looked to Prentiss before a smile broke out. "Looks like they've got jokes, too."

A quiet laugh escaped you before continuing. "That I do. What do you want to know, Morgan?"

"My deepest-darkest secret." He said it in a joking manner, but you shook your head none the same.

"You don't want me to share that."

"I guess I don't. What do you really have for me, though?"

You took a second to really look at him, to see what he was hiding behind that smile--you were going to keep it light of course. You could look farther if you wanted, but the farther back you went the vaguer your readings were. "When were you going to tell everyone that you like Britney Spears?"

And just like that, you knew the two of them believed you now. Because the price on Derek Morgan's face was one that you wish you had a photo of. Emily's jaw dropped, eyes widening. "You refused to listen to her with me last week, traitor!"

Derek's mouth was also agape--he was flabbergasted. Eyebrows raised, he shook his head. "Fine, I believe you. Say no more. Please." His reaction made you chuckle, and it was all fun and games until Reid strode over, taking the seat next to you.

"You know, almost every public claiming psychic is usually a scammer or a fake. In fact--"

A groan escaped you. "Seriously? This again?"

"Yes! It was an incredibly irrational choice on Gideon to--"

The upbeat mood quickly dissipated, your temper going along with it. "Listen Reid, I don't need to explain myself to you. But, out of the kindness of my heart, I'm going to say this once." Emily and Derek''s eyes were bouncing between the two of you. "I don't announce it publicly, hence why "that is"psychic" is not my legal title. Second, I'm good at what I do, that's why I'm here. Believe me or not, but I can see right through you and your defenses."

The air took a tone that you didn't quite appreciate now, but he started this.

"You don't know a thing about me, in-in fact you don't know a thing about anyone, much less who I am." Annoyance was seeping through his words, and you were getting tired of his passive-aggressiveness. "You show up here being a so-called 'psychic'," his fingers went into air quotes at your title. "Yet you haven't done anything besides getting a confession out of one individual? Sounds like someone doesn't know how to handle being around actual profilers."

You wanted to slap the guy. But here you were again, taking the high road. "I'm too tired for this. If you want to doubt what I can do, fine. It's nothing I haven't dealt with before." You clenched your jaw and took a couple deep breaths to control your oncoming frustration. The conversation was over now, there was nothing left for him to say. How dare he insult your profiling skills too? How dare he--

"How have you been able to get this far lying?"

It was the straw on the camel's back, that line. He wouldn't drop it, and now he was going to face the consequences. You inched your head slowly to face his own, steadying your breaths even more, so you could make sure your words wouldn't get you fired this early on.

You looked into his eyes, really looking into him. The emotions he gave off, the way he held himself, his aura. If he was going to bash you for days in hopes of getting a response, he won. He was probably expecting you to give a grandiose speech on how you don't know what you're doing or how you just have really lucky guesses, but if there was one thing that you learned from people like him, it was that if they keep striking low, you strike lower.

Screw the high road, screw him undermining your talent, and screw people like him that thought they could get away with thinking their actions didn't have consequences.

You really saw him then, squinting slightly as you looked him up and down in the seat, the team around you remaining quiet as to remain listening to the rising tif. You could see right through him, see that he had some real parental issues, but had a overshadowing amount of loneliness surrounding his self, his mind, his body. It was vague, but it was there, and there is all you needed.

You leaned back as if to get comfortable, maintaining your eye contact. "When was the last time someone you cared about actually stayed in your life, Spencer?" You spoke nonchalantly, like you were discussing the weather.

You could feel the tangible tension that thrummed through the air from the two across from you at your words, and you knew you hit home. As to solidify your unanswered question, you saw a tiny twitch in his eyelid that responded more than any words could.

"Um Morgan? I think JJ called our names. We should go." Emily nudged the man and nodded to the back of the jet.

"What? No one has said anything. You're losing it, Prentiss."

"Derek, we're going." Her eyes went between you and Spencer to drive the point, and he finally picked it up after a second.

"Oh. Oh. Yeah, yeah I agree. JJ?" He called out. "We're coming!"

It was just the two of you now.

He broke eye contact with you after your words, and you moved in towards him as you lowered your voice to a whisper. "I see you for your inner workings, Reid. There's a reason I am good at what I do, and it is because I see you for how you see yourself. You do not want to make an enemy out of me."

His voice was caught in his throat for a second, mouth dropping slightly. He cleared his throat momentarily. "Are you threatening me?" Clear avoidance of your statement.

"No, Reid, I'm offering an olive branch. I suggest you take it." His silence prompted you further. "Besides your consistent digs at me, you're really good at what you do. Your brain quite literally runs a mile a minute, and my brain can see that. I am trying my best to chalk this all up to me being new, but I am really not appreciating all of this heat, it is extremely frustrating. You have your methods, I have mine. I'll give you some time to decide whether to accept this olive branch or not, but we would offer this team much more if you used those smarts of yours alongside mine, not against." Your chest was heaving slightly as the fire in your eyes blazed, but he finally got the message. "This will be the only time I'm offering this up." You turned away from him, needing a break.

You heard him shuffle and leave the seat next to you as you watched the clouds whiz by in the jet. It really sucked that he was cute too. All the adorable ones had to get you riled up, didn't they?

You felt a brief weight lift off of your shoulders as you heard Gideon speak to everyone on the plane about having the weekend off. Thank goodness.

--

That Monday you waltzed into the bullpen, a nice pep to your step after a break from everything. Iced drink in your hand, you set down your bag as you prepped yourself for the onslaught of paperwork awaiting you.

You had just gotten comfortable when you felt a tap on your shoulder and a familiar clear of a throat.

You swiveled in your chair, facing the tall man. "'Yes?"

"The oldest olive tree is known to be anywhere between two thousand to four thousand years old, but the specific age is currently being studied."

You took a sip of your drink as you looked up at him in confusion. "Good morning to you as well?"

He clenched his jaw quickly before continuing. "I''m saying yes. I accept the branch. It doesn't make sense to me and you infuriate me a little bit, but I want to work on it."

For the first time, but certainly not the last, you genuinely smiled at him.

And maybe he was losing all touches with reality, because he could feel his heart skip.

--

taglist: @alllriseabove @kitty-kei

[tamrielic]

just a little self–indulgent drabble thing because i’m experiencing a nasty flare–up right now due to stress and i am so exhausted and miserable but i honestly can’t stop thinking about how gentle and wonderful and perfect jing yuan would be to me; this is my first time writing for star rail at all whatsoever so. oof. i wrote it in first–person first without thinking so if i missed changing that somewhere i’m sorry but i gotta go lay down and rest

fandom | media – honkai: star rail

pairings – jing yuan × gn!reader

word count – 1,206

tags﹠warnings – uh??? excessive amounts of fluff・soft jing yuan・chronically ill reader

“baobei, are you still asleep?” the gentle, deep voice cuts through your half–asleep state, making you groan softly as you roll over and blink your eyes open to find jing yuan knelt beside your bed. he’d clearly just gotten back from his official meetings, still looking regal in his general uniform, though his boots and cape had been discarded at the door.

you stare at him for a moment before you reply, your voice rough with both sleep not having spoken in a few hours. “just dozing. i’m sorry, i’ll get up now.”

you shift to pull back the blanket and move to sit up, but are stopped by a large hand resting on your shoulder, jing yuan having stood up to lean over you.

“that is not what i meant. it was a simple question, not a demand that you must quit resting,” he murmurs as he gently guides you to lay back down, sitting on the edge of the bed as he reaches out to brush a few stray curls from your face. his warm golden eyes search your expression, scanning over your body briefly before meeting your gaze once more, his voice softening even further with concern. “be honest with me; are you experiencing a flare–up of your illness?”

you stay silent for a moment, eyes focused on his face, head subconsciously tilting to lean into the touch of his fingers. your voice is hardly more than a whisper when you speak, your eyelashes fluttering.

“you know that i hate to let you see me like this, jing yuan.”

a deep, warm chuckle leaves him, his golden eyes softening even further as he leans down over you, his fluffy white hair spilling over his shoulders as he nudges his nose against yours gently while he hums thoughtfully.

“mmm, perhaps. but have you considered that i relish every opportunity that i have to treat you like royalty; to wait on you hand and foot? you’re so very stubborn, baobei, and you never want to accept any help,” he leans down further, brushing his lips against yours as he whispers. “how about you let this old general dote upon you today, hm?”

you immediately blush, feeling your face and ears grow warm as you squirm a bit, lips parting to brush against his own as you mutter.

“i can’t– you’re busy enough as it is– this isn’t something that the general of the xianzhou luofu, an emanator of the hunt, should be dealing with. especially not from his significant other.”

unable to stop the hitch in your breath, the tears stinging as they begin to well up in your eyes, your hands clench into fists on the bedsheets as you turn your head to the side to avoid those intense golden eyes that are peering into your soul.

jing yuan is silent for a moment, the quiet of the room only making your discomfort and anxiety skyrocket, before he lets out a sigh and moves to climb onto the bed, gently pulling you up and into his lap; the ease of which he does so always startling. he buries the fingers of one hand in your hair and pulls your head to his chest, wrapping his free arm around you and leaning back against the headboard. he holds you in silence for a moment before his deep voice breaks it as he starts to slowly and gently rake his fingers through your curls.

“those are indeed the fancy titles i have been gifted in my life. but i must remind you, fancy titles and immortality or not, i am still just a man. a man who happens to be head over heels in love with a lovely, wonderful individual. an individual whose laughter makes my soul alight, a person whose love for me burns brighter than any sun in the universe. a person who, in my opinion as well as many other’s, is far too hard on themselves.”

you can’t help but to curl into him at that, the tears spilling from your eyes as you cling to him and sniffle.

jing yuan laughs lowly, a laugh that can be felt more than heard, and he turns his head to press his lips to your forehead before murmuring.

“baobei, you must stop being so hard on yourself. or else i shall have to resort to drastic measures...”

he slowly trails his free hand down to gently squeeze the plush curve of your hip, wiggling his fingers and chuckling when you immediately squeal softly and squirm against him.

you pull back from him, your face hot and wet from tears, sniffling as you glare half-heartedly at him. you open your lips to rebuke him, but he slips his fingers from your hair to press a shushing one to your lips, his eyes sparkling with amusement and affection.

“shhh, none of that now, though it is good to see that fire in your soul that i find so endearing,” he shifts, leaning down and resting his forehead against your own.

your eyebrows furrow as you glare at him silently, reaching up and grasping his wrist to pull his hand away so you can speak.

“jing yuan, you... you’re an infuriating scoundrel.”

his lips part in a wide smile as he laughs, his eyes crinkling at the corners.

“ah, so you agree with lady fu in that regard, hm? interesting. tell me, what is so infuriating about a man being so deeply in love with someone that the effects of illnesses that are out of their control only make him love them more?”

you are silent as you process his words, truly pondering them as your gaze inevitably softens and you slowly melt against him. you reach your hands up to cradle his face, brushing your thumbs against his high cheekbones.

“i don’t deserve you, jing yuan, but... i’m selfish. i love you, and i need you. i don’t know why you tolerate me when i have such inconvenient chronic illnesses, but...” you trail off, tilting your head as you lean in and brush your lips against his. “... thank you.”

he smiles against your lips and hums contendedly, murmuring a soft “no need to thank me, baobei” before his lips coax yours into a slow, loving kiss.

closing your eyes, you finally allow yourself to relax into him fully, pressing soft and tender kisses to his lips between soft breaths, your hands still cradling his face.

after a few more moments you part, a tiny yawn escaping you as you curl up on his lap and rest your head on his shoulder while whispering.

“can we just... stay like this for a bit?”

jing yuan chuckles quietly, shifting you both so that you’re lying down on the bed as he wraps himself around you, nuzzling his face against your neck and mumbling tiredly.

“i would love nothing more, baobei; a nap is exactly what i need right now, honestly.”

you sigh softly before wrapping your arms and legs around him, enjoying the feeling of his body against yours and the comforting scent of him as you both fall asleep, the bitter and negative thoughts plaguing your mind evaporating as his presence and gentle reassurances ease your worries.

© kaeyaphile | tamrielic – please do not modify, repost, plagiarize and/or claim any of my work as your own and please do not promote any of my works on other social media platforms (tiktok, facebook, wattpad, etc.)

[weirdo-fun]

What Else Can I Do?

Azriel x Reader - Chapter 2

Here is Chapter 2! I got motivated seeing everyone liking the first chapter so I wrote chapter 2 as soon as I could. Enjoy!

Chapter 1

Summary: Reader ends up geting turned fae and befriends Elain and gets super close with her. But Reader notices Elain gets treated differently, and Reader would like to change that but a certain batboy always gets in her way of trying to help her friend and under her skin.

