#definitely gets in the leagues watch list

[tanglepelt]

Dc x dp idea 100

John likes to trick beings to getting himself a good deal and screwing the entities over. So he does this with the new ghost king.

He somehow worded the deal to keep the king in his home realm. You know to keep Danny in the infinite realm unable to attack the earthly realm.

This backfires. And backfires hard. Danny’s home realm is still the earthly one. All John did was not let him back into the realm.

Danny is thrilled. And living his best life. No more council meetings, the paperwork is stuck in the keep, the Observants can’t force him to do kingly duties and above all else. He is passing all of his classes. Scheduled fights with his rogues help as well.

John. Well he’s not having a good time. The Observants are screaming at him, the new king is stuck in earth who knows what he is up to, and he’s had visits from all of Danny’s ghost guardians to yell at him.

John has to break the deal.

Danny doesn’t want to.

When Danny eventually agrees to discuss it. He shows up with a ghost lawyer, sam, and Jazz all in order to secure Danny a good deal. Maybe tucker as well.

Danny wants at least rated M and movie tickets for him and his friends for life, and of course Martian manhunters autograph.

Jazz wants him to get a guarantee that they would leave him alone.

Sam wants them to guarantee ghost protection and end the Giw.

[sailortongue]

Number 7's Number

pairing: Kenji sato x reader

summary: with a promotion on the line, you are thrilled to have the opportunity to speak to Kenji Sato during a press conference, but you get more from him than anticipated

an: based on this!

--------

Kenji Sato. Currently the most popular player in the league. A legend in the making, some say. A Golden Glove Award, a Silver Slugger Award, and personal stats that easily place him among the best players on the field, it’s no wonder he was a fan favorite. Not to mention he was easy on the eyes.

Needless to say, you jumped at the opportunity to attend his upcoming press conference. You gave yourself a onceover in the mirror for the final time and double checked your list of pre-prepared questions before grabbing your car keys and heading out. You rehearsed your questions the entire drive to the venue. You had a promotion riding on this, so you’d be mortified if you made a fool of yourself on national television.

A short drive later, you were in the parking lot, anxiously sitting in the driver’s seat and scrutinizing your makeup in a compact. And thank goodness you did, else you would have been talking to the most handsome man you had ever laid on with lipstick on your teeth. You took a deep breath to calm your nerves before exiting the vehicle and approaching the building. There were both signs and security to direct you to the room the press conference would be held in.

You followed the signs and reached a set of double doors through which you could hear the din of chatter. Other reporters, no doubt. You pushed open one of the doors and joined the throng, managing to get a seat near the front by some miracle.  Once you were settled in your chair, you checked your watch. Plenty of time to spare. 

After what must have been your fifth game of solitaire on your phone, there was finally commotion coming from a side door. You quickly shoved your phone in your pocket, all the room’s attention now on the star athlete walking in. He exuded confidence with every step he took, and his cocky grin would’ve made your knees weak had you been standing.

He took his seat behind the table at the front of the room, and the press conference commenced. You waited patiently for an opportunity to ask questions of your own. You stood when you had your chance, and his eyes locked on your form.

“Wow, she’s beautiful,” he murmured to himself.

Except, it wasn't to himself. The microphone was far more sensitive than he had thought, and it was heard loud and clear throughout the entire room. You felt your face flush with heat instantly. There was an increase in volume as well as a few camera flashes directed at you. He chuckled nervously, asking the obvious. “Did you hear that?”

“I did,” you answered simply, the shy smile that formed from his verbal slip-up somehow making you even prettier in his eyes.

He slapped his hands over his face, covering the redness that gave away just how embarrassed he was. Would it be rude of him to just leave in the middle of a conference?

When he finally peeked out from between his fingers, you were still standing, waiting patiently to ask questions. He decided then and there that he would find you when this was over and it would be his turn to ask questions. Specifically, he wanted to ask to trade phone numbers. Y’know, just for potential future interviews. Definitely not for anything more.

❀-Bonus-❀

You woke the next morning to find a coworker you were friends with had sent you an article—“Baseball Star Ken Sato Calls Reporter Beautiful”—complete with a photo that had been taken of you during the conference.

There was a message beneath the link. “Anything you’d like to share?”

You thought back to yesterday, still not quite believing the one and only Ken Sato had not only called you beautiful, but had even caught up with you afterwards just to ask for your number. It was enough to have you giggling and kicking your feet like a smitten schoolgirl. It was a moment shared between just the two of you, and a selfish part of you wanted to keep it that way. Any guilt you may have felt about withholding the sports world’s current hot gossip was quickly washed away though with an incoming message.

“Goodmorning, beautiful. Tonki’s tonight at 7? I’ll pick you up.”

[delusional-dinosaurr]

10 Laps - Aitana Bonmati x Reader

“Don’t even bother Y/N, she’s out of our league. I mean look at her!” Niamh nudges you whilst you are standing drooling over the goddess that is Aitana Bonmati. Her hair blowing gently in the wind, it feels almost like something you’d see in a movie. You’ve definitely watched her more than you should have, but who on earth could resist looking at her? Obviously not you.

“Focus on the competition Y/LN” Millie says also nudging you whilst grinning at your lovestruck look. You sigh and nod, continuing your pre-match team walk of the stadium whilst Barcelona do the same, eventually the two teams combine and conversations amongst the teams start.

“Y/N!” Keira gives you the biggest hug, you’re also finding Ona and Ingrid’s arms around you too.

“Ah I’ve missed you guys! How are you doing in sunny Spain?” You ask, you continue a nice conversation between the three of you. You’re then introduced properly to some of their teammates, one in particular you were obviously more inclined to get to know.

“Aita! C’mere!” Keira hollers over to Aitana to come and meet you, she offers you a gentle smile and gives you a hug in greeting, which you obviously hug her back, even with her being slightly shorter than you.

“Aita this is Y/N, Y/N this is the Ballon D’or winner, World Cup champion –” She is cut off by an elbow to the ribs from Aitana.

“Please, there’s no need to say all that, I’m just normal Aitana” She smiles.

“Pfff, that’s a lie, have you seen yourself? You’re beautiful, talented, the list could go on” You say, causing Aitana to break out in a blush.

“God nevermind I'm splitting this up already” Lucy says joining the conversation with her old teammates, jokingly shoving you away from Aitana.

“Lucy you never said your friend was this charming” Aitana grins at you.

“Yeah there’s a reason for that, now c’mon, we’ve gotta get going now Y/N” Lucy says as she tugs you away.

“What was that for?” You ask Millie joining her side, who sighs in response.

“Luce is quite protective of Aitana from her time in Barcelona, she’s had some rocky relationships and knows what you can be like” She says.

“Mills, you know I’m not like that, I’ve just had some rather unlucky relationships too” You groan back to her. She hugs you as the teams continue to split apart to carry on the walk around the pitch at Stamford Bridge.

━━━━━

The day is here, your big match. You’re already ahead in the first leg so you know you’ve just gotta keep that same energy going.

“You okay?” Guro nudges you, you’re sitting, bouncing your knee in the locker room whilst all your teammates are chatting or dancing about after your warm ups.

“Nervous” You say quietly to her. “I know I’m not normally a nervy person but today just, I have that weird feeling y'know?”. Guro gives you a hug and reassures you for a few minutes before you head out.

You start lining up and look over to the Barca team who are also making their way out to line up with you. You look at their line and see Aitana, also looking nervous beside you.

“I would try to say things to help you win and reassure you, but you’re dangerous to us” You say in spanish whilst nudging her, a quiet laugh coming from the spaniard.

“I appreciate the sentiment. But also good luck marking me” Aitana smiles up at you also speaking in Spanish, causing you to chuckle.

“No luck needed Bonmati” You wink back at her, making her laugh.

━━━━━

Safe to say luck was needed. You lost 2-0 after a long fought battle with marking Aitana, who proved difficult to mark. In the last few minutes the exhaustion really hit when you were struck with a strong tackle from Fridolina Rolfo, meaning you were helped off the pitch by some teammates for your substitution. The Spanish side celebrated their win, you and your teammates collapsed in sadness and exhaustion. You hobbled over, kneeling down on the grass attempting to console your sad teammates. You feel a gentle pat on your back, causing you to lift your head up and look at who it was, Alexia Putellas herself.

“Keep your head up, you were fantastic. I’d kill to have you play for us one day” She says to you in spanish and smiles at you whilst crouching down with her arm around you.

“It’d be a dream to represent Barca at some point in my life, I’ll take you up on that one day” You smile, knowing your contract ends soon and you’ve been gunning for going abroad at some point whilst you’re still young and with your dad being spanish, meant you’ve had to learn two languages growing up to appease both parents.

“Contract expires soon, no?” Alexia winks, causing you to chuckle and hug her back, she lifts you up so that you’re not sat in the mud. “Go thank your fans, they need you” She smiles sadly at you, you nod in response and hobble along to join the rest of the team doing the rounds.

“You and Alexia aye?” Erin nudges you gently, so that she doesn’t knock you over in your temporary crutches and boot.

“Not my type, but she did mention wanting to steal me for Barcelona one day” You joke, Erin's eyes widened at the statement, causing her to latch onto your arm.

“Absolutely not! You’re blue through and through Y/N!” She says frowning slightly, her accent somehow seeming even thicker with the added frustration.

“Erin, don’t be so hard on her. Y/N we will support you no matter what happens this year okay?” Guro says knowingly from the other side of you. She holds her hand out for you to hold onto her instead of using the crutches.

“Thanks Guro, I didn’t know how to break it to you all but, Chelsea hasn’t offered me a contract extension, they’re looking for newer talent apparently” You give a sad smile with them both visibly looking upset.

━━━━━

A few weeks later you played your final match for Chelsea, getting a proper send off from your childhood club and the best teammates. After a few days of back and forth with negotiating contracts with other teams, your eyes widen at an offer from the club you’ve dreamt about playing for, Barcelona.

You arrive at Camp Nou to do your pre-season and signing photoshoot ready for the announcement. You haven’t told your Chelsea mates that you in fact did end up signing for the team as you’ve been so busy with England friendlies whilst others were playing in the Olympics.

“Y/N Y/LN, about time” Alexia greets you whilst you’re having your photos taken in your new kit and number.

“Who did you kill to get me here then?” You banter back and forth for a few minutes whilst you’re still having your photos sorted.

“Come, let me show you the team, in nicer circumstances than the last?” She smiles gently. The girls are all at training at the other pitch which Alexia takes you off to, also kitted up ready alongside you.

“Girls, there’s someone you need to meet!” She yells from the sideline as the team is warming up.

“NO FUCKING WAY” Keira runs over to you and lifts you up, your national teammate always being this affectionate with you.

“Sorry I didn’t tell you Ke, it was all up in the air until, well I was in the air” You smile.

“Best surprise ever” Mapi comes over to hug you as well.

“Sorry again for that tackle” Frido gives you a big squeeze.

“Ah I’m just glad I’m on your side now” You joke, elbowing her.

“God you look good in a Barca shirt” Ona comes over and says, turning you around to see your name and number on the back whilst whistling appreciatively.

“Not already hitting on me when your girlfriend isn’t around” You jokingly roll your eyes at Ona.

“Ah we all know who you’d want to flirt with you mate” Keira winks.

“Y/N hi!” Aitana greets you with a big hug, Keira giving you a knowing look from behind Aitana as you blush at the interaction, causing Keira to roll her eyes at you with a smirk. You get called in by the coach to start training with the girls, luckily with Spanish being your second language you’ve managed to gel quickly into the session.

“Want some friendly competition Y/N?” Aitana nudges you. “I bet my team wins in our scrimmage”.

“Yeah? And what do I get if I win?” You smile.

“Mmm anything you want” She smiles “But if I win, I want to go on a date with you, even if it’s just a coffee before training”.

“Deal” You shake her hand, being split onto opposite teams and starting the friendly match between Aitana’s team and Frido’s team (you being on Frido’s). You’re already marking Aitana, working as hard as you can to defend your side's goal, knowing fully what Aitana is capable of.

“You’re not making this easy for me are you?” Aitana chuckles as you help her up from the grass after being tackled by you.

“Nuh uh, I’m serious about winning bets Bonmati” You wink as you run back to your position. After another 10 minutes you accidentally got too into your friendly bet that you tug Aitana by the training bib, causing her to go tumbling into you, knocking both of you onto the ground, luckily you softened her fall with your body.

“Caught you” You laugh at her shocked expression.

“Wouldn’t have fallen if you didn’t pull me so hard!” She says lifting herself up from you, instantly causing your face to become flushed.

The match ends 3-2 to your side, managing to get two assists for your team.

“I told you I was serious” You smirk going over to get water with her.

“It’s like you didn’t want to go on that date” She looks a bit deflated.

“Nah, because for my win, I’d like for you to take me out on a date, a tour of Barcelona on a day off” You smile nervously.

“Oh…OH! Yes! I mean, yeah sounds good I can do that” She tries to play it off cool and fails massively.

━━━━━ A few days later you find yourself on a tour with Aitana as your guide, you’ve already done most of the tourist attractions and historical parts but after a few hours she drags you to the top of the Montjuic mountain area by taking you up the cable cars. You both stand there admiring the view.

“It never gets old” She smiles over at the view, you take a photo of her admiring the view to which she doesn’t notice you taking the photo in the first place.

“Thank you by the way” You smile at her.

“Eh?” Aitana tilts her head at you.

“Thank you for giving me the tour of Barcelona, it’s been really nice to spend time with you…and not the rest of our teammates” You blush trying to not be awkward with your answer. Aitana grins at you and squeezes you into a hug.

“We should do this more often, yes?” Aitana says enthusiastically, you nod back at her and hug her even tighter.

Once your hug breaks apart you move closer to the wall and peer over at the vast landscape of the city, spotting the landmarks you’d toured earlier in the day, with Aitana pointing them out for you.

“So I was thinking we could always-” You cut her off with a kiss, hoping you had read the situation correctly. Luckily for you, you felt her soft lips moving in sync with yours, giving you the butterflies in an instant.

“-Go back to mine for food? And we can do more of that” She continues, looking quite flustered.

“I’d love that” You smile, feeling much more shy than before.

━━━━━ Around 3 months later you were out for a night out at a club with the Barca girls as a celebration of a win against Madrid CFF. You and Aitana have been dating since the day of your first kiss but you’ve chosen to keep it fairly quiet so you can start with privacy and keep away from prying eyes, but you haven’t necessarily been hiding it, still some obvious signs. Your teammates still think you’re just pining after Aitana after all of this time and still to this day, are trying their best to put you two together for training, or even media duties.

“You look beautiful by the way” You kiss Aitana on the cheek as she turns up to the group outing, a greeting that is normal amongst the Spaniards, with them being so affectionate with each other. Aitana quietly thanks you, smiling away at the compliment even after 3 months you’re still making her blush. After a few hours, and a few drinks, the majority of the squad are either on the dancefloor or sat in the reserved seating area you have. Aitana comes along and sits on your lap, and leans her head on your shoulder.

“Tired, my love?” You ask her.

“Mm, I’d much rather be at home right now, you, me and the bed sound great for many reasons” Aitana says just loud enough for you to hear.

“Fuck Aitana, why would you say that!” You groan, wiping your hand over your face in an attempt to clear the dirty thoughts of your girlfriend out of your mind, which you obviously fail at every time.

“Maybe I want you to take me home?” She smirks cheekily.

“Love, someone will catch on” You say seriously.

“Who cares, if it was up to me, I’d kiss you right now” She says confidently for once.

“Then do it” You challenge her, as soon as she hears those words your lips are connected, hands tangled in each other's hair and gripping the others clothes.

“Bathroom?” Aitana nods over to the bathroom which you both run off to, knowing that the team have definitely just seen what happened. You arrive in the bathroom and continue from where you left off minus a few items of clothing, until you’re interrupted by yelling.

“I KNOW WHAT YOU TWO ARE DOING, OUT!” Ona yells, banging on the outside of the bathroom cubicle door. You and Aitana both rush to put your discarded clothing back on and give her a quick peck before a lecture from Ona and most likely Alexia.

“I’m taking you home, now. And you, we will be talking about this” Ona frowns pointing at you, dragging Aitana away from you and outside of the club. Ingrid comes over and takes you away from the doorway whilst you’re protesting.

“Explain what the fuck just happened?” You say to Ingrid.

“Ona saw you two kissing out of nowhere and you both going off to the bathroom to do what she thought you would be doing, and she didn’t like it” Ingrid sighs with a sad smile.

“What did she think I was just gonna take advantage of Aitana?” You sigh.

“She’s protective of her best friend, you know that. She likes to keep an eye on Aitana for herself and Lucy and make sure she’s okay” Alexia chimes in, overhearing your conversation in the quiet corridor.

“Well clearly she’s not that observant” You laugh to yourself, the two girls look at you quizzically.

“We’ve been dating since that time I got her to take me on a tour of Barcelona?” You say to them, hoping they understand what you mean now. You can see the switch of them realising all of the signs they ignored over the last few months.

“Hold on, so it wasn’t some one night stand? The marks you had all over you the other week at training was from little innocent Aitana?” Alexia says shocked but seemingly impressed.

“Oh god, she’s far from innocent” You chuckle, thinking back to that night before training before receiving an elbow to the ribs from Mapi, who managed to sneak into the conversation behind you, without you realising. “I mean, no, we are saving it for marriage?” You joke.

“Someone needs to talk to Ona, our little Aitana has grown up” Mapi says whilst pretending to wipe a tear from her eye, Ingrid is already getting her phone out to call Ona to meet up and discuss the situation. After a while she finishes on the phone and says it’ll be best for you to all continue the conversation tomorrow before training, so you all call it a night after all of the drama.

━━━━━

The next day at training, luckily no one drank heavily so you’re all relatively in a good mood and good spirits for the training session you’re about to have. That is at least until Ona arrives with Aitana.

“Aita” You mumble quietly as she walks over to hug you tightly.

“Y/N, a word, alone?” Ona says sternly, nodding over to the side, you nod and follow her for privacy, your girlfriend giving you a look of concern as you walk away from her.

“Right, Aitana refused to talk about it, so go on Y/LN” Ona folds her arms.

“Aitana is my girlfriend and has been for a few months now” You bite back.

“Why didn’t you talk to me about it?” She asks.

“Because one, we wanted some privacy, and two, because I knew you’d act like this” You say, shaking your head at her.

“Like what?” She says angrily.

“Like someone who thinks I’m a fucking monster that’s going to break her heart? Ona, you’ve known me for years, come on now” You say “I know she’s your best friend but really?”. Ona’s head drops in realisation.

“Firstly…I’m sorry that I made you feel that way. Aitana was a mess after her last break up and I supported her the whole way, I couldn’t even imagine the thought of seeing her like that again. You’ve had your moments over the years but it was definitely wrong of me to assume the worst, I’m sorry” She sighs, realising you’re right.

“Thank you Ona, I really do care about her. Like a lot” You smile, leaning into the open arms of the girl.

“I know, come on, let's go see her then” She nods over at a worried looking Aitana, after hearing your raised voices.

“Hola bebita” She kisses your cheek and links her arm in yours.

“Ground rules, no pulling stunts like last night again” Ona says sternly to the both of you.

“What the sneaking off or the fact we were going to..well you know” You say embarrassed.

“Both” She smirks.

“Well unfortunately we regularly break one of those rules” Aitana winks at you, watching Ona work out which she meant.

“BONMATI NO” Ona yells after the shorter girl who has run off. Alexia comes over giggling at the sight of the two running around.

“What caused that?” Alexia chuckles.

“Oh Aita told Ona that we have sex regularly” You laugh, Alexia going wide eyed.

“Wait, you’ve had sex? Y/N ABSOLUTELY NOT!” She says now chasing after you. “You’re too young!”.

“ALE WE ARE BOTH 25 WHAT DO YOU MEAAAAAN” You yell laughing, trying to avoid the captain. Mapi stops you in your path.

“What is going on?” Frido asks from the side of Mapi.

“Y/N and Aitana are girlfriends AND they’ve had sex” Alexia says shocked with you rolling your eyes, Frido gasps.

“You’re too young for that!” Frido smacks your shoulder.

“We are both 25!” You frown laughing at the girl.

“You know what she means, we are all protective of our two babies, and now they’re….” Alexia shudders.

“Oh come on” You groan, Ona bringing Aitana over by her collar and many protests from Aitana.

“Come here often, chica?” You wink and flirt with Aitana who laughs.

“Actually quite a lot today it seems” She jokes.

“I think we’ve broken them all” You say looking around at your friends who are still confused by the relationship.

“Si, but not me. I had a feeling you two were up to something these last few weeks” Mapi grins.

“Wait what?” Ingrid says confused.

“Oh come on, no one noticed that at the last few parties they’d somehow manage to sneak off? Always together for everything? They have sleepovers?” Mapi says, shocked that no one else caught on. Everyone seems to hum in agreement and realisation. You grin at the group of girls around you whilst holding Aitana’s hand.

“What do you think they do at those sleepovers!” Ingrid says, groaning.

“WE ARE ADULTS WHO HAVE NEEDS” Aitana raises her voice.

“Exactly, and lucky for Aita I’m very good at fulfilling her needs” You tease, watching the older women of the group glare at you and Aitana grin.

“Right that’s enough” Alexia launches in your direction, grabbing the scruff of your shirt.

“Alexia please no!” You whine.

