#shes an ecstatic-to-be who sees dead people

[faneth]

do you ever hear your own voice call out to you?

[sadandyetverysexy]

Dp x Dc au: Normal is Good

Okay so hear me out— i see lots of “you can’t control Danny he’s a wild child” premises and like, I agree, I love that, but JUST hear me out. Danny who is just entranced by being treated like a NORMAL KID.

I think for best results this should be done with de-aged Danny so he’s a bit younger, but it can def work with regular Danny too.

Danny winds up running around Gotham for one reason or another doing INSANE SHIT to try and help or just survive and his family is out of the way. The explosion, Bad Fentons, etc— and one of the bats picks up Danny. This can be a dad!Jason, or dad!Dick, or classic Bruce Adoption. But they see this little shit running around and are like “no fucking way, not on my watch you little maniac”

Now, a lot of people use the “Jazz practically raised Danny” card, and I love that card and fully support it, but she was also a kid. With no other parents to consult. Who was raised by the Fentons originally and def has no clue what normal parents are like. So she probably didn’t exactly measure up to how a kid is MEANT to be raised. So Danny still had an incredibly strange childhood that just was Not Normal, but I feel like we see Danny with a deep desire to be normal. He doesn’t even really like being a superhero that much, he just wanted to be a kid.

So he gets bat adopted, and Danny is just functioning how he did growing up with the Fentons, which is No Restrictions Do What You Want. And then his bat dad (using Jason for this) is like “No. It’s Bed Time.” And Danny. Danny is ALL for that. He’s bewildered. Mystified. He’s not grumpy about being told what to do at ALL, because he’s just so shocked.

“You’re serious? You’re fucking dead-ass serious? It’s bed time? Oh my god this is so cool. I’ve never had a bed time before! This is great!” Because this is the first time he’s EVER been treated like a normal child by a parental figure. He just got sent to bed. Wow.

Having a parent who is in charge of keeping him healthy and actually enforces Danny taking care of himself is kind of cool.

“Eat your vegetables, they’re good for you.” And they won’t try to eat him back? Fuck yeah, he’ll eat his vegetables!

“No you aren’t allowed to go out at 2 in the morning, go back to bed, you have a doctors appointment for your yearly checkup tomorrow.” oh ancients, Danny has always heard other kids complain about not being allowed out at night, but to have himself told he can’t? This is so weird. And he’s never been to a yearly check up before!

“Brush your teeth before bed” “I can’t get cavities, I’m dead!” “Ya know, for some reason I don’t believe you. When was the last time you went to the dentist? Are you sure you can’t get them?” Danny has 7 cavities.

The first time Danny gets to actually use the “my dad said No” excuse, he is ECSTATIC. Jack and Maddie have LITERALLY never told him he can’t go out somewhere. Ever. He’s in a whole new world where he doesn’t have to fight ghosts, or be a hero, or anything and he loves it. He has a normal kids room without deadly weapons in it and normal kid hobbies and a fridge full of normal food and a parent who enforces a bed time, and it’s weird as hell and it’s great. Normal is pretty damn good, he has no clue what Sam and Tucker were always complaining about. Shits sweet.

[benobikenobie]

just watched cabin fever for the first time and either ive been over-analyzing too many horror movies or its about the fear of stds (specifically aids) that people blame on the queer community

[amorchai]

𝐍𝐎 𝐃𝐎𝐔𝐁𝐓 ─ f.o

pairing(s): finnick odair x female!reader

summary: after the beginning of the 75th hunger games, finnick loses sight of you, driving him insane with worry.

words: 1792

warnings/tags: reunion, slow-burn lovers, mentions of violence + death.

“who’s that?” katniss had asked, your frame shy and sad on the screen they all watched as you volunteered in front of mags announced name. finnick odair eyes snapping towards the pair as they hugged, his jaw tense.

haymitch watched the screen, effie cooing behind him, “y/n y/l/n.” he’s blunt and to the point and peeta’s observant eyes pick up on finnick poking your hip as you stand beside one another. “they seem close.”

“they are,” haymitch continues as the screen continues to the next tribute introductions, “before your requited romance wooed the capitol audience, that pair were quite the talk, not only in the capitol but everyone could see it.”

“see what?” katniss asked, curious with furrowed eyebrows. “they are in love!” effie claps, squealing happily and ignoring haymitch flinch and glare back at her. “yes… that. five years after finnick won, y/n came along. while the games carried out, finnick did everything he could to help y/n win the games.”

“and i mean everything. he got capitol to donate through speeches just so he could send her personalised letters and water almost all the time. capitol went crazy for them.”

katniss scoffed, the egotistical finnick had a heart? doubtful. from what katniss saw for the past few years, finnick was nothing but a man wanting to flirt with everyone to get what he wanted. it was clearly a rouse for the screen.

“tut all you want but they were the first to steal the people’s hearts before your time came along. when y/n won, snow wanted there to be a broadcasted reunion where finnick got to see her again. was quite the show.”

she had shook her head in disbelief, “but surely having two couples this year will be too much, i mean, they should know they can’t both win together.” peeta’s eyes flickered at the mention of ‘couple’, and haymitch smirks.

“that’s the thing, you two might be a couple in the capitol’s eyes. but they still have that ‘will they, won’t they?’ going on that the people of panem fawn over. if they have that chemistry during the games, there’s no doubt their donations will go through the roof.”

effie claps once again, the thought of seeing you and finnick on screen so ecstatic and exciting. “so i strongly suggest you make alliances with them, their donations will benefit you just as much.”

however, the start of the games was a whirlwind, katniss aimed to ally with the opposite types of people – far away from career districts and finnick odair with his love life. but before she knew it, katniss went from wanting him dead to watching him save peeta’s life.

she had her hand in peeta’s, tight and emotional from nearly losing him as her tears dry against her warm cheek. finnick was leading them down the quiet forest as several drums sounded in the distance each time someone died. katniss noticed the sudden loneliness beside finnick, every time the drums announced, the more tense he would get.

“where’s y/n?” katniss asked, squeezing peeta’s hand as they approached an open spot. finnick stopped, turning around, and for a moment his eyes looked desperate before he cleared his throat and looked around. “i don’t know. career tried to kill me when i first saw her and then she vanished.”

they exchange sympathetic looks, peeta looking to katniss before replying, “well, let’s find her.” finnick chuckles, feeling pitied, “that’s what i planned on doing.” katniss thought maybe their romance was for the screen, the anticipation of finally getting together to please the audience but she was doubting herself by the expression of worry on finnick’s face.

katniss had planned on a small group to rely on, peeta by her side throughout but then johanna accompanied alongside wiress and beetee which made her progressively more agitated. the more people the worse, finnick was out of sorts, everyone could tell.

any noise in the distance, finnick was standing warily, hoping for it to be you. but it never was. every night when the arena would light up with the fallen tributes, he would hardly breath in fear that your face arrived. but it never did.

you were alive, finnick just had no idea where, and katniss could tell while they all worked together, the plans he made was all an attempt to get you back next to him.

he hated this. what if one of you died before you met once more? finnick regrets not telling you how he feels, how irretrievably in love he was with you. he thought it was always obvious, within the way he presented himself, he would do anything and everything to protect you but now he feels he has failed.

and if he sees you again – god, he hopes he sees you again – then he will finally let you know. forget the slow pace, finnick was ready and desperate to have you in his arms.

when the sound of prim’s voice arrived, katniss left screaming for her sister. at first she was unaware that she was being followed, looking to the sky in horror to find a jabberjay.

she shoots it mercilessly, beyond terrified and finnick runs from the trees and she sighs, finding some comfort in a companion. “you okay?” finnick asked but before katniss can answer, there was another scream in the distance.

finnick’s expression drains, almost turning chalk white when your voice breaks through the trees with a scream of his name. katniss knew it was fake, jabberjays were surrounding this part of the woods.

however, prim wasn’t in the arena and you were. she tries to plead with finnick, “it’s not her!” but finnick is already running past at a brutal pace, pushing every branch out of the way as he follows the sound of your pained voice shouting, ‘finnick!’

he shouts for you, stopping in his tracks when the sound feels like it’s all around him, multiple versions of you begging for him to save you. “it’s just a jabberyjay it’s not her!” katniss says, a comforting hand on his shoulder but finnick shakes his head.

“well how do you think they got that sound? jabberjays copy.” somewhere out in the arena you will have been begging for his help, fighting against another tribute and finnick was nowhere near to help. he felt pained.

at least during your first game, finnick saw everything you did and could aid you with donations and ensure your safety. this time was much worse, he had no idea where you were even though you were in the same arena. and finnick felt he was starting to lose his mind.

but he was certain he had when the jabberjays all swarmed around him and katniss, screaming voices turning him into a soulless life as he sat on the ground and tried to hide until the hour was up and the mutts disappeared.

they tried to comfort him, johanna placing a hand to her friend’s shoulder and assuring him but finnick could only picture you. it was all he cared about, getting you back.

“let’s go back to the cornucopia,” beetee suggests and they all agree, aiding finnick and katniss to the river. katniss believed their romance was real now, her doubts dissipating slowly considering how sad a state finnick was as they walked to the river. she was thankful to have peeta beside her.

his head is down as they approach, his thoughts not relaxed since the jabberjays attacked and finnick feared it would never end.

“finnick!” he heard your voice and all his thoughts stopped. it was silent as they all stood, and finnick sighed and shut his eyes, “i can’t do this again.” finnick begged, tears threatening to fall as he fears he has to face the pain all over again.

“no, finnick, look!” peeta begs, a chuckle of happiness from him as he pats finnick’s shoulders and he finally looks forward and his breath is knocked from his lungs. your standing on the sand, outfit slightly teared and hair a mess but you were there and finnick was sure he must have passed out and this was all a dream.

or another sick nightmare sent from snow, “is this real of fake?” finnick says quietly, blinking as you stand a bit away, crying in disbelief. they’re all smiling, looking at you from a distance and peeta replies, “real. that’s her.”

“y/n?” finnick says in disbelief and you nod before taking a couple of steps forward, laughing through your tears, “finnick!” the tears are falling from his eyes now, blinking to escape the blur and see you as clear as he could, it was real. it was you.

“y/n!” he drops his weapons and sprints towards you, your arms open and lips smiling at him and finnick knows everything will be okay. “oh, god. oh my god,” finnick murmurs as he collapses against you, arms around your waist and face hidden in your neck.

he can smell your perfume, still lingering but faint, and your skin as soft as finnick remembers. you both forget you’re in the arena for a moment, feeling completely safe in each other’s arms and finnick sobs against your collarbone as he desperately holds on to you.

“are you okay? are you hurt? god- i was looking for you since the second the game started, i couldn’t find you!” finnick pulls back when he speaks, hands moving to hold your face. he’s looking deep into your tear-struck eyes and everything you’ve endured up until this point is worth it to be back beside him.

“i’m okay, i’m okay. i got chased off by the male tribute in district one immediately, i tried finding you the moment i lost him.” finnick laughs, sniffling but so happy to finally see you after all this time, the probability of not finding each other because you were both searching was inevitable.

“i love you, never leave me again, yeah?” finnick begs, thumbs running across your cheeks as he finally confesses how he feels. the terror of losing you was enough for him to not hold back anymore and you fawn, more tears when you reply, “i love you, finnick.”

he kisses you, immediately crashing back into you as he holds you as close as possible, lips moving desperately against yours. his kiss is passionate and fast, but his touch to your face gentle and kind. your mind was dizzy when finnick pulls away.

katniss watches with the rest, watching their saddened yet loving reunion and every belief that their love was fake is killed on the spot. too busy smiling with peeta as you both laugh and kiss one another, back in each other’s arms. there was no doubt that it wasn’t real.

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[phantoms-world-and-more]

An idea came to me reading a fic where Danny was a kryptonian. What if Amity Park instead of being a city in the USA on Earth was once a city on Krypton (in what would be a kryptonian version of early 21st century or at least about 100 years before the planet blew up). Basically almost everything that happened in cannon DP happened and everything is mostly the same but with a more alien then earth tone to it.

After Phantom Planet Danny's parents except him being part ghost, the government overturn the Ecto Acts, and he able to finish high school and goes on to college after which he is happily welcomed to for work for KASA (Krypton Aeronautics and Space Administration). He becomes an Astronautical engineer. Danny is in his early thirties when he is testing out a new experimental space ship engine for KASA. While doing a flight test Danny's ship losses signal and no one can find it (kind of what happened in the show Farscape).

100s of years go by Krypton explodes baby Kal-El is sent to Earth where he grows up to be Superman. The JL suddenly get a signal/warning about some alien tech on the edge of the solar system. They send one of the Green Lanterns to take a look, where they report a spaceship dead in space. They don't expect any life forms but surprise because of his ghost half Danny was in a sort of suspended animation. He is brought back and wakes up in the Watch Tower.

Just Random ideas...

Kryptonite is the crystalized form of ectoplasm because of this Danny is not effected by it.

Danny's kryptonian name is Daniel Fen-Ton

The phantom zone projector was originally called the Fen-Ton zone projector or is was based off a Fen-Ton gadget.

Years after Danny disappears Krypton starts turning on ghost again, so the town of Amity, which now has a symbiotic relationship with ghost, vote to pull the whole town into the Ghost Zone. So it is not blown up like the rest of the planet though Danny does not know this in the beginning.

Danny has an easier time learning to use Earth technology then he does the Kryptonian technology in Superman's Fortress.

Danny also has slightly easier time when getting the regular Kryptonian power set due to the yellow sun because he went through something similar when getting his ghost powers.

Danny adopts Connor almost immediately. Maybe during Danny's time there was laws about cloning and clone rights on Krypton. Also while Connor is not a replacement he sort of fills in the void of losing Ellie.

While Superman has no idea who Danny is, Kara/Supergirl has a faint idea because he was briefly mentioned in her Krytonian History class. Also she is happy to have someone who can natively speak the kyrptonian language even if it has older vocabulary. Don't get her wrong its great to speak it with Kal-El but he learned it later in life.

Holly char this is amazing!

How many people will have a stroke when they see Danny casually pick up a piece of kryptonite? Batman? His normal Kryptonian contingency plan won't work. Luthor? There's a version of superman IMMUNE to Kryptonite. Clark? What the hell do you mean you can touch kryptonite

I think after Danny explains everything about his past and species so many people are going to just...give up. Hahaha a stronger version of superman who isn't effected by kryptonite, goodbye world

Connor will be ecstatic, Danny will do ALL the dad stuff, teaching him their language, proper training, engineering lessons and you bet he's going to use jazz's psychiatrist stuff on this kid

Danny's probably going to get mega-depressed, all his hard work breaking the racism against ghosts only for that to come back a few years after he left? And he can't even fix it again because their world went bye-bye

Also- here me out

Co-pilot Valerie

[deathmetalunicorn1]

Hi, i just want to request a Mitsuri inspired teen reader! Teen reader who are a last minute change made by Brunhilde during the tournament and someone none expecting to see or know because teen reader is someone from the current time and still alive but is in coma or something so her soul is in Valhalla at the moment.

The gods and humans are furious to see a teen fighting in the tournament until they saw how powerful teen reader is. But they also shocked to see teen reader basically dancing while fighting, like how Mitsuri was when fighting Hantengu. Later, they found out reader dances while fighting because dancing is her solace and she wanted to dance one last time before her death, which is why her fighting skills/techniques looks like she is dancing, which is quite sad, especially when she is the youngest fighter but thinking about death.

-You heard the roar of cheers on the other side of the door and while you felt nervous, you felt more excited than anything.

-You were an oddball as far as citizens went, as technically you weren’t dead. You were still alive on Earth, just in a very deep coma after a terrible accident.

-Brunnhilde had been the one to find you, and while shocked that you were here, as you weren’t supposed to be, she welcomed you and helped you calm down after you freaked out, thinking you had died.

-When she realized who you were exactly, Brunnhilde was ecstatic, thinking she had a chance to do something drastic, but if it worked, humanity might be saved.

-You agreed to help her, after learning what was going on with this tournament, as you were always one to do whatever it took to help others and you were willing to take this chance.