Word Count: 3.2 K (Sorry I had way to much fun with this one so it’s a long one 😅)

Warnings: Enemies to lovers, slight dislike for inner circle, dual POV 👀, fem! Reader, they just can’t get each other out of their heads

Author's Note: Soooo remember when I said Azriel and Reader will be interacting with one another?.... Yeah sorry that is not happening in this chapter. BUT don't be mad, Azriel is in this chapter he just hasn't "found" Reader yet. :)

Side Note: Apologies for any grammar mistakes. And yes I did listen to "What Else Can I Do" from Encanto as I wrote this.

You and Elain walk through the forest on the outskirts of Velaris, not going too deep so you guys can remember how to get back. The snaps of twigs is heard from under your boots. Your skirts perfectly covering your legs to stop tall blades of grass or sticks from scratching both of your skins. 

You take a deep breath in, smelling the crisp, tree trunk filled air, breathing in new life after being tucked away in the Town House for quite some time. The lush trees, grass, and needle-covered path reminds you of your home when you were a kid. You used to sneak off and play in the woods for hours with the other kids in the neighborhood. The nostalgic feeling puts a smile on your face. 

Elain stops walking and stares up and around her at the trees that seem to almost cover the sky above. You notice her eyes look at the scenery around with fondness. “Beats the boring walls of the Town House doesn’t it?” You ask playfully ask you walk over to her. She nods, “It certainly does.” She pauses for a moment until she looks at you. “Are you sure this is ok?” She asks with worryness in her voice. “I mean, like I know I said yes to this but now that we’re here I am worried what they will do if they find out.” You chuckle, “Hey, you can’t back out now. We are already here. Besides I did leave a note on the dining table saying we will be out and be back soon incase they do come back earlier. So they have no reason to freak out because I literally told them where we are.” You take a moment and your mind immediately goes to Azriel. “Well maybe Azriel will be a prick and throw a fit.” You roll your eyes and think of what he might say if he found out that you took Elain to the woods for a walk. 

You scowl, just thinking about how Azriel will yell at you for “taking a delicate girl with no supervision to the woods” and how “she could have gotten hurt”. It infuriates you that anything thing you do, you always think of what Azriel might say. He would always be the first to cross your mind when you would think of doing something or question yourself if you should be doing a certain thing. More than likely, you would end up doing whatever it was you were contemplating because it would rile you up just thinking about him telling you what you could and couldn’t do. Even if you knew what you were doing wasn’t the best choice, it was a choice he would disprove of and to you that is all that mattered. 

“Hey Azriel isn’t that bad.” Elain tried to say in a convincing tone to try and calm you down. You whip your head towards her with a glare in your eyes. The glare not directed at her but to who she was talking about. “Really?” You say unconvinced. “Azriel, the one who makes it his mission to scold me for almost anything for the simple fact that I don’t agree how he treats you. The same Azriel that doesn’t like me because I talk back to him when I am pretty sure he expects me to just nod my head and agree. The same person in which we can’t even sit next to each other in the same room or we start bickering about how the other one is sitting in the chair the wrong way.” Elain looks at you, at lost for words. You nod your head. “Yeah exactly. Sounds like he is a great guy.” You sarcastically say as you roll your eyes. 

Elain grabs your hand. “Hey, sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you. I know you guys don’t see eye to eye.” She looks at you with her doe apologetic eyes. “Let’s forget about them for now. Like you said earlier, we are already here. So let’s continue on our walk and take in the scenery.” Her soft voice calming you down almost instantly. You release a deep breath. “Annnnnnd I want to see this improvement of your power that you told me.” Elain says with excitement. “Well it’s not really improvement, more like testing out what else I can do?” You state as a question. Elain wraps her arm around your elbow and starts to pull you along the forest path. “Well then, let’s find out!” 

——————————————————

You were getting frustrated, you frown at the lavender flower that you just grow from the ground. “Another flower”, you think to yourself. You huff as you stand up, looking at the different colored flowers and plants circling you in which you unwantedly grew. You have been at this for only 15 minutes, and even though that is not a very long time it felt like an hour past for you. “Maybe you just need a break?” Elain’s voice calls you out of your negative thoughts. She sat on a rock to the side a few feet from where you decided to sit on the forest floor. You walk over to her with your head down in defeat. “I don’t understand, I was able to make a small cactus in my room that one time but now it just seems like my power went back to making just pretty things.” You huff out as you plop yourself next to Elain on the rock. “Why did the Caldron give me the power to grow things when it can only grow pretty flowers, plants, and vines?!” You annoyingly say. “Like I can’t think of a reason why I won’t be able to grow like giant trees, or moss, or poisonous plants, or even venus fly traps!” You look at the sky hoping the Mother can give you an answer. “Maybe a special condition needs to be met?” Elain says in an encouraging voice. “Like maybe, you have to be meditating, or be fulled with anger. Something like that.” You look at her questionably. “I don’t think a “special condition” needs to be met. I was able to do it once before but now it just seems like the power is blocked somehow.” You try to explain to Elain. It frustrated you not knowing how you were able to grow the cacti some time ago and now you can’t. “Well what were you doing when you grew the cactus? Maybe whatever it was triggered the cactus to grow?” You sit there thinking hard on Elain’s question. You run through the memory again to try and find an answer, a clue as to what triggered the cactus to grow. 

It was early in the afternoon, you were sitting on your window sill looking out at Velaris. You did this sometimes where you would sit and just watch the city at any point in the day. There was no particular reason why you did it, you just enjoyed not having to think about anything and just watch the world move forward. You started fiddling with some vines you grew from your hands, twisting and turning them. You then started to add small flowers buds to the vines. The small buds slowly began to bloom into small flowers of a soft blue color. As you were growing new vines and flowers into the mix, you stood up from the window sill and began to pace slowly in your room as you concentrated on making a flower crown. As you were mindlessly making the crown you started humming a song. You don’t know what song, you just started to hum a tune. As you hummed, you mindlessly were growing this intricate flower pattern of blue and purple flowers. Not realizing that the vines sprouting from the crown were growing towards the floor of your room and started to spread across the floor. You were stuck in your own little world humming a song that you didn’t notice that on the floor one of the vines started to grow vertically, and started to take a different shape. It was only then when you finished making the flower crown and you finished humming the song that you noticed the little cactus with a small blue flower on top next to your feet. Your eyes widen, you never knew you could do that. Then you looked around the room and realized that you let your power go a little bit too much. Vines and flowers spread across the floor of the bedroom and up onto the walls. You did notice that the vines and flowers looked bigger than they normally should. You marveled at what you created and wanted to know if you could do more. 

You blink as you recall the memory of that day. Now thinking back, you did realize that you were very calm and you weren’t actually trying to grow anything at all. “I was just humming a song while mindlessly making a flower crown.” You begin to say to Elain. “I-I think I wasn’t really focussing on anything to be honest. I was actually in my own world subconsciously making the crown.” Elain thinks for a moment and then says, “Maybe that what it is then. Don’t think about it too hard and be relaxed.” You look at her with almost a confused puppy look in your eyes. “Well how do I do that? I can’t just not think about what I want to grow. And before you say meditate like you said before you know damn well I am bad at that.” Elain thinks for a moment, she then smiles and stands up pulling you with her. “Well you said you were humming a song. Then lets hum a song and dance together.” She says completely serious. You look at her not believing what she is suggesting because this is a little out of character for her. “Are you serious?” You question making sure you heard her right. “100 percent.” She nods and smiles at you. “Come on, you were the one saying that I needed to start being more confident in myself and being able to voice my opinion out loud. I think dancing and singing in the middle of the forest without a care in the world will help me let go of my… “delicate nature”. Plus it will help you relax and not think too hard on your power.” You look at her and seeing the determination in her eyes tells you she is super serious about this. 

You give her the biggest smile and giggle as you grab her hand and start to spin her around. Elain laughs and she continues to dance with you with no music. She spins you around and you guys continue this unchoreographed dance with smiles, giggles, and laughs coming from both of you. To have some fun you begin to throw flower pedals in the air like confetti and they fall down around both of you, some getting caught in your guys’s hairs. As you guys dance, jump, and spin, flowers begin to grow surrounding you guys coming from you as the centerpoint. You don’t realized it at first but once you do, you feel a slight weight of power being lifted like the locked door holding your power back was slowly getting unlocked. It felt like the flowers danced with you; they didn’t feel like you were forcing them to grow. It felt like they listened to what you wanted in the moment and obeyed you. You took a hold of that feeling and continued to run with it. As you did a hand full of cacti popped up from the ground. You and Elain stopped dancing and looked at the cacti with amazement. Joyous yells came from both of you, happy that the dancing worked. Who knew having a good a time could unlock a power? 

With the new found feeling of your power and determination in your eyes you grab a hold of that closed door on your power open it. The rush of energy rushed through you and it almost seemed your sensed were heighten even more. Everything, touch, taste, sight, smell, and hearing. But it was a different change to your senses. It’s like you could feel the sort of life energy flowing through the grass beneath your boots; it seemed like you could hear the trees dancing as the wind blew past, to the whispered song that the flowers sung. Nature smelled, different. Like more alive. You couldn’t explain it, but it felt like nature came alive and you could understand it. 

“Hey! Reader are you ok?” Elain tugs on your arm worry written on her face as she sees you starring off. You blink a couple of times, shaking off the shock of your unlocked power. You lift your hands up and in a few seconds an enlarged sapphire blue flower springs up from the ground. The massive size of the flower scares Elain and she stumbles back a few steps. After a few seconds it takes for Elain to recover, she stares at the flower and then at you. “Holy wow. You can do that?!” Elains voice laced with interest and excitement. She walks over to the massive flower, each pedal being her size, to get a better look up close. “I think I can a lot more than that.” You smile walking over to stand next to her. She turns to you intrigued, “Well then let’s see it. What else can you do?” 

——————————————————

Azriel POV 

Shadows disburse as Azriel lands on the balcony of the Town House in the late afternoon. He sighs, glad to be back in Velaris. The mission that Rhys sent him on not only took longer than it needed to take, but Rhys could have easily done it himself. But being High Lord is tiresome and requires a lot of work, so his attention was needed else were. 

Azriel steps into the Town House ready for a quick bath and a cup of tea to help the incoming headache that he knows will receive, before dinner is served. His mind on the warm bath he was thinking of taking was interrupted by the sound of heavy footsteps, a door swinging open, and a yell. “SHE’S NOT HERE!” Nesta’s worried and panicked voice echoes throughout the manor. 

Azriel stops in his tracks for a mear moment and briskly begins to walks in the direction of Nesta’s voice. His shadows start to swarm him, feeling their master’s concern over the commotion so they try to comfort him. “Whose not here? What happened?” Azriel thinks as he makes his way through the manor. 

Azriel follows the yelling and ends up at Elain’s bedroom. Standing at the entrance to her room with the door wide open Azriel sees Nesta panicked written face and Cassian standing next to her with a comforting hand on her shoulder to try and calm her down. “What’s wrong? Did something happen to Elain?” Azriel’s voice grabs the couples attention to see him take a few steps into the room. “We can’t find Elain.” Nesta answers worriedly. “Or Reader.” Cassian adds. “We looked around the manor and neither of them are here.” Cassian states as he walks towards Azriel. “What! Are you sure you checked every room?” Azriel questions with hope laced into his voice. Before Cassian could get a word in, Azriel sent out his shadows to scour the manor for any signs of the girls. 

His shadows come back and tells him that you and Elain were gone. Azriel was about to send them back out to search throughout Velaris for you guys but one shadow whispered to him that there was a note on the dining table. Without a word to Nesta or Cassian, Azriel speed walk to the dining hall. 

He walks in and he does noticed a small folded piece of paper on the large wooden table. Azriel picks it up, unfolds it and reads it. 

“Incase you guys get back earlier than we do. Elain and I are going for a walk in the woods. We shouldn’t be too long, so don’t worry.” 

P.S. We won’t stray too far so don’t panic Azriel 

-Reader :) 

Azriel crumbles the piece of paper and stuffs it in one of his leather pockets. He can’t believe you took Elain out of the Town House when he specifically told Elain to stay inside until either him or Nesta and Cassian got back to escort her if she wished to go somewhere. He should have known that you would convince Elain to do the opposite of what he says. He should have either convinced Cassian and Nesta to take you with them or forced you to go with him on his mission so that THIS wouldn’t happen. Frustration builds inside Azriel as he makes his way back to the balcony, getting ready to fly to the forest to bring Elain back and to yell at you for clearly going against his wishes. 