“10 laps, both of you” She says as you both groan. “And after training, you’re coming over to my apartment so we can go over some ground rules, and I want to get to know Y/N more as she is dating my Aitana” Alexia says.

After getting through the gruelling 10 laps underneath the Barcelona sun, you did keep your word and went over to Alexia’s apartment that same evening, to your surprise, it was a pleasant evening in which you gained her trust, and her blessing with ‘her Aitana’.

[woodland-gremlin]

Ancestor's Fury AU

( Inspired by @glow-in-the-dark-death and @vixen-uchiha )

The Infinite Realms are, well, Infinite. They are the doorway between dimensions and contain every after life. This includes the Krypton one.

When Danny learned that the Infinite realms contained the afterlife for aliens he didn’t stop gushing about it to Jazz for days. He was awestruck. Not everyone would stop to talk to this excited child, especially when they don’t know that he is the King, but some would, like the Kryptons. They were quite happy to talk to the boy king, especially when they could get updates on the last of their kind in the Living Realm. When they learned about the Anti-Ecto Acts and the role the Justice league and the last of their living had in it they were angry and confused. To learn about why the Justice League didn't do anything about the Acts they traveled into the Living Realm to find out. This is how they found out about how Superman treats Superboy.

When Danny first told them about Superboy they threw a party, after all they gained a new family member. Look at the baby, isn’t he adorable?! Traveling to the Living Realm and finding out he was a clone didn’t change that fact. Learning how Superman treats him for being a clone however opens the floodgates of their fury. They were already weary because of the inaction with the Anti-Ecto Acts and now he is calling the baby an “it”! Not happening on their watch.

Then they remember the boy king. The one who brought this to their attention in the first place and who has a clone he treats as family. So they decided to bring this to his attention.

Danny, when he learns of this, is furious. He knows what it is like to be cloned by your worst enemy in an attempt to replace you, but that is on the fruitloop who cloned you not the child who was dragged into their scheme and is as much of a victim as you are. He could never treat Ellie the way Superdouche does. For Ancients sake he was barely a teenager when it happened and yet he handled it better than a full grown adult superhero (not that he should be called that after what he has done).

In conclusion no one is happy with the news, especially Ellie. She is furious with how her fellow clone is treated and is definitely planning Superasses demise, though silver lining, clone buddy!

All of this leads to Danny putting a blacklist on Superman. No one from the realms can help him and are welcome to beat him up as long as no one else gets hurt. So when the JL Dark gets called to help because Superman keeps getting targeted by supernatural beings they refuse and explain the black listing. The JL then bullies John Constintine into summoning the Ghost King, who is his nephew, not that they know that, to retract the blacklisting.

Danny: Yeah no, can’t help you there. The ghosts hunting you down are not very happy with your parenting, and neither am I for that matter.

Superman: ??? I don’t have a son.

Danny: *sarcastically* So the kid running around with the moniker Superboy is someone else’s Krypton kid? Sorry, didn’t know there was another Krypton that survived the destruction of their planet.

Superman: It’s a clone, not my son.

Danny: *pissed* He is not an it! You may not consider him your son but the ghosts of Krypton do. Your parents thought the Kents raised you better than that.

Meanwhile, elsewhere:

Ellie: *tackles Superboy* Clone Buddy!!

Superboy: *surprised Pikachu face*

[the-trash-site]

My favourite type of fanfiction at the moment has been 'y/n is reincarnated into fandom to save the characters from canon!'. (currently mainly reading for JJK and MHA as that's what I'm obsessed with.) There's something so pure about the plot and how the author has fun with it. With scenes where yn is lowkey simping or the actual character of the fandom being dorky.

I think the appeal (besides the amazing writing and passion given into each chapter of these fanfic, rec list below) of this is how straightforward it can be. You already know the characters, you know the canon. All you learn when first reading is what ability you get and how you fit within the world. Which is usually attending the school or growing up with the character.

But mostly, what I love is seeing the butterfly effect and the new dynamics it can create. But lately, I can't help but wonder about a fanfic that has the vibe of 'careful what you wish for'. And seeing what ripples that could make. (I write mostly of JKK and MHA but these ideas could be apply to AOT or Demon Slayer or any other fandom.)

I find it hilarious if instead, the y/n is older than the main group. Imagine being the milf/dilf of MHA. Being the same age as All Might or old enough to adopt characters like Shigaraki.

Or being the in-between age of Deku and the teachers. Where your options are; hanging out with the League of Villains, working hard asf to be a top hero to be around Hawks/the plot. Or becoming a teacher/assistant to watch over class 1A to change canon. I mean, what else are you meant to do in your early twenties? You literally have to force yourself into the plot lol

Oh, you have a favourite character, like Nanami, Gojo or Choso you want to meet? Here you go, a new life as their child! (probably be a sibling for Choso lol) Oh you met you wanted to rizz them up and treat them right? Nope, sorry, you're forced to tag along and face any challenges that would come as being a child to a; Jujutsu sorcerer/ the strongest/ a half-curse spirit.

Oh, this time you specified the thought of being dating/married to Aizawa/Geto/Toji as you died? Kinda weird but here you go! Your new life as their spouse! But only, you don't gain memories from this new life, as you only remember about the canon. Don't mind the grief and odd looks the character is giving you, their amnesia darling. It's not like you can't remember the wedding you two shared. (for maximum angst, they have the kids and you're just clueless about being a parent and saving the canon. yikes)

Okay, but what if you get super lucky? You get to be with the main character and do real help! Everything is fine in JJK but Sukuna is dead set on killing you. Every chance he gets, he uses until he kills you. But it's only after he brought you back that you learn it's because he actually loves you. After all, you're the reincarnated of his reincarnated dead wife. (not confusion at all, lol) He was just pissed that you dead centuries ago and couldn't have the life you two planned. It was his way of getting even. Definitely not annoying when trying to save characters.

Okay, for real now. Everything is perfectly fine...But what's this? Yuji and Izuku are actually yandere for you? Oh, that wouldn't change canon that much, right?

Anyway, here are my favourites fanfics;

Otherworldy attraction by Kilkyo851 JJK | on AOE and Quotev | multiple pairings | warning: yandere content

Tomorrow's sake by Kilkyo851 JJK | on AO3 and Quotev | multiple pairings

When I catch you Gege by Quinnyundertow JJK | on AOE | multiple pairings

Daybreak by sexy-captain-rexy (smolkatsudon) Star wars | poly Obi-Wan, Anakin Skywalker and reader pairing| on AOE

Promise: Thorin x Fíli x reader Hobbit | love angle with true pairing haven't been shown | on AOE (this one is interesting as reader has more visions than knowledge from media.)

Changing History [MHA! Various F!Reader] by summerblack | MHA | on Qoutev

The Future's Keeper [MHA!Various x F!Reader] by summerblack | MHA | on Quotev

[aangelinakii]

COOKING WITH THE JUSTICE LEAGUE.

characters written about in this piece : bruce wayne, clark kent, diana prince, barry allen, hal jordan

note : omgomg this idea is so frraking cute 😭😭 and sorry some are longer than others !!! <3

requested !

BRUCE WAYNE.

it's not that bruce can't bake, because he can, but the whole "baking" thing doesn't really fit the agenda he's going for 💀 so it would take a lot of convincing to get bruce to try make some meringues, or even cupcakes. but after living with alfred for the majority of his life, he's definitely learned how to cook.

i mean, he's still a guy with a butler, so it's not like he does everything or knows how to make everything. if you want to make something he's never made before, he'll definitely let you take the lead, and something inside him will be a little nervous about messing anything up, so even if you ask him to stir something he'll keep asking if he's doing everything right

but when it comes to dishes he does know how to make bruce will want you to sit back and watch, and periodically taste test his food to "make sure it's not poisonous." he loves cooking for you, but i can see him feeling a bit out of place when it becomes a duo task — he doesn't want to mess anything up, and part of him feels a bit like that young bruce again, in the early years after his parents' deaths, sitting on the counter whilst alfred cooks them dinner.

CLARK KENT.

clark absolutely looooveeeesss cooking, i'd say it's definitely a love language of his, making food for the people he loves. he's probably learnt it from ma kent, cooking for people. clark definitely has a long list of recipes stored up there, and probably has a separate tab on his phone for recipes he thought were interesting

differently to bruce, i think clark may have a talent for baking specifically, as opposed to cooking proper dinner meals. if you cook a meal together i could see you focusing on the dinner, and clark preparing dessert, which he can put in the oven whilst you're eating. and yes, even on a normal evening (usually a friday night or weekend) he insists on having a dessert. even if what you've made is some instant ramen or ten-minute rice dish, clark is up at the counter stewing some blueberries and apple slices for a crumble

DIANA PRINCE.

diana has so many handed-down recipes that she would love to share,, and on days where she hasn't got anything going on she loves spending the entire day making huge servings of greek dishes that you can keep in the fridge and eat every night for a month. she's not one to hog the counter or the oven, she wants to teach you everything she knows !!!

and she's super super open to learning your recipes, or being your little guinea pig if you want to experiment with recipes, like hello she's amazonian she could survive anything !! but if you're in the kitchen, she'll ask if there's anything she can do to help you out and even if you say no she'll find something to do, like fill up a glass of water so you don't get too dehydrated whilst making her some amazing food.

BARRY ALLEN.

love love loves sharing the kitchen with you, and he loves cooking for you just as much as you love cooking for him. i even made a whole fic about it (shameless promo) where you alternate dinner making duties round each other's apartment each week

he thinks you're amazing really,, even if you cook something that tastes a little bit.. you know.. barry will still gobble it down because you ?? thought of him ?? and wanted to make him food ?? probably has food as a love language, but in a different way to clark,, the way clark sees it, making food is how he expressed love, but barry feels like eating someone's food that way made for him is a way of showing love ? do you know what i mean ?

obviously he loves cooking for and with you, but yeah he really appreciates you cooking for him more

HAL JORDAN.

definitely takes charge in the kitchen, but will give you jobs here and there. it could be tasting, it could be mixing spices into a sauce, it could be stirring. i think he prefers the creative aspect to cooking, so if he's got a recipe in mind be prepared to get a little bossed around. he likes adding seasoning and making little sauces. sometimes if you're lounging around at home he'll spring out of nowhere with a snack for you to eat, "something he's working on" and it always tastes buss

might get a little nervy if you want to take charge, but that's just a him issue, and he'll calm down once you get the food sitting right in front of him and it tastes just as good as it smells (and also as long as the fire alarm hasn't gone off once !!!!)

[couldeatthatgirlforlunch]

Just a concept, Yandere!Dimensional traveler!Batman X Gn!reader X Platonic!Batfam, also wrote a one shot about this

Synopsis: Batman becomes obsessed with a spouse and kids that he never had.

Pairing: Yandere!Dimensional traveler!Batman X Reader; Batman X Reader; Platonic Batfam X Batparent!Reader; Yandere!Batman X Platonic!Batfam; Batman X Platonic!Batfam

Tw: English is not my first language; mentions of Alfred being dead; I'm quite new on the fandom so there might be some mistakes about facts of the original comics, but this is a fanfic so whatever; this piece is more focused on Bruce and the batfam while still mentioning reader; stalker and delusional Bruce.

Word count: 1,4k

Requested? No.

General masterlist | Ao3

Yandere!Batman who is very VERY, extremely, lonely, touch starved and grim. He’s also very unlucky apparently.

He never even met Dick. Sure, he heard about what happened to The Flying Graysons, investigated it even, but he's only seem him on pictures, videos or in passing, but he wasn’t there that night, he never talked to him, or maybe he did while stopping him from killing Zuko, either way, never adopted him, our boy went straight to orphanage and was adopted shortly after by a normal and loving family.

Actually this universe’s Bruce never met nor connected with ANY of his children, all he had was Alfred, and yet… Something happened and…

Safe to say it's been long, never ending harsh years.

The only thing this Bruce knows is pain, loneliness and misery. Don’t talk to him about Alfred. Maybe he can't even look at pictures. When he realized he couldn’t remember his voice anymore… He WON’T watch videos or listen to audio of him. Yes, Alfred being gone was one more trauma to the list of traumas he will carry on his tense and burdened shoulders for the rest of his helpless existence.

This Bruce is a loser, closer to madness than any version of Bruce (aside from Batman who laughs). His Gotham is nearing it’s doom. He didn't join the Justice League because of his level of emotional masochism, pride and lack of will to get back on his feet. He is so used to suffering he thinks it's possible to die if he doesn't have such bitter companion. Safe to say, he is depressed. And hyperfocused on saving a city he’s been working in for decades, too blind by his grieving to see that he is not doing the right things. There is no social projects on Wayne Enterprises or Wayne Foundation to help people, he neglected the company decades ago. He is almost becoming Michael Keaton’s Batman in The Flash.

Somehow, one day he is sent to another universe. It can be through some disaster like Crisis in Infinite Earths, or some villain who wanted different variants of heros to fight amongst themselves to death, doesn't really matter here, what’s important is that he (after years of being a hermit on his cave) interacts with people, more specifically, he interacts with himself.

Or definitely a lucky version of himself. Maybe the luckiest. He is jealous.

During the whole event they interact and imagine how he felt when he found out that this other Batman has an Alfred. And he is so successful that he is a billionaire who uses his money to help Gotham get better (or as good as we know Gotham can get). Oh, and he has a spouse. And children. Plural. So many he lost count. And pets. Two dogs, one cat, a cow (?), a turkey (a what now?) and a fREAKING DRAGON BAT (WHAT THA FUCK IS EVEN THAT????!?!?????!).

He is also more put together (looks like he showers and doesn't skip meals). And less temperamental.

Okay…

Bruce is confused. When he comes back to his universe, with a spark of hope in his heart, he does his research. He could start actually making effort on his company and thus helping Gotham, maybe even be good enough as a vigilant that he could join the Justice League and make some friends (even if the other Bruce was just as stoic, he was the only one who could see on his micro expressions while talking about them how fond he was of his colleagues, and how much he thrusts them, even with his trust issues).

He could find those damn kids and adopt them. Find the one who somehow managed to make him open up enough for a relationship.

(He could also just work on his company, philanthropism, do some therapy, make some new organic connections or whatever).

He is VERY disappointed to find out that some of those so called kids and are already adults, have lived their whole lives without him, maybe some have been arrested or even dead, they have their whole lives and families that have NOTHING to do with him. Some don't even exist (the only explanation for not a single clue in months of research). And his partner, Reader, is either living their own life that doesn't allow space for him or also dead. He lost his timing. He is old and lost his timing. He is alone. He shouldn't have hoped so much that he got blind by the improbability of the small chance. The other Batman did mention that his family started growing decades ago.

He just lost another family. This one he never got to have. He wishes he never knew about them.

He hyperfocused on them for months for nothing (hey, It was hard to find info on the ones that don't live a very civilian legal life, like Cassandra, or the ones that never even existed, like Damian, or the ones that are dead — again maybe Cassandra, or perhaps Jason. Maybe Jason joined a gang just for survival or something like that, life on the streets is harsh, and he is not very lucky. And I’m not even being specific on what could have happened to every single one of the batfam. Also Tim is probably a CEO right now). No connection and family will come from all of that. Especially because he is greedy, starved, he doesn't want bits and pieces, he wants it ALL. He wants that other Bruce's life.

Yandere!Batman is born. He drowns and gets drunk on the pit of his own madness and he can’t get out of it. Doesn't want to.

He could… He could get rid of the people on their lives, brainwash them and make them a happy family. They aren’t vigilantes, they don't have his abilities, they don't have his intellect, it won't be hard.

Of course, Batman doesn't kill, but this Batman is looking for a change.

But they aren't what lucky-billionaire-put-together Bruce had.

Don't get me wrong. He is not just petty and jealous, nor resents Bruce for his privileges and better decisions, or whatever.

Okay, maybe a little. Why? Just why ones life was perfect (hello? Didn't you hear the part where he told you his own problems? Not even about the DEAD RESURRECTED CRIME LORD SON?) while the others had to draw the short stick?

But majorly he is just desperate, foaming at the mouth for a happy ending, and projected all of that on that poor random bat.

Now, enough brooding, back to solutions.

He could clone them.

Could work. Not exactly easy but he could just hack onto Luthor archives until he found how he cloned Superman and made that Superboy, Superman, or whatever he goes by now.

Again, not the same as the original ones. The ones he craves. The ones he wants.

Alfred is screaming in his grave about how Bruce, please, needs to realize that no one will fill the expectations he puts on them, not even the “original ones”.

Another hard, but better fitted solution is to… Simply… Find a way to go to that other universe, or one similar enough, stalk and study their whole lives until he can perfectly replicate “lucky” Bruce’s persona, and just… Get rid of him and take his place. Hello Alfred, hello honey, hello kids, daddy’s home.

Looks like he finally got luck on his side, maybe the sun will rise tomorrow.

Yandere!Bruce won't just brush aside that he is rusty and definitely not a better Batman then the other one, but he's got time. He will developt patience. But can he learn enough to trick his perfect vigilant kids though? Is he seriously thinking straight? I mean, the batkids are dope though. They learned from the best. As a proud (wannabe) father he knows they will be better than him one day, perhaps already are.

How much of watching their lives, everything that he craves, can he take until he snaps? How much of watching Bruce's interactions with them can he take? He swears he won't take them for granted when he has them, he will take care of them, protect them, be a family, be happy.

Can he really keep his distance?

Looks like another supervillain just arrived in Gotham for the batfamily to battle against, he is quite persistent though.

Like, comment and reblog 🥰

[convenientalias]

Why Nirvana in Fire Wins at Revenge Story with Identity Porn

Nirvana in Fire was my first ever cdrama that was a revenge story with identity porn. Since then, I've seen many other dramas along similar lines. A League of Nobleman. Blood of Youth. City of Streamer. Fighting for Love. Legend of Anle. Long Ballad. Princess Weiyoung. Rise of Phoenixes. Sword Dynasty. Weaving a Tale of Love. Word of Honor. Some of them are quite good but none of them really hit the same way. So, apart from the fact that it was the first one I ever watched, I thought I'd made a brief list of reasons why I think Nirvana in Fire is the best.

Lin Shu's Identity

I just appreciate that when shit went down and Lin Shu's whole family and army and many of his friends were killed and he became a man on the run, he was a full-grown man (okay, still pretty young, but definitely not a child) with his own life and even an army position.

A lot of these identity porn dramas will have their MCs meeting ppl for the first time in many years, in disguise, but they only knew these ppl when they were children. Childhood friends are great and all that, but can they hit as hard as the complicated, fleshed out relationships that Lin Shu had and lost? He had a friendship of many years with Jingyan. He had an engagement and a longstanding friendship with Nihuang. He has friends from the army, younger cousins playing the role of "we don't even understand what happened back then and maybe that's better", older friends and relations who he actually knew as an adult.

Simultaneously, his past identity increases the threat of discovery for Lin Shu. He's a known factor to many, many people in the capital. Yes, they think he's dead. But small things like a hazelnut allergy or his mannerisms or his previous friendships with people are still memorable enough that even with a completely different face, if he's not careful, he might give himself away. He's not infiltrating a group of strangers or people who only knew him as a kid. He's infiltrating a group of people who were close to him for many, many years of his life.

HOWEVER. Lin Shu's identity is not so important that everyone in the capital is still obsessed with him twelve years later (with some exceptions). This isn't Mysterious Lotus Casebook where we're all still pining for Li Xiangyi, because...

2. The Chiyan Case Wasn't Even About Lin Shu?? (Also, No One Cares About That Ancient History Anymore (Jingyan, Sit Down))

The Chiyan case wasn't about the Lin family at all, really.

No one specifically wanted Lin Shu dead or had a big grudge against his dad or anything. It's all about power, military and political. For some conspirators, it was just about getting a leg up in court. But mostly, it was about Prince Qi, the previous crown prince. The Lin family just happened to be friends with him and ended up in an uncomfortable (highly murderable and frameable) position.

Lin Shu may mourn his family, but for the majority of the show, he doesn't talk about it. He doesn't talk about his mother and his family back at the capital either committing suicide or being killed indiscriminately. He only mentions his father's name a handful of times in the whole show. Lin Shu's drive is that his father's ARMY was killed, tens of thousands of men. That's the weight on Lin Shu's shoulders: the death of all these innocent men because they were in the way. The Chiyan Case; the Chiyan Massacre. The denouement of Lin Shu's victory (not to give too many spoilers) is not just his father's name being cleared of a treason charge. It's when there's finally a memorial put up for the Chiyan Army, with memorial tablets that he can publicly visit to pay respects.

Why does this make it a better revenge story with identity porn? A couple reasons. First, Lin Shu is very much the center of the story and has very personal beef, but he treats himself like a tool and his objective isn't about himself or familial connections (they're part of it but they're not everything). He doesn't even know all the people he's avenging. That's fine; he'll still carry that weight. I just think it's neat.

Second, the fact that the Lin family (and the whole Chiyan Army) were really just collateral damage for getting rid of Prince Qi really emphasizes just how careless the current regime is of the value of human life.

Third, as Meng Zhi says when Lin Shu comes to the capital, everyone at court is busy with their own little power struggles and no one has time to care about Lin Shu or protect him. Lin Shu's like yeah that's fine :) I'm not anyone's focus anymore and the Lin family has been swept under the rug like we never existed :) and no one even talks about the Chiyan case anymore for fear of being accuse of treason :) that's all okay because I'm about TO MAKE THIS EVERYONE'S PROBLEM ANYWAY and honestly the fact that everyone's trying their hardest to forget will just make them more oblivious when I come to fuck them up.

