#converting sunlight

[inspectorspacetimerevisited]

Light arrives upon the scene and attempts to steal the Inspector’s life energy to turn him into a physical being.

Fortunately, the time that the Inspector and Belinay had spent escaping from Light’s games had caused so much time to elapse that the sun had risen.

Having been bourne of moonlight, Light was not prepared for what would happen to him if sunlight landed upon him. It burnt him to a crisp.

[reasonsforhope]

"Morningside Park, a beloved neighborhood park in Miami with sweeping views of Biscayne Bay, will soon pilot an innovative approach to coastal resilience.

BIOCAP tiles, a 3D-printed modular system designed to support marine life and reduce wave impact along urban seawalls, will be installed on the existing seawall there in spring 2025. BIOCAP stands for Biodiversity Improvement by Optimizing Coastal Adaptation and Performance.

Developed by our team of architects and marine biologists at Florida International University, the uniquely textured prototype tiles are designed to test a new approach for helping cities such as Miami adapt to rising sea levels while simultaneously restoring ecological balance along their shorelines...

Ecological costs of traditional seawalls

Seawalls have long served as a primary defense against coastal erosion and storm surges. Typically constructed of concrete and ranging from 6 to 10 feet in height, they are built along shorelines to block waves from eroding the land and flooding nearby urban areas.

However, they often come at an ecological cost. Seawalls disrupt natural shoreline dynamics and can wipe out the complex habitat zones that marine life relies on.

Marine organisms are crucial in maintaining coastal water quality by filtering excess nutrients, pollutants and suspended particles. A single adult oyster can filter 20-50 gallons of water daily, removing nitrogen, phosphorus and solids that would otherwise fuel harmful algal blooms. These blooms deplete oxygen levels and damage marine ecosystems.

Filter-feeding organisms also reduce turbidity, which is the cloudiness of water caused by suspended sediment and particles. Less water turbidity means more light can penetrate, which benefits seagrasses that require sunlight for photosynthesis. These seagrasses convert carbon dioxide into oxygen and energy-rich sugars while providing essential food and habitat for diverse marine species.

Swirling shapes, shaded grooves

Unlike the flat, lifeless surfaces of typical concrete seawalls, each BIOCAP tile is designed with shaded grooves, crevices and small, water-holding pockets. These textured features mimic natural shoreline conditions and create tiny homes for barnacles, oysters, sponges and other marine organisms that filter and improve water quality.

The tile’s swirling surface patterns increase the overall surface area, offering more space for colonization. The shaded recesses are intended to help regulate temperature by providing cooler, more stable microenvironments. This thermal buffering can support marine life in the face of rising water temperatures and more frequent heat events driven by climate change.

Another potential benefit of the tiles is reducing the impact of waves.

When waves hit a natural shoreline, their energy is gradually absorbed by irregular surfaces, tide pools and vegetation. In contrast, when waves strike vertical concrete seawalls, the energy is reflected back into the water rather than absorbed. This wave reflection – the bouncing back of wave energy – can amplify wave action, increase erosion at the base of the wall and create more hazardous conditions during storms.

The textured surfaces of the BIOCAP tiles are designed to help diffuse wave energy by mimicking the natural dissipation found on undisturbed shorelines.

The design of BIOCAP takes cues from nature. The tile shapes are based on how water interacts with different surfaces at high tide and low tide. Concave tiles, which curve inward, and convex tiles, which curve outward, are installed at different levels along the seawall. The goal is to deflect waves away from the seawall, reduce direct impact and help minimize erosion and turbulence around the wall’s foundation.A

How we will measure success

After the BIOCAP tiles are installed, we plan to assess how the seawall redesign enhances biodiversity, improves water quality and reduces wave energy. This two-year pilot phase will help assess the long-term value of ecologically designed infrastructure.

To evaluate biodiversity, we will use underwater cameras to capture time-lapse imagery of the marine life that colonizes the tile surfaces. These observations will aid in documenting species diversity and habitat use over time...

In the coming year, we’ll be watching with hope as the new BIOCAP tiles begin to welcome marine life, offering a glimpse into how nature might reclaim and thrive along our urban shorelines.

[cybertron-after-dark]

Average transformers g1 episode:

Megatron is attempting to black out the entire sky across a hundred mile radius and funnel all the sunlight into one, concentrated solar death ray to target a heavy duty solar panel he's having soundwave and the cassetticons build in order to convert it to energon. Then he plans to hit the autobot base with the death ray just for funsies. Starscream plans to push Megatron directly into the death ray, also just for funsies.

Optimus sends Wheeljack and Spike to deal with it, along with two bots you're pretty sure have not been in this show before this point, but you're kind of past asking how many of these fuckers were on the ark offscreen when it crashed. One of them has the worst fake Canadian accent you have ever heard, and the other's name sounds inexplicably dirty.

Starscream tries to get Megatron to stand in the spot he told Skywarp and Ramjet to direct the death ray, but is interrupted when Rumble asks why Starscream stuck him with extra work (a task Megatron assigned specifically to Starscream). This vexes Megatron. The autobots show up and try to figure out what the point of the blacked out sky is while Starscream attempts to talk his way out of it. Then the death ray goes off two feet away from Megatron, which only pisses him off further.

The Canadian bot yells "AH BINARY-BEAVERS!!" because the death ray caught him off guard and completely gives away the bots' position. Soundwave immediately fires on them. Gratuitous robot violence ensues. Spike is generally useless and tries chucking rocks at Rumble. Megatron is too busy trying to almost-murder Starscream to bother with the autobots and just lets Soundwave handle it.

Probably-an-innuendo-name-bot is luckily a flier and takes the chance to see what's blocking the sun now that their cover's blown anyway. He gets up there and the seekers are sticking tinfoil on the clouds to make the tops reflective. The writers are really just hoping you don't think too hard about it.

Skywarp starts firing on dirty-name and calls him a nerd. Dirty-name takes evasive action. Skywarp runs out of ammo and starts just chucking tin foil at him. Dirty-name calls him dumb and says his processor is made of spare toaster parts. Then he crash lands and canada-bot asks if dirty-name's wings are spare toaster parts as well. Wheeljack yells that they'll all be spare toaster parts if they don't focus on the decepticons. The death ray goes off again and barely misses the autobots. Wheeljack corrects himself to Melted spare toaster parts.

Dirty-name gives Wheeljack the rundown on the tinfoil clouds so he can figure out a way to get rid of them while Canada-bot fights Soundwave and the cassettes in the background. Spike is kind of helping too sort of almost. Those rocks hes chucking sure are damaging. Ravage gets straight up drop kicked. It cuts back to Wheeljack whipping up a good old fashioned Device™️.

Starscream flies up past the tinfoil barrier while Megatron shoots at him. All the holes he's shooting in the blackout barrier are just making more, slightly shittier death rays and the main one is losing concentration. One of them hits Megatron right in the optic and he keels over with an over the top screech. Starscream descends, breaking another hole in the tinfoil to see a golden opportunity.

"MEGATRON HAS BEEN BLINDED!!! I, STARSCREAM AM NOW YOUR LEADER!!!"

Wheeljack finishes his Device™️: A grenade that makes tinfoil entirely invisible, thus rendering the whole weapon unusable. The writers are hungover, please do not think about it too hard. Pretty please. Dirty-name doesn't know if he can throw it into one of the holes in the barrier on his own since he can't fly in robot mode and he cant throw in altmode. Spike offers to get on his back and throw it in for him if he can get close enough. And he's just SO good at throwing things. The other two agree he's their best shot, they're so happy spike is around, couldn't do it without him.

Starscream is hovering in the air as he gives his Decepticon Leader Acceptance Speech he's prepared for this very occasion, golden light streaming in from the him-shaped hole in the barrier. Dirty-name and spike zip past him and spike makes the best goddamn throw of his life. Before starscream can properly question the Fucking Audacity of these autobots interrupting him while he's trying to have a moment, the invisible explosion goes off that the animators are just happy they don't have to put that much effort into drawing. Starscream gets knocked out of the air and crashes directly onto Megatron. This vexes Megatron.

Sky's normal again. Don't worry that there's still tinfoil there, don't even fuckin worry about it dude. Spike and Dirty-name touch back down. Round of applause for spike for throwing super good. Wheeljack comments that he's just happy it blew up the way it was supposed to. Cue uncomfortably long laughing. Megatron manages to roll starscream off him and calls for a retreat.

Back at the decepticon base, Megatron has an eyepatch and is skulking. Starscream yaps about how it makes him look like a proper tyrant, brooding and battle scarred, and, dare he say, darkly handsome? This vexes Megatron.

[shinoko-oshi]

Simon Riley is a nudist

And hear me out with this one, okay?

Simon loathed clothes. Ever since birth, he couldn’t stand wearing them. Tight shirts felt suffocating, clinging in all the wrong places, while loose shirts bunched up every time he sat down, irritating his skin like sandpaper. Socks made his toes feel trapped. Jeans? Felt like leg prisons.

So as he got older and lonelier, finally getting a place to call his own, he took full advantage of the one thing he had control over: being bare. Naked, free, relaxed. It was like finally exhaling after holding his breath for years.

He slept nude, cooked nude, cleaned nude, and lounged nude. If a neighbor caught a glimpse through the blinds? So be it. This was his damn house. His sanctuary.

He never had a problem with it… until he got a partner.

Simon didn’t really get the memo at first either. He didn’t think you’d mind. You were his, after all. And besides, he trusted you enough to be comfortable in his own skin and scars. And at first, you said nothing. You were happy he felt that at ease around you. Proud even.

But there came a point. A moment where things tipped.

A point where you could no longer ignore the way his balls quite literally stared at you while you were trying to eat lunch. A point where his nuts were uncomfortably pressed against your back at night because he liked to sleep curled around you. Hell, you could barely take him seriously during conversations not when all you could see was his ass swaying as he turned to grab something off the counter.

Still, you let it slide. Until that day.

Your friend was over, and Simon: tired from work and on autopilot made his way inside, tugging off his shirt, undoing his belt, already stepping out of his cargo pants and down to his boxers. The same boxers he was about to take off when he walked into the living room… and froze.

Silence.

Your friend’s face was a picture of horror. Yours was painted in full body embarrassment. Simon? Confused, holding the waistband in his hand.

That was it. The final straw.

You sat him down that night and had the talk.

“Look, Simon. I love you but can you at least wear boxers around the house?”

“Why?”

“Because I don’t like having to see your ass when I eat. And I can’t take you seriously when you’re butt naked trying to lecture me about safety knives.”

“What’s wrong with my ass?”

Eventually, he relented. He agreed to boxers. And it worked. Peace was restored. You had no further complaints.

Until he got an idea. A plan.

What if he converted you?

It started subtle. He hid a few of your shorts. Nothing major. And soon you were walking around the house in nothing but your panties and one of your shirts. Then he escalated. Began hiding your shirts too. But you simply grabbed his, oversized and soft.

So he played dirty.

He ordered some itching powder off the internet. Just adding a little sprinkle in your shirts, his too: he had to sell the lie. And sure, you could just wash them. But that took hours. Hours you’d be bare.

So when you said you were hopping in the shower, he smiled and sat back.

The door swung open as you stomped out of the bedroom, frustration written all over your face.

“Ugh! Everything I wear is uncomfortable and itchy!” you whined, dumping handfuls of clothes into the washer with enough force to shake the drum.

Simon sat on the couch, arms behind his head, casual as ever. “What I’ve been sayin’, love. Clothes are the curse of people.”

You pouted, flopping down beside him with crossed arms. “Maybe I’ll just go nude like you.”

His grin stretched wide, wolfish and smug.

“Would never say no to that.”

And from that day on, the conversion was complete.

You were barefoot, panty clad, and happy. No shirt, no pants, no problem. Sunlight touched your bare skin as you made breakfast, as you lay in his arms on the couch, skin to skin. You slept bare chest to bare chest with him every night, feeling every steady breath and heartbeat. It was peaceful. Intimate. Freeing.

Until you found the itching powder tucked behind some boxes in the closet.

You almost laughed.

Sneaky bastard.

You should’ve been mad. But you weren’t. You just smiled to yourself, grabbed the bottle, and poured a little bit into his boxers.

Let’s see how he liked it.

Might write more for theses two if I have any ideas since I liked making this

[sweetbunpura]

Leona, talking about the fountain as he gives a tour: So, he built it when his son was born-

Yuu: So, he built what is essentially a pretty thing to look at, but he couldn't have used that money towards better things? Like putting an effort into rebuilding the slums?

