#feedback highly appreciated

[television-overload]

beautiful (X-Files fanfic)

Rating: G

Word Count: 4,985

Summary: Weakened by her latest round of chemotherapy, Scully doesn't feel much like herself. Mulder helps her find the strength to keep fighting.

Read on AO3

“I wish you weren’t seeing me like this, Mulder,” she says out of the blue, drawing his attention away from the magazine he was idly flipping through at her bedside. Immediately, he sets it aside, dropping his feet to the ground from where they were perched up on the hospital bed.

“What do you mean?” he asks, grabbing her closest hand and running his thumb over her knuckles.

Scully sighs. “Don’t make me say it,” she responds. The answer looms over them both, and she’s right. He doesn’t like hearing it spoken aloud.

Dana Scully is wasting away, and there’s nothing he can do about it.

This latest round of chemotherapy has hit her harder than the first, and he’s starting to see the physical changes. She’s thinner, paler. There are dark circles under her eyes. The doctors have noticed it too, recommending that she stay in the hospital for a few days or even a week rather than recover at home.

Of course, she had refused on principle until Mulder told her he was being forced to take a few days’ leave anyway to use up some vacation time, which wasn’t exactly true, and she probably knew it.

But either way, she had let him accompany her to her appointment, which was more than he could say for her previous round of treatment.

“I look like the night of the living dead,” Scully mumbles, fiddling with the scratchy blankets on her lap.

Mulder tries not to show a physical reaction to her choice of wording. “Don’t say that,” he pleads, shaking his head. “Please don’t say that.”

Scully smiles wryly. He’s as predictable as ever.

“I just mean, I don’t look like myself. I don’t feel like myself.” She says this with such an unaffected voice, that anyone less familiar with her tells would think this was just some passing annoyance, but Mulder knows. He can see the way this has grated at her, and he just wishes he could take this all pain away from her. “I can’t even do my makeup,” she adds, throwing a breathy laugh in for good measure at the end of her sentence, as if to say, ‘but why should I care about that?’

Mulder tugs on her hand, and she follows his unspoken cue and meets his gaze. “I like you just fine without makeup,” he says, his eyes communicating the sincerity of his words. “Besides, who is there to impress anyway?” he asks, gesturing at the empty room over his shoulder to emphasize his point.

Scully gives a tired smile. “You’re a guy, Mulder, you wouldn’t understand.” Squeezing his hand once, she adds, “But thank you,” and he gives her a smile back. He wishes he could do something to help her.

She hasn’t had the strength for much, ever since they began the treatment two days ago. She’s having a better reaction to it than she could be, but he knows the fatigue is frustrating her. She’s told him a thousand times that he doesn’t have to stay here with her, but he does anyway, even when she’s sleeping for hours on end. When she’s awake, he reads to her, or they watch something on TV, whatever she’s feeling up to. If it weren’t for the harrowing circumstances, he might even be really enjoying this time spent together outside work.

“Don’t take this the wrong way,” Scully speaks, drawing his attention back to her. “But you’re not looking so great yourself.” Her teasing tone is softened by her genuine concern for him, but he can’t help but play along.

His eyes narrow at her in mock offense. “Just what every man likes to hear,” he says sarcastically. “Scully, you wound me.”

This earns a patented Scully Eye Roll.

“Go home and take a shower at least,” she amends, looking at him fondly. “You could use one.”

He simply stares at her, challenging her to more of this banter.

“Are you gonna just keep insulting me until I finally leave?” he asks.

“If that’s what it takes,” she answers. “I could touch on your poor posture next, if you want.”

Mulder laughs, waving a hand dismissively as he stands. “Alright, alright, I’m going.” He looks back at her, pauses, and pointedly straightens his posture before grabbing his bag and taking a step toward the door. “You’ll be okay while I’m gone?” he asks, unable to help himself.

Her gaze softens, her playfulness turning back to seriousness. “Yes, Mulder, I’ll be fine. I probably won’t stay awake for much longer anyway.”

He nods, shifting to take another step, but on looking at her again, changes his mind. He turns back, crossing the floor to her bed and leaning down to press a quick kiss to her cheek. The hand that isn’t busy holding his briefcase gives her left shoulder a squeeze before he pulls away.

“I’ll be back soon,” he promises, tucking her blankets back up to her chin.

She smiles, her eyelids already growing heavy. “I know you will.”

-.-.-

True to his word, Mulder makes a stop at his apartment to shower and change, trading out the books they’d already finished with new ones that she will probably roll her eyes at. He has to admit, he feels like a new person as he steps out of the shower. He needed that more than he thought he did. There was something to what Scully had said earlier, about feeling like yourself. It gave him an idea.

As much as he wants to get back to her, Mulder knows she’ll be out like a light for at least a few hours. He decides to make another stop before heading back to the hospital.

It’s still fairly early in the day when he knocks on the door and waits for a minute. He hears the shuffling sound of someone approaching on the other side before the door creaks open.

“Fox?”

“Hi Mrs. Scully,” he says, giving her an awkward half smile, his hands jammed deep into his front pockets.

“What are you doing here? Is it Dana?” The woman is understandably worried; it’s not like Mulder to show up out of the blue like this unless there’s some kind of terrible news to convey.

He is quick to reassure her. “No, no, nothing like that. I just had something I—I wanted to ask you, if it’s no trouble.”

Maggie’s brows pinch together in that distinctly Scully way as she pulls him into her home, shutting the door behind him.

“What is it?”

Sheepishly, Mulder rubs a hand over the back of his neck, feeling less and less certain of what he came here to ask.

“Well, it’s just—Dana mentioned something earlier about wishing she had her makeup on, and I wondered… You know, her strength isn’t what it usually is, so I thought maybe I could—”

Maggie’s hands wrap around his forearm, halting his rambling speech. He looks up to see tears glistening in her eyes, and she nods in understanding.

“That’s very sweet, Fox.”

He nods, hoping his cheeks aren’t turning pink. He doesn’t do well with motherly praise.

“So, are you wanting me to show you how?”

He lets out a breath, relieved that he doesn’t have to find the words himself. “That would be great, actually.”

Mrs. Scully smiles, jerking her head toward the stairs so that he would follow her. “Come with me, I’ve got some stuff we can use.”

He dutifully follows after her as she leads him up the stairs. This is the furthest he’s been inside Maggie Scully’s house. He wonders how much of her belongings are mementos from Scully’s childhood, whether a certain painting hanging on the wall appears in her family Christmas photos or if it was bought recently.

In his perusal of the house itself, he nearly collides with someone he knows by name only. “Mom, who was that at the door?” the man is asking, and the moment their eyes meet, the air in the room thickens. “What’s he doing here?” he demands, looking to Maggie for answers.

Maggie is quick to come to Mulder’s aid. “It’s none of your business, young man,” she says, shooing him toward the stairs they had just come up. Despite his protestations, she continues, “Why don’t you go to the drugstore and pick up some eyelash straightening cream for Dana, we can bring it to her when we go visit later this afternoon.”

“But—”

She swats him on the arm. “No buts. Dana would really appreciate it if we brought it.”

He grumbles all the way down the stairs, but does as she told him. As soon as he’s grabbed his jacket from the coat closet, he’s out the door and starting up the car.

“What was that for?” Mulder asks, breaking the silence that had settled after the front door shut.

Maggie gives a pleased little smile. “There’s no such thing as eyelash straightening cream. Bill will be there for thirty minutes at least. As I’m sure you can imagine, knowing my daughter as you do, he doesn’t like asking for assistance if he can help it.”

Mulder lets out a surprised laugh. This woman runs a tight ship, and he has to respect her for it.

“Alright, now sit right here, Fox,” Mrs. Scully orders, pulling out a small stool from the vanity in her bathroom. She quickly leaves and returns with another chair from the bedroom, placing it across from him. She hums quietly as she rummages through her drawers, extracting several mystifying objects and setting them on the counter. “Now, let’s start with the foundation. I’ll show you how, and then you can do the other side of my face, sound good?”

Mulder nods, sitting up straighter to watch as she blends the creamy substance onto her skin. She’s narrating as she goes, and Mulder commits her words to memory, hoping his ability to replicate them will be as good as his ability to remember her instructions.

“Here, now you try,” Mrs. Scully says next, handing the brush to Mulder. He pushes aside any lingering feelings of awkwardness or embarrassment and sets in on applying the makeup. Maggie’s lips curl in a smile as she watches him, tapping ever so gently on her face as if he might break her. She wonders if he’s done this before. “You’re a natural,” she praises, “Are you sure this is your first time?”

He lets out a breath of laughter, shaking his head. “I’m no expert,” he answers. He’s silent for a moment, not breaking concentration, and then adds in a quiet voice, “My sister had this play makeup set, real cheap quality stuff. She’d sometimes force me to be her test subject.” His eyes grow distant as he remembers.

It wasn’t all that long before her abduction, he thinks, the last time they did this. It always went the same way. He’d sit patiently—or as patiently as an eleven- or twelve-year-old boy could—while she clumsily dabbed colorful eyeshadow onto his eyelids. He’d learned early on that it was better to just go along with it, having suffered the wrath of Samantha Mulder once before for refusing to be her dress-up doll. The makeup rarely stayed on for more than a minute after she declared him done, scrubbed off like some kind of deadly germ in the sink, but it was enough to appease her.

When she was finished, she’d beg him to help her with her makeup, putting that pouty lip out that she knew he couldn’t say no to.

“Stop blinking, Sam,” he’d say, focusing intently on brushing on the mascara she’d stolen from her mom’s makeup bag. “You’re gonna mess it up.”

He remembers these times fondly, of rare moments where he managed to be a good big brother, instead of pretending to be annoyed by her like he often did. He’d give anything to be teased by his peers for spending time with his kid sister, if it meant having her back.

With the utmost care, Mrs. Scully walks him through the remaining steps, patting him gently on the cheek once he’s put on the finishing touches.

“You’re a good man, Fox,” she says, her fondness for him evident in her smile. “Dana is lucky to have you.”

Once again, Mulder shrugs, uncomfortable with the compliments, no matter how sincere they are. “I’m the lucky one, Mrs. Scully.” He thinks he’s never meant something more in his life. “But I appreciate you saying so. Thanks again for showing me everything.”

She pulls him into a hug. “Of course, you call me if you ever need anything. We’ll be by sometime this afternoon.”

He nods, and is thankfully out the door with time to spare before Bill can get home.

After a brief visit to Scully’s apartment to grab some of her things, he drives back to the hospital. When he arrives, Scully is awake in her bed, her upper body elevated so she can look out the window. She greets him with a warm smile, and he can’t help but grin back.

“Sorry I took so long,” he says in apology, “Had to make a quick pit stop.”

This catches Scully’s attention, and she watches as he produces a bag from behind his back, setting it on the tray table in front of her and starting to take items out. She recognizes it immediately, and looks up at him in wonder.

“Mulder,” she says, her tone jokingly admonishing. “You didn’t have to bring me this.” She’s smiling still as she starts to sit up, reaching out to grab a tube of lipstick, but he stops her.

“No, no,” he says, gently lowering her hand back down to the table and urging her to sit back and relax. “You take it easy, I’ll take care of this.”

She gives him a look with a furrowed brow, but eases back, watching him suspiciously as he selects a bottle of liquid foundation and a brush.

He sits sideways on her hospital bed so that he is facing her. With the limited space, his thigh brushes up against her blanket-covered one, but it barely even registers. This kind of closeness is nothing particularly unusual for them. If nothing else, it is an added comfort to them both.

“You ready?” he asks, makeup brush poised to start.

Scully searches his eyes for a moment and, deciding she trusts him, gives a nod. “Okay.”

With a pleased little smile, Mulder begins applying a light layer of foundation, leaning in closer to reach as he gently blends it into her skin.

Scully can only watch him, his brows drawn together in focus as he works to meticulously apply the makeup. Her eyes wander over his face, over the sharp lines of his nose and the roundness of his lips. Occasionally his tongue peeks out in concentration, and she can’t help but fall a little more in love with him.

She didn’t ask him to do this. If he thought her needless grousing earlier was a request, she felt terrible. He isn’t her servant. He doesn’t exist to make sure she has all the niceties of her normal life in this cold, sterile place. The last thing she wants is to be a burden, especially to him. He’s had enough to deal with in his life without having to look after his terminally ill coworker.

But that isn’t all they are, is it? They’re friends—the closest of friends. This isn’t the first time he’s gone out of his way to do something nice for her, and she suspects it won’t be the last, no matter how little time she has left. For some reason, he’s taken it upon himself to be with her throughout this whole ordeal, even when it means holding back her hair as she heaves into a trash can or when she can’t adjust the covers over her cold feet.

The words jump into her mind unbidden: “In sickness and in health.”

It’s funny, in a distinctly unfunny way. She supposes she should be thankful that someone cares enough for her in that way, even if they are nothing more than friends and coworkers. In some ways, their partnership is more of a marriage than many people will experience in their lifetimes, and for that she is exceedingly glad. She couldn’t have asked for a better person to have in her life than Mulder.

He’s moved on now to powdering her skin with translucent powder, beginning with her forehead. As he brings the soft brush down between her eyebrows, she scrunches her nose up, hiding a smirk from him. His sloping green eyes soften from their earlier focus and he lets out a chuckle, playfully tickling her nose with the brush.