3. All Of This is Whose Fault, Again?

That's right, folks, we're in a show that knows that when shit goes down at court and your family gets framed for treason and the emperor orders them executed, sure, you can blame the conspirators who framed them all you want, but also, YOU KIND OF DO HAVE TO BLAME THE EMPEROR.

People have said enough about how great this is on a thematic level of accountability but seriously I've seen so many shows dodge this. ~It's not the emperor's fault bc he was misled by these conspirators~ or ~the emperor is only a puppet emperor, if he actually had power instead of this evil person, he would put everything right.~ Or, if they dare to blame the emperor, maybe he's just an evil emperor and was bad all along. NIF says yeah, he was lied to on many levels. There was a whole complicated conspiracy going on and many people to blame. But he could have taken things slower. He could have required better evidence. He could have trusted people who had supported him for many years, at least enough to listen to their side of the story BEFORE KILLING THEM. And why didn't he? It's not because he's an idiot. It's because he's an emperor, and emperors don't like seeing other people gain enough power to even potentially become a threat. It's because he wasn't looking for the truth, he was looking for an excuse to kill. And he's not unusually evil for that; this kind of callousness towards murder and grasping for power at all costs is more the norm at court than any kind of honor or morality.

The Emperor's a nice guy sometimes! He used to fly kites with Lin Shu when he was young! His sons give him a headache, but honestly, relatable, they'd give you a headache too! He likes Consort Jing and honestly, who wouldn't! And he killed one of his sons, one of his closest friends, and an entire army, and he would do it again without hesitation. He's not especially evil. Being an emperor is bad enough.

4. Other Bad Guys

It's worth mentioning that Lin Shu's opponents are not stupid.

Xie Yu and Xia Jiang, Prince Yu and the Crown Prince, even the Empress and Noble Consort Yue: They aren't all geniuses, but they aren't idiots flailing around in spite. They're pretty smart, and if Lin Shu wants to take them down, he has to be smarter.

It's also worth mentioning that this is not one of those shows where the protagonist happens to take down his opponents mostly by standing still and just defending himself when they lash out at him. This seems like an obvious thing in a revenge drama, but the number of times I've seen the opposite, the protagonist swearing revenge and then just struggling with self preservation.... but no. Lin Shu has A Plan. He is going to be proactive and actually take his enemies down. Admittedly he will do this by revealing their past misdeeds but this isn't a case of "the misdeeds will just happen to pop up". This is a case of "I will actively unearth skeletons from where you threw them in a well in an abandoned manor".

TO SUM UP

Without going into the things that make Nirvana in Fire a great show in general (great acting, good pacing and plotting, good costuming, and so on and so forth) I think the main things that make it hit for me as a revenge story with identity porn are 1) letting the MC's past identity be that of a grown man who actually had a life (more connections to the past, but also more to lose and more danger in the present as a result), 2) the fact that the offense that the MC is avenging wasn't even like a personal thing to the offenders (bc! it's fucking infuriating!), 3) the fact that the drama is willing to face the root of the problem (the problem is both corruption at court and the fact that the highest arbiter is flawed, not just individual conspirators), 4) the supply of multiple good antagonists, and 5) LETTING THE MC ACTUALLY, ACTIVELY PURSUE REVENGE AND THAT'S THE MAIN PLOT AND WE AREN'T SPENDING MOST OF OUR SCREENTIME ON SIDEPLOTS AND ROMANCE OR MERE SELF PRESERVATION. These may not seem like large things but my friends, you would be surprised how many revenge dramas I've watched at this point that can't do them.

ok I'm done ranting. Feel like most of this is actually stating the obvious but I'm just in a mood and had to get it out. (...also possibly I've been let down by some revenge dramas lately but I won't get into it. it's okay. we can't all be Nirvana in Fire; only Nirvana in Fire can be Nirvana in Fire.)

[aparttimewriter]

THE SONGBIRD: part three

chrismd x musician reader !

summary: chris is trying to move on from his breakup, little did he know he would find a connection with one of his roommates friends

social media au ✨

yourusername

liked by mollymae, masonmount, chrismd10 and 432,679 others

yourusername: 💋💋

view all 12,578 comments

masonmount:🔥

—yourusername: 😊

user: did anyone else see that comment interactions between y/n and mason ??

mollymae: stunning !!!

user: someone check on chris !! because mount definitely has some game

user: everyone say thank you y/n for positing this for free

chrismd10: entering your alcoholism era i see

—yourusername: rude ! as if you don’t also drink your feelings

user: ahh the banter she has with chris !!

yourusername

liked by taliamar, masonmount, arthurnfhill and 436,678 others

yourusername: just weekend things

view all 12,678 comments

user: THE JERSEY !!

taliamar: literally so gorgeous!

user: did anyone see those photos of y/n and mount out for dinner ??

—user: yes !! it definitely looked like a date

masonmount: good taste in football jersey

—user: what ???

user: no y/n it’s meant to be chrismd ! we love our short king

arthurnhill: why the sudden interest in football ??

—yourusername: shut up you !

user: @chrismd come get your girl

yourusername added to their story

chrismd10

liked by arthurnfhill, yourusername, georgeclarkeey and 263,688 others

tagged arthurnhill, georgeclarkeey, arhrurtv, yourusername

chrismd10: went to a festival on the weekend and watched my two talented friends preform

view all 534 comments

arthurnhill: thanks for the love and support man !!

user: omg those photos of y/n !

—user: right ! chris is definitely down bad

user: but is mount better at free kicks then most premier league players ??

yourusername: shout out to @chrismd10 for being my own personal photographer for the day

—chrismd10: happy to help 😊

georgeclarkeey: the hat was definitely a choice

—yourusesrname: it’s called fashion,look it up

user: not y/n defending her man in the comments

yourusername added to their story

yourusername

liked by chrismd10, taliamar, arthurnfhill and 342,367 others

yourusername: brb currently in my holiday era ☀️

view all 12,478 comments

mollymae: looking so stunning 😍

—yourusername: right back at you lovely 💕

user: how can someone look that good all the time

user: wait !! is y/n on holiday with chris and the others !?

—user: i think so, have you seen the others insta story’s ?

taliamar: dam girl 🔥

user: my eyes are blessed

chrismd10: where’s my photo credit ??

—yourusername: don’t ruin my air of mystery!

an: thanks again for all the amazing support for this series xx

tag list: @arthurhillmastermind @melancholicandmessy @cinnvmonrolls @misplacedxeggos @ooostarwarsfandom501st @theresglitteronthefloor

[rebelwriter99]

Thought occurred. Consider it my imagined happy ending for Jean. Goodness knows he needs one.

Somewhere along the line Jean is trying to get Laila and Cat to do a drill with him, and he gets them to join in with training by bribing them with Boba tea.

As in Jean actually trying Boba tea. (If they finally win the league - so they’d better do the extra training.)

The girls look at him like he’s grown an extra head and sprint off to tell the entire team.

They’re all unreasonably delighted and invested because of course they are. Everyone is now going to extra training so they can watch Jean try Boba tea for the first time. Jean is very confused because of course he is. Why is him drinking tea this motivating? Jeremy thinks this is the best thing that’s happened to his team since shrinking his game day roster for the sake of honour and fair play.

And of course they win. And they’re all ecstatic. And Jean has almost forgotten that promise he made months ago. The team hasn’t. Lalia definitely hasn’t. And they’re in the middle of the awards ceremony when she tells him. “Tea. Tomorrow. Remember? You’re gonna love it! ” . And Jean frowns. And then sighs. Because he did promise and they did win and he acquiesces and nods.

Sometime in the next 24hrs the entire team is crammed into the lofts, and Lalia is handing Jean a cup. Everyone knows Jean would not in a million years be so much as touching that stuff on a normal day. But it’s not a normal day. They’ve finally won. And Jean promised.

He drinks. And oh but they’ve got him peach flavour, and then the bubbles burst in his mouth and everything is fruit and fireworks all at once somehow and those brown eyes bright with delight as they watch the surprise on Jean’ face.

“So?” Lalia will press him after he’s tried just that first taste. She’s been waiting long enough. “What do you think?”

“I think it is good that we won this year”

And Jeremy understands. He knows that Jean is glad he got to discover this, that he doesn’t just like it, he loves it. And hates it a little bit too because this is so good it’s going to throw off the whole nutrition plan and ruin any chance of them winning ever again. And Jean is as close as he gets to not caring - because he takes another sip. Jeremy throws his head back and laughs “That good?”

And Jean makes sure he meets his eyes before he smiles at him “That good”

And the entire team cheers. Jabberwocky is howling along to join in. And the lofts is actually a home, then, full of happiness and people that just want to be happy with each other.

And Jean updates his list.

Evening breeze. Rainbows. Open Roads. Friends. Fathers. Boba tea. Jeremy’s laughter. Home.

[footballffbarbiex]

Sharing Is Caring.

players: (slightly sub/shy)Dominik Szoboszlai, reader (non Y/N use), Trent Alexander Arnold. words: 6.8k warnings: mfm, fingering, dirty talk, praise, unprotected sex, protected sex, cream pies, oral sex (m+f), use of sex toys

A/N: I realise that no-one asked for this, not a single person requested this but once it was in my head, that was it. it's taken a while to write and post this as I really wanted to do it justice. if you enjoy it, please don't be a silent reader - interact with the post and drop me an ask if it leaves you feeling things. I love to hear your thoughts!

_

several months ago.

"Nah, go on. I wanna know. if you could invite anyone to the bedroom, with or without me but with my permission, who'd it be?"

"Trent baby, you don't want to go there." you scoff and turn your attention back to your phone screen.

"I asked, didn't I?"

"It never ends well," you press. you've seen relationships disintegrate when a third has been brought in, and part of you is already wondering which of your female friends he's hinting for you to have join you both.

"well it's not going to happen is it? but I want to know."

you set your phone down and stretch your arms above your head as you look at him. "ok. I'll entertain you. male or female?" you ask, your eyes preparing themselves for the inevitable roll.

"male."

this has your heart skipping a beat as you take in his single word. "you'd share me?"

"I might not necessarily share you." he replies in a tone that's as casual as if he'd asked what the plan was for the evening dinner. "I said I might not be there, did I not?"

"are you asking if I've cheated?" there's an unsettling feeling in your stomach as you wonder just how far between the lines you're reading.

"I know you've not cheated. but you can't bring up the idea of free use and threesomes and not expect me to ask."

"you were the one who said you'd want to try voyeurism." you point out. "and why would I sleep with someone if you weren't there if you're pressing me for a threesome name?"

"just to see if that would change who you brought to the bed. stop trying to stall and buy time and just tell me."

he's sat as calmly as he was when discussing his own fantasies. when he was saying in detail how he'd be happy to have someone watching as the two of you licked, sucked and fucked your way to an orgasm. that he liked the idea of watching you be pleasured by someone other than him. this then lead you asking if this would be a threesome situation or a cuck-uation.

"friend or teammate?"

"either."

"premier league limited?"

"Oh, you've got an international list have you?" he laughs and sits forward to look at you.

"considering my options." silence follows as you begin to think who. "Starting with Liverpool. Virg could be interesting. but I feel that would be too predictable."

"would it?"

"fucking your captain? it's like fucking your boss for you so you can get a promotion." you say as you raise your eyebrow. "Dom could be fun." you say as you drum your fingers on your thigh.

"he could. why him though?"

"he seems sweet, there's a joyous innocence about him, he's easily pleased but I think he'd change in bed. I bet he's the one that needs to give. he's got a beautiful mouth, I reckon he knows what to do with it."

"I'm starting to think you would actually be up for it, and not just thinking out loud," he muses.

you know the answer, but to blurt it out would imply that you've given it far more thought than just tonight. "I'd definitely have to give it more thought, but it's not an instant no." you tell him.

"who else then?" trent asks, but as you begin to continue, you can see his thoughts are drifting.

_

Current day.

rain is pelting the windows with the force of hailstone and has been for the past few hours. the sky has been a blanket of black clouds, forcing the sun into hiding long before it set. your bags were soaked by the time you hurried from the car, and even though it took a while for your skin to dry off, your hair remains damp.

"I like that colour." Trent says as he sits back in the bedroom chair and watches as you get changed.

"it'll look better with heels," you remark and turn on the spot to search for the pair that you'd dug out for this reason. Your feet slip into them, boosting you a few inches higher but you immediately change your posture. you immediately feel sexier.

he's been in a ratty mood the last few days and as a way to make it up to you, he's given you his credit card and said no spend limit. with a few purchases at a coffee shop, more books to add to your bookcase overflow pile and a new aftershave for him, you decided to treat yourself to new lingerie.

this was where his card got abused. the two of you had discussed the idea of you being shared on other occasions, and so when you sent him a picture of the store you were going into along with the caption, "going pick out something for your teammate to take off", it wasn't out of the blue.

the store was mostly sophisticated and dare you say "posh", with beautiful pieces of soft fabric ranging from full cups and high waisted panties. towards the back of the store, you found more daring pieces which on a good day could be considered there scraps of leather and lace being showcased on a mannequin in front of a strictly 18+ section. a crop and paddle set fell into your basket while there, as well as clitoral suction toy, some body licks, flavoured lubricants and an ankle spreader.

you're trying to close the clasp on the last set of "normal" underwear when Trent begins to rummage through the rest of the bag. "baby..." he says in a quiet tone, the crop laid out across those long beautiful fingers of his, while the clitoral toy is cupped in his palm. he's about to say something else, when his attention drifts back to the bag. the items are bunched into one hand while he pulls out the set you were most excited to show him.

"I think some of this is missing." he comments, holding up the crotchless panties in front of him.

"That's the whole point of them," you say, snatching them out of his hand while you try to work out if you feel embarrassed or not.

"show me?" the look on his face is enough to make you not complain that he's barely appreciated the set you're currently wearing. he dangles the new one from the tips of two fingers and you wait until you're stripped naked before you collect them.

The bra covers you more than the pants do, with your full breast concealed but pushed up. the panties, for the most part, are there, but open up from your clit down to where your holes are. Trent says nothing as he waits for you to pull it all into the right place, adjust it where needed. He sits and observes. Or so you thought. it's not until you're about to ask him something that you spot the ripped open battery pack and notice the clitoral toy now placed on his knee. the ankle spreader lays at his feet.

you stand before him, neither of you saying a word as he drinks you in. his eyes drag over your body, lingering on certain parts of you than others before they finally come to rest where your thighs meet. slowly, you take a step back. and another one when he doesn't object. you keep going until the soft bedding touches the back of your thighs.

when he doesn't urge you to come back to him, you sit down, pushing yourself as far back onto it as needed before lifting up a foot, anchoring yourself in place with the heel and letting your legs drop open.

"fuck babe, you're making me want to throw my plan out of the window."

"I hope it didn't involve fucking me." you tell him, fingers trailing over your skin. they dance over your stomach, stroke up towards the cup of your bra and back down to the very edge of your barely there panties. you can feel the whisper of your touch at the skin just above where your clit peaks from your folds.

"why's that?"

"you've been in a foul mood. you don't get to touch me. yet anyway."

"do I not?"

you shake your head at him and continue to explore your body with your hand, resisting the urge to smile when he shifts in his seat and a swelling becomes painstakingly apparent at his groin when your fingers finally trace over the spot between your legs.

goosebumps slowly arise and you can feel your clit throb a little with anticipation as your fingers touch anywhere but the sensitive nub or wet hole.

your name falls from his tongue in a velvety tone, and his hands begin to leave the arms of the chair. "you move. I stop." you tell him.

"you're not in charge of this," he tells you, eyes now fixated on your face rather than your pussy.

"neither are you." you counter, two fingers parting your folds and rubbing over your slicked entrance before teasing with the lightest of probes. "do you like watching me, Trent?"

"yes." the single word is dripping with a need that you haven't heard for a while.

"why?"

"I love watching you receive pleasure."

"even if it's not from you?" you query.

he nods, eyes never moving from where they stare. not even when you whimper ever so slightly as a finger finally sinks into you. you're not as wet as you could be, but it's still early days and it's enough to lubricate you current movements.

"do you know how sexy it is to watch you like this?" he asks, attention still firmly between your legs.

"I could say the same for the way it feels to when you watch me," you confess, your finger entering you fully now in an even rhythmic pace. your mind is wandering off, conjuring up thoughts and images of the way he'd use the spreader and toy. you wonder how he'd use the toy. you wonder at what point he'd need to restrain your ankles, spreading open your legs with the sole intention of giving you as much pleasure as possible without you preventing him from doing so. consensually of course. Trent wasn't like that, unless you asked.

"interesting that we've established that I like to watch you be pleasured and you like to watch me watching you be pleasured."

"that's a whole lot of me getting off baby, and I'm here for it."

"c'mere." he says, gesturing you forward with two fingers.

you reluctantly pull your fingers from your pussy, climb from the bed and make your way towards him. he reaches out, grabs your wrist when in reaching distance, closes his eyes and sucks your slick coated fingers between his lips.

"so good," he comments, your two fingers still within his mouth. when he finally opens his eyes again, he pushes your digits from between his lips with his tongue and looks at you in such a way, you're seconds away from climbing into his lap and kissing him. "can I use your new toy on you?" he asks.

you don't reply, but you do nod your head and begin to straddle his thighs.

"no baby, I want your back to me." he says, placing his hands on your waist and physically turns you around himself. once you're facing away from him, he guides you backwards and sits you on his lap before spreading your thighs wide. "pass me the toy." it's not an ask but a command and you do so willingly.

he doesn't switch it on yet, but he does drag it over your thighs, down from your knee and up to your centre where he coats the suction part in your wetness. "is this what you had in mind when you picked this up?

you want to answer but he's circling your clit with it and each delicious round he makes, it's harder to focus on stringing together a sentence. you lay your head back against his shoulder and stare at the ceiling, not taking your eyes from the same spot as you just take in everything he's doing. you're so exposed, so laid bare for him to do with as he wishes that you can't begin to imagine how turned on you'll be when he does introduce the spreader bar if this is how you're already feeling.

"well?" he pushes for an answer.

"yes." it's all that you can manage when he quickens the circles, and though he still hasn't switched the toy on, you're close to reaching your climax.

"I love this." he whispers, "slowly unravelling before me." he nips at your earlobe, and presses the "on" button and your hips buck as pleasure surges through you. "listening to your sounds. feeling every shudder and tremble. god you're amazing when you cum." he places kisses over every inch of available skin as he speaks, his hand forces the toy against your clit to apply slightly more pressure and leaves you forgetting how to breathe. you can feel your wetness grow, pool at your hole and then the way it trickles from you as your climax finally hits. your body feels as though it's vibrating and your eyes struggle to stay open. everything within you feel alight and your toes curl from the intensity of it.

Trent lowers the toy and turns it off, leaving his hand covering the length of your pussy area as he just holds you there, lips grazing over your neck as you grind your ass against his cock. "what do you say? think she's pretty when she cums?"

your brows furrow and you pull a face as you try to turn to look at him. "oh, should she be speaking in third person now?" you laugh, watching as he ignores you, his attention elsewhere.

"he wasn't asking you."

your body tenses at the sound of another man's voice and your face snaps to the side to find the owner of it as your thighs clamp around his hand to try and save whatever scraps of dignity you have left.

he stands with his side pressed to the doorframe, his arms are crossed and he's dressed in simple, casual joggers and a plain tee. his feet are bare and there's nothing to indicate he'd got here in a hurry.

"Dominik." you whisper. the corner of his lips twitches and your core pulses at the sight of it.

"I felt that by the way." Trent whispers and your cheeks heat with shame, more so when you feel it happen again. "your clit literally throbbed at the sight of him."

"what are you..." you trail off, unable to finish asking your question as your rack your brain for answers.

"I thought you had something for me to take off?"

"I felt that too," comes Trent's voice and bites down on the shell of your ear as you grind yourself a little harder against him, making him groan with frustration.

"somehow, I don't think this is your colour." you find yourself quipping, thankful for the coverage that your boyfriend's hand is providing.

"and yet," Dom throws a cautious look over your shoulder to Trent, "I think you would be a perfect fit around me."

"that's presumptuous," you comment, feeling yourself growing wetter the longer he looks at you.

"do you want him to go?" trent asks, seriousness in his tone for the first time since you left the house this morning.

your mind is whirling. had he been setting this up for days? had he pushed for you to go out today to find a reason to get Dominik in secretly?

"fuck babe, you're making me want to throw my plan out of the window."

his sentence comes back to you from earlier and you feel your stomach drop, flip and rise into your throat all at once.

"you orchestrated this whole thing," you whisper to yourself and feel Trent grin as he tries to kiss your shoulder.

"say right now if you don't want this." Dominik says as he watches the two of you together. "you may have picked me but that doesn't mean you've said yes to me being here tonight." he says. there was something hot about him seeking consent before he does anything and though his words didn't sound it out, his eyes are pleading with you to let him have you.

"and if I say no?"

"I'll leave. it won't change anything."

"what will you do to me?"

"whatever you want me to."

"and you?" you turn your body to look at Trent.