Grim: Henchhuman-

Vil: Could you be any blunter, potato?

Yuu, crosses arms: What? Oh and this whole "being one with nature" thing and allowing some of the natural resources to go untapped-

Kifaji: It's because we don't want to drain the land of what they have given us-

Yuu: No one said you were draining it. Just think of a more eco-friendly way of handling things. Leona said you guys have the greatest concentration of sunlight, right? Turn that into solar energy. Convert some of the heavy smog machines into ones that run on solar.

Lilia, hums: She might have a point...

Kalim: Wow, Yuu! You're so smart!

Yuu: Thanks. On top of that, it'll create jobs for people, especially those who work in high poverty areas. You guys can still be surrounded by nature without having to sacrifice nature for it. *Sighs* I'm done, sorry for ra-

Leona: Marry me.

Yuu: You get Grim in the process if I do.

Leona: Deal.

Kifaji: My Prince!

[p1astr81]

what are we? - mv33

in which: Max gets romantically involved with Red Bull’s new hire, changing his life for better and worse.

pairing: Max Verstappen x co-worker!reader

warnings: smut 18+, Christian Horner, cursing, time jumps, angst, not proof read, a little longer

wc: 6.9k

an: ib this fic

‧₊˚ ⋅* ‧₊ ‧₊˚ ⋅* ‧₊ ‧₊˚ ⋅* ‧₊ ‧ *‧₊˚ ⋅* ۶ৎ ‧₊ ‧₊˚ ⋅* ‧₊ ‧₊˚ ⋅* ‧₊ ‧₊˚ ⋅* ‧₊ ‧ * ‧₊˚ ‧

The conversation came in late September. The air outside his Monaco apartment was cool. It drifted in gusts through the open window. His grip around your waist tightened when a particularly cold breeze creeped it’s way over his naked figure. His limbs, intertwined with yours, sought the warmth radiating off your skin. Legs mindlessly brushed against yours.

“If you’re cold, you could always put your clothes back on.” He chuckled lowly at your suggestion. The sound traveled smooth and slow through the air, like molasses. A verbal response never graced your ears. He settled for a small shake of his head, his face hid in the curve of your neck.

The scene, while grossly domestic, had your stomach curling into knots of guilt and despair. A feeling of inevitable calamity. The exact timing of it, you were uncertain. But it was sure to come, if not now then soon. Tomorrow morning, maybe. You knew putting it off would make it harder. Executing it was just as difficult, though.

It’s why you were both devastated and relieved when Max’s voice filled the air with the question. It forced you to have the conversation here and now.

“What are we?”

₊ ‧ *‧₊˚ ⋅* ۶ৎ ‧₊ ‧₊˚ ⋅* ‧₊

The first day on a job was never easy, especially when you’d been promoted from a simple marketing position at a small company to the manager of the marketing department at Red Bull Racing.

It was mid-January. Freezing cold outside. Your breath converted to a visible fog while you entered your new place of work.

The tour of the building was being given to you by a secretary. He was quiet. Only spoke when he needed to or to answer a question of yours. He led you to an empty office, nothing in the room except for a desk and a chair. Your first and last name engraved on a plaque glued to the door. Your fingertips ran over the lettering, feeling the ridges. Head of Media and Marketing engraved right above your name.

The secretary informed you that someone would be with you shortly, his voice mere mutters. You thanked him and he was on his way.

The room was spacious enough. Plenty to not feel claustrophobic but not enough to not feel vast. A small couch could be a nice edition. Floor to ceiling windows allowed for natural sunlight to illuminate the area. The view was okay. The street and parking lot to the left and a small patch of grass—currently coated by a thin layer of snow—right ahead of you.

A question of your name was called from behind you. You turned with a smile. “Yes, hello.”

Christian Horner. The team principal at Red Bull Racing. Of course, you’d heard what he’d done, read the leaked messages. You nearly didn’t take the job because of it. But it was your dream job, formula one. So a few morals had to be broken.

He smiled. “Good to finally meet you face to face.” He held his hand out to you. You shook it to be polite. “Christian Horner, team principal.” He formally introduced himself.

You remained polite as you followed him through the halls once more. His footsteps stopped outside another office space. A laugh was muffled through the wall. A man’s laugh.

Christian opened the door, allowing you to walk in first. Upon entering, the two boys in the room stopped their conversation, eyes boring into you. You knew who they both were. Liam Lawson and Max Verstappen.

Liam stood first, teeth shining as he smiled. He held a hand out to you and introduced himself. Polite. Max stood, but hovered behind Liam. He studied your form, your face, the way you nervously fiddled with the ends of your hair and tucked a strand behind your ear.

Only when your conversation with Liam ran dry did Max step in to introduce himself.

“Will you be traveling with us to races, then?” His voice was level, unreadable. His gaze jumping between Christian and yourself. Christian answered for you. “No. She won’t be needed. Most of her work will be done here.”

Max’s brow twitched, a faint line appearing between his two brows for less than a second. “Shame.” Was all he said, eyes drifting from your own to analyze the other details of your face. You tried your best to ignore it.

₊ ‧ *‧₊˚ ⋅* ۶ৎ ‧₊ ‧₊˚ ⋅* ‧₊

The following weeks consisted of introduction and the drafting of ideas. Your colleagues would filter in and out of your office, presenting vague ideas and handing you long winded proposals. Working in formula one was not nearly as thrilling as you expected it to be.

Your routine shifted one day. Your fingers were dashing across the keyboard, responding to an email sent from another in the marketing department. The door had opened, but assuming it was one of your colleagues you didn’t acknowledge them right away. You were too focused on finishing the email to even realize your visiter had made himself comfy on the small sofa.

Only after you hit send did you look up, slightly-irritated smile embellished on your lips. “Hi, sorry I was-“ the face registered in your mind, though it made the synapses in your brain backfire momentarily, your speech inhibited. Your expression bordered on confusion. When your brain finally caught up, the words that came out of your mouth were, “do you need something?”

You cringed when your own voice hit your ears, your tone suggesting he was bothering you. You fell into quick apologies. “I’m sorry I didn’t mean it like that just… I didn’t know if you came in here for something from me or… yeah.”

There it was again. The anxious action of playing with your hair. His own face shifted. Amusement. He shook his head. “Just came to ask you how you’re settling in.”

The nod that came to you was like a foreign action. Delayed and not quite a smooth gesture. The prospect of Max Verstappen coming to casually check in on you was a little inconceivable, so forgive you if your motions weren’t quite fluid. “Yeah.” You blinked, then realizing that wasn’t really an adequate response, you continued, “It’s nice. People are nice.” You nodded. You found it difficult to keep your eyes on his. Perhaps it was the intensity of it. The way it felt like he was trying to dissect your every thought.

Max hummed. “Well if that changes…” the rest of his sentence hung in the air, but you could finish it yourself.

You nodded again, swallowing the lump of nerves in your throat. “Okay.”

₊ ‧ *‧₊˚ ⋅* ۶ৎ ‧₊ ‧₊˚ ⋅* ‧₊

Max continued to pop in your office every now and then, at least once a week. You’d gotten more and more comfortable with each encounter. Conversation flowed easily now.

It was the end of February, the beginning of the season drawing close. Papers collected in a small stack on your deck, ones you had to look over before the media team left in two weeks.

“Come in,” you responded to the knock on your door, focus still on the paper in front of you. The paper was torn from your desk, your focus traveling with it. Your eyes caught Max’s blue ones and you scoffed. “Max! I need to finish that,” you complained loudly, reaching for the paper but Max pulled away.

You stood, rounding the desk. Max put his hand out to stop you while he read from the proposal. “…to improve engagement—hey!—and increase—im helping here!” Max laughed, arm extended with the paper out of your reach. “That’s not funny, I need to have that read and responded to by the end of the day!”

Your sides were flush against each other, your hand inching its way up his arm. Subconsciously, he pressed a hand to the small of your back to stabilize you while you stood on your tip toes. Max chuckled. “They’re all the same anyway. Boring for you to read and torture for me to do.”

Your eyes fell from the paper to meet his own. You became aware of the proximity then. Far too close for a couple of colleagues. You stepped back, cleared your throat. Max silently held the paper out to you. Graceful fingers pulled it from his hold.

As you sat back at your desk, Max remained standing in front of it. “I don’t think it’s fair.” He commented out of the blue. Your eyes found his once more, brows knit together. “What’s not fair?”

“Well, you do all of this for the team, and you don’t ever get to see the track.”

Your expression loosened, a breath falling past your lips, sounding like a laugh. “‘Cause my job is here.” You shook your head, finding his judgement a little silly.

A raised brow of his. “So you don’t want to go to the races?”

You dropped your pen, leaning back in your chair. “It sounds fun and all, but that’s not where I’m needed.”

“But if you had the choice, would you want to go to the races?”

You didn’t even need to think about it. “Yes.”

The next morning, as you set foot inside your office your whole body froze. On your desk sat a jar of chocolates. Passed for the weekend in Australia hung from the shoulders of the jar. You analyzed them, just to make sure they were real.

“Of course.”

₊ ‧ *‧₊˚ ⋅* ۶ৎ ‧₊ ‧₊˚ ⋅* ‧₊

Max won that first race in Australia. A hard fought victory against Charles Leclerc. After the race you settled in the hospitality. People were packing up around you but you were stationary, answering emails upon emails.

You jumped when your shoulders were squeezed from behind. The sight of Max had you relaxing on instinct. He maneuvered his way around the table, taking the chair across from where you sat. “You should go out with me tonight.” He proposed.

Brows shot up, you choked on air. “Sorry, what?” Your laughter was out of control. Continuous breathy, nervous chuckles.

Max seemed to have caught his mistake, laughing to himself. “I meant— I’m going out to celebrate with some of the team. You should come with.”

“Oh, oh yeah.” You laughed. “Maybe not, though. I’ve got a lot of work to catch up on, yknow?”

All it took was one little teasing “come on,” and a dazzling smile to convince you.

Party was certainly Maxs thing. One too many gin and tonics and he was drunk out of his mind. He clutched onto your shoulder, yelled something close to your ear. “That’s great, Max!” You responded, a tap of your hand to his chest, though the topic of conversation was completely lost on you.

“Great?! No ‘thank you, Max! You’ve got a beautiful face too!’? Wow ego much!” Drunk max was a hassle, and drove you to drink with every teenage-girl-esc sentence that spilled from his drunk, scrambled mind. “Sorry, didn’t quite hear you! I’m gonna get a drink!” Max wiggled his brows, remembering how you swore you wouldn’t drink tonight. “Looks like someone’s going back on her word!” He laughed. You shook your head, turning your back on him to make your way to the bar. Max clutched desperately onto your arm.

In hindsight, drinking wasn’t your smartest idea. Because one drink led to two, and two led to even more.

The very next morning you woke up with a raging headache. The curtains of the hotel room weren’t pulled closed. The morning light invaded the room, and you pulled a pillow over your head to block the rays that desperately tried to bypass your thin eyelids.

The smell of the pillow filled your nose. But it wasn’t your own perfume, or the fresh scent of a five star hotel. It was cologne. Still smelling fresh. But undoubtedly cologne. The scent strangely familiar, but you couldn’t place it.

Your heart raced. You could feel as the thrumming of it pulsated up to the surface of your skin. The headache was fought off as you opened you opened your eyes, slowly and anxiously.

Eyes meeting the figure, a small gasp left your lips. You’d never identified a person so quickly in your life.

You began to panic when you spotted your shirt from last night, thrown messily over the back of a chair. A quiet chant of no, no, no fell from your lips as you scanned the room with a frantic, unfocused gaze. And the shirt you wore wasn’t yours. Red Bull branded. But not yours. “Fuck” you whispered, tears springing to your waterline.

Careful not to wake Max, you slid from between the sheets, gathering your clothes from around the room. While you slid your pants on, Max stirred. One leg in and one leg out, you froze in place. Thankfully, he went back to sleep, his breath returning in a shallow, even rate. You placed Max’s—now neatly folded—shirt of the television stand.

On the tips of your toes and as quietly as you could, you slipped into the hallway. You could only hope that his memory was lacking as much as your own.

Once back in the security of your own room, you fell onto the bed, closing your eyes with a sigh.

The next time your eyes opened was because of a harsh series of knocks on the door. The sun was brighter now. You’d fallen asleep again.

Tired legs carried you to the door, which once opened, had you frozen in place.