“You’re not gonna sneeze on me, are ya?” he asks, getting back to work on her cheeks and chin.

Her only answer is a quiet, affectionate smile.

After a careful application of blush on the apples of her cheeks, it’s time for her eyes. She watches him open her eyeshadow palette and rub a brush over one of the colors, and she quirks an eyebrow in concern. As he brings the small brush closer to her face, she draws back and looks at him doubtfully.

“Don’t put too much on,” she says, trying not to laugh at the absurdity of the situation.

Mulder rolls his eyes. “Relax, Scully, I got you.” He starts in again, shifting a few times to find the best angle before gently brushing over her eyelids in an arc.

“I like the brown color,” Scully informs him, her eyes fluttering in an effort to stay closed.

“I know,” Mulder answers. He pulls back just long enough to show her the tip of the brush, which is covered in a tasteful brown, exactly the right shade.

Before she has time to process that he knows what color eyeshadow she likes, she’s being told to close her eyes again and she complies, soaking in the feeling of being taken care of in such an intimate way.

“How did you know what eyeshadow I wear, Mulder?” she asks during a moment’s respite, while he returns the brush to the palette to pick up more of the colorful powder.

Now it’s his turn to glance at her disbelievingly. “I look at you every day,” he answers, as if it were obvious.

She takes in a breath, willing her heart to start beating normally again. The look on his face makes it clear that he’s laughing at her, amused by her lack of self-awareness in this respect.

“And…” he adds amusedly, “this one has clearly been used more than the others.”

Of course, she laughs to herself. There’s no way he was looking at her close enough to guess what shade of eyeshadow she wears. Although his perception of the finer details is greater than that of the average man. He has his Oxford education and eidetic memory to thank for that.

“Who knew a background in profiling could come in handy as a makeup artist?” she says as he finishes blending out the color.

“It was actually one of the main selling points when the FBI recruited me,” he deadpans, enjoying the banter. He could almost forget why she wasn’t able to do her own makeup.

The mascara comes out next, and it requires Mulder to encroach on her personal space even further, to the point where she can feel his breath on her face. He smells of peppermint toothpaste and hazelnut coffee, and she even catches the scent of his shower gel, like fresh rain water. All of this she counts as a marked improvement to the antiseptic smell of the hospital. It smells like their office. It smells like home.

When he’s done all he can to her eyelashes with her eyes closed, he asks her to open them so he can give them the finishing touches. Her eyes flutter open, and she is mildly startled to find him hovering only inches away.

“Do you have to be that close to my face, Mulder?” she asks, carefully hiding her nervousness behind a laugh.

Mulder chuckles and goes back to work, gingerly running the brush over her lashes. “That depends, do you want to be poked in the eye, Scully?”

Resigned to their positioning, she fights the urge cup his elbow with her hand, steadying him as he completes arguably the most delicate part of this routine.

“There,” he says, leaning back at last. “I think that about does it. Except—”

He pauses, reaching onto the tray table to grab the lipstick she’d picked up earlier.

“I knew I was forgetting something.” Before she can prepare herself, he’s removing the lid from the tube and drawing closer again, his hand finding its way to the back of her head to hold her still. She hardly dares to breathe, feeling his fingers threading through her hair as he carefully runs the tip of the lipstick over her lips, depositing the bright color on their surface.

She looks more alive than she has in a while, even if it is a false image.

She wants to avoid eye contact, being this close, with him doing this thing for her, but she can’t. Her eyes are locked on his as they focus intently on keeping the color within the lines of her plump lips. A few times, his eyes flick up to hers, and she catches the way the corners of his mouth quirk up when they do. She wonders what he’s thinking.

In no time at all, it’s done. Every last detail has been tended to, and he pulls back to survey his work. The hand that was resting on the back of her head drags forward along her jawline, and ever so lightly, his thumb comes to rest over her newly-painted bottom lip.

“There’s my Scully,” he says quietly. Proudly.

She feels the tears pooling in her eyes, but there’s nothing she can do about it. He, thankfully, doesn’t mention it.

“Can I see?” she asks, her voice managing not to waver too badly.

He smiles and nods, reaching for a handheld mirror and holding it out to her.

She’s not sure what she was expecting—clown makeup, maybe—but that’s not what she sees at all.

“Oh, Mulder…” She’s finding it very difficult to withhold the tears that are trying to escape. “You—you did a great job.”

Aside from perhaps just a little too much blush, everything is as it should be. She looks healthier, more confident. Her makeup is a mask. It is comforting to her, makes her feel like she can face whatever it is that lies before her. Mulder has always been able to see past that mask, and if it were anyone else, it might bother her. But not him.

“You didn’t cover my mole,” she says, reaching up to touch the offending spot beneath her nose.

Mulder takes her hand and pulls it away from her face. “Cause it’s cute,” he answers simply, smiling at her almost reverently.

She’s surely blushing now.

“How do you feel?” he asks. What a loaded question that is.

She tilts her head, surveying the surface of her face from every angle in an effort to stall long enough to regain her composure. It’s a placebo, she knows, but she feels reinvigorated. Ready to fight another day.

“It’s been a while since I’ve felt like myself,” she answers, her voice thick with emotion. “I… I look beautiful.”

He nods, an unnamable look in his eye, and she swears she hears a mumbled, “You’re always…” before he trails off, dropping his gaze to his lap. He subconsciously squeezes her hand once before letting it go, instead occupying his hands with putting everything away.

“You really did do a good job, Mulder,” Scully speaks after the somewhat awkward silence had persisted long enough. “Have you done this before?”

With a zip of her makeup bag, Mulder looks up at her with squinted, suspicious eyes and jokes back, “What me and the Lone Gunmen do on our boy’s nights is none of your business.”

Scully laughs, amused by the imagery that conjures. Never one to be thrown off, however, she persists. “Well, someone must have taught you,” she declares, raising an eyebrow in his direction. “Who was it?”

She gets a devious look in return. “I’ll never tell.”

-.-.-

As Bill pulls into the driveway after his wild-goose-chase trip to the drugstore (“You made me look like a fool, Mom!”), Margaret Scully greets him, sliding into the passenger seat with a bag full of goodies for her daughter.

He seems to finally be getting over his mother’s betrayal by the time they arrive at the hospital. They walk in, accepting visitor’s badges which they stick on their shirts before taking the elevator up to the oncology ward.

Bill’s admonishing tirade, which had persisted throughout most of the car ride, lingers on between intervening silences as they make their way down the hall. Once they approach Dana’s room, however, Maggie shushes him, holding out an arm to stop him.

Through the window, she sees Mulder setting a tube of mascara aside and exchanging it for lipstick. Bill’s curiosity gets the best of him, and he leans over his mother’s head to see for himself what it was that made his mother pause.

“Let’s give them some privacy,” she says, putting a guiding hand on her oldest son’s arm.

Inside the room, Mulder pulls back, and Bill can see even from this angle how his cheeks widen in a smile. His sister looks like herself again, and he doesn’t miss the shine of tears in her eyes, or the wobbling smile on her lips. Since they were children, he has kept a careful eye on her, monitoring her emotions, the protective big brother that he is.

And that’s why now, he understands. He hadn’t realized before, his own fault for not wanting to believe it.

His sister isn’t being dragged through hell by a sadistic partner, bent on destroying her life and everything she holds dear in one fell swoop. No. The truth is that she does it willingly, walks by his side through even the darkest shadows.

Because Dana is in love with her partner.

And he is undeniably in love with her.

The pieces slowly come together in his mind, everything he knows about Fox Mulder. His mother must have seen it long ago, hence her willingness to help him this morning. And he would have stood in the way.

The thought fills him with shame.

Mulder’s love for Dana goes so far beyond what Bill himself knows about love, that he had almost missed it entirely. What a blessing it is for his sister to experience it, for however brief a time.

With one final glance into the hospital room, Bill allows himself to be pulled away and toward the cafeteria.

“You see now, don’t you, Bill?” his mother asks as they walk, her eyes looking to him hopefully.

He nods, feeling his throat close up with unexpected emotion.

“Yes,” he answers. “I do.”

-.-.-

An hour into Mulder’s in-depth explanation (and diagramming) of the anatomy of dinanthropoides magnipus, otherwise known as “sasquatch” or Bigfoot, someone gently taps on the door.

“Come in!” Scully calls out, thankful for the reprieve.

“I hope we’re not interrupting…” Margaret Scully says as she enters, followed closely behind by Scully’s brother.

Mulder scoots back in his chair, shuffling the papers he’d strewn about and trying his best to fade into the background to provide them some privacy.

“Not at all,” Scully says, and she’s sounding better already than she has since they’d gotten here. “I’m glad you came by. Bill, I didn’t know you were in town.”

Bill clears his throat and steps forward, looking a little uncomfortable but otherwise happy to see his sister.

“I had a few days’ leave. Tara and I decided to make a weekend of it.”

Scully nods and looks between her brother and Mulder, realizing they’d never actually been properly introduced. She hopes they’ll both behave. Lord knows she’s told Mulder enough about Bill over the years, and she’s very familiar with her brother’s opinions about her partner.

She coughs. “Oh, uh, Mulder, this is my brother, Bill. Bill, this is Mulder.”

The two exchange an odd look before Mulder stands, and Bill meets him in the middle with a firm yet friendly handshake.

“Nice to meet you, Mulder,” Bill says with a pointed look, not at all unfriendly.

Mulder nods with a funny half smile. “Likewise.”

There’s another look exchanged briefly before they let go, returning to their respective awkward stances.

“We wanted to bring you some new magazines,” Maggie speaks, carrying a tote bag over to Scully’s bedside. “And Tara sent us with some crayons and coloring pages, in case either of you gets bored.”

Scully smiles, her fingers dragging the corner of Mulder’s silly sasquatch diagram out from its hiding place under a stack of other papers.

“I’m sure Mulder will appreciate being able to enlighten me on the specific coloring of Bigfoot’s spleen,” she says teasingly, and Mulder briefly wishes he could disappear, fearing the look on Bill’s face.

When he looks up though, both son and mother are smiling in amusement, not a hint of malice on Bill’s face.

Maggie leans in to place a kiss on Scully’s cheek, holding her daughter’s hand in hers.

“You’re looking like you feel a bit better,” she says as she pulls away, brushing her fingers over her brow and pushing back a lock of hair. “Lovely makeup, too.”

 With these last words, she looks to Mulder and—discretely—winks.

“Doesn’t she look beautiful, Fox?” Maggie asks, goading him knowingly.

He rises to the challenge, his eyes finding Scully’s and holding.

“Beautiful as always.”

-.-.-

The TikTok video that inspired this made me sob uncontrollably, so I hope I captured some of those same emotions here. I beg you to go watch the video too, but have tissues at the ready. It seriously hasn't left my mind since I saw it the other day. I hope we all have the chance to find a love like that in this lifetime.

Tagging some people: @today-in-fic @teenie-xf @cutemothman @queenlovett @tygertygerfoggybright @baronessblixen

If you ever don't want to be tagged by me, just let me know! You won't hurt my feelings. Alternatively, if you want to be tagged if/when I write more X-Files fics, let me know and I'll make a list!

[ribbittrobbit]

FABIAN!!!! ARAMAIS!!!!!!! SEACASTER!!!!!!!!!

wasn't planning to finish this today, but the spirit of fabian compelled me.

[chimaerakid]

(possible) final draft for my arcade charm! I want it to be double sided :) I'm also thinking about making it into a sticker design as well.

please please please give some feedback if you have any! I've never made physical merch before & I'm planning on using vograce to get them made ^_^

EDIT: Here's the final design!! also read the tags in that post for some extra info :-)

[idkbutimgabby]

Brown Eyes Can Tell - A Seo Changbin 18+ ff

a part two of @roseykat's amazing fic 'Brown Eyes Don't Pry', which left off on such a good little cliffhanger that it inspired me to write this part two (I literally HAD to, it was that good) - PLEASE GO CHECK OUT HER STUFF, I BEG OF YOU!!! And big, BIG, HUGE thank you to @roseykat for letting me write this continuation of her fic and her idea, and being so nice about it!!! I was definitely scared she was going to say sorry but big no, but she was so polite and nice and I just want to thank her for being so accommodating to her readers and fellow authors. So, again, PLEASE check out her stuff, and HUGEEE thanks to @roseykat for letting me post this! Hope it reaches standards lol 🤞🤞

word count:

-2.2k (not including my nervous rambling 😍)

trope:

-friends to friends with benefits (?) roommates to something more (?😭)

-friend/roommate!Changbin x fem!reader

warnings: smut (that's basically the whole thing lmao); spit kink (guilty pleasure, what can I say), unprotected sex (don't be stupid) messy sex, size kink (?) eating out, cumplay, mentions of masturbation, porn, fingering, squirting, degradation, cursing, perverted characters (all consensual)

This includes a lot of smut, so please if you're a minor, DO NOT INTERACT!!! please and thank you 🙏💕💕

Seo Changbin, your friend and roommate, stood in front of you, fingers still pressing gently into you jaw, tilting you head sideways. He was observing you, you could tell. What he was thinking, you had no idea. But the way he was talking to you was starting to annoy you. They way he spoke, so condescending and almost as if he was embarrassed.

