#since it seems like an awful lot of trouble to go to for something that doesn't really matter to the story lmao

[markantonys]

if the show does the flicker scene in s2, then rand had better be married to mat and perrin in some of his alternate lives and not just egwene, elayne, aviendha, and min

[theworldgate]

I have to explain what is going on in the UK, because it is absurd.

So, this is Gary Lineker:

He's known for a fair few things over here. He was a very good (association) footballer, playing for England in the 1986 and 1990 World Cups, winning the Golden Boot in 1986, and managing to never get a single yellow card in his playing career. He played for Leicester City, Everton, Barcelona, and Tottenham, before finishing his career in Japan. But if you aren't in your mid 30s, you probably know actually know him him for a couple of other things. The first is the role of spokesman for another Leicester icon, Walkers Crisps (which are sort of equivalent to Lays, but hit different), as pictured above. Despite being a notably clean player, he used to play a cheeky serial crisp thief. I don't think he's done that for well over a decade, but his ads were on the telly a lot when I was a kid and it's a bit like learning that the hamburglar was an incredibly clean (American) football player or something.

The second thing Gary is widely known for is having presented Match of the Day, the big football program on the BBC, the sort-of state broadcaster, since 1999. He is, incidentally, very well paid for this (though with a consensus that he could get even more if he went to one of the non-free-to-view broadcasters because he is very good at the job). He also has a twitter account. And political opinions. So, the UK government has got itself dead set upon doing heinous stuff that will totally somehow work to prevent people who want to come to the UK making the perilous crossing of the Channel (between England and France). By heinous, I mean "openly advertise that they won't attempt to protect victims of modern slavery" stuff. It's very obviously using a legal hammer to victimise a marginalised group of people in order to win votes. And, uh, I should clarify that by "legal" I mean "using the passage of laws" - the policy is, in addition to all the other ways it's awful, probably incompatible with the Human Rights Act and the UK's international law obligations. Gary, top lad that he is, objected to this. On Tuesday 7th March, he made a quote Tweet of a video of the Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, bigging up the policy, he wrote "Good heavens, this is beyond awful.". This got a bunch of backlash from extremely right-wingers, and then he made the tweet that really got him in trouble (with right-wingers): "There is no huge influx. We take far fewer refugees than other major European countries. This is just an immeasurably cruel policy directed at the most vulnerable people in language that is not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the 30s, and I’m out of order?".

Now, I am not actually subjecting myself to watching a video of Suella Braverman bigging up a cruel policy to say whether the specific comparison of the language to 1930s Germany is accurate. But needless to say, Ms Braverman was amongst the many figures on the right of UK politics objecting to Gary's rhetoric. And here's the part where a fact about the BBC comes in: it is nominally neutral and impartial (and so, of course, is routinely accused of bias from all sides but particularly the right-wing), and has something of a code for its contributors to this effect. Now, that code has previously been applied to Gary Lineker, over a comment about whether governing Conservative Party would hand back donations from figures linked to the Russian regime. But it generally hasn't been applied too strongly to people like Gary, whose roles have nothing to do with politics (such as presenting a "here's what happened on the footie today" show), on the basis that, well, their roles have nothing to do with politics. However, when directly asked about whether the BBC should punish Gary Lineker for his tweets, government figures basically went "well, that's a them problem". But a couple of days passed, and it seemed like Gary's approach of "standing his ground because he did nothing wrong" was working and everything would die down. He was set to get 'a talking to' but not much more than that. The Conservative right, after all their fire and fury earlier, had gotten bored and moved onto something else. And then, on Friday 10th March, the BBC announced that he would be suspended from hosting Match of the Day this weekend. But it could still go ahead, because there are, like, other hosts! Except, well, funnily enough, when you take a beloved figure off air, for making a fairly anodyne tweet, no one wants to be the scab who actually takes up the role of replacing him. Gary's two co-hosts, Alan Shearer and Ian Wright, said that they would not appear without him. People who (co-)host Match of the Day on other days followed suit. The net result is that Match of the Day is currently set to air without hosts, BBC commentary, or global feed commentary. And the solidarity shown to Gary Lineker, over what is very flagrantly actual cancel culture and an attack on freedom of speech (the logic implied is that institutional impartiality requires that no one say anything too critical of the government ever), has continued to grow. The BBC has pretty much been unable to run pretty much any live sports content today, and has resorted to raiding the BBC Sounds archive to fill the sports radio channel. And, as of 17:30 on Saturday 11th March, the situation shows no signs of improvement, though some are calling for the Chairman Richard Sharp, who is separately facing corruption allegations, to resign (yes I linked to the BBC itself there, there is nothing, nothing, the BBC loves more than going into great detail about how much the BBC sucks).