“Az!” Cassian's voice is heard from behind the shadowsinger, as his heavy footsteps come closer. “Did you find them?” Azriel shakes his head. “No, but I know where they are.” Azriel takes the note from his pocket and holds it up for Cassian. “Reader thought it would a great idea to take Elain to the woods for a walk.” Sarcasm and annoyance fell from his voice. “I swear, that woman is something else.” Azriel states with irritation. “Hey, how about we focus on finding Reader and Elain and then you can decide if you want to bicker with her. Even though I think you are being too hard on her.” Cassian says as calmly as he could to try and settle Azriel down. Azriel doesn’t respond, he just glares at him. “Let’s just find them and bring the back.” Azriel says as his wings shoot him to the sky and carry him towards the forest with Cassian in tow. 

You always did this. Ever since you became friends with Elain, you always disproved of him. It frustrated Azriel to no end that you would always talk back and bicker at him. He disliked how anytime he would tell Elain to do something you would always have something to say back. Even if it didn’t regard Elain, you always wanted to say something. This wasn’t the first time you pulled a stunt like this off. There were a few times where he specifically told you not to do something and what did you do? You did the complete opposite. It’s like you like to push his buttons, get him riled up, and angry at you. He doesn’t understand why you hate so much. All he has done, or tried to do, was to protect Elain because, unlike you with your extroverted nature, she has a softer nature. And Azriel, including the rest of the inner circle, want her to be comfortable and secure after everything that she went through. The same treatment would be applied to you if you had her personally but you don’t. You have to have a very friendly, social butterfly type personality that Azriel tries to hate, but subconsciously finds it interesting, intriguing even. 

Azriel shakes his head from the thought of you. Lately his head has been filed with thoughts of you. Anything he did or said, he would always think, “what would Reader say? How would she react?” He would imagine different scenarios of you getting upset at him or throwing a sly remark his way. It perplexes Azriel that you have been taking over his mind, and it aggravated him.

That is it for chapter 2! Hope you enjoyed it! So glad I finally brought Azriel into the story. As you guys can see by the amount of words I have, I had to delay Reader's and Azriel's interaction with one another by one more chapter. Sorry! :( But man don't they hate each other so much? Gosh, just can't keep each other out of their own heads! Well anyway, that is all! If you want to be added to the taglist please leave a comment and I will add you! I hope I did the taglist correctly I have never done one before so if someone can give me advice on how to do one properly that would be great because Google did not help at all. P.S. Just to let you guys know I will gone for vacation for about a week, I can't promise you guys anything but I will try to write what I can so that when I come back I can finish it up the next chapter as soon as possible and post it for you guys. I hate that I will have to keep y'all waiting. But until then take care! :)

taglist:

@aehllitas-blog @horneybeach1 @cleverzonkwombatsludge

[skellymom]

"HIGH TIMES"

A Bad Batch One Shot Fan Fic

ᴛʜɪꜱ ꜰɪᴄ ᴄᴏɴᴛᴀɪɴꜱ ɴꜱꜰᴡ ᴄᴏɴᴛᴇɴᴛ. ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴀʀᴇ ɴᴏᴛ 18+ ᴅɴɪ

Word Count: 2.6K

Background: The boys mistakenly eat "candy". Medicinal Candy. They are so silly and dumb! I plagiarized a line or two from Alice in Wonderlands Caterpillar (for the Star Wars version: Star Dragon).

Warning: Swearing, nudity, drug references.

“What ARE you making?” Crosshair, sitting in the corner polishing his rifle curious of Tech’s new “project”. 

“I am infusing Meiloorun juice into a gelatinous confection containing Star Sedge for Echo.  It should help him with his prosthetic limb pain.”  Tech, crouched over a folding table littered with equipment, dropping gel candies from his gloved hand into a clear cellophane bag. 

Tech worked meticulously...handling the chemical properties with PRECISE care...like you do with these types of things: 

“Why not a tincture?” 

“It is less stable without the binders to hold it.  In addition, this particular state makes it more...palatable.”   

“Doesn’t Star Sedge make a person...high?” 

“It is no secret within the galaxy of the euphoric properties of this plant.  It also provides pain and stress relief, dispels anxiety, is used recreationally, and even utilized for spiritual purposes.”  Tech picked up another pre-cut Meiloorun slice to use for flavoring.  After squeezing into a receptacle, he set the spent fruit aside in his “eat” pile.  The fruit was rare to find in this part of the galaxy, and Tech wasn’t about to let it go to waste...even devoid of its sweet juice. 

Crosshair watched Tech silently while polishing away. 

Tech quietly picked up a piece of spent Meleroon, popping it into his mouth, absently chewing away. 

He dipped another gel candy in the juice, then dropped it into the bag. 

Picked up another Meiloorun piece and popped it into his mouth, chewed, and swallowed. 

Dip, soak, retrieve, drop it into the bag.  Pop Meiloorun into mouth, chew, swallow. 

Dip, soak, retrieve, drop it into the bag.  Pop Meiloorun into mouth, chew, swallow. 

Repeat. 

Repeat. 

Repeat. 

Dip, soak, retrieve, drop it into the bag.  Pop Meiloorun into mouth, chew... 

...a WET explosion inside Tech’s mouth!  Warm liquid running down his throat!  And to his surprise, Tech inhaled involuntarily...gasping, coughing, choking!!! 

He had accidentally picked up a gel candy and put it in his mouth! 

Tech jumped up and ran to the refresher.  He spit into the sink, repeatedly rinsing out his mouth.  Unfortunately, he had swallowed most of the gel candy contents. 

Oh no!  Tech gazed back at himself in the refresher mirror... 

(Pinterest Credit: Your Stuck With Me, Skyguy)

Crosshair sat on his bunk smiling like a Tooka cat.  The idea of Tech inadvertently imbibing in a hallucinogen gave him joy.  It was going to be a fun afternoon... 

...then it got better. 

Wrecker walked past, stopped, and sniffed at the bag. 

“HEY...what’s THIS?” 

“Oh, just a little something Tech whipped up for Echo.” 

“Smells REALLY GOOD!”  Wrecker picked up the cellophane bag containing approximately twenty gel candies, staring intently into it. 

Crosshair watched with interest. 

Wrecker turned to Cross for permission “You think I could try just ONE?” 

“Oh, I don’t know Wrecker...Tech did make it for ECHO.” 

“Well, I’M gonna ask if he can share!” 

“You go ahead and do that.” Crosshair smirked as Wrecker walked to the front of the Marauder. 

“YO ECHO!” 

“Yeah?” Echo, seated in the pilot’s chair swiveled around to see Wrecker approaching with a clear bag full of jelly candies. 

“Can I have one of your candies?” 

“MY candies???” 

“Tech made them for you!” 

“Oh?”  Echo grabbed one out of the bag, held it to his nose, sniffing.  “Of course! Tech knows Meiloorun is my favorite flavor.”   

Echo popped one into his mouth.  His eyes lit up.  “Go ahead Wrecker.” 

Wrecker followed suit, crunching down.  Some of the fluid squirted down his lips.  “Ummm...sweet and messy!” 

Echo’s reaction changed “Yeah...kinda warm and has a...PURPLE undertone...” 

“IT’S GOOD!”  Wrecker greedily eyed the bag. 

Crosshair strode up to the cockpit and addressed Echo.  “How’s your MEDICINAL taste?” 

“WHAT?!”  Echo stopped dead.  Then he felt the first faint warm wave rush over him... 

“The gels Tech made...for your limb pain...” Crosshair grinned. 

“WAIT?  THIS ISN’T JUST CANDY???”  Wrecker thundered. 

Cross pulled out a gel from the bag.  “No. It’s Meiloorun flavored Star Sedge gels.  Takes care of pain...with an added kick.” 

With a smart assed smile, Crosshair tossed the gel into his mouth and chewed it heartily...then swallowed. 

(Pininterest credit: Nico)

“What the actual fuck Cross???”  Echo’s anger was blunted by the second warm wave washing over him... 

“Uh..you ok, Echo?”  Wrecker seemed concerned. 

“Just feeling...altered...” 

“I don’t feel nothin” 

“You won’t Wrecker.” Cross remarked.  “You’re so large...”  The first wave hit Cross harder due to his low body weight “...it’s like a raindrop in the ocean...” 

“Ole Crosshair...sounding like a poet.” Echo’s eyes glazed over. 

“You guys are acting WEIRD.”  Wrecker eyed both his brothers with suspicion. 

Echo sat in the pilot’s seat pondering, then perked up suddenly paranoid “Ohhh...Hunter’s gonna be PISSED!” 

(Pinterest Credit: Mr Echo)

“WHY am I going to be pissed?” 

Wrecker and Echo jumped at Hunter’s voice entering the Marauder.  He had just returned from a walk in the forest. 

Crosshair cracked the biggest, dopiest smile ever. 

Wrecker quickly reached into the bag, grabbed the rest of the candies, and crammed them into his mouth.  His attempt to hide the evidence wasn’t successful.  Wrecker’s strong grip popped one of the gels, coating his hand, and left residue on his mouth.  He then crumpled up the bag noisily in his huge sticky fist. 

Hunter had clocked the sticky sweet odor even before entering the ship.  Had Echo not made the remark he had; Hunter would have just figured it was Wrecker eating snacks...again. 

“NOTHING!”  Wrecker shouted. 

Crosshair rolled his eyes. 

Echo stared at Wrecker in a half-baked manner, then slowly shook his head in disbelief. 

“What’s going on here?”  Hunter grabbed Wrecker’s hand, pulling the sticky crumpled bag free...with his BARE hands. 

The bag stuck to Hunter’s hands.  He stared at it incredulously.  “Someone want to explain THIS?” 

(Pinterest credit: Maulia)

Before ANYONE could answer, the refresher door slowly opened.  Tech gingerly emerged, clearly wanting to explain... 

“It seems EVERYONE with the exception of YOU is under the influence of the medicinal gel candies I have concocted.”  

Hunter spun around to see Tech looking bug eyed, yet glazed, swaying unsteadily...a slight smile on his lips.  He seemed rather pleased with himself. 

“Where in the hell have YOU been???”  Echo slurred. 

“I... have been staring at myself in the refresher mirror for...” Tech stared at his wrist chronometer.  He seemed to be trying to work SOMETHING out, but just stood there looking terminally at his wrist.  “...I am unsure...but QUITE some time now...or so it seems.” 

Crosshair abruptly broke out in full maniacal laughter.  He sounded like a strangled goose. 

“My pain is gone!”  Echo interjected suddenly in a high-pitched voice.  “My brain cells went with it TOO!” 

Hunter sighed “I can’t leave you all alone, can I???”  He turned to Wrecker, who had gone suddenly quiet. 

Wrecker stared out through the Marauder windscreen.  His lips still full of sticky goo.  He seemed entranced by something out there.  Hunter followed Wrecker’s gaze.  Just clouds above the treetops with the sun now setting.  But Wrecker’s gaze seemed to suggest he was seeing MORE, something waaaay beyond the clouds. 

“Wrecker?”  Hunter inquired. 

A few seconds later Wrecker answered without breaking eye contact with the sky “Yeah...Sarge...” in barely a whisper. 

“What do you see?”   

“I see...Lula’s” In the same whisper, his mouth stayed open.  Slack jawed. 

(Pininterest Credit: Bad Batch)

Somewhere a goose was honking like mad inside the Marauder... 

Hunter shook his head, then turned to throw the cellophane bag into the trash incinerator.  It stuck to his hand fast.  He pulled it free with the other hand to have it stick to that hand.  Hunter struggled with the bag.  Finally, he was able to throw it into the incinerator and slam the panel shut with his foot. 

Both hands were now coated with the sticky goo.  Hunter was BEYOND frustrated. 

“FUCK!”  He made a beeline for the refresher to wash his hands... 

...walking suddenly seemed VERY difficult.  I need to sit down.  Hunter slid into the first seat he could find to take a load off.  He HATED the sensory feel of the sticky substance on both hands.  It had to be cleaned off RIGHT NOW!  Hunter spit into both hands, rubbed them together, then rubbed both hands on his pants. 

“Hunter...” Tech’s comically high voice interjected.  “This might be bad timing on my part...however...saliva activates the absorptive properties of the active ingredient.” 

“Didn’t put hands in my mouth Tech” Hunter clapped back. 

“Transdermal absorption will occur with external keratinized skin...or internal squamous stratified epithelial tissue...” 

“Break it down for me, Tech... head feels like a Meiloorun on a toothpick...” 

Tech stopped...in deep thought...processing his answer in a manner Hunter could understand.   

“You’re fucked either way.  Enjoy the trip.” 

“Roger that...Tech” Hunter sat back, feeling the planet slowly rotate...as he lost himself in his own inner experience. 