You scoff, the blush remaining across your face as you begin to get upset.

"Why were you watching me anyway? What, you said yourself you finished watching me get off. How long were you standing there, watching me like a fucking pervert?" You say, voice coming back to you as you shove his hand away from your face.

He's the one scoffing now, seemingly interested in the way you retaliated.

"Oh, so you're putting shit on me now, huh? As if you weren't the one just getting yourself off on your desk, for fucks sake? No, let's not pretend you weren't waiting for one of us to get home and see you getting off, waiting for one of us to fuck you, like a damn whore." He says, voice darkening, along with those deep brown eyes.

You can't deny you were surprised. You had never heard him speak like this before to anyone, let alone to you. You just roll your eyes, flicking them down for a split second.

"Looks like you'd love to fuck me right about now, judging by that massive situation you've got going on down there." You smirk, matching his condescending tone, pointedly tilting your head downwards.

He falters for a split second, knowing he can't actually deny that. He can't deny that seeing you like that was hot. Very hot. Begging to cum, even though no one was there to hear you. Well, that's what you had thought at the time.

"So what? You try not getting... excited... at someone getting off." He says, trying to defend himself. But, he notices you quickly glancing at your phone. He's confused for a second, but then remembers the video you were watching. Some woman getting pounded into the mattress by some strong, muscly guy. A smirk makes its way across his face, realizing the leverage he regained.

"You do..." He says delightedly, noticing the blush burning across your face once again.

"Do what?" You snap, playing dumb as you shove your phone away from you, scrambling to grab your clothes from your bed.

"Get off to people getting off." Changbin says, giggling hysterically at his own little joke. If you can even call it that. Sure, it's amusing to him, but he can't excuse the fact that there must be some kind of meaning to it. There's something there, he can feel it.

"What, it turns you on or something?" He tries, deciding to just poke around in the dark until he finds what he's looking for.

You shake your head, still fiddling with anything you can find to keep your hands from shaking. He's acting casual, but obviously it's still embarrassing. A lot.

"It's just background noise for when you get yourself off?" He tries again, hopeful.

You shake your head again, shooting him a sharp look.

"You wish it was you?"

Silence. You freeze up, avoiding his eyes, fighting to keep your embarrassment at bay.

Bingo, Changbin thinks, a smirk once again appearing on that smug face, expression darkening with amusement and... yeah, he's horny. How could he not be?

"So... I was right. You do wish that someone will get home, hear your pitiful little whimpers, come in, and start railing you. Isn't that right? I know it is."

You look up at him, brows furrowing in embarrassment and anger, apprehension and... hopefulness. Yes, even though this whole thing has just been massively embarrassing, a part of you still hopes that maybe he'll give you what you want. What you've been craving for so incredibly long now, deprived of touch, of pleasure.

He grins, staring right back at you, thinking about his next move. He decides to just go for it. Felix said he wouldn't be back for a few more hours at least... fuck it. Changbin wants to fuck you, and he wants you to want him to fuck you. Which shouldn't be a problem, judging by how fucking needy and desperate you look right now.

He steps closer to you, grabbing your chin again, tilting it up to meet your eyes. Both of you are holding your breaths, staring into one another's deep brown eyes. Both sets of eyes are sparkly, each pair holding the same emotions. Want, need, even.

"Can I...?"

His voice is in your ear, softer than you had expected, especially considering the situation. But you nod, desperately wanting him to do everything and anything to you.

"Please?" You whisper back, matching his softness. Changbin grins, then grabs your waist and gently pulls you flush to his own body. He stares into your eyes, both pairs now darkening with insatiable need. Need for each other, to feel the other in ways they've only ever dreamed of...

And before you can process all the emotions you're feeling, his lips are on yours. It's soft, sweet, gentle at first. But then his tongue swipes swiftly across your bottom lip, and your mouth opens, lips parting to let him in. You inhale sharply, making him pull away the tiniest bit.

"You okay? Can I keep going?"

You nod immediately, pulling him back to you abruptly. He grins into the kiss, hands starting to roam down, further and further...

He reaches down, fingers hooking into your waistband. Hell, if you had known he was going to help you out, you would never have hastily thrown your clothes back on. He gently slides your sweats and underwear down, leaving you in only your oversized t-shirt.

And God, do you look good in it. He wants to take you right then and there, bend you over and pound into you until you can't even think. But, he'll be patient for now. Well, as much as he can be, anyway. His tongue swirls in your mouth, you just take everything you can get from him. He cups your face with one hand, pulling away suddenly.

He squeezes your cheeks, pinching with his thumb and fingers, getting you to open your mouth. Eyes flashing, he smirks and lets his spit dribble down into your eager mouth. He lessens the pressure, grinning in delight when you swallow immediately. Your lips connect again, and the kiss gets filthier.

You're both basically drooling all over each other, into each other's mouths, spit trickling down both your necks, stickying up both your collarbones and chests. And you both love it; the sounds, the feeling, the sensations.

Not breaking away, he starts undressing himself, pulling down his sweats, tossing them away. He pulls his shirt over his head as quickly as he can, tossing that away as well.

And damn, is he gorgeous. He tries to resume the kiss, but your hands fly to his chest, keeping him slightly away from you.

"Um, wow." You say, suddenly.

He smirks lopsidedly, proud but slightly embarrassed. He grabs your hands and pulls you to him again, bare skin against bare skin, lips and tongues clashing again. He walks you back until your knees buckle against the bed, climbing on top of you and starting to plant kisses on your inner thighs, tongue flicking out every now and then.

Your head flies back as he gets closer to where you need him, where your cunt is dripping. Your previous orgasm had already made you slick, but now you were even wetter, your arousal increasing the more Changbin had teased you. He finally reaches your pussy, tongue flicking out as he eats you out. His pace was slow at first, patient, as if he was savoring every bit, every taste. But soon, he picked up the pace, movements quickening as if he was starving.

Your head was tilted, face halfway turned into the pillows in pleasure, as you felt him insert two fingers. You let out a quiet moan, feeling yourself about to cum all over his face and fingers. He felt it too, the sudden clench of your cunt, as he worked his fingers inside of you, while still flicking his tongue over your clit.

"Bin... m'bout to cum.." You say, voice slightly muffled by the pillows. You feel him nod, tongue increasing its pace over your puffy clit, earning a small gasp from you. His fingers curled into you, pressing over that spot inside you, causing you to snap.

You came all over him, squirting over him and covering his chest and collar and face in your arousal. Panting, you turned your head to him, eyes half closed as you came down from your release.

You saw him grinning at you, as he sat up from between your slightly shaky legs. His face and the top part of his body was shiny and wet, coated by your release.

"Well that was hot." He says, smiling, licking his lips and fingers. Smirking at him, you motion to his cock, signaling to him that you're ready to take him. He's pretty dang big, too... about average length, thick as fuck. But, you're pretty sure you can take him.

He sends you another look, making sure you're comfortable with proceeding. Nodding eagerly, you pull his arm, tugging him closer to you and licking right into his mouth. He kisses you back, starting to slide inside you at the same time. He is thick, and you definitely feel the stretch. But it's insane how much more it turns you on, feeling your own cunt stretching around his dick, sucking him in like he belonged inside you.

Tongues still fighting each other, he slips inside you little by little, stretching you out until he bottoms, hips pressed against each other. He swallows all your little moans, returning with his own small grunts as he pushes inside you.

Fully bottomed out, you pant into each other's mouths, while he gives you time to get used to the stretch. Nodding at him, he begins moving, gently at first, but soon speeding up, just like he did when he was going down on you. His pace quickens, and you reach the brink of orgasm, legs shaking...

But then he pulls out, grinning down at you before kissing your poured lips, flipping you over onto your belly. He spreads your legs out, giving him easier access to slide in again.

The new angle brings you to the edge quickly, and he quickens his thrusts into you, hitting your spot over and over. You're drooling into the pillows, and he gently threads his fingers through your hair, pulling your head back. He uses his thumb to wipe the drool from your chin, pushing it back up to your lips, and poking his thumb past them.

Obediently, you suck on his thumb, but soon your jaw falls slack again due to him pounding into you even faster, feeling like he's hitting deeper inside of you with each thrust. He spits into your mouth again, reveling in the way his saliva drips out of your mouth, still opened in pleasure.

He continues drilling into you until you cum over his dick, release spilling out while he slows his thrusts into you. He quickly feels his own release creeping up on him, amplified after seeing your orgasm. He pulls out and flips you over again, wanting to see your face as he cums all over your breasts and tummy.

You're pretty wiped out, but he seems eager to at least clean you up. How nice of him, right?

He sucks and licks all his own cum off your boobs, leaving small love bites in the valley of your breasts, and all down your stomach. He continues further down, until he reaches your pussy, slick and shiny with your own release. He starts cleaning you up, lapping at you casually, licking up your release, savoring the taste on his tongue again.

He sits back when he's had his fill, then carefully climbs over you and lays on the bed next to you, arms carelessly flung around your waist, hugging you gently.

It's a nice moment, you have to admit. At least, it is until you both hear the front door unlocking, meaning Felix is home.

"Shit... um, okay, you go hop in the shower, I'll clean up here." Changbin says hurriedly, climbing out of your bed and offering a hand to you, gently pulling you out of bed. He helps you hobble to the bathroom, even getting you a fresh towel before closing the door. He pulls on his boxers and sweatpants before going to greet Felix at the door.

But the whole night, he can't help but think about you. Just you, and how much he enjoyed railing the shit out of you. That image of you, fucked out, with drool all over your lips and chin, eyes half closed, lost in pleasure. the pleasure that HE gave to you, made you feel.

And how much he wants to do it again.

It's over! Ooooh cliffhanger, am I right? I guess I'll leave the rest up to you, and if anyone wants to make a part three, I would actually be super interested in reading it 😭And this is my first fic, so I'm kinda nervous lmao 😭 Hope you liked it, and again, please go check out @roseykat and boost her work, it's so good!! Thank you for reading, and I may or may not have a few more ideas and works in progress, so watch this become a writing blog 😨😍 Not super serious, but I'm definitely looking to post a few more fics of my own, so I guess look forward to those? THANK YOU GUYS 🙏💕💕

written from:

[poewriteslemon]

First time with Knives

Summary: You let your demons win and decide to ask Knives if you can sit on his lap, curiosity takes over Knives and some smut ensues

Content: no established relationship, both are virgins, Knives is pretty nice here but will be his usual self in the second part (if I finish that...), reader is female, reader is an overthinker, pet name (Knives calling you good girl & slut, reader calling him master) Only finguring, Like 1.5k words long?

A/N: first time writing smut! I'm sorry if it's not too great <'3 also this is super self indulgent, I only made this for myself but since there's so little Knives smut in here...I must share

NSFW warning!

You've been wondering for a while, how does it feel to be on master Knives lap? To feel his heartbeat, to feel his warmth- or lack of- to have his strong arms around your delicate body. This question has bugged you for weeks, and it was starting to become more of a need than a want. The more time passed, the more you couldn't ignore it and today you finally decided to figure out what would be his reaction. 

"Knives?" You quietly muttered in a room with nothing but the empty piano that you're so used to seeing be played by the man that has captivated your heart. It felt odd being here without Knives around, almost as invading his privacy, but curiosity got the better of you as you made your way to the piano, your fingers gently brushing over the tips of the keys, too scared to actually play any notes to alert the master.

"Y/N?" But there it was, the familiar voice that always made your body jump. You quickly turn around and place your arms behind your back. "Knives! I'm sorry I didn't mean to touch it..." You tried to explain yourself but he only walked towards you, his expression was hard to read under his coat, you could only hope he wasn't angry at you. "Why were you here?" He asks in a softer tone, genuinely confused which makes you sigh in relief, thankfuly this won't be your last day on this planet. “Um..I was actually looking for you.” You admitted, lowering your face to avoid eye contact at all cost.

“Did something happen?”

“No- actually,” You start, taking a moment to collect yourself, finally meeting his eye. “Can we go to your room?” You manage to blur out, a little more enthusiastically than you wanted to. He’s taken it back a little by your honesty, he scratches the back of his head questioning if he should even let you in, and what could be so important that it needs to be talked about privately, but seeing you anxiously wait for an answer makes him give in, he turns around and waves for you to follow him. You smile as you excitedly walk alongside him.

You enter the room, and suddenly all of your anxieties come crashing on you as soon as you realize what you truly wanted. You gulped as your hands fidgeted with each other, how do you tell Knives- basically your master- you want to sit on his lap? And so much more than that??  Your thinking gets interrupted when he points to the bed for you to sit, your heart suddenly begins to beat louder and louder as you feel your chest build a twisted knot. Is now a good time? I shouldn't do it- but when else should I?? Wouldn't he kill me if I even mention this? You tried to speak but words wouldn't come out- “I want to sit on your lap!” ...okay well maybe you just needed your lust to take over your rationality.

His eyes widen as he stares at you, lost entirely for words. “W-what? Why?” He manages to say through the confusion, you cover your mouth as your cheeks heat up- oh my god you dumbass- “I’m sorry I didn’t mean to say it like that! I’m just…curious” You wish god would just strike you down with lightning already. He takes a moment to think and the room goes uncomfortably quiet, until he sighs and removes his coat, showing his muscular build, has his arms always been that big? And his hands…your mind trails off, losing focus on anything else besides his body. Knives sits on the bed, reaching out his hand to you “Come here.” Your heart feels like it could leap outside of your body, it was almost paralyzing but you still manage to sit on top of his lap, feeling as though you were seconds away from melting away.