A claw clip was held out to you. “I think you forgot this.” Max grinned, letting himself into the room.

“That’s not mine.” You dismissed, though it was definitely yours. Max chuckled. “You left.” He stated the obvious, eyes drilling into yours. You leaned against the door. He stood across the room.

Your head shook. A mindless movement. “I didn’t think you’d remember either.” You muttered, facing your crossed feet below you. He blinked. Brows furrowing just slightly, complementing his small frown. “Are you saying you don’t remember anything?”

You stood up straighter, back still supported by the door. “Well… bits and pieces.” Your voice was small and you forced yourself to face him. His mouth fell open, gasping out a breath, his hand falling over his face.

Seeing his reaction, you quickly tried to ease him. “I’m not going to tell HR if that’s what your worried about.”

Max froze. “You think I’m worried about HR? No I’m worried about you.” He took a few steps in your direction before stopping himself.

Your eyes widened. Shock. You laughed. “Why would you be worried about me?” You were nervous now. Max seemed to be more confused than ever. “You… because we had sex, and you don’t remember it.” He started to pace. “I though you weren’t that drunk. You swore you weren’t that drunk. I’m an idiot, obviously you were that drunk.” He rambled to himself, feet pacing back and forth along the length of the hotel room.

“Max,” you called. He froze, face meeting yours. Concern etched on every feature. “Did I consent?” He blinked before nodding. “Then it’s fine. You have nothing to worry about” You shook your head

He became confused. “Nothing to- I practically took advantage of you, and you’re saying that’s ‘fine’?”

“Yes because I trust you and I know you and I know that’s not you.” You sighed. “It’s like you want me to be mad at you.”

Max turned away from you, silent. He ventured over to the open window, a distant view of the ocean. Perhaps he did want you to be mad at him. Perhaps then the inner turmoil would be easier to face. Perhaps then he wouldn’t feel so conflicted about you.

“I just think you should value yourself more.”

You looked up from your hands, gaze only finding his backside. “What, you think I don’t value myself just because I won’t be mad at you? We made a stupid mistake, that’s all.” You bit back.

A brow of his lifted, body halfway turned to face you. “No, that’s not what I meant.” He chuckled nervously.

The nod that followed was subconscious as you stared down at your hands once more. “You should go. I need to pack.”

He called your name, a tone that suggested protest. A look from you silently told him off, and he left without another word.

₊ ‧ *‧₊˚ ⋅* ۶ৎ ‧₊ ‧₊˚ ⋅* ‧₊

The following week you were back in your office. Max was meant to be away at a race. He placed second in China. You didn’t care. Sure it was a tiny spat, but it was easier to ignore him than face the repercussions of what you’d done. Max hadn’t reached out since that morning. So neither had you.

The day had droned on. Another Monday spent sitting in your office for hours on end. The tenth knock of the day interrupted your flow of work. “Come in,” you muttered, head rested in the palm of your hand while you read over your presentation for the thousandth time.

You hit the arrow button once again when a cough took you from your focus. You glanced up at the person, body straightening when you saw his blue eyes.

“Is there something I can help you with?” You remained polite and professional. You mentally questioned why he was not still in China, or why he was here at all. He wasn’t needed at the factory today. The question never surfaced, though.

Max let out a small sigh, standing across the room. “Look, I’m sorry.” He started sincerely.

“It’s alright.” You brushed it off, turning your attention back the the screen and hoping he’d fuck off.

“No, it’s not. I don’t think you deserve to just be a hit and run.”

“It doesn’t matter. I hardly remember it.” Your eyes refused to meet his.

“That’s exactly my point.”

You sighed deeply. “And what do you want to do about it? It’s in the past.”

The room was silent for a minute. Max thought it over, his proposal on the tip of his tongue, but he struggled to find the courage to say it. You studied him, eyes narrowed, trying to pick his brain apart.

“What about a date?” He managed to ask.

And you laughed at him. Right to his face. “You’ve lost your mind, Verstappen.”

“That’s not a no.” He grinned.

You huffed. “That is a no.” You shook your head, your words holding some finality to them. You returned to your work, thinking he’d leave after that.

But Max Verstappen is nothing if not persistent. “Why no?”

You looked up once more. The third time during this conversation. “Because it’s an HR nightmare. The second anyone gets wind that I went on a date with you, I’m fired. And I just got this job so I’d really like to keep it.” The eye roll that followed was a natural instinct.

“Then no one has to know.” He negotiated quickly.

“Why are you so persistent about this? I told you it wasn’t a big deal.”

Max swayed on his feet. He didn’t have an answer for that. At least, not one that he was willing to share with you.

“I’ll make a reservation at that stake house, cove’s, for 7. You can choose to show up or not.”

₊ ‧ *‧₊˚ ⋅* ۶ৎ ‧₊ ‧₊˚ ⋅* ‧₊

It may have bothered you a little. Knowing that Max may have been sitting at the restaurant all by himself. The clock reads ten past the nineteenth hour. You’d been staring at the blank wall for fifteen minutes.

The two halves of your brain were at odds. Arguing for and against joining Max at the restaurant.

He’s all alone.

That’s his own fault.

Yeah but he might be upset.

His emotions aren’t my problem.

But it’s a nice restaurant, and he’s paying. A good meal won’t hurt.

You groaned, throwing the blanket from off your lap and making your way over to the closet. You picked a simple dress. Nothing too showy or extravagant. Attention wasn’t what you desired.

“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” you grumbled, looking yourself over in the mirror. The small imperfections were screaming at you, a small frown adorning your lips. You closed your eyes. A deep breath and a sigh. A shake of your head. “It’s not even a real date.”

You got there forty-five minutes late. Max could be clearly seen from across the restaurant. A glass of water sat in front of him, only half full. Fingers tapped the glass in a rhythmic manner, intense eye contact with the contained liquid.

It’s not too late to turn around, you told yourself. And you actually considered it. But the thought of getting ready just to turn back outweighed any other thoughts.

When you approached the table, Max glanced at you, an uninterested look. Then as if the image registered late in his mind, he stood. The chair was pulled out for you before you had the chance to do it yourself. “I didn’t think you’d come.” He spoke in a hushed voice, almost like he was embarrassed by the fact.

“I didn’t think you’d still be here.”

And that’s how it started.

₊ ‧ *‧₊˚ ⋅* ۶ৎ ‧₊ ‧₊˚ ⋅* ‧₊

April passed quickly. Max tried taking you out on regular dates, though you argued. “It would be too suspicious. Everyone knows you like in Monaco.” He worked his way around your fears. He drove your car, which was not nearly as flashy. He covered his face as best he could to blend into the background. He stopped trying to convince you to go with him to races with his guest passes. “People will catch on, Max. Your fans are smart.”

So Max convinced Horner that you would be much more of use at the weekends. “It’s a much quicker flow of information, and she can be there to make changes on the spot. It only makes sense!” And somehow, Horner listened.

The first race of May, in Miami, you were there. Not just as a guest of Max Verstappen, but as a critical part of the team.

You never found out it was Max’s doing. He let you believe the promotion was for your hard work. You deserved that.

The Red Bull car, adorned with a big red number 1 on the wing of the car, was out in front. It would be his first win since the season opener if he could hold onto the lead. You were stressed, fingers twisting up in the ends of your hair. The strands moved like liquid between the gaps of your fingers.

Later that night, you happened to end up in a club, Max’s hands glued to your hips while you twirled around on the dance floor. “You won again!” You shouted over the music, arms tightening around his neck. “I think you’re my good luck charm!” He grinned. You shook your head, laughing. A sound he wished he could keep on file in his brain so he could listen to it on a bad day. “No, I think you’re just that amazing!”

“Fuck, you’re so amazing.” Max groaned, his entire cock sheathed inside of you. Of course you found yourselves back in his hotel room, making a mess of the sheets.

“Ah, Max,” You whined. His thrusts perfectly measured, hitting the deepest parts inside of you. “Faster, oh please Max, faster!” Words were a struggle to get past your panting. Your nails dug into his bare shoulders. He hissed, but the pain quickly morphed with the pleasure and spurred him on.

His teeth scraped along the curve of your neck as he sucked marks into the skin, trying to quiet his noises. “So good. Fuck,” he mumbled against your skin, a hand guiding your thighs to wrap around his waist. The noises you released at the feeling of the new, deeper angle had Max thrusting his hips into yours harder than before. Thank god the headboard was bolted to the wall. Any consideration for the next door neighbor—probably a team member—flew out the window.

“Fuck! Fuck, I’m so close!” Your hips started meeting his, searching for a release. “Please,” the word fell from your lips on instinct.

“So good. So perfect. So perfect for me.” Max continued to mutter praises, his hot breath fanning over the marks he’d just made. His hand ventured down your body to land harsh circles on your clit. “Come on, come for me.”

A high pitch moan added to the sinful noises already infiltrating the room, your back arched up from the bed, pushing your body into Max’s. “That’s it, come on.” He encouraged.

You came with his name on your lips, repeated over and over again like it was the only word you knew. “Fuck,” he grunted, you squeezing him, pulling him right to the edge. “Inside me, fuck, I’m on the pill.” That’s all it took for him to be spilling everything he had inside of you.

You whimpered when he pulled out, still sensitive. He apologized. Noting your closed eyes and your blissed out state, he carried you off to the bathroom and sat you down on the toilet.

“You know, I’m noticing a trend here.” You joked after you’d recovered, back in the bed and lying against his chest. Your fingers idly played with his, fingertips running along his knuckles. Max frowned, though you couldn’t see it. “This is more than just physical for me. I really do like you.” His lips met the top of your head. It brought a small smile to your lips. “I know,”

₊ ‧ *‧₊˚ ⋅* ۶ৎ ‧₊ ‧₊˚ ⋅* ‧₊

Things were going well for you and Max. You kept it on the low. No one in HR had caught on. Of course, the fans speculated, but they had no real proof.

It was the end of June now. All day, Max had been praying to anyone who would listen, begging for a good result. It was Austria. Red Bull’s home race. He couldn’t let the team down.

Prior to the race, you stood in his driver’s room with him. He was all suited up already, you were only there to wish him luck.

Your hands ran down the front of his suit, palms settling on his stomach. “Have I ever told you that you look so good in this suit?”

Max chuckled, the sound a low rumble. “Only about every time I wear it.” His eyes, reflecting such deep admiration, worked their way over your own figure. The tips of his fingers dug into your hips, bottom lip scraping between his teeth while he drew you impossibly close. “And speaking of outfits, you look like a dream.”

You scoffed a laugh. “Really? In my business casual?”

He looked at you like you were crazy for second guessing him. “Oh, Absolutely.” He grinned, his hands coming up to move the hair from your face.

Just as his lips were about to collect yours, a knock interrupted the moment. Max jumped back, creating space on instinct. He looked at you with wide eyes, but you held up a single finger, your mind working fast to make up an excuse.

“Max? Can I come in?” His trainer spoke through the door.

You scrambled through your camera roll. You were sure there was some stupid media video you could use and pretend you were searching for his approval.

“Yeah come in,” Max answered, just as you were shoving your phone in his face. The video was just a stupid tiktok, one saved for future reference.

“So what do you think?” You asked as Rupert stepped into the room. The trainer looked surprised to see you, gaze flitting between the two of you. “Oh, hey. Wasn’t expecting you in here.”

“Last minute media duties. You know how it is.” You laughed innocently, causing Max to have to bite back a smirk. Rupert didn’t know how it was, but he nodded anyway, laughing with you.

“I wouldn’t mind it. Definitely better than some of the other ideas.” Max finally answered your question, a bit of a bite to his response. “Great, I’ll run it by the media team.”

Later that night, after the race—which Max wanted to forget all about, having gotten a puncture due to debris—you recalled the interaction. “You were jealous!” You insisted, laughing while he shook his head adamantly. “You didn’t see how he looked at you!” He insisted.

“Oh come on, that’s in your head.”

“Is it really? Because I’m almost certain he watched your ass as you left.”

You smiled, leaning into him. “You’re quite cute when you’re possessive.” Max cocked his head, trying to figure out if it was a compliment or an insult. “Thank you?” He said hesitantly.

“You’re welcome” you hummed, pecking his lips.

₊ ‧ *‧₊˚ ⋅* ۶ৎ ‧₊ ‧₊˚ ⋅* ‧₊

Summer break. It was much needed for the both of you. Somehow, you managed to take two weeks off of work. The time was spent with Max, somewhere remote and private where eyes wouldn’t be able to pry.