Sometime later...shortly after...but it seemed like an ETERNITY...like it does with these types of things: 

Tech decided to mathematically plot out the existence of all matter in the universe. 

Wrecker had long protracted and silly conversations with his many multicolored Lula’s. 

Echo couldn’t be arsed to get up from where he was sitting...so he scomped into the ship’s computer and mind melded with it. 

Crosshair laughed like a silly goose...then turned on the holonet tunes and danced like he was back at 79’s Rave Night. 

Hunter...he watched Tech’s calculations morph into the third dimension, witnessed Wrecker’s multicolored Lula’s, heard the whispers of machinery through Echo’s ears, and adored the rarest of smiles from Crosshair... 

...until Crosshair BLASTED the music to an unbearable volume.  Hunter shot up and lurched out of the Marauder to escape the cacophony.  He stumbled down the gangplank and wandered away...following the song of the full moon.  His mistress serenading her Hunter as he toddled into the dark woods... 

Gonky sat and watched the WHOLE THING with astonished interest.   

His conclusion: Humans are weird! 

Sunrise over the Marauder.  Rex hailed The Batch bright and early with intel. 

Echo immediately snapped up in his seat and gasped.  He rubbed his eyes and engaged the holo communication. 

Rex’s holo illuminated in bright blue.  “Morning, Echo.”  Rex glanced past Echo’s shoulder to address the rest of the crew... 

“WHAT THE KRIFF???”  Eyes wide, astonished. 

Echo slowly turned around.  

The crew was passed out. 

The whole interior of the Marauder was covered in black mathematical scrawl.  Tech was covered as well...all over his semi-naked body.  Drool slicked his chin. 

Snack wrappers and fizzy drink cans littered the ship sticking to Wrecker...who was also semi-dressed.  Snack crumbs stuck to his lips giving the impression of bright and obscenely applied lipstick. 

Crosshair hung front half upside down from the open ceiling compartment wearing something hot pink...and dubious.  Where he obtained it from would stay a mystery for years...even to Crosshair. 

Hunter was missing. 

“Uhhh...” Echo was at a loss. 

“Seems you all had...an interesting night?”  Rex stammered. 

“Yeeeah.”  

Rex gave Echo an out “Let’s...uh...reconvene in one standard hour?  Sound good?” 

“See you then, Rex.” 

The holo transmission cut off and Rex disappeared. 

Echo surveyed his crewmates.  He had only been with the batch for a short period of time after leaving Rex.  They certainly ACT defective... 

...he had a HORRIBLE case of dehydrated cotton mouth. Echo slowly and unsteadily got up from the pilot’s seat.  

“WAKE UP!” He barked. 

Crosshair jerked awake, falling from the ceiling. Good thing Wrecker broke his fall. 

“Urm...whaa..?” Wrecker sleepily sat up, absentmindedly pushing Cross off him onto the floor. 

Tech was still out cold...drooling. 

“We NEED to find Hunter! He’s missing!!!” Echo scowled. “Intel with Rex in one standard hour SHARP!” 

“OH for FUCK SAKE!” Crosshair growled grouchy as all hell. He peeled off a full uneaten cookie from Wrecker’s chest and whipped it across the room.  

It bounced off with a hard THWACK! against Tech’s forehead. Tech startled violently out of a deep sleep with WIDE eyes. “HAAA..!” Rubbed his forehead, smearing the inked algorithm scrawled across it. He gazed at his hand, his body, then slowly scanned the interior of the Marauder. 

“GET UP!” Cross hissed. “We need to find Hunter!” 

Tech immediately scrabbled up and sat in the co-pilot's chair. 

“Shouldn’t we get dressed and go on foot?” Wrecker groggily asked. 

“It will be much simpler to follow the trail of shed armor Hunter left behind. Especially over rough forest terrain.” Tech pointed to Hunter’s pauldron’s lying on the ground covered in wet morning dew. 

“Besides...don’t see YOU getting THAT off easily anytime soon.”  

Echo pointed at Crosshair...who looked down at himself...finally realizing he was wearing something made up entirely of hot pink straps, buckles, and intricately tied ropes. 

“HA! You aint’ fitting ANY armor OVER THAT!!! Wrecker snickered. 

Crosshair crossed his arms and sulked. 

They engaged the Marauder to take off and scan the forest for Hunter. Following the bits of armor he took off and discarded along the way...and eventually his clothing. The Marauder flew low deeper and deeper into the dark canopy of impossibly tall ancient trees. 

Hunter slowly opened his eyes. The dark canopy of trees above provided shelter. He felt warm and snug. The smell of earth, plants, water, and the soothing sounds of birdsong echoing through the forest greeted him. Hunter felt at peace. 

He hadn’t slept this soundly in quite a while. 

Something around him stirred quietly. It was purple and segmented with many legs. Long sharp claws at the end of each... 

Hunter was enveloped by a Duinuogwuin! 

Somehow...he wasn’t the least bit concerned. The beast regarded him with its glowing yellow eyes. It took a long, protracted drag off a glass hookah pipe and smiled. 

You are a good height, indeed. Then exhaled smoke of lovely plumes down upon Hunter. Pale colored tendrils rolled across his naked body. 

STRANGE thing for a creature to say!  

In a minute or two the Star Dragon took the hookah out of its mouth and yawned once or twice and shook itself. Then it got down off the mushroom, and crawled away in the grass, merely remarking as it went,  

One side will make you grow taller, and the other side will make you grow shorter. 

“What???” Hunter finally spoke out loud. OUTSIDE his head. 

Hunter rolled off the HUGE mushroom they had been laying on and stood up upon the grass. His ears caught the distant engines of the Marauder approaching. 

The Duinuogwuin exhaled a huge lungful of multicolored smoke again. It wafted towards Hunter, enveloping him with whispers of ancient secrets. 

He inhaled deeply... 

The Marauder burst through the canopy, blowing away the smoke with its engines while bathing him in its landing lights. The ship slowly descended, with Wrecker and Crosshair stepping off the gangplank... 

Wrecker in his underwear and Crosshair wearing a hot pink atrocity. 

Hunter grinned and pointed. “Look at you TWO!” 

“Look at yourself, Hunter.” Cross snapped crankily. 

Hunter glanced down. Naked and covered in dried mud. Leaves, moss, and small plants stuck to various parts of him...including some small mushrooms. 

“You look like part of the forest!” Wrecker giggled. 

“Coming from someone who looks like a holomovie house floor.” Cross, miserably dehydrated, and his head pounded. 

“Ladies...we DON’T HAVE TIME TO COMPARE OUTFITS! Intel briefing with Rex in 40 standard minutes! LOOK SHARP!” Echo grumpily shouted from the ship. 

“WAIT!” Hunter interjected “My friend over here...” He spun around to empty, dark forest. Purple leaves of a huge Star Sedge bush danced in the breeze of the Marauder’s engines. 

Hunter stood stunned. Had he imagined the Space Dragon??? 

“HUNTER!!!” Echo shouted. 

Hunter dashed to the ship and scrambled aboard. He peered out just as the gangplank closed.  

He SWORE his vision detected a shadow just beyond the Sedge bush with two yellow eyes... 

but it COULD have been an ILLUSION...like it is with these types of things... 

PLEASE like, comment, and/or REBLOG!

[disneyprincemuke]

okay, can we go now?

you blink and take a couple of breaths to steady yourself. mick stares back at you curiously as he awaits your response. instead, you turn away and drop your head in shame. “okay, can we go now?”

you stand up from your side of the bench and take small steps towards the parking lot where you’d parked your car. your hands shake as you walk, feeling his stare on your back and practically hearing the questions he wants to ask.

“where are you going?” he asks. he assumed the you would turn back but you just carry forward. “i know you heard what i said.”

“i don’t think we should be doing this right now, mick,” you say softly.

you hear his heavy footsteps following you, desperate to get a hold of you. “why not? i’m telling you how i feel.”

“because i am your ex-girlfriend!” you shriek, stopping right in your tracks. you turn around and huff in frustration.

how is he not getting it? it’s simple — you’re his ex-girlfriend. it doesn’t get any simpler than that. in fact, you’re not even sure why you’re here in the front porch of some house party you’d both gotten invited to.

you’d caught his eye in the heart of the party you’d both been invited to. instinctively, you followed him out into the front porch when you saw him leaving the dark room.

you didn’t know what to say to him when he turned and greeted you with a small smile. your breakup understandably left both of you heartbroken but sometimes it feels like it hit you more than it hit him.

and you just missed him. but you know why it wouldn’t work even if you tried your hardest — you’d just end up where you started over and over again.

it’s just not meant to be.

“do you not remember how crazy we drove each other?” you point out, rolling your eyes. “mick, i miss you too, but we need to face that fact that we’re not right for each other. we’re going to die forcing to fit the puzzle pieces.”

“why does that matter? it will have to work out somehow,” mick scoffs, taking a step toward you. “because it has to — because i miss you.”

you sigh and drop your hands to your sides. you purse your lips together as you feel another sob arising in your chest. “we’re going to hate each other if we keep doing this. how many times have we found ourselves here? too many to count.”

the on and off again relationship cycle has to stop at some point, you realised some time last week as you sat in the shower mourning your relationship. 2 years is way longer than either of you should have dragged it on for.

but there’s always something about the glint in his eyes that always seem to draw you in.

and right now right here, in some random suburban street, you feel yourself being reeled in the longer you look up at him. you miss the way he holds you and waking up next to him in the morning. the breakfasts he would make you and the cup of coffee that would always greet you without fail.

“this has to be the one time we get it right.” he carefully wraps his hand around your wrist and sighs, his breath fanning over your bare chest. “this has to be the one.”

and you almost fold but you can’t help but remember how you left his apartment in tears. this time, you wiped his apartment clean of all your things after swearing that it was the last time you’d let yourself cry over him. the box of pictures with him still sits hidden in the trunk of your car, collecting dust and nearly making it into your apartment.

yet, even months following your breakup, it still stays in hiding. always almost making it into your apartment for safe keeping but you always make a u-turn for your car to throw it back in.

“we said the last time was the last time we do this,” you whisper shakily. “we always swear we’ll get it right and we never do…”

mick knows that. he remembers watching you helplessly pack your things and leave his apartment in tears, no longer listening to a word he’s saying to try and make you stay. but he just has a gut feeling that this time, it would work. you would somehow find a way to make it last this time.

it shouldn’t always have to end in both of you on the floor in a sputtering mess.

“just one more time.”

“i can’t do this with you anymore, mick.” you look down at where his hand wraps around you. you carefully tear his grip from you and try to ignore the way his hand tries to chase for you. you put your hands behind your back and take a step back. “i miss you too, but we can’t keep doing this, i’m sorry.”

you turn away again and continue your way to where your car is parked. but mick persists, following you once more. “just stay. let’s talk about it.”

“i feel like there’s not much to talk about at this point. you tell me you can live with my habits and then 2 months later we’re tearing one another down in irritation. let’s stop.”

you want oh so badly to stop where you are and ultimately find yourself in his apartment again somehow. you want to go against all intuition and get in his car and wake up next to him in his bed.

just like old times when everything was just right between you. you love that way he loves you but you can’t keep living counting the days of your relationship.

“but–”

“give it up,” you wave him off and stop right where your car is. you lift your head and throw him a sad smile. “we need to move on, mick. i don’t want to hurt you anymore.”

@33-81 @darleneslane @happy-nico @nikfigueiredo @namgification @c-losur3 @sakuramxchii @kissesandmartini

[forbebeandjam]

hi, can you pls make smutty fluffy fic with stalker bada x reader where like reader is regular customer of bada’s cafe or sth and bada gets obsessed day by day then stalked reader without knowing reader has a crush on her. Then they ended up together!! thanks in advance!xoxo<3

The Perfect Stalker | Bada Lee x Fem Reader | 21+

Summary: you met a beautiful barista who turned out to be your stalker.

Word count: 2.1k

Warnings: fingering, stalking, thigh riding MDNI

Readers discretion is advised!!

A/N: might be a bit rushed but I think you will like it. Love you!!

"Welcome in. What can I get for you today?" Bada said as a customer walked through the door.

Working at that coffee shop was part of her usual routine. She used to dread every time she had to clock in since dealing with customers wasn't really something she wanted to do every day.

"I'll have a latte with three pumps of vanilla and a splash of heavy cream and make it a decaf with oat milk," The woman said.

"Sure thing. Would you like that hot or iced?" Bada said but the woman wasn't paying her any mind as she looked at her phone.

"Ma'am?" Bada asked once more.

"Uh, no iced. I'm here every day, you should know this. The name is Yujin. Keep the change," the woman tossed the money on the counter and walked off.

Bada took a deep breath. She clutched the money and threw it into the register.

"I swear I can't do this any longer," Bada said to her coworker.