Your eyesight gets slightly blurry as your brain- no, your body tries to process any of this. “Is that what you wanted?” He asks, not seeing any point in this, you could only nod in response, thanking god he can't see your immensely flustered face. He scoffs in response and places his arms around you. “You humans are so odd- what's the point of something so…” He says, suddenly stopping as he stares at your tiny body compared to his, your gentle hands becoming a nervous mess, your knees slightly rubbing against each other, your breathing, and your heartbeat so close, how your body felt against his…why did it bring his attention now? “Master?” You question, making him focus again. “You’re the most confusing human I've met, I could never figure you out.” He states, never removing his eyesight from your body. You can’t bring yourself to say anything besides an awkward laugh.

The room goes silent, all you can hear is your own heartbeat. It feels awkward- or are you the only one seeing this awkward? No it most definitely isn’t just you- You continue to overthink everything about this situation but a sudden touch in your leg makes you gasp quietly, looking down to see his big hand caress you, drawing circles in your leg. Oh god oh god…. Your breathing becomes sharper, your eyes somehow losing all focus yet still stare intently to his hand. Knives didn’t know why, but your small body being so near to his…it made him curious. He moves his hands on your upper thighs to see your reaction, another gasp comes out of you, interesting. He pushes on, moving to your inner thigh, every slight touch would make your body quiver in response and beg for more, your legs spread wider as your breathing was no longer trying to hide your lust as it turned more into quiet panting.

"Knives…" you murmured under your breath, turning your head to face him but you can't bring yourself to see his eyes. He tilts his head to try and see your expression, he wants to see your cute face as you melt under his touches, he wants to see what makes you excited and what doesn't, he wants to see you, but you look away before giving him that chance. He grunts silently, moving his hand closer and closer to your sensitive area but he stops entirely, making you almost look at him- but you can't, it's too embarrassing. His other hand touches your belly over your clothes, you bite back a moan as his long finger gently makes his way to your chest, and then your nipple that was showing through your shirt. He begins rubbing circles again, this time a moan comes out, you want him to just hurry up and put his dick inside you, but gosh this felt so fucking good, you couldn't complain. He stops, now putting his hand behind the shirt and touching your warm body, making your whole body tremble, every small touch felt like heaven to you. His other hand still hasn't gotten there yet, and your hips became desperate as you started thrusting a little, hoping something would make your aching body feel something, but there's nothing there. "What do you want me to do?" He whispers into your ear, almost taking a bite but he resists his urges, you gulped and tried to speak but nothing but quiet moans came out, you could barely focus at all and he didn't like your silence at all, so he began to finally touch your aching are, but only slightly over your panties, it could barely be called a touch. "Knives…" you moaned trying to get him to touch you, to fuck you, but he doesn't do it. You couldn't take it anymore "Please…" you beg, but he still doesn't do anything. "Say what you want." You hesitated, but you knew you had to swallow your pride and just say it. "Touch me more..fuck me already please.." You blurred out in between your desperate panting, he smirks to himself, placing a quick kiss on your neck "Good girl."

He finally begins rubbing your pussy, it's slow and nowhere near enough for you, but you still exhale in relief. For someone who's never had sex before, he sure knew how to use his fingers. He used two fingers to rub your area, the rest to touch the surroundings, after a bit, he lifts up his hand and shows you his thick, yet delicate fingers. "You're already this wet, huh? You've been thinking about this for a while haven't you?" He teases, you shake your head no but we all know better than that. He removes your soaked panties to the side, taking a moment to himself. Fuck that's hot, he thinks before he begins to rub your clit with one finger, you loudly moan at the cold surface hitting your warm inside, grabbing his arm to calm down your pleasure, it didn't work. "Wait-" you tried to say more but the sudden thick finger pushing in made your head jolt back with a loud moan, your eyes started to get watery and your body wouldn't stop shaking. "Do you like that? Or would you prefer…" He inserts another finger in, they both push in and out of your wet pussy, making lewd noises that covered the room, it was embarrassing to hear but it made you so desperate to hear more, especially from him. Your hips moved accordingly with his fingers entering you, making loud noises as the two clashed between each other, your mouth drooled as tears began to fall, his hands never stopping from touching their respective areas. "Faster.." You commanded but he didn't obey, he stopped touching your nipple and turned your head to finally see him "I'm the master here, not you." Suddenly his lips meet yours, if you weren't already feeling dizzy then that definitely changed now. You wanted both his hand and tongue deeper and deeper, you wanted him to touch your g-spot, to make you see the stars from so much lust, you wanted the man you loved to turn you into a complete mess.

The kiss was sloppy but you never moved away, even when you needed to catch your breath. He pushes you away for a moment when he realizes so, you gasped loudly as a string of saliva connects the two of you. You could hear his breathing now become less controlled, his pacing becomes faster, you grab his arm tighter and your mix of moaning and panting echoes through the room. You begin to cry at how overwhelming it all feels. "I'm going to cum-" you groaned as you could feel it build up from inside you, he kisses you again, this time using more of his tongue, never once wanting to leave you as his fingers fuck you harsher and faster, he let's out a small groan at the sight of your quivering body, such an adorable human now looks like a total slut. "Knives!" You screamed, your back arching back as you could feel the inside of you get full with your orgasm, you kept gasping for air and your body gave in, he never removed his hand till you came down from your high. He kisses your neck once more, his other hand that has been touching your chest moves to remove your tears. You rest your head on him and your panting turns into breathing again. "Fuck…" you whispered, he stops kissing your neck and finally removes his now slimy hand from inside you, he let's out a quiet moan in between your neck, did this really just happened? 

You turned your body around and placed your hands on his chest, your breathing now becoming normal but your eyes were full of pure lust. He didn't fully show it, but fuck he was hard, who wouldn't be after their first time with someone as cute as you "Please..I want you inside of me" You beg, legs still trembling but needing more, and how could he ever deny such a beauty of her wishes.

[imlostontheinternet]

First Impressions, Ch. 1 is up!

A tribute fic to the wonderful @llamagoddessofficial and her wonderful Pride and Prejudice AU!

[myimaginarywonderland]

Hello people it's me. After struggling how to do this, here's finally how I am uploading my post about Lance's F1 career.

I decided to hit you guys with the qualy comparisons of him and his teammates first and foremost. It's just data where I highlight the Qualifyings he did better in but I thought it would be nice to see how far of he actually was.

Before going into my very long rant (about 8000 words) that I tried to keep as objective as possible I do want to note that of course there will be personal opinions and comments throughout as I am also just human and a fan as well. And with that note, let's dive in

Lance Stroll's journey to F1 and the question of why he is probably one of the most underrated drivers on the current grid

Lance career began in 2008 when he first started carting. During 2008 and 2009 he won multiple championships in the Canadian junior category. 2010 saw him winning the Rotax Mini Max of the Florida winter Tour. In that same year he was signed on by the Ferrari driver academy. Considering he was only 11 at the time and had basically only just started carting, that was a huge deal. Yes not every signed driver by Ferrari makes it blah blah but they made it very clear that they saw potential in him and wanted him to be racing in Europe for them. So, 2011 saw Lance first time competing in European championships. In one of those he was 9th for example. The just mentioned WSK-Euro Series in KF3 saw some familiar drivers such as the winner, Max Verstappen. Some other names that might sound family for example P2 would be Esteban Ocon or George Russell in P7.

2012 and 2013 saw him once again in many carting championships before he started Formula racing in 2014. He competed in the Florida Winter series where he got a pole and two podiums once again up against Max and drivers such as Tatiana Calderón or Antonio Fuoco. But most importantly from that year, he won the Italian F4 championship by nearly a hundred points. 2015 saw him competing in the European F3 championship where he finished 5th after the following drivers (all names many of you will be family with): Jake Dennis, Charles Leclerc, Felix Rosenquvist and Antonio Giovinazzi. That same year also saw him finishing 8th in the Macau GP behind once again driver such as Charles Leclerc and Felix Rosenquivst. He also in that year won the Toyota racing series by over a hundred points. This year he also left the Ferrari driver program and joined the Williams academy. He became their development driver for 2016.

In 2016 he once again competed in the F3 to this time win it by a nearly 200 point advantage. P2 saw Maximilian Günther and P3 was none other than George Russell. He also raced the Daytona 24 Hours where his team finished 5th overall.

Before we move on F1, I do feel the need to address something that has been brought up multiple times. The rumours that Lance had a better car because his father was rich, that his team-mates never had a chance etc. I think that is complete bullshit and frankly manly used to underline his talent. Even with the best car, the worst driver would do something wrong. Sure you can call him mid but considering the huge gap he had in his second year, I think it's fair to say he had talent in him. Also the fact that Felix regularly comments on Lance posts does not seem like there is any bad will against him. Yes, he had better equipment etc. to win but the way he wrapped up the season still speaks to his talent.

2017- The start of it all

Lance started his F1 career in 2017 with Williams. His team mate then was Felipe Massa. This was a huge leap considering Lance short experience with Formula racing and it was understandably questioned. Nonetheless 2017 saw him starting alongside Felipe who jumped into that seat after Val signed with Mercedes following Nico's retirement. I think it is also noteworthy to mention here that in 2016 he already was a development driver for them so there was always the probability for him to drive. I personally think he could and should have done another year in Formula racing (F2) but that is my own opinion. What people however also seem to forget is that will it might have been to early for him in F1, he did have a bit of experience as the Williams development driver. And considering that they had just lost Val who looked like one of the youngest and most promising drivers on that grid, it made sense for them to search for another young driver for their team.

He made his depute in the Australian GP. During that third free practice, he crashed as he was going too fast which then resulted in him having a penalty (he qualified last.) At the race start he gained about 7 places before he had brake issues and had to retire the car. His second race saw him qualifying tenth but immediately taken out on the first lap by Sergio (could be argued for a race incident but I think there's more blame on Perez.)

Now, his third race same him time wise qualify closer to his team mate but only in 12th place. In the race he flat spotted his tyre and did an early pitstop before his collision with Sainz. (Sainz came out of the pit lane very quick and just dive bombed into him. He was behind even after exiting the pit lane so Sainz should have waited for Lance to drive past.)

Russia finally saw a turn around in his luck. He once again qualified 12th and finished the race in P11. His fifth race after that saw him just mere 3 tenth off his team mate but sadly out in Q1 and overall he finished P16.

Monaco saw him crash out in FP2 and qualify 18th. He got up to 15th and then later in the race had to retire because of overheating brakes. Luck once again not on his side.

Canada finally saw a change when he not only qualified 7th but managed to come 9th in the race. He finally scored his first points in his home race.

Then Azerbaijan happened and for the first time ever Lance out-qualified his team mate and got 8th. But that is nothing compared to the drive he managed to pull off in that race. He wasn't the quickest but he once again proved that sometimes just consistently driving is enough to get into a good position and then profit from it. Many of the top teams drivers dropped out due to penalties or problems but that doesn't discredit Lance consistent drive in the top 10 which managed to get him a podium spot. Incredible how he managed to keep a gap and his place and only just missed out because of Val in the last corners. If not for that he would have gotten P2. A great race from him.

Next race once again not a great Qualifying in P18 but still managed P10. The first two laps saw Lance move up to P11 and then hang around that most of the race.

Next race he qualified 16h (penalty moving him up 1 place) and dropped to 16th .

The next race he qualified 17th and finished 14th. His qualifying was hindered by Kvyat.

After that he got once again unlucky and because off a damaged rear wing was only able to set one lap which meant he qualified 18th and finished just outside the points in 11th.

Then, something I feel like many people also don't know, Lance started the next race as the youngest driver ever on the front row (he originally qualified only 4th but penalties of both RedBull drivers put him up to second place.) During that entire qualifying he was only slightly off from the top 3 teams. Did he drop back during the race? Yes, he only finished 7th but you have to consider that his car did not have the race pace to compete with any of the three top teams and he wasn't even in the best midfield car. Side note, this was a wet qualifying and just behind him was Esteban. Funnily enough that changed in the race where he and Esteban where the best mid field drivers behind the top teams.

The next race yet again saw him qualify 18th and yet he finished the race in 8th. A chaotic race with many DNFs saw Williams massively profit, especially Lance. After that the following race saw him qualify 13th and once again finish 8th.

After that another qualifying in 18th. That race saw Lance up to 11th before he sadly went off and then seemed to struggle with the car. After that he ultimately failed to finish as a result of a puncture on his front wheel.

In the US GP he qualified 17th as a result of a penalty for him hindering Romain. The race saw him finish 11th, just outside of the points. Mexico saw him qualify 12th and finish in 6th. A great race from him where he was in the top 5 until Seb overtook him.

After that he once again qualified 18th and finished 16th. He was two laps down after a problem with a front tyre. The last race saw him qualifying 15th and he finished 18th .

Another incident that many like to blame him for here is the post-race crash with Seb. Bizarre but truly only because it seems like neither is really fully at fault. Also, if this is one of the only things you can use against a driver, maybe you might want to reconsider if he truly is such a bad driver. Anyways, I still put a video here for anyone that is interested. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRAN9pzdwsw

So, what does that mean for his first F1 season?