[hughiecampbelle]

The Boys Preference: Dating After A Toxic Relationship

A/N: Not requested, just an idea I had 😊 Remember, requests are open! Be sure to read my rules and please respect that I'm only interested in writing for these characters. Thank you! Feedback is always appreciated 💜

Butcher is very vocal. He knows you jump and scare easily, so he always makes a point to say where or if he's going to touch you, if he's upset and why (so that you don't worry you're the reason), when he'll be back, etc. This takes a lot of trial and error between the two of you. Butcher is an angry, violent person. You knew this going into the relationship. There's always a worry it could turn on you, and that's what he fears most: that you'd ever be afraid of him. He reassures you constantly he would never, ever hurt you. He knows all about what your ex did. You wanted to be up front and honest, knowing some of your behaviors might seem strange or out of place. The last thing he ever wants to do is emulate your ex and though it takes a lot of rewiring and assessment of his actions, he's trying to be better for you so that he doesn't lose you.

Hughie hates what your ex has done. Bit by bit, you give him the overview of your relationship, what they were like, and how they treated you. Sometimes you jump or flinch and he's reminded all over again that, despite what he does, there will always be this underlying fear and distrust. It took a long time to date him let alone tell him everything. He's patient and gentle and makes sure you're okay with every step you take further into the relationship. He takes every relationship show regardless of past history. When you see your ex again you have to pull Hughie away, not wanting him to start anything. He can't help it. He looks at them and he sees red. He's filled with disgust and hatred. Hughies always been on the timid side, but the thought of someone hurting you like that boils his blood.

Annie never wants you to feel like you have to hide that kind of thing from her. She knows all about power hungry people who take advantage of others. Still, she can't believe it. You're kind and funny and sweet and you always have everyone's best interest at heart. You know what it's like to get hurt, you wouldn't dare hurt someone else. She knows you don't want any trouble with them, you just want to move on, but she can't help but light up when she sees them. Secretly she goes to them and makes it known if they so much as look at you, even think about you, they're done. She's always asking if what you're doing is okay and wants to be as open as possible about boundaries. You're grateful she likes innocent touching, mostly hand holding, and when you're having a hard time you know she'll grab your hand and squeeze it, reminding you she's always here for you.

M.M knows all about your ex. He was the one to help you get out of that relationship in the first place. Since then you've become really close, so close he's now your boyfriend. After your ex shows up at your work one day, Marvin decides to take things into his own hands. The Boys make a special appearance at their apartment where they make it known they are never to go near you ever again. You have a lot of fears about trusting someone again, especially in a relationship, but M.M. is patient. He never wants you to feel like you have to do something you don't want to or aren't ready for. He's more than okay with taking things slow. He actually prefers it that way. He's extremely protective over you and, unfortunately, are his biggest weakness. If Homelander ever found out about you, M.M. would be done for.

Frenchie met your ex a few times before you broke things off. The way they spoke to you, wanted to control you, all the sings were there. He feels awful that he didn't see it sooner, but you could never blame him. You're just glad you got away from them. Frenchie is attentive and devoted and males sure you're comfortable with every step in your relationship. He offers, jokingly though not jokingly, to have your ex killed when they start sending calls and texts and emails. You assure him it's okay, you'll handle it. He knows you're more than capable, but he's always got a back up plan ready just in case they want to try anything more. He's extremely patient when you decide to tell him. He knows there's more to the story than what you're sharing, but he doesn't push it. He's grateful you shared anything at all. It's a big step and means a lot that you'd trust him.

Kimiko is learning to trust just like you are. You've both been through a lot, but you find a great solace in one another. Kimiko isn't sure who this random person is that shows up looking for you, only that the rest of The Boys are suddenly cagey, angry, and very protective. They're grateful you're not there. When she asks about them, you finally tell her. You dated a while ago and it wasn't a safe relationship. You thought you could get away from them, but they seek you out. They like to know they're in control. She feels awful. You're genuine and smart and sweet. Those terrible things that happened to you only made you softer and, unfortunately, more prone to anxiety and distrust. She leaves it up to you to take the next steps in your relationship. You appreciate more than you could ever put into words. You love her, but you need to take things slow.

Bonus! Homelander killed them a long time ago. The moment you showed up in his life, he knew there was someone who'd hurt you. It takes a long time to tell anyone, let alone him. One day the phone calls and texts and emails just stop. They stop showing up at Vought looking for you. You think you've finally scared them off or perhaps they got bored, but it was actually your new boyfriend. Normally he'd like to boast all about how he tortured them, h9w easy it was to kill them, how stupid they looked when he pulled out all their teeth, but he knows you wouldn't like that, so he keeps it to himself. He knows no one will miss them. You certainly don't. You're sleeping better now and getting more comfortable in your relationship without the constant threat of them showing up or following you. Homelander rests easy knowing they can never hurt you again. He lacks a lot of self-awareness in this department.