"Those dance classes won't pay themselves, Bada," He replied with a smile. She rolled her eyes and turned to the bar to begin making a drink.

The cafe was very empty. Rush hour was over and Bada began to clean the counters when she heard the door open.

"Hi, welcome in," She said and looked up to greet the person but she froze.

You stood before her with a warm smile. Dressed in ripped jeans with a white crop top and sneakers, your hair was up in a claw clip and a few strands were loose at the front you walked into the register.

Bada was mesmerized by you. She was frozen in her spot and just looked at you as you looked at the menu above her.

"How good is your lemon pie? I heard good things about it but I'm not really into lemon flavors," you said diverting your sight to her.

she swallowed hard and didn't answer until the guy next to her nudged her shoulder.

"Oh, um... sorry. I am not a fan of it but you could try our chocolate and strawberry pastry. It's balanced so it isn't too sweet," she replied not daring to look at you.

"Oh, I'll have that and a regular black coffee," You said as you handed the car to her. She nervously reached out and took the card from your hands exposing her wave tattoo at you.

"That's a beautiful tattoo, miss. What's your name?" You asked wanting to know more about the gorgeous girl before your eyes.

"I'm Bada. Lee Bada," she said still looking down.

"Oh, hence the tattoo. I love it. Your eyes are pretty too," you said with a giggle making her look up at you.

"Ha, made you look," You said and she finally smiled.

"Here is your card back," she said and you took the card in your hands.

"Y/N, do you want to go to the beach this summer or should we go to the countryside?" A male voice said as he walked up to you. He wrapped his arm around your shoulder and you saw Bada's face turn sour.

"I'm busy, Min. Can you wait for me out there?" You said as you pushed him off you.

"I was going to say... I really like your tattoo. That wave is so cute," you smiled and she blushed.

"Bada... make that drink," her coworker said making her turn and almost slip. You giggled at her clumsy actions finding it cute how flustered she became around you.

So for the next couple of days, you would show up to buy a coffee and just sit in the lobby to watch her work. What you didn't know was that over the course of the days, Bada would leave work and follow you around.

She followed every step you took from a distance all the way to your home. She would sit at a bench in front of your house and she would watch who walked in and out.

Her blood would boil every time she saw Min walk out of your house late at night. She wanted to rip his head off and then present it to you as a trophy for your love.

-

A few weeks passed by and you had caught Bada following you. You knew you were head over heels for the girl, but you didn't know she also felt the same way. Why else would she be following you, right?

"Min, grandma needs you to go to take care of her for a few days. Mom has to travel to her new job. Please?" You asked your brother on the phone as you waited to order.

Bada popped from under the counter and smiled at you.

"What can I get for you?" She said.

"I'll take a regular iced coffee. Black," you said.

"Are you at that coffee shop again? Are you there to see your girlfriend, the barista, Bada?" He said and you thanked the seven seas you didn't have him on speakerphone.

"You know what? Mom should've given you up for adoption when we were born. Having a fraternal twin sucks. Go take care of grandma, Min before I rip your hair out," you said into the phone and hung up immediately.

"Here is that coffee for you," Bada said as she placed your drink on the counter. You looked at the cup and noticed that it wasn't a regular glass cup and it was in a plastic cup.

"Oh, what happened to your glass cups?" You asked.

"Nothing. We still have them but I just thought that you might have something to do after and you wouldn't want to be late," she said not looking at you.

"Um... are you kicking me out?" You said while grabbing the cold drink.

"No! Oh my gosh... I mean... I'm sorry," she said as she picked up the mess she made while panicking over your words.

"I'm kidding. I do have to go to the gym and I'm always late so, thank you for the drink. I'll see you later," you said flashing her a wink.

She melted. Everything about you made her go crazy. She knew following you around was probably wrong but she couldn't help it.

So you went to the gym and then headed home. You looked back once when you heard footsteps. Then you felt a presence behind you but there was no one. You knew Bada was probably hiding behind a wall or a bush but decided to ignore it and simply giggle while you walked.

When you reached the door to your house, you carefully unlocked it and stopped. You turned back and looked around when you saw a pair of shoes behind a bush.

"So, are you going to keep following me around like that?" You asked but she didn't move.

"Bada, I know you're right there. Come on out," you said once more and her shoes slowly moved.

"Do you want to come in?" You asked and she fiddled with her fingers walking slowly towards you.

You huffed and walked to her holding her wrist and pulling her into your house. You asked her to sit on the couch and offered her a cup of chamomile tea when you saw how tense she looked.

"So, why have you been following me from afar?" You asked.

"I'm sorry. I know it's creepy and you have a boyfriend so I don't want any problems. You're really pretty and I wanted to be close to you but I can't bring myself to talk to you," she said quickly.

"Whoa! Why do you think I have a boyfriend?" You asked.

"The boy that comes and leaves your house. Isn't that your boyfriend?" She said.

"Ew! Gross. That is my twin brother. Fraternal twins, so we look nothing alike. Bada, you know how much I've been meaning to flirt with you but you never look at me? It was honestly driving me insane..." you said taking a sip of your wine glass.

"Wait... what?" she said and tilted her head like a curious puppy making your heart flutter.

"What? You're a cute, and very attractive dancer. Though when you dance, you are extremely hot... but I have been watching you as well. I am attracted to you, Bada. In every possible way," You drank the last of your wine and put the glass down walking towards her.

You saw how she flinched back and you furrowed your brows at her reaction. Sure, you were being too direct and you didn't know how Bada would react but you need to know if she wanted you like you wanted her.

"Is that not why you followed me around the neighborhood? I caught you in the bus, the gym, the grocery store, and the alleyway. For Pete's sake, Bada. You sat in front of my house for hours. If not, then what was the reason?" you asked waiting for an answer as you sat closer to her.

You saw how nervous she was getting and decided to back off.

"Sorry. You know what? I can be too much at times so just ignore me. I'll call you an Uber to take you home," You said but as you were about to get up you felt her grip on your wrist.

You turned and met with the most gorgeous eyes looking up at you ever so innocently but hungry for one thing. You.

"Bada-"

"No, let me talk. I have been dying to talk to you because I... well, I've never dated or been with a woman before but you're so pretty and I was just drawn to you. Please don't let me leave. I'll regret it if I do," Bada said almost pleading.

Your heart softened at the sight of the tall girl looking up at you but there was something more.

"What do you want from me, Bada?" You asked and she pulled you making you fall on top of her. You ended up in her lap and her hands went around your waist.

"I want you. In every possible way," Bada responded and you immediately clashed your lips with hers hungry for a kiss. She bit your bottom lip and her hands moved up and down your shirt.

Soft groans escaped her lips when you began to move down her neck. Her grip on your waist tightened and you could feel her nails dig into your skin when you used your hand to squeeze one of her clothed breasts.

"Y/N~" she moaned and you smiled.

"I'll give you what you need," you said. You moved your leg so you could straddle her.

Your hand was already sliding into her pants and her legs parted willingly allowing you full access to her now-wet cunt. You inserted a finger inside of her with no warning causing her to yell out.

"Fuck... you're so wet for me, huh?" Y/N said as she pumped slowly in and out of the girl. She was already a moaning mess. You didn't stop your moments and you sped up by the minute searching for her spot. 

"I- I never thought- I would end up in this- AH! Please, don't... stop..." she said between moans. 

"Wouldnt think of it, Bada," you said curling your finger inside of her making her yell out in pleasure. You found it. You kept pressing down on it as your thumb rubbed her overstimulated clit. 

You had already came just from watching her and riding her thigh but you didn't care about yourself. You were in ecstasy just from being able to touch Bada. You had been longin in desire of her in every single way.  

With one last stroke and her body already shaking, she came on your hand and you brought it to her lips for her to taste herself shoving your finger deep down her throat making her moan even more. 

After a few seconds, you both finally came to your senses.

"Holy shit, how are you so good?" Bada asked and you giggled without saying another word. 

You stood up and took her to your room where you both got cleaned up and in bed. 

"You know... you could've just talked to me," you said as you looked at Bada. 

"No... I couldn't have," she said and you sat up. 

"Why not?" You questioned

"When you walked in the shop... you were so surreal. You were just so perfect and I am too shy for my own good," Bada replied. 

"You're so cute. Come here," You said pulling her into your chest and stroking her hair.

"I'm here for you now,"

Thank you for reading 🩵

[vodika-vibes]

Hi, I’ve been having a really difficult time as of lately. My depression has been hitting really hard which is feeding into my low self esteem then goes to my eating disorder. I’ve almost completely lost my appetite, and haven’t been getting much sleep either. I honestly feel so close to relapsing back into S/H. I’m sorry for dumping all this on you, but I was wondering if you could please write something to help?

Echo is my favorite member of The Bad Batch, and if you could, could you write something where Echo’s S/O (gender neutral please) is going through what I’m feeling, and Echo comforts and helps them the best he can? Could you also write it to have a happy ending please? I know I’m asking for a lot, so I understand if you don’t feel comfortable writing this, but it would be greatly appreciated if you do.

You're Worth It

Summary: When your depression hits you hard, Echo takes care of you.

Pairing: TBB Echo x GN!Reader

Word Count: 861

Warnings: Reader is very depressed

Tagging: @trixie2023 @n0vqni @imabeautifulbutterfly

A/N: I'm sorry that things are so hard for you right now. I hope this little story offers you some comfort. Just please know, there's no shame in reaching out for help if you need it. And know that I truly believe that the world is a better place with you in it.

Echo’s worried about you.

You’ve been...not ignoring him. Not quite. But you have turned down the last three dates that he’s asked you one.

So he worries.

You can hear it in his voice when he calls, and while you feel guilty about it, it’s a distant kind of guilt. Like it’s happening to someone else.

It’s been ages since your depression has hit you this hard. To where you can barely look at yourself in the mirror. To where you have no appetite.

It’s not healthy, or safe. You know this. You know that you need to eat.

But you’re just not hungry.

At least you’ve managed to pull yourself out of bed. Of course, all you’ve managed to do is move across the room to settle in the alcove in your bedroom. You lean your head against the warm window, looking out the window but not seeing anything on the other side.

There are so many things that you should do.

Laundry that’s piled up. The bedsheets need to be replaced with a clean pair. Not to mention the regular cleaning that you need to catch up on to keep your home habitable.

But you have no strength or, honestly, the will to do any of it.

You pull your head away from the window as you hear your bedroom door creak open and heavy, but familiar, steps on the wooden floor of your bedroom.

“Found you,” Echo’s voice is light, and you turn to look at him as he settles on the cushion near your feet. His gaze is dark as he scans your face, and then he clicks his tongue lightly, before he reaches out and cups your cheek with his warm hand, “Having a rough time, cyare?”

You grimace, “Sorry.”

“You don’t have to apologize. You’ve done nothing wrong.” He rubs soothing circles against your cheek, and you release a quiet sigh as you lean into his touch, your eyes sliding shut.

Echo shifts so that he’s sitting properly in the alcove and gently eases you into his arms.

Your Echo isn’t a gentle man, generally.

Oh, he’d never hurt you, never ever. But he tends to make his touch firm, like he’s trying to remind himself that he’s there and that you’re not going to slip through his fingers like smoke.

But today. Today he’s gentle.

So gentle, as if he is handling already broken glass.

The thought makes you want to cry, so you press your forehead against his shoulder and squeeze your eyes shut.

His hand runs down your spine soothingly, “It’s going to be okay.” He says quietly.

Your hands curl into the material of his shirt, “You can’t know that.” You counter.

“I do know that,” He counters as he presses a light kiss to the top of your head, “I know that because you have me, and I’ll make everything better.”

“I don’t think it works that way.” You mumble.

“Maybe not, but I am going to help you through it. That’s what partners are for.”

You sigh softly and rub your forehead against the soft material of his before you pull back and flash him the weakest smile, “I don’t deserve you.”

“That’s not accurate.” Echo says easily, “You deserve everything and then some.” He brushes his thumb across your lips, “This is just your brain lying to you.” Echo’s smile is soft, “I will always choose you. No matter what.”

“You’re going to make me cry.” You mumble as you reach out to press your hands against his cheeks.

Echo chuckles, “Sorry, sorry.” He presses his hand over yours, his smile soft and warm. “I know everything is hard right now, but how do you feel about sitting outside with me?”

You twist your lips at the thought.

“We don’t have to do anything,” He murmurs, “Just sit outside together.”

You consider his words for a long moment, and then you nod slowly, “Yeah,” You finally reply, “I think I can do that.” You pause, “I should probably shower-”

“Only if you want.” Echo reassures.

You stare at him for a moment, “You really are the best, you know that.”