Well, his qualifying besides Imola you could argue was lacking pace and I absolutely will agree that it was bad. Then again what would you expect in someone's first F1 season, especially when up against a solid driver like Massa? Still, his qualifying definitely should have been better, I will agree. He was too inconsistent and too far off. In comparison to Massa he seemingly could make up places more easily though. All of the negatives are clearly overshadowed by the fact that in his first F1 season he was only 3 points behind his team-mate with double the amount of DNFs.

Not to mention that he not only is one of the youngest podium sitters but he is also the youngest front row starter (All in his first season.)

He had 4 DNFs of which he was not at fault for anyone of those (maybe in the racing incident but then again I see the blame more at Perez side than anyone else’s.) Yes he had about 3 free practices were he crashed then again he is was a rookie. Sure it's not great but accidents like that happen especially when you are not only new to the car but the entire form of racing.

So, all in all if you look at his statistics:

For his first season he managed a podium, a front row start and 6 points finishes in maybe the 6th best car? He finished just three points behind his team-mate in 12th (with 40 points) in the overall standing. His average Qualifying position was 14 and his average race finish was 11th.

Considering he had no F1 experience, had only been racing in Formula championships for 3 years at that point and was up against Felipe Massa who is still regarded very highly, I would say he did quiet al-right.

If anyone is interested in his DNFs, so you can form your own opinion:

Sadly I can't find a video of his first incident but the race is easy to find.

Here is him and Perez https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ka11N-hLshE

Here is a video of him and Sainz colliding https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDNGfCTpJpQ

This was in China where he had a puncture on his front wheel (Also he could barely avoid Daniel since it is hard to steer when your wheel is like that yet he still managed to not make it into a big incident which I think deserves some credit)

https://www.facebook.com/Formula1/videos/japan- 2017-lance-strolls-puncture/907887256034924/

2018- a season to forget

Now in 2018, without a doubt there was a huge step back which is because that car was truly not it. I would say it was the worst car on the grid, therefore you should take these results as the lest credible. That Williams wasn't predictable in many ways and you could probably name this as the season the team went downhill. With Sergey as a new teammate and Lance only a year in F1, there also was the problem with having inexperienced drivers to give feedback for that car and lead the team.

In the opening race he qualified 14th and finished in that same position. After that he qualified 20th and finished 14th again. China saw him 18th and once again finish 14th .

Then he just merely missed out on 10th and qualified 11th and somehow managed to get into the points at 8th. I should mention however that this race saw may DNFs but I think he still did a good job with that car.

Spain saw him 19th but he managed to finish 11th in that race. Again capitalizing from DNF but still impressive considering he qualified behind his teammate. His bad qualifying continued with 18th and saw him finish in 17th .

Sadly at his home race it wasn't much better with a 17th place and DNF after a collision with Brendon Hartley. France saw him qualify last again and DNF as a result of a tyre blow out.

After that he finally managed to get into Q2 again, qualifying 15th and finishing in 14th , getting a 10-second penalty for ignoring blue flags.

In Great Britain Lance had to start from the pit lane because parts of his car were changed and still managed to finish 12th. Once again he was able to profit from some unfortunate DNFs but still a good drive.

In the 11th race he qualified 19th and once again had a DNF as a result of a problem with his brakes (They retired the car during a safety car period).

The next race saw him qualify 15th but start from the pit lane due to changes under Parc-fermé which meant he only finished 17th. Spa saw him qualify 19th again and finish 13th.

Monza finally brought good results in a 10th place in Qualy and a 9th place finish. He was nearly the best of the rest in a car that somehow just seemed to work on that track. Probably his best race of that season. A great drive.

After that he qualified 20h again and finished 14th. Once again making up places and outplacing his teammate.

Russia saw him last in Qualifying and 15th in the race. Then he qualified 14th and finished 17th.

The US GP saw him qualify 18th and finish 14th. Qualifying in Mexico saw Lance 19th again but he finished the race in 12th.

That picture didn't really change much in Brazil where he once again was 19th and finished 18th. And the season didn't really end on a high. Qualifying last and finishing in 13th.

So, how can we sum this up?

Well, even though this season was arguably his worst he still somehow got 6 points which is 5 more than his team mate Sergei Sirotkin. While his Qualifying still was lacking(an average of 17), it is still impressive that with that car he managed to have an average race finishing position of 13th. It is also notable that he was often times making up at least 3 places in his races where he finished higher which given the struggle that car seemed to be is worthy of noting. In comparison to his team-mate it is clear that Lance struggles in Qualy but consistently finishes in a similar position.

Out of the two of them he also managed to get multiple points finishes even though he qualified further back, something which I would argue is a strength of him. Yes most of their points finishes were as a result of the others misfortune but still, they had to capitalize during these races and most of that did come from Lance. Also, quiet a bit of Qualy saw him closer to his teammate.

Here's the DNFs for anyone that is interested:

Canada was arguably the biggest one where I understand why people might blame Lance but seeing how unpredictable that oversteer was and how he struggled with the car I would say it was more a racing incident than anything.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwPn_GCa3mU

The tyre blow out in France https://twitter.com/F1/status/1010997824928878592

There isn't anything about Germany but watching the race you will see them retire the car towards the end.

2019- a season of change

Lance went to Racing Point and now has Sergio Perez as his team mate. Obviously with Lawrence buying RP and saving that team as well as Esteban losing his seat, Lance was not at all well received and already was guaranteed to be heavily judged, more so than what would have likely been fair. While I do get that point of Esteban losing his seat, I would also argue that the team of Sergio and Esteban was clearly not working and would have in the long run probably cost that team more points than they liked so I think there also is a tactical reason behind it.

In Australia he qualifies 16th but what people don't remember is that in Q1 he and Checo were only separated by less than a tenth of a second. That race sees Lance finishing 9th. After managing his tyres longer than Perez he managed to stay in the top 10,even closing in to 8th while having to keep others behind.

The second race of the season sees Lance qualifying 18th and finishing 14th. Next race Lance qualifies 16th and finished 12th.

The fourth race sees Lance qualify 16th and finishing 9th. He made up a flew places and was even closing in at the end.

Spain sees Lance qualify 17th and not finishing after coming together with Lando.

The next race saw Lance qualifying 18th just behind Sergio and ultimately finishing 16th.

Lance home race once again sees him qualify 18th just under a tenth behind Sergio. He manages to finish in 9th place. Just going to add this little video that quickly shows some of the moves he made . A great race for him.

https://www.facebook.com/Formula1/videos/canada-2019-stroll-puts-on-a-show-for-his-home- fans/824107727965322/

The 8th race sees him in 18th but he manages to finish the race in 13th, just a place behind Sergio.

Austria once again sees Lance just a tenth behind Sergio in 17th and that race he finishes in 14th.

Something very similar happens the next race when Lance is just about a tenth of Sergio and qualifies 18th. That race he finishes 13th.

The German GP sees Lance finally in Q2 in 15th place. That race he comes 4th. An incredible drive to the surprise of many considering this is a wet race where a lot of drivers got themselves out of podium positions. Yes he was leading that race for a short while and was potentially on for a podium but I don't think there is any way he could have beaten that Ferrari or RedBull/Toro Rosso package who just seemed more dominant. Yeah sure you could argue what would have happened but the fact was, Racing Point made the smartest decision that race and got the maximum points thanks to Lance driving.

After that great race he qualifies 19th and finishes 17th.

In Belgium he qualifies 13th but due to changes of car parts starts from the back. Despite that he still finishes that race in 10th place.

The next race he finally manages to outqualify Sergio by quiet a margin and gets himself into Q3 and 9th place. Sadly he drops back to 12th in the race.

In Singapore he once again is less than a tenth behind Sergio in Q1 but sadly only manages P16.

During that race he gets up to 13th place.

Russia sees him P15 (P14 after a penalty for Pierre) and then up to P11. He just missed out on points.

In Japan he once again outqualifies Sergio and get P12, managing to climb up to P9. He finished just behind Checo.

Mexico saw him 16th and getting up to 12th.

In the US GP Lance once again by a huge margin manages to outqualify Sergio and gets 14th place.

In the race he finishes 13th. In Brazil he qualifies 17th and DNFs. The last race sees him qualify 13th and sadly not finishing.

This was an incident at Monza that many like to use against Lance where Seb clearly rejoins the track in an unsafe manner causing Lance to nearly crash. Lance does it similarly and I agree that it was stupid from him but also Lance clearly was on the racing line and his engineers should have told him who was coming from behind as every driver would want to go back into the race and away from the racing line. You can clearly see by the speed of the cars behind that the field was close together. Still not a good manoeuvre from Lance but in my opinion different from Seb.

https://www.facebook.com/Formula1/videos/2019-italian-grand-prix-vettel-and-stroll-collide-at- monza/269709670687851/

So what can we say about Lance's season?

I think he showed a step up in Qualy. If you look at his and Checo's times in most Q1s they were often less than 3 tenths apart and they were times when Lance was even less than a tenth off. I think he was still inconsistent but his Qualifying definitely improved. And I think the big points gap is largely down to Lance qualifying further back. You can see that there are quiet a few races where they made up the same places but because Lance qualified further back so he got less points.

Then again you have to question how much of their points or performance difference might be down to Checo having been with the team for a longer time and being a more experienced driver.

Did he outperform the car? Did Lance underperform? I think you can see progress here from Lance and I think many people misjudge their points difference. You also have to see that Lance in that year could have gotten a podium and scored the teams highest result. If you round their averages, Lance qualifies 15/16th place and finishes 12 while Sergio qualifies around 12/13th place and has an average finish of 10th .

Here's the DNFs for anyone that wants to check them out:

This is Lance and Lando. Honestly, for me a pure racing incident. Lance didn't expect Lando to make a move there, Lando might have been a bit too enthusiastic with that manoeuvre. I wouldn't put blame on one of them, just a simply misjudgement and miscommunication that cost both of them the race.

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/video.spanish-gp-norris-stroll-clash-brings-out-

the-safety-car.6060938080001.html

In Brazil he ran over debrief and as a result of that might have broken his front suspension.

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/video.brazilian-gp-stroll-retires-with-front-suspension-damage.1687522499774886264.html

In Abu Dhabi there is firstly a first lap incident which damages his car. I can see fault on his part but I also think that this is just a typical first lap incident that is unfortunate. I couldn't exactly find a clip where it shows him retiring but ultimately a brake issue forced him to retire.

2020 and the story of what could have been

Oh 2020 my behated. Lance is still with Racing Point and still has Sergio as a team mate.

The first race saw him qualify 9th and than immediately out of the race. He had to retire with engine issues and could have possibly scored points had that not happened (he would have likely been P8 or P9.) The next race saw qualify 13th and finish 7th just behind Sergio. An incredible drive that saw him defending his position until the line quiet literally.

Hungary saw him start from P3, an incredible Qualifying and finish P4, just behind the Mercedes and Max. He was basically a top driver during that weekend. There was no better result to achieve.

The British GP after that ended with him in P9 after starting P6.

In the Anniversary GP he started P6 and finished in P6.

The sixth race saw him start from P5 and finish in P4. Once again being the best outside of the expected top 3.

It continued so well with a start and finish of P9 in Spa.

It got even better when Monza came and Lance managed P3 after starting P8. Yes, he did throw away a potential win but I am certain that he would have been overtaken by Sainz anyway because he had more speed that weekend with the McLaren package so I don't think he could have ever finished higher than P2.

And then it went downhill with Mugello, kick-starting the “What ifs”. From P6 (he moved up after Perez took a penalty) to a DNF. A puncture sent him to the barriers possibly costing him a podium.

Before going off he was P4 chasing P3. At the very least he would have gotten a P5 finish.

Next up was Russia where Lance qualified 13th. When I say it starts to go downhill, I mean it. He was fighting for P11/P12 and then got taken out by Charles. I am certain he would have at least got P10 if he hadn't crashed out, potentially even up to P8.

The next race Lance misses out because of Covid so on to Portugal we go. He qualified 12th, not bad. Then of course there is the incident with Lando which for me personally was a racing incident but I can see the blame on Lance. It was an ambitious move, some might cool it reckless but so many people would be praising any other driver if that had worked. It ultimately resulted in him having to retire because of that damage.

Next up was Imola where Lance started 15th and finished 13th. Due to contact with Esteban during the first lap he had to pit early and that basically ruined any chance he had at the race.

And then Turkey happened. The heartbreak and elation that weekend inspired. First off all, if anyone tries to discredit Lance Pole as anything other than possibly one of the greatest Qualifying results in the last years I am smashing their heads with a hammer. Yes that Racing Point was a fast car. Yes, they obviously could be podium contenders if Mercedes or RedBull messed up. But considering Max reputation and Lewis pure race craft, I don't think anyone thought that they would be anything other than the top 2 drivers. And in comes Lance with a lap about 3 tenth faster than Max in a worse car.

Incredible. And then Racing Point saw that and + Sergio's P3 and went “Nah, we can only have one of them on the podium.” During that race I genuinely thought the first 30 laps that Lance would win. And then they go against his pit call which turns out to have made things worse (no pace) and discover later on that Lance had a problem with his front wing which slowed him down. Therefore he only got 9th.