"as long as you're getting pleasure, I'll take anything."

you weigh up their words, knowing that the decision is completely yours. you have two men here, willing to obey your every wish and that is fucking sexy.

you open your thighs again and splay your own over Trent's hand, forcing his middle finger to bend, tilting his hand this way and that until his fingertip sinks into you. you manipulate his finger in such a way that he gets the gist of what you're asking and slowly, he begins to thrust his finger in and out of you while Dom watches as you grind against his hand.

"do you like that?" you ask him, as you guide another of Trent's fingers inside of you. "watching as I fuck myself with your friend's fingers? watching as I fuck my boyfriend's fingers?" you add for emphasis.

"what man wouldn't?" his hand dips to bottoms, dragging his palm over the length of his cock which is pressing against the fabric. you couldn't say whether or not the whimper that comes from you is because of Trent rubbing his palm intentionally against your swollen clit or because of the way his teammate strokes himself before you.

"what would you like me to do to you Dominik? I can't see you've come all the way here just to watch me and perhaps take off my underwear."

"I'm happy with whate-"

"no. I want to hear it from you. what do you want?"

Dominik gives an almost nervous glance towards Trent, clearly not knowing how reality vs fantasy will play out before he licks his lips and says, "I want you to suck my dick."

"that wasn't so difficult now was it?"

"get on the bed," Trent whispers, "I want to eat your pussy from behind."

"you're going to be the death of me," you say as you turn enough to place two fingers beneath his chin and bring his lips to yours. he pulls his fingers from you slowly as he deepens the kiss, mixing his tongue with yours slowly, almost lovingly.

"can I touch you?" Dom asks. you hold out your hand, barely able to get more than a "yes" out before Trent is kissing you again. your fingers is met with Dom's hair, surprising you as you expected his shirt and you guide him to your body. Dom's lips kiss over your neck, his short facial hair scraping lightly against your skin as he begins a slow progression down to your breast. his fingers carefully tug your nipple free and within seconds his lips close around it, tongue sucking it further into his mouth.

Trent's wet fingers grip your waist as the other dry hand grips your hip, almost pinning you against him and within moments or minutes, who knows, Dom's own fingers are feeling their way up your thighs. it's impossible to focus on any one thing. whenever you relish the feel of the swipe of a tongue, fingers scraping against your skin or curling against your pussy distracts you.

"no, I need you on that bed." Trent groans as he breaks the kiss and tries to shift beneath you, his cock now painfully hard and in desperate need of friction of some kind to give him any kind of stimulation. Dom reads the situation well and moves away from you, leaving you feeling needy now you have little to no contact from either of them.

this time, it's Dominik who is offering his hands to you to help you to your feet and the short distance to the bed. heeding Trent's words, you position yourself near to the end of the bed to allow you to take care of Dom while still being comfortable enough for Trent to have his way from behind.

"Come closer," you encourage Dom, noting the way his eyes drag over the curve of your body as you lean forward on your knees, your ass high up in the air, the slope of your back down to where you rest on your elbows. he steps forward, cock twitching against his bottoms and you reach forward to palm him. "feel free to correct me at any point if this doesn't feel good." you say, making yourself comfortable as Trent climbs onto the bed.

Dom dips his hand beneath the waistband and pulls his cock free for you as he nods his understanding and steps towards you. he's within licking distance but you don't use your mouth just yet. Trent sits beside you, hands stroking idly over your inner thigh as he watches the two of you. your fingers run over the length of Dom's silky shaft and take in every inch, vein and curve of it to familiarise yourself. despite the rest of him being unapologetically wild, he's trimmed and maintained the hair at the base of his dick.

only when Trent's fingers lazily strokes over your pussy lips, dragging a single finger through them at times to touch your clit and soaked hole, do you lean forward ever so slightly to lick over the head of Dom's cock. there’s no hiss, no groan but you can hear the hitch in his breathing instead and you know that the teasing and build up has done its job. 

your tongue swirls around the tip, he tastes clean and of fabric softener. as you begin to sink your lips down, taking the head into your mouth, this is when Trent slips two fingers inside of you. there’s a soft whimper that sounds from you and as it vibrates through Dom’s cock, he gives the most beautiful whine in retaliation. 

with each bob of your head you take a little bit more within your mouth, your tongue swirling around his shaft and trying to taste every inch of him that you can. the groan that comes from Dominik only strengthens the urge to take him faster and deeper. you circle your hips, trying to pull Trent's finger within you.

"i need more Trent." you barely pull your mouth from Dom to utter the words before you're swallowing him back down. if you thought the noise he'd made previously was glorious, then the new one is downright sinful.

"fuck." Dom pants as he watches inches upon inches slide between your lips before coming back into view again. "the mouth on her."

"can't even take credit, can I babe?" Trent asks, removing his fingers and you feel the way the mattress dips and rises again as he moves position. "she's always been cock hungry and it shows." he says as he slaps the curve of your ass before spreading your cheeks apart. "fuck you look amazing like this."

there's no time to consider where he's going to press his mouth as you feel the wet lick of his tongue against your core, his nose pressing against your skin as he begins to lap at you and you feel your cunt tense and tighten as he pushes his tongue inside of you, as though your body is trying to beg him to fill you in some way.

you use your hand, putting your weight into your knees and other arm and elbow to use your fingers to stroke over the last couple of inches, while also palming Dom's balls in unison with Trent's mouth. Dom's head drops back and a long, drawn out moan fills the room as you take as much of him into your mouth and fight against the gag reflex while you hold him there, lodged between your mouth and throat until it feels like your lungs are burning from holding your breath but you don't give up until he throbs against the walls of your throat and he curses your name.

only then do you come back up for air, your breathing laboured as your chest rises and falls heavily with a long thin trail of spit dangling from your lips and leading to his dick which twitches before you. your vision begins blurring with every merciless flick of Trent's tongue against your swollen clit and the whimpers you make when he effortlessly slips two fingers in from tip to knuckle and curls them is heaven.

"open," Dom instructs after a few moments - or minutes who could tell at this point, and through hazy blinks, you see him cock in hand while he strokes over the length of it. if lusting after your boyfriend's teammate's cock was wrong, then you didn't want to be right. you lick your lips before swirling your tongue around every crevice within your mouth to wet it before complying. Dom runs the tip of it over your lips, applying his pre-cum to your bottom lip and you eagerly lick it off.

"never did I see myself here doing this, but fuck am I going to make it last."

"should I be insulted that you've not thought about me like I have you?" you ask before closing your eyes and biting down on your lip as you groan. these actions makes you miss the nervous glance that Dom looks to Trent's forehead and when he doesn't stop eating your pussy, he swallows before answering.

"not insulted," he circles your tongue with his dick, eye fixated on your mouth. "it's just not often you can mention how many times you've had a wank to the thought of your friend's girlfriend."

your eyes open wide as your lips seperate, your breathing now little more than pants as your orgasm begins to not only take form, but take hold. your stomach automatically tightens, your toes curl and as your thighs tremble, you feel your release.

only, Trent doesn't let up. whether this is because he wants to show Dom how he can make you feel, how he can make you come, how you respond to him or because he truly wants you to have a night to remember, you do not know. you can barely string a sentence together in your mind as your orgasm rolls into another effortlessly, let alone try and figure out your boyfriend's agenda.

Dom's hands feel for you, helping you to stay upright while the last of the tremors from your high pass. "you look so fucking gorgeous when you come." he says as Trent's fingers pull out of you, your wetness dripping down your inner thigh as a result.

"there's no need to lie, I'd have fucked you regardless." you tell him, earning you a real laugh. you feel Trent move behind you, slipping from the bed and hear the sound of drawers being opened and boxes being pulled apart. you're just turning your head when you watch as Trent's arm extends past you, a condom wrapper held out between two fingers.

he graciously accepts, taking no time to place the wrapper between his teeth and tearing it open as you sit back on your heels and watch as he rolls it down his shaft.

you catch Trent's movements in your peripheral vision before "he's right though," Trent's lips are at your ear, his words so quiet that only you can hear. "there's nothing sexier than watching you lose yourself in me."

you turn to look at him, really looking at him for the first time since Dom stepped into the room, and take him in fully. "how do you feel with this?" you ask him. "reality can be different."

"I'd have no issues with kicking him out if I changed my mind." he tells you and cups his hand at your nape and pulls you forward for a kiss. you can taste yourself upon his tongue but god do you need this. Dom is momentarily out of your mind as your attention is fully on your boyfriend. his hand stays at your neck while the other does everything he can to pull you flush to him. he strokes over your skin and kisses you like you're the only two in the room.

your own hand dips between you both, grasping his hard cock through his boxers. there's growing wet patch from where his pre-cum has soaked through, and for a second, you feel pangs of guilt for ignoring Trent's needs. A groan that rumbles through the both of you from him and instinctively you clench your thighs with want. he feels perfect, like his dick was made for you.

he kisses you with everything he has, pouring everything from this afternoon into it, letting you know just how turned on this whole situation has made him. once freed from his shorts, he bucks into the hand you've used to wrap your fingers around his shaft, envelope him into a fist with the right pressure that makes him begin to lose control. but it's when your thumb swipes over the very sensitive tip right now, Trent is not too proud to beg.

you break the kiss, not wanting to waste another second or more to not taste him. he's between your lips within seconds and this time, it's Trent's moans that reach your ears. you swirl your tongue around the tip before taking more of him within your mouth before repeating the process. he begins to meet you halfway, bucking his hips to thrust into your mouth far enough without making you gag. spit gathers in your mouth, pooling at the corners of your lips and dripping down your chin as he fucks your mouth. you try to keep your eyes on his face but it's not possible.

"I can't." he hisses as he slows his pace and pulls out of your mouth, his cock visibly twitching before you and his balls tighten. "I wanna finish inside you after. fuck you make it hard to stop."

he tucks himself away, the look on his face telling you that having to wait to finish is the last thing that he wants to do but the self restraint is impressive. you turn your attention back to Dom as he stands palming his cock in long, slow strokes and wipe the mess from your face.

"I can g-"

"no." both you and Trent say at once and any further protests he could have planned are stopped with the look upon your face. "unless you've changed your mind," you give him a moment to be able to back out now.

"I haven't." he shakes his head and his expression sets. "I just thought..." he shoots a look at Trent.

"when you stroked your cock, what did you think about?" you change the subject and reference something he'd eluded to earlier.

"you sucking my dick, sometimes I'd be eating your pussy and wondering how you'd sound. other times you'd be on top of me while I fuck up into you, watching as your boobs bounce."

"mmmm," you hum happily, "a favourite of mine. come lay down," you pat the bed beside you. despite the bravado you're giving, your heart hammers against your chest. you've not long since had this man's cock in your mouth and yet, the idea of having him inside you, deep inside your cunt, is something else. when you swallow, you push down the rising nerves and try to compose yourself. you want this.

but what if you're not goo-

no. you squash the thought before it can fully take hold and move before you can think your way out of this situation. you straddle Dom's waist, knees bent at his hips and feet resting beside his knees as your clit rests at the base of his cock which lays against his stomach.

"you look so pretty beneath me." you tell him, running your hands over his chest, down over his abs and resting on his waist with his cock in the middle of them. "how is reality treating you after fantasising about it?"

"it's making me wish I wasn't about to go back to just fantasising about this after tonight."

"sounds like another conversation for another day," Trent says as he takes a seat.

you walk your fingers over his stomach, smiling as he instinctively sucks in and watch as his cock twitches as you near it. you grip it at the base, admiring the fact that he's still so hard after being neglected for this long. lifting your hips, you scoot forward ever so slightly and begin to rub the tip of it up and down your slit - from clit to hole and back again.

when his breathing deepens, eyes locked between your bodies in anticipation of him slipping into you, you take your time to build the tension and when he finally enters you, you're tight around him. he cusses, head pressing into the duvet as he savours the first feel of you wrapped around him. you copy your actions from giving head, taking a few inches at a time, working your body to accustom his size and the way he reacts. slowly you move up and down until you finally take him all the way.

"you feel so fucking good," Dom hisses as you steady yourself, placing one hand on your thigh and the other on his stomach and only then do you begin to ride him. he watches, torn between your face and the way you sink down onto his cock. he watches as he spreads you open, as inches of him are taken with ease with only drips of your wetness remaining at the base of his cock.

his hands grip your waist, helping to build you up to a pace that he likes. feeling him slowly take control, urging you to fuck him the way that he enjoys is delicious. when you give well timed pussy clenches, his eyes damn near roll into the back of his head, his fingertips digging into your skin in such a way you kinda hope they'll leave some small marks to look at long after the feel of his cock inside of you has faded.

those beautiful soft brown eyes seem darker when he manages to look at you again, and there's something in his expression that has you amending your hand placements. he shifts himself slightly beneath you as you rise up above him and he begins to meet your movements, thrusting up inside of you until your own movements cease and he has full control over the depth and speed in which he fucks you.

one thrust bleeds into another to the point where you no longer know where one finishes and the next starts. his movements are fluid and effortless. when you arch your back, it changes the angle of your hips and in turn, the way he feels. when your bodies come together, there's slight friction against your swollen clit which makes your eyes flutter closed and there's a ghost of a stroke within you against where your g-spot is. your breathing comes out in little more than pants, whimpers abandon you and any other noises you could possibly conjure are fruitless.

your head dips back ever so slightly, your fingers find your nipple and you begin to roll and pinch until pleasure ebbs through you. you're concentrating on nothing more than the feel of Dom's cock thrusting into your soaked pussy that the strange sensation of something pressing against your clit confuses you for a second. you feel it before you hear it and opening your eyes becomes a struggle. through blurred vision, you see Trent beside the bed, arm extended as he holds the clit sucker against you. waves upon waves of pleasure crash through your body, heat builds up and spreads throughout your body like a wildfire. there's a tightening in your stomach that does so in such a way that it feels too much and not enough.

you're writhing above him, a pathetic cry comes from your lips and all you can do is hold onto Trent's arm and Dom's waist for dear life as you quake above him as the orgasm you were not anticipating wreaks havoc with your body. Dom snaps his hips quicker, chasing his own high now as you're still in a euphoric state, your climax lingering in ways you hadn't known before. the digging of his fingers into your hips and waist continues as Trent removes the toy from your clit, finally allowing you a moment's reprieve and with a series of Hungarian phrases in a deep grunt, he buries himself deeply within you as he finally comes. you can feel the way his balls twitch against your ass cheeks, and his cock throbs inside of you as he spills every last drop he can.

his eyes have a glazed look over them, his lips are parted and there's a slight frown upon his face as he tries to control his breathing. you can see the way his vision clears, his features soften and his mouth curves into a grin when he notices you watching him. unable to stop yourself, you gently push his hair from his forehead and lean down to press your lips to his in a quick but dare you even say meaningful kiss. a silent way of saying "thank you" of some sorts.

you lift yourself from him and begin to sit on the bed when you realise that Trent has other ideas. he pushes you backwards by your shoulders, his hands prizing open your legs before hooking under your knees and pulling you towards him so that your ass is close to the edge of the bed. he pulls his cock free once more, coats the head of it in your wetness before pushing all the way in. any brief feeling of sadness you may have had for the absence of Dom's cock is now out of your mind as Trent's fills you up.

he leans over your torso, lips locking around your puckered nipple and sucks it into his mouth. his tongue flicks and swirls against it like he had your clit as his cock pumps in and out of you with disgusting ease. your body is spent, there is no chance for another orgasm and yet your body is still heightened from everything. every nerve in your body feels as though it's singing for the encore; everything within you returning to normality at this familiarity.

try as he might to take his time, to savour reclaiming your pussy as his own, he's movements are like a man starved. he ravishes you in ways you could never have dreamt. there's little pain as he scoops an arm under your back, forcing you to arch your back, pushing your tit closer to his face as he continues to pound into you, needing to be as close to you as possible. your arms wrap around him, holding him in place as you feel the tell-tale frantic thrusts that signal he's close to finishing.

you feel it. the burst of warmth that fills you up as he shudders to a stop, your name dripping from his tongue in ways Dom couldn't. he slumps against you, mouth now peppering kisses over where he can reach - from one breast to the other, over your shoulders and up your neck until finally, his lips are on yours once more. his. you're his once more. it's only now that you realise that Dom is re-emerging into the bedroom. when he'd disappeared is beyond you, but he's tidied himself up and is clutching a damp wash cloth, a towel and a glass of water.

"I wasn't sure what kind of aftercare you both do, but it seemed like it was the least I could do." he says while he steps towards the bed and lays the towel down and hands you wet cloth which you dab over your face, relishing in the coolness against your hot skin. Trent slowly pulls out, ensuring that your legs are together before pushing your feet to his chest, lifting your lower half up to spread the towel beneath you. he then places his hands on your knees to spread your legs wide to marvel. you pat the damp cloth over your chest before placing it between your legs - much to Trent's clear dismay - and clean yourself up the best you can before your boyfriend takes it from you and finishes you off.

"oh baby," you say to Trent softly. "where do we go from here now?"

"that's for me to work out, and you to find out. but I think that this worked too well to stop here...."

[sineala]

Wanted to know if you're still watching baseball. I'm very excited, I'm going to go to an event where they'll be interviewing Sports New York director John DeMarsico!

I am indeed still watching baseball, and that is very exciting! Congratulations!

My favorite thing about baseball currently is that the internet seems to be dedicated, the past couple weeks, to bringing me amazing photographs of baseball players in mid-leap.

For example, here are Daniel Schneemann and Jhonkensy Noel of the Guardians making a catch at the wall together:

(My favorite fact about Jhonkensy Noel is that his nickname, for obvious reasons, is "Big Christmas." I am pretty sure those are Christmas-themed cleats he's wearing.)

And then, yesterday, the Giants swept the As in the, um, Whatever We're Calling The Bay Bridge Series Now, and the internet brought me this victory picture:

That is Willy Adames and Mike Yastrzemski jumping for joy.

I don't know that I have a favorite fact about Yaz, but last year the closed-captioning was so bad that I started keeping a list of all of the worst ways it spelled his name; I think my favorite was "Mike Insurance Key."

It's sort of hard to see it in the camera angle in the broadcast, but my favorite fact about Willy Adames is that, when Heliot Ramos got a walk-off Little League home run last month (definitely my favorite baseball thing so far this season), when he gets to third base, you can see Willy Adames leap out of the dugout and run the last ninety feet right alongside him and meet him at home. I think that's very sweet.

Anyway. None of that has anything to do with what you said. I just wanted to share.

[shivayagojo]

MONACO GP, stressed out

masterlist

avaflorence + lewishamilton

Team 44 is proud to announce a collaboration with Ava Florence in our next set collection. The set will feature 44 different statement pieces designed by Lewis Hamilton and Ava Florence, which will promote the 44x95 identity, as well as give young fashion designers a chance to blossom. We are super excited for the coming collection. Look out for more.

see comments below

user01: HELP— they're too iconic ✨ ↳user02: perks of being a 7x champion and a rookie sensation is you get unlimited swagger

user03: Seeing Hamilton and Florence collab was not my bingo list.

user04: SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY 💸 ↳user05: I'm going to be camping out on their website for this release to drop ↳user06: literally don't dare if it's gonna drain my wallet, it's Florence and Hamilton!

avaflorence: Kachow! ⚡️ ↳liamawson: Please have Lightning McQueen merch! ↳user07: not lawson 🤣 ↳user08: I can't tell who he's fangirling more for: McQueen or Ava.

oscarpiastri: Not sure if I'll ever get to wear them, but I'll purchase a few pieces. ↳avaflorence: You're literally the best! ↳user09: Oscar is Ava's biggest fan 🫢

user09: I love how Ava gets basically the whole post, but it's written from Team44 ↳avaflorence: tbf, it was my idea

youtube.com

Porsche F1 | 10 Questions With Ava Florence

"Hi everybody. I'm Ava Florence; I race for the Porsche Formula 1 something-something racing team and today we're doing 10 Questions With Ava Florence... which is me, by the way. In case you didn't catch that."

"HOW DID YOU GET INTO RACING?"

"My dad was a hobbyist racer. He drove motorcycles, not cars. So obviously he tried to get us into racing bikes, but me and my brother always liked cars. So one Christmas, he got us a Go-Kart. We could only afford one Go-Kart. So me and my brother would share it on the weekends and just race around this small street by our house. It was probably the coolest thing to six year old me, and that's when I fell in love with racing. I started karting in leagues and then moved up into racing series and the rest is history. My brother now races in F2, so that's cool... I'm still better than him. That hasn't changed."

"WHO WAS YOUR FAVORITE TEAM GROWING UP?"

"Ferrari. Growing up near Germany, everybody there was a Ferrari fan because of Schumacher and Seb. So, I also grew up a Ferrari fan. I loved watching them win, which wasn't a lot of times to be fair. But it was really nice to see the Ferrari flag being waved in Monza or something like that. Obviously now, my job is to make sure that doesn't happen. But like Seb said, 'everybody is a Ferrari fan.'"

"WHAT CHALLENGES DID YOU FACE AS A WOMEN IN MOTORSPORT?"

"A lot. I don't like getting too much into it, but it was much different than what my brother is going through. Sometimes it's drivers or somebody in the paddock who treats you differently. In some cases, I was denied participation in a racing series. But whatever it was, I always kept my head high because I knew I had people like my Dad supporting me every step of the way, and I didn't want to let them down by quitting. That's the one thing I don't want to be. A quitter. I'd rather try and fail, than be a loser who never stepped up."

"WHAT'S THE MOST STRESSFUL PART OF BEING AN F1 DRIVER?"