-When the doors opened and you walked out, the cheers quickly turned to screams and cries out outrage, seeing a teenager there, you were so young- you shouldn’t be risking your life like this!

-Zeus called a halt to the match starting, demanding to speak to Brunnhilde, “Why is this child fighting?” Brunnhilde was glaring down her nose at him, “Y/N is a warrior, age should have nothing to do with it. And to answer your question, Y/N is willing to fight to survive.”

-Many gods felt sheepish, being called out like this, as if they did their jobs like they were supposed to, this tournament wouldn’t be happening in the first place, and now it was up to people like you to clean up their mess.

-You were bright and cheerful, waving at people, other fighters who were cheering for you, Kojiro could easily sense that you were way more powerful than you seemed, voicing this to others, and Lu Bu, who would have gone first if Brunnhilde didn’t try this Hail Mary shot, agreed.

-Your opponent was a violent and cruel god, one that most of the other gods wouldn’t miss, as he’s kind of an ass to them as well, but he just laughed at you, thinking it was amusing his opponent was you.

-Your cheeks puffed up in a pout, your hand on your hilt, “I’ll just prove it to you then!”

-As the match started nobody expected you to suddenly dash forward with a punch that he managed to dodge and as your fist met the ground, it shattered, creating a crater.

-You pulled back once the dust cleared as everyone was staring in shock, eyes wide, “Oh- I missed!” You charged again, throwing kicks and punches, making more craters and dents in the wall of the stadium, using unnatural speed as well.

-You finally drew your sword, that was forged so thin it was like a ribbon, but you jumped, flipped, and twirled as if you were dancing, moving so gracefully while your sword was dancing alongside you, never cutting you.

-Your opponent was shouting that this wasn’t fair, as humanity shouldn’t be this strong, but one well-placed kick sent him flying back before you charged, your blade separating his head from his shoulders instantly.

-You leapt up and down, cheering loudly that you won, showing your age as everyone was stunned, impressed with your skills.

-Brunnhilde was elated, rushing to you, as the stipulation was if you won humanity would be spared and Ragnarok wouldn’t occur! She knew that you wouldn’t fail, and you proved that humans could defeat the gods.

-Zeus kept up his end of the bargain, calling off the tournament and he couldn’t help but feel fluffy when you thanked him, a bright smile on your face.

-A bright aura slowly surrounded you as you panicked, looking down at your hands, “What’s happening?!” Brunnhilde gave you a small smile, calming you, “You’re waking up Y/N. We’ll see you when you’re ready.”

-Many were shouting as they realized you weren’t even dead yet, voicing their concerns about the risk you took, but you just grinned brightly at them as you were slowly fading away, “I’ll see you all soon!”

-Despite being in a coma and fighting for your life, you were always so bright and smiling to all you met, how was it that you were so strong when faced with so much.

-Perhaps the gods needed to look at themselves a bit more, to understand why humanity fights so hard for everything.

[cattonicdragon]

could you do mantis, tigress, viper, po, shen, tai lung, kai x a white peacock reader that can manipulate all forms of physics? For reference, the White Peacock Reader has the ability to manipulate all forms of physics regardless of laws. Other have sent you this type of question, so I am sending you this type of question. And I love your stuff too.

mantis,tigress,viper,po,shen,tai lung and kai x white peacock reader who can manipulate all forms of physics

I'm glad you like my stuff! And of course I can

Not been proof read yet I just wanted to post it 😭

Mantis

He finds you beauty and grace very admirable

You fight with such ferocity and grace it's almost unbelievable

He thinks that your powers are really cool but also really scary since they dont abide to any of the laws

Meaning you can do things that shouldn't physically be possible

Thinks that your some kind of God or something,maybe you've just been blessed by the gods

Not to much sparing,he fears that hell be crushed before he can even move

He asks to trace the patterns on your feathers(if you have any patterns)

He wonders if your tail can get in the way when fighting

Your fighting style is literally drop dead gorgeous

Saw you phase through a wall once,cant unsee it

Scary for in battle but very useful as an ally

He asks if you know why your white instead of the usually colours

Very curious about you

Your very mysterious

Tigress

She finds your beauty breath taking but remembers during battle not to be distracted

Shes curious of how you got your powers,did you learn them?,if so who was your master?,were you born with them?,does it run in your family?

Lots of questions

Training constantly

You've bested her more times then she cares to admit

She'll say that you cheated

Shes not saying that because she thinks you incapable,shes just saying that to try and mend her wounded pride

Her leg has phased through you and she lost the match because her brain practically stopped working for a minute or so

She likes to stay on your good side,mainly because she genuinely fears your powers

She believes that you can control them well but the things you can do,shouldn't be humanly/animaly possible

She likes to help clean your tail if you allow her

She wonders how you can fight with such a big tail

She fears fears what people will say when she tells them she lost a match to you,so you tell her that she can say you lost sometimes

She finds it scary and impressiv how much you can do,you can control things like the weather,solid matter etc.

She asks about your origins and if there may have been a particular reason as to why you were born as a white peacock with such immense power

Viper

brought to you by the same gif,again

As a previous ribbon dancer she likes to see the art in different peopls kung fu/fighting style,which meand she loved the way you fight

Such precision and beauty

She thinks your way to overpowerd

Like if you wanted to you could legit just walk on water

Dont like cold noodles?,ok lemme just,heat that up for u rq

She likes to stay relatively on your good side

She will ask to put flowers in your feathers,if you allow her to she will be ecstatic

Such a sweet heart

If you give her a feather as a gift of luck she may just pass out

If you have any patterns on your feathers she likes to trance them with her tail or just look at it

Shes scared to get priced by your sharp talons in battle/sparing

Loves your feathers

Shes curious to your feather colour being white but wont dig or think to deep about it

She just puts it down as being an unique quality of yours

Your tail can get annoying every so often

She likes how you input your tail into your fighting style

Po

Your white feathers give him a tad bit of PTSD

He find the way you fight majestical,almost as if hes watching a play

He likes your feather and asks how you keep them so clean

He would be very hesitant with you sometimes due to the fact you remind him of someone

He thinks white suits you

Hes very surprised,fascinated and intrigued apon finding out about your powers

Your powers are like nothing hes ever seen before and he loves it

He likes to have long training sessions with you to try find a weakspot

He wants you to try teach him

Even if you tell him it's your genes and not taught he will still ask,there no hurt in trying

Liked your tail but it is very big

He likes making noodles for you both and sitting under a tree on a rainy day,knowing that your the reason your both not drenched in water

He wonders how you obtained such power and wonders what It would be like going all on out dragon warrior against you

He gets distracted by your feather alot

If you were to ever give him a feather hed treat it like a treasure that needs to be protected at any cost

Likes to watch your methods of fighting because he wants to try doing it himself

Shen

Hes rather shocked apon learning that there another white peacock

And your very powerful

In some ways hes happy that theres another peacock since he wont feel as lonely being the only white one but then again he in some ways feels like that was a huge part of his character

Apon first meeting you he gets extremely defensive and accuses you of being an imposter,even though you never said a single thing

Has alot of curiosity about your powers

Shen will try test your limits and see if you just unleash your powers out of pure emotion,he has morbid curiosity

He likes to spar ALOT

He likes to talk to you about how he created the cannons aswell as what he did to get the result

Hes very clingy and will often hang around you

Should anyone speak bad about you if you dont handle it,he will gladly

He finds a sick kind of pleasure from having so powerfull by his side

He throws firework shows for you

If you are good with close combat he will get a custom commissioned weapon of your choice for you

Tai lung

Although he finds your white feathers beautiful he also feels threatened

The pure reason for this is power

Hes been a star student for so long,the best of the best and you show up and have more power than him

Hes very stand off ish at first

He warms up to you eventually,its just a case of him getting there

He comes to find the brutality and accuracy of your fighting method

He trains with you at any given chance,hes not afraid to fight someone stronger than him and he will most likely go in blind,refusing to learn anything from his opponent

He asks if your methods can be taught and is a bit sulky if it cant

Hes not going to underestimate you by a long shot,hes more likely to overestimate you

He finds you feathers pretty and can momentarily find himself losing focus in training

If you gave him a feather he'd treat it as if it were his life sorce

He believes that when he achieves the dragon scroll you two will finally be even

Kai

Other than oogway he hasnt seen such powerful chi before

Nor has he seen the types of power you weild

Your a mystery at first,a mysterious white peacock shows up one day and has practically limitless power?

Hes going to be after your chi,no doubts

After awhile it's much like having a frenemy

"Still havnt given up your chi,(name)?""still havnt defeated oogway,kai?"

Its can go back and forth like this for a very long time,which it usually ends with you slipping through solid matter to escape

It gets to the point whether hes unsure if he still wants to take your chi

It would give him so much raw power but hes grown...fond of you

Which he hates to admit and probally wont

Once you become acquaintances tho it will turn into sparring seasons often

He brings his jombies out every so often to spice things up

He likes how smoothly you execute your kung fu moves/attacks

However in the end he still technically got what he wanted,just differently

[holllandtrash]

better luck next time | lando norris, pierre gasly

pairing: lando norris x reader, pierre gasly x reader part 5 to better left unsaid (the better series)

what started as a quiet day in monza ends in shatters, tears and painful questions, the most important one being why

word count: 6.2k tags: slight mature content but not really also i think we can probably blame max (fewtrell) for everything

Lando just so happened to be standing outside of the McLaren motorhome when you walked past with Pierre. He might have been in the middle of a conversation with Max, but as you strolled on by, the world seemed to move in slow motion. 

The sunglasses did little to cover how ecstatic you were to be there, nor did they do anything to hide who you were. The media, fans, employees, people knew you as Lando’s friend, but all of that was changing all because you showed up with Pierre. 

A breeze caught your hair and you raised your hand to push the strand out of your face. Your playful smile widened when Pierre leaned in and said something, resulting in you nudging his side jokingly.

Maybe Lando was reading into Pierre’s expression too much, but to him he just seemed smug and arrogant, all because you were at his side. 

Lando knew you were stunning, he wasn’t blind. But today there was a different energy to you as you walked past in your all-white attire that only highlighted your already radiant glow. Your top was sleeveless and cropped, showing off your arms and a bit of your stomach. Your jeans hugged your curves and flared above the only hint of colour in your custom pink and red Air Force 1’s. 

Were you wearing pink shoes because of Alpine? Lando could remember the days you showed up to the paddock in similar neutral outfits but with a hint of papaya so people knew where your support lied.

“Lando.”

He snapped his head towards Max, clearing his throat and trying to play it off as if he wasn’t just checking you out. Lando wasn’t subtle though and before Max could call him out, he glanced back in your direction only to find that you had disappeared somewhere in the paddock.

“You were staring, mate,” Max said. A month ago, Max would be encouraging Lando to do something about this. He would be overjoyed knowing that Lando was finally seeing you the way you had always seen him.

Now, Max was a little annoyed. 

That was evident by the dead stare and semi scowl on his lips. Max wasn’t impressed that Lando was now giving you attention. 

Lando shrugged, “She looked good, that’s all.”

“She always looks good,” Max rolled his eyes. 

“Should I have said hi?” Lando looked down the paddock again. No point though, he knew you were long gone. What was he going to do? Run after you? 

“Absolutely not.”

Lando was taken aback by that answer. “She doesn’t hate me. She said it herself, she still cares about me. It’s not like we’re not friends anymore.”

“Give her time, Lando,” Max told him. Lando wasn’t thinking about anyone but himself. He could have played it off as if he was trying to fix your friendship, but he only wanted to get you away from Pierre, even just for a second. 

Max nudged him towards the doors of the motorhome, knowing that Lando wouldn’t have remembered that he had to get ready for the last practice before qualifying. He’d be thinking about you for the rest of the day, wondering what you were doing in the Alpine motorhome, wondering if Pierre knew to tell the hospitality staff that you liked lemon in your water. 

Lando couldn’t help but think about how he usually kept an extra jumper in his drivers room, strictly for you to use. Pierre probably didn’t know that you didn’t like wearing team branded merch so you would never ask for an Alpine hoodie if you were cold, but you were also too kind for your own good and if it was offered, you wouldn’t know how to say no. 

Pierre probably didn’t know that you preferred to watch practices and qualifying from the hospitality lounge and that you’d only stand in the garage during the races. You hated being in the way and even though Lando assured you time and time again that you were always allowed in the garage, you felt better knowing that you wouldn’t be bothering the team or the drivers during the early sessions. 

Lando did worry a little when he thought about you spending time with a French team. You spoke very little French, barely enough to get by in a conversation and while there were certain rules in the garage and on radios about speaking English, those rules didn’t exist in the motorhome, where you’d probably be spending most of your time. 

You consumed every second of Lando’s thoughts. During the briefing, during the meetings, during interviews and it wasn’t until he was climbing into the car for the last practice session did he finally become aware of his surroundings.

You would have noticed instantly if Lando was distracted. You would have told him to snap out of it and to do his job. Instead, it was Lando’s engineer who asked him if he was alright. 

And the answer was no, Lando was nowhere near alright. He didn’t like that you were somewhere in the paddock but he had no idea where. He didn’t like that you would be watching Pierre all weekend. He didn’t like knowing that you might go these next two days without exchanging so much as a word.

More importantly, Lando didn’t like this burning realisation creeping in, reminding him that he might just be too late. 

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paddocksleuth ohh is that the alpine team i seeee

itselenaberri 💕💕

Hanging out in Alpine’s hospitality lounge with Elena was a fun change of pace. You two got along well, the conversation flowed naturally and it was heartwarming to listen to her talk about her relationship with Esteban. She casually asked if you and Pierre were an item, but you didn’t have an answer for her. 

You wanted to say yes, but you also hadn’t put any labels on it, nor were you in a rush to.

“Look, we both know that Pierre’s history with women isn’t ideal,” Elena took a sip of her mimosa before continuing. “But he seems to really like you. Since the start of the season, he’s never flown someone out to accompany him. He wants you to be here.”

“I can’t remember the last time he was in a relationship,” you admitted, trying to think back to all of those gossip blogs and reports on social media. You came up short. Pierre’s flings with girls never lasted more than a weekend.

“No one’s caught his eye quite like you did,” Elena smiled as she spoke. You wanted to believe she was being honest, she had no reason to lead you in the wrong direction. Stability was something that everyone was after and she had it with Esteban. It made sense she’d want his teammate to find it too.

At the end of FP3, both Alpine drivers came and stopped by. They had obligations all day so you didn’t expect to see Pierre until after qualifying, but then you spotted him walking your way across the hospitality lounge and the warmth that spread through you was undeniable. 

If you were in the middle of a conversation, it was completely disregarded now. You tilted your head up as he approached, a smile spread across your cheeks. Pierre caught you off guard by leaning down pressing his lips to yours, his hand resting where your jaw met your neck. 

He was still in his fireproofs, his racing suit draped around his hips. He had literally come straight from practice and the first thing he wanted to do, before even saying hi, was kiss you like there was no one else in the room. 

You didn’t care that other people were near you. They were probably looking on and gossiping about how you were Pierre’s new girl, but none of them knew that you weren’t like the other paddock flings. You weren’t going to disappear after the race weekend ended. 

They didn’t know that you had woken up this morning with his arms wrapped around you. How he pulled you against his chest and left a trail of kisses along your back. No one here knew about the heated kisses you shared after getting out of bed, making it nearly impossible to make breakfast or get ready for the day. Pierre was intoxicating, filling every one of your senses since your eyes fluttered open and you couldn’t get enough of him. 

“Hi,” Pierre whispered against your lips, bright eyes meeting yours as traced his thumb over your cheek. He gave you one more peck before pulling out the chair next to you and sitting down. Immediately, his hand found your thigh. 

You came to find that Pierre always wanted to be touching you. Either playing with your hair or grabbing your hand, anything really. If he was within an arm's reach, he’d reach for you.

“Are you ready for qualifying?” You asked, turning your body to face him so he knew he had all of your attention. There were a few hours until he had to get back in the car, but you didn’t know how long you’d be able to keep him until he was called away. 

“A little nervous but the nerves are good,” he said. He squeezed your leg, “Are you going to come to the garage to watch?”