I don't really want to talk about Bahrain because the only thing that mattered about that race was seeing Romain get out of the car but I have to if I want to recap Lance performance. I am going to keep it short. He qualified 13th and didn't finish as he was turned upside down by Kvyat. Would have probably been a points finish but truly nothing of that race really matters or mattered other than Romain being okay.

The next race finally saw something good again with Lance qualifying 10th and being third on that podium. This was overshadowed by Sergio's win but it was a great result from him and the team.

The last race saw Lance in P8 and finishing in P10.

Spain had a great start for him again which I just want to add here.

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/video.spanish-grand-prix-stroll-overtakes-bottas-with-amazing-start.1687526223371988110.html

So, what is the overall season summary?

This was without a doubt Lance best season. I mean come on. The only reason why people think he did bad is because they merely look at the points which you can't. Lance had so many DNFs this season where he wasn't at fault and which meant he missed out on huge points. I don't doubt that if he only had half of the DNFs or even if Turkey had gone the way it should have, he would very much be closer to Checo. Without a doubt he was never as close to a team-mate than he was in 2020. Even Qualy shows how mostly they were so close pace was. I think he would have had at least 2 other podiums (Mugello and Turkey) if luck had just been a bit more on his side. So therefore I think he would have had at least a 100 points. Sadly that didn't happen.

But this was undoubtedly his greatest season so let's just collect his achievement that he did have: He got the best qualifying results of the team that year, a pole and a third place. He also got two podiums and two fourth place finish. All the races expect 1 that he finished were Top 10 finishes. He outqualified his team mate multiple times.

Here are the DNFs if anyone wants to look them up:

There is no clip I can find of the Austria GP since they basically just call him into the pits.

The Mugello DNF (This is a fairly heavy crash so don't watch it if you can't see stuff like that) A possible puncture, another incident completely out of his hands.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1ebaeSw8ZE

This was Russia where Lance got taken out by Charles. I don't really think it's the worst attempt I have seen but yeah, blame to Charles because he clearly saw Lance if that camera perspective is anything to go by.

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/video.2020-russian-grand-prix-sainz-and-stroll-crash-out-in-chaotic-sochi-race-start.1687515300528811143.html

Lance and Lando's collision during the Portuguese GP (I can accept that the move by Lance wasn't the smartest and I can also fully understand why people blame him.) However I think so many people jumped on this because of the Free Practice incident between Max and Lance where it was clearly just a miscommunication and misunderstanding.

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/video.2020-portuguese-grand-prix-stroll-and-norris-collide-at-turn-1.1687510148078074772.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QJTAVnaLRI

(This is said Free Practice accident)

Kyvat flipping Lance (again you shouldn’t watch this if you cant deal with heavier crashes). Some say racing incident, I would say more blame an Daniil but I am just happy Lance was okay especially after Romain's accident before.

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/video.2020-bahrain-grand-prix-stroll-flips-and-crashes-after-kvyat-contact.1687510862145773128.html

2021- up against a champion

Now it's time for change! Not only is the team now Aston Martin but Seb is Lance new team mate. And the car is well there.

In the first race Lance outqualifies Seb and not only starts but also finishes in 10th.

Imola presents a similar picture where Lance outqualifies Seb and gets 10th place. And he finishes 8th! Sure he got a 5 second penalty for leaving the track but that is still a good start to the season.

In the third race it starts to go a bit downhill with Lance qualifying in 17th and finishing in 14th , just behind Seb in 13th.

Spain once again sees Lance start and finish in the same place, this time 11th. That qualy saw him just miss out on P10 where he was off less than 10/1000. He had some good battles though like with Fernando.

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/video.2021-spanish-grand-prix-stroll-wins-wheel-to-wheel-battle-with-alonso.1699487558908336755.html

The next race is good once again. Lance qualifies 13th and finishes 8th. Considering that this is Monaco and there isn't really any overtaking opportunity, that's huge especially with Seb finishing P5.

Baku sees well a bit of a downer. First he has his Qualy crash (Absolutely his mistake then again hitting the wall happens to many drivers) and during his race he suffers a tyre blow out which causes him to crash

(See the qualy crash here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txr4NfOoZys).

In France he once again fails to set a qualy time to get out of Q1 but more as a result of bad timing. He couldn't have predicted the others would crash so no fault on him there. He even managed to set a lap which was sadly deleted but would have been faster than Sebs. He somehow manages to get back to 10th place just one behind Seb in the race.

Styria sees Lance qualify in P10 and finish in P8.

The next race once again sees him P10 in Qualy and then the race finishes with him in P13 with a 5 second penalty for speeding in the pit lane.

The tenth race sees him start in P15 and finish in P14 in the sprint. In the actual race he gets P8.

Hungary looks promising with a P12 start but then well carnage happens. I will comment on those incidents in a bit.

On to Spa where he qualified P15 but was sent back to P20 as a result of the collision in Hungary. I won't talk about this race because it was still one of the biggest jokes and bullshit things this sport has done in recent years. Lance got a penalty for the work done under the stopped race. All in all a weekend to forget.

Zandvoort could be promising with a P12 start. Nothing major happens, he also finishes P12. He has a moment with Seb where Lance moves across from Seb to possibly cover him off from overtaking him. Dangerous driving I will admit.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLT3XQ96FAY

Monza sees him Qualify 12th and manage to get up to 10th during the sprint qualy. In the race he finishes P7. He does another borderline move on Seb which I won't deny. I however feel like people over dramatize it. For me that wasn't nice but it was still okay. The only reason why people really criticize it so much is because you shouldn't do that to a teammate. Again I can understand why people dislike it but that still doesn't take away from the great job Lance did that weekend, considering he just missed out on Q3.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rRMnO3mmPY

Russia is there, with a P8 start and a P11 finish. But we obviously have to talk about it. Not only did he have a great start where he overtook multiple cars but he also hit the wall and had contact with Seb. He hit the wall as it started to rain but he was still able to keep going. The incident with Seb is well yeah Lance fault. But I think it wasn't so much mean spirited as more plain underestimating space and possible struggle with the conditions. Seb even said that it was a misunderstanding and that Lance probably didn't see or expect him there.

https://www.facebook.com/Formula1/videos/2021-russian-grand-prix-mega-stroll-start/228625209311917/

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/video.2021-russian-grand-prix-onboard-as-stroll-slides-into-the-wall.1712063737151581609.html

Turkey has a P9 start and a P9 finish but once again shows Lance skill as it is a wet race.

The next GP sees a P12 start and P12 finish. Quiet a race though as Lance was first spun by Nicholas Latifi and then nearly had a collision with Mazepin.

https://www.facebook.com/Formula1/videos/2021-united-states-grand-prix-nicholas-latifi-and- lance-stroll-collide/248666900567613/

https://www.facebook.com/Formula1/videos/2021-united-states-grand-prix-mazepin-strolls-close- call/402411924879898/

Mexico comes with a slap of penalties so qualy doesn't really matter anyway. He also crashes in Qualy. https://www.facebook.com/Formula1/videos/2021-mexico-city-grand-prix-stroll-crashes- out-of-quali/627086791628083/

Still a P14 finish though.

Brazil once again sees the useless sprint Qualy which manages to get Lance up from P15 to P14.

Nothing really happens in that race position wise for him so he stays P14. However he has a scrap with Yuki which honestly was just Yuki in my opinion trying a way too ambitious move. They actually fought quiet a bit that race. Lance retired in the race as a result of the damage he suffered from the accident in the first lap.

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/video.2021-sao-paulo-grand-prix-tsunoda-and-stroll-collide-at-interlagos.1716425125628029095.html

Quater sees Lance in P12 and he manages to get a P6 finish! A great drive from him especially considering that he had to make his tyres last longer.

The penultimate race sees both Astons struggling in Qualy with Lance in P18. He manages to get up to P11.

We don't want to talk about Abu Dhabi because it was a robbery and a shit show but we have to because people keep saying it was only bad for Lewis when drivers like Lance where also massively effected by the FIAs incompetence. He started P13 and finished that race but by god was it a nightmare. I am just going to leave the comms between him and his engineer here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wK5SbgqcjIA

My summary:

While last season showed how great Lance can be, this season was huge for him in terms of development. Not only did he outqualify Seb multiple times but he also was incredible consistent.

Almost every race saw him somewhere between 8 or 12th with an average finish of 11th. Yes Seb has more points but almost half of those came from his podium (which I am absolutely not discrediting or taking away, just merely pointing it out.) If you consider that Seb has over 10 years in that sport compared to Lance rushed into it and now being in his 5th + Seb being one of the greatest for many, it truly speaks to Lance credit how close he was to him and how much he managed to consistently score.

I won't deny that this however also is the season where I would argue Lance had some questionable manoeuvres and many borderline racing incidents. This however also shows that even with a car that wasn't great Lance was consistently in the midfield battling for points.

Here's the DNFs:

Baku which sadly was just out of his hands

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/video.2021-azerbaijan-grand-prix-stroll-escapes-heavy-high-speed-crash.1701823437935060912.html

The Hungary chaos from multiple perspectives. You can clearly see that Lance is of course at fault for it but he immediately recognizes that and apologizes. There's been mistranslations where it looks like he blames Val which is not true. He knows he fucked up. Drivers look up but yeah totally on him although I will say I first thought he was trying to avoid that carnage by going onto the grass. In his interview after he says he possibly ran over debrief which given the carnage in front of him isn't hard to believe. So yeah, for me personally more of a domino effect then anything.

Valtteri's bad start set a series of unfortunate events into motion.

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/video.2021-hungarian-grand-prix-drivers-react-to-turn-1- crash.1707071583705474820.html

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/video.lance-stroll-reacts-to-disaster-hungarian-grand-prix-start-crash.1706899140973058269.html

2022- a shitbox in green

Another year at Aston Martin with Seb but instead of a bad car they now got a green tractor to honour Sebs environmental perspective.

In the first race Lance qualified 19th and finished 12th. The second race sees Lance start in P15 and finish P13 but a lap earlier due to a longer pit stop and damage after coming together with Alex.

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/video.2022-saudi-arabian-grand-prix-albon-found-to-blame-for-clash-with-stroll.1728538480607161440.html

Australia sees well a bizarre qualifying. Lance and Nicky crash during Q1 for which Lance later gets penalized. In my opinion completely undeserved. As you can see, Nicky clearly moves over to let cars pass which Lance then does only for Nicky to seemingly want to retake that position very fast with a much to small gap. I don't fully blame Nicky but I understand why Lance didn't expect him to come back so quickly and I personally see it as a bad communication example more than an accident where you have to shift blame.

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/video.2022-australian-gp-qualifying-latifis-car-destroyed-in-bizarre-crash-with-stroll.1729611513723725817.html

In the race he manages to get back up to P12.

Imola once again has a sprint weekend which doesn't affect Lance who still remains P15. In the race he manages to get back to P10.

The new Miami race sees Lance qualify from P10 but due to an issue he has to start from the pit lane. And still he gets P10.

The sixth race he quallified 18th and finished 15th. He didn't really score points but he could have scored higher had he not been spun around by Pierre.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lSP08f5Slk

Next up was Monaco. Lance qualifies P18 and finishes P14. He hit the wall during the formation lap but then again it was a wet race.

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/video.2022-monaco-grand-prix-latifi-and-stroll-hit-the-barriers-on-wet-formation-lap-in-monaco.1734171020113023239.html

Baku saw Lance qualifying 19th and not finishing. His Qualy which I will give people was bad. Like crashing twice (also the second time was a result of the first) isn't what you should expect from someone who at that point was 5 years in F1. However he had engine issues that entire weekend which is also why he didn't finish so you start to wonder if they maybe played a tiny role.

His home race saw him qualify P18 again but he finally got points again with a P10. His move on Seb was dangerous and probably cost Seb a position or two. But also, Lance start in that race was like incredible. What a great start.

https://twitter.com/F1/status/1591574059808165888?lang=de

https://twitter.com/F1/status/1587415154936930304

Silverstone sees Lance start last and finish in 11th. A good start which saw him avoid all the chaos in front.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7_Elsl4jGM

Austria once again sees a sprint which means he goes from P17 to P13. Nothing changed in the race and he finished in P13. Some battles that were nice but ultimately with the Aston Martin tractor not that great.

The next race saw Lance once again in P17 and finishing in P10. An incredible race from him and I just want to show his start because we rarely ever saw how great his starts can be and how close the midfield is.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOaKfdx6wrw

Hungary saw Lance qualify P14, finally into Q2 again. The race saw him finish P11. Considering he got spun around at one point by Daniel I would say that's a good result.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5I-95BkUK4

Next up was Spa where Lance once again got into Q2 and qualified 14th. Because of penalties of other drivers he started P9 and finished P11.

Zandvoort saw him even into Q3 and qualify P10 which is also where he finished the race. Up next was Monza where he was once again starting from P17 but because of penalties got pushed up to 12th which was very promising. Sadly he had to retire the car because of breaks overheating.