[spookyscarydemonbabe]

Secret Ingredient

Summary- After Eddie helps you out you reward him with a batch of your very special homemade brownies

Genre- Fluff

Warnings- Stalker behavior from an unnamed character

Tag List- @thatsthewaythechrissycrumbles @munsonology @esme-viridian @gvf23 @wheels-of-despair @goatsmcgee @flawiette

(my tag list is always open, if you’d like to be added please let me know 💋)

Word Count- 1.8k

You sighed as you waited outside the front doors of the school.

You were finally set free close to two hours ago, and you had originally planned to meet up with Eddie a bit earlier, but of course Hellfire had come up and you knew he couldn’t miss something like that. He sure made it seem like he couldn’t miss something like that.

A few weeks ago you had come to him about a little issue with one of the guys around school. You didn’t know anything about this guy but it seemed like he knew an awful lot about you. Your name, your class schedule, even the car you drove to and from school and you hated knowing that no matter how many times you’ve told him to leave you alone it just wouldn’t end. He’d always be sneaking looks at you as you walked past or trying to make it seem like he just so happened to find the only spot open in the lunch room was next to him. And you’d rather eat in your car than be around someone who could care less about your own comfort.

Eddie wasn’t known as the kind of guy who would take care of situations like this, but you knew he was someone that wasn’t very well liked by the other students. Especially with his reputation. He was the perfect candidate to scare this creep off.

You came to Eddie last Monday, just as the bell rang for lunch while he was still getting some things together in his backpack. You explained the situation to him and he seemed like he was genuinely apologetic for how this guy was treating you. He could understand this guy having a little crush on you, that was to be expected, but he was taking it too far and Eddie didn’t like that one bit. You didn’t know each other well but he was absolutely willing to help you out. He is a gentleman after all, who was he to deny the request of a girl in need.

For the last two weeks it was perfect.

Eddie would walk you to your classes, even carrying your books for you, giving this creep menacing looks each time he caught his eyes on you. He’d watch out for you as you walked to your car, just to make sure this guy didn’t try to pull any cheap moves by catching you all alone. There was only one incident that he seemed to take too far, but you weren’t going to complain if it kept him away from you.

Yesterday, Eddie thought that this guy overstepped a boundary that he truly couldn’t believe. He had been keeping his eye on him, which meant he had the other guys keep their eyes and ears open for him any time they heard him say or do anything that seemed like it might be another ploy for him to get closer to you. Jeff was lucky enough to overhear him talking to his lab partner about you. About how you’ve been asking for him to do something ever since you saw him. About how you always play hard to get, but that just makes the chase all the more fun, and he was hoping to get you alone after school to finally put an end to this little cat and mouse game you were playing. And Eddie couldn’t wait to really hear what he meant by that.

Eddie had been waiting for him at his locker as soon as school was out, arms crossed, a smug grin on his face. He wasn’t a scary guy, but he sure could be intimidating. He waited until the students cleared out of the school, making small talk with the guy about how he’s sorry for causing so much trouble, and he wanted to hear his side of the whole thing.

Every word that came from this guys mouth was nothing but lies.

He explained to Eddie that you were just ‘confused’, and you knew exactly what you were doing. Walking around the halls with your makeup painted up all pretty, your outfits always showing off everything to any guy that looked at you. He wasn’t doing anything different than any other guy in the halls, he was just making his motives more clear to you. Eddie nodded along, just letting this guy go on and on, lessening his chances of leaving the school without a black eye. It was what he said next that got his blood boiling.

When Eddie told you all this, he said he just kind of blacked out. Something about him saying ‘(y/n) wanted his attention, no always meant yes under the right circumstances’. Needless to say, Eddie made sure he truly understood what ‘no’ and ‘stop’ meant.

If he didn’t want Eddie to grab his hair and slam his head into the locker he shouldn’t have been asking for it. It’s not Eddie’s fault the guy wobbled out of the building with his balls kicked up into his throat, no meant yes under the right circumstances.

The smile on your face was enough to let Eddie know his job was done.

Eddie insisted you didn’t need to do anything or give him any money for his help, he was just glad you knew that you were safe from whatever this guy was planning on doing. But you persisted. You needed to do something as a ‘thank you’ for him, and of course his friends that helped too.

And now here you were. Waiting next to the doors for their DnD session to end, and as soon as you heard a few muffled cheers in the distance you knew they’d be leaving the building within the next few moments. You checked the watch at your wrist, nearly 6:30.

Your attention was grabbed again as the doors opened up, the group of boys laughing amongst themselves as Eddie soon followed behind them,

“Alright, alright, i’ll see you guys monday,” Eddie laughed, “and i promise i’ll have a new session all written up by next friday.”

“Eddie.” You said with a smile, grabbing his attention.