“I try,” He says with a grin. Echo brings your hand to his lips and presses a light kiss against the pads of your fingers, “If I made you something light to eat, will you try and eat it for me?”

“I’m really not hungry.” You admit.

“I know, cyare. It’ll be something really small, really light. Just to get something in your stomach.” Echo offers, “And if you can’t eat it, then I will.”

You sigh one more time, and then nod. “Okay.”

“Thank you.”

You know Echo loves you. Even when you’re feeling your lowest, you’ve never doubted how he feels about you. And even now, when you can barely look at yourself, you know that he still adores you.

And while things are rough right now, and you care barely see the light at the end of the tunnel, you’re not worried about losing yourself. Because Echo will be right there to guide you back home.

That’s what it means to love someone, after all.

[uniquexusposts]

Her || Charles

Main characters: Charles Leclerc x OC Genre: fanfiction, fluff  Story type: novel  Part: 12/? Word count: 3726 Co writer: @mistrose23

Summary: This was Matilde Jørgensen, the newly appointed team principal of Scuderia Ferrari, about to face one of the most nerve-wracking challenges of her life. She tried to save the team from more disappointing results and put everything on the line to make them world champion again. There will be a big challenge to lead a historic team as 'newbie' and keeping her work and personal opinions apart from each other. The big question everybody will be asking: is she capable to do so?

Chapter 10. Unaware

"Hey," Matilde said when she entered the room next to her office. Galileo was already working behind his desk. "Do you have a minute so that we can talk?"

The young Italian nodded, knowing what this was about. "Of course."

"Do you want something to drink? I'm getting a cappuccino."

Galileo raised his eyebrows and really wanted to say something, but he thought it was best to keep his mouth shut. "No, thank you."

Matilde had to do her best to hide her grin. It was 14:00, and technically, according to the Italians, it was too late to drink a cappuccino. But she didn't care. People in this office didn't care about her, so why should she care? "Okay. I'll be back in... five?"

"Yes, absolutely."

The Dane walked to the coffee corner on the same floor and asked the barista for a cappuccino. Again, she received the side eye, but Matilde only smiled, causing the barista to make the cappuccino anyway.

A few minutes later, Matilde entered her office and called Galileo in. "How are you?"

"I'm fine," he nodded as he sat across from her. "How about you?"

Matilde pressed the corners of her mouth down, acting casual. "Fine, fine," she mumbled. "I will go straight to the point because, apparently, I have a board meeting now." She noticed the stress on Galileo's face when she said it. "How come I was unaware of the inauguration ceremony this morning?" Matilde asked and looked at Galileo. 'And the board meeting?'

The young assistant parted his lips and looked at his boss. His heartbeat became fast; he forgot to inform her about the inauguration ceremony and the board meeting. "I... I forgot, I think."

She nodded. "Thank you for being honest with me, Galileo," she said. "Look, I would be lying if I said it is okay and can happen. I need to know when these things happen, these events are very important for me, the team and for the representation of this team. You are here to support me, manage my appointments and to make sure I am aware of it." Matilde shared a warm smile, she could see how sorry he was. "For now, it happened, and there's nothing we can do about it anymore. But for the next time, double-check everything, okay?"

"I will. I am sorry," the young Italian said.

"Thank you."

Galileo got up and was about to leave the office.

"These things happen, but make sure you learn from them. Without making mistakes, you won't learn properly," she reminded him before he left.

Once he left the room, her smile dropped, and she turned around in her chair, facing the wall behind her desk. She blinked a couple of times and yawned. Being a team principal was literally being a teacher to toddlers. Matilde took a deep breath and got up, taking her laptop, notebook and coffee with her. She made her way to the meeting room, ready to be attacked and to defend herself in front of the most influential people of Ferrari.

"Hello," she said when entering the room, leaving the door open.

The big people looked already annoyed, a great start. She showed no fear and made her way to the only available seat.

"We've been waiting for you for over fifteen minutes," a woman said.

Matilde didn't remember her name, only that she looked like Donatella Versace. Matilde glanced at her, ready to say something, but she got interrupted by a knock on the door. She looked at the person, it was Mario. "Mario," Matilde smiled.

"Sorry to interrupt. Can I ask you a question?" Mario said.

"Of course. What is it?" She nodded and opened her laptop.

Sighs filled the room, causing Mario to look uncomfortable. Glances were shared; why did Mario interrupt? But a more important question was: why did someone from the night shift ask for her?

"The order that is missing, do we have an update on it yet?" Mario asked, hoping the order had arrived.

Matilde blew up her cheeks. "I have not seen a note yet, so I don't think so. I will follow it up after this meeting, you will hear from me."

The night shift manager and the team principal looked at each other; both wondering why they were present at the office. Mario squeezed his eyebrows together. "I thought you were supposed to be here at..." Mario pulled up the sleeve of his watch. "Six o'clock?"

"Well," she countered. "And what are you doing here then?" A cheeky smile came on her face.

"Mhm-mhm," Mario chuckled. "I will hear from you," he winked and walked away.

It was silent in the room again. Matilde looked around, raising her eyebrows, waiting for the meeting to start.

"What was that all about?" the same woman as earlier asked.

"If you work a shift, you are not allowed to start your next shift eleven hours after your previous shift ended. And since the night shift ended eight hours ago, we are legally forbidden to be here and work until six this afternoon," Matilde explained, reminding the board about the rules.

No one reacted to the comment. Instead, Simone started the meeting with a small introduction of why the board came together. "Firstly, do you have a reason why you were late to this board meeting, Matilde?"

Matilde looked up from her laptop and blinked a couple of times, taking a sip of her coffee. "Legally, I am not supposed to be here. My shift ended eight hours ago, which I explained a few seconds ago. I am making an exception to be here," she mentioned. "So the reason why I am late: I am still off duty."

No one seemed to find a suitable answer to her reply. Again, they were sharing looks with each other, trying to understand why she took a night shift.

"For clarification: I am taking night shifts every other week?" Matilde looked around, she thought people were aware about that. She always wrote it down in her work agenda and everyone has access to her agenda.

"Noted," Simone said and he looked at his notes. "So the reason why you were late at the inauguration ceremony is also because of the break-rule. But may I ask why you're here? You are legally not allowed to be here for four more hours, as you said so yourself."

"Exactly." Even though that wasn't the exact reason why she was late at the ceremony, she thought that was an excellent reason for this board. Galileo made a mistake, but that was something between them, and Matilde wanted to protect him from the board. "And the reason why I'm here is because I was bored at home. And I'm the team principal, I always have work to do."

The woman who spoke to her at the beginning, took over. Wasn't her name Antonia? A sly smirk appeared on her face, she was ready to attack the young team principal. "We received a message from PR about the celebrations in Miami."

Oh, here we go, Matilde thought. How did PR know about this? Who talked? Matilde nodded, accepting that she had to explain her side of the incident.

"We understand that you are delighted to celebrate your first win - as you should, but we received videos of you partying with Max Verstappen and some employees of Red Bull Racing. You have to understand that that is not great for your image."

Matilde straightened her face. This was about Max and Red Bull? She looked around, everyone looked sternly at her, like she had damaged their reputation. "Well, yes-"

"We understand you have your friends at your former team, but you cannot be seen like this." The tone of Antonia was unrelenting.

Matilde was prepared to defend herself and maintain her professionalism, but the weight of their expectations was palpable. She took a moment to generate her response. Of course, she knew the delicate balance she had to follow between maintaining relationships in the paddock and upholding Ferrari's image.

"Matilde, do you think that action was appropriate?" Simone could see Matilde was thinking about a response, but he wanted her to be faster. He was taking notes, looked up and waited for a further response. "It could be perceived as celebrating with a competitor, a rival."

"I appreciate your concern," Matilde began, her voice steady. "And I acknowledge that appearances matter. However-" Before she could elaborate further on her intentions, someone else cut in.

"Our image is important. We cannot afford to have our team principal's actions misinterpreted, especially with a rival team." The voice of the man was sharp, but impatient.

The frustration in Matilde's veins simmered just below the surface. But she maintained her composure. "As I was trying to say, we must also consider the context. I was not celebrating with Max and Red Bull Ra-"

"You have to understand that it's not just about the context."

This meeting was about interrogating Matilde, to share their criticisms without allowing her to respond fully and to defend herself. Matilde had expected a severe meeting about the team's performances, not this relentless lecture that made her feel increasingly unheard and undermined.

Matilde clenched her jaw and she took a deep breath, now her irritation began to bubble up. She didn't get the chance to explain herself, as they only seemed to be interested in one side of the story. She refused to back down on her story. "I understand the importance of our image-" she repeated, her voice tight.

But yet again, she was cut off by Simone, who seemed to have a lot of fun by irritating her. "Our team's reputation is at stake here. You may see it as a small gesture, but the public won't always perceive it that way," Simone looked at Antonia. "Antonia, you have set up a statement. Matilde, we want you to publish a statement for this incident."

Matilde squeezed her eyebrows together, and she looked around as if she was the main character of The Office. "Excuse me? Why?" Her tone was openly irritated now. "I acknowledge the importance of the team's image, but let's not lose sight of the bigger picture here. This obsession with a harmless moment is counterproductive."

"Matilde, the perception of our team matters. We need to control the narrative. A statement will help manage this situation," Antonia said.

Matilde almost groaned in frustration. They weren't listening to her, it was like they were fixated on the statement and not the reason behind it. "I understand your point, but let's not forget the context. I believe we are blowing this out of proportion. If I just may-" Her patience was wearing thin.

"You have to-"

"If you could, please let me finish," she repeated, raising her voice a little bit, demanding to have the word. "The reason why I was standing next to Max and Red Bull was because I was not invited to our own team's celebration dinner," she explained.

The board members exchanged glances, and Simone leaned back in his chair, a look of incredulity on his face. "So you decide to celebrate your win with our rival?" He repeated, as though the idea was utterly preposterous.

Matilde blinked a couple of times, looking unheard. Did they just not hear what she said? "In other words, yes," she responded. "Because I was not invited to the team's celebration dinner. And I want to clarify this: Max Verstappen is my friend, Red Bull is filled with my friends-"

"We need to address this issue promptly and professionally," Antonia chimed in, her tone critical. "Drafting a statement is the right course of action."

Matilde's frustration had reached its peak. She couldn't believe how obstinate the board was being, seemingly ignoring her explanations. Their need to release a statement was maddening. "Are you even listening to me? Why do I need to justify myself for the fact that I, the team principal, was not invited to the team's celebration dinner? It makes more sense for you to justify this situation." She felt so extremely selfish to say that she wasn't invited and that she had to be invited. Perhaps everyone disliked her and it was their plan not to invite her, and perhaps it was her expectation she had to be invited. Perhaps she was the issue.

"You are the team principal, you are a model to not only your team, but to the entire field and fanbase," Simone emotionlessly replied.

"Fine, but then make sure Leclerc is not allowed to talk to Gasly outside of work anymore, or meet with him outside of the track. And ban Sainz from golfing with Norris," Matilde shot back.

While the board was discussing the situation, the entire floor could hear their debate. Even though there was a lot of work to do, the entire floor of employees were more interested in the conversation. People gathered around, close enough to the meeting room to hear everything, but not to be seen by the board members. It had been the first time they heard Matilde speaking up like this. People doubted if she ever could get angry, but after this weekend and this discussion, they figured out Matilde could get angry very badly.

Charles and Carlos were sitting at a desk, in the engineers room, discussing some points for the sim later this afternoon. They could hear the discussion very well. Even they stopped working to follow the discussion.

"She's feisty," Charles said perplexedly. "Oh, my gosh." He covered his mouth with his hand.

"After Sunday, I didn't think she could surprise me anymore, but I didn't expect this," an engineer mentioned.

Carlos' mouth hung open, focussing on the conversation. "We have to say something, this is something between her and the board, not us."

"No, no, don't," Charles replied, raising his arm.

"But this is unacceptable. You're nosy."

"It is their problem, not ours. They shouldn't have left the door wide open," Charles shrugged. Carlos got up. "Don't," Charles said disappointingly.

Carlos shook his head, left the engineer's room and walked through the hallway. He noticed how the entire floor was standing close to the meeting room. It was serious, very serious. Charles joined him on the walk, he couldn't resist the urge to get closer to the commotion. They squeezed between the people, careful not to obstruct anyone's view.

"I can't believe they're making such a fuss about this," Charles muttered under his breath.

Carlos looked behind him, not realising Charles had followed him. He nodded in agreement. "It's absurd. They're treating her like she committed a crime." He stepped to the room, everybody collectively holding their breath. When he stood in front of the room, Matilde was in the middle of her sentence.

"I still cannot figure out how me, having a night out with my friends, bothers you the most out of that evening?" Matilde asked.