The next race had Lance start from P12 and finish in P6. And then Japan came back. Lance only qualified P19 but finished P12. The start he had to that race was just wow. During a wet race he not only managed to overtake multiple cars but he also just quiet literally drove past them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwJvwpCnRwU

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/video.2022-japanese-grand-prix-lance-stroll-makes-lightning- start-to-go-from-19th-to-p11-on-opening-lap.1746188182712421933.html

Next up was the US GP where he qualified 7th which considering he was best of the rest in a car that was 9th fastest deserves a shout-out. Especially when it put him up to 5th because of other penalties.

Sadly his race was over rather quickly. He DNFed after colliding with Fernando.

https://www.facebook.com/Formula1/videos/2022-united-states-grand-prix-fernando-alonso-and- lance-stroll-come-together/885762125676389/

I have seen people say that Lance move is dangerous but you are allowed to move over to defend from an opponent, some of you need to remember that. Yes he should have moved more clearly but there was still like Lance said enough space. I think it was just a bit misjudged which lead to the racing incident. But yes I can see why people were to put blame on to Lance since he should have not just moved a bit or could have defended it later. He got a penalty for his move which would be applied in Mexico. A penalty that I agree with because his defending was too robust and late.

Mexico saw Lance start as a result of his penalty for last race. He finished 15th.

Brazil saw him qualify 15th and finish 16th in the sprint. What he did during the sprint to Seb I'll agree was a bad move. In the race he managed to get back up to 10th.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hCpPzHBQ1k

The last race saw Lance start 14th and finish 8th.

I think looking back on it now especially comparing it to 2021 and 2020 which were undoubtedly some of Lance best performances, it's hurts seeing 2022. There were many mistakes made by him and I think a lot of that is also down to him just not seeming to be comfortable with the car plus Aston just struggling in general. Lance Qualifying was definitely lacking and there is no doubt that he clashed more with Seb than he should have. I won't say many of the incidents he had that season reflect good on him.

However I think it's truly unfair that people would judge him based of one season that was bad when he had a car that was nearly the worst car on the grid. It is also very clear that controlling that car was very difficult.

I also raise the question again: How much better do we expect him to perform against Seb? This isn't me dismissing his incidents this is merely looking at results.

How much can you really expect from Lance to be close to Seb in that car without trying to diminish as arguably the better driver? How much can we compare their performances? Or rather how much can we judge Lance especially when he was against Seb, a 4 time world champion, a runner up multiple times?

If we were to merely look at results for this (which I have started before aren't everything), we will see that really they aren't that far apart. In the races where both of them finished they are mostly only 2-3 places apart which is interesting if you consider that Lance often qualified further back.

But, like I said results don't speak for everything so if you were to say which season was Lance worst, I would probably say this.

I want to draw your attention now though to some positives from that season like Lance amazing start in Japan which shows he is talented.

Or the fact that Lance got Aston Martin's highest Qualifying that season with 7th which turned into a start from P5 after penalties of other drivers were applied. He also had the most positions gained and was in the top 10 for most overtakes in that season.

Here are the DNFs:

This is Lance and Alex making contact which resulted in both of them out of the race. Personally a racing incident for me as they seemingly both misjudged the space or weren't expecting the other to turn in. I would argue it's a bit ambitious from Alex but I don't think it was penalty deserving on either end.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDg9cweEbew

Side-note: I also don't know why people think Lance crashes a lot or is know for his dangerous driving. Sure during his first season he crashed twice in free practice and had a few DNFs but almost 80% of his DNFs are either not his fault or simple race incidents. Then again he had 2 other free practice crashes in his second season but that doesn't make him a bad driver? The worst he ever clashed with another driver was Seb in 2022 which I will give people. However I really don't see why people say he is famous for colliding with others when many couldn't recall any incident that involved him and another driver that wasn't in 2022 or the last season. He isn't memorable for bad driving although 2022 might reflect badly on him.

So what is the conclusion?

Why did I title this document the way that it is? That is simple to answer. I completely mean it.

In his career if we ignore 2018, Lance has had/has the following teammates:

- Felipe Massa, who was nearly a WDC

- Sergio Perez who was one of the best midfield drivers at that time

- Sebastian Vettel, a 4x WDC

and now Fernando Alonso, a 2xWDC.

People forget that not only was Lance in F1 with very little experience at an early age but he has also had world class drivers, some regarded as the greatest as his teammates.

Not only that but he has consistently improved over the years and had rarely any bad clashes that he was responsible for.

The worst he did was against a 4 x WDC in one of the worst, if not the worst car on the grid, a car that he didn't feel confident in and that was hardly able to be predicated and difficult to control. That was his worst year in F1 where a lot of the mistakes where his fault without a doubt.

But people truly forget how great Lance can perform, especially in the wet and how he dominated Perez in 2020 until his streak of luck was cut short to no fault of his own. Not only that but he outqualified Seb in 2021 multiple times, was more consistent than him with his race result etc.

Not to mention the things he has already achieved.

He is one of the youngest podium sitters, the youngest front row starter (all from his first season), has multiple podiums (and would have had more if not for his unlucky streak in the later half of 2020), has a pole and has managed to be close to many of his teammates (if you don't only lock at results.) Not to mention that even though his qualifying was inconsistent, he always had good standout performances.

And he is one of the best starters on that grid. There are some races where he just drives past 5+ cars like it's nothing which often shouldn't even be possible with his bad car.

Yes, he was inconsistent in Qualy many times and yes he had some questionable drives but the later can be said for almost any driver on the grid. Drivers are bound to make mistakes and also sometimes experienced ones because it happens.

Considering how well he is doing in this season with a still healing injury, I truly do not get how he is this discredited and underrated. When it comes to teammates he has arguably had some of the hardest to compete against in the last years.

Not to mention he came into this sport without anyone believing he deserved there. He even questioned his own place in this sport which is bullshit considering he had enough wins and champions to warrant an F1 seat.

[signalhill-if]

Here's a quick preview of the UI for both PC and mobile (open for better quality). Apologies for not being able to capture video of the PC UI, OBS decided to be a dick today. The side menu on PC features various VHS tapes that slide out from the side of the screen smoothly when hovered over to reveal the title on the front, and can be clicked to "insert the VHS" and view the menu on the main screen.

Note that all of this is subject to change, especially if y'all have any feedback, and might be overhauled completely down the line. Also, the scanline effect can be turned off in the settings, and the font in the Leads screen is the body font which can be changed to a dyslexic or serif font if desired :)

[boobveins]

round 2 here! we! go!

[starvity]

double post today WOOHOO!!!! i cleared all my requests so feel free to send some more!! :> i already have some ideas for future imagines so here’s a poll on what you want me to post next!!! (they will eventually all be posted dw) TYYY <3

[retiredcultistredux]

tw//blood (also long post)

[CHAPTER 1 FINALE]

After enough time, and plenty of comforting pats given to Prince Fluff to reduce his pain, Kirby seemed to have had enough of Ester's 'shenanigans'. With a sudden sense of determination hidden under a bit of nervousness, he stood up and walked closer to Ester.

Ester looked at Kirby, not taking him seriously in the slightest. He let out a small laugh.

Ester: "And I mean, seriously, you're the one who managed to defeat Void Termina before? Like, from what I know, you had to get all your friends to help...so, by yourself, you're really just a little gumball, haha! But still..."

Kirby: "H-Huh...?"

In a flash, another shadowy appendage shot out of the ground, grabbing Kirby. Ester's eyes began to glow, and he smiled.

Ester: "...Hehe...alright, no more stalling."

In an instant, Ester--along with Kirby and Hyness--were covered in a cloud of shadows. Once the shadows cleared, all three of them were gone, leaving Zan and Prince Fluff alone in a state of shock.

[END OF CHAPTER 1.]

[Ester, Hyness and Kirby are unavailable for questions until further notice (funny how Hyness is the main character but nah he's officially been kidnapped, we'll check back with him later). Zan and Prince Fluff are still available, but for now, let's shift focus back to Magolor, Fran and Flam to start off the in-between chapters segment, shall we? It's been a while (and they have no idea what's been happening on Jambandra).]

[wonyosparkle]

fortune teller's love.

kim sunoo oneshot

SYNOPSIS ?! when fate brings you together with a fortune-teller

WORD COUNT ?! 3,764

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

In a world full of magic but modernized with the scientists and magicians mixing the art of their separate divisions to make another evolution. Centuries had come and go, the people learned to live with probably the weirdest thing the ancient ones had left for the new generations to touch up and it evolves through the years of thousand of studies.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ But there's always an exception to everything. There is this one tradition they could never explain. The art of fortune-telling for those who seek answers with the help of their glimmering hope of crystal balls.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ It just so happens for your family to be famous for it and you grew up in a sweet-smelling two-story house where every day, you'd found yourself watching by the secret hole in the painting downstairs of people lining up to pay your grandma for their questions. Then by the time she died, she passed whatever skills she have to your mother, but she doesn't like it given that she was more dedicated to her job as one of the greatest investors in town.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Of course - the power needed to be passed onto someone with the same blood. Being fascinated by its elements and had naturally been akin to helping people, you accepted it yourself graciously.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

"This life would be a lonely one, my dear. Do you want it?", you remember your grandma asking you. As a tradition, they had you sitting on a mat in the room where she receives guests. It was the same room where she filled it with different flowers and plants, so you always loved it inside even if it was quite dark - what with the dark violet motif along with the Arabian curtains that prevented any sunlight from entering. With the scented candles being lit up from all around you, it relaxed you and you feel like you were always in the cloud inside.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ "Why would it be a lonely one, granny?", you managed to ask, looking up at her. Even at a later age, she managed to look even older but she's still wise. She looked up to one of the picture frames on one of the table stands, the one that showcases your grandpa. "They said you have a curse you'll find everyone's soulmate but yours"

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ "How did you get to know granny then?", you know their tale, of course. It was a miracle they find each other in the middle of the war. "It was one luck in a one million", she always started it with a wistful smile, but the thing is, she always seem to cry after, "he seeks me out in that refugee and asked me if a soldier like him would find love" "And then?", you asked once again, always a curiosity one. She carries you into her lap and slowly walked you to the old picture in the color of black and white, "My crystal ball didn't show anything when it always does" Knowledgeable that you always are in her line of job, you were smiling as you looked down at the younger version of your grandparents. Memories went by and yet it was still so sweet to hear their story. And it's because he's your soulmate, isn't it?" "Yes, it only happens once, so if it occurs to you in the future, don't let go of that young man, alright?"

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Now that you're here, already eighteen and still quite relatively young to be one of the most famous fortune-tellers - many guys have tried to tell you they were the one for you but you knew what they're truly seeking for - the fortune you have from your job. The money and the rumored unending luck you could bring to anyone. Also, they didn't know - in the arts of peeking through someone's future, you could see their past and what was their hidden desire. So, here you were in the morning and was happily drinking your tea after rejecting yet another suitor with a smile, "That last one is broke from betting his money on those illegal wizard's robotic game" Hera, one of your cousins, the one assisting you in the reception was on her break, so she listens, "And what you did see in his mind was him hoping you could give him luck?"

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ "More than that", you turn to lie in the hammock that you usually hung up in the ceiling, "He's looking to exploit some money to the ones visiting here"

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Hera shook her head, When will we find you a suitable partner?" Smiling against the face of hopelessness, you murmured, "It would be long before I can find the right one" "What was your ideal guy, anyway?", Hera asked out of curiosity. For a long moment, you thought about it as you glanced up at the ceiling, full of hanging small glass balls as decorations. The first thing that comes up in your mind, is clarity kicking in at the shine of the sun in one of the ornaments.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ With a hopeful smile, you looked back to your waiting cousin, "I should like it to be someone who can remind us of granny" Hera nodded, "Someone who's a ball of sunshine. Good at anything and his smile will remove the trace of wariness in your shoulder?" "You know how I always look up to him, right?", you reminded her of the time you were a little girl more excited to see her grandpa at home than her dad.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ As always, your cousin shrugged but she still humor you, "I'll be the first one to inform you if ever a customer like that enters here" "Maybe it'll happen after two years or more so -"

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ The sentence from your mouth was abruptly cut off by the ring of the doorbell in the front room. It was so sudden and so unwelcome for Hera since she flipped the sign from the door that your shop was on break yet the ringing persisted for a few seconds more. Seeing that it would be a potential customer, you gestured for her to receive it and she do so, understanding you're not prepared to reject anyone even at this kind of time.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ When she left to see who it is, you stood up to put your hammock out of sight and worked next to set up the crystal ball that you inherited from your grandma as well. The thing itself was older than her, older by anyone who had grown and died to see it, to even explain where it came from.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Fortune telling itself was even unexplainable. No one could tell where it started or even if the ones who did it were the reincarnations of the seers as the experts liked to say. For you, all you know this is your life and you will bring it to your death. You were intending to sit at your small table when Hera peeked in and she was squealing quietly before mumbling, "This one looks so unreal, Y/N" "What do you mean?", you asked as you sit and set a veil down your head to hide your face. Another fun fact from you - since you were still this young, you've never let anyone see your face save for your family and friends. "He looks cute and friendly at the same time. Would you like to receive him now?"