“Hey!” He smiled to you, “See you guys later.” He waved to the guys as they dispersed to their cars and stepped over to you, “Hey, what’s up?”

“Look, i know you said that you didn’t need me to give you anything for helping me out, but…” You smiled and reached into your bag, pulling out a tupperware container for him, “i thought a ‘thank you’ was in order, so i made these for you.”

“For me?” Eddie smiled and took the container from your hands, “(y/n), you didn’t have to do tha-“ he stopped as soon as he opened the container. The smell alone was enough to get his attention.

You giggled at his surprised reaction.

“Did you- Are these?” He lifted the container to his nose and smelled them again, “No fucking way, you baked these yourself!?”

“Sure did.” You smiled, “They’re my famous brownies, but i added something a little extra for you.” You shrugged, “I know you said not to do anything for last week but i wanted to do something anyways.”

“Damn.” He laughed as he closed the container, “I didn’t think you were that kind of girl.”

“I’m not. Well… not all the time.” You shrugged, “Every now and then i’ll smoke when i just kind of need a break, but while my parents were out a few weekends ago i managed to figure out how to infuse butter with it. So i figured i’d make you something with it.”

“Thank you! You know you didn’t have to do that, it’s really nice of you.” Eddie held the container in his hands as he leaned up against the brick wall.

“I know i didn’t have to do anything, i wanted to. I really do appreciate all your help with this guy, i was worried it was getting to a point where he was gonna do something stupid and i’m glad you stopped it before he did. I still can’t believe he said all that stuff…”

“I can’t believe it either, it’s crazy to me that that’s how that guy thinks. ‘No means yes’, what an asshole.” He rolled his eyes just thinking back on that conversation, “He’s got no right to tell you or anyone else how to think. I’m sorry you had to go through all that.”

“It’s alright,” You shrugged, “it’s all over now, so hopefully it doesn’t happen again.”

“It shouldn’t.” Eddie said with a smile, “I think i made sure the message got to him.”

You giggled and looked down to the sidewalk below, trying to hide the littlest bit of pink on your cheeks.

It was nice knowing how protective Eddie was of you, even without knowing each other all too well.

“Thanks again for all your help.” You said to him with a smile.

“Not a problem.” He said with a wink, making you blush even harder, “Can i walk you to your car?”

You nodded with a smile and slowly stepped out into the parking lot with him,

“Thanks.” You said to him as you made your way over to the door, “You really are a gentleman.”

“I have my days.” Eddie shrugged as he reached over and grabbed the door handle, pulling it open for you.

“Well i think you’re the first guy i’ve met who knows how to treat a girl. You’re really sweet, and i wished more people could see that.” You suddenly leaned forward, grabbing one of his cheeks and gently pulled him forward, planting your lips softly onto his cheek, “Thank you for being so nice to me. And let me know how those brownies are! You’re the first person other than me to try them.”

“Oh definitely,” Eddie smiled, a light tinge of pink touched his cheeks from your kiss, “and um… You know i’ve always wanted to learn how to make these, maybe sometime you can show me?” He asked.

The blush at your cheeks got redder and you smiled shyly,

“I’d be happy to.”

You stood there and smiled with one another for a moment, before seeing the sky start to get a bit darker behind Eddie as the sun began to set.

“Maybe…” He shrugged and looked down at the container in his hands trying to hide his own blush, “Next saturday?”

You couldn’t help the smile on your face getting bigger. His proposal was unexpected, but definitely not unwanted.

“That sounds perfect. I should probably be getting home, my dads gonna wonder what’s taking me so long. I’ll see you monday, ok? Oh!” You reached into your car and ruffled through the center console, grabbing an old receipt and a sharpie, quickly writing down your name and phone number for him, “Here. When you try those give me a call and let me know how they are.”

Eddie took the receipt from your hand and tried to hide his excitement,

“Yeah, absolutely, no problem. I’ll see you monday.” He shut your car door and stepped away, giving you a little wave as he watched you pull out of the space as he walked towards his van.

God, brownies and your number all in the same day? Eddie may have finally met his dream girl.

Monday couldn’t come soon enough.

[ice-cream-writes-stuff]

Spider and Bats Snippets 2

[0.] [1.]

I headcanon Spider!(Y/N) meets Clark/Superman on accident before Batman does.

Just, imagine. Your heading to a part time job, super excited about it! Get on the bus, and wait... Then fall asleep..

The bus driver kicks you out at the Mertropolis bus station. Not good! You don't have enough for a ticket back to Gotham so you managed to get a part-time job at The Daily Planet, as the coffee runner! Simple enough?

Bumping into a meek Clark Kent, who is shyly thanking you for his cup of joe'. Then you, eagerly wanting a new friend in a strange enviorment, (again), asking about what he's writing.