To Carlos' surprise, Matilde was still looking and speaking professionally. He knocked on the door, alerting them to his presence. "Hey, I am..." He pointed at the door.

She looked at him and held up her hand. "You can leave the door open, Carlos," she said before continuing on the same tone with the rest of her words. "Do you know what bothers me the most? Besides the board not understanding this situation, the fact that the entire team, not just a few people, but everyone, went out for dinner to celebrate the win and they did not even bother to ask me to join them on purpose."

Carlos stood speechlessly in front of the meeting room. He looked to his right, to his team, with rounded eyes. He walked back to his team. "This is serious shit," he said.

"I will not publish a statement," Matilde finished her story. "I think it will be time for us to hire an external coach or a psychologist. The way of communication has to change internally and as quickly as possible. Especially the communication between employees. That is the main issue in this team. This meeting is over. If there are any questions, don't hesitate to contact my assistant. Good afternoon, everyone."

The people in the hallway didn't know how fast they had to return to their desks. They had to pretend they hadn't been listening. Carlos ran after Charles back to the engineer's room. They jumped down on their seats. A second later, Matilde passed them. Silence fell on the entire floor and they all looked at Matilde; she showed no emotion.

"Holy shit..." Charles whispered. "That was something else," he remarked.

Carlos nodded, still impressed by Matilde's determination. His respect for her grew. "She's not one to back down, that's for sure."

The entire floor has just witnessed their 'puppy' team principal push back against the board with an intensity that was rarely seen. The engineers were buzzing with discussions about what had just transpired. It was clear that Matilde's impassioned defence had made an impact on everyone who had heard it. The board, too, was left with much to consider after her strong words. Her speech had ignited a new level of respect among the team, who now saw her in a different light. Her actions had solidified her position not just as a team principal, but as a leader who wasn't afraid to fight for the people, even against the most powerful figures within Ferrari.

Charles got up from his chair and made his way to Matilde's office. He ignored Galileo, who told him not to enter the office. After knocking, Charles swung open the door; Matilde was standing in front of the window, arms crossed, looking outside, her posture reflecting frustration and exhaustion.

"Hey..." he gently spoke.

Matilde looked over her shoulder. Once their gaze met, she showed just a smile - a smile without emotion or meaning. "Hello," she replied.

"Would you like to grab a coffee?" He pointed behind him. "There's a new coffee stand on the campus."

She considered Charles' offer for a moment. The tension from the board meeting still lingered, just like the unaware ceremony and incident from Sunday. However, she knew a short break and some fresh air would do her good. She stared at her watch and she nodded, she had some time left before her next meeting. "Yeah, sure," she replied, her smile now carrying a bit more warmth.

Charles hoped that this coffee break would provide her some rest and reset. Matilde grabbed her pass and sunglasses before they left her office. In silence they walked over the campus. Charles didn't feel the need to say anything, he wanted to make sure that Matilde could empty her mind.

As they approached the stand, Matilde scanned the new stand. She hadn't seen it before, but it looked cute. It was quite a minimalist stand, it was a stand that could go viral on Instagram for the aesthetic. Matilde was surprised to see that they served iced coffee, so she ordered that. Charles ordered a simple espresso.

"Thanks," Matilde broke the silence. They had their coffee and sat down on a small wall next to the stand. Charles looked at her, sharing a questionable look. "For... You know, this."

"Of course." He offered a supportive smile. "A small break can do miracles."

"I..." She took a deep breath. "I really appreciate it."

"Anytime." Charles looked in front of him. "And about Sunday... I didn't know what was happening. I assumed you were at the dinner, but somewhere...I don't know, somewhere where we couldn't see you."

"It's okay. It happened."

"It's not okay and it wasn't classy from our side."

"It is what it is, Charles. I hope it was miscommunication and I hope we all learn from it," she responded. Momentarily, Matilde didn't like the team, but she couldn't show it. She had to deal and work with it. "And I didn't celebrate the win with Max. People told me there wouldn't be a party because of the early flight the next day, so I wanted to get a drink at the hotel. I bumped into Gemma, my best friend. She works as a PR manager for Red Bull, and she dragged me to the restaurant. If I knew about your dinner, I obviously wouldn't have done it."

He pressed his lips into a thin line and he looked at her, it looked like she regretted everything.

"I have my friends at Red Bull. Max and I joined Red Bull at the same time, we 'grew up' together, I met my friend group there. And everyone assumes I moved to Ferrari to spy for Christian. When we see each other, we briefly talk about F1, we mostly talk about bullshit and ourselves, not about our work. I signed a million documents, they signed a million documents, why do people assume we share the team's deepest secrets?"

"You don't have to explain yourself, Matilde. I understand you." Charles knew it was better if she could just rant, let it all out, he wanted to let her know that it was safe to rant with him.

"And this morning, I got here and it was basically the same thing all over again. The ceremony thing and the board meeting I wasn't told about." Her voice cracked and she let out a loud sigh. "I'm sorry."

"Hey, it's okay," Charles replied and put his espresso next to him on the wall. He wrapped his arm around her and rubbed her arm.

Matilde leaned into the comforting gesture. Fortunately, she was wearing sunglasses. "I just want to do what's best for the team. I do what I think is the best," she admitted, her voice filled with raw emotion. "And I know this role isn't for softies, but there's just so much friction."

"Ferrari is a tough team to work with. I can't approve of what happened this week, but it's been a stressful time," he shared.

She straightened her back and dried her eyes. "Thanks." Matilde looked at him. They held each other's gaze for a few seconds. Charles shared a warm smile, Matilde couldn't help, but smile because of his smile. "God, this isn't professional. I am sorry."

Charles chuckled. "Team principal or not, you have feelings and sometimes you have to let them out. This stays between us, alright?"

"Thank you." She got up and looked around. "Let's get back to work. I have a feeling there are more wins in store for us."

[tac-owo-sensei]

The Golden Cage

Ayyy, good news, I finally got a laptop I can write on that is not my school laptop! Also, uh, fearplay, I think??? I think this counts, but idk.

Melody let out a deep sigh. She stared at the world beyond the cage through the untainted window. She had accepted it long ago- her fate was in his hands, the same hands that had trapped her within this prison. 

She slowly stood to her feet and approached the golden bars. The tips of her fingers lightly brushed against one of them. 

The light blue room in itself was fairly barren with only the occasional knick-knack and painting here and there to keep her company. 

She sat back down and gazed through the window, the only thing she seemed to do these days. The cage swung ever so slightly at her movement. It hung from the darkened ceiling. Why he had put her cage there of all places- only attached by a long chain- was beyond her, but her curiosity had begun to dwindle long ago. Nowadays, all she does is find herself filled with feelings of longing.

Her eyes drifted to the wooden door as it let out a loud creak. Behind it was a man, his stern gaze softening as his eyes landed on her. He drew nearer, stopping when the cage- and her along with it, was only a mere few inches apart from his face.

“Hello little one.” His voice was soft. He possessed a voice anyone would mistakenly fall for- including her at some point.

He took a step back and reached out his hand, unlocking the cage. He kept his hand steady in front of the entrance. Melody hesitated. She knew what he wanted, it was always the same song and dance, but every time, she couldn’t help, but stall.

Eventually, she brought herself to her feet and stepped onto the outstretched hand. If she had to be picked up, she’d much rather have it on her own accord.

Once seated, she gazed up at him, focusing on the lines on his palm rather than the movement. 

“You know…it’s been so long since I’ve heard that pretty voice of yours.” He started, coiling her hair around his pointer finger.

“What’s there to talk about?” She responded coolly. 

“I don’t know, you used to find all sorts of things to talk about.”

“Those were cries of mercy.”

“It was still something.” She refused to look at him. She’s given up on gaining any semblance of sympathy long ago. “Am I still scaring you?” His voice reverberated through her entire being. Yes, he was still terrifying, and at this point, Melody wasn’t sure how terrified she should be. 

She didn’t need to answer his question- her body language said it all. She struggled to not shrink away once his ruddy thumb began to caress her cheek. She struggled to remain unflinching as she felt herself being lifted, gentle lips placing a kiss atop her head.

No, she would never get used to this, the feeling of having more and more of her dignity being taken away every time she’s forced to walk onto his hand. He let out a slow chuckle.

“Well, afraid or not, it makes no difference to me. I will love you just the same.” She immediately closed her eyes upon seeing her worldview shift. She was being lowered, then gently pressed against his chest in an attempt to hug her. His cold warmth now surrounded her on all sides. She kept her eyes shut and stayed there, having accepted her fate as a glorified pet to a god a long time ago.

[cuephrase]

What are some things introduced new52 to current day that you like and think are an overall net positive for batfam continuity? (As in, it's not uncommon for me to see fan things that mainly focus on post crisis/pre flashpoint stuff but still incorporate new comic aspects, such as slightly changed family dynamics/new developments, and it's interesting for me to find out what different people think is and isn't worth keeping from what got added after the reboot)

ooooh this is a fun question!!

i was going to say i haven't read that many n52 and onwards runs, and then i realized i have actually read most of the ones i want to, i just haven't read any batman/'tec/batgirl/or duke's runs yet. (i read like...half of We Are Robin, Joker War, and i've read batman from where zdarsky come in so like have also read Gotham War.) (might read Catwoman?? not the point.)

since we're sticking strictly to net positives, i'll include something that i like, even if i have criticisms of it, but i won't get into those criticisms so we can stay positive!! (future cue, so this is kind of a lie but i swear i didn't go overboard.) i'm going to include stuff as minor as like costumes bc why not. also nothing is going to be in order of like what i like the most to what i like the least, just fyi. also, probs not definitive, knowing me i will forget something lmao

New52 Era-

tim's red robin costume. that suit is *chef's kiss* imo. i love that he has wings. i...i don't know if i necessarily want it back rn bc i am sososososo in love with his current robin costume, but i do adore the n52 red robin suit

i personally like that they went ahead and made jason less villain, more anti-hero. i think him trying to reintegrate with the batfam creates some very compelling crises

dick as Agent 37!! which...okay, no criticisms nvm. michael janin's art tho >>> okay well actually maybe sometimes i wish this was like elseworlds/black label instead of mainline but

might be a bit of a reach, but i really enjoy the first handful of arcs in n52 b&r and the relationship dynamic they established for bruce and dami

i like that tim and jason are somewhat friendly. i think it makes sense. for a lot of reasons. this is a somewhat controversial opinion, which i understand. but this is where i stand

did i like anything else from this era specifically?????????

OH

DUKE!!!!!!! i loooooove him very happy he was added

Rebirth Era-

the outlaws, specifically jason's relationship with bizarro. (i enjoyed artemis a lot too!! tbh, haven't read these guys outside of this run tho so zero clue how accurate these portrayals are, so grain of salt?)

the return of dick's fingerstripes!!!!!!! best part of tom taylor's run /hj

TIM'S ROBIN COSTUME AHHHHHH. i'm sorry i love that suit way too much

love damian's current robin costume, although...does he have combat boots rn still? can't remember. if he doesn't, they should give those back

damian + jon's relationship, ik it gets obliterated by the stupid age up, but super sons is still very special to me

tim being bi!! now do kon dc you cowards

alfred's death. i refuse to elaborate. i could, but i shan't (this is not alfred hate tho i swear)

i'm forgetting something rn i know it

oh yeah, i do like tim being robin again. IK. IKKKK. no, i don't think he should be robin forever. no, i don't think dami is a bad robin/shouldn't be robin.

um...i liked dick getting shot in the head. the ric era is not how i would've wanted the aftermath but

i don't want to comment on anything super recent, but i do think there's stuff going on rn that could end up being net positives

the titans being reassembled. jury's out on their location but, i do like that they're back

i'm not counting yj because they're not doing anything with them rn, but they should ugh

i think...i think that's it? there could honestly be a lot more that i'm forgetting. i hope this was interesting!! if there's anything i didn't mention that you're curious about, or something i did mention that you'd like a more in-depth answer about, please feel free to ask!! i'm curious what you consider net positives anon, you should shareeee

[captainsophiestark]

Lost Memories

Elijah Mikaelson x Reader

Masterlist - Join My Taglist!

Requested by Anon! Hope you like it!

Fandom: The Vampire Diaries

Summary: Elijah's spouse of the last thousand years, since before they became vampires, has had their memory taken by a witch. The immediate after effects are a little rough, but they've made it through worse together before.

Word Count: 2,423

Category: Angst, Fluff

Putting work into an AI program without permission is illegal. You do not have my permission. Do not do it.

"...wake up... my love?"