The air smelled of salt water, the strands of your hair soaked in the same water. The white boat floated not far from you, Max standing on the end of it, hands rested on his hips. He observed you with a fond gaze while you swam around, head dipped under the water and a snorkel peaking up out of the water.

You resurfaced, eyes alight with excitement. You pushed the goggles to your hairline. It made your hair look like a mess, but Max found it cute. You waved him over. “Come join me!” And then noticing his hesitation you added, “there’s so many fish! And some are so pretty!”

A smile creeped up on him seeing your enthusiasm. He grabbed his own snorkel from the cushioned seats and joined you. Who was he do deny your request when you were so animated about it?

You’d already ducked back under the water, too impatient to wait for him to join you. He understood your enthusiasm quickly. While it was no coral reef beneath you, fish still swam by, scampering along when one of you made the slightest movement.

A punch was landed on Max’s arm, your movements languid due to the water. He followed your pointed finger to find a turtle at the end of it.

His eyes found yours, crinkled in the corners from how hard you were smiling.

The same smile found it’s way back on your face hours later back on the boat. Max lounged against the cushioned seats, your body right next to his, upper body rested against his.

“I told him, I said, ‘Max is not going to like that idea, you won’t get the result you think you will’ and he replied with, ‘well then maybe max shouldn’t be such a baby about everything.’” You laughed, shaking your head as you recited a conversation from a meeting last week.

Max scoffed, feigning offense. “A baby? I’m not a baby about media duties!” He defended himself.

“Oh you absolutely are. You’re a pain to do media with, to everyone except for me. But it’s okay ‘cause I still love you.” You turned your head to face him, leaning up to capture his lips in a sweet kiss. But a sour taste infected your mouth as your brain caught up with the words your lips had just spewed.

The contact was broken abruptly by you, sitting up and staring at him with wide eyes. Max just looked at you, his own gaze flicking between focusing on each of your eyes, one at a time. His brows were raised in interest, mouth slightly parted.

You found it difficult to meet his eyes, so you focused on the blue-green color of the ocean, watching as the waves folded over one another. “I don’t know where that came from.” You shook your head, voice small. “Just-“

“From your heart, I hope.” Max joked. You turned to him, seeing a cheesy grin on his face to match the equally cheesy comment.

A small yelp slipped past your lips when Max pulled you down again, his face inches from yours. “I love you, too.” He whispered against your lips.

₊ ‧ *‧₊˚ ⋅* ۶ৎ ‧₊ ‧₊˚ ⋅* ‧₊

You’d truly never been happier. It was like you were living in heaven on earth. The smile on your face was permanent, just like how Max was permanently on your mind.

It was early August, the air warm but not hot enough to be unbearable. Your vacation just ended. Despite the fact it was an early Monday morning, you were smiling to yourself while entering the factory.

The first person you saw upon entering was Christian himself, standing in the foyer, leaning against the receptionist desk. “Morning, Horner.” You greeted, walking past him.

“Ah, just a second.” He halted your movements, voice sounding stern. Your heart rate spiked. “Come to my office with me.” It wasn’t a suggestion. You had no choice.

“Have a seat.” He instructed, an outstretched hand. You swallowed hard, trying to level your breathing. Your smile was harder to maintain now.

He sat across from you, at his desk, and pulled out a laptop. “How was your break?” He made small talk, but there was too much tension in the air for you to be comfortable. Your gut told you something was wrong.

“Great, thanks.” 

“And you traveled with Max, correct?”

Your heart stopped, breathing halted. His gaze was on yours. A borderline glare. You blinked. Lying was an option that turned over in your mind, but it was evident he already knew. It would put you deeper in shit.

“Yes.”

Christian smiled wickedly. “So you will be honest with me, then.” He said to himself. “And am I correct in saying that there’s something more than professional business going on between the two of you?”

It was easy to predict what would happen next. The very thing you feared prior to diving into this with Max. But he insisted everything would be fine. It was stupid to believe him.

“Yes.”

Christian nodded slowly. “I’ve worked out an agreement with Mercedes and Toto. At the end of the season, you’ll transfer to Mercedes as their head of Media and Marketing. That is, only if you put an end to whatever is going on between you and my driver. If not, then I’ll make sure you never get another job in formula one.” His voice was eerily calm, but the demanding undertones of it was what really put you off.

You nodded, a silent agreement to his terms. He waved his hand. “You may leave now.”

The door was as far as you got before he called your name. “And a bit of advice,” he started, a nasty grin on his face. “Don’t sleep with Wolff’s drivers, too.”

He thought he was being funny. A blatantly misogynistic comment, and he thought it was funny. You desperately wanted to chuck something at his head, but that surely would ruin your career. So you nodded once again.

You made quick work of getting to your office, hardly breathing to contain the tears. It felt like you were suffocating. The world was crashing down around you. You’d just achieved everything you wanted in life, and now it was being pulled out from underneath you like some tablecloth magic trick gone wrong.

Once in your office, you sat at your desk. Palms flat on the table while you took deep breaths. Trying to ground yourself wasn’t working. So you let it flow. You locked the door and cried into your hands. Your palms collected the droplets into salty little puddles.

And then there was Max. God, how were you going to tell Max? It would break his heart, maybe even more than it’s breaking yours.

₊ ‧ *‧₊˚ ⋅* ۶ৎ ‧₊ ‧₊˚ ⋅* ‧₊

You pondered for weeks how to go about telling him. No way seemed good enough. No way seemed gentle enough. So you resorted to slowly pulling yourself away from from. The thought process was that perhaps you could ease him into your leave. That way, it wouldn’t be nearly as painful.

The constant distancing didn’t go unnoticed by Max. He questioned you about it multiple times, but you brushed it off every time. In the past weeks, you’d declined every date. You only talked to him when necessary. And even answered his messages with short responses.

Which is why he felt the need to drag you back to Monaco with him after Baku. You stayed in his flat for the week, so you couldn’t escape him even if you wanted to.

The very last night in Monaco, you allowed Max to have his way with you. Any position he liked, however he liked. You knew you’d end it the following morning. If anything, it was a farewell gift and he didn’t even know it.

The conversation came sooner than expected. His question had your heart jump to your throat.

“What are we?”

He wanted a label. Confirmation. You knew that. But you couldn’t give it to him, only to tear it from his grasp in a few hours time. That would be ten times more painful than what you answered with.

“We aren’t anything.”

Max sat up quickly, your head falling to the pillows. He scanned your face for any sign that would tell him you were joking.

But your face was cold, stoic. He became angry, face twisted in rage as he stood from the bed. “You don’t mean that.” While his face may have reflected anger, his voice broke like a small child’s.

Max thought you had something special going on. Something more than just a fling. But with the confirmation of your words, it seemed it was only that. A fling.

You felt vulnerable under his burning gaze, but you remained expressionless. “You don’t-“ he choked on his words. “you don’t tell someone you love them and then…” he shook his head. He couldn’t understand. “Tell me you don’t mean that.” He demanded, feeling totally defenseless, small, pathetic.

You blinked, finally an emotion coming to the surface of your face. Total despair. “I can’t.” Your voice broke, your head shaking on impulse. Tears began to bloom in your eyes.

Max turned his back on you, his shoulders heaving from the deep breaths he was taking. “You said you love me.” His voice was a near whisper, back still facing you. “Did you lie?”

You’d never stood faster, and you were in front of him in seconds. He stared ahead refusing to meet your eyes. You could see the collection of tears on his waterline. It broke your heart to know you were doing this to him.

Two hands reached out to him. He took a step back, avoiding your touch. “Max I swear to you, I do love you.”

Confusion and hurt filled his eyes when they met yours. “Then why are you doing this?”

“I-“ you stumbled over your words, struggling for an explanation. His brows furrowed. “You don’t even know, do you?” His tone was accusing, creating more distance between the both of you.

You turned the accusation down quickly with a shake of your head. “No. I just- promise me you won’t let it affect your work relations.” Red Bull was his home. You weren’t sure if you would be able to sleep at night if Max hated them after you explained everything to him.

His confusion didn’t lift. “What do they have to do with this?” Max hated feeling like he was in the dark, and right now, the world around him felt pitch black.

“Just promise me.” You begged him.

He nodded. “Okay.”

“I don’t know how, but Christian found out. He told me if I didn’t end things that he would make sure I never got another job working in F1.” You breathed a shaky breath. “I promise you Max, I do love you. So much. And you mean so much to me.” You sniffled. “But I just can’t give up my dream job.”

Max blinked, his expression softening. He understood you completely. If the roles were reversed, he suspected he would’ve done the same thing. Now the only thing that could be read on his face was great sorrow.

He sat on the end of the bed, the influx of information causing his legs to feel week. “How long ago was that?”

“Beginning of August.” You confessed.

“Christ.” His voice was a whisper, head in his hands. He put the pieces together on his own. It was the sole explanation for your distance, he concluded. “I don’t think I can function knowing you’re going to be there every weekend.”

The spot on the bed beside him was no longer available, having been occupied by you. When you put a comforting hand on his arm, didn’t move away this time. “Well, I’m moving to Mercedes next year.”

He looked up, mouth parted. “That’s… good- yeah I’m really happy for you.” He congratulated, and he meant it.

You laid your head on his shoulder. “Let’s just enjoy the time we have left, yeah?” You suggested.

A warm sensation bloomed across Max’s shoulder. Your tears, he quickly realized. He let his own flow free now, and agreed with you, whispering out a, “yeah.”

[xo100]

A Sparkling Christmas - LN4

*:･ﾟ Summary: Christmas with Lando is full of love, laughter, and thoughtful surprises. But one unexpected gift turns a magical day into a moment you’ll never forget.

*:･ﾟ Word count: 885

*:･ﾟ A/N: hey loves! A quick message before you read the fic. I wanted to ask y’all if you can check out @gridprincess-04 her blog! She’s working on 12 days of Christmas! Her work is absolutely amazing.

⤷ here is the link to her post of 12 days of Christmas! Make sure to send in a request and she’ll make a masterpiece of it! Thank you in advance, love you all’

masterlist / community / request

౨ৎ

The first rays of sunlight filtered through the frosty windows, illuminating the cozy chaos of the living room. Christmas morning had arrived, and the festive spirit was palpable. Lando Norris stirred awake, his messy curls a tangle against the pillow. He blinked a few times, disoriented, until his eyes landed on the figure curled up next to him.

You were still asleep, your face nestled into the crook of his arm. The soft rise and fall of your breathing brought a smile to his face, one of those private smiles he saved only for moments like this—moments that were just his and yours.

He’d planned something special for today, and the anticipation had him wide awake now. Lando carefully slipped out of bed, mindful not to wake you. Pulling on a hoodie and some sweatpants, he padded into the kitchen to start the morning right: pancakes, coffee, and a little bit of his signature mischief.

By the time you stumbled out of the bedroom, wrapped in a blanket like a human burrito, the smell of coffee and syrup had already filled the air. Lando turned around, spatula in hand, grinning at you like the cat who got the cream.

“Morning, sleepyhead,” he teased, watching as you shuffled to the counter. “I thought you were going to sleep through Christmas at this rate.”

You rolled your eyes, too groggy to respond with anything clever, but the corners of your mouth tugged upward. Lando slid a plate of pancakes in front of you and leaned over the counter, chin propped on his hand as he watched you take the first bite.

“Good?” he asked, though he already knew the answer.

“Amazing,” you mumbled through a mouthful of food, earning a laugh from him.

The morning passed in a blur of wrapping paper, laughter, and stolen kisses. Lando had an uncanny ability to pick the perfect gifts, each one tailored to you in a way that made your heart swell. A set of vintage books you’d been eyeing, a new pair of headphones, even a handmade card that was equal parts hilarious and touching.

But the real surprise was yet to come.

As the day wore on, the two of you transitioned from the chaos of gift-opening to the quiet comfort of lounging on the couch. The Christmas tree lights cast a warm glow over the room, and soft holiday music played in the background. You stretched lazily, announcing your intention to change into something more comfortable for the night.

“Wait,” Lando said, stopping you in your tracks. He reached behind the couch and produced a final gift, neatly wrapped in festive paper. “One last present. Open it before you change.”

You raised an eyebrow but accepted the package, tearing through the paper to reveal a cozy-looking hoodie in your favorite color.

“You’re trying to convert me into one of your hoodie cultists,” you teased, holding it up. It was soft and oversized, exactly the way you liked it.