"Wow Kent, didn't expect you to snag the new girl."

Lois teased light-heartedly. "Oh, ha-ha it's nothing like that. They're a good friend."

He shrugs it off as Lois shakes her head. "Sheesh, a lot of fella's make a LOT of trouble with that word. Good luck Smallsville."

Blinking in confusion, you were suprised she didn't notice you as you walk up beside him. "Huh... Wait, you think were good friends!?" You beam in awe at Clark, happily spinning around his desk chair. "Clark! You should of said something sooner!"

You let go, now thoughtful. "Hmmm, we should do friendship bracelets then.. I mean, I did make one with another friend of mine.. OH! I got an' idea-" "-Guh.. I-I think I.. Need to rain check.."

"Hm? What's wrong? You look dizy... Vomit-y."

I know there's different versions of how Batman met Superman. Personally, I perfer The Animated Series Ver!

I would like to think, Robin and Nightwing asked her to get Superman's autograph as a casual comment if Spider(Y/N) went to Mertropolis.

So during her "stay" at the other city, she'd often patrol and help a bit when she could.

Would totally meet Supes' on acident.

"Wow! Hello! Why is your city so much cleaner? I like your cape! Reminds me of Miguel-!" You try to descalate the situation.

You happily greet him, babbling as your buddy glared at you. You shrug at Batman's gaze, giving him a slight push. Herding him close to your side incase of any... Bad, course of action, between you and the supposed "Man of Steel".

Superman paused at the greeting, after thrown into a wall. He expected more hostily from you as well, since he read most crime-fighters were, due to the Gotham Gazette. Yet you seemed more occupied with keeping the Batman away from HIM.

Using his x-ray vision, he peaked underneath your masks.

"Bruce Wayne..." He mumbled under his breath as Batman shoved you to the side. Glaring at the super-powered male, "You peeked.."

"Hm? He did what?" You weren't paying attention, more focused on the destruction and damage. Frowning worriedly, knowung your "unexpected vaction" would meet it's end.

Superman The Animated Series: Season 1 Ep 16 - World's Finest Part 1

I can see Spider!(Y/N) being pen-pals with lot's of heros and vigilantes. Possibly even anti-heros and villians?

Carefully web-shooting the civillians away, you keep squint as you watch them dance in sync. Slightly envious, before shooting a glance at Batman.

He collapsed as groups of Music Meisters pawns held him down. Grunting as he tried to move away. You used your web to toss them away quickly. Huffing as you glanced down at your comrade.

Even with the ear-plugs, you couldn't help it!

As if spotlight shone on your cue, you sang encouragingly. Smiling underneath your mask, you hold out a hand to him. He grasps it as you slowly pull him up.

♫⋆｡♪ ₊˚♬ ﾟ."And you can rise above...!" ♫⋆｡♪ ₊˚♬ ﾟ.

The Brave and the Bold Season 1 Episode 25 Mayhem of the Music Meister!

We all know that THEE Batman has a certain type.

But this is for fun, so, (。ゝ(ェ)・)-☆

Overall, I stated perviously, it's more a comedic pairing that has many set-ups to be serious.

Watching Catwoman flee once more, you walk to Bat's side. Standing beside him politely, before.. Slowly... Reaching out your hand to his. Holding it firmly with no caution.

The vigilante glares at the action, yet you don't let up as he tries to shake your hand away.

You giggle as you watch your arm swing with his, your laughter becoming louder as he finally gave in.

Batfam relationship depends on if Spider!(Y/N) came before or after the Batfam was formed.

Personally, I perfer it before. I feel like it would show growth in Bat's and Spiders dynamic.

I sorta wanna explore it, but if ya'll got ideas Im open to it.

-

{Yay! Another self-indulg work! Lol. I was inspired once again, I really just love that more people are intrested in the idea than just myself! Horray! Comments, art, reblogs are always wanted! This is purely for fun! If anyone gets the easter egg I put, let me know!}

[schoenpepper]

Isekai'd Chronicles 5

Intro: Pomefiore in an isekai AU.

Warnings: bad writing, awful grammar, proofread by quillbot, Rook Hunt is a warning in his own right, some bullying, a duel, google translated French

A/N: The thought of elf Vil makes me want to do things. Cry, maybe. Thoughts on Neige in this AU: he's just a random pretty human celebrity that people are saying is prettier than even the elves (who are known to be hot af). Anyway, enjoy!

Masterlist

It's a really big deal when you have the future ruler of the elves standing in front of you, especially when said elf has blond hair and purple eyes and ungodly beauty. You knew your new friend Epel was going to bring about chaos, but you just had to befriend him anyway and let him hide out in your room in an act of (stupidity) kindness. Thus, you carved your fate in stone and you really only have yourself to blame when Vil Schoenheit is glaring at you and the elf that so courageously jumped out to defend you.