"Probably when you're not thinking about the race. You're driving 200+ mph and you have to think about the pitstop strategy, tire management, who's ahead, who's behind. Sometimes, you want to just stop thinking and drive."

"WHAT'S THE BEST PART OF BEING AN F1 DRIVER?"

"Definitely being able to travel to different countries and seeing the fans there. Back home in Belgium, I know the people there, and I know that they support me and cheer me on. But it's exciting to go another country like Australia or Italy and see people there support to you too. It makes you feel good knowing people across the world are cheering you on every race. So, I try to win every race for them."

"YOU HAVE A LONG FLIGHT AHEAD. WHICH TWO DRIVERS ARE YOU TAKING WITH YOU?"

"Probably Charles because he's easy to make fun of. Especially when I recite his memes to him. I've got like a whole collection on my phone. So, it's free real estate in his head. And then probably Max... because he'd start yapping when we run out of things to talk about. Maxsplaining. But I am worried by like hour two, I'm gonna start third-wheeling for these two."

"FAVORITE TRACK THAT ISN'T YOUR HOME RACE?"

"Probably Brazil. It's probably the perfect track after Spa. It's got fast corners, slow corners, perfect places to overtake. It's amazing on Saturday, but even better on Sunday. Plus, like home, it always rains there. Who doesn't love racing in the rain?"

"DRIVER YOU WOULD LIKE TO GO TO A PUB WITH?"

"Bwoah."

"WHAT IS IT LIKE MEETING THE DRIVERS YOU WATCHED ON SCREEN?"

"Weird, but also exciting. I went from correcting everyone by saying 'Sir' Lewis Hamilton to now calling him Lulu. It's amazing I get to be friends with these drivers. Also, Nando is just soft grandpa."

"HOW MANY RACES ARE YOU GOING WIN?"

"Hopefully all of them."

porschef1

Is it a good time to reveal that we have merch?

see comments below

user01: Porsche social media is just playing 4D chess ↳user02: how have they not missed on a single post? It's unfair 😩

user03: pls I'm going to be homeless if I keep spending more money on F1 merch ↳user04: already sold my kidney for this ↳user05: imagine wasting on your life in F1 merch (couldn't be me 👀)

scuderiaferrari: These aren't bad, but they would be better in red. ↳porschef1: Funny how one of your drivers was sporting one of these ↳user06: Not Lewis betraying the Scuderia for Ava already 😬 ↳user07: can't blame at all

scuderiaferrari: Porsche admin, a bet- if Ferrari wins, you wear our merch and we go on a date ↳porschef1: If Porsche wins, you wear our merch ↳scuderiaferrari: Deal. ↳user08: Are we interrupting something? ↳user09: weird way to propose, but you go ferrari admin

user10: Guys, I found the Ferrari and Porsche admins ↳user11: Don't be shy. Drop the @

AVA WISHED she could forgot the Free Practice Sessions. But she couldn't. It hadn't been that long since she raced in Monaco. Hell, she even won in tracks she's never raced in before. So, why was Monaco giving her hell? Consistently in the back of grid during FP1 and FP2, and crashing against the barriers in FP3. Worse, she called the circuit overrated. Perhaps this was karma. The curse of Monaco had split from Charles and crept over to her, tired of the disrespect. After rolling the car back in and settling down for Friday, she made the worst mistake she could: she opened social media. And she saw everything. The doubters, the haters, the naysayers finally had solid proof to call her out. They came out in full swing, like starved goblins seeing blood for the first time. Ava couldn't help but feel this was warranted. She could not keep up with the rest of the pack. It killed her inside.

f1

Fitted and suited for the Monaco Fashion show. It's all decided her on Sunday. Take your pick for Pole Position.

see comments below

user01: Leclerc broke his curse last year. It's time for back to back wins ↳user02: Don't know much P5 is gonna do for him.

user03: Tell me why Williams were in the top 10 during practice?? ↳user04: Cuz it's practice? Lmao itdoesn't matter in the race ↳user05: Latiffi flashbacks

user06: Florence finally stopped getting lucky 🤡 ↳user07: Oh boohoo. One bad race ↳user08: fr her streak is finally over ↳user09: Y'all said the same thing about Hamilton and looked what happened

          HAMILTON IS BACK ON TOP. That's a saying that millions of fans around the world were waiting to hear and once they came from Crofty's mouth, it brought cheer and joy to the stages of Monaco. What didn't bring them joy was their resident hero not being able to make Q3 after Antonelli's crash brought out a yellow flag and killed his qualifying. Ferrari wanted both men in the top 10, especially since both drivers have won this Grand Prix before. But now, their eyes were on Hamilton and ensure his victory. Better yet, Ava Florence was not there to steal pole. Well, not quite-

          AVA MADE IT TO Q3. She dug and crawled her silver Porsche to every next session. She knew her struggles, but it was easing. With every lap, every corner, she was learning the track all over again, trying to find the optimized line. But if anything added salt to her wound, both Williams made it into the top 10. WILLIAMS. Yet she, the championship leader, barely could?

"Hamilton is currently on pole and with three minutes to go, it looks he'll remain in pole. There's only one driver out on the track. Ava Florence. Her final lap. This hasn't been her afternoon. This hasn't been her track. Let's see what she makes of it today."

"Here we go, Crofty. Turn 1. Not the easiest of first turn. Be careful not to lock up. She doesn't. Now to Beau Rivage. Then onto Massanet... just get extremely close to the barrier and look at how close she gets. She's taking risks and, surely, she has to if she wants a shot at putting up a fight today at Monte Carlo. At Fairmont Harpin, down to 30 mph, the slowest corner in F1. Narrow. Tight. She gets out beautifully. To Portier and then down the tunnel. Crofty, she's doing wonderful."

"You would have a hard time convincing anyone that just ten minutes ago, this girl was struggling to make it into Q3. Look at how she's flying. Green sectors around. Through the Nouvelle Chicane. We saw Verstappen make up the time needed for pole here in 2023. Will 2025 be Ava's turn? Only time will tell. She slides beautifully through the Swimming Pool chicane. And just three more corners. La Rascasse and Anthony Noghes. Ava Florence, the championship leader, rookie sensation, cursed by Monaco, what time does she get today.... POLE POSITION! BY ALL ODDS, AVA FLORENCE HAS FOUGHT THROUGH THE CORNERS OF MONTE CARLO. AND ONCE AGAIN, IT WILL BE FERRARI IN DESPAIR AS AVA TAKES POLE POSITION FROM HAMILTON."

"That last sector was the closest thing to perfection I've ever seen. She gained tremendous time and I'm sure Hamilton is going to be have a hard look at the qualifying lap over and over again. How do you go from struggling in Q1 to pole position? Only Ava Florence knows."

HENRY And that is pole position for Sunday!

FLORENCE YES! OH MY GOD! YES! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

f1

Getting vintage with Ava Florence's pole lap in Monaco.

tagged: avaflorence

see comments below

user01: How on earth did she pull that off? ↳user02: I was watching qualifying Hamilton's in pole and then BAM 💥 ↳user03: because she's an icon

user05: The lap of the season! ↳user06: The lap of the decade ↳user07: The lap of the century ↳user08: The lap of F1 history

user09: RIP to yet another Hamilton pole 🪦 ↳user10: Hamilton leading the timing sheets gives Ava +10 attributes during qualifying

user10: She's winning the championship idc

MONACO GRAND PRIX STARTING GRID

AVA FLORENCE

LEWIS HAMILTON

SEBASTIAN VETTEL

CARLOS SAINZ

ALEXANDER ALBON

GABRIEL BORTOLETO

OSCAR PIASTRI

NICO HULKENBERG

LANDO NORRIS

MAX VERSTAPPEN

GEORGE RUSSELL

LANCE STROLL

LIAM LAWSON

FERNANDO ALONSO

CHARLES LECLERC

ANDREA KIMI ANTONELLI

OLLIE BEARMAN

YUKI TSUNODA

FRANCO COLAPINTO

ESTEBAN OCON

ISACK HADJAR

PIERRE GASLY

"Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the eighth round of the 2025 Formula 1 season and we are here in Monte Carlo for the Monaco Grand Prix. It just wouldn't be a Formula 1 season without coming to the beautiful streets of Monte Carlo. Saturday gave us a whirlwind of a qualifying, but first, let's a take a look at the track. 78 laps await us on a 3. 3 kilometer street circuit. We have one DRS zone located at the exit of Anthony Noghes and through the pit straight. And of course, the lap record set by Lewis Hamilton at 1:12. 909 in 2021. Joining me now is Martin Brundle."

"Yup. Just back from the grid. Exciting stuff to be shaping up. Monaco, as you know, not the easiest track to pass on. So, tire strategy is key here. All the teams, we're predicting, are one a one-stop strategy though there's debate on which one stop strategy is the best."

"That debate will be put to rest shortly as the drivers head out on their formation laps. Looking at the tire. All of the top ten drivers have to start on medium compound C4 tires. The bottom twelve have a choice to make as we see. Leclerc, Antonelli, and Ocon on the harder compound tires. Our pole sitter, Ava Florence, who had a shocking pole position lap yesterday leads back. I wonder how she'll cope with this situation. Monaco wasn't giving her the best of gifts. Though it did give her pole."

"As long Ava gets a good jump off the line, she'll have a relatively easy time staying in front thanks to the narrow track. Then again, safety cars are always an issue at Monaco. That would really makes pole position an unsettling feeling."

"Certainly, Martin as now the last of the drivers line up on the grid. Here we go. Round 8 in Monte Carlo. IT'S LIGHTS OUT AND AWAY WE GO! Hamilton is already gunning at Florence. Vettel is good off the line too. The two Williams behind. Close contact between Bortoleto and Piastri. Down they head to Turn 1. It's Hamilton so close to Florence- OH! THERE'S CARNAGE IN THE BACK! THERE'S SMOKE EVERYWHERE! WHAT HAS HAPPENED? Up ahead, Florence is still leading. It's yellow flags! And it's a catastrophic end to Esteban Ocon, Isack Hadjar, and Pierre Gasly's race. Hadjar and Gasly will fail to score points once again. And Ocon, after two brilliant races, will be knocked in the first lap."

"It looks like Gasly was trying to get past Hadjar, but he had just some sort of brake failure and rammed right into the back of the Racing Bull and that took out Ocon too. So, the safety car is deployed now. And that's going to help Florence just a bit because it means it cuts down the amount of the laps Hamilton has to gain her."

"But how many laps can you really survive with Hamilton chasing you down. You said, Martin, it is a tricky track to overtake on, but when you have someone as experienced and prone to winning as Hamilton, there's still going to be a shred of doubt in your mind as how you're going to keep your pole position."

LAP 7:

"After 6 laps behind the safety car, we're heading back to racing. Just to recap, Ocon, Hadjar, and Gasly are out of the race. So now we've got 19 cars running in the race. The safety car comes in and there's Ava Florence bunching up the pack. When will she go?... Now. Ava Florence is off. Good restart from her, covered quite a gap to Hamilton because now Vettel will be all over the back of that Ferrari. Behind, it's Albon and Sainz in a battle of their own. The two Williams who found themselves in the top 10 in Saturday scuffling. Out the Casino square the come and spiraling down the Fairmont Hairpin. And look at Vettel relentless on that Ferrari."

"Hamilton has two games to play now. Chasing Ava and defending against Vettel. Very tricky indeed. Behind the, Bortoleto and Piastri are in the same predicament. So, two exciting battles to look forward too."

HENRY We need to make these tires last as long as possible.

FLORENCE I don't think they'll go as long as you think, but I'll try

LAP 14:

"At the Nouvelle Chicane, Leclerc is going to be looking to make his move. He's been hounding Alonso for the past few laps, and now he's got his nose alongside the Aston Martin. They're side by side through the chicane - Leclerc on the inside, Alonso giving him just enough space. And Leclerc's through! Brilliant move from the Ferrari driver, who's now up to 14th place!"

"That's vintage Leclerc, isn't it? He's always been a master of these streets, and he's showing why once again. But he's not done yet - he's already closing in on Lawson ahead. Lawson did not get the gap to Alonso he wanted and he's going to pay for it because Leclerc is charging. He's about 1.6 seconds faster than Lawson."

LAP 28:

"Verstappen has been all over the back of Norris for the last few laps. He's getting a bit angsty now, isnt' he? He's trying to squeeze through on the inside at Hairpin! That's tricky to pull off. Norris is holding his line - oh, they've touched! Verstappen's front wing has clipped Norris's rear tire. That is not good for the Red Bull. That looks like major damage.

VERSTAPPEN I've got damage! This idiot!

GP Box immediately, Max!

"Verstappen's going to have to pit for a new front wing. That's a disaster for Red Bull, he'll be dropping well down the order. Norris seems to have escaped unscathed, but race control will surely be looking at that incident."

"Definitely. That looked like Norris just went a tad too far inside to squeeze out Verstappen. Seems dangerous if you ask me so let's see what the stewards think of it."

LAP 35:

"Sebastian Vettel is the first of our frontrunners to pit! The Porsche team has executed a flawless stop, but he's rejoining behind both Williams cars. That's going to be a tough ask for Vettel to get back on the podium."

"Meanwhile, at the front, Florence and Hamilton are still going strong. Their engineers told them to push for five or so more laps. It's becoming a game of tire management. Hamilton is pushing hard, trying to force Florence into a mistake or early pit stop. But the young Belgian is holding firm, matching Hamilton's pace lap after lap. Hamilton is just a tad bit faster, but not enough for overtaking."

LAP 42:

"Florence is in! Ava Florence pits from the lead. It's a clean stop, but will it be enough? Hamilton stays out, pushing hard on his worn mediums."

"And there's the call - Hamilton is in on the very next lap! It's going to be close as he exits the pit lane. Florence is charging down the start-finish straight, and... Hamilton just about gets out in front! But Florence is right on his gearbox as they head into Sainte Devote!"

LAP 43:

"Hamilton is in the pits - My goodness that was fast. Just what he needs because he didn't quite build enough of a gap to Florence. He's wobbling out the pitlane. There's Ava Florence. We can see her coming now. Is Hamilton ahead? He takes the safety road out... He's ahead! Oh the overcut worked for Ferrari. Hamilton will remain the lead!"

FLORENCE F***!

HENRY Don't worry about it, Ava. We still have a chance.

"A chance she does, but how big of a one?"

"Florence is all over the back of the Ferrari through Sainte Devote. She's going to get DRS on this lap. The gap is mere inches."

LAP 47:

"Florence gets a great run out of the tunnel. Look at that slipstream. Pulls alongside into the Nouvelle Chicane. Leclerc got the overtake done here before. But Hamilton holds the inside line firmly! Hamilton, the seven time champion, showing the rookie all his experience. She took the win from in Imola. He won't have that again."

"Is Hamilton's pace dropping though? We're seeing that Florence is three tenths faster on every lap. So, maybe the hard tires on Florence are more up to temperature than Florence or she's just managing them better."

LAP 50:

"Ava Florence just sets the fastest middle sector of the Grand Prix. She's flying out there in P2 and I'm sure she has plans to get into P1. Look at how she's just sticking to Hamilton. There's a lot of downforce here and she's using that her absolute advantage. She's on his gearbox! And oh- That could've been a disaster for both drivers."

"Florence had to lift off to avoid a collision at Rascasse. That was a good reaction. But you're right Crofty. That could've been race ending for both drivers. At this stage of the Grand Prix, you don't want that."

LAP 58:

"Florence goes around the outside at Casino Square. They're side by side, literally inches apart! What will Hamilton do? Hamilton just edging ahead as they spiral down to Mirabeau. The crowd is absolutely electric! INCREDIBLE MOMENT!"

"These are the moments that define careers. Florence is showing she's not just here to participate - she's here to compete. She just does not care if that's Hamilton in Monaco. She's just going go for it every time. And that's exciting for us race fans."

LAP 67:

"Hamilton's defending like a champion now. Florence is trying everything - left, right, probing for any weakness. Through the tunnel they go, and she's right on his tail! Braking for the chicane - OH! Hamilton with an impossibly late brake. Florence has to yield!"

LAP 73:

"Florence is still desperately hunting for a way past Hamilton. The race is in it's closing stages. They're climbing up the hill towards Casino Square, Florence getting a great exit from Massenet. She's closer than ever! Through Casino Square they go, Florence is right on Hamilton's gearbox. OH MY GOODNESS, SHE'S ALONGSIDE! Florence has the outside line, she's inching ahead! Down they plunge towards Mirabeau, neither driver willing to give an inch. Hamilton's trying to squeeze her to the inside, but Florence is having none of it. They're wheel-to-wheel, you could barely fit a sheet of paper between them!"

"She's picking the most tricky parts to overtake as Into the hairpin they go, still side-by-side!"

"What are we watching here Martin? Florence on the inside now, Hamilton trying to hang on around the outside. She's got the line. Can she get the position? OUT OF THE HAIRPIN, AND FLORENCE IS IN FRONT! SHE'S DONE IT! Ava Florence has taken the lead with just five laps to go! What a move, what a drive! The crowd is on their feet, the Tifosi are losing their minds!"

"Florence has done it! She's in clean air now, and if she can hold on for five more laps, we could be witnessing one of the great Monaco victories! Pole position by a near impossible lap, and now a near impossible overtake to win."

FINAL LAPS:

"And here we go, into the final three laps of this Monaco Grand Prix! Ava Florence leads, but Lewis Hamilton is not done yet. Hamilton's got a phenomenal exit out of Rascasse. Florence weaving, trying to break that tow. Hamilton's looking left, looking right, but Florence positions her car perfectly into Sainte Devote. Brilliant defensive driving!"

"If you told me that this was the driver struggling during Free Practice and Q1 and Q2 on this track, I would ask you to see a mental hospital. This is just superb driving. I know we aren't supposed to be biased towards a driver, but I think we're all really rooting for Florence to win this."

"What's that thing Sebastian Vettel once said? 'Everybody is a Ferrari fan.' Well, everybody is an Ava fan. Hamilton is throwing everything at this! But Ava is not letting up. He's all over the back of Florence through Massenet, through Casino Square. Down to Mirabeau they come, and HAMILTON'S GOING FOR IT! He's diving to the inside! He's going for the same move Florence did on him. Florence sees him coming, leaves just enough space. They're side by side through the hairpin! Florence hangs on, incredible stuff!"

"I think Florence knew that move was coming mostly because she did the same thing to him. She was like 'No, thank you. I know how to defend this.'"

...

"Florence leads by just half a second as they cross the line. Hamilton's pushing hard, he's gaining through Massenet, through Casino Square. He's lightning quick on those corners. They dive into the tunnel, Hamilton's right in Florence's slipstream! Out of the tunnel they come, Hamilton tries to go to the outside into the Nouvelle Chicane. Florence defends brilliantly! Through the Swimming Pool complex, Rascasse, Florence is holding on! Porsche pit crew holding on their seats. Final corner, Anthony Noghes, Florence gets a perfect exit! Down the straight they come, Hamilton's trying everything, but IT'S NOT ENOUGH! AVA FLORENCE WINS THE MONACO GRAND PRIX! What a drive, what a race! Florence takes her maiden Monaco victory by just three-tenths of a second! Incredible scenes here in Monte Carlo!"

"These are the kinds of drives that make you realize that a driver is truly special. I can't imagine the weight of the expectations on her head. First female driver, driving for a new team, rookie, and leading the championship. And to pull a performance like that is just absolutely brilliant."

HENRY That was the Grand Prix of a life time!

FLORENCE YEAH! F*** YES! OH MY F****** GOD! WOOH!

MONACO GRAND PRIX RESULTS

AVA FLORENCE (+25) LEWIS HAMILTON (+18) SEBASTIAN VETTEL (+15) CARLOS SAINZ (+12) ALEXANDER ALBON (+10) GABRIEL BORTOLETO (+8) NICO HULKENBERG (+6) OSCAR PIASTRI (+4) LANDO NORRIS (+2) MAX VERSTAPPEN (+1)

GEORGE RUSSELL CHARLES LECLERC LIAM LAWSON FERNANDO ALONSO ANDREA KIMI ANTONELLI LANCE STROLL OLLIE BEARMAN YUKI TSUNODA FRANCO COLAPINTO

ESTEBAN OCON (DNF) ISACK HADJAR (DNF) PIERRE GASLY (DNF)

f1

Monaco winner Ava Florence has a nice ring to it.

see comments below

user01: HOLY SHIT SHE DID IT! ↳user02: RAAH AVA FLORENCE FOR WDC!!

user04: Only a rookie and already producing some of the greatest wins in F1 ↳user05: She somehow made the Monaco GP watchable ↳user06: She's definitely going to the wind the championship 💯

porschef1: @/scuderiaferrari ur turn ↳scuderiaferrari: But... Hamilton was second? ↳user07: Omg pls post the pictures of the bet

user07: Ava + Hamilton + Vettel + Willaims in the top 10 ↳user08: I think I'm in some alternate universe cuz wtf was this? 😆

williamsracing: What about us? ↳user09: You were amazing! Vamos Sainz 🫶

avaflorence

Sorry for calling you overrated Monaco.

see comments below

user01: No YOU made Monaco watchable this year! ↳user02: That overtake on Hamilton was CRAZY

user03: It's confirmed — you're going to win the championship ↳user04: 4 wins alr is crazy

sebastianvettel: We told you got this. Congrats 🎉 ↳avaflorence: Thank you Papa Seb🙏 ↳fernandoalonso: Hey, don't forget about me. ↳avaflorence: Yes yes u were great to Sigmando Alonso ↳user05: lmao what is this family tree? 🤣

porschef1: Thank you for helping me win the bet ↳avaflorence: Ur cheating one me tho 😡

scuderiaferrari + porschef1

[Text]: Compromised

↳user01: SO PRETTY 😍

↳user02: Its a good day to be a Ferrari and Porsche fan

↳avaflorence: ur cheating on me ↳porschef1: luv ya too 🥰

WORLD DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP

WORLD CONSTRUCTOR CHAMPIONSHIPS

taglist: @freyathehuntress @allthings-fandoms

[xoxobuckybarnes]

April 2025 Reading List

Complete

The First Rule of Book Club (series) by Deisderium

The First Rule of Book Club Is You Absolutely Talk About Book Club (Rated: T, Words: 4K) Summary: The first man to participate in Janelle's book club is a very shy long-haired guy who's probably a vet, given the prosthetic arm. She really wants the book club ladies to be his friend, and is delighted when he invites his tall blond--friend? Boyfriend? to come to book club too.