“Guilty as charged,” Lando said, smirking. “Go try it on. I think you’ll like it.”

You didn’t need much convincing. Retreating to the bedroom, you pulled the hoodie over your head, relishing the warmth. But as you adjusted it, your hand brushed against something in the pocket. Frowning, you reached in and pulled out a small velvet box.

Your heart stopped.

Carefully, you opened it to reveal a delicate golden ring, the light catching on the intricate design. For a moment, you just stared, the reality of it not quite sinking in. Then you heard a soft knock on the door, and Lando’s voice drifted through.

“Everything okay in there?”

You opened the door to find him leaning casually against the frame, but his expression betrayed his nerves. He glanced at the box in your hand and then back at your face.

“So, uh,” he began, scratching the back of his neck. “I was going to do the whole get-on-one-knee thing, but honestly, I thought this felt more… us.”

You didn’t say anything, your throat too tight with emotion. Instead, you launched yourself at him, throwing your arms around his neck. He caught you with a laugh, holding you tightly as you whispered, “Yes. A thousand times, yes.”

The rest of the evening was a blur of happiness, laughter, and quiet moments shared just between the two of you. After dinner—a simple yet perfect meal you cooked together—you found yourselves back on the couch, tangled up in each other. The fire crackled softly, and the snow outside blanketed the world in a serene white.

Lando’s hand found yours, his thumb brushing against the ring on your finger. “I’ve been carrying that around for weeks, you know. Couldn’t figure out the right moment to give it to you.”

“You picked the perfect moment,” you said softly, leaning your head against his shoulder. “I’ll never forget today.”

He turned to press a kiss to your temple, his voice low and tender. “You make everything perfect, love.”

The two of you stayed like that for hours, wrapped up in the magic of the holiday and the quiet promise of forever. As the fire dimmed and sleep began to claim you, Lando’s voice broke through the haze.

“Merry Christmas, future Mrs. Norris.”

And with a sleepy smile, you whispered back, “Merry Christmas, Lando.”

౨ৎ

*:･ﾟ Notes; thank you for reading, love’s! Hope you all enjoyed it! If there is something wrong or need to be edited, let me know!

*:･ﾟtags; @gridprincess-04 , @justaf1girl

[calcifiedunderland]

Could I request the prompts sunlight and pearl with Leona please ?!?!?

A one-shot, make it fluffy :DD

💌🦁👑 Request received! Thank you for your message, your delivery is ready~

Thank you for your request anon!! Hope you enjoy~

Leona Kingscholar, ft. Sunlight & Pearl

The Sunset Savanna really is beautiful, you thought. It didn’t hurt that you were also staying the Royal Family’s seaside villa for the week, too.

You were initially very nervous for summer. Once school was over, you’d basically have no place to stay - unless you stayed at Ramshackle. At some point, your boyfriend had enough. “Ain’t no way I’m letting you stay there. You’re comin’ with me,” Leona said firmly, green eyes narrowing at your antics.

Despite dating for a few months, Leona had seen how run down Ramshackle really was. Even if he didn’t really want to go back home for the summer, the idea of him going back while you were in that rickety dorm for months made him very uneasy. When you cooed at him for being sweet, he’d rolled his eyes, ears flicking. “Don’t mistake this for charity, herbivore. You’ll be runnin’ errands for me while Ruggie’s working.”

So far, your only errands had been to be a valid excuse to get out of official kingdom affairs and parties. Whether that was to stand around and talk to you the whole night, or to get out of something because “I told our guest I’d take ‘em out. You wouldn’t have a Prince of the kingdom go back on his word, would you?”

Tonight was another event. Some dinner or whatever, as Leona said. Merchants and nobility would be coming, and blah blah Herbivore let’s ditch this party c’mon.

“Your majesty! My most sincere apologies. I can’t find the prince or (Name) anywhere,” panted Kifaji.

Falena peered over the balcony. He caught one of the royal cars driving off into the night, recognizing the two of you in the front seats. He fought a smile. “I believe they’ll be gone all night,” he chuckled as Kifaji groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose.

This honestly wasn’t half bad, you mused as Leona let down the hood on the convertible car. Wind billowed around you both, sweeping back Leona’s hair and rustling your clothes. He’d decided to ditch one of Falena’s formal events today, and it was a no-brainer that he’d drag you with him.

In the car, you felt the wind rush past your cheeks. “You still haven’t told me where we’re going,” you yelled over the wind. Leona only barked in laughter, green eyes glinting in the sunlight. “You’ll see, herbivore!”

Soon after, you got out of the car. When you squinted in the distance, you could see the lights from the villa, and Pride Rock in the distance. Leona slammed the car door, smirking at you. “Wanna tuck in your tail ‘n run yet?” he teased before lacing his hand in yours.

“Wow, a fancy beach?” you teased back, “What, is this another piece of Royalty property or something?” He nodded, leading you across the sand. “Yeah, it is. You oughta stick close. If any of the guards see you by yourself, you could be thrown in prison for trespassing on Royal grounds.”

Your eyes widened, “wait, really?” You glared when Leona shot you a smug grin, “Nah, this is public property. The beach is closed, but who’s gonna say no to me?”

You rolled your eyes at him as he chuckled at you, missing the fond look he gave you. As the two of you strolled on the now-dark beach, you sighed, “it’s so peaceful here.” The event venue was much more stuffy. You could actually breathe out here.

“And you were too scared to leave,” Leona teased, wrapping an arm around your shoulder. The moonlight illuminated the beach, and the two of you strolled down the sand. “Y’know, I’m glad you came with me,” Leona said quietly.

You smiled, nudging him with your side, “I’m glad you invited me. I might’ve crumbled under Ramshackle,” you joked. A comfortable silence passed between the two of you. You probably could’ve spent forever like this, until Leona breathed in deeply.

“It’s… a custom for Sunset Savanna royalty to give guests a gift if it’s their first time visiting,” he shifted, pulling out something tucked into his pocket. “So, I got ya something.” You pulled away, curious, before gasping.

In his outstretched hands hung a necklace. Dark orange and yellow pearls studded the chain. Claw-like beads curved down from the neckline, mimicking Leona’s Housewarden necklace. You gasped.

“Wow, this is gorgeous,” you gently touched one of the pearls, “how come they’re this color?” Leona hummed, “the Sunset Savanna has its own magestone mines near the coasts. The magic properties and colors from the gems leak into the surrounding area, including the oyster's these pearls come from.” You looked at them, fascinated.

“Turn around.” He commanded, and even though you protested a “why?” you still turned. He swung the necklace around you and fastened it around your neck, “wait, what? Leona!” He still had smugness in his eyes, “it’s yours now. Consider it a souvenir, Herbivore.”

You gaped at him, “this is definitely worth more than all of Ramshackle’s repairs, can you really just be giving this away?” He scoffed, and you could feel the smirk in his voice, “‘course. The Queen helped me choose it, after all. You doubtin’ me or something?”

You gulped before looking down at it on your collarbone. It was gorgeous. It looked even more golden in the sunrise, as the sunlight spilled over the beach. Wind tousled Leona’s locks, illuminating his eyes. He crossed his arms, “and if you refuse, you’ll be insulting the Royal Family.”

Leona…! You felt yourself grow flustered, “I- this is beautiful, Leona, thank you, really-“

He snaked an arm around your waist, “no need to thank me. If you really wanna thank me, then…” He plopped down on a large, flat rock, stretching a bit before relaxing. “Ditch the breakfast gala with me.”

You sighed in exasperation, “you just gave me this to bribe me, huh?” Still, you sat down gingerly as he lazily wrapped an arm over your waist again, “you sure that’s alright? We already missed one event. Won’t they find us here?”

“Hey, this spot’s been personally vetted. Besides, you wouldn’t argue with the Sunset Savanna’s second prince, would you?” You sighed, leaning back against his arm. He smirked softly, drowsiness already seeping in. “Heh, ‘s’more like it.”

If I had a fic every time I used necklaces to fulfill the pearl prompt request, I’d have two fics, which is exactly how many fics there are.

Anyway, thanks for reading!! Until next time, xoxo Calci~

[lordprettyflackotara]

till dawn || eyeless jack || the finale

SMUT. MINORS DNI. 18+. this one’s a lil fluffy not gonna hold you guys. i’m so sad to see till dawn end :’) but all good things must come to an end eventually. i think down the line i will create a bonus chapter, but for now this is the end of till dawn. love you all. mwah!

bonus part is here

Knock knock knock!

A groan of annoyance left your lips, your senses resuming as you regained consciousness.

“Wake up fuckers! You owe us waffles!” Ben’s cheery voice flooded your ears, his voice echoing down the hallway outside of Jacks room. You sighed, rolling over and shoving Jack awake. A confused snore escaped his lips, his eye sockets finally opening.

“Huh?”

“Ben wants waffles,” You sighed, flopping back down onto your pillow. Unfortunately you both had lost one too many rounds of mario kart, resorting in a wager of cooking breakfast to end in Ben’s favor. Jack groaned. “Okay Ben give us five minutes!” He called. You rubbed your eyes, looking over at the window. The sun had just reached above the trees, the sunlight beams streaming across the room. A triumphant Ben continued down the hallway, whistling proudly.

“Holy fuck, what time is it?”

Jack chuckled, sitting up against the headboard.

“I told you we’d only have till dawn before someone showed up at our doorstep about breakfast.”

He was right, but converting to rising at the early hours and staying up late was exhausting. You rolled over lazily, your back turned to him. “Have none of them ever heard of sleep schedules?” You grumbled. Jack couldn’t help but chuckle, your settlement into the mansion one that occurred with ease. Your charming personality and ability to cook won everyone over, even the proxies.

“We live in Slender’s mansion babe, we’re lucky the sun even rises here,” Jack replied, pressing a soft kiss against the back of your head. Slenderman’s reaction was a completely different story, the explanation of your existence the longest tale Jack had ever had to explain. Letting humans know about creeps existence was grounds for exile. It was forbidden to make spectacles out of themselves, even if the long term plan was for you to become a creep. (Which, it was not even an option to Jack.)

Becoming one, losing that grasp on sanity or facing an unfortunate fate of torture and death could never be planned though. Unless of course you were Jeff, then you knew how to create an arch nemesis. Jack would never want that for you, which he explained to Slender. Out of all of the mansions residents and outsiders, there was not another creature like Jack. A creature that went into an animalistic heat and needed to mate. Slender knew this and that led to his approval.

Another factor that Slender considered was that Jack was the oldest and wisest. If he was to entrust anyone to bring a human into the house, it was him.

Jack curled up beside you, your back pressing against his chest. “Sleepy this morning are we?” Jack asked teasingly, peppering kisses on your neck and shoulder. You chuckled, moving yourself closer to him. “I would’ve gotten better sleep if someone hadn’t kept me up all night,” You replied. A mischievous smile spread across Jacks lips, his hand slithering down to your hips.

“If it makes you feel any better i’m sure Clockwork didn’t get much sleep either,” Jack said, his lips refusing to stray far from your skin. His hand slithered further up your skin, slipping under your nightgown. You bit your bottom lip, Jacks fingertips lightly tracing your skin. “Thats gonna make a terrible first impression,” You sighed. Clockwork didn’t frequent at the mansion, leading to you never officially meeting her. Having her room be next door and hearing you beg for more? Not exactly the best first impression.

“There have been worse my love. When Jeff first came here Slender tried to make him a proxy. He tried to burn the mansion down,” Jack said, cupping your heart. Your thin panties blocked him from complete access to your cunt. Your breath was becoming shaky, your thighs opening more for him. He inhaled deeply, the smell of your arousal hitting his nostrils. “You just can’t get enough can you?” Jack teased. You groaned softly as he rubbed more harshly against the fabric.

“Of you? Never,” You replied, satisfied to feel Jack push your panties to the side. His lips attached themselves to your neck, his boner poking you from behind. You could feel him suck at your skin harshly, purposefully littering your neck with as many marks as possible. “I’m going to keep looking like a wounded puppy if my neck stays forever purple,” You chuckled, gasping as his fingers rubbed up and down your wet slick. You bit your bottom lip, two of his digits dipping into your cunt.

“My wounded puppy,” Jack snickered. He curled his fingers inside of you, your hand finding its way to his aching cock. He gasped as you palmed at the fabric of his basketball shorts, slipping your hand underneath the waistband. “Not sure if we’re doing to have time for this love,” Jack admitted, even if he didn’t want it to be true. You moaned in response, pumping his shaft as he finger fucked you. “It can be quick,” You offered. You bit the inside of your cheek, refraining from moaning louder.