This is not what a smart 'reincarnated into a villain' would do, you know? You should be avoiding them, so why is it that you seem to be a magnet for trouble? This one's definitely on you, though.

He seems mildly impressed that you have the guts to actually stand up to him, and he invites you to Epel's etiquette lessons hoping that perhaps the purple haired elf would calm his rebel spirit when the lessons are happening with a friend. You accept stupidly because Epel's puppy dog eyes are very hard to say no to, plus, Vil's regal aura did not seem like he would even take no for an answer. It's not too bad, you tell yourself, especially since elf etiquette isn't too different from the kind you'd needed to learn from childhood. It also started from beginner level basics, because apparently, Epel was born in a part of the elven forest where there were no nobles at all.

Vil isn't a bad teacher, by any means. In fact, he feels more like a caring mother hen when he fusses over your clothing and teaches you about proper skin, hair, nail and everything else care. He gives you tons of homemade products and serums and cosmetics, and you smell like a bouquet of flowers by the time you're done with the routine he'd set up for you. Time spent with him is soothing almost, and you eventually find yourself spending time with him even without Epel, outside of etiquette lessons. He goes out shopping for clothes with you as he teaches you about elf fashion, and you talk to him about human celebrity scandals that you'd seen in magazines. He lets you try makeup on his perfect face when he has nowhere to be, and you concoct healthy meals in the kitchen with him to try to make delicious food that still passes his caloric and nutrient standards.

Vil won't kill you. He's above that, you're sure. Then that's another capture target down.

There's just no way you can keep your eyes off Vil, you know? He's ethereal, too beautiful to be human. Because he's not, he's an elf. Lilac eyes meet your own in confusion when you hand over the small bouquet of lilacs to him.

"What is this for, potato?" You give him a proud smile and answer. "My lilac flowers bloomed, senpai. I planted them a while ago, but this is the first time they've had such pretty blooms. They reminded me of the color of your eyes, so I thought I'd give you some!"

There's amusement and...something else that's lingering in his irises, but you can't quite put a finger on it. He takes the bouquet. "I must thank you, then. These are lovely."

Some people have gotten on your nerves recently. You know who they are, they don't hide their snickers when they pull their stupid childish pranks. But they hide it well in public even when you know they mock you for 'sucking up to everyone', but you're not a suck up! They're your friends! In any case, you're also a duke's heir, so they definitely have a lot of guts to be picking on you. If you were any more cruel, you'd sic Floyd or Jade on them (or Floyd and Jade if you were feeling particularly sadistic), but you decide to call them out instead and challenge their dumb leader to a duel. So there you were, sword against the other person's neck and they use magic and that's not in the rules! Right before the flames catch onto your hair, an arrow whizzes past your ear (the PTSD from your childhood has you frozen in place) and grazes your enemy's arm. It wounds him but he's not going to die, so you call out to the referee and the duel is your win!

You still tell Floyd afterwards because you were pissed the guy had the audacity to cheat.

When you look up past the ring, you see another blond elf, this time with a bob cut and clear green eyes the color of peppermint leaves. Your savior tips his hat to you as he puts his bow away with a smile on his face.

Your savior is Rook Hunt, Prince Vil's most loyal retainer.

You really are a trouble magnet. But it won't do your noble upbringing justice if you don't pay him back, right? He did save your reputation after all, maybe even your life. Thus, the following days are spent with Rook, giving him gifts and doing everything you can to pay back the debt of whatever weight you thought that duel carried. He treats you like a friend even though you're sure you've never met him before, and he lets you stay in his room to help him scrapbook photos of Neige LeBlanche. He teaches you how elves wield a bow and arrow, and his eyes light up when you invite him over to your manor for the weekend to hunt some monsters that loitered around the edge of the woods. Typically, your family's knights would handle the culling, but he seemed to find killing monsters with you as a fun pastime so you do as he wants to.

He sits you down and tells you he really enjoys spending time with you, and that you shouldn't think of it as a debt to be repaid anymore. And surely, this very nice elf won't kill you...right?

You gingerly cross him off the list.

"Rook senpai, I'm glad I found you." You walk over to the bush that wiggled weirdly earlier, and you're not surprised when a blond elf pops out of the foliage. You show him the item in your hands. "Look! I got you a limited edition signed photocard of that Neige. This hasn't been released yet, so I know it's not in your collection."

You swear there are tears in his eyes as he captures you in a hug, laughing wildly. "Merci mon amour! C’est vraiment merveilleux, oh, je comprends maintenant pourquoi tant de personnes sont tombées amoureuses de toi."

You don't know what he said, but you're glad he's happy.