You shook your head, “I’ll stay up here. I don’t want to get in anyone's way.”

Pierre found that thought amusing, “Chérie there’s a designated spot for visitors, you wouldn’t be in anyone's way.”

“I think I’d rather watch from here,” you told him. “I never watched-”

You didn’t finish that sentence, not because you lost your train of thought, but because one microscopic gesture from Pierre had you not wanting to finish. He remained expressionless, but you caught the way his left eyebrow twitched, like he was waiting for you to say Lando’s name, almost challenging you to. 

You changed the topic, going for more of a lighter note, “I’ll watch the race from the garage, I promise.”

“Good,” that seemed to suffice and you avoided bringing up Lando. 

“Come on,” Pierre said, tightening his grip on your hand as he stood up, “I want to introduce you to some people.”

———————

When the time came for qualifying, Elena left to go stand in the garage. And even though Pierre had managed to introduce you to a good portion of the Alpine team, all of them telling you that you were more than welcome to stand in the garage, you still decided to watch from the comfort of the Hospitality lounge. 

Qualifying started off as normal. It was hard to get an idea for track conditions and lap time in the first few minutes, but already it seemed as though Pierre was off to a good start.

One driver on the grid who wasn’t starting off strong, was Lando.

You didn’t want to care, but when the camera kept focusing on him and the reporters spoke about how there was an unresolved issue that might keep him from getting out on the track, you started to care a bit. 

You didn’t want to see Lando fail. He was a good driver, you’d always want to see him succeed. 

So in between Pierre’s lap times, you held your breath until finally Lando was given the green light to put in a flying lap. He didn’t have much time, the first session was almost over, but you had faith in his abilities as a driver. 

Pierre was safe in his P10 position and would move on to Q2 so you allowed yourself to focus on Lando’s lap time.

He wasn’t setting any records, but his time was better than the bottom five drivers. As he started the third sector, he was .5 seconds ahead of Zhou who was sitting in 16th. You could breathe. He would make it through. 

Or at least, he would have.

Had he not exceeded track limits.

You watched as the countdown to the end of Q1 hit 0 and the camera focused on Lando’s car heading into the pitlane. He thought he was safe. He thought he made it through.

And then the radio message aired, his engineer telling Lando his time was deleted. 

‘No, no, no,’ he groaned into his headset. F1TV picked it up. The camera still tuned in on him and his car in the garage. Even with the helmet on, the disappointment was evident. 

It was another few seconds until he actually climbed out of the car. He pulled his helmet off and handed it to a team member. He rubbed his face and dragged his fingers through his hair. He was upset with himself. This wasn’t a team error, this was on him.

Had you been watching from the McLaren motorhome, you would have already been on your way to the garage, ready to greet him with open arms as he sulked away from his team. You would have walked with him to the motorhome, reminding him that he still has a fighting chance this weekend and that starting from P20 wasn’t the end of the world. 

But you felt glued to your chair. You didn’t know where you stood with Lando and if he would even want you to attempt to cheer him up.

You opted to text Max instead, waiting a few minutes until you knew Lando would be out of the garage.

You typed out a message and then deleted it and then typed a similar one, only to not hit send again. You knew Max was staring at his phone screen watching that typing bubble appear and disappear until eventually he put a stop to it, already knowing what you were trying to say.

Max: he’d probably appreciate it if you came by

It was embarrassing how fast you stood up. You caught a glimpse at the screen and saw the second qualifying session wasn’t going to start for another few minutes. You could be in and out of McLaren before anyone even noticed you had left Alpine’s Hospitality. 

You walked down the stairs and stepped outside. The paddock was much quieter now compared to earlier, everyone had their eyes on the track, media included. Which meant no one even noticed you opening up the doors to the McLaren motorhome and sneaking inside. 

Lando’s drivers room was on the second floor, but you had to pass the lounge on the main floor to get there. Lucky for you, the only person sitting there was Max. He stood up the second you walked in, looking about as nervous as you felt. 

“Are you sure?” You asked, not even sure what you were asking? Was Max sure he would want to see you? Was he sure it was okay you were even there? 

“Y/N he just had his worst ever qualifying,” Max pointed out, glancing towards the stairs. “He doesn’t want to talk to anyone, but he needs to talk to you.”

“I don’t want to overstep.”

“You won’t.”

“How do you-”

“Before everything, you were his friend,” he reminded you. “And he was yours. That’s what he needs right now. I don’t know where you two stand currently and I don’t even think it matters, but you’re the only person that he’ll listen to, Y/N.”

You looked at the screen behind Max. Less than a minute until the second qualifying session. You’d end up missing the first bit but as long as you caught where Pierre ended up, you’d be fine.

Max nodded his head towards the staircase and neither of you had to say another word. 

Slowly, you walked up the stairs. You heard faint music coming from the other side of the door and you held your breath before knocking. 

“Piss off Max.”

A chuckle passed your lips. That was a very typical Lando response. It was also one of your responses. After spending years together, you picked up on each other's mannerisms and sayings. 

You leaned your head against the white surface, eyeing his name plaque on the wall, “It’s- it’s not Max.”

It wasn’t humanly possible for Lando to open the door any faster than he had. You nearly got whiplash when you blinked and all of a sudden, you were face to face. 

God he looked rough. 

He wasn’t one to get emotional, but you could see the frustration in his features. Max was right, he looked defeated with himself, with the car, with this race. There was no hopeful glint in his eyes, nothing that gave you an ounce of confidence that he would bounce back.

It broke you.

All you could do was step forward and drape your arms around him. Lando hesitated, you felt it, but eventually he wrapped his arms around your waist and pulled you against his body. He exhaled a heavy breath as his head dipped to the crook of your neck and you could feel his hands tense around you. 

At this point, you had crossed the line you created by stopping by after being the one who said you needed space.

But it didn’t matter. What mattered was Lando was upset and he needed you. This was your downfall, it always would be. You loved being needed by him.

“It’s just one race,” you said, but something told you this reaction was about so much more than this qualifying gone wrong.

You didn’t want to be the first to let go of this embrace, but you had to. You had to at least try and put distance between yourself and him, even if it was the hardest thing you would ever do. 

So you let your arms fall to your side and you stepped back. Lando inhaled a deep breath and this would have been the perfect opportunity for you to leave. The door was still open, there was nothing keeping you there. You gave him a comforting hug, maybe that was all he needed.

But you stayed.

When Lando sat down on the couch, something pulled you to follow. The door swung on its hinges and shut quietly. You just knew that Max was standing at the bottom of the staircase, probably wondering if he had made a mistake by telling you to go see him.

He braced his elbows on his knees as he dipped his head. He loosely pulled his fingers through his hair but his gaze stayed glued to his feet. When your leg brushed against his, Lando didn’t flinch at the contact. 

“You know what’s the worst part?” Lando asked, shaking his head. “It’s all my fault. I’m the one who messed up last race. I’m the one who exceeded track limits. I’m the one who keeps making mistakes.”

“You got a podium in Austria,” you reminded him, but that didn’t seem to lift his spirits. 

“Because of Ferrari’s fuck ups.”

“No, it’s because you’re a good driver,” you nudged your elbow against his, but he didn’t seem convinced. “Lando, you’ve had a few shitty runs, that doesn’t mean you’re a shitty driver.”

“I feel like a shitty driver.”

You didn’t come here to pity him, you came here to help him get his confidence back. 

“Hey do you remember that summer when we were sixteen and we tried to teach ourselves how to play poker?” 

Lando raised his head. It was clear he had no idea where you were going with this trip down memory lane, but he nodded.

Of course he remembered that summer. He was in Formula 3 and during the break his family decided to vacation in the French Riviera and obviously, you were invited. There was one night where his sisters were spending the evening on a friend's boat, his parents had gone out to an event and the two of you were left alone in the summer house. 

It was your idea to learn how to play poker. You pulled up a how-to guide on your phone as Lando found his dads poker set in the billiards room. You weren’t playing for money, just bragging rights, but you both took it way too seriously, determined to learn the ways of the game.

“Do you remember how awful we both were?” You asked, the question followed by a laugh that seemed to lift the corner of Lando’s mouth in response. 

“I remember you were the worst dealer and kept giving me cards I couldn’t do anything with,” Lando said and you smiled to yourself. That was what you wanted him to remember. 

“But yet at the end of the night, you ended up winning.”

Lando shook his head, still not following, “What the hell does poker have to do with Formula 1?” 

You dropped your hand to his knee. You shouldn’t have, but you did it anyway, giving his clothed leg an assuring squeeze, “Because you’re in a similar spot now, Lando. You’ve been dealt some shitty hands but the game isn’t over. This race, this season, none of it’s over. You are the only person who decides when it ends and I don’t think you’re ready to give up yet. I don’t think you’re done fighting.”

He didn’t have a response for you and you considered that a win on your part. Lando loved to argue so the fact that he was staying quiet told you that you managed to get through to him, even just a little. 

Lando smiled again. It didn’t quite reach his eyes, but it was something. It was hope. Despite everything, you still believed in him and his abilities as a driver and that was enough. That was what he needed to hear.

Slowly, you watched the light return to his eyes. His features softened, he unclenched his jaw and he nodded. Lando dropped his hand, letting it rest over top of yours. It was a gesture you had shared hundreds of times before and it wasn’t supposed to be anything but friendly. 

It was impossible to miss the way his gaze dropped, landing on your lips as his tongue darted out to wet him. His eyes quickly met yours again. 

A month ago, a move like that would have weakened you. 

You didn’t know what to feel anymore. 

“You ‘gonna be okay?” You asked and then you felt his hand tighten around yours.

You needed to leave the room. 

“I’d be better if you hung out in McLaren,” Lando admitted. The air in the room suddenly felt heavier. “But yeah, I’ll be okay.”

“Alpine’s not that bad,” you wanted to remind Lando that you were there because of Pierre. Pierre booked your flight. Pierre held your hand as you walked through the paddock. Pierre was the one who made you feel wanted. 

And instead of watching his qualifying session, you were with Lando. 

Because Lando made you feel needed.

Even if it was temporary, even if it was borderline toxic, even if it was just another tactic he would use to keep you around, Lando knew exactly what to do and say to make you feel as though he needed you. That he wasn’t the same person without you in his life.

Space. You needed space. You couldn’t keep allowing yourself to do this. 

You cleared your throat, “I should go.”

Lando nodded, his line of sight darting to the door. The closed door that probably should have remained open for both of your sakes.

Why hadn’t you stood up yet? Why hadn’t Lando let go of your hand? Why did you text Max? Why did you even come to his drivers room in the first place? 

Why? Why? Why? Why?

And what if…

“Lando…” Your voice was barely above a whisper. Whatever you were trying to say didn’t matter, it wasn’t like you were telling him to fuck off or saying goodbye. And the second Lando realised you weren’t going anywhere, you weren’t leaving, the way you said his name sounded like a chorus of angels. 

And then his lips were on yours. 

There was no thinking things through here. If you had thought about the repercussions for even a second, you wouldn’t have left the Alpine hospitality. Instead, Lando’s hand travelled up to cup the side of your face, the pads of his fingers brushing against your hair. 

There were twenty different voices screaming at you, reminding you that this was a bad idea, that Lando didn’t love you, but all of those voices were drowned out by the quiet groan that emerged from the back of his throat when you slid your tongue past his lips. 

He gripped your waist and pulled you to sit on his lap. Your legs straddled either side of his hips as his fingers dug into your skin. You spent hours thinking about what it would be like to make out with him in his driver's room and now here you were, on top of him and clashing your tongue against his. He twisted his fingers tighter through your hair, keeping you as close to him as physically possible. 

You swore under your breath when Lando attached his lips to your jaw. He moved his lips tantalisingly slow, using the grip in your hair to give him better access to your throat as he trailed downwards. When he took your earlobe between his teeth you automatically bucked your hips against his. 

It wasn’t fair. Your body shouldn't have reacted like this with him. You shouldn’t have wanted this as bad as you did, not when you just had one of the best nights of your life with Pierre yesterday. 

But Lando’s breath was hot as his teeth grazed over your skin and it sparked a fire within you. You ran your fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck, pulling at the strands when he found that spot below your ear and worked to leave a mark like his life depended on it. 

“Lando-” his name was caught off by an embarrassingly loud moan that had you praying there was no one in one of the nearby rooms. Lando kept sucking on your skin, determined to not let you walk out of here without this visible reminder of him, this reminder that no matter what, you’d always be his. 

Even if you were trying to give your heart to someone else, even if he would never love you the way you loved him, you’d always be a little bit his. He’d always had this unspoken control over you. 

“Lando I-” you choked on your words, clenching your legs around him as he pulled back, meeting your eyes. 

He looked proud of himself, of course he was proud of himself. He had a cocky kind of arrogance to him and you wanted to slap that smirk right off his face.

You needed to get the fuck out of this room.

And Lando knew you like the back of his hand. He caught the way you glanced towards the door. He saw your timid swallow when Pierre’s face came to the forefront of your mind. He could see it in your eyes that you were regretting all of this.

“Don’t go,” Lando urged quietly, tightening his hold on your waist when you made the sudden move to stand up. He pulled you closer, spreading his fingers across the small of your back. His lips found your jaw, but his kiss was soft compared to earlier. Gentle, like he was afraid anything more would break you. It probably would.

“I have to,” you laid your hand against his chest to brace yourself as you climbed off of him, feeling his growing erection beneath his trousers as you swung your legs off. 

Lando held on as long as he could, his fingers trailing down your arm and connecting with yours before you finally stepped back. 

You turned around, knowing there was a mirror in this driver's room, but the second you caught your own reflection you had no idea who the girl was staring back. Her hair was dishevelled. Her throat was red with a very prominent, darkening spot below her ear. Her hands were trembling.

You caught Lando’s eyes in the mirror and the haze lifted.

“Oh my god,” you breathed out, fingers hovering over the childish hickey he had left on you. “Lando I can’t- I can’t go back out like this.”

He pushed himself off of the couch and you found yourself frozen as he approached you from behind. One arm snaked around your waist as he gently pulled your hair over your shoulder, so he too could see the mark. 

“So then stay here.”

The nerve of this man. 

He didn’t understand that there would be consequences for your actions. Lando didn’t care that you had to go back to Pierre after this, he only cared that Pierre saw who you really belonged to. 

He was selfish and conceited and vain and didn’t care about what was best for you.

Lando didn’t like that someone else could make you happy. He felt threatened. He felt as though he was losing you, he was, and the only way to keep you from leaving was by giving you what you wanted. 

Because at one point, you did want this. You wanted the intimacy with Lando. For years, you craved it. You wanted Lando to see you the way you saw him.

But it wasn’t real. 

He just didn’t want you looking at someone else the way you once looked at him.

You grabbed his wrist and peeled his hand off of you, practically elbowing him in the chest as you turned around and put space between your bodies. When Lando tried to step forward you backed up, your head hitting the mirror behind you. 

“You can’t do this,” you found your voice. “It’s not fucking fair Lando. I’m with Pierre, you know this. You can’t just decide you want me all of a sudden, that’s not how this works.”

“But you can decide you don’t want me all of a sudden?” Lando retorted. He sounded much more sure of himself than you did. “Come on, Y/N, I know you. You may be with Pierre but you still love me.”

You wanted him to be wrong so fucking bad. You didn’t want to love him. 

“You can’t use that against me!” You snapped at him. “My feelings are not a game, Lando. You can’t just use them to your advantage. You can’t string me along like this. You can’t show me attention because I’m into someone else. You can’t kiss me after making it clear you don’t want me. You can’t pretend to love me now that I’m trying to get over you!”

Tears were starting to well up in the corner of your eyes and you told yourself to hold it together. You were not going to cry over him, in front of him. 

Lando clenched his jaw, “What if I’m not pretending?”

It felt as though your heart fell to the pit of your stomach, “What?”

“What if I’m not pretending?” He repeated. “What if I do love you?”

You so badly wanted to believe that to be true. 

But you shook your head slowly, “You don’t.”