Blearily, I opened my eyes. My head was pounding, and I had no idea why. I blinked a few times, trying to get my blurry vision to clear while my wits returned. I was laying on a nice, soft couch, and after a minute my surroundings came into focus enough to see a handsome man I didn't recognize kneeling before me, another stranger standing and hovering a short ways behind the first.

"Finally, she wakes," said the man standing, the corner of his mouth pulling up in a smile. The man kneeling next to me still looked gravely serious.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, voice low and soft and soothing. "Are you alright?"

"Uh... not great, honestly... where am I? Who... who are you?"

The face of the man before me fell instantly. The one behind him crossed the room closer to us, brows knit in concern, but the soft voice of the man kneeling returned my attention to him.

"My love... please tell me you're joking."

Slowly, I shook my head. "I'm sorry, no. I... should I know you?"

I could see the gears turning in his brain, a storm of emotions flitting across his face before he carefully wiped them away, a gentle expression settling in their place. He started to reach out a hand as if to take mine, then apparently thought better of it and stopped short.

"My name is Elijah Mikaelson," he said, speaking slowly. "And you are my wife."

My eyebrows shot up. "I'm sorry, but I think I would remember getting married."

"And do you remember anything else? Any other significant events? Details about your life?"

Elijah's voice was gentle, like he worried I might break. And as I though about his question, going back in my memory and trying to remember anything and I kept coming up blank, I got very close.

"What... what happened?" I finally breathed, meeting Elijah's gaze with wide eyes. I searched for any spark of recognition, but found nothing. My heart raced as I got closer and closer to tipping over the edge into panic until Elijah genlty rested a hand on my forearm, momentarily grounding me.

"You were kidnapped by an enemy of ours," he said. "Niklaus—my brother—and I thought we got to you in time to prevent any harm being done, but... evidently not."

His voice broke a bit on the last word, and I found myself reflexively taking his hand in mine and giving it a soft squeeze, despite the insanity of what he'd just said to me. He gave me a strained smile and squeezed back before taking a deep breath to continue.

"Hopefully it's something we can fix easily," he said. "Just look into my eyes..."

I did as he said and then, a moment later, it was like I couldn't look away. My whole world narrowed to the man in front of me and his gorgeous brown eyes as he spoke.

"Remember."

The word echoed around in my head, followed a moment later by a blinding pain. I screamed as an invisible spike pounded into my skull and everything around me disappeared. I wasn't sure how much time passed, but eventually the pain started to fade and the room came into focus around me again.

This time both brothers knelt before me, looking incredibly concerned. I blinked a few times as the last of the pain faded, my gaze landing on Elijah.

"I don't know what that was, but... I don't think it worked."

"Right! It's going to be just like breaking compulsion then, and you know what that means, Elijah," said the brother, Niklaus, as he stood and started heading for the door. "I'm off to go kill a witch."

My mouth dropped open and I turned to Elijah, expecting some joke or else an attempt to stop his brother. Instead, Niklaus just looked back at me over his shoulder, pausing briefly as he reached the door.

"You take care of yourself in the meantime, love. Don't worry, we'll get this fixed."

And with that, he was gone.

I turned my attention back to Elijah, who apparently wasn't phased by any of this in the least. He just kept watching me, wariness and concern etched into his expression.

"Elijah... I think you need to explain some things to me," I said. "Witches? Enemies of mine? And what on Earth was that... thing... you did before with your eyes and saying the word 'remember'? And why am I just... absolutely starving right now, but nothing I can think of sounds good to eat?"

Elijah sighed and reached to take my hand again, although I didn't remember him dropping it. Still, I let him, sitting up and moving over so he had room to sit next to me instead of kneeling on the floor.

"This is going to be... quite an explanation if you have no memories, so I'll need you to bear with me, alright?" I nodded despite my nerves as Elijah took another deep breath. "You and I.... are vampires."

My eyebrows shot into my hairline, but I managed to muzzle any response other than that, since I'd just promised Elijah to let him get through his whole explanation. Still, I didn't remember a lot about myself or my past, but remembering that vampires existed felt like something that probably shouldn't have disappeared along with everything else if it were true.

"You and I met a thousand years ago as humans," Elijah continued, now taking both my hands in his. I let him, especially as I noticed his eyes getting a little misty. I had to admit I felt something when I looked at him, some lingering feeling that wouldn't quite go away, although I couldn't name it. "We were married, and when the rest of my family and I turned, you turned with us. Since then, we've been inseparable, no matter how many different things have tried to change that. However, as a result of being what we are and... a few of my brother's more problematic choices, shall we say, we've developed a fair number of people in all that time who wish to do us harm, or to get revenge for some wrong, whether real or percieved. More recently, we've been trying to resettle here in New Orleans, and there are several groups who don't like that, some witches included.

"One of those witches kidnapped you, and evidently found a way to deeply erase your memory. As for the hunger you feel, it's most likely a result of your need to feed. If you haven't had blood in some time, well... then it'd be like starving a human."

I shook my head, trying to process most of his words while really blocking out the last sentence.

"But I don't remember vampires and witches and whatever else being real. If I rememeber... I don't know, things like the sky being blue, even though I haven't been outside since I woke up, why wouldn't I remember that creatures like that exist?"

Elijah grimaced and squeezed my hands a little tighter. "My guess would be the witches intentioanlly made you forget. Out of all of us, you've always been the most... human. The most connected to your humanity, no matter how long we've been alive. I think their hope was to make it as hard as possible for you to regain your memories or readjust to the world with the rest of us, knowing what it is that vampires do."

"And... what exactly is it that vampires do?"

"We do quite a lot of things," he said, the corner of his mouth pulling up in a slight smile. "But hopefully, you'll remember all of that on your own soon enough. The only thing we need to deal with immediately is... blood."

I grimaced, even as my stomach grumbled and tightened painfully. Elijah gently squeezed my hands again, bringing my attention back to him.

"I brought some with me, assuming you'd be hungry. If you'd like to try it...?"

I immediately started shaking my head, continuing as Elijah dropped one of my hands and reached into his jacket pocket and intesifying when he pulled out a small bag of what must have been blood.

"No. No no no, no way. I can't... drink that. And do you just, like, carry that on you?"

"Only recently, for you," he said, carefully considering the bag before holding it out to me. My stomach growled, but my mind and heart recoiled even as my body urged me forward. I shot back, forcing myself away. That had come from a person, and even worse, most likely out of a blood bank or something, where it should've been used to help save someone's life. Not for me to drink.

Elijah pursed his lips as I rocketed backwards, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he laid the bloodbag aside and turned back to me. His stare was intense, but kind. He started to move forward as if to reach for me again, but stopped short.

"I'm sorry. This was the hardest part the first time for you too, and it didn't get much easier for the first hundred years or so."

I let out a slightly hysterical laugh, the beginnings of tears forming in my eyes and threatening to fall. I bit my lip, trying to keep it together, but the pain and fear and hunger and confusion I'd felt since waking up was starting to catch up to me.

Just as the tide was starting to overwhelm me, strong arms wrapped around me and pulled me into a close, warm embrace. Finally, I couldn't hold back anymore. I started crying.

Gently, one of Elijah's hands came up to rest on the back of my head, gently and soothingly running down from there to my back. I cried harder, tucking my face into his shirt and breathing in the smell of him. It wasn't familiar, even though I felt like it should be, but it was at least comforting.

"Is this... alright?" Elijah asked, barely loud enough for me to hear, his voice sounding almost as fragile as I felt. "Is it alright that I'm holding you like this?"

I could only muster a nod as I curled further into Elijah's chest. He pulled me closer to him in response, wrapping his arms around me a little tighter as we huddled together on the couch.

I wasn't sure how long we stayed like that, holding each other, as my overloading emotions finished running their course. Most of the problems that had caused them still existed, but the tears combined with Elijah's comfort had at least lightened the load. Elijah rubbed soothing circles on my back as he finally spoke again.

"You've always been the most human of us, since the day we turned," he said, voice raw. "Normally, it's something we're all incredibly grateful for. You keep us grounded. You care, and you haven't let a thousand years on this Earth make you stop caring, or stop loving life. But right now, it's also making this even worse on you. And for that I am so, so sorry."

I huffed a short laugh, pulling away from him at last while wiping at my eyes.

"I wish I could say I remember you. I'm sorry that I don't. But thank you. Somehow, just being near you seems to make me feel better."

Elijah smiled slightly, reaching out to take my hand again. I gave it a squeeze, then slowly turned to look at the blood he'd set aside.

"If there's any way for me to make it easier, all you need to do is say the word," Elijah assured me. "Or if it might be easier to... drink mine?"

I turned to Elijah with wide eyes. "That's... an option?"

He nodded, then moved to roll up his sleeve before I stopped him with a hand on his arm.

"I appreciate the offer, but... I think that would probably be harder for me, trying to drink a live person's blood. At least this way I can kind of pretend it's a juice box or something."

Elijah chuckled as I steeled myself to reach forward and take the blood bag. I wanted to be more grossed out by it than I was, but I was also so hungry, and I just knew that this would fix it, the way nothing else could. I closed my eyes and tried to imagine it was just a V8 or something as I bit into it, feeling fangs pop out from my mouth naturally. Even after I finished drinking the last of the blood, I kept my eyes closed. I didn't want to face anything that might force me to think about what I'd just did.

Wordlessly, while I kept my eyes shut, I felt Elijah take the blood bag and ease it out of my hands. I heard a woosh and felt a light breeze brush across my face, and then Elijah spoke again.

"It's gone," he said softly. I opened my eyes and gave him a sheepish smile.

"Sorry about that."

"You never have to apologize to me, especially not for something like that. Your first time drinking blood was actually much worse, although I'll just let that story come back to you on its own. But no matter what, memories or no, I'm here for you. Always and forever."

We shared a smile, a warm feeling spreading through my chest at the sight of the man before me. I still didn't really recognize him or remember him at all, but clearly, I'd done a good job when I'd found him. After a moment, I took a deep breath.

"So... what now?"

"Well, for the moment at leaest, nothing. Hopefully my brother will be able to solve this before it becomes something we have to involve ourselves in."

I nodded, then opened my mouth again only to chicken out and close it. I repeated the process a few times before finally getting up the courage to say what I wanted to say. Elijah, for his part, just waited patiently, a soft smile on his face.

"Elijah? Can you... hold me? At least for a little, while we wait?"

"Of course, my love. Nothing would make me happier."

The two of us settled into the couch, arms around each other. While it didn't magically unlock anything in my memory, it did feel warm and safe to be there with Elijah. If we'd really made it through hundreds of years of time and space together like this... well, I didn't need my memory to know we'd be able to get through this together, too.

****************

Everything Taglist: @rosecentury @kmc1989

TVD/TO Taglist: @elenavampire21

[digyoman]

thinking about earlier this year and even last year when i was so deeply hyperfixated on lloyd & he was all i could think about and yet i barely shared any of my thoughts on here. i kind of want to kick myself about it now actually because i know i had so many things to say and so much i wanted to do but i never made it happen. why was i a coward.

[prismatic-ink]

what if Lizzie didn't die?

nobody's ever fallen out of the void before, so no participant has ever come back to tell the tale of what that's like. the communicator says she's eliminated, and everyone shrugs and carries on, because for all they know, she is. Maybe there is a ground to hit down there, or some monster that swoops in and kills in a single blow.

but the thing is - there's no end in a void. it just continues forever. and ever. and ever. it's simple physics; a void/vacuum is a blank space, a complete and total absence of anything at all. there's nothing there that could have killed Lizzie because, by definition, nothing is in the void at all. not even time could have gotten her.

now imagine being condemned to a place (or as close to a place as the void can get) where you will never see anything again, hear anything again, falling falling falling, towards a ground that will never appear. a place where you can never look into anyone's eyes ever again. eventually, a green streak in brown hair is the only memory you have of another human existing that hasn't been lost to the millennia you've spent falling. this place where you will be the only thing that exists, the only thing that will exist, and the only thing that has ever existed, slipping through the cracks of time, eternally in solitude.

wouldn't that be a fitting place for a woman who spent all her time on solid ground alone, with almost nobody to care for her? falling so far out of the bounds of reality even the watchers don't know she's still alive? so beyond the reach of anybody that nobody will ever hear her calls for them to come to her, let alone heed them? and let's be honest, if they could hear her, would they even come?

and who knows, maybe when the next season rolls around, for some strange, inexplicable reason, the watchers can't find Lizzie. It's no trouble, they can construct a new Lizzie from her memory, even if it's one season behind. and maybe this time, Lizzie has better luck and lots of friends. she doesn't really get why Scar is so apologetic, or Joel so clingy, or even why she constantly feels like she's teetering on the edge of a precipice, about to fall. but that's just her being silly, right?

all the while the original Lizzie falls forever. forgotten again.

[kelocitta]

What a worthless animal