[f1goat]

his teammate + lando norris x part one

In which you find yourself getting closer to your brothers new teammate who's a dick.

lando norris x fem!verstappen (sister) + cursewords + eventually smutty i wrote this before, but i'm rewriting it because i missed somethings. you can comment if you want to be added to a taglist :) thanks for reading!

masterlist x playlist

You remember that one afternoon where your brother Max Verstappen first heard about his new teammate. The whole afternoon was filled up with angry phone calls, many curse words, frustrations and even angrier glances at everyone who had the tiniest part in this decision. You didn’t really get it at first. Max always wanted a teammate who could challenge him on the race track. He didn’t like the last seasons where he had no competition from his own teammate. So what was the problem? It’s safe to say it didn’t took you long before you understood Max his reaction. After you googled his new teammate for a bit, you were quick to find out that the new RedBull driver is trouble. Trouble with a capital T. Maybe even with every letter in capitals. 

Lando Norris is the kind of driver that doesn’t care about anything else then driving. He’s not like Lewis Hamilton who’s putting effort in all kind of good deeds for society. He’s not like Yuki Tsunoda who helped cleaning after the flood in Imola. He’s not like Pierre Gasly and Charles Leclerc who always seem to be with each other in their spare time. He’s not like your brother who always tries to maintain a good relationship with everyone on the grid. Lando Norris doesn’t care about things like that. 

After a bit of searching around, you were quick to find out that Lando Norris only cares about a few things. He cares about girls. No wait, that isn’t the way you need to say this. He doesn’t care about girls and their feelings. He cares about sex. He’s always seen with a different girl, who is gone within a couple hours. He also cares about himself. Maybe a bit too much even. Everyone who talked with you about Lando Norris told you that he’s egocentrically. He cares about his own needs, but doesn’t think about others. 

The most surprising thing about what he cares, is actually a person. It took you a lot of digging, but you found someone Lando Norris actually seems to care about. Someone called Max Fewtrell. They seem to be friends. You found out a bit more about them. It seems that his friend Max is going online often to stream, sometimes Lando shows up for a bit in a stream. You even found some edits on YouTube from streams that were a couple years back. Lando seemed a lot more open on those streams.

Your brother has spend a long time being known as the villain of formula one, but it’s safe to say that Lando Norris took that title from him. He’s known for the dirtiest tricks on and off track. He’s an arrogant ass. Media don’t know a lot about him. His socials are done by media workers from RedBull. He doesn’t post anything himself. It seems like he has walls as high as the Mount Everest all around him.

After all your research about your brothers new teammate, you can safely say that you understand your brothers reaction. Lando Norris seems to be an awful person. You didn’t formally meet him yet, but now when the first race is happening it can’t be long before you do. Max is already complaining about him since he joined the team. You have heard countless complains about the British driver. 

It’s a shame, really. They seemed like a potential match for a great friendship. Your brother is well liked by many of the other drivers and by many fans. He has friends all around the world and always wants to do everything for them. At first you thought it would be Max who could get Lando out of his shell. But apparently they aren’t a great match.

“He doesn’t even care about the team.” “He’s awful.” “He can’t even greet me when I walk into a room.” “You should have seen him, he doesn’t give a fuck.” “He doesn’t want to do media activities.” 

You can dream about his complains. But you get it. So every time your brother is complaining, you listen to him and tell him that he’s right. Lando Norris is an asshole.

Some frustrated sounds around you wake you up from your thoughts. With all this thinking, you almost forgot about the race. It’s the first race of the season. You’re quick to look at the screen in front of you. What is happening? What is causing everyone around you to seem frustrated. When you look at the screen, you notice it directly. There are two cars of the track. Two drivers who are going down in the ranks with a three small letters next to them. DNF. When they replay the accident, you see what everyone around you already saw. Max and Lando pushed each other of the track. 

What an idiots.

Who’s fault was it? You’re tempted to say that Lando is the one to blame, but you don’t know. It seems like a racing incident in which both drivers took too much space from each other. It almost seems like your brother and Lando are testing each other. Who’s the first one to back out? Apparently neither of them. They would rather crash. Idiots. 

You notice that Lando is the first one to arrive back at the motorhome. This race week you barely saw Lando. You have only seen him from a distance. Of course you have seen photographs and even TikTok edits from him before. But you never saw him up close. So you can’t help yourself and stare a bit at him. The angry look on his face is hard to miss. It’s a shame. You have seen enough pictures in which you couldn’t deny that you found him nice looking. Beautiful even. You don’t like anything about the boy, but you can’t deny his good looks. You like the way his curls seem to have a mind of their own. You like the way he always seems to be dressed in a hoodie. Something about him breathes calmness. At least, normally. With the way he’s looking right know, there’s no calmness to be found anywhere close to him. Although, he does look a bit hot like this. Maybe you can scrap that a bit part. He looks hot.