“Y/N-”

“Stop, Lando. Please.”  you cut him off before he could make some sort of grand gesture, before he could sweep you away with the words you’ve been waiting to hear. A shaky inhale passed through your lips, “You don’t love me, you just don’t want me to love anyone else.”

He opened his mouth to argue with you, to dispute everything you had said, but one more weak breath from you had his lips tightening into a thin line. Whatever he had to say, it wouldn’t help. It would only hurt. It would just make things harder.

“I’m leaving,” you finally announced with a sniff. You blinked a few times to get rid of any threatening tears, not like it helped. 

His gaze dropped to your neck and your stomach turned in knots. You couldn’t hide Lando’s mark from Pierre, not forever, but you couldn’t necessarily walk out of this motorhome showing it off either.

You swiftly turned and reached for the closet doors, pulling them open and grabbing a plain black jumper, one that Lando always kept in his driver's room. You slid it on, knowing Lando wasn’t going to fight you on it and it only took a few seconds for you to bunch up the hood around your neck until you were confident you could get through the rest of the day without any judgmental stares. 

Lando just stood off to the side and watched as you fixed yourself as best as you could. He stayed quiet when you dabbed at the corner of your eyes. He bit his tongue to keep from saying anything else in an attempt to get you to stay.

“This didn’t happen,” you told him, referring to everything that had occurred since you stepped foot in this motorhome. Lando’s hand twitched, but he just balled his hand into a fist and nodded. 

When you reached for the door, Lando stepped forward, “Can I just-”

“No,” you were firm, your tone sharp. “You don’t have a fucking right to do or say anything right now. This ends here, Lando.”

You made up your mind. You couldn’t crawl back to Lando. You couldn’t keep letting him have this control over you. You had to stop loving him otherwise you would just end up in this painful cycle, always asking yourself why and what if. 

When you were confident Lando wasn’t going to say a word, you grabbed the handle of the door and pulled it open. There was more commotion in the motorhome now, more people than before. You just slid your hands into the front pocket of the jumper and made your way down the stairs. 

You tried to avoid Max, but he jumped off the couch and followed you outside, at least having the decency to keep his voice down when he grabbed your arm and turned you around.

“What the hell happened?”  Max asked, glancing at the motorhome. “I heard nothing and then I heard yelling and then-”

“It doesn’t matter,” there was a growing lump in your throat, but the second you tried to swallow it away, it triggered the tears you were holding back. You inhaled a strangled sob and shook your head, keeping your eyes away from Max. “I’m leaving. I can’t- I can’t be here. Lando, he-”

But you couldn’t even begin to try and explain yourself. Not with every second word being followed by a gasp for your air. You wiped your eyes and just shook your head. Your were hurt. You made a mistake. Your sudden emotions were the best explanation Max would get for now. 

“Look I don’t want to make things difficult but-”

Max’s words were cut off when you heard your name being called from behind you. You recognized the French accent as it ripped through your chest. 

“Pierre didn’t make it through to Q3,” Max explained quickly. “He texted me asking if he knew where you were and when I didn’t answer he just- well I guess he assumed.”

You couldn’t breathe. 

“Chérie, what-” Pierre approached you, but his words escaped him the second he came face to face with your tear stained cheeks and painful expression. He eyed the McLaren motorhome behind you and you watched as the muscles in his jaw tensed.

Pierre could have jumped to his own conclusions. He could have caused a scene right there in the paddock. He could have assumed the worst, knowing you had left McLaren crying. You wouldn’t have blamed him if he just turned and walked away from you, not wanting to get involved in this type of bullshit Lando created.

But he draped his arm around your shoulders and tugged you into his side. Pierre dropped his chin to the top of your head, pressing his lips to your hair, “Let’s go, okay?”

You nodded, there wasn’t much else you could do. 

Pierre grabbed the pair of sunglasses that was resting on top of his head and handed them over to you, figuring you’d want them to hide how red and puffy your face was. You slid them on and kept your head down, assuring Max you’d text him later.

The two of you barely stepped away from McLaren when the motorhome doors flew open. You looked up, your heart shattering even more when you spotted Lando practically tripping over his own feet to catch up to you. 

Pierre stopped walking and eyed up the British driver slowly. He didn’t drop his arm from your shoulder, making it very clear that he wasn’t going to leave the two of you alone.

Lando obviously hadn’t expected Pierre to show up. It threw a wrench in his plans, whatever they were. Maybe he was going to try that grand gesture again. Maybe he was going to apologise. You had no idea and you honestly didn’t care. 

Shockingly enough though, it was Pierre who spoke first.

He raised his free hand and patted Lando on the shoulder, “Sorry about qualifying, mate.”

Lando nodded, his attention darting between you and Pierre, “Yeah, not ideal obviously.”

Pierre started to back up, taking you with him, “Better luck next time, I guess.”

His words cut deep. Pierre wasn’t just talking about qualifying. Pierre was referring to how Lando was losing his own game, how he played his cards that first night in the club and now barely stood a chance at winning you back.

But you had no idea that Lando wasn’t about to give up that easily.

part 6 here read all parts here

--- this is a shameless plug but i started an f1 podcast with my friend and if you want to listen to the first episode you can find the links to it here hehe

[rodricksfilipinagf]

Karma's A Bitch Part 1 (Jamie Tartt x Reader, Enemies to Lovers)

Summary: Idealistic, hopeless romantic Y/N is the new marketing intern at AFC Richmond who instantly tops star player and major asshole Jamie Tartt's shit list for daring to stand up to him.

         Today’s my first day as a marketing intern at AFC Richmond! I really like Keeley already- she’s so nice. She was immediately welcoming to me and even listened to my rant about the newest season of Bridgerton. I think working here is going to be exciting because Jamie Tartt trains here and I’ve had sex fantasies about him ever since I saw him modeling in a champagne ad. I was ecstatic to be placed here because then that meant we can meet and interact and possibly fall in love and reenact my sex dreams.

         I can see the players coming into the building from the field. Oh my God, that means Jamie’s coming! What if he falls in love with me on sight? That wouldn’t happen probably but it’d be so romantic.

         Jamie is wearing his gray practice jersey and grey warm up jacket. He is making the drab colors work for him. 

         When he’s just about to pass me, I say, “Hey, Jamie, I’m Y/N and I just want to say-“

         He brushes right past me, shoving his water bottle into my hands. “Thanks,” he dismisses, not even turning around.

         Well. That dream’s dead now. My cheeks flush with anger and I guess my body reacts before my mind. I don’t think about how this will affect my internship or dealing with him in the future. I just want to make him pay. 

         I catch up to him, seizing his arm and blocking his path.

         His eyes narrow in annoyance. “What do you want?”

         I unscrew the bottle cap. “I used to admire you a lot, but…” I stand on my tiptoes and pour all the water from the bottle onto Jamie’s face. “Not anymore, dickhead.”

         He blinks, looking furious. “What the fuck is wrong with you? Who the fuck do you think you are? Do you know who I am?”

         “Yes,” I say. “A terrible person who treats people like crap. Everything else doesn’t matter to me. Not how famous you are or how rich you are or how many goals you score and certainly not how hot you are!” I regret saying that last part. 

         “You think I’m hot?” he asks. Then he laughs. “What, are you mad that I’m not falling all over myself for you?”

         “You wish,” I say. “I just think you shouldn’t be rude to interns- or anyone- because you’re some big star.”

         “You’re interning here?” Jamie’s nose wrinkles as if he smells something rancid. Then he draws up. “Then let me tell you how it works around here. You learn respect, you do what I say, and if I want your fucking opinion, I’ll ask.”

         “I’m actually in the marketing department, not your personal assistant. And I’ll respect you when you learn not to be a dick,” I retort. 

         “Whatever. Just stay out of my way.” He knocks my shoulder with his before storming off.

         Today I’m handing out schedules to the players about marketing stuff. I barely make eye contact when I get to Jamie, who is chewing gum. I just shove it at him. “This is yours.”

         “Perfect,” Jamie says. “I’ve been looking for a place to put my gum.”

         “How about up your ass?” I say nastily.

         Scorn enters Jamie’s eyes. “I see you still haven’t learned respect, intern.” He takes his wet gum out of his mouth and sticks it into my hand. “Toss this in the trash for me.”

`        What an entitled prick. “In the trash? Sure.” I press his chewed gum into his forehead. By now the whole team is watching. “Is here good?” I taunt. 

         A lot of the other players start laughing. I bet Jamie’s been an ass to all of them at least once, and they love seeing him brought down a peg.

         He looks furious, using the paper his schedule is on to scrape gum off his face. And then he gets right up in mine. “How many times do I have to fucking tell you to stay in your place?” he growls.

         “Maybe this all wouldn’t be happening if you were a nice person. Just a thought. Oh, and you have an interview at 3 tomorrow.” I start to walk away, but Jamie grabs the back of my shirt. 

         “I could make your life really miserable around here if I wanted to,” Jamie says. 

         “Sure, gum-face. Sure,” I say. I leave him seething behind me. 

         This morning I get an email that I have to be in the interview room 25 minutes earlier to “prep Jamie on talking points.”

When I pull open the door of the interview room, I’m showered from head to toe with whipped cream from a bucket hanging over the door. When I wipe my eyes, I see Jamie with a big bucket in his hand.

“You did this,” I spew.

He shrugs. “I thought you needed a makeover,” he says, emptying the bucket’s contents over my head. Which turn out to be feathers. Many, multicolored feathers that because of the whipped cream, stick everywhere. My hair, my face, and all over my body. 

“Jamie!” I shriek furiously while he just looks smug. “Are you out of your mind?”

“What?” He feigns innocence. “I thought Americans liked this.”

“Okay, Jamie, what is your problem with me?” I demand. “Is it because I’m the only person ever to stand up to you?”

“You think you can talk to me and treat me however you want. You tried to embarrass me in front of my teammates today. You need to get it through your thick skull that you’re just some lowly American intern, and I’m the star player. You don’t tell me what to do.”

“You are so arrogant,” I say. “It’s no wonder your teammates don’t like you.”

“Think I give a shit?” Jamie scoffs. “They all know I’m the best.” He smirks. “And so will that reporter coming.”

My eyes widen. “Oh yeah, the reporter’s coming. Jamie, I guarantee you’ll blow them away.”

He looks confused at this, and I use this moment to tackle him to the floor. “What the fuck?” he demands angrily. Whipped cream is seeping into his jeans and shirt, and some of my feathers are transferring onto his clothes. 

“Well, Jamie, karma’s a bitch, and she’s with you right now,” I say.

He glares at me. “You stupid twat. You ruined my outfit for my interview!”

“You ruined mine first!” I shoot back. “Like you say, you’re so much more important than me. Maybe you’ll make this look the new trend.”

“Piss off,” Jamie says, his eyes blazing. 

“You ensured that I would get embarrassed on the Tube today. Thought I’d return the favor,” I spit.

“This is a national magazine,” Jamie says through clenched teeth. “It’s not the same and you know it. I’ll get you back for this.”

I scowl. “As if this prank wasn’t entirely your fault. But fine. You want a war? You’ve got one.”

A/N: Hi guys!!! I wrote this after getting super pissed off (in a good way) after reading a snippet of another Jamie Tartt fanfic on here, so I used like 3 lines from there to inspire this story and put my own unique spin on it. Also yes I had Y/N quote that song Jojo Siwa made famous and Brit Smith ~bodied~. She's such a girlboss, and I love seeing her put Jamie in his place. I also love writing slow burns!!

[gx-gameon]

Every few years Yugioh comes back and takes over my life.

And as I rewatch the anime I can’t stop thinking about a world where Jaden was raised by Yugi.

I don’t know if you all remember but a few years back there was a creator on here and they had an au were the Gx gang were raised by the Duel monster gang. But they are gone now and I can’t find their stuff😢 but it’s okay. I’ve got my own ideas on this!

Instead of having the whole Gx gang raised by the DM gang we are just going to focus on Jaden.

When Jaden is four all the drama with Yubel happens. His parents aren’t around very often, and Yubel is being Yubel. She sees Jaden fighting and losing duels so she lashes out at the other duelest because in the dark world if Jaden lost that duel he’d be dead. She’s just protecting him. He designs the Neo-spacians and they get sent into space, and his parents make the request for Yubel to be sent up as well (I know in the show it was Jaden but we’re going to say it was his parents idea first)

Jaden is now having horrible nightmares about Yubel and his shadow magic is lashing out. He’s four. He has so much power and no idea how to control it. So his parents, afraid of their child take him to get ‘help.’ Whatever it is that they do it blocks out Jaden’s powers and his memories. He can’t remember Yubel, he can’t see spirits. But it’s to late. He’s already branded a social pariah and his parents are scared of him and he doesn’t know why. His parents just can’t take it anymore and drop the kid off at a fire station (don’t know if this is a thing in Japan but in some states you can drop a kid off at any age at and just leave) or maybe they just die. Either way they are gone and he’s in an orphanage. Alone, scared, no spirits, parents, or friends.

Here is where Yugi comes in.

Our boy just graduated. DSOD just happened. (Jaden’s cards going to space were Kaiba testing things for his satellite thingy) Kaiba is AWOL. But Yugi doesn’t know why…yet.

Maybe he’s in town for a tournament, or college, but for some reason he’s in town, and what he does find is this kid dueling by himself in a park. No one will go near him and he looks so lonely. And Yugi knows that feeling. So he goes over and plays with the kid. Jaden is ecstatic, the king of games wants to duel him! Best day ever.

Over time the two keep running into each other until Yugi learns about the kids situation. No family, no friends, he’s alone in the world. And Yugi, he just can’t stand that. Yes Jaden is a little loud and over excited but he’s a great kid and Yugi can’t even comprehend why his parents would abandon him. So he makes the decision to go and adopt this kid.

But the adoption’s weird. He expected a lot of questions. He’s 18 after all, and while he’s got his grandpa’s support, he’s still 18 years old trying to adopt a 4 year old. But the orphanage basically throws the kid at him happy to be rid of the problem. (Everyone in that part of town knows what used to happen when Jaden dueled.) and Yugi is perplexed. He’s not mad, it’s the outcome he wanted, but why is everyone so scared of the kid?

He tries to find out but there are no records of Jaden. Who his parents are, or what happened. (Rich people have the ability to get certain records closed) so he goes to the one person he can think of who might be able to find those records, Kaiba. But when he gets there Mokuba is barely keeping it together. Yugi asked where Seto is and the kid just breaks down, telling him all about Seto’s trip to the afterlife to duel Atem and Yugi is floored. Why would he be so stupid. Mokuba begs Yugi to go after his brother. But Yugi hesitates, he’s got Jaden to worry about now.

“Who’s Jaden?” And it’s in this moment that Yugi realizes he was so wrapped up in adopting Jaden, getting him home, and trying to figure out why that whole town was scared of a 4 year old, that he didn’t tell anyone about Jaden! So he quickly explains to Mokuba who Jaden is and what is happening and why he needs Seto’s help.

Mokuba didn’t think he could like Yugi anymore then he already did, after all Yugi has helped him and Seto a lot, but now! After learning he saved a kid for an orphanage and an awful upbringing like he and Seto had, he adores this man. (Now if Seto would just get his head out of his butt and realize that Yugi isn’t just his rival but also a perfect match. He’s the biggest rivalshipper) but he needs Yugi to go after Seto, after all who else can?

So Yugi calls Joey to watch Jaden. And Joey is experiencing so many different emotions, having so many breakdowns. What do you mean you got a Kid Yug? What do you mean Kaiba went to the Afterlife to duel Atem? What do you mean you’re going after him? Why? I’m so confused!!

But he instantly loves Jaden. They both love dueling, they both have empty heads. Uncle Joey is in the house! He offers to go after Kaiba for Yugi, Jaden can’t lose him, but Yugi insist he go. He wants to see Atem, but he also knows he has a better chance than Joey at coming back.

So after Kaiba Yugi goes. Jaden’s safe with Joey and Mokuba.

And if this isn’t in the top 5 weirdest thing Yugi’s ever done, which is saying something.