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Ignoring the flirty look in her eyes, you just waved her away, so that she can proceed to whisk the customer inside. Clearing your table of any signs that you snacked only a few minutes ago, you fished out one of your gloves from one of the drawers to wear it. They said to add a more mysterious vibe to your job. As you look at the crystal ball the moment you feel the presence of this customer, you were struck by a burst of shock when it showed you a rare vision.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Finally, after a long time of looking into it with wide eyes, it makes sense for you to see the girl was you smiling up at this boy whose smile was so beautiful and dazzling even with a hint of calmness in his company. You set it aside and turned towards the customer with wide eyes, knowing that you looked like a deer caught in headlights. Still, it was only when you saw him sitting properly by the chair before you that you straightened up your expression. It was only the boy you saw in the crystal ball beforehand. The boy who sat before you, being completely unsubtle in his appraisal of you. His eyes looked at you from your head to toe, taking in your covered appearance and your eyes that he can only see through the garment. Finally meeting your eyes and seeing your arched eyebrow, he smiled at you, "I wish for you to tell me my fortune", he said, and even his voice sounds like heaven, it was calming indeed. You said instantly, "Fortune for what, Sir? Career, future, or love?" "It was embarrassing to say this, but all of my friends were in a relationship, so I'm asking for a fortune of love", he said, rather than saying anything else. "Wait a minute, Sir", you supplied, without looking at him because you didn't want to meet the eyes that were trained on you. It would be polite to look at him, but you didn't want to. "Of course", he inclined his head with a polite smile. You looked up slowly, looking at him as he eyed the crystal ball curiously. To him, it would be blank. For you, what it shows makes you nervous. Over the years you'd honed the ability to look past the mask people wore and you could tell he was curious if there was someone out there for him. He did not know, though, she was already sitting in front of him. With your frown deepening, you asked, "What brings you to my shop? Do you believe in the magic of a crystal ball?" "A friend recommended you to me", he confessed, looking between you and the glowing ball until his eyes settled on yours, "His name is Park Sunghoon. He said you were the one to tell him he's on the right track of pursuing the element of ice magic" "I see", you said slowly, even as your eyes slowly glazed from attempting to repel the future of his fortune. He watched you with all the politeness in the world, inclining his head again in a silent agreement. You breathed out a shaky breath - it was him. Outwardly there was nothing wrong with him as he sat there, a pale and black-haired boy whose eyes were narrowing - just slightly at your continued stare. As if noticing how heavy your gaze is, he laughed a bit which was forced before saying, "Perhaps I should introduce myself? I am Kim Sunoo" You could only offer a false smile, doing your best not to faint. The moment he moved his hand to offer a handshake, your magic surged out and it curled safely around him. You wondered if he felt it too if the way his eyes were now stilling you in your seat, as he considered you.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Sunoo outstretched his hand, smiling good-naturedly, "It's nice to meet you, my soulmate. Finally, after waiting for so long, you're here" You reached out slowly to take his hand. The moment the warmness of his skin touched yours, you knew. There was nothing to stop the gasp from your throat as you pitched forward, body limp as your eyes rolled into the back of your head.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ You were conscious to feel Sunoo's arm around to steady you while he shouted for your cousin to help and Hera appeared, suggesting to bring you to the hospital. Sunoo for some reason wouldn't let you go and instead, he insisted to carry up your bedroom. You felt the ground disappear from beneath you as he lifted you while calling for you to wake up. Your last conscious thought echoed around your head like a clarification - he is your soulmate and now he knew.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Regaining consciousness a few hours later, you kept your eyes close as you took the time to gather your thoughts. You had enough sense to realize you were on your bed with a pillow tucked safely under your head.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Slowly, you opened your eyes and wished you hadn't because your eyes settled first onto the chair at the end of the bed and on the boy seated there. Just the sight of him, sitting there and reading the latest news about the magic technology as if he wasn't the reason you were here had your chest rising and falling in an awkward, uneven rhythm. Your eyes shot to Sunoo who had risen to his feet and he continued to approach even as you lean as far in your pillow as you could, wanting to put some space between the two of you, even as he smiled charmingly at you.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ "Hello, Y/N", he said brightly. When you said nothing and continued to watch him warily, he studied you for a moment. "I didn't your veil hides a beautiful face underneath" Still, you held your silence, doing your very best to maintain your calm breathing. He walked toward you then, coming to join you at the top of your bed. Your magic reacted without needing to be summoned, without a single word needing to be spoken and it reached out to him again. Sunoo stopped short as if he could feel the shift of magic in the air.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Instead of explaining it to him, you asked, "Why are you still here?" "I want to stay for my soulmate and it's you", he sighed as you remained silent once again, "Despite how shocking it was for you, you're rather a fascinating girl for me"

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Finally speaking to him, you asked him to be polite, "Can you leave? It's just.. let me process this for a few days?" His expression flickered, the furrow between his brows pinching before flattening out, "I would take my visit after that, okay?" "Okay", you assured him with a smile that he gratefully returns. Kim Sunoo was a frequent visitor to your shop since then. Over each of his visits, he'd taken to wait upstairs with your mom taking an instant liking to him. For someone who couldn't cook a thing even if she invented the stove with an endless blue flame, she was rather too happy to discover he can cook.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ The boy stops once more by your side at the kitchen counter, his eyes looking over at you as you drink your tea. He waited until you looked at him, finally acknowledging his presence. Then, and only then, did he say, "Good morning, wifey. Do you want me to cook you something?"

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ "Well", you said, clapping your hands together, "Just prepare me something that you're good at" "Understood", Sunoo said simply, standing and smoothing down the front of his apron. Last night, you nearly died out of your mom's suggestion to him, she asked him to move in. As he starts to cook something after getting some supplies from the fridge, he broke the silence as he spoke, "After my friend Jake heard our situation, he conducted research. He said there are tales that members of your family are born as a reincarnation of seers and it was believed that all of you have pure light magic"

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ "Do you believe it?", you murmured, unsurprised that he would want to know. The tale of the pure light magic from your family was always a big deal to the public. It has advantages, of course, with your mom quickly ahead of her peers and well, the other relatives are quite famous for their endeavors - like Choi Soobin who was famous for his healing abilities. Sunoo didn't respond to your words. Rather, he considered it before admitting, "It's just worrying for me since I have nothing to offer to you "I wasn't looking for someone special. I'm only looking for a boy who will take care of me" Thankfully he said nothing for a long time and simply handed you a plate of okonomiyaki. You took it quickly, expecting him to leave, but he didn't. He reached out another hand then as if to touch you. And to your utmost relief, he felt so calming at the lasting touch. For a moment, there was a silence and you believed that he wasn't going to say anything, but then he said, "Would you be ready to accept me in your life?" "Will you be ready to take the risk of me being a fortune teller as your partner?", you bravely asked. Fortune telling had its luxury and its pull of dangers, especially with some of the bad people who were hoping you could tell them some privy pieces of information that regards the money of people. "Yes", he declared finally, and a new door opened to your fortune with him.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Despite knowing better than to have yourself be distracted in your line of job, your eyes trailed after Sunoo all the time. Every time he entered your home, it was like your eyes were drawn onto him because somehow he was that magnetic, and even the girls who seek answers couldn't help but ask instead - who is he to you. It was childish and stupid, but you always gave them the answer that he is your fiance for them to back off. Without fail, each time he was caught saying it to your customers, Sunoo would watch you with satisfaction as he smiled cheekily. Because the two of you couldn't deny it anymore that you'd grown attached to him. As if to make the matters more tensional, it had become reciprocal: his eyes often followed you all the time. This was all too much.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ When the afternoon came and he still hadn't come to visit, you walked out of your shop to take a break. It instantly rains but it wasn't a burden as your magic developed a shield around to keep you from being drenched. The people passing by wore an almost distinctive outfits from each other, and it showed their differences. From the scientist to the magicians and even aliens who were already a normal view from the daily lives of the people in this kind of world. Now that you were alone in this tree, a state of the art this year, the leaves turn themselves into a long curtain of green to shield the people from any kind of weather. Usually, people would be here to capture the photosynthesis in motion through the floating hologram. But today, it only has you as its lone company. "Y/N?", you started from your thoughts at the calm of your name, lifting your head and searching out the boy you knew was approaching you. You found him then, walking through the rain towards you and shielded by his umbrella. If you didn’t know any better, you would've thought he was one of those weather controllers as he seems to stand out in the middle of a downpour."Why are you sitting out here in the rain?", Sunoo asked finally, having come to a stop beside you. He continued to stand over you, staring worriedly as you looked up at him, "Do you want to get a fever?" "I just took a break from my shop and I was waiting", you said slowly.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀He frowned, not appreciating your words, "I was waiting for you" "I spied you when Niki dropped me off at the bus stop", he said eventually. You continued to watch him as he looked over you. But he sighed once then removed his coat, he settled down beside you and without a warning, did he drape his coat around you, "I wouldn't be surprised if you catch a cold again "Just let it happen, so I could take a day off from fortune-telling"

Sunoo didn't react to your words or even answered. You glanced at him then, turning your head towards him: he was already looking at you. Sitting cross-legged and looking dissatisfied by your statement but focusing on you and waiting for you to take it back. “Why are you here?", you asked eventually. "Because you're here". You consider here for a moment, watching him under your eyes and he searched yours, "I wonder what would you do had I not shown signs that I am your soulmate?" "I'll still be lost"

“I can hide it from you if I want to", you admitted slowly, glancing towards him when he breathed in deeply through his nose, "But I couldn't stop it from showing since it would kill me if -" “If you deny yourself of the truth between us", he finished for you, his brain working quickly.

Gesturing to yourself and him, you pointed out, "And not only that, being fated to a fortune-teller would bring you risk to the dangers seeking me out. Are you willing to risk that by continuing to allow yourself to be drawn to me?" “Are you willing to risk your magic being tainted by a normal person?" And with a smile, you admitted to him, "I already have with you"

Sunoo's eyes were on you once more, staring so deeply at your side profile that you were certain he was trying to read your mind. You turned your head then, holding his eyes and watching him move closer. If only your grandma could see you now: here was the boy she was told you could find yours for yourself.

You held your breath, watching his approach as he leaned in then. The first contact of his lips was soft, barely there, and light enough for you to not lose your mind. When it moved gently, you breathed out softly into his lips and returned a kiss that should have affected your magic, but it didn't. Just like it did to your grandparents' story. "Pure love", he realized softly, "It couldn't sting you for I felt it the truest" And so you nodded, offering him a smile that became much more genuine when he pulled you into his arms. The tree where the two of you sat - an invention meant to express the occupant it had - turns its leave from green to a pure white color.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Over time, your worries about the risk were slowly easing away, with his continued presence.

[daughterofhecata]

Okay, ich weiß nicht, ob sich außer mir und @crazy-walls überhaupt noch jemand an the perfect part about it is: it's all that i've got (ff.de/ao3), auch bekannt als Dad!Skinny AU, erinnert, aber ich denke seit ein paar Tagen darüber nach, vielleicht das zweite Kapitel dazu rauszuhauen, und mich würde interessieren, was so die allgemeine Meinung ist:

Die Story ist noch lange nicht fertig, und wird es vielleicht auch nie, würdet ihr trotzdem weitere Kapitel lesen wollen, auch auf die Gefahr hin, dass die Story irgendwann abandoned wird, oder sollte ich es einfach als Oneshot belassen, bis die Geschichte vielleicht doch irgendwann fertig ist?

[sleepmusicland-1]

AU story that is hunting me for the past two weeks…

Rebekah setting up a dating profile for Elijah and his date doesn’t have a clue that she has a date with Elijah. Turns out both have been set up by someone close to them. Of course his enemies he accumulated over the decennia’s are not sleeping and after an attack on his clueless date, not only her world changes for good, but also his knowledge about history will be needed.

Does it sound good? Like an AU story that does not follow the storyline of the show.

[sweetiecutie]

Husband! König is very happy that your parents decide to finally come over to your house for a week to spend Christmas and New Year with you two. König does genuinely enjoy their company - they’re his family now after all, not only by law but by feelings that connect you all.

But there’s a little but. Husband! König just can’t help but feel frustrated at the lack of intimacy between you two these past days. Not only have you been occupied with holiday preparations, shortening the usual amount of attention you gave him, but constant presence of both your parents around the house meant nearly to no sex. From fucking you whenever and wherever he pleased, König now had to settle for a quick hand- or blowjob from you in a bathroom before going back to your parents, all broad smiles and innocence in your eyes.

Husband! König who clenches his chiseled jaw, throwing his head back so it hits the wall behind with a soft ‘thud’ as he tries his absolute hardest to bite back all the moans and groans threatening to slip off his tongue. You coo sweet apologies to him as your hand fists his leaking cock before the warmth of your mouth wraps around thick shaft, sinking down on it until your nose is buried into small bush of dark blonde hair on König’s pubic.

König can barely stay upright, the lack of any sexual interaction between you two in these past days making him even more sensitive. A string of hissed curses falling from bitten lips as your throat moulded to the shape of his dick, clenching down on him as you bob your head up and down, fucking the cum out of your husband with your mouth.

Husband! König who doesn’t last for long, soon flooding your throat with his thick pearly cum, making you gag and cough around his softening dick. You slip your mouth off his dick, tucking it back into his boxers and pressing a small kiss right under his bellybutton, practically making König melt in your arms. “I’m sorry baby, I promise that I’ll make up to you once they leave” you whisper, pressing another quick kiss to his tummy before standing up and exiting the bathroom, leaving your hubby all hot and bothered still>:[

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