We All Have Our Demons (Rated: T, Words: 1K) Summary: Bucky has some additional thoughts on The Demon's Lexicon that he didn't share with Book Club, so he tells them to Steve instead.

Every Man of Us Is an Island, but Some of Us Bring Lifeboats (Rated: T, Words: 1K) Summary: Bucky reads a romance. Falling in love looks easy when it's someone else.

Is This A Kissing Book (Rated: T, Words: 1K) Summary: Bucky invites Steve to Book Club and they watch a movie.

Frankly, It's a Travesty If You Don't (Rated: T, Words: 2K) Summary: Bucky and Steve watch Fantasia, and Bucky uses his words.

All Wars Are Inherently Uncivil, and Yet We Soldier On (Rated: T, Words: 12K) Summary: Life's been pretty good since Bucky moved to a small town, went to therapy, joined a book club, and got together with Steve. Then some asshole frames him for blowing up the UN in Vienna.

In the Dark, Light A Candle (Rated: G, Words: 1K) Summary: Janelle takes Bucky to Zumba at their local Jewish Community Center.

It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (Rated: E, Words: 30K) by deepspaceprincess / @deepspace-princess & art by esaael

Summary: When Steve moves in next door to Bucky and his family, it throws Bucky's comfortable reality for a loop. Steve shakes up Bucky's belief that he needs to dedicate his life to his family and Bucky's family seems to think that's good for him. As much as Bucky fights back against the pull he feels to Steve, he can't win when his family is doing their best to push them together.

WIP

Shake the Frost (Rated: M, Current Words: 113K) by everylonelymonster

Summary: After the events of CA:TWS, Steve Rogers moves back to Brooklyn in the hopes that Bucky will follow him to their old home. He never expected his plan to work, and definitely didn’t expect it to work this fast. Bucky shows up on his doorstep a week after the move, disoriented and confused but trusting Steve to help. With Bucky wanted by every major intelligence agency, world government, and HYDRA, Steve decides to do something unexpected: tell no one he found Bucky. Just how long can he keep the ex-assassin’s presence, and his growing feelings for his best friend, a secret?

a league of our own (Rated: E, Current Words: 35K) by burning_brighter / @burnin-brighter

Summary: Steve's sixteen-year-old son's one and only dream is to play in the Major League. He thinks he has a shot when the team get a new coach, retired MLB legend and Steve's high school crush, Bucky Barnes. Steve hasn't thought of the man in many years, but seeing him brings back many memories that push Steve to reach out to an old friend and maybe make new ones on the way. What happens when Steve gets to know Bucky properly? What happens when they open up about their darkest secrets and deepest fears? There's really only one thing that can happen.

[lucy90712]

Something about reader giving birth ? Like Pablo in the delivery room

"Hey amor I'm home are you doing ok?" Pablo asked as soon as he entered the front door 

"I'm still very pregnant so make of that what you will" I said 

"No signs of labour then?" He asked 

"Literally nothing I don't think she wants to come out" I said 

"She will come when she's ready but at least I'm back now so I will be here when you do go into labour" he said 

"But you still have training" I said 

"I know but I've been giving my phone to one of the trainers so if you need me just call and they'll give it to me and I can come straight home ok I will be here I promise" he said 

"Good because if you aren't I'm going to kill you" I half joked 

He sorted out all of his things from the teams away game before he came back and sat with me on the sofa which is where I've spent most of my days for the last few weeks because I can't do much else. The last month of my pregnancy has been tough everything hurts and I can't walk to the kitchen without being out of breath so I'm ready to be done with pregnancy but this baby doesn't want to come out. My due date was four days ago so when Pablo went away for their champions league game I was worried I'd have the baby with him gone but she's determined to stay in there forever it seems. 

After watching me struggle to get up and seeing how out of breath I was by the time I got back from the bathroom Pablo suggested we try a few things to help induce labour. He looked up a list of things to try most of which didn't sound like fun but honestly I'll try anything to help get this baby out of me. We decided to combine two of the things together and walk to the store down the street to buy spicy foods and I'm going to curb walk the whole way there and back. It took way too long to get to the store but once we got there we bought the ingredients to make something really spicy for dinner and we got chillies for me to just eat. Then we started the long walk home to rest as I'm exhausted now. 