“Please,” You whimpered, sealing your fate. Jack grinned, the two of you eagerly switching positions. Jacks back hit the soft mattress, licking his lips as you straddled him. Your panties had been discarded, his shorts and boxers pooling at his ankles. Jack was never one to not be in control of sex, even with you riding him. Sometimes he’d let you pretend you were in control, if he was feeling nice enough. But each time you got a bit out of line, Jack was quick to put you in your place. However, he couldn’t deny how ethereal you looked riding him.

You lowered yourself onto his cock, both of you exhaling in relief as he bottomed out inside of you. The shape of his cock bugled from your stomach as it always did, a subtle, very hot reminder that he was much bigger than you. Jacks hands found your hips, leaning forward to kiss you as he guided you. You groaned into his mouth as you rode his cock, his tip hitting your g spot. Playfully you grabbed his shoulders, pushing him back onto the bed. Jack admired your breast bouncing as you chased your high, riding him like a wild animal.

Your body over time came to crave Jacks almost identically to the way he craved yours. (He couldn’t help but wonder if scientifically his cum had altered your hormones.) You smiled lovingly as you looked down at Jack, his facial expression one of contentment. The sun had risen higher, hitting his face at a flattering angle. It highlighted his sharp jawline and round nose. “What’s so funny?” Jack asked. You shook your head, continuing to hold your sinful noises in the best you could as you rode his cock. “You just look so handsome like this,” You complimented.

Jack blinked, “What, under you?”

You giggled, playfully slapping his shoulder. “No EJ, with the sun shining on your skin,” You replied, rolling your eyes. Jack leaned forward, wrapping his arms around your back. He completely and utterly adored you, your flattery and complimentary of him meaning the world. “You look even better, so beautiful taking my cock like this,” He huffed, snapping his hips upwards. You whined as he began to move faster, taking control. You buried your face into the crook of his neck, biting down on his skin to control your noises.

“Thats it, bite me as hard as you want love. Mark me,” Jack panted, his cock abusing your cervix. He was tempted to say hell to breakfast, flipping you over and fucking you senseless like the animal inside of him craved. But he knew you cared about his roommates opinion of you, even if to Jack he wouldn’t consider them friends five out of seven days of the week. Your teeth sank into Jacks shoulder, a subtle growl escaping his throat.

Something about seeing you so primal, but so desperate to keep quiet made him pound into you harder. You could feel yourself getting closer to the edge, a trail of saliva dripping down Jacks shoulder as your teeth clenched around his skin. You whimpered, your hands tangling themselves in his hair as you came on his cock. Your walls spasmed around his shaft, a deep grunt escaping his lips as he came inside of you.

You released his shoulder, grimacing down at the bite mark. “Holy fuck, I don’t know where that came from,” You panted. Neither of you had moved, Jacks gaze moving to your breast. “Neither do I, but it was pretty fucking hot,” He admitted, kissing your breast.

‘Waffles! Waffles! Waffles!’

The sound of Toby and Ben chanting from downstairs made you chuckle. Jack could hear them slamming their silverware down on the kitchen table, the sound making his ears twitch. You slowly slid off of you, whimpering as your walls squeezed the air. His cum slowly dripped down your cunt, the sight the most satisfying sight to Jack in the world. He laid back on the bed, propping himself up with his hands behind his head.

He admired you as you brushed your hair, throwing on clothes. You were so focused, Jacks staring going over your head. It wasn’t until you were ready, turning around to find Jack undressed and unbothered. “What are you doing? Ben’s gonna come through our radio any minute now if you don’t get dressed,” You say. Jack rose to his feet, bringing your back against his chest. He towered over you easily, resting his chin on the top of your head.

“How did I ever get so lucky?” He murmured, pressing a kiss to your head. You giggled, examining your stomach. “Do you think you’ll ever get me pregnant one of these days?” You asked curiously. Jacks eyebrows furrowed, his large hands resting on top of yours. “You do know that’s scientifically impossible right?” He asked. Yeah, maybe his cum was seeping into your hormones. Or maybe your brain.

“Yeah it’s still a nice thought though,” You shrug. Turning around you wrapped your arms around his neck, admiring him from below. Your eyes were dancing with curiosity. Tilting your head to the side a simple question left your tongue, “If I somehow did, you’d want to keep it right?”

Millions of thoughts soared through Jacks mind, ones mixed with the joy of parenthood and ones of terror. Would the fetus become a demon just like him? Or would it be as beautiful as you? What would it eat? Would raising a child in a mansion full of monsters from its worst nightmares be sustainable? But as he looked down at your puppy dog eyes, your orbs flickering back and forth as you awaited an answer.

Creeps had never procreated before, successfully anyways. It would be a first for all of them, especially Jack. He wanted to believe there was a piece of him that wasn’t an organ eating monster. One that could raise and love a child that was a mixture with the person he loved the most. He was almost sure he would’ve gotten you pregnant by now, with the amount of times he’d locked you into the mating press alone.

Truth was Jack would give you whatever you wanted, even if it was most likely scientifically impossible. “I want whatever you want my love,” He purred, pressing a tender kiss to your temple.

Bang bang bang!

“EJ learn how to keep it in your pants and pour some batter in the waffle maker instead!” Ben called.

You giggled, Jack sighing as he pulled on his pants.

“And in the mean time we have Ben.”

“We most certainly do and that’s enough for me.”

[solarpunkbusiness]

What if your laptop could get a full hour’s worth of charge simply by leaving it in sunlight for 20 minutes? That’s the promise of Lenovo’s latest concept laptop, a Yoga model featuring a photovoltaic solar panel on the rear of the screen, converting light into charge for the laptop’s battery.

To be honest, I can’t believe it took this long for a tech company to strap a solar panel to the back of an ultrabook. We need more of this.

[saccharine-pink-lemonade]

@6vaguebook I will take ur reply as the excuse to subject yall to a long textpost lol. disclaimer: this is based off of the few comics I've read & is also mainly abt damian, talia & ra's.

I really dont think the al ghuls have any real tie to islam in general (the exception to that is the whole arrow tv show thing, which idk what exactly went down but they were not subtle about it). there isnt any real reason to write them as muslim, and all it would do is really enforce the arab muslim terrorist stereotype (for lack of a better word).

another thing is that people fall into the trap of thinking that bc they are arab, they're (maybe) muslim, which while i get the line of thinking, the 'link' isn't really there. there are non-muslim arabs & non-arab muslims (about 15% of muslims are actually arab). the actual reason arabs & muslims are linked is because the religion has its roots in the arab peninsula & arabic language (and a lot of the time by extension, arab culture)

the stereotyping is probably my biggest sticking point though. as they are in the current canon, headcanoning the al ghuls as muslim is really just keeping the terrorism association circulating. it was never confirmed or even hinted at in the comics as far as i'm aware, so it really isn't a relevant discussion to their characters.

it is worth noting that ra's al ghul as a character was created in 1971, so i don't think that his character was written or based in a deliberately racist way (not to say racism against arabs wasn't a thing, but it definitely wasn't as mainstream as after 9/11), its just that his character aged badly

but the thing abt the headcanons isn't that ppl are playing into racist & islamophobic stereotypes. its actually (as far as I've seen) mostly muslim writers using them as a tie to their own culture & religion. which is absolutely a good thing (we need more muslim rep in fandom).

in fact, i think that ppl should take that a step further. headcanoning the al ghuls as muslim doesn't actually do any justice to the practices of the religion. there are plenty of characters that are probably more muslim coded (lets start here; murder in islam is 99 times out of 100 a sin. there are few exceptions to this, and the way the league of assassins is run checks none of the boxes) than the al ghuls.

i think that the real reason the al ghuls are headcanoned, still as the leaders of the league of assassins, as muslim both by muslims & to a lesser extent (not racist) non-muslims is that they have a (weak) ethnic link to the religion. like its hard for even me to fathom making any other character muslim, even if its not even hinted at that they're any other religion, but because they're arab, its easier to feel like its 'warranted'.

its less abt the actual characters & more abt wanting there to be a muslim character that is 'allowed' to be muslim. which is a really fucked up way of thinking once you dissect it, but it is what i assume is the top reason why the al ghuls are headcanoned as muslim

TLDR: the al ghuls are the opposite of muslim coded (if they were muslim it would be a harmful stereotype on blast), not a lot of people write them as muslim but actual muslim fanfic authors, but that's probably because it feels wrong to write any character as muslim without a reason (the not necessarily correct arab-muslim mind association)

i both want to write a muslim al ghuls fic & don't want any more muslim fics of them

[reasonsforhope]

"Around the world, farmers are retooling their land to harvest the hottest new commodity: sunlight. As the price of renewable energy technology has plummeted and water has gotten more scarce, growers are fallowing acreage and installing solar panels. Some are even growing crops beneath them, which is great for plants stressed by too many rays. Still others are letting that shaded land go wild, providing habitat for pollinators and fodder for grazing livestock.

According to a new study, this practice of agrisolar has been quite lucrative for farmers in California’s Central Valley over the last 25 years — and for the environment. Researchers looked at producers who had idled land and installed solar, using the electricity to run equipment like water pumps and selling the excess power to utilities. 

On average, that energy savings and revenue added up to $124,000 per hectare (about 2.5 acres) each year, 25 times the value of using the land to grow crops. Collectively, the juice generated in the Central Valley could power around 500,000 households while saving enough water to hydrate 27 million people annually. “If a farmer owns 10 acres of land, and they choose to convert one or two acres to a solar array, that could produce enough income for them to feel security for their whole operation,” said Jake Stid, a renewable energy landscape scientist at Michigan State University and lead author of the paper, published in the journal Nature Sustainability. 

The Central Valley is among the most productive agricultural regions in the world: It makes up just 1 percent of all farmland acreage in the United States, yet generates a third of the nation’s fruits and vegetables. But it’s also extremely water-stressed as California whiplashes between years of significant rainfall and drought. To irrigate all those crops, farmers have drawn so much groundwater that aquifers collapse like empty water bottles, making the earth itself sink by many feet.

Farmers can’t make their crops less thirsty, so many have been converting some of their acreage to solar. The Central Valley is ideal for this, being mostly flat and very sunny, hence the agricultural productivity. At the same time, farmers have been getting good rates for the electricity that they offset and that they send back to the grid. 

Now, though, California has adopted standards that reduce those rates by 75 percent on average. For a farmer investing in panels, the investment looks less enticing. “The algebra or calculus — or whatever math discipline you want to reference — it just doesn’t work out the same way,” said Karen Norene Mills, vice president of legal advocacy at the California Farm Bureau, which promotes the state’s agricultural community. 

Also, the study found that by fallowing land for solar panels, food production in the Central Valley dropped by enough calories to feed 86,000 people a year. But, Stid said, markets can adjust, as crops are grown elsewhere to make up the deficit. By tapping the sun instead, Stid added, growers can simultaneously help California reach its goals of deploying renewable and reducing groundwater usage. 

The tension, though, is meeting those objectives while still producing incredible quantities of food. “That is always our concern about some of these pressures,” Mills said.

But this isn’t an either-or proposition: Many farmers are finding ways to grow some crops, like leafy greens and berries, under the panels. The shade reduces evaporation from the soil, allowing growers to water less often. In turn, a wetted landscape cools the panels, which improves their efficiency. “This is the compromise that’s going to allow for both energy independence and food security,” said horticulturalist Jennifer Bousselot, who studies agrisolar at Colorado State University but wasn’t involved in the new study. 

Farmers are also turning livestock loose to graze under their panels. Their droppings fertilize the soil, leading to more plant growth and more flowers that support native pollinators. “The grass, it’s so much more lush under the panels, it’s amazing,” said Ryan Romack, founder of Virginia-based AgriSolar Ranch, which provides grazing services. “Especially when the sheep have been on site long-term, you can really see the added benefits of the manure load.”

Then, if a farmer decides not to replace the solar panels at the end of their lifespan — usually around 25 or 30 years — the soil will be refreshed with nutrients and ready to grow more crops. Even if a grower simply lets them sit for decades without any management, the fallowing can restore the soil’s health. “We really see solar as a collective landscape,” Stid said, “that can be sited, managed, and designed in a way to benefit both people and the planet and ecosystems as well.”"