He meets up with Kaiba and Atem. And Atem has spent the last month yelling at Kaiba for coming here because the man didn’t plan on how to get back. And here comes Yugi, Atem sees him and starts to lose it because, either Yugi is dead or he followed Kaiba here and he doesn’t know which is worse. Until Yugi starts yelling at Kaiba as well. Because “I had to leave my son to come get you!” And hold up now Atem and Kaiba are Floored because “son?”

Atem’s wondering if it’s been way longer than he thought and Yugi and Kaiba have just aged well, or did he miss something THAT big when he was with his aibou.

So Yugi has to explain who Jaden is. (Kaiba’s in love but he doesn’t realize it) and Atem is so proud.

Yugi drags Seto back down to earth but not before some adventures in the afterlife. That may end with Atem coming back down with them by accident. (A gift from the gods, Atem didn’t plan or ask for it, but he will forever be grateful for this second chance at life) Uncle Atem gets to meet his nephew and he’s pumped.

Jaden grows up so loved. Learning from the best. Seto finds out about Jaden’s past and Atem works with the kid on unlocking his powers once again while Kaiba tries to retrieve Jaden’s cards from space. (They are his soul cards, he’s suppose to have them, just as Kaiba is suppose to have Blue-eyes, or Atem the Dark Magician. And Seto just sent them to space!! Yugi was not happy when he found out, he doesn’t blame Seto, but he’s not happy)

Jaden grows up going to all of his dad’s tournaments. They give the kid a baseball hat and sunglasses so no one knows what the ‘prince of duels’ looks like.

Eventually Yugi and Seto get their crap together and start dating/get married. Seto is the most over protective Oto-san ever. Only rivaled by uncle Atem.

When Jaden is fourteen he’s ready to go to duel school. He enrolls are Jaden Yuki. His transcript does not mention his parents, as Jaden doesn’t want any special privileges at the school.

Yugi gives his son winged kuriboh on his way to his entrance test. The whole gang is there in a private sweet to watch the entrance exams and see Jaden’s duel against Dr. Crowler.

Seto is furious at his staffs behavior but Yugi and Atem are more focused on Jaden finally being able to see spirits again. They’re so excited. Seto less so, he’s happy for his son but he’s so focused on his employee bullying a child, his child. (Lets just say Crowler owes keeping his job to Jaden, he will have no clue of this until after Jaden graduates)

Gx is so much funnier because Kaiba is hearing about all the crazy things his staff is doing and he’s ready to fire everyone, but his son keeps saying he likes them, the school, the adventure. Jaden so desperately doesn’t want any of his classmates to know who his parents are, not wanting to be treated differently. So Seto can’t fire them, yet. But once Jaden graduates he is overhauling this school.

Yugi is at a cross between laughing at Atem and Seto being over protective and also losing his mind because who stored the dark lords at this school! “Seto, did you know about this?” (Seto’s never been more scared of his husband)

Season one is uninterrupted. But season 2 is close. Even Yugi wants to step in when the evil cult comes to light. But it’s season 3 that makes the family lose their minds.

[oneatlatime]

The Awakening

Season 3 let's goooooooooo

These Fire Nation cells are absurdly spacious.

I do love that Momo's first reaction is kisses.

Not a cell. Oops.

Well that was confusing. I was arguing so vociferously that the SWT weren't pirates and then they go and gank a ship.

Mai girl get it! Questionable taste in men, but I love to see a lady getting exactly what she wants.

Mai: "how are you?" Zuko: *existential dread* Mai: "babe. Shut up."

Aang says he's the only one who's completely out of it, but Appa's behind him in full faceplant mode.

Actually, by the hair growth standard established by Zuko, Aang's been out 5 days at most.

Season 1 bitchy Katara is back again. I hate season 1 bitchy Katara.

I'm impressed by how much of these characters' identities is tied to their colour palettes. I see all these water tribe guys walking around in reds and blacks and I have no idea who I'm looking at.

Aang's eyes are back to brown this episode.

I love that Katara has no idea how she healed Aang. Superpowered does not mean superlearned. So much more believable than supergenius tweens.

It's the old ladies! They're wearing croissants on their heads. Why not.

This is a cool way to do exposition. A royal proclamation narrating a flashback.

These Dai Li don't know shit about loyalty huh.

SONG! HI SONG! I MISS YOU!

CORNY BABY & FAMILY! HI CORNY BABY & FAMILY! I DON'T MISS YOU! My guy why haven't you unpacked yet.

Given the welcome Zuko gets from the Fire Nation crowds, I'm thinking the exact cause/terms of his banishment were never made public? They're hyping him up like a wrestling entrance. That doesn't track with someone known to be honourless.

I want whatever's in Bato's bowl. Those noodles have him mesmerised. He's staring at them like they're telling him the secrets of the universe.

Are you telling me that Appa successfully landed on the deck of one of these ships without sinking it?

I love how Gaang's reaction to everything going wrong is to go find their dad.

STOP GOING ON ABOUT THE INVASION PLAN. IT WON'T WORK. STOP.

"Yep! The whole world thinks you're dead. Isn't that great!" Sokka. TACT.

Sometimes Sokka's brain gets too far ahead of itself.

Poor Aang. Not many people whose deaths are wrongly cause for celebration live long enough to see those celebrations.

How do the topknots fit inside the helmets?

This is silly beyond words. It's a two second throwaway gag but they're so into it.

Aang saying "I hate not being able to do anything" to the girl whose whole existence was not doing anything until recently is certainly a choice. And honestly, wasn't Season 1 Aang's whole point not wanting to be the Avatar? Actual responsible adults are handling the problems for once. He should be ecstatic.

I just realised this Fire Nation disguise ship plan means there are people in the Southern Water Tribe who know how to run coal powered ships. Neat.

One of the things I really love about Avatar is how much love they put into the side characters. This guy on the left is a nameless mook, but in the three to four lines of dialogue he gets, we see a world of political and bureaucratic headaches and a bunch of normal, humanising emotions (who hasn't been angry at that one coworker who can never be bothered to email?). The writers didn't have to give him that much personality, but they did!

Also, how often do Fire Nation ships get captured, if two pieces of bureaucracy not lining up causes this guy to jump to that conclusion, rather than think the bureaucracy messed up?

Someone in the Fire Nation has invented extra buoyant metal.

Turtleducks are scared of Azula. Turtleducks are good judges of character.

An awful lot of this episode is flashback footage.

Toph is a missile launcher. This is all I wanted out of life.

For the first time ever, Aang gets to play the role that Sokka plays in every bending heavy battle.

Since when can Katara do bending moves this big?

Sokka once again harnessing his ability to speak the opposite of what he wants into existence.

They said they passed through the serpent's pass a few days ago. Clever foreshadowing I completely missed.

Don't you love it when all your problems cancel each other out?

Aang. This is not the hill to die on. Also please don't throw tapestries around in a room with unguarded candles until you can firebend.

Wow Aang is just taking all the wrong lessons from this. And he's stealing Zuko's lines.

Turns out the Firelord is just some guy with an unfortunate goat beard.

Katara finally gets a chance to be her age, complete with nonsensical emotions and misdirected anger. I hate bitchy Katara but I love seeing her expressing the root of that bitchiness. And I love how illogical it all is, and that she acknowledges that! Emotions ARE illogical and messy!

Contrasting Hakoda winning Dad of the Year with Ozai setting off every alarm bell known to man is a choice. A really good choice. But wow. Not subtle.

I knew Azula always lied, but to her own dad/Firelord too? That's a dangerous move.

Aang. What are you doing. Stop.

Leave the door open. Peak sibling move.

In a turn of events that should surprise absolutely no one, Zuko's been played like a fiddle by his sister and is now as trapped as ever. The surprising part is that Azula thinks she can get away with lying to the Firelord too. Don't know how that's going to go for her long term.

So much for me saying the Avatar universe doesn't do ghosts. This season opener is surprisingly backwards-looking.

No offense to ghost Yue, but I think the saving the world she's referring to is the time she and a massive fishman saved the world, not strictly Aang.

How did they get past the blockade and find the right island?

I cringed at Katara's knee slide.

How are they standing on that island or breathing the air if it's hot enough to do that?

Final Thoughts

...what was that?

Seriously. This episode was a disorganised and aimless mess with the occasional gold mine of characterisation bobbing around. Did the writers not have a plan for what would happen after season 2 ended? This episode feels like the writers had as much plan as the characters did. If I was feeling charitable, I would say that this episode was a hot mess as a metanarrative commentary on Aang and the world's state, but I'm not feeling charitable. I think this episode was just a hot mess.

First, the good bits.

I liked that Sokka was very in character. We've seen before how he can run away with an idea to the point that he forgets to mind the human element. This episode's Sokka felt very much like Sokka. I liked that the beat up Sokka quota was replaced with 'Sokka dares the universe to play chicken and actually wins for once.' His optimistic characterisation this episode didn't grate like his inexplicable optimism did in Ba Sing Se, because here he has a reason to be happy. He's got his dad and a plan. Being around his dad and their people has done him good.

I like Toph the Ballista.

I like the noodle hypnosis.

I loved Katara's emotional blow up. It doesn't matter how noble or important the cause, leaving your kids for a cause is still leaving. I love that she points out how illogical her emotions are being. And I love that Hakoda creates a no-judgement-all-comfort-safe-to-rant zone for her. She's been waiting to do that for a while, and some of it came out at Zuko last episode, so it's been established that she's at boiling point. Fun fact: Katara has now had emotionally fraught venting sessions at Hakoda, Zuko, and Jet if you squint. I don't know what to make of the fact that the show has grouped these men into the same category of 'safe for Katara to vent to.'

I liked a couple of the throwaway gags, and the throwaway characters.

I liked the framing of Zuko's reintroduction to his father. Great use of angles and shadows. We've had two seasons of build up to this guy as the Biggest Bad, and the scene of Zuko kneeling in the throne room while Ozai paces around and delivers the world's most menacing praise felt big enough to be the crowning glory of that payoff. Especially contrasted to the loving father daughter reunion of equals it was interspersed with. But...

The bad bits.

Why did they immediately undermine two seasons of hype and all of the episode's menace by showing the Firelord as a gullible idiot who can't spot a bold-faced lie coming from a tween? I am legitimately pissed off that they defanged him as a threat so soon after introducing him. And I don't think showing that Azula can successfully lie to the Firelord builds up Azula as a threat - I think it also undermines her, because it's a stupid move. This episode could have introduced the biggest bad and reinforced the threat posed by last season's antagonist. Instead, it completely neutered the biggest bad and made Azula look like an idiot. I am actually mad about this.

Other stuff I didn't like: Aang's whole deal. Of course he was going to lose his mind and not be ok about what went down in Ba Sing Se. But he's never this dismissive of his friends, and a huge part of his early character is the fact that he would absolutely love it if some qualified adults stepped in and did the job he was unwillingly born into. Aang this episode felt self-centred and out of character.

Zuko's usually not this dim. I had figured out the angle Azula was going for by the end of the turtle duck pond conversation. Why can't he figure out for himself why Azula has redirected the potential blame if Aang is found to have survived?

The pacing felt off. The A plot flipped between action set pieces and emotional stuff. The B plot was purely talking. But the action set pieces felt out of place in an otherwise quiet episode. I get that you need something to interest the 8 year olds hyped up on sugar who only want explosions, but I think this episode would have been a lot better without the 'Aang almost drowns but gets a pep talk from a couple of ghosts who say exactly what everyone else has already said to him for two seasons but for some reason Aang listens this time and it works.' Why couldn't we have had a quiet episode?

Speaking of, why are Roku and Yue randomly popping up? Last time Aang talked to Roku, it took a trip into the Avatar state and the destruction of a very stupid general's whole army base. The ONLY person who's talked to Yue since she died is Sokka, and that took a magic swamp. I just don't get it. I don't get why they were there, why they said what they did, why those particular words in that particular order worked on Aang when no one else's words were getting through. I don't get why hiding out in the Fire Nation is the plan of choice over chilling with the Southern Water Tribe (other than because the plot says no responsible adults allowed).

The action piece with the Snekky Boy was fun. Even if what set it off was contrived (which it was), I think it was a fun watch and the only action the episode needed.

This episode was also so dark that I spent more time contemplating how much I really need to clean my screen than watching stuff happen.

I got so pissed off at this episode that I totally forgot about Mai. Go Mai! I am WEAK for romance arcs that boil down to 'Girl sees boy. Girl wants boy. Girl gets boy." Go Girl! Like I said above, questionable taste, but if it's what she wants, then congrats on getting it. I love Azula noticed and is like 'my resident goth appears to be broken.'

I have decided that Toph carved an underground harbour like the refugee station on Full Moon Bay and stashed all the water tribe ships in there, because those ships are too pretty to scuttle.

If I could surgically remove that scene between Katara and Hakoda and insert it into some other episode, I'd never watch this one again.

[satellitespinner]

˗ˏˋ sidelines - prologue ´ˎ˗

˗ˏˋ surpriseee!! another collab fic with my lover @williamssgirl !! are we really surprised doeeeee ?? :3 ´ˎ˗

synopsis: you’ve been going to saltwitch beach every summer for as long as you can remember, and you wouldn’t change it for the world..

wc : 1.1k (i’m sorry.)

summer ‘21

summer was finally here and you were ecstatic! summer meant salt-witch and that meant you got to see ellie and abby again.

you’ve known abby and ellie for as long as you could remember, they’ve always been the one constant in your life, the only people you know can always fall back on them and know they’ll always be there for you.

the ride up to salt-witch was slow, as always.

maybe if your dad would finally cave and let you bring your own phone to saltwitch and not insist on you staring at your phone all day (even though you never stare it at for that long anyway) from your constant begging and get you a phone just like your brother you would actually have some entertainment.

a sense of excitement coursed through your veins as the many blue and white summer houses started to come into your line of sight, but ultimately is replaced with a sense of confusion when only abby’s car is to be seen outside the summer house.

jerry waved your father over almost immediately, rushing out of the house to catch up to abby who was already outside waiting for the both of you. You’re quick, however, to realize ellie is nowhere to be seen.

“hey, what’s up abby!” your brother says as he walks over to her with a huge smile on his face. she doesn’t hesitate to wrap your sibling into a breathtaking hug, ten months was a long time without seeing the people you grew up with, after all.

she pulls away from your brother and looks down at you, “hey, kid” instead of a hug you’re met with a smile and her hand meeting you head, ruffling your already fairly messy hair. god you hated that.

“when will you stop that?” you ask, rhetorically. “and, where’s ellie?” you look up at the pair. abby and your brother exchange a look, partnered with a sigh from the blonde.

“i’m afraid there’s no ellie this summer.” she delivers the news with a really real looking frown on her face. you almost believed her.

“yeah right! ellie wouldn’t miss summer here for anything.” you laugh awkwardly, subtly prying for more information on her whereabouts.

“i’m serious, kid. something happened back home.” the look on her face now tells you she really wasn’t kidding, you can see now that the frown was not sarcastic.

“oh shit. i’m so sorry.” you sheepishly reply, your face feeling hot from embarrassment. “that’s so… unlike her.”