Pablo made dinner after I'd had a nap and he made sure to cut up plenty of chilli to put on the top of mine. If I didn't tell him to do it then I'd definitely think he was trying to kill me as it was so spicy but hopefully it will do the trick if not this was not worth it. I did have some ice cream after which helped with the spice but my mouth was still on fire. For the rest of the evening we just relaxed on the sofa until we were both tired and needed to get to sleep. 

~~~~~~~~~~

Pablo's alarm rang at just gone 6am like it always does but I was already awake which has been a trend the last few weeks although today I've been awake pretty much all night with cramps in my lower back and stomach but that's all it was just come cramping. I thought about telling Pablo but I didn't want him to miss training for no reason so I just let him get up and help me out of bed like he does every morning. He got ready for training and made breakfast for both of us which he's got better at now that he doesn't let me do anything other than what is completely necessary. Just like every morning he kissed me goodbye and said goodbye to the baby with a hand on my bump and a promise to be home soon. 

Once Pablo left I didn't do anything I didn't even move as the cramps hurt when I move but eventually I had to get up as the need to pee was too strong. On my way back from the bathroom  there was a sudden rush of liquid running down my thighs which I knew straight away was my waters breaking but I tried to tell myself that it wasn't as now that it's happening I'm not sure that I'm ready to give birth. The the first contraction hit and I had to grab onto the nearest wall as they were more painful than I was anticipating but still I decided not to call Pablo as it's not like I'm going to have the baby anytime soon and I can't drag him away from training when nothing is going to happen for hours. 

I tried my best to just breathe through the contractions but they were more painful than I had expected. The midwives told me that as my labour progressed it would get more painful and if that's true I'm not sure that I can do it as I'm already in a lot of pain. The only saving grace is that the contractions are still quite far apart so I have time to recover in between. Each time a contraction hits I pick up my phone to call Pablo but I haven't done it yet. Every time I stopped myself thinking that I didn't need Pablo with me until it was more intense but the more I thought about it the more I realised that I'm scared and in pain and I need him by my side so who cares if he misses training if he can't miss training for this then when can he. I that's when I made my mind up and picked up my phone to finally call him.

"Hola" the man in the other side of the phone said 

"Can you hand the phone to Pablo please?" I asked 

"Hey amor are you ok?" Pablo asked after a minute or so 

"My waters broke and the contractions hurt so please come home" I said 

"I'll be there as soon as I can just hold on love" he said before hanging up 

He made it home in record time mainly because he didn't change out of his training kit. I appreciated his urgency to get home but he was all sweaty so I made him shower quickly before he could be by my side. When he came back he sat right by my side and grabbed my hand which instantly made me feel better as I'm not alone anymore. He made sure I had everything I needed he got me some water and some snacks to keep my energy levels up but most importantly he let me squeeze his hand every time I had a contraction. Having him there was nice but it didn't detract from the pain, Pablo even asked if I wanted to go to the hospital to get some help with the pain but I told him they wouldn't admit me with my contractions still being so far apart so I'll have to suck it up. 

Pablo did some quick research on what can help with the pain so he got me walking around as much as I could and he found an exercise ball that he had in his home gym for me to bounce on. He tried to massage my back and shoulders to help relieve some of the tension in hopes that would help with the pain but none of it did. My pain tolerance is pretty high but the longer this goes on the more even the slightest pain seems to hurt which definitely isn't a good sign for when the real pain hits. 

"We're going to the hospital I don't care if they don't want to admit you you're in pain and I'm not just going to sit here and watch you be in this much pain" Pablo said 

"Ok but first we have to check the car seat is in properly I don't want the nurses to think we’re bad parents when we leave and the car seat isn't right" I said 

"Of course I'll check it now and put your hospital bag in the car then I'll be right back to help you to the car" he said 

"You're the best" I said 

True to his word he was back quickly to help me walk to the car where I made him promise to drive more carefully than he usually does as I'm not going over the bumps in the road at full speed while mid contraction. He did his best to drive quickly to get us to the hospital in good time but also drive carefully which isn't his strong suit but he did his best. He's already been practicing driving in a safer way so that when we have the baby in the car he isn't trying to speed down every road and he's been doing better. Pablo has done a lot of things to prepare for the baby he's been reading parenting books and he's been to baby classes with me to help us prepare for the birth and having a newborn. We even went to a class that taught us how to do cpr on the baby in case of an emergency which was Pablo's suggestion. Watching him try so hard to learn and be better for the baby just reaffirms to me that he's going to be the best dad. 

We arrived at the hospital and to my surprise they admitted me straight away as it's my first baby so they want to be able to monitor me. We got given a room then so many people came in and out to introduce themselves and to set me up to different monitors one for the baby's heart rate and one to measure my contractions plus a few others that I don't know what they do. They also checked to see how dilated I was and I was only 3cm which really made it feel like there's a long way to go. 

Time seemed to go by so slowly every hour the nurses came to check on me but my labour wasn't really progressing it took 4 hours for me to get to just 5cm. They have offered me the epidural but so far I've refused as I know that I can't walk around once I've had that and it's not guaranteed to last as long as my labour does and I can't go from no pain to a lot of pain I think that will make it worse. Pablo has been really great at encouraging me he keeps telling me that I'm doing a great job and that once this is all over we'll have our baby girl and that's been helping me not have a breakdown. He hasn't left my side apart from to go and get the food he ordered for us which only took him a minute and he's been doing everything for me like if I need some water he's got my water bottle in his hand if I need a distraction he's got a show pulled up on my laptop. 

Eventually it got dark outside and we were still in the hospital not really any closer to this baby arriving. I'm so incredibly tired but I know I'm not going to be able to sleep with the pain so really its a vicious cycle as each contraction tires me out more but they are stopping me from getting some rest. I'm physically tired but I'm also mentally exhausted I didn't realise it would take so much out of me but I'm just so drained that this is starting to feel like I'm climbing a mountain I'm never going to be able to reach the top of.

"You need some sleep love" Pablo said 

"I know but the pain is keeping me up" I said 

"Is there anything I can do to help?" He asked 

"Not really but I'll be ok just make sure you get some sleep when she is here I need you to have had some sleep because I'm going to be exhausted" I said

"Promise you'll wake me if you need anything" he said 

"I promise" I replied 

Pablo can sleep through anything so once he was asleep I was able to get up and walk around or watch something to entertain myself as the hours ticked by. The nurses kept coming in to check on me too and luckily I was actually progressing so it's less likely that I'll need any medication to speed things up or a c section which is great as I really didn't want a c section. At the shift change early in the morning my midwife came in and she stayed to talk with me for a bit which was a nice distraction from the pain and Pablo's snoring. Once she left I waited until the sun came up before I woke Pablo up who was very startled but ready to go which made me laugh until he realised that I wasn't actually ready to push and just wanted some company and he settled down again. 

A few more hours went by but after a full 24 hours of labour I was ready to push. Knowing that should've been a relief but I'm so exhausted that I don't think I've got any energy left in me to be able to push. While all the bourses and doctor got ready all I did was break down in tears at the thought of the pain and the exhaustion I'm about to go through. 

"Whats wrong amor?" Pablo asked 

"I can't do it" I said 

"Don't say that you can do it I know it's been a long night but you've got this I'll be by your side the whole time and just remember once you do this she'll be here and we can hold her and love her" he encouraged me 

"But I'm so tired I don't think I have it in me" I said 

"You can do it once this is all over you can sleep for as long as you want we don't have to have anyone come if you just want to sleep but you can do it the adrenaline will kick in and you'll be able to do it" he said 

He gave me a quick kiss before the nurses all came back in and it was time. They gave me instructions to follow so I did exactly what they said and pushed when I felt a contraction. My god did it hurt though it was so hard to think about anything other than the pain but I powered through. The only thing that distracted me from the pain was yelling at Pablo about how this is all his fault and that he did this to me which isn't true we agreed to have a baby it was a joint decision but it made me feel better so I kept yelling at him. Pablo kept whispering encouraging words into my ear as I yelled at him knowing I didn't really mean it because I don't. 

Soon enough the nurses told me I just needed to push one more time and they weren't lying after one more push the sound of our baby crying filled the room which made me cry from a mixture of joy and exhaustion and maybe some other emotions but I can only deal with that for right now. Pablo cut the cord before the nurses handed me the baby and I got to look at her beautiful little face for the first time which only made me cry harder. That's when I looked up at Pablo only to see him crying too as he reached down to touch our little girls face and stroke her cheek. 

"I can't believe she's ours" I said 

"I know she's so beautiful just like her mama" Pablo said 

"I'm glad I did just carry her for 9 months and push her out my body I'd be a little offended if she didn't look at least a little bit like me" I said 

"You did so great I'm so proud of you I can't thank you enough for giving me the best gift in the world" he said 

"I'm just glad it's over now" I said 

"And I'm going to be treat you like a queen for the rest of eternity but especially now" he said 

"Thank you but right now I just want to sleep" I said 

He took the baby from my arms and gave her to the nurses to do all the necessary checks then he stayed by my side to stroke my hair until I started to fall asleep which is when he promised that he'd look after the baby and that he'd wake me if he needed me which is what I needed to hear to finally drift off to sleep. 

[astracora]

EVER's Tool - Chapter 2

Characters: Poly!LADs x gn!mc (MC POV/Sylus POV/Zayne POV), Caleb x gn!mc

Warnings: Hurt/No Comfort, Angst, Talk of EVER Experiments and Torture, Violence, Gore, Spoilers for multiple anecdotes and all current story.

Word Count: 11028

Written: 28th January 2025

Notes: Established-relationship with gn!MC with all LADs, with my personal pov of the game and lil headcanons littered in. Unnamed MC, but using my personal MC's basic appearance and adjusted backstory. I take some liberties with what the game offers me. This took me too long, and then Caleb was released, and then I fell into the pit. Anyway, here we go. Chapters for this are gonna be way slower cause for some reason I made em... longer??? I dunno why I did this but hey. Anyway, um... enjoy?

Now Playing: As We Fall, by League of Legends

Masterlist AO3

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It is in one of the old labs, where Raincoat finds you later, as though he'd been looking for you.

He watches for a moment as you sit against a wall, hand extended out in front of you. Clenching the segmenting fingers, over and over. Trying to seek something out, you're just not sure what. Like there should be something there, grounding you.

"You good there?"

"Fine." You exhale, turning sharp eyes to him, as he raises his hands in mock defence.

"Hey, don't give me that look, I came to chat."

"I don't recall us being friends."

He bears a title like yours. You know that Raincoat is just a pseudonym, passed down. You don't know how many there have been, but he's certainly not the first. He definitely won't be the last. Until EVER no longer need killers at their beck and call, there will always be a Raincoat.

You do wonder, however, why they choose that name for his ilk. Was it a fashion favourite of the first one?

Easy to wipe blood off, you suppose.

You've never asked his name, you've never wanted to know. If anything happens, and he ends up on the list, it's easier if he's just another face. Someone whose history you don't know. Someone whose face gets lost in the static.

"Come on now, you're always such a grouch." He sits on the table in front of you, and that smug irritating smile ticks at the corner. It overlaps for a second, sharp canines, before it shatters. "I just wanted to ask if you'd dealt with the doctor yet."

"I don't fail my missions, Raincoat. Are you here just to ask stupid questions?"

"I told you, I came to chat. You're the most fun person to talk to in this place. Everyone else doesn't like bloody hands."

You snort despite yourself. You think of all the scientists with their sins on their shoulders, and the fear and dislike in their eyes when they see you or Raincoat. Like their torture is more palatable than your killing.

As though there aren't dead children in the shadows of EVER's growth.

"The feeling isn't mutual." You respond, but ease a little. Raincoat can't be trusted, he's manipulative, a trained liar, and he wants others to think him a fool. Still, if you keep an eye on his hands, you doubt you'll need to look too hard for a dagger coming.

Afterall, if you fail, someone like him will be sent for you, then after the doctor.

'Darling'

"Ouch, one day you'll want to talk to me."

"If that day comes, we have bigger problems to worry about."

He laughs but it's an empty, cool gesture. A feeling that holds no weight, that does not matter. Like so many feelings you experience in this place. Like everyone is behind a wall, and you're watching. Seeking something out. Something genuine.

"Look, I just wanted to know if you'd come across him yet-" Warm forest eyes, tears glimmering in them, wavering on the edge, "'cause I've run into him before."

"You have?"

"Yeah, they've had me keep an eye on him. Along with that scientist they keep sending to talk to him. Carl? Cartier? Whatever his name is, an old friend. I dunno why though, the guys never gonna convince Li to join."

You keep hearing it. He won't join, he won't join. Why wouldn't he join? Why would he suddenly join them now?

"What do you know about him?"

"Come on now, Unicorn, information is expensive."

You lean forwards, stretching claws out and glint sharp edges at the man, who raises his hands again. His laugh is still empty, but it verges on unsure. Like he isn't ready to test if you'll use it.

You don't want him to know you won't, not if you don't have to. Not unless the noose pulls around your throat.

"You really are their favourite hunting dog aren't you? Some people skills could go a long way."

"Like you? Smiling like a serpent in the grass? I don't need to lie to my targets. I just need to get rid of them."

"I bet holding your chain is a rough ride, do you often bite the hand that feeds you too?"

You want to cut his throat open, it is a clawing need at the bottom of your gut. Every EVER dog that pretends you're the only pet kept. Like he isn't aware that when his value runs dry, he will be put down, or left chained in a kennel in the cold until it claims him. You wonder if they're all so unaware of their lack of value. That a bottom line and a higher goal are all that matter. That whoever hands down your orders, is probably just as expendable.

You don't know what EVER want, they would never bother to tell you. You've heard stories, immortality and overwhelming power. You think it must be like every other organisation with more money and status than they know what to do with.

It is the knowledge that makes it easier. You have a job, when that job is over, you will finally be granted release from your chains. If it comes in the form of death, you think that will be more than you deserve.

"You can talk, or you can leave. You can also leave in chunks, that's your call." You snarl, pushing up from the ground, and walking past the man. Not before reaching out a claw and cutting through the end of his raincoat.

"Alright, alright." He sighs, looking down at his clothing, "Now I have to buy a new one."

"Don't you have like fifty of them? Why else would you have that stupid title?"

"I didn't pick it, did you pick Unicorn?"

No. You're waiting for the namesake to be accurate. Sword through your skull, quiet in your brain.

"And I know you didn't pick the other one-" This time you extend your dagger at him, pointed edge aiming for throat, teeth bared. Snarl burning through your throat. "Woah, I'm not gonna say it. I like my head attached."

You think of Leon as he purrs it at you, as he says it like you are his favourite doll. You think about the way you want to tear his head from his shoulders, to tear limb from limb, to watch him rot. Before you are removed from service, you will take the man with you. So that he can never turn your stomach or anyone else's again.

"Speak."

"I thought I wa- Ok, alright. Doctor Li isn't going to just roll over for EVER, whatever they're going to manipulate him with, it's big. I've seen him. He gives sweets to kids, eats most of them himself. One for you, two for me." Raincoat mimes, when he receives nothing but a raised brow, he continues, "He gets a sad look in his eyes whenever a cat runs away from him. I've seen him pull cat toys out of his pocket to try to get them to come over. Sometimes it works, sometimes… well. He gets real sad."

"So he's a soft heart, what does that matter? All hearts can break."

"He's moral. He abhors what Xander Science is doing, and he knows EVER owns them."

"I'm not hearing anything new."

You think about the man with the green eyes bending down in front of cats, extending his fingers, and frowning just slightly when the creature bolts. You think about him offering bonbons out of his pocket. You think about white lab coats and glasses pushed up as he smiles, as he tends to a jasmine.

There's something in your chest that stings and hurts in the cold. You think of frozen over petals, black ice and twisted shapes.

"He's living with three other people in a fancy house in Linkon."

That is new… Raincoat knows where he lives, but the information wasn't in the file?

"Where?"

"So I was right, they didn't tell you."

"What are you talking about?"

"No, nothing, just curious about the kind of information they give you, to let their favourite dog fulfill their hunt." You get the urge to sharpen your dagger on his bones. Chipping and carving through them.

The urge passes quickly enough, but the irritation at the smug smile does not. "They give me what I need to finish a job."

"No doubt about that, you have quite a record. I'll send you the address. You sure you want to go though? Taking someone from their home's quite a risk, maybe that's why they didn't share it. Easier to catch him coming out of work."

"I can catch him coming out of his home just as easily." It's not pride, or confidence. Not really. You fill your missions, you come home, you hand over a finished product. You are good at what you do. There is little doubt. It does not fill you with joy, to complete a job. It is simply to avoid punishment.

There are no fistbumps. No high-five. No congratulations…

No energetic voice telling you, you did good.

You aren't sure why you ever thought there would be.

"Alright." You watch Raincoat mess with his device for a moment, before he shrugs, "Don't say I didn't warn you."

"If a warning from you would save me, I hav-"

"Bigger problems to worry about, I get it. Have you ever had friends?"

You don't bother answering him, leaving the room, twirling the dagger.

How would you even know? Years all lost to static, memories scattered to the winds. You were told the only person that mattered to you was Caleb, and if that's true… you cannot even remember him.

Perhaps your affections held no weight, perhaps even you and Caleb were empty, like you and every other person in the compound. Was it so meaningless to have a picture of the two of you, that his presence means so little to the you now?

Dogs can be loving, so you don't think it's the chain around your throat that stops you…

There is little in EVER that is worth caring for… perhaps the you now, lost their only chance at feeling more than dim acceptance. Tired withdrawal.

A need to see the end, and pass over. Perhaps then you can see Caleb, and remember what it felt like to care.

If he can care back, and not look at bloodied hand and broken carapace in disgust.

Perhaps you should be relieved he's not around to see you, to see the blood splatter up the lab walls. You can't imagine anyone would look at EVER's dog and not sneer.

—-

The training room is too warm.

You've spent four hours testing the limits of the new EVOL's you've been fed. Teleporting through space, mindless music thrumming through the background. It is hard to reign them in, pain ripping through your flesh as you reach for something you can't fully control.

Resonance is a powerful tool, you've been told. It is instinctual, breathing, a part of you. Every EVOL that has been devoured by it, is like the clawed hand. Attached to you, grotesque, too distinct. Too alien to really understand.

The first time you had tried to pull lightning to your clawed fist, you had felt the ozone burn. Tearing through the carapace, pain ripping through the limb. Shattering and twisting through it, until you had lay on the ground. Shaking, vomiting and screaming from the pain of it.

Your residual limb twitching as they pulled you away from the scorched floor.

Trying to feel for the lightning through your attachment was like feeling through thick mud. It was not at the surface of your skin, like calling your resonance to your other hand was. It was weak and hard to grasp, and if you did not grasp correctly… too tightly.

To summon something that could burn through your skin, with flesh and blood, felt like a fool's task. You sacrificed three attachments to the electricity before you could hold it in palm. For a short period of time, then the pain spread out from your shoulder, down to your chest.

Your heart thudding, thumping, racing, then screaming in protest.

Breath short, broken, fleeting.

You shook it out, releasing your hold, pulling away from the EVOL that did not wish to be held. Not by you.

You weren't sure where it had once belonged, you just knew it was not yours.

Weeks had been spent trying to harness the second, dampening. A power that should have been able to weaken or suppress the EVOLs of those around you. Harder to grasp, like it was in direct conflict with your resonance. Fighting it everytime you summoned it to the forefront.

A caged beast that did not belong in your chest, nestled amongst your heart. Teeth and claws, unrestrained fury. It does not wish to be used, or called to heel. It demands more space in your heart than can be allowed.

It is an unruly and uncontrolled tool. Without great focus and peace, it is impossible to use for combat.

You had only ever used it once, successfully breaking sound amplification, bringing you to your knees. Head splitting with the pressure of it. It had felt, for a moment, like the EVOL had taken pity on you.

Alive and warm, before it faded back into the recesses. Refusing to return to your hand.

Without snapping its jaws at resonance with vicious glee.

The easiest to use was the time EVOL, a weak little thing. It's uses limited, like a child's gift. Bursts and flickers of a power that flitted like a butterfly.

You could use it to slow time around you for snapshots. Using it to move out of danger, flickering out of existence to flee. Only useable on yourself, or things you held in grasp.

It always listened, curled around your fingers like a small hand. Seeking out the heat of your flesh for comfort. Like if it did not behave, it would be left alone in the cold.

Against all, resonance continues to be the only form of power that feels like you. There are moments when you use it, that you can almost feel it respond like a vine seeking out something that is no longer there. Poking, prodding, out into space.

You think of ivy on the sides of buildings, growing eternally seeking out comfort in shade that is not there.

Unclear what it seeks, an answer you can't give, not with no memories and static in your senses…

You just know that when it meets the other EVOLs that settle in your body, it recoils as though they don't belong.

Like its instinct has been to eat, ravenous and starving, without checking its food was not toxic, and now it writhes in pain at the result.

If it is such a part of you, you're not sure what that says about who you are.

A hungry, desperate beast, perhaps. Seeking out a thing you can never find.

A poisoned dog in the woods, waiting for the pain to ebb away.

Perhaps both.

It is when you lose focus, teleporting into a wall, stumbling back with your hand against your head, that you feel the exhaustion finally catch back up with you.

Escaping sleep, running on fumes, caffeine and sugar. If EVER had wanted you to be a sufficient tool, you think they would have removed the need for sleep.

Erased illness.

Removed your capability for pain.

You hiss as you ease the ache in your forehead, leaning back against the offending wall and taking a deep inhale.

It is the struggle eternal. To sleep and regain your strength, to finish a job. To reduce the chances of failing, of finding out what is on the other end of failing a job for EVER… versus the knowledge of what awaits you in the dark of your own mind.

Broken images and pain you can't put into place. Nightmares of things you don't recognise. Feelings you can't hope to understand.

There is no escape in the land of dreams, no comforting space to find safe and happy. No place to walk to remind you of times when you might have had a hand to hold, or a smile to greet you. Your dreams do not offer you the memories of Caleb, do not recreate the smile he has in the lone photo.

Perhaps if they did, you would escape to them often.

The close call with the red eyed man played in your mind. The mist that grasped your limbs, the arms around your body. The protest in your ribs as his muscles worked. The ache. The awareness that your body was still fragile.

You think about being dragged, and caged, and taken somewhere else against your will.

Against electric shocks through your skin. Scalpels through your body.

Waking up with your chest opened up, the agony of awareness, and the horror of a body that did not feel like your own.

There is something about the devil you know, after all, and the devil you do not know, with his shining red eyes…

You would rather not find out what lies on the other end, it is hard to imagine anything worse, but the static and the fear of his growl of a voice, that tore through you like the lightning through your attachment, did not make you wish for the risk.

The knowledge and the awareness was something to shy from. It always brought the abstract reminder of pain and loss.

If it kept you off that table then you'd have to brave what your brain concocted.

Figures in the shadows, and voices on the edges of your consciousness.

—--

EVER are careful, Sylus knows this well. He's used to them hiding, he's used to hunting for each head of the hydra. Cutting it back and cauterising the wound. What he can reach. What he can grasp.

He feels, however, like he is chasing his tail. Like they can see him coming, and have begun to lead him to dead ends. To mysteries that he has no time to solve. Sanitariums, graveyards, old bases, laboratories that matter little in their grand scheme.

Laying out crumbs for him, letting him take pieces on the chess board, while keeping the win out of his hands.

He is not a stupid man, he is used to playing games that feel unwinnable. Immense power can often push down any enemy without hindrance.

This, however, is him looking for a hidden jewel, in a desert. The longer he takes, the further you get from him.

The colder his home grows.

The evening that the doctor and fish had returned, hollowed out and on the verge of cracking, he had watched them fracture in ways he wasn't sure he could fix.

The doctor had sequestered himself away, and when Sylus had investigated, he had been staring at documents on experimentations with wanderers. Xander Sciences stamped across the top. Trying to understand the lengths that had been followed to attach one of their limbs to you.

The fish had first lay in one of the larger bath tubs, head under water, embraced by the coldest he could find. Staring up at the ceiling. A heartbroken, cracked song had flowed from under the door frame. He normally loved to hear the fish and you sing… this… this felt like an elegy. Taking him back to bloodied swords and your figure chained in front of his haunted eyes.

Eventually Rafayel had pulled himself out of the water, sopping wet and trudged into the bedroom, finding his way to Sylus' side. Dripping over the covers and curling up on his chest. If his tears were muffled into his chest, he didn't mention it. Just soothed hands he hoped did not shake, down the lemurian's back. Humming under his breath.

Not an elegy, never in mourning, just one of the songs he'd heard you singing a hundred times. Just another thing that was as familiar to him as everything about you.

It should have been a relief to know you were alive, and in some ways it truly was, but he knew the fish was tired. Of being forgotten, of watching you leave. Of knowing you were not returning to his arms just yet.

An ache and pain that lit up the canvas for his art, but left him hollowed and hurting.

After the water had cooled Sylus' skin through his clothes, the hair sticking to Rafayel's face, as he looked up at the man, he retrieved a towel with his EVOL. Easing it over skin, and brushing through wet hair.

"They're coming back to us." He speaks, and it is more assured than he feels. It is as hopeful as it is a need. He cannot go another lifetime without you, neither can the Lemurian, not since having you. In every beautiful flaw. He will chase every life with you, but this one… This one is special. This one is a family and a home, he cannot give it up without being killed once and for all.

He will put this immortal body to use, the way it should be used.

Rafayel nods against him, not moving, and it is moments before he falls asleep.

Sylus wonders at the dreams of the fish, before he decides to chase his own slumber for once, unwilling to disturb the peace that is so rare.

Days later he is working through information. There is something to be said for each of his family members. Rafayel has connections that even he does not have access too, and while he is often tempted to ask, he doesn't want to pry when the fish is willingly digging into it to find any sight of your tail.

Zayne has talked to anyone with connections to EVER, looking into Xander Sciences, digging through all of the correspondence he has ever had for any hint. Though he had come up empty, without accepting offers that his conscience, and his morals can never live with.

Xavier, after healing, had returned to working. Using the Associations information, talking to your captain, seeking out information from people he could trust there. A disappearance was one thing, a return with EVER's mark upon your collar, and a wanderer limb attached to you, was easier for them to mobilise for.

Though Sylus was unsure how reliable they could be, considering you disappeared on a mission for them.

Luke and Kieran have been working double time, in a way he has not seen them move in quite some time. They fulfil orders, of course, but it is never with the kind of violent desperation he sees in them now. Like they have a timeframe, and if they can't beat it, they will fade away.

He thinks about Kieran carving crystals out of his skin, of never having enough time to live.

They know better than anyone what cruelty EVER can commit for their needs. He should not be surprised when they return, disappointed and dirty.

"Nothing there boss."

"We asked around too, no one saw anything."

They're despondent, he realises. Looking at the two as they move their masks to the side. They have taken to wearing the crow hoodies you bought them, more and more. He has debated pulling them off, so that he can wash them, perhaps in the laundry detergent you prefer. Like he's trying to soothe cats whose owner has not returned.

It's not the best thing to wear for jobs, but he doesn't want to watch the twins shrink in on themselves more. There is dirt smudged over Kieran's cheek, against one of his scars, and Sylus blinks and sees you.

Scars through your skin, twisting your lips when you smile.

It blurs into the blank, cold look he received days ago.

The chill in his heart has to be chased away by the wine he drinks from his glass, as he flicks the screen on his tablet. "They're not going to make it easy for us."

Kieran snorts, sitting on the edge of his desk, to stare down at the tablet, looking for something. Anything, Sylus thinks. Like if they look at what he's found, maybe something will click.

Maybe their experiences will mean something, now. Pain justified.

As though it were ever so easy.

"Any other places we can check on the list, boss?" Luke tilts his head, the hood slips further over his eyes.

They look tired, and worn, and hungry. "No, not until I've gone through this. Go get some sleep, and get some food out of the fridge. There should be plates to reheat."

Always now. Food cooked at speed, stuffed into fridges, waiting for spare time stolen from frantic searching.

He cannot remember the last time a meal was shared around a table. Laughter in the walls of his home.

He misses it more than he would ever be able to confess to another. At least not right now, when he has to be strong. Stronger, even, for those who are fighting alongside him.

"But boss-"

"It's an order, if you fall over out of exhaustion, you won't be able to do your jobs."

The two look at each other, sharing a world he can't begin to touch, let alone understand, before they return resigned. Frustration lurking under the edges, of a loyalty he isn't sure they realise they've offered him, and a tired relief, bled into gratitude.

He can keep sending them on more chases, but every piece he claims, every facility abandoned or worthless to EVER, has made him more aware that where he is searching, is not the answer.

While it is unlikely you lie in the heart of EVER's web, they have sequestered you somewhere he cannot see.