-via Popular Science, May 4, 2025

[morriemonnie]

hey hey !! i dug through my folders and found a few scrapped sketches, so here's a lil' dump of them >:9

i'm gonna be adding a little description of my thought process in each scrapped sketches that are on this post, so take a peek in this thread if you're interested ... !

i was supposed to do a little star vee and cosmo interaction a few weeks ago, but ... i kinda just forgot. i wanted to do a funny little gossip comic about these two!

IGNORE THE VERY BAD HANDWRITING i tend to jot down my dialogues messily, they get rewritten once i finished rendering the piece first :9

THESE TWO ... i was gonna make an extra fruitcake valentines post but was inevitably burned out after finishing the group drawing of everyone ... the first sketch was cupid cosmo getting thoughts about cupid sprout and getting giddy about it!

the second sketch on the other hand, i wanted to draw cupid sprout peppering kisses all over cupid cosmo ... i thought it was a really cute image! but again, got burned out before i could even finish the sketch u_u

OKAY SOOOO I WAS GONNA MAKE MORE FANART FOR POILUBSU ... BUT ... i got caught up in other projects and ideas that i wanted to tackle, so these sketches ended up in the back ... who knows, i might get back to these one day!

another comic that i scrapped ... ! purely because i didn't know how to tackle this yet, i wanted to make a positive little comic about cosmo being happy and proud of himself.

i've also wanted this to be an allegory of acceptance and self-love of your identity, i wanted to tackle the topic of being transgender.

lastly, another piece that unfortunately got scrapped because it just didn't fit my vision quite right ... but it was a nice attempt regardless !

i drew this when i was feeling down, i didn't want to end my night on a sour note so i tried to convert my sorrows into sunlight. i ended up with this little piece but wasn't very satisfied enough as i was rendering; maybe i needed fresh eyes for this ... but nonetheless, it got scrapped :[ one day i'll do a redraw of this!

[hometoursandotherstuff]

I can't believe what's hiding in this converted 1867 building in Binghamton, NY, and I can't believe it's under $1m. The 4bd, 3ba, 6,650sqft home already has a pending sale. $825k

Look at what's lurking behind that facade.

This is beautiful. The exposed brick walls, and the natural sunlight it gets.

Such creative architecture.

Lovely dining area.

They left some great remnants of the past.

I like this look with the stainless steel cabinetry on the bottom.

That backsplash is so cool- is that tile? I've never seen tile that color before.

Beautiful open concept family room off the kitchen.

The primary bedroom is in a loft and it's huge. It has a full living room sized sitting area.

Look at the woven ceiling in the closet.

Interesting shower. I wonder why they chose wood flooring, though.

This secondary bedroom and bath are beautiful.

But, look at this. Love the walls, the ceiling, and the railing.

Off that room is bedroom #3. It's huge. Love the wall.

Wow, they opened up all the floors so you can see straight down all 4 levels.

And, look at the great porch on the back.

Hallway stairs coming down from the 4th fl. There are a total of 5 floors, and no mention of an elevator.

Look at the size of the garage.

2,178sqft lot.

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/103-Court-St-Binghamton-NY-13901/142714581_zpid/

[a-mint-bear]

The Villain is Obsessed With Me

You're the newest big-name hero in town, and one villain in particular has been giving you more trouble than the rest. You can usually handle her, but she keeps coming back for more. Her power is terrifying, and she doesn't care that she hurts people. The only thing she seems to care about is you.

[content warnings: blood, violence]

· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ✦ · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·

Earth’s top superhero group, the Champions of Right, which the public lovingly called “The Core” (despite the obvious lack of an E in the acronym) had recently lost a lot of heroes. They’d sacrificed themselves fighting and defeating some huge intergalactic evil and the team needed new members. And now, you were one of the “core” heroes. 

You’d been called up to the big leagues, which came out of nowhere, considering you were just some lucky idiot who got their powers in a random accident. But you were strong, and you had solar/light energy-based abilities, which your agent (which you suddenly needed?) said was really great for metrics, “a real light vs. the darkness thing going for you.”

You had above average strength and agility, and it was harder to hurt you, all of it coming from stored-up solar power in your skin through your suit. What was unique to you was your ability to convert the light into what you called “hard-light energy”, where you could make things like shields and weapons; stronger when you’d been in the sun. but if you’d been fighting for too long out of direct sunlight, it would get weaker and weaker until it would just fizzle out. Then you were just a human who could take more of a beating than the average human, until you couldn’t.

You went from mostly playing backup to the big heroes, stopping small crimes and the occasional giant monster fight to being one of The Heroes that people called for all the disasters and big bads trying to take over the world or steal the Eiffel Tower or whatever stupid plot they came up with. It was honestly exhausting, but people were depending on you, so you just had to go with it. 

You’d been on the job well into the evening when you’d gotten an emergency call from headquarters. They had a lead on something they’d been looking into, and it seemed like if you didn’t do something about, they’d lose their lead. Everyone else was on call with some kind of monster coming out of the sea, and evacuating the nearby city before it could wander onto land. 

You broke into some kind of underground facility, it looked long abandoned, but you’d been told that this was where everything was going down. Your eyes glancing around the room, you were searching for signs of what you came for, gauging how you could approach the situation. Your powers weren’t as strong here, with no sunlight. You were running on reserves, but you were the only hero available, so of course you came.

There’d been a rash of abductions in the city you mainly worked in, and it had this particular villain group’s prints all over it. They were the sort of organization that was so secretive, they didn’t even have an official name. They weren’t interested in things like world domination or the like. They were known for more underground type crimes; kidnapping and ransoms, human trafficking, assassinations, and working as hired superpowered muscle for the highest bidder. 

So chances were good that they were taking people for something… not great.

It was considered “lower priority” than the monster, so they’d only sent you. You were known to be able to handle this sort of thing on your own, even before you’d gotten promoted. Team-ups were a whole thing in your world, it was never just “Hey, thanks for the help!”, it would spin into interviews and marketing and rumours of relationships, and if the other hero ever got caught up in something sketchy, you were on everyone’s radar. It was too messy for you. So being on a “team” was new to you, but they let you be most of the time.

But now that you were on top of the proverbial superhero heap, you had bigger bad guys coming at you. And you were usually able to take them on no problem.

But there was only one villain you weren’t quite sure how to handle, for a few reasons. 

· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ✦ · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·

“Oh! You’re here!”

She was standing alone deep in the lower levels of the compound in a wide, dark room. The ceiling was high, but it still somehow felt claustrophobic.

She was about your height, but a tiny bit taller with those boots she wore. Her bright pink hair stood out against the dark, both of the room and her villain outfit. Her face had some bruises and bandages on it, the remnants of an old split lip still lingering… It seemed like she was still a little roughed up from your last encounter.

“I was hoping they’d send you!” She sighed a dreamy sigh, you could practically see the hearts floating over her head. She really played the lovesick fool well, and it was her go-to move with you. 

It wouldn’t be hard to get around her, but the whole thing still made you nervous. She had that usual huge, unsettling smile as she watched you come in, despite her still-healing injuries, she still smiled as she stared. She was practically bouncing with excitement. 

This had to be some kind of trap.

“It’s you again, sunshine! I missed you…” she pretended to pout, like you had disappointed her, absently twirling a curl in her short hair. “You don’t call, you don’t text… What’s a girl supposed to think?”

Brushing past her usual theatrics, you ask her what her group was trying to pull, as they usually didn’t make themselves this noticeable.

“Ignorin’ me… rude.” she huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. “Sorry sunny, I’m just following orders. I can’t just go babblin’ on about all the little details, not even for you.”

You demanded to know where their victims were, taking a defensive stance. 

“Oh, I can tell you that one.” she took a step closer, and you took a fighting stance. “Most of the randoms we snatched up are already on their way. But the Big Boss said I could keep a few.”

You froze, your eyes going wide. You knew it was a possibility as soon as you saw you were dealing with her, but you hoped against hope she wouldn’t.

This woman’s powers were terrifying.

She called herself Whisper. Though, she often went by Whisp as a casual alias. No legal name known. She was agile and sneaky, able to disappear into her surroundings. She was really good with a pair of knives and she didn’t like to play fair, which in all honesty was expected for a villain. But her main ability was what made her so frightening.

As her name implied, if she got in someone’s ear they fell under a kind of trance, becoming her “puppet” until she lost consciousness. No one knew how exactly it worked, but there were few who could resist it. Her victims would do whatever she wanted them to until someone stopped her, usually you. Other heroes weren’t so lucky. 

To her, it didn’t matter if her puppets got hurt or worse. She knew you were the type of hero to never leave innocent people behind or sacrifice anyone for “the greater good”. So she never showed up alone.

She snapped her fingers, and from the edges of the dark room came the shambling figures of who you suspected were your missing persons. Their eyes were red, like her own, the tell-tale sign that she’d taken control. 

You pulled up a hard light shield, the warm glow of it lighting up the dark just enough, her puppet bouncing off it before coming at you again. You spotted another coming for you from the dark and blasted a bit of concentrated light from your hand, temporarily blinding them. The shield flickered a bit, but held strong for now. You couldn’t keep it up.

They were throwing punches at you and trying to grab you, but you leapt away, not wanting to hurt any of them. They were coming from behind you now, there had to be at least a dozen. They kept coming, you knew they didn’t care about their safety. They always fought as hard as she needed them to. And they always came at you harder than other heroes because she knew you wouldn’t hurt them.

You couldn’t let her get close, even though she wanted that more than anything. 

“You better do something soon~” she warned you in an eerie sing-song voice. “You know they won’t stop.”

Knocking another hostage away, you charged up just enough for some hard light shards and shot them at her. She managed to knock two away with her knife, a short burst of light dying as she deflected them, but the third one nicked her shoulder. A long, thin burn glowed there for a few seconds before fading into the dark before she hopped back a little.

“Geez, you got me good, sunshine.” she winced, rolling her injured shoulder. “But it looks like you’re not glowing as bright as you usually do… Poor thing. Are you feeling tired? You wanna call a timeout?”

A swift kick to one of the puppet’s legs sent them down mostly harmlessly when another two jumped you, grabbing your arms and putting you in a hold while a few more leapt on too, keeping you in place. You were struggling against them when Whisper stepped into view.

“I’ve been watching you for a long time, hero…” she smiled sweetly, flipping a knife in the air. “Even back when you were just a rookie.”

She was getting too close, but you didn’t want to hurt the people she was controlling. Your mind was racing, trying to find a way out.

“You’ve always been so… timid.” she sighed, gingerly touching the edge of her knife, inspecting it as she went on. “All that power and you waste it helping these nobodies… “

One of the people moved close to her as you tried not to hurt the ones attacking you, and before you could reach them, Whisper held a knife to the woman’s throat. Her eyes never left you as the others held you down. She could see your hesitation, your fear.

“You care about these randoms, huh?” she giggled, a sweet sound to contrast the knife pressing into the woman’s skin. “I watch you run all over the city protecting them, even though they’ve never done anything for you… Keeping them from getting crushed by falling buildings, grabbing them before their cars run off collapsing bridges, flying off with them before they get smushed by a giant monster…”

“...and for what?” she frowned, grabbing the woman by her hair and yanking her head back, giving you a good view of her throat. “So they can ogle and gossip and say you’re not as good as the last batch of goody goodies? They can put you on posters and snap pics of you on their phones and think of you like you belong to them? So they can keep you under their boot, nice and docile… So they can keep using you?”

You recognized the woman she was holding. She was a hostage in a bomb threat not even a month ago, and you’d been the one to save her and get her out before the blast went off. She’d been on the news…

Were all of them… people you’d saved? You didn’t have time to think about it as you saw the knife tilt slightly, pressing into her neck, a trickle of blood trailing down to her chest.

You had to move.

You threw off her puppets, rushing Whisper. A punch to her stomach sent her flying back, you caught the woman in your arms, pressing your hand to the slight injury. But she was still a danger, she reached up and scratched your cheek with her nails before you could react. Normally, it wouldn’t leave a mark, but your energy levels were getting dangerously low.

You had to end this before someone got seriously hurt. But you couldn’t let her face get anywhere near yours.

You’d only fallen to her power once, but you were lucky that one of your more invulnerable teammates had been there to take the beating instead of innocent people in the street. Eventually, something snapped you out of it, you still weren’t sure what, and you’d knocked Whisper out before anything else could happen.

You made sure she never got close after that. 

She rolled to her side when you tried to grab her, hopping up and rounding on you with a kick to your side. You were able to block her, but she caught you off guard with a knife in each hand, swiping up at you and narrowly missing. You ducked under and tackled her to the ground, and she laughed as she hit the concrete. 