“all good.” she responds, before grabbing your brother and running off to the pool, they didn’t even unpack, leaving you with his and your own bags while your parents caught up on the last couple months.

ellie didn’t show face at all that summer, no facetimes, no texts, nothing. she became a ghost. you had tried to convince abby to give you more information on what the hell happened that made her skip summer in saltwitch and stay in boring old jackson, but she wouldn’t budge.

eventually, you forced yourself to give up, you had accepted the fact that ellie wasn’t coming this time and you couldn’t change that.

that summer went by slow. no ellie meant no fun in your eyes, often times you thought of her when the group would do something fun like play mario kart, or sneak out to the beach at night when your dad’s were dead asleep. without her, you were there for nothing.

soon enough, the summer of 2021 was officially over, and it was time to go back to the real world. that world consisted of homework, set bedtimes, and neither ellie or abby.

you waved goodbye out the back seat of your dads red minivan, brother beside you. sighing as abby and her father faded into the distance and you’re forced to look out the side window, maybe next summer would be different.

summer ‘22

another summer without ellie and at this point you weren’t even sure when you would see her next. abby and your brother still refused to give up any information about how she was doing, where she was and what made her skip not one, but two summers in a row!

you also learnt to stop forcing yourself into your brothers group alongside abby. They only saw you as some annoying kid, and you got tired of it. branching out was good for you. that’s how you met dina and her boyfriend, jesse. one moment you were relaxing on the beach, and the next you were shoved into a volleyball game with the couple and their friend insisting they needed one more player.

this summer flew by, it felt good to meet new people instead of being stuck at home with your brother and his two friends playing mario kart.

you waved goodbye out the back seat of your dads car, once again. sighing as dina, jesse and cat faded out into the distance. texting them the entire ride home, without ellie crossing your mind once.

present - summer ‘23

a lot had changed since the last time you saw ellie. 16 to 18 tends to change a person more than you would think. You had managed to make friends last summer, you grew out of your awkward pre-teen habits and eventually became a version of yourself that you liked waking up as.

you also took notice to the amount of boys who would look your way after you had (in your mothers words) blossomed. however, you never paid them any mind.

friends of yours would sometimes ask you if you even liked boys and to that you would stay silent before changing the subject.

your childish crush on ellie never truly went away, no matter how many times you tried to convince yourself that it had run its course. usually it lingered well into the school year and before you could fully get over it, you were back at the summer house, with ellie.

the ride there wasn’t so bad this year, considering you just tuned out your family the second you sat down, your “summer ‘23” on blast the entire drive up.

when you finally arrive, the first thing you notice jerry and joel’s vehicles, the sense of dread you felt those past two summers returned, but not because she wasn’t here, but because she was here.

stepping out of the car you noticed right away that they both looked different. the once awkward, dinosaur obsessed ellie pressing a yellow vape to her lips before passing it to abby, who went from lanky and tiny to buff and strong. she looked really good.

when the girls finally turn heads and make eye contact with you, you can see them both look you up and down then look at each-other.

you all had done a bit of growing up those two years.

[paintyoureyeswithavividmind]

close to home | chapter twenty six

close to home | chapter twenty six

plot: the reader and Maggie have a heart to heart about a certain archer, and Eugene tells everyone the truth about his devious lies

series masterlist

Pairing: Eventual Daryl Dixon x f!reader Word Count: 1,957 Warnings: violence, blood, typical twd, character death A/N: thank you for reading!!! rip Beth

You were antsy as the truck approached the church. It had been a long day, and Eugene was still nursing the headache that would likely linger for a few days. You were confident he didn’t have a concussion, just some really bad bruises. 

When the group decided to go back, you were ecstatic. The idea of seeing Rick, Carl, Michonne, Tyreese and Sasha, and hopefully Daryl again had you nearly bouncing on the seat. You wanted to yell at Abraham to drive faster. 

When the church came into view, you grabbed Tora and your bag, waiting for it to halt. You couldn’t really see what was going on outside--other than Abraham blocking the doors--so you gave a quick look before jumping down. 

“(Y/N)!” Carl yelled. 

You smiled and ran over to the kid, giving him a hug and bringing Michonne in with one. As you pulled away and they greeted the rest of the group, you looked around. Only Carl, Michonne, Judith, and Gabriel were there. 

You looked back at Michonne as she looked between you and Maggie. “Beth’s alive. She's in a hospital in Atlanta. Some people have her, but the others went to get her back.”

Her words left you speechless, and you felt your knees weaken slightly as Maggie clung to you. “Do we know which one?” She asked. 

“Grady Memorial.” 

***

You were anxious as the truck stopped at one of the back entrances of the hospital. Rosita and Tara immediately scoped out the area as you followed Maggie and Glenn. There were dead bodies littered on the ground, and you glanced to see if they were anyone from your group, but you didn’t recognize anyone. 

Maggie glanced back at you with a smile, and you returned it. Your hands were tingling with excitement, and you tried to control it. Your baby cousin was alive. She was alive. And she would be here soon. You’d be able to see that smiling face and hear her laugh--the same childlike laugh she’s had since she was a little girl. 

Of course, you were all on guard, and your gun was pointed in awareness. When you got closer to the door, you watched as Rick walked out, leading the group. Your eyebrows furrowed as he shook his head, and your stomach tightened. 

You picked up your pace and caught up to Maggie, lowering your gun and watching your family walk out the doors. You’d just passed one of the fences when you saw Daryl, who had been crying, and in his arms was Beth. 

All the air left your lungs and your knees weakened. Your heart fractured and broke apart as Maggie started screaming, falling onto her knees. Hot, thick tears pooled and overflowed from your eyes, and you started shaking your head. “No, no, no.”

Daryl was crying as he approached the two of you, laying Beth’s body in front of you. You weren’t sure how you managed to kneel next to her, but you did and took her small hands in your own. Maggie was crying hysterically as you cried silently, watching as she knelt her head on her sister’s stomach. 

You looked down at your sweet cousin’s face and cupped her cheeks, brushing back her bloody hair and leaning down to kiss her forehead. 

You felt hands on your back, and Daryl knelt beside you, but you couldn’t focus on him. You could only stare at your baby cousin. 

“We can’t…” Rick said, wiping tears from his eyes. “We have to move. The city isn’t safe.” 

Your hands shook as you let go of your cousin and looked up to see Glenn embrace Maggie. You cried harder at the sight of her and slowly stood up, wiping away continuously as each tear fell. 

Unspoken words filled you as you watched Rick pick up Beth’s body with shaking arms. You could see on his face how devastated he was, but you couldn’t focus on it. Your world was titled off its axis, and no one supported you. The one person that felt your pain had more pain than you over this had someone for her. 

You felt a hand on your back and turned, looking up at Daryl’s tear-soaked face. 

“‘M sorry,” He said. 

Not knowing what else to do, you slowly nodded and moved toward him, wrapping your arms around his waist and crying into his chest. His arms wrapped around your shoulders, and he held you tightly, repeating that he was sorry repeatedly. 

“(Y/N), we gotta go,” He whispered, pulling away slightly. His arm was still wrapped around you, and he held you tightly against him, but you could walk side by side. 

You were thankful he was supporting you as you walked towards the truck because you weren’t sure if you’d been able to make it. You vaguely heard Rick and Tyreese saying they were going to grab another car, the truck wouldn’t fit everyone, and the car they’d taken initially was too far away. You didn’t pay attention as you climbed into the empty truck and slid into the seat closest to the window. 

Tora jumped on your lap, undoubtedly sensing something was wrong. Daryl got into the truck, too, scouting over next to you. He looked at your crying face for only a second before hesitating to wrap his arm around your shoulders and pulling you into an embrace. 

Your head was resting against his chest as others piled into the truck. Maggie and Glenn were in front of you, and she momentarily reached back to grab your hand. You two shared a look before she turned back to Glenn, and you closed your teary eyes and pulled Daryl closer. As usual, you felt him tense--you knew how little he liked being touched, but you were so delirious in your loss, hurt, and anger that you didn’t care. 

It seemed like he didn’t either. 

***

It was dark when Abraham pulled off on the side of the road, and Daryl looked down at you as the truck stopped. Tora was stretched across your lap, and your body was half slumped onto his. You cried yourself to sleep, and you were tucked neatly and tightly in his arms. 

He glanced out the window and watched the rest of the group exited their vehicles. Tears brimming his eyes, he sighed and looked down at you again, but he blinked them away. The guilt he felt about Beth’s death was eating him alive, and it was even worse when he thought about the pain he’d caused you and Maggie. If he’d tried harder, if things had been different, maybe Beth would be alive and here right now. 

But he pushed the thoughts away and gently shook you awake. He wanted to let you sleep longer, but the group needed to discuss and figure out some things. 

You were groggy as you sat up, and Tora jumped off your lap and followed Tara out of the truck. Daryl watched you look around and then tiredly sigh, your body sinking in on itself. 

“C’mon, we’re makin’ camp for the night, and we gotta figure shit out,” Daryl said. He watched you nod and then open the door, slowly getting out of the truck. He followed after you and glanced around, where the group was starting to set up camp. 

He looked at you, going to help Carol with something, and walked over to Rick. He was sitting with Noah, and their conversation ended as he approached. Daryl gave Noah a nod before walking away, and he sat down next to Rick. 

“Apparently, Beth wanted to get Noah to Virginia. There was some sort of community.” Rick said quietly, eyes scanning over the group making camp. 

“Virginia?” Daryl asked. 

He nodded and looked at his brother. “What do you think?”

“Long trip. Need better cars. And supplies.” 

Rick nodded, “Yeah, I thought the same. I figured we could find a place to stay a day or two while scavenging and then go. Maggie and (Y/A), it’ll be good for them to be busy the next few days. How is she, by the way?”

Daryl shrugged and looked at you. You were helping Carol, and now Tara, get food going. Probably what was left of the rations. “She’s strong. So’s Maggie.”

“I’ll talk to Abraham and Glenn about Virginia first, and then we’ll tell the group. I don’t want them to worry about that tonight.”

Daryl nodded, “Imma help Rosita get the perimeter up.”

Rick gave him a nod before Daryl walked off, glancing back toward you. With the fire going, he could see your red and puffy eyes, and he had to look away.

***

An hour later, the camp was settled. Everybody had eaten a little before tucking themselves away for the night. Rosita and Abraham stood watch, with Rick and Carol. You were trying to get yourself comfortable, but to no avail; everything hurt and was uncomfortable. 

You sighed and sat up, looking around the dark camp and hearing the sound of Eugene snoring. You made sure Tora was okay--sleeping with Carl, of course--before you stood up. You caught Rick’s attention and nodded, sending him the best smile you could manage before walking over to Daryl. 

He was leaning against a tree, cleaning his arrows in the firelight. You sighed as you sat beside him, leaning against the tree. Your shoulder brushed against his, and you let out a sigh. “I can’t sleep.”

He nodded and stayed silent. 

“Can you tell me how it happened?”

“The leader of the group. Beth stabbed her. She shot Beth. I killed her.”

You looked at him and nodded slowly. “Thank you.”

“Don’ thank me. I…”

You moved so you were sitting next to him, crisscrossing your legs. “Don’t blame yourself, Daryl. None of this is your fault. It just… is.”

“I coulda-”

You shook your head. “And I coulda done something different with Mika and Lizzie.”

Daryl looked at you with red eyes, and the exhaustion on his face made you frown. You couldn’t imagine being in that hospital or what he’d been through. And you knew that Beth and Daryl got out of the prison together, and you knew he was grieving her death just the same. 

“I think we hugged for the first time today,” You said, a small smile on your lips. Your eyes hurt from all the crying, and your body ached with exhaustion and pain, but smiling was nice. To breathe. To be here, with Daryl, who always made you feel better, no matter how terrible things were. 

Daryl scuffed and shook his head, picking up another arrow to clean. You moved slowly, lying back, dusting away a few twigs. It was a little chillier away from the fire, but it was better. You felt safer next to Daryl and less alone. 

“Do you remember the night we met?” You asked, glancing up at the side of his face. When he nodded, you continued. “It feels like years ago. What was it, six months ago or so? I don’t even know…”

“Why you thinkin’ ‘bout all that?”

You shrugged your shoulders and yawned. “I was just thinking about how I feel safe. How you make me feel safe.”

Daryl hesitated but looked at you. “I do?”

You nodded, closing your eyes as sleep finally started approaching. “Yeah, you do. Once you put that crossbow down that night, I knew you wouldn’t point it at me again.”

[expectopatronum81]

For me, the psychology of how the games work is even creepier than sending 23 kids to be murdered on television each year. Because not only are these 12 - 18yr old kids being forced to engage in a bloody fight for their survival, or commit atrocities that'll haunt them for the rest of their lives; they are also forced to do so on the terms of the Capitol audience. The hunger games weren't just created as a punishment to the districts. One of the main aspects of it was to provide entertainment to the people of the Capitol.

So during the games, not only do they have to cope with the fact that they could be murdered any second, they should also be cautious of how their actions affect the mood of their audience. In terms of it being a reality show, showing their expertise is enough to gain them some recognition, but what really gains them audience sponsors is behaving in the exact way that is desirable of them, and playing it accordingly.

Throughout the 1st games, Katniss is constantly aware of how the games are being perceived. Instead of focusing on her emotions about peeta joining the careers, she thinks of how ecstatic the audience vil be knowing she was there the whole time, and smirks to increase their curiosity on what was going on. She thinks of how the wall of fire was to shake up the tributes and how the 'real fun' was watching them dodge the fireballs. She plays a cool and arrogant persona when she's stuck up in a tree with the careers around her despite seeing no hope of escape, knowing the audience will be having a laugh (she most likely receives the burn medicine for the promise of dropping the tracker jacker nest). She gives them enough of a promise by destroying the career pack. Then there's the whole thing with Peeta, where she constantly ponders as to how she's going to believably sell the romance on her part to ensure them food. She passes casual comments on how there hasn't been enough bloodshed or 'excitement' that day, hence fearing game maker intervention. She does her best not to show her remorse for the other dead tributes or her longing to escape from this horror because 'no one wants a victor who snivels over the deaths of her opponents'. How she couldn't end Cato's life sooner out of pity, because that was the 'climax of the hunger games, the last word in entertainment as the Capitol audience wouldn't look away from their screens for even a minute', even though that took a severe toll on her sanity( not that she needed it after surviving the whole games). Then the whole 2 victor rule change solely to ensure 'the most dramatic showdown in hunger games history'. To continue their popularity( as a distraction), they are required to act as lovers in front of the cameras at all times, and would be expected to get married and have children who could take part in the games, just for the 'extra drama'. Even smaller things like how they're required to have a hobby after the games to show off to the audience. This applies to the 3rd quater quell too, but I think I've made my point.

In perspective, the Capitol ppl dictate the terms of their lives. Their likes, dislikes, personal relationships, mannerisms, attitudes are all carefully designed to see what gains them the most popularity. Behaving in a certain, expected way ensures that they r'nt cancelled killed. The constant need to know every single detail of their personal lives ensures they r'nt forgotten. Which is why they go desperate lengths to gain that popularity( Glimmer's see through dress being her angle for the interviews....).

Yeah yeah, ofc its just a rant, totally not about a literary master piece dedicated to commentary on our worsening culture, who'd waste time on that when u have twitter anyways?

[everydayyoulovemeless]

I just saw the arcade post and pleaaasee can we get more? Something like arcade reacting to couriers that can speak Latin/or all of the companions reacting to someone that can speak Latin. Ty!

FNV Companions Reacting to a Courier That Speaks Latin

➼ Word Count » 0.7k ➼ Warnings » None ➼ Genre » Platonic/Romantic

Boone will actually pull a gun on you when you say something within his earshot. Even if it was some off-comment thing that some scholar said years ago. He associates the language with the Legion, so you'll have to very quickly explain yourself before he pulls the trigger on you. He'll hesitantly put the gun back down when you do, muttering an apology as he does so. He does feel bad about jumping the gun on you so fast, but you have to understand that it's a knee-jerk reaction from all his years working with the NCR and fighting Legionaries. He doesn't think he'll ever see the language the same way again. It only brings back bad memories, and he'll probably ask if you didn't speak it as much around him. If nothing else, then for his own sanity.

Arcade is... caught off guard? You're either from some sort of Legion territory or, you're a Follower he's never heard about, and he's terrified of it being the latter. He'll be very interested in talking to you further despite his lingering concerns. If you've learned Latin, you probably know many other things, and he'd love to find out how far your knowledge truly goes. He wants to pick your brain apart and see what's hiding underneath and would be glad, ecstatic even, to follow along with you, just to see where it'd take him. It's not every day he meets someone else who has similar interests to his own.

Raul doesn't really care, he just thinks it's neat. Not many wastelanders he meets are educated enough to be able to speak another language, and he's impressed that you managed to accomplish such a feat. Although, he does wish it could've been Spanish instead of a dead language only the slavers speak. He'll give you shit for it, but he's impressed nonetheless.

Lily doesn't understand a word you're saying and just assumes her schizophrenia is acting up again. That being said, she mostly just shrugs her shoulders and nods. She might not know what's happening, but she's sure that she'd probably agree with whatever you're saying.