Sylus' eyes are many things, but blind? Never. He has always seen the things others could not, even if he has not wanted to. Even if it haunted him. Why now, he cannot seek his own greatest desire, perhaps a punishment for blood or sins. The result of being a monster that lives on the sins of others.

He can only find relief that two plates are missing when he checks on them, dead to the world and curled up in one of the bedrooms set aside for them.

He still cannot remember if it was your idea or his own.

As he cleans up the mess they have left, he receives a message from the fish.

'I think I have something, come here.'

Sylus is unsure if he's ever moved as quickly, as he does, when he pushes his bike past the limits of what even the N109 Zone would comfortably allow.

—----

"Look, I can't tell you everything."

"You need to tell me something."

"I'll tell you what I can!"

When he arrives, Sylus hears before he sees. Rafayel stood, arms crossed but dagger in hand, turning it this way and that. Eyes narrowing on a man stood in a raincoat.

Tacky, with a torn edge.

"Did you ruin this man's coat, fish?"

Rafayel looks up, huffs and shrugs loosely, "He must have had a run in with someone else."

The man in question raises his hands, placating, and careful, now that someone else has arrived. A smile that looks too relaxed, makes Sylus look at his hands. Steady, fingerprints gone.

"Yeah, I had a run in with this nasty dog in my neighbourhood. It's got the worst temper, no good handlers. Likes to snarl."

"And- I don't care. Tell him."

Sylus steps up next to the fish, red glistening eye focusing on the man. Seeing… nothing. Emptiness.

He hesitates. Humans are full of greed and desires. They burn with it, as alive as souls can be, even if they're twisted, corrupt little things. This one, is either the one most closest to their mortal image of purity, or as broken as they come.

"Name's Raincoat."

"Idiotic name, tell me what you need to tell me."

The man huffs through his nose, "Do all of you have the people skills of a dead goat?"

"Is that a comparison people often make?"

His hands return to his sides, shoved into too deep pockets, but his smile remains. It does not offer an ounce of comfort. Sylus has seen smiles like his on other faces. It accompanies a spear to the abdomen more often than it doesn't.

"I heard you're looking for that hunter-" Sylus steps forwards and this time the man jumps back a half step, "Woah, no need to menace, I don't know where they are, but I do know what they're after."

"You're an EVER dog, why would you tell us anything worthwhile?" Rafayel finally speaks, and Sylus watches as Raincoat's eyes go to the dagger in the man's hand. It is a small flick of eyes, before he returns to his smile.

The shortest moment, but he can see recognition. He knows the fish does as well, because he spins the dagger right in front of him, watching as the eyes follow the movement.

"You think I like another one like me lurking around? If I get deemed useless, that hunter of yours will tear my throat out with that fucked up hand of theirs. I've seen the corpses of people they've been sent to kill. I don't need that."

"Like EVER would be any kinder without them?"

"Like minimising the risks of being mauled by a wanderer are always smart."

Sylus notes the chill in Rafayel's eyes, the way his hand tightens a little on the dagger, watching the twitch at the talk of your arm. The one EVER stole from you. Twice.

He hopes your metal one, with the beautiful fish, is still somewhere. When he claims you back, he'll find it.

"What are they after then?"

"That doctor of yours. EVER think that with the assistance of your hunter, he'll finally agree to work with them."

They look at each other, and don't see the widening grin on Raincoat's face, "I've heard he's pretty moral, but he'd do anything for them, right? EVER think so anyway, and they're willing to wave them in front of his face, to find out."

Eyes turn back to him as he shrugs, miming dangling something from his hand, "And if it doesn't work, they'll just find other ways to make him useful. Heard they have some fucked up chips they use for some of their tools. Makes 'em real compliant."

"Why would we believe you?"

He laughs, like it couldn't matter less to him, like Sylus couldn't tear him apart himself. He should, and as he steps forward, a hand tightens around his wrist. Rafayel is facing Raincoat, eyes focused. It is a subtle movement, quick. His dagger spins to keep Raincoat's eyes on it. When Sylus is released, he eases the fury bubbling in his gut.

"You've been useful before, so I'll let you go, so you can be useful in the future. Alright? If you're lying-"

"I know, I know. You'll find me and murder me, your little family are fond of death threats, huh?"

When the man is gone, leaving the two stood in an alley, with Sylus feeling as though he has gained weight strapped to his back, "So we keep an eye on the doctor."

"I guess I'll be on bodyguard duty for once." Rafayel laughs, but it's tired and it's worn. Weighted by questions left unanswered.

Of images that Sylus can't stop trying to shake out of his mind.

EVER pinned to your throat, their leash around your neck, pulling until it snaps.

If they use you, to hurt Zayne, he knows when you come back to yourself, you will never forgive yourself. He has seen you sink into despair once before, he will not witness it again.

—---

Zayne feels as though he's going mad.

"You wish to guard me?"

"You can have me, or you can have Mephisto, maybe the twins. I can reasonably behave myself."

"Sylus, you cannot follow me around the hospital. You would draw far too much attention, and if I am truly a target, it will be more clear that you have some kind of inside information."

The leader of Onychinus stares him down, unwavering jewel eyes. He's used to the man being stubborn, Sylus does not waver from a goal, he has never halted his intentions, or paused in his journey.

Even though Zayne can see fraying edges, and a strength that wavers on the cusp of cracking.

"Then Mephisto will follow you around, ready to alert me."

It's the best he thinks he's going to get for a compromise. The bird at least, can somewhat blend into the surroundings. Perching outside his office perhaps. He doubts anyone will capture him inside of Akso Hospital. Still he's not sure there are limits to EVER's pull at this point.

If they have their hand in everything, he doesn't see how they can't cover up a doctor's disappearance.

His disappearance.

He has no intention to be reckless, and he finds Sylus' concern comforting. A reminder that even though he watched you flee from a café he has frequented with you, he is not holding his grief alone for once.

"I'll accept your pets supervision, but ensure he keeps a reasonably low profile." Accompanies his sigh of weak acceptance. There's little else he can do, if something happens to him… he will not be there to help you, nor will he be able to keep feeling the warmth of his home. He does not want to be the cause for more grief.

"Whatever you say, doctor." Sylus stands, motions for the robot bird that flutters over on metal feathers and rests on Zayne's shoulder. Ready, waiting. He tightens his hand around his work bag, nodding at the thing that he's still not sure has much of a will of its own.

Then he thinks of the times he has found you curled up asleep with Mephisto, and the bird's reluctance to leave the perch of your metal shoulder.

Just as attached as his master, Zayne thinks fondly.

Fingers drift over his cheekbones, pulling Zayne from his thoughts, as he focuses on the wavering heat of Sylus' eyes, "I'll be alright." He offers, as the man hesitates.

"You will, but if you're not-" Something is attached to behind his ear, though it is small and the sensation disappears almost immediately, "I'll find you regardless."

"We need to have a discussion over requesting access to hinge upon privacy."

"I told you before doctor, we have different boundaries for acceptability." The smirk is wide and self satisfied, but it is more confident than Zayne has seen Sylus for some time.

"Now get going, you have lives to save, my good doctor." His hand is raised for a kiss to be placed upon his palm, and then he is released. Mephisto kicking up to fly out ahead of him.

He has always walked the distance to the hospital, it is an easy journey, a moment to prepare himself for a long and hard day. It is never easy facing the path he has chosen for himself, despite his passion for it. Some days are full of pain, others joy.

Zayne has worked ever harder in the pursuit of easing his aching heart. He worries that his handle over his EVOL will begin to shatter, that his lack of control outside of what he would allow himself with his family, will spread to his work.

It is with an iron grip, that grows ever tighter, and the sunken set to his stature, that has allowed him to keep moving. 

He is only ten minutes into his walk, when he feels the prickling up the back of his neck, turning to erect a wall of ice in front of him. Steady hand pushing back against the jolt of lightning that touches the ice and fractures it, scorching where it lands.

He smells burning, and steps back, Mephisto screeches, before lightning arcs for the bird. Piercing a wing and sending him hurtling to the floor.

Before him is a vision he never wants to see again. That twisted carapace arm, with the lightning crackling and burning through it, leaving deep grooves with every spark. Your scars pulling at your lips as you focus mismatched eyes on him.

Cold, empty, devoid of anything.

Sylus had warned him… he hadn't been prepared to see it. When he'd seen you at the café you had been startled, alarmed. Human. Despite the lack of recognition.

Now, before him, dagger in your other hand, he sees nothing. Like you have shut down, broken off parts of the warmth of the person he knew, and stepped out a doll.

You look at the barrier, and he recognises the look. Calculating, ready. The lightning dissipates and you look back up at him, gold filtering into your gaze.

The resonance he can feel across from him is a familiar heat, like home. You place your hand on his barrier as he watches, one lip quirks pulling on the scars, before eyes narrow. "Doctor Li, I would appreciate you coming with me willingly. I have been informed not to damage the merchandise."

"A kind consideration, but I'd rather not hand myself over to EVER." He forces out, through a throat that feels too tight. Words tinged in a humour he doesn't feel. Like you're still you, like he's still making jokes with you. Dry wit and warm heart.

He pushes the barrier out, the ice pushing you back from him. Sharpening ice blades before him, holding them ready.

He watches, as your expression falters. It is like something filters through your cold eyes, a strange flicker of discomfort, before you refocus. He knows you well, has loved you for a long time, but this is a person he does not recognise. Not truly. Whatever lurks there, he isn't sure he can puzzle it out without time.

Which, as he watches your claw glow gold, he will not be offered easily.

"Very well, they will have to tolerate limbs in place."

It is said so flatly, that he feels the chill up his back. To be looked at by you, with nothing but tired acceptance. You who eased the pain out of his skin when the ice pierced it. You who saw warmth in him. You who gave him a safe place to let his control drop.

You who pulling him forwards in time.

Your hand pulls back, and before he can wonder at it, the claw sharpens, grows, and is pierced through the wall of ice, shattering it.

He shoots the shards of ice, backing up further. He can get back home, he thinks as he sends another flurry-

You dart forwards, blinking out of existence for a moment before you are before him, claw grabbing for his throat, and deflected with an icy blade.

It catches at the wrist of your carapace, the grotesque thing pulled back as you wince at the chill. The pain makes you smirk at him, fang peeking out under lip, and you dart forwards again, grabbing it in claw and snapping it. Before trying to headbutt him.

He shields his face with his arm, and pulls another barrier to keep you from slashing with the sharpened blade of claws.

Zayne has to fight you, he realises, something he has never done in this life. You have practiced how to resonate with him, had trial matches, practiced fighting with him, never against him.

Never pushed his EVOL past what you believed was safe, worried at the edges at any pain he has felt, even as you willingly eased it with your power or your touch.

He has never known you to want to risk him like you do now, pushing and clawing at his barrier. Edging him on. As you shoot lightning, with a wince he notes, he finds the logical part of his brain wondering how. Before he runs.

Ice blades flung behind him, a flurry of snow kicking up, he races back the way he came. Before he collides with a solid form, as you stand right before him. Claw grabbing his neck and tightening your grip. He grabs the wrist, freezing where he touches, watching as you hesitate.

Flinching as the chill hardens and cracks, before you squeeze. It is not the familiar touch of resonance he is used to, as the gold seeps up your claw, and into his own skin. It pulls at the ice, hardening its grip. Strengthening it. With none of the warmth of the EVOL he is used to.

It burns back up his skin, sending the ice back the way it came, pushing through his skin. He gasps as it spreads, fights back the cry he wants to let out as the ice turns black and pierces through his arm.

He distantly hears Mephisto squawk, the flutter of feathers, before the sound quietens.

The gold glow of your eyes intensifies, sharpening to points as you squeeze around his throat, the agony of his arm spreads up to his shoulder, as you cut off his airways. "A power you can't control…" Through the haze of his eyes, as he grows dizzy and numb, he sees the spark of something. Guilt. Pain. Understanding? "Go to sleep, Doctor Li."

A flash of red, and the force of a hurricane flings you from him. Sending him to the floor, knees colliding hard with the ground, and hand not frozen barely catching him. He gasps, wheezing to pull oxygen back into his lungs, to ease the ice in his limb. Relieved when it begins to skitter back. Pulling out of his limb.

He is rounded as Sylus stands before him, "Really now doctor, seconds after my warning?" A relief, an assurance that he will not have to hurt you without someone to keep him steady.

That there is a better chance together, than alone.

Even if his lungs struggle to pull oxygen in for his brain to function again.

"Come on now Kitten, you should know better. Only scratch people who want it."

—----

You're falling.

Surrounded by nothing but pitch black.

There is no answer to how long you fall, you cannot see around you.

You're falling.

You reach out, grasping for something. Anything. To stop the hurtling. You feel sick. Agony. Like your body is covered in wounds. Barely holding itself together.

A flash of light and you see your metal hand, grasping. It catches on a ledge, and the light filters through, a lone wisp. It bobs next to your hand, tiny and gold and weak. It dances like a firefly, dancing over your fingers as you dangle.

You try to reach with your other hand but it does not move, like it is locked to your side. Too heavy to use.

As you tense the hand you can use, a little painted fish swims over it, over to your fingers. It twirls around each metal joint, seeking something.

You don't think it finds it, because it jumps as though leaving water. Swimming away. Your hand opens as though you need to grab it.

You need to grab it.

If it leaves, you'll never see it again.

You can't lose him.

The motion causes your hand to open, and as you watch the firefly of light die slowly… the metal turns to claws. Unnatural and broken. Grotesque and black. Scales replacing metal.

It is the last thing you see before the darkness greets you again, and you fall.

Slamming into a ground that knocks all the air out of your lungs.

It is cold that greets you, an icy expanse against the wounded skin of your back. Your claw twitches at your side. Pain shooting through your body that does not respond. Useless and worthless.

It cannot serve you, or anyone.

There is nothing to gain from this body.

Only your claw can move, only your claw can make you worth something.

You are a tool that will be discarded once they realise how very little you matter.

In the darkness the caw of a crow rattles your brain, the sound too loud to be flying over you. Your senses fractured and struggling to make sense of the lack of sight.

It is the first sound you have heard, other than your struggling lungs, with your claw you pull yourself over onto your stomach, and as you do. Blinding lights hit your eyes.

The flash of light lasts a moment, but it is enough to wound your eyes. Intense and harsh. As you blink, trying to force the retina burn to ease, you feel a hand reach for your cheek.

Through the blinking lights and the hazy vision, you see a light behind the back of a head. Eyes gazing into yours.

With each blink the colours flicker.

Red.

Purple.

Pink.

Green.

Blue.

Before your claw reaches out, desperate, shaking. The eyes turn, look at the twisted thing attached to you, before the hand pushes you away, pulling back. A hiss of disgust.

A violent rejection…

And you fall again.

—----

You have been pushed to complete this mission before you are ready. There is no rest, when you have a leash so tight around your neck you can feel the air leave your lungs.

You stare at the man before you, who guards his lover with the snarl of a dragon guarding a treasure. As he gasps to right himself. Trembling as your EVOL's influence stops ripping through his limbs.

At least there is something to be learned. Now if you could just deal with the red eyed man.

"Come on now Kitten, you should know better. Only scratch people who want it."

It grates at you. Kitten. Kitten. Kitten.

"Stop calling me that." You snarl at him. It is not something you are prone to feeling, a violent feeling under your skin, on a job. You have become good at locking back the feelings to complete a mission. You are good at getting through them. At not feeling.

Why do these two have any impact on you? The people they spend time with? Why does your mind fracture through the feelings you cannot name?

"You never used to complain, is sweetie better? Beloved?"

It rattles at you, fierce and violent. Your brain tumbling through the darkness, seeking out a ledge to grasp.

So you rush him, dagger aimed for his throat.

It does not land, brushed aside with a careful hand, before you stab forwards again.

Again.

Again.

Wild and furious and desperate.

Your movements are easily deflected, and when he aims a punch you dart back. Staring at him. Forcing yourself to ease. You have to control it.

You have a target.

Electric and scalpel. If you can't finish, you will feel them again. The reminder of your worthless body on the awareness of agony.

EVER can do worse to you. You cannot give them a reason to.

"You are not my target." You manage to speak, correcting your grip on your dagger, flexing the claw at your side. "Stand aside, I would rather not kill anyone I do not need to."

It's bitten off and harsh, tinged in all the fury you cannot seem to pull back to heel.

Red eyes narrow at you, as the man adjusts his cuffs, moving to stand in front of the doctor, who pulls himself up a little. Breathing easier. "I won't let anyone hurt him, not even you Kitten, and this isn't you."

"I told you-"

You barely get it out before the mist grabs your arm, tugging you forwards and down. So you snarl, and throw yourself at him like the dog you've been called too many times.

Fangs bared, dagger out, and claw extended.

You slash at his face, kick out at his leg, when his EVOL grasps at you, you force it to shatter to the gold running over your skin. Though it never dissipates for long. A hand grasps the wrist of your claw, tightening against where the ice still has you frozen. Squeezing enough to crack it, and you let out a gasp of pain.

Red eyes turn to it, the damage in front of his eyes, and you stab into his chest with the dagger when he does. He releases you for a moment but grabs the wrist holding the dagger, eyes wild and canines bared.

He pushes himself further into the blade, staring down at you.

"The hell are you doing? Do you want to die?"

He barks a laugh, advancing, hand tightening so your bones creak, "When I die, it won't be the person in front of me doing it."

You push the dagger in, growling when he winces in response, "You say that now-"

A shiver runs up your back as the red flares. As his one eye glows.

The world sinks away for a moment. Leaving that pinpoint of red.

Devour.

Only you-

Devour him.

And this flower-

Devou-

"Get out of my head." You snarl, the gold shattering him back. You reach up for your head, stumbling back, leaving the dagger in his chest. The world tilts at an angle, and you slip to the floor.

It crackles and it stings, and the world turns to static. Your surroundings are in technicolour, before dimming into grey.

There's flowers fluttering in the breeze, before they scatter and become nothing but ash.

He pulls the dagger out of his chest, looking at you as you force yourself to your knees. You watch him hold it, like it's precious. Like it matters, rather than throwing it aside.

The man handles it with care, as he places it on the ground. "I do wish Rafayel hadn't taught you to use that, sometimes. Sharp little thing."

You turn eyes to him, scrambling back like a cornered cat, daring not to blink, as you will your mind to steady, to focus. To do something other than fracture.

The devil you don't know. The failure that awaits you.

You extend your hand, the lightning arcing, but rattling through your bones. You bite off the pain, relieved when his advancements stop, moving out of the way of your uncontrolled desperation.

The doctor has recovered mostly, standing, "Sylus, we need to get them somewhere safe."

"I know, doctor."

You stare up as the red eyes approach, as they waver on the edge of softening, before gleaming once again, "Let's get you fixed, kitten."

Fixed.

Fixed.

Arm replaced, body broken, mind fractured.

EVER wanted to fix you. Make you better.

You can't be fixed.

The hand grasps at your arm, pulling you up, stumbling against his chest. You don't struggle, caught in the gleam of red, seeing the swirling colours.

Answers you can't grasp.

The red is all you can see, the static bleeding into an abyss.

There is a whisper on the edges of your mind, husky and deep, warm and ready.

'Tell me you want me.'

Heat against your neck, teeth and tongue. A shiver down your spine, warmth against limbs. Thighs grasped in a tight hold as a growl warms the edges of your soul.

'Tell me you feel good.'

A gasp, a moan of satisfaction. The feeling of tumbling over the edge, but being caught. The answer on the tip of your tongue.

'Say my name, kitten.'

A mantra that resounds around you. A song sung through the fog. Music that lights the sky.

'Do you love me?'

Warmth in chest, a small flutter of life. An affirmation of everything that matters.

The scalpel in hand. The claw at your hand. The questions that have no answers.

The static.

"Get-" The beast roars to life, its jaws snapping as you reach for it, desperate.

"Out-" Tears on your cheeks, it curls around your broken heart.

"Of-" It's head rears, guarding you from the agony of the abyss.

"My-" The silver filtering over your skin, the creature serving you willingly.

"Head!"

You snarl with it, pushing him back. Watching the pain in his face, the silver skittering through his skin, like poison in veins. He falls, and he slumps. You hear the gnash of teeth, the growl.

You push further.

Forcing him down, hand on shoulder now as he is pushed to his knees.

Your heart twitches, and hurts, and aches. Resonance fleeing from you as the beast hungers and snaps and bites at the bit to pull the mist into its maw.

"Sylus!"

The ice that is flung at you, melts before touching you, as the beast whose leash you do not hold turns its attention to the doctor.

You can feel the shaking, through your legs, into your arm. It is only the claw that does not tremble, that does not feel like it will shatter at a touch.

Releasing the man, you turn to the doctor. Catching for a moment, the agony in red eyes as hands reach out, seeking you, but weakly grasping at air as you force agonised limbs to respond.

Your claw grabbing the doctor's hand as he winces. As the dampener rips part of him out of his reach.

You know your resonance is part of you, instinctual and like the blood in your veins. To have it torn out even for a moment… would be agony.

It is the weak guilt, of a heart that trembles against the beast squeezing it, that eases the grip so you do not bruise the doctor's skin this time.

As you fight nausea.

As you command your body to be the tool it was made to be.

As you pull the doctor with you into the jump, leaving the heartbroken cry of a name you don't recognise behind as red eyes shut.

When you finally skid to a stop, the pain too much to fight through, the new scarring up your arm from where lightning damaging blood vessels, and the beast finally releasing its grasp. You stumble into open space. Releasing the doctor for a moment.

It is too much, too many things that you cannot fully control, too many sensations in your head that hurt.

Too many thoughts and too many feelings.

Agony, and loss. Loss that tears into your stomach and tears out your innards. The guilt grows and weighs down your shoulders, reminding you of the pain in red, and the shivering under hand when you had placed it on shoulder.

A job was a job, you tried to remind yourself. It was a move to be made. If you did not, worse awaited you than the hurt you could inflict on others.

You think.

It does not feel as sure as it once did, as you force your body to behave. To listen, to pay attention to you. You have to keep moving.

The doctor recovers from the dampening slowly, "What was that?" He forces, "Sylus-"

"He'll live." You snap, reaching over to pull the man closer by the wrist, "Phone." Your hand extends, and it is at that moment you remember your dagger. Discarded on the ground, in the hands of a man you do not know.

It is shock that recognises the feeling you have, like a lump is in your throat. Grief. You have lost something precious, and you will never get it back. The only thing you owned and cared about, with its familiar carved symbols and the weight in your hand like something you could trust. A tether to something that reminded you, you had something to value.

Gone.

A piece of you is gone.

Hurt is what makes you tug the doctor closer, a raw wound you cannot salve, "Phone, now."

He hands it over, and you would give him credit for his steady expression, the look on his face that does not feed into fear.

So he is not a pathetic scientist like the others, then? Able to hold your gaze for as long as you can bear to hold anyone's. Not flinching at you, not trembling.

If he were not on the list, perhaps he would be one of the more pleasant scientists to get prodded by.

You crush the thing in your hand, throwing it away, before tugging him forward.

He sets his feet, making you feel as though you are pulling against a wall.

"Doctor Li," You hiss through teeth, desperate to get back, to find a dark room and hide in it. To not have to think for a moment, about hazy red and angry sensations of agony, "I will knock you out and drag you, if I have to."

The Doctor watches you, calculating for a moment. You can almost guess the process. Is it worth it to run? Can he fight? You hope the show of strength with dampening his EVOL will convince him otherwise.

He does not have to know you don't think you can do that again. Not for a very long time.

Maybe not ever.

You hope never again.

Pained red, and shivering skin.

"Alright." He exhales, allowing it as you pull him towards you this time. You jump, several more times, before the both of you stumble into the white halls of the EVER compound.

The familiar smell of, what you hope is, antiseptic and disinfectant doing nothing to calm the raging vortex inside of you.

"Follow me, if you run, I'll break a leg." You snap, releasing his arm like it burns you. Truthfully the sensation of touching anyone is at odds with the way you have lived these few months.

You don't want to think about the feeling of his neck under your hand for a very long time. Even if you can already see the bruise forming under his skin.

"Do you often threaten your prisoners?"

"You're the first one. I normally just kill my targets."

He scoffs, it would almost sound like a laugh, if he didn't sound so disgusted. You shouldn't be surprised that he is horrified by what you've said. A normal person should be. Let alone the so-called doctor with the heart of gold.

You lead him to Leon's lab, relieved to see the man is there for the first time in your memory. If only to be done, to wash your hands, to curl up and burn the memories off your skin. You can see the static on the corners of your vision. Flickering like a ghost you can't quite get into your line of sight.

Haunted.

You're just not sure which unknown grief is causing it.

"Little bomb-"

There's a noise of disgust behind you, as the doctor walks in front of you. Like he is half shielding you. It's a strange thing, to be looking up at the back of the head of a man who you have strangled. Tried to freeze. Whose lover you just brought to knees and made hurt.

"Doctor Li?"

The familiarity of Leon is a relief. He is easy to handle, he is a man who your emotional capacity can recognise. Disgust, hatred, violence need to tear, all very familiar. He is almost safe, in the kind of way the knowledge of a snake's venom is safe.

"Mission completed, can I go?" You snap, pulling away from the two. Itching to throw the claw away from you.

"You need to see medical." Leon notes, looking down at the new scarring up your arm, the blood on your hand, "You're not normally this sloppy, little bomb. Issues?"

"I did my job, didn't I?"

"If a tool breaks-"

"It'll be replaced." You snap back, then look at the doctor, "Have fun committing crimes against nature, Doctor Li.."

The Doctor's eyes narrow, cold, but he's looking past you, not at you. "I assure you, I will not be assisting EVER."

You want to laugh at him, the idea is laudable. Truly. Experience has taught you, however, that if EVER cannot use someone, they will break them. The fear of the punishment can often keep at bay.

What they cannot instil with fear… well you've heard the stories of mind control. You're not yet sure what is worse. To serve them willingly, or to lose your mind to become a true mindless tool.

One gives the weak hope of escape, you suppose.

"Can you go get the cot before you leave? We don't have any spare rooms for you yet, Doctor, so I'm sure you'll be fine staying in the lab for now."

"I've slept in worse places." He bites off, though there is little change to his expression. The term ice queen suits him, you think. He must be furious, you're sure he is, or at least thinking of ways he can escape. Instead he simply is observing.

You turn your attention back to Leon, raising a brow at his command, but not moving.

His sigh is long suffering, like he should never have expected anything else when you do not respond to him, and he walks off, "I'll get it then shall I?"

"Probably." You spit back, glaring at his back.

"You've been summoned to meeting room four, when you're done here, little bomb."

The exhaustion sinks deeper into your bones. If whoever gives Leon orders has summoned you, it means the chance to run is further out of grasp. The need to lick your wounds, and try to fix the weight on your back will not come soon.

You feel the burning in your eyes for a moment, before you remember there is someone else looking at you. You narrow eyes at Doctor Li, expecting him to look away, instead his warm green eyes soften. In a way that disturbs something in your chest.

"What?"

"Zayne."

"Excuse me?"

"My name is Zayne." You know that. You want to say. It was in his file. You're familiar with the basic details of his profile.

'To you, I'm just Zayne.'

Your vision crackles, glitching, before you shake your head violently. "Yeah, sure. Whatever." You bite off, stepping back and away, before he can speak to you more. You watch his hand extend, worry in his gaze, that you can't meet because the green makes the static worse.

You manage little else, before you flee. A scared creature, startled by a loud noise. You care little about the scientists who watch you race past them, before you slow and you stumble, and you step through hallways that feel like they stretch forever.

As you try to swallow back bile, and think of anything but agonised red and soft green.

You're done, you're done and you never have to see either man again.

You cannot be found here, and you can just let the feelings lie forgotten.

You can forget the voices and the eyes, you can leave them behind.

You can be the familiar you. Even if there is blood on your hands.

—---

The meeting room is cold. Like most of the compound. When you enter, an older man smiles at you.

You are not well versed in other's expressions, but you feel a chill at his. Like there is something sharp about it. You have not talked to Professor Lucius before, he is a man that commands deep respect, or fear, from those around him however.

You have seen him occasionally, though he is akin to a ghost. Drifting through halls when he has something to do, but otherwise unconcerned with those around him.

Today he stares at you with cool, unwavering eyes. It is not the kind of cool that the Doctor- Zayne has, you note. Calm and steady. It is the kind of cool that reminds you of a snake.

Watchful and venomous.

You do not want to be in this room.

"Ah, Unicorn." It bites at you, reminds you that you are here in a capacity of no control. "I've heard you have achieved a great many tasks for EVER, in your time here."

Unsure how to respond, you offer a nod. It is the first time anyone has acknowledged you, the time you have spent, the work you have done.

Should you feel proud? The feeling is closer to shame, you think.

Seen in a way you do not wish to be.

"Thanks to all of your efforts, we have seen fit to reward you."

"A reward?" Shock moves your mouth before your brain and rationale can remind you that he holds power over your position.

Relief keeps you steady when he does not immediately demand your silence, "Come in."

The door opens, and you first feel fear. The unknown of his words and his actions, make you wonder if this is a cruel trick.

That your reward will be a shot to the head, but maybe that would be a relief.

That your reward will be another limb replaced, to make you a better weapon.

That your reward will be the solitary or the torture or the heart held while still in your chest.

It is a man who enters, sharp black uniform and a hat tilted low over his eyes, before he pushes it back. So you can see pink and purple.

You have seen his face countlessly. Smiling back at you from a silent frame. Warm eyes, and what you think might be love, if you could ever remember. He is familiar to you in a way that only a picture can be.

If asked what he sounded like, you could never answer, but you think you could describe him to anyone, perfectly, down to the very last detail.

Your heart squeezes, like one of the scientists has it in their grip. You fear if you move it will crush under the weight.

There is noise in your ears, the crackling that is becoming too familiar. Your throat is tight and sore, and your lungs will not offer you air as they should. You waver on the edge of unconsciousness. Brain weak and starved.

He steps up before you and smiles as he steadies you with his left hand, "Hey Pipsqueak. I'm home."