She’d landed flat on her stomach, but before she could struggle out of your grip, your knee landed squarely in the center of her back. A choked, pained cry sounded like it was squeezed out of her, but it was quickly replaced by a wheezy laugh. You grabbed her arms and secured them behind her back, throwing up a small shield at your back to keep the puppets away. 

“Oh?? You sure do like… h-holding me down, sunny…” she giggled, her eyes bright under her long lashes. A bit of blood was dripping from the corner of her mouth “You’re so warm… Let me up, I wanna t-... tell you something…”

You yelled at her to knock it off, but she just kept laughing, even though she sounded like she was in pain. You wished she would just call all of it off already, you hated the whole situation. You hated hurting anyone, even if they were a villain. 

“Th-this!” she wheezed. “This is… my favorite part!” her face was turned far enough to the side that you could see a lone red eye staring up at you. “Don’t… look away… don’t let go…”

They could’ve been sweet words, coming from anyone else and NOT in this particular situation. You dug your knee in a little harder, shouting for her to shut up, telling her to release the hostages, or else.

But of course, she did not. She called your bluff. 

“Look at me, sunshine…” She was smiling up at you, color in her cheeks. “You’re so… beautiful. And you’re gonna be mine…”

You were starting to lose your patience. The only way you were going to stop this was if you knocked her out.

But before you could do anything else, something slammed into you. Your shield had shattered, and one of her puppets was sprawled out on your back. Then another joined her, and two more. You tried to shake them off, but you couldn’t while holding onto Whisper. 

They weighed you down, pressing you closer and closer to her. It had to be hurting her more than you, but you couldn’t stop them, and she wouldn’t. Her face was too close to yours-

“There you are…”

The world suddenly went horribly quiet, and all you could see was her. You felt the other puppets get off of you, but you didn’t get up. Whisper sighed, turning in your arms, no longer pinned down. Almost being gently held by you.

“It’s been a while, sunshine… since you’ve been mine…” she smiled, touching your face. “I remember last time. You were beating the snot outta me when I crashed through that support beam. The whole upper level of that parking garage came down on us, and what did you do?”

She smiled wide, her red eyes shining as she held onto your face with both hands. 

“You dove for me! You… saved me, even though we were fighting! Imagine that!” she bit her lip, laughing. “All that rubble falling down around us and we’re just crouched together, I was all beat up but you held up that ceiling with one hand! And held me so close, protected me, even though you knew what I’d do… Not many hero types would put themselves in harm’s way for someone like me…”

She got up, and you felt compelled to get on your knees, doing just that as she stretched out the kink in her back you’d given her. 

“I’ve robbed, maimed, tortured and killed oh so many people… and you still saw my life as worth saving.” She groaned, her muscles sore and burning. “And I knew I just had to have you.”

She knelt down and pulled you to her, kissing you deeply with no warning. But you didn’t want to push her away. She felt so nice, you couldn’t control the moan you let out. She grinned against your lips. 

“I kept coming at you, and no matter what I said or did, you never ended me. My team kept busting me out of custody and you kept putting me back in, but you never let me get hurt, at least not by you…”

“Hell, sometimes I’d go out and start some good ol’ fashioned mayhem just to get your attention! And you never let me down. You beat me up good, but you always held me so tenderly when I got knocked out, like you really cared about me. Sometimes I would pretend to get knocked out and release them just to feel you hold me, I love looking up at you while you fussed over me, feeling you brush the hair out of my face, patching up any really bad wounds you could before letting the government take me ‘cause you knew they’d half-ass it. And I did it again and again…”

She kissed you again, and you kissed her back, her words still ringing in your ears. Did you… care about her? Or were you so deep under her control right then that you couldn’t even think about any alternative? All you could focus on was her lips on yours, and how you wanted to belong to her, and you told her so. You told her how much you wanted to be hers.

“You are mine, sunshine!” she nuzzled her forehead to yours, her short, pink curls brushing your cheeks. “Mine mine mine…” 

You could taste her blood on your lips, but you didn’t mind. You felt a strange, overpowering, almost mournful feeling. You told her you were sorry for hurting her.

“Oh, don’t look so down…” she cooed, your face nuzzling into her hand. “Any other goody goody puts their hands on me and I’m super pissed off, but I never minded a little hands-on time with you. I love lookin’ at the bruises and scrapes you leave after our little tiffs. I just wish you were the bitin’ type! If you left me some of those, it’d make my day!”

Watching her lovingly touch the bandages on her face, you asked her if she wanted you to bite her now. She smiled so wide, her cheeks burning.

“Tempting!” She giggled, waving you off with a huge grin. “But I’ll wait for the day when you bite me ‘cause you really want to, s’only fair.��

“But I’ll kiss you as much as I want.” she pulled you to your feet by your suit’s collar, planting another one on you. “‘Cause I see the way you look at me. How you blush when I flirt with you even when there’s mortal danger going on. How you get so shy when your teammates hear me calling you every pet name under the sun. I can feel your eyes on me whenever you and your super-buddies get me in custody with a dampener gag on me so I can’t make anymore puppets. You always look so crushed, like a sad little puppy. Like you wish I wasn’t so bad, so we could be together…”

Did you look at her that way? You couldn’t remember anymore. All you wanted to do was look at her now, touch her… feel her kiss you again and again. 

“And now, we can be together!” she grinned, practically bouncing in place with joy. “I gotta keep you out of the sun and locked up when I sleep, but before you know it, you’ll love me so much on your own and you’ll want me sleeping in your arms and we can be together all the time! Maybe I can even take you on some night jobs and we can be the best villain power couple they ever saw! Maybe…”

All her excitement seemed to wilt, and for the first time since you’d appeared to stop her, her eyes wouldn’t meet yours.

“Maybe someday… I won’t even need to use my power on you.”

She held out a trembling hand to you, and you kissed her palm, the red light in your eyes reflected in her own when she finally looked at you again. 

“Someday you’ll want me just like I want you.” She mumbled, almost promising you and herself. “It won’t be long, just… just hold me tight, sunshine…”

You did, and she sighed in your arms, nuzzling your chest. There were tears in her eyes. You asked her what was wrong, and she clung to you.

“I just…” Her voice was straining, choked up. “I just wish… you loved me for real…”

You held her face in your hands, wiping her tears away with your thumb. Her eyes went wide when you kissed her, practically melting in your arms. She was so warm. 

You told her you did love her, you had for a while. But neither of you were sure if it was true, or just part of her control. Her deepest wish.

“Say you’re mine.” she asked. It wasn’t a demand, or a command, but you still felt compelled. 

You did.

“Say you’ll always be mine.”

You did.

“Say you’ll never, ever leave me.”

You did, with a kiss to her injured shoulder. 

She called off her puppets, sending them away. You didn’t know if she would release them or if they would be part of her team’s plans, but you didn’t want to think about that. 

She wrapped her arms around your neck, and you scooped her up into your arms. It was a familiar feeling. You’d carried her before, just as she’d said, and you didn’t know if it was your own mind or her power that had the memories steeped in such a warm, comforting feeling.

“Give me a lift, sunshine.” she pressed into your chest, suddenly seeming so worn down. “I need a nap… and I’m pretty sure you broke a couple of my ribs…”

· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ✦ · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·

i feel like she could've been more pathetic, but i like how this turned out. she came out more unstable than a girlfailure, but she is who she is, i suppose (plus, i have a reeeaaaalll loser girl im planning to write, so that should make up for any possible disappointment lol✌️)

the header could be better, but im ultimately happy with it. her eye placement might need some editing, but that's a problem for future me lol they always look like they're in the right place until it's done 😩

she's stealin kisses, im not super comfy writing yanderes that push physical boundaries, even tho thats practically a staple of some yanderes, so i thought this would be a good level

[moonstruckme]

hi love! Ive been fawning over your drabbles for the past few hours (marauders girlie but ur honestly converting me into the other fandoms with ur writing).

I had a cute idea for a short poly!marauders, something involving maybe the reader and sirus being prone to getting sunburnt easily? (I hope this makes sense 😞) Where Remus and James tease the two of them but quiet down when they (reader/sirus) threaten not to put sunblock on for them (who would pass on that offer). Maybe a beach day?

Thank you lovely!

cw: reader is implied to have pale/light skin

poly!marauders x fem!reader ♡ 745 words

“Hold your breath, lovie.” 

You pinch your eyes and mouth shut in anticipation, and still a small sound escapes you at the chilly spray hitting your back. 

“Fuck, that’s cold,” you hiss, and James chuckles as he sets the can of sunscreen down, rubbing it in with his hands. 

“You need it.” Remus’ tone is amused. He takes the sunscreen to give Sirius’ back the same treatment, ignoring your boyfriend’s shrill cursing. “You both do.”

“I don’t know, do they?” James asks, and you can hear the mischief in his voice as his fingers slip under the tie-string of your bikini top to get the sunscreen in there. “I think they may just refract the sunlight rather than soak it in. Look at them, they’re gleaming.” 

“Fuck off,” Sirius grumbles. 

“You may be right,” Remus says. A little smile plays on his lips as his hands move over Sirius’ shoulders. “I think if they walked about twenty meters off, I wouldn’t be able to tell either of them from the sand.” 

“Moony, be fair,” James chides lightly. “We’d be able to see ‘em. They’re definitely lighter than the sand.” 

“Alright.” You roll your eyes, crossing your arms. “We get it, we’re pale. You’re hilarious.” 

James’ hand snakes down, giving your bum a playful squeeze as he leans around you for a kiss. You give in much too easily for Sirius, who groans in protest as you close your eyes and relax into James’ embrace. He breaks the kiss after a few seconds, taking the sun lotion in hand and beginning to apply it to your face with loving, pacifying touches. 

“Turn around, love,” Remus says. 

“Oh, so you get to ridicule me and then I’m supposed to be obedient?” asks Sirius haughtily. 

“Mhm.” 

“Well, I don’t think—” 

Remus picks the can of sunscreen back up, spraying it on the back of Sirius’ neck. He yelps, turning, and Remus pushes him down onto a folding chair. 

“There we are.” He crouches in front of his boyfriend, smearing sun lotion on his reddening face with the tolerant manner of a patient schoolteacher. “Oi, James, d’you think that if we got stranded at sea, one of these two might work as a beacon?” 

“Oh, absolutely.” You see the delighted scrunch of James’ nose when you glower, his thumb rubbing carefully under your eye. “We shouldn’t even bother with flares, they won’t be half as effective. Actually, if we take the sunscreen off them now, they’ll probably get red enough to attract the eye for miles.” 

Sirius huffs, but you give your boyfriends an appraising look. 

“So what I’m hearing,” you say slowly, “is that we need sunscreen and you don’t.”

Remus sends a small smile your way. “Basically, yes.” 

“S’not as essential for those of us with blood in our veins, lovie,” James agrees. 

“That’s too bad,” you tsk. “I guess you won’t be needing our help with it, then.” 

You look over at Sirius, and he grins, realizing what you’re about. 

“Yeah, seems like we’re off the hook, doesn’t it?” He smizes up at Remus, who frowns back at him. “They’re sort of missing out, the massage isn’t half bad.” 

James’ hands still on your face. “Is that a threat?” he asks amusedly. 

You shrug. “It’s an incentive.” 

“You realize we could just leave you like this,” Remus points out. “You could spend all day under the umbrella while James and I get to enjoy the sun.” 

“I’m perfectly capable of lotioning my own ass,” you say, and James’ eyes dip almost regretfully to the parts of you he hasn’t gotten to yet. “Or, I wouldn’t mind helping you finish up, Siri. Would that work for you?” 

Sirius grins sharply, ignoring where Remus sits in front of him and patting his lap twice. “Get over here, gorgeous.” 

You start that way, but James’ lotion-slicked hands catch at your waist, preventing you from getting far. You grin up at him, expectant. 

“Alright, point made.” He rolls his eyes good-naturedly. “Sirius wouldn’t do half as good a job with you as I am anyway, so I’ll finish you up, then you do me. Fair?” 

You glance at Sirius, who exchanges a look with Remus before nodding back at you. 

“Fair,” you say. “I meant what I said, though. I’ll be doing my ass myself.” 

James’ face falls, and Sirius cackles loud enough that Remus looks around you in embarrassment. 

“Shouldn’t’ve made fun of her, Jamesie. Our actions have consequences.”