Cass just rolls her eyes when she first hears you talking. Of course, she's traveling with a nerd. Don't take it the wrong way, she's not trying to be mean, but what is knowing Latin going to do you in the Mojave? Anyone who still speaks it also speaks English, so it's pretty much useless. All that time you spent studying the language could've been spent doing... well, anything else, and she thinks you're a little stupid for not considering that beforehand. It's not a deal breaker for her, she'll still travel with you, but she's definitely not as impressed as some of the others would be.

Veronica's more confused than anything. They don't speak that back at Hidden Valley, and she hasn't exactly heard the best things about the people familiar with the language. That's not to say she isn't interested in learning more about you or where you even learned to speak it. She's out here specifically to learn more about others, and you seem to be a good start. She'd even be willing to learn a few phrases from you. She's caught off guard but not entirely turned off by the idea.

ED-E will just beep back. You can't fully understand him, and he can't fully understand you. He sees this as a perfectly balanced relationship. Although a few others in the Divide also speak that language, and lucky for you, he remembers where they are. So, he has no issues guiding you straight toward them. Maybe you could be friends!

Rex is more attentive to your orders. His memories from before being The King's dog are a bit foggy but, when he hears you speak Latin, there's a part of him that remembers those words. Or, at least, the tone. Ceasar spoke a lot of Latin to him when he was under his care, and he may inadvertently associate you with the image he formerly had of him: powerful and demanding. He'll be sure to follow your orders thoroughly.

[gladerwolfstarkimagines]

Other Parts: Part One, Part Two, Part Three (short version).and Part Four.

Luckily the first few days after the visitors got back were manic so you didn't have to think about how your life had changed. You shut yourself away with Johanna and monitored everything about her condition. You slept at the foot of her bed, fetched her meals, helped her walk to the bathroom and just basically let your life revolve around her in a similar way as you had with Finnick. You supposed you had a pattern of throwing everything into fixing someone's life when you felt your own was falling apart.

Your sister was smart though and knew something was up. She'd asked you how you'd been but you only gave vague answers. When she mentioned you to other people they looked away and she was beginning to think you'd done something horrendous based on the reactions. She was so proud but getting a little tired of all the secrecy. She'd finally managed to convince you to take her on some walks so she could leave her room and her hope was she'd see someone who would actually be honest with her about what was happening. So she was ecstatic when you bumped into Finnick, you not so much. "There he is!" Johanna said "the real-life merman, where have you been I've hardly seen you!" Johanna said as Finnick walked into the infirmary. He jumped at her voice and you seemed just as nervous. "Johanna we should go get you sat back down" you said but she pushed your comments away and looked to Finnick, expecting a reply. "I've just been busy" he said awkwardly and Johanna smiled "oh yeah with Annie? I bet you're having fun being back together?". You felt your cheeks go bright red and Finnick wrung his arms out of the sheer awkwardness. He shrugged at Johanna and looked right past her to you.

"Y/n" he said softly "please can we talk?". "Sorry we've got to go, Johanna's late for an appointment". "No I'm not, what's going on?" your sister asked but you just looked at her and in your best big sister voice said "Johanna, come on!". She could see the fear in your eyes so she nodded to Finnick and followed you out.

"So" Joanna said after you'd gotten her back into her room and finally stopped chattering on about random stuff in a failed effort to distract her from what she witnessed "are you going to tell me what that weirdness with you and Finnick was or am I going to have to break out of here and ask him?". You shook your head, you'd managed a few days pretending it hadn't happened and she'd hear it sooner or later so better it came from you. "The two of us had a thing" you shrugged and Johanna grinned. "Alright Y/n! He's a total upgrade from that last girl you were into! So how did it happen? Did you go for it first or him? Is he as good in bed as we all think". You blinked "I'm not sure I want to answer any of those questions" and Johanna could see your expression and knew you were upset. "What happened?" she repeated "you said you had a thing, how much of a thing". "We were dating" you admitted "publically, everyone here knows or I guess knew". Johanna's brows furrowed and then it clicked "until Annie came back". You nodded "Finnick thought she was dead, that's the only reason he was with me". Johanna shook her head "not the only reason, he's not like that". You shrugged "well what does it matter? She's back and I'm dumped". "Did he actually say that?" Johanna asked and you shook your head "no, he's been trying to talk to me since she got back but I've been avoiding him. I already know what he's going to say so what's the point?". Johanna hit you with surprising force and you moved your arm away from her. "Ow!" you cried "bitch". "Well bitch is better than coward! Go speak to him! You don't know, he might still want you". You shook your head "he won't she's the love of his life. I know his decision, it's pretty obvious and I just don't want to hear him say it to me". "You won't be able to face him until you do" Johanna argued. "Who says I want to face him?" you asked "honestly, I just want to forget that Finnick Odair ever existed".

You meant that 100% but your sister also meant what she said and she knew you'd regret not talking this out with Finnick, or so she thought. So she came up with a plan to make you face him. Basically, she told Finnick she desperately needed to talk to him about you. Then when he arrived she popped out to nip to the toilet, waited for you to come for her "check-up" appointment, watched you go into her room and locked the door. "You're not coming out until you talk to him Y/n!" she yelled.

You really hated your sister sometimes. It was just like her to ignore what you'd said and do what she thought was best. She was so stubborn too and you knew there was no way she was letting you out until she did what you said. "Johanna!" you grumbled under your breath before turning back to Finnick "okay fine, you want to talk so talk but I have some rules. No apologising, no telling me how great I am or asking if we can stay friends. Okay?". Finnick blinked just as surprised by this situation. He'd wanted to speak to you for days but now you were in front of him, he was a little nervous. He nodded, taking in you and your rules and the words came easy to him because he'd been thinking over them for the past few days nonstop. He still felt so much emotion when he looked at you though so he needed a few breaths to compose himself. "Well I just wanted to say I never meant for this to happen and that I'm...you got me through everything this past year and I wanted to thank you for that. You meant a lot to me Y/n and nothing will change that, I will always care about you and every moment we spent together was real for me okay?". You nodded "got it, we done?". Finnick couldn't think of anything else he could say to make this right so he nodded "okay". "Great, see you around!" you said and banged on the door "Johanna he says we're done" and Finnick yelled for her to let you out. "That was like 20 seconds!" she complained and you nodded "I told you, here's nothing left for him to tell me" and you stormed off to sulk.

You refused to speak to Johanna after that and you suspected she sent Katniss after you. The Mockingjay appeared at your door and asked if you wanted to talk a walk outside. You walked through the rubble aimlessly before stopping by some trees. Once you sat down it began.

"I'm sorry" Katniss said and wanted to choke her but considering Peeta just did that you thought it might be a bit harsh. "It must be difficult" she said, unaware of your inner monologue "to have someone appear and take everything away from you". You knew she was speaking more through her own situation so managed not to get annoyed. "How are you coping?" you asked her "have you seen him since...?". Katniss nodded "a few times, it's still the same". "Well if someone did that to him it can be undone. It's just like computer programming, they'll work out a way". Katniss didn't look convinced and you weren't really good at comforting sad people. So you did what just felt natural. You rested your head on her shoulder. Katniss stiffened and you wondered if you'd overstepped but then she leaned back on you. "Thanks Y/n" she whispered and you nodded "no problem" and just sat in silence.

You first saw Annie a few weeks later. You were eating in the dining hall and went to put your plate away as she walked in...with Finnick. You of course stopped like a deer in headlights and stared at them. Annie noticed you after Finnick and her gaze turned icy which made sense. Everyone here knew about you and Finnick, it couldn't be a nice welcome to receive. Everyone at District 13 was used to you and Finnick so even though Annie was with him first, it was like she was the new one in their eyes which anyone would hate. The whole room went silent as she walked in and stared at the three of you which didn't exactly help. You had no idea what they thought was going to happen. You and Annie weren't going to start fighting or having a slanging match in the middle of lunch. There was nothing to fight about, she had him and you didn't. End of story. The situation was so tragic it was like a soap opera and you didn't do tragic. So you raised your head, pretended neither of them was there and walked right past them.

You felt quite proud of how you'd handled yourself but not everyone did. Finnick followed you out and when you wouldn't respond to his calls he ran after you. He quickly caught up with you and you couldn't pretend you didn't hear him anymore. "Y/n come on it doesn't have to be like this!" he said and you rolled your eyes "like what? Were nothing Finnick". "I know and that's the problem! I don't want to pretend you don't exist" Finnick said and you sighed "well we can't exactly go back to how it was before so this is our only opinion" you replied. "But why is it?" Finnick asked "is there really no hope of us being friends or at least acquaintances who say hello to each other". You raised your eyebrow at him. With as much malice as you could muster you spat "grow up Finnick" and walked away.

He didn't follow.

After that Finnick didn't try and talk to you again. He and Annie avoided you, if you passed them on the corridor, they'd look away. He started training in a different space and moved his room away from yours. You told Johanna you were over it but that was a lie. It hurt every time you got a reminder of them and you had no idea why the pain wasn't going away. Nearly two months had passed and you still felt as shitty as the first day you realised you lost him. You weren't sure how much more you could take and then one day you found Finnick waiting outside your room. "I need to tell you something" he said and you didn't even have the strength to fight it. You figured the sooner he started the sooner he could leave and regretted your actions almost immediately.

"Annie asked me to marry her" Finnick started and a reaction literally burst out of you without any control. "Jesus christ Finnick!" you yelled "why are you telling me this? Why did you think I should hear this personally? This is exactly what I want to hear right now, this is just what I want. Did you really think I'd prefer it over Johanna telling me what day to stay in my room and avoid the ceremony? I know you think you're helping but you're really not!". "No see that's the thing!" Finnick said "we're not getting married! I told her no!".

You had another long rant ready but that threw you off guard "no? Okay...so why tell me?". "Because it made me realise how different my mind and Annie's are. It made me realise I don't feel for her like I used to...I'm not in love with her anymore. I'm in love with you".

You blinked your eyes several times but Finnick didn't go away so you just asked "I'm sorry?" and Finnick smiled. "Y/n I'm so sorry for all of this and that it took me this long to say it but I want you! I miss you so much and I'm at my happiest with you. I don't want to marry Annie, I want you. So will you please take me back?". "Take you back?" you asked "but Annie...she's you're soulmate, you're the Katniss and Peeta of District 4. You saved her!". "She helped save me too but she's not my soulmate, that doesn't exist and I don't love her that way anymore. My feelings for you are stronger than my feelings for her and I can't hug or kiss her without wishing it was you. I tried to press on at first but it's not fair to anyone. I know I've hurt you a lot but can you consider it" Finnick asked "I need you Y/n".

In retrospect, considering all Finnick knew about you he should've expected you to throw a punch at him. However, he didn't and you caught him on the jaw.

"You need me?" you yelled throwing a punch and Finnick groaned in pain. "You need me? Are you joking! What do you think this has been like for me?". "You needed me? I needed you Finnick" you said choking up and he nodded also tearing up. "I know I'm sorry, Y/n I'm so sorry" he said and hugged you. You melted into his touch and cried as he held you tightly against him.

Even after you'd calmed down, Finnick kept his arms around you and you didn't mind. You'd missed him so much you didn't want him to ever let go. "I'm not going to be able to sleep tonight" you told him and he looked at you with a frown "why?". "Because I'll wake up and this will go away, it will have been a dream". Finnick shook his head "this is real Y/n, I'm not going anywhere...again" and for good measure he pinched you. When you jumped he smiled "see, not dreaming". You were going to push him when you saw the red mark on his face.

"Shit I did that didn't I?" you asked and Finnick worked out what you meant "yes you did". "Does it hurt?" you asked and got your answer when Finnick jumped as you touched it. "I'm so sorry, let me get an icepack," you said and ran from the room before Finnick could respond.

You returned quickly after and Finnick let you lay him down and apply the pack. "I'm sorry for hitting you but that really came from nowhere". Finnick frowned "well it wouldn't have if you'd have let me talk to you". "You didn't want to talk to me at the start, you still thought you wanted Annie". "Did I though?" Finnick asked "you never gave me a chance to tell you otherwise. The second Annie got back you ran away from me and wouldn't speak to me". "True" you agreed "but what was I meant to think? That you'd choose Annie over me? If I'd have come to you and told you I didn't want to lose you that night she got back, would you really have considered me over Annie?". "Yes" Finnick said without hesitation "100% and I think part of me was desperate for you to" he admitted "I wanted you to tell me you wanted me so I could say it back".

Your jaw dropped to the floor. "I had no idea I had that option" you admitted "I thought I couldn't hold a flame to her". Finnick shook his head "Y/n, you're the person who saved me after I was rescued. You were the reason I got out of bed each morning and the reason I'm still alive. I think the day I left the capitol the old me died and here I became a new one thanks to you. I was happy with you and so when Annie appeared it was surreal. When you retreated I tried to carry on as before but I couldn't because I was different. The truth is I'd accepted her death and I'd moved on. I will always care and love Annie but it's so different with you. With Annie, it came from our shared experience and trauma...which was important, I needed that but I didn't realise there could be more in a relationship. I got that from you. We had shared trauma but it wasn't dependent or dishabilitating, being with you made me strong" Finnick smiled "you made me feel so powerful and valuable as well as feeling so loved and supported. I wasn't a victor, a District 4 golden boy or a mentor, it was almost like I was the pre-games Finnick. You made me feel human again and helped me forget. You're...pretty special" he finished and you smiled. "Finnick I..." and you paused. You'd never told anyone you loved them before. Even Johanna and you didn't say it often so you were scared to say it to Finnick. You thought you were in love with him but didn't want to make yourself so vulnerable. Finnick seemed to sense this and he took your hands "it's okay Y/n, you don't have to say anything" and he hugged you. You settled against his chest and closed your eyes.

Finnick said you held a candle to the love of his life! Maybe one day, you could be his new one. Maybe you were already on your way there?

"So do you guys have to make an announcement retracting your breakup or something?" Johanna asked the next day "or do you just announce you're together again?" she asked. "I think neither" Finnick said and you nodded your head "they've had enough fun with our private life". "Yeah but how will they all know you're not with Annie anymore?" Johanna asked. "Well considering I moved out of her place, settled back into Y/n's and we've been seen pretty much everywhere together I think they'll get the message". You nodded "they have, I've had quite a few girls smiling at me today". Finnick laughed "maybe they were just being friendly?" and you and Johanna both shot him a look. "No, it wasn't a casual smile it was like a well-done smile. A you got the prize smile". "You got the prize?" Finnick asked "do you need me to wear a little bow or something from you?". "Maybe if that's the only thing you're wearing" you agreed and Finnick grinned "evening plans". "Eugh, I didn't realise how gross this was going to be, can you two stop undressing each other with your eyes while I'm sat right here?". "No" you and Finnick responded at the same time and Johanna stormed away. "You're way too sweet and cute you know?" she called and you smiled "we know".

"Were you and Finnick like this from the start?" Johanna asked later when Finnick had left and it was safe to be in the room again. You smiled "like what?" and she rolled her eyes "all gross and all over each other. So happy and horny". You went to argue before realising you didn't have a leg to stand on and nodded "yeah actually that's a pretty accurate description". Johanna shook her head "I just had no idea the two of you would work so well together, I mean I knew you were attracted to one another but this is something else". "Wait go back, you knew we were attracted to one another?". Johanna nodded "duh! The first time you saw Finnick you couldn't take your eyes off him and yes he was half-naked but it was different. You were looking at him how you used to look at Sophia Grey back home". You smiled at the memory of her and shrugged "that's probably accurate, I still think Finnick's the hottest man to ever exist but you said you could tell he was attracted to me too?". Johanna nodded "yeah he liked your charisma and charm. People usually got tongue-tied around him but you were the belle of the ball and he was attracted to that. Not to mention you were a pretty young female who had just won her games, I didn't think Finnick would do anything because he had Annie but I still wanted to separate you so others didn't get any ideas". You nodded "Finnick mentioned that, I never realised how much you did for me, how you've been protecting me even since I got out of the games". "And now you've got Finnick to take my place" Johanna said not hiding her bitterness and you smiled "I'll always need my big sister. Plus we're Masons, from the womb to the tomb!". You could tell you took Johanna by surprise with that one and she burst out laughing "what the fuck is that? Where did you hear it?". "It's good right?" you asked and she shook her head "it's fucking terrible!".

"Now back onto the topic of you and Finnick because I still have questions" Johanna said "how did that even happen? Especially if he thought Annie was dead". You explained how you cared for him and became friends that way. "There was always an attraction there and then one day he saw me naked. He stared and was pretty obvious so I came to his bedroom at night and asked if he wanted to have sex". Johanna laughed "you just went up and asked?" and you nodded. "I'm impressed" she smiled "and I bet Finnick was too". You nodded "he seemed it. From there we spent more time together, bonded, emotions got involved, Annie came back from the dead, Finnick came back to me and boom. Present day". Joahnna nodded "and he makes you happy right?". You smiled without even thinking and nodded. "Good" Johanna said "and if he ever hurts you again I'll kill him".

The war really started speeding up after that and before you knew it Katniss was spotted in the capital. When you heard, Finnick sat up straight in his seat and you could tell what he wanted to do from the look in his eye. So the two of you were on the next ship out to join Katniss. Johanna couldn't come because of her injuries and you refused to help smuggle her out. She claimed she was never going to speak to you again but hugged you tightly before you left. "Come back" she told you forcefully and you nodded "I will, we both will" but felt like you'd cursed yourselves the second you'd said that. You got a horrible sinking feeling and realised you'd rather not come back at all than come back without Finnick.

Things weren't too bad at first when you got to the capitol, you used Bogg's tracker thing to safely navigate your way through the capitol but then everything went wrong. Bogg was hurt and died in seconds. Then one of the soldiers triggered a trap trying to get to her sister. A black tar-like substance began to pour down and you were one of the first to react. You grabbed Finnick, pushed him in one direction and headed for the girl who couldn't walk. You and her sister were carrying her to a house when you heard Finnick shout and go back. "Finnick!" you yelled and wanted to go after him but you couldn't abandon this girl. "I'm okay. We're here!" you heard him yell a few seconds later and you breathed out in relief. You broke your way into a building and carried the girl upstairs. The substance was getting closer and you realised there was nowhere else to go. You put the girl down and began to assess the area. You kicked open one of the doors and began moving her through there. The others followed you and that was when you noticed Finnick had Peeta in a tight grip. "What happened?" you asked and then you saw the body hanging outside. "A bit of trouble" Finnick told you before smiling "but we're fine, especially now that stuff has stopped". He was right, the tar was retreating and draining away as if it had never been chasing you.

You moved to a new building where you found out you were all dead! Finnick laughed at the death announcements until yours appeared. That sobered him up but you just smiled "wow they remembered my name? I'm famous!". Katniss rolled her eyes at you and Finnick, who still didn't like you talking this way, passed you some food and sat next to you. You all ate and rested before working out the next steps. You realised after that the streets were a no-go and decided the sewer was a better bet because nothing bad ever happens in the sewers!

You navigated your way down the tunnels and then stopped to sleep in an alcove that seemed safe. You and Finnick woke at Lieutenant Jackson's shout at the same time. You grabbed each other's stuff and were out of that tunnel first. It was antagonising, walking through those tunnels while hearing animalistic noises and having no idea if they were getting closer or further away. Gale led in front with his gun and you were behind him, helping pass on Pollux's directions. You could tell something bad was going to happen, you could almost feel it in the air and so did Finnick. When the two of you climbed through the tunnel, he subtly grabbed your arm and pulled you away from the group. He was already backing away when the first swarm appeared and killed Lieutenant Jackson before she could even scream. Gale opened fire and you worried Finnick might try and go back to grab Peeta but luckily he didn't. He had a hand on Pollux and was practically dragging him with you as he ran. Pollux pointed and Finnick would yell the direction to you urging you to go faster. You could hear the others behind you and were glad they were still alive. You felt a little bad for not checking they were okay before you ran but survival skills are a bitch and the only thing you wanted from this was for Finnick and hopefully, yourself to survive.

You reached a ladder and pushed Pollux to the front, the others appeared closely followed by those things. You finally got a good look at them and you were horrified. So much so you were frozen to the spot until one charged at you. You threw an axe at what you assumed was its face and then threw two more as others took its place. It was chaos, you saw Cressida go up the ladder and were looking for Finnick to tell him to go next when you were tackled by one. Its jaws were horrible and it was trying more than anything to bite you. You just had an axe ready when its neck was slit was a trident. "Come on you're next up!" Finnick cried yanking you onto your feet and pushing you to the ladder. "Not without you!" you said and he shook his head "I'm right behind you" so you started to climb. You made it up and realised Holmes was up here too. You could hear more of those things down there and tried to see what was going on but it was a mess. A figure appeared and you got hopeful until you realised it was Peeta. You yanked him up and then climbed back down the ladder. "FINNICK!" you yelled and it took you a few seconds to spot him. He was further away than Katniss and Gale who were right below the ladder. He was alone and the obvious one to be left behind unless something happened now!

"Finnick!" you cried again and Katniss looked up at you but Gale just pushed her towards the ladder and she started to climb. Gale called to Finnick but didn't make any moves to get him. He was going to die. Katniss had nearly reached you and was yelling a you to climb but you couldn't. There was no way you were going up that ladder without Finnick, so you let go.

Katniss tried to grab you as you fell but luckily she missed. You managed to grab one of the bars near the bottom to slow your fall but still hit your knee on the way down. Pain exploded in your leg but you didn't care. It could've been broken and you would've forced yourself to stand. The creatures were trying to swarm Finnick and you threw yourself, literally, into them. You knocked two down before decapitating another two with a spear Finnick had dropped. You kicked one into the water and buried your axe in another three. "Y/n what are you doing? You were up and out!" Finnick cried as you fought your way towards him. When you were near he grabbed your arm and pulled you beside him. "Yeah but you weren't!" you replied "we both get out or neither of us!". In the middle of all of that, Finnick smiled at you "Katniss and Peeta who?" and you couldn't help but smile back.

You worked together fighting side by side and were doing well but they just wouldn't stop coming. "We need a way to stop them or slow them down" Finnick panted and you nodded "but how?" when something came to you. "Finnick throw the trident!" you cried and he locked eyes with you and got it. "Duck!" he said and threw it into the larger tunnel, pressing the button that would make the whole thing explode. It was similar technology to Katniss' arrows but as Finnick's trident was bigger than her arrow, the explosion was also larger. The whole tunnel collapsed, killing all of those creatures down there. One down, one more to go you through as more came from the other side.

The blast had destroyed the concrete leading to the ladder so there was no way you were escaping that way and you stopped trying. You and Finnick were both injured, covered in water and these things blood but neither of you stopped and finally got to a lul as Finnick killed the last one. "Come on, we've got to push forward" Finnick said taking your hand and running through the tunnels. It was fine for the first few seconds and then you heard sounds of more. "There's too many of them for us to kill one-on-one we need to get somewhere high!" you told Finnick "Somewhere out of the water and I can deal with them". Finnick looked at you and got it "I think I saw somewhere on the map" and you nodded trusting him.

You ran for what felt like forever and you spotted the ladder at the same time you heard the creatures. "Come on let's go!" Finnick yelled and you both started sprinting. When you reached the ladder Finnick literally picked you up and tossed you halfway up it before scrambling up after you. You could actually hear the creatures' footsteps now and their claws reached the ladder just as you got up. You immediately turned around and yanked Finnick up. He fell on top of you and you pushed him onto the floor. "Finnick stay down!" you yelled and activated your own weapon, lobbing it down the hole, right past the creatures on their way to you. However, instead of staying down, Finnick leapt up and rugby tackled you away from the hole and used his body to cover you as the electrified axe exploded. You both cried out as the electricity hit you too but Finnick had shared the charge with you and after a few seconds you could breathe again.

You heard screams of agony as the creatures were basically fried alive, as well as everything close in the tunnel. The sparks lit up the whole space and the stench was awful. You could taste metal in your mouth and you both kept spasaming as some extra electricity escaped you but you were alive. Finnick had saved your life and to thank him you leaned over and kissed him. Finnick jumped at the contact but soon relaxed at the sensation and when you broke away opened his eyes. "Thank you" you told him and he shot you his beautiful smile "you said it Y/n, both of us or neither of us" and he took your hand and ventured out of the tunnels.

You and Finnick climbed higher and ran through some more of the underground tracks. You came across a few peacekeepers but managed to take them out easily. After the monsters you'd just dealt with humans were easy. You got one of their guns which solved your weapons running out problem but you couldn't hold the whole capitol off indefinitely. "We need to find the others" you said and Finnick shook his head "no we need somewhere to hide". You didn't ask where because there would be no point in that, so you just nodded and kept going. You didn't want to spend any more time underground and even though it was a risk, you and Finnick followed a tunnel above ground. You began gathering rocks to throw to test for any traps but stopped when Finnick began to laugh. When you asked what was going on, he picked you up and swirled you around in a hug. "We're going to make it" he smiled "come on, I know where we are". You didn't have any follow-up questions and followed Finnick as he carefully led you to a house.

Finnick knocked on the door heavily and on the second time it opened. Finnick wasted no time forcing his way inside and dragging you inside. You slammed the door shut behind you and blinked to see an older man staring at you. He was in a bright pink dressing gown with feathers on the collar. "Finnick?" he asked and Finnick smiled "don't tell me you forgot your most profitable worker?".

"You worked for him?" you hissed when you and Finnick were alone "as in he let people do those things to you and actually encouraged it?". Finnick nodded "yes but believe it or not, Feather was one of the good ones. He always tried to protect me and made the clients treat me...well not nicely but to a standard. He also helped me escape it all and return to my district". That did sound better but you still put a hand on Finnick's arm when the man, Feather, returned.

"I can't see any guards but it's still best I hide you but I can only hold you for a few hours". Finnick nodded "I know, if we could just rest for the night that's all we need". Feather sighed "you're lucky you were my favourite" he said and then spotted you glaring at him. He smiled "friend of yours?" he asked Finnick, looking down at how your hand was clamped over Finnick's arm and you'd angled your body so you were in front of him protectively. "Something like that" Finnick smiled "do you have any supplies? We're a bit banged up". Feather nodded "of course, let me grab some things and I'll show you to your room. I'm sorry to stick you in the basement but it's the safest place". You tensed at the idea of going underground again and struggled when Feather opened a trap door that led to darkness. You weren't sure if you could down it but Finnick took your hand. "It's be okay" he told you and taking a deep breath you went down the steps.

The basement was small, cold but filled with things so at least it didn't look bleak or scary. There was a sofa in one end which Feather placed his supplies on. "So this is your bed for the night. It's my old one, nothing wrong with it I just had to move it once a stain got on it. Velvet is so hard to get stains out of!" he complained and you blinked. You couldn't tell if you were more annoyed that he was genuinely mad about stains in a world that killed children or more disgusted about what the stain might be. Luckily Finnick was a social butterfly.

"Thank you so much Feather, this will be great". Feather nodded clearly fond of praise "I will go get you some blankets, I've given you some warm clothes but it is awfully chilly down here. Be back in a few!" and he disappeared cheerily up the steps.

"Right okay so lets assess your injuries" Finnick said turning to you expectantly with his hands on his hips. "I'm okay" you said and Finnick shot you a "really" look making you roll your eyes. "Fine, I hurt my knee earlier and think it could swell, I also rolled my ankle and it's still bothering me a bit, my hip also took a knock and I'm missing two fingernails that were ripped off". Finnick nodded "let me take a look at your legs first". You nodded and Finnick peeled off your trousers before wincing. Already your hip had a nasty bruise on it and your knee was swelling. "Yeah there's no way you're walking tomorrow" Finnick winced "good thing I've got experience carrying people". You shook your head "no way! It leaves you exposed! I'll walk just fine after a bit of rest". Finnick shook his head "maybe with a wheelchair yeah because by tomorrow this ankle will be huge and painful. There's no use arguing over it, I saved your life remember so you owe me". "I mean technically by jumping down that ladder I probably also saved your life so aren't we even?" you tried to joke but Finnick wasn't in a joking mood.

He grabbed you and kissed you sharply and passionately. When he separated he didn't let go. "I am not losing you Y/n, we just got through the craziest night of our lives and I am not surviving all that to lose you tomorrow. Don't do that to me" he demanded but it sounded more like he was begging. His eyes were ablaze with anger and sadness and you immediately backed down. "Okay" you agreed "okay, we'll work it out tomorrow" and you cradled him to you. Finnick buried his head in your neck taking some deep breaths before nodding and pulling away.

He sat back and nodded to you "now let me help you get cleaned up". Finnick cleaned the cuts and wounds you had and then helped you get changed. He bandaged your ankle the best he could and put some soothing gel on your hip and knee before helping you get dressed. You then switched and did the same for him. His body was okay but he was covered in scratches and bruises. Some of the scratches were quite deep and you disinfected them hoping they wouldn't need stitches. Finnick was just getting changed when there was a knock at the door.

"Delivery service!" Feather called "so I've got several blankets" which he tossed to Finnick "and also some food". "Feather you're amazing!" Finnick gasped grabbing a bowl and passing it straight to you. "Oh it's nothing! Just some soup and bread my chief made. I figured it might warm you up". "It will thank you" Finnick smiled sinking next to you and Feather smiled. He genuinely seemed pleased to see Finnick again and you supposed there must be some good in this man deep down despite the things he did. He waited for you both to finish your soup which didn't take long and then took the bowls.

"Right so it's mandatory lights out in 10 minutes do you guys need anything else before I lock you in". "Lock us in?" you asked panicked and Feather looked at you "It's a trap door I can't just keep it open! If the peacekeepers break in they'll find you straight away and we'll all be dead. The safest way is to hide the door completely and yes lock you in". You still didn't like the idea of it but Finnick touched your arm "that's fine, we'll be fine. Thank you again". The man nodded "see you in the morning" and left. Seconds later the sound of a sharp click told you, you were sealed in.

"Hey Y/n it's okay" Finnick said reaching out for you and pulling you into his chest "we're fine, we're safe and we're not in the sewers". You buried your head against him and he repeated this a few more times before you stopped shaking. When you lifted your head you realised it wasn't exactly pitch black. You could see some outlines of things and Finnick. You played with his hands and nodded "we're okay, we're alright, we're safe and have somewhere to sleep for the night". Finnick nodded "exactly" and kissed your head "and I know this sounds horrible but I'm so glad you're here". You chuckled and Finnick laughed too "I just mean, if I could have anyone here with me I'd want it to be you". You nodded "yeah I get that, even though it's terrifying I feel better because you're here". Finnick nodded pressing his face into your hair. "We'll get through this" he said "we'll survive it and when we do, you and I are moving far away from all this and just living". You smiled "tell me more about this great escape we're going on". Even though it was dark you could tell Finnick was smiling.

"We'll move near the ocean" he told you "we'll live just off the beach and spend our days fishing, surfing, swimming and doing whatever the hell we want. We'll spend our evenings sitting around a campfire, listening to music and we'll have the ocean to lull us to sleep every night. You'll see the most amazing sunsets and sunrises and have the most amazing beach make-out sessions. Trust me beaches are the best places for that". "You've had lots of experience with that huh?" You asked and Finnick shushed you with a kiss. When you were too breathless to speak he continued "we'll workout on the sand, build sand castles, float for hours on end and the best part? It will be just the two of us and it will be perfect" he told you. "I like that" you whispered "I want that, especially the nobody else being around part...but we'll probably have to have a spare hut for when Johanna gets bored and decides to appear at our doorstep". Finnick nodded "oh yeah there's no way we're keeping your sister out". "She'd come through the door with an axe like that old movie, here's Johanna!" you said and Finnick chuckled. "Well as long as you're there too I think I can handle your sister". You smirked "those are bold words, I'm related to her and I can't even handle her" and Finnick laughed. "We'll double team it there, figure it out together" he turned you to face him and you could just make out his eyes in the dark, "Together" you agreed and pressed a soft kiss to his lips. You separated and lay tightly together, praying the sun would never rise.