Sometimes you try to remind yourself that you don’t actually know Lando. You’re judging him by words of the media, fans and others. What if it’s all an act to safe himself and his friends from the cruelty of the media and some fans? For all you really know, he’s actually a nice person. When you look at Lando, you are quick to throw that thought away. You truly believe that he isn’t a nice person in secret. He seems coldhearted and closed off to everyone. His attitude and looks from now tell you enough. 

“What the fuck was that Norris?” 

It’s Christian Horner who disrupts your thinking session. You have seen Christian angry plenty of times, but that was always at people from other teams. Mainly at Toto Wolff now you think about it. It’s long ago that you have seen him this angry with a driver of his own team. You start to fear for his reaction to Max.

“I told you to keep it clean!” Christian continues to shout at Lando when he doesn’t get a reply fast enough. 

“Tell that to your other driver,” Lando replies angrily, “He crashed into me. The fucker.”

You can actually hear the frustration in Lando his voice. You don’t like it. They both crashed into each other. This was not your brothers fault. 

“I don’t care what you have planned for this afternoon, but you can scrap all of those plans. Max, you and me are going to talk until you both can race as normal people with each other,” Christian states. 

“Oh fuck off,” Lando says angrily. You notice the way his voice is starting to raise in volume. “We will fight it out on track like actual race drivers,” he continues.

“Like you did today? That would be a great season if you both crashed into each other every race. Don’t you think so?” Christian asks sarcastically. You notice that he wants to continue talking, but Lando is already walking away. He storms off to his drivers room. 

Just in time. Your brother is also walking in right now. Christian is quick to notice Max. He’s even quicker to start shouting at him as well. It’s the same things as he told Lando before. You’re not in the mood for another screaming match. You know your brother well enough to realize that this is going to last for a while. Max is full with frustrations about Lando and those will probably come all out now. You decide to walk away from all the screaming. You can spend some time in Max his drivers room until everyone is calmed down. 

You wander around for a bit. Every new season they change the RedBull motorhome, so the first weeks you’re always lost. Apparently they didn’t use name holders this year. Which room was your brothers again? At the end of the hallway you notice a familiar image. You’re sure that his drivers room is here. There is only one question, which room is his? There are two doors. You guess that if you chose the wrong door, you will find Lando. You sigh and take the guess to open one of the two doors.

“Fuck off.”

Of course. You have enough luck to chose the wrong door. You barely dare to look into the room. Lando is staring at you with an angry glance. You should be nervous about that, but you’re a bit distracted when you notice that Lando isn’t wearing a shirt. Fuck. 

“Shit, sorry,” you quickly mutter, “I thought..”

You can’t finish your sentence. Lando is quick to interrupt you. 

“You thought what? That you could come here to talk about me how I fucked up your brothers race? Get fucking lost,” Lando sneers to you.

You don’t know how to react for a couple seconds. Is this actually happening? What did Lando just say? How can he be blaming you for all those things, when you didn’t even say anything like that. What a dick. 

“Are you fucking deaf? Go away,” Lando continues to say to you. “I don’t care about you or your brother or what happened, so don’t try to make me.”

You start to get angry as well in the mean time. Who does he think he is to talk to you like this? Where’s the respect? He is even worse then you already thought. 

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” You ask him annoyed.

“You’re in my fucking room.”

“I’m not. I’m standing in the fucking doorway because I thought this was Max his room,” you argue.

“Then why are you still here?”

“Because I wanted to apologize for storming in like this, but never mind that.”

“Save the fucking bullshit princess,” Lando sneers at you again. 

“Don’t,” you grunt. 

“Don’t do what?” Lando asks.

“Don’t call me that and stop acting like such a dick,” you sigh annoyed.

“It’s not an act princess, it’s just the way I fucking am,” Lando states.

“That doesn’t work for someone like you.”

“Someone like me? What the fuck do you mean with that?” Lando asks you angrily.

“Do you have to say fuck in every sentence?” You ask annoyed. 

Lando steps closer to you. He seems to be waiting for some sort of explanation. As if you know what you meant with your earlier sentence. You’re mad and aren’t thinking at the moment. You almost take a step back, but you stop yourself from doing so. You don’t want him to know that he’s intimidating you. He is intimidating you, you should be stepping backwards but instead you keep staring at him. You look at the frustrated glance in his eyes. 

“I meant someone like you who’s clearly an arrogant dick and doesn’t have anyone around him. It seems like everyone is done with you and your act. Nobody wants to be friends with someone who thinks he’s better then them. Maybe your dick attitude and your small dick make some girls happy, but we both know those girls are only with you for your name,” you improvise to annoy Lando further.

Lando lets out a low chuckle. “You think that I have a small dick?” He asks you. 

“That’s the part you remember?” You ask annoyed, “I though arrogant, no friends or girls who are using you would have more impact.” 

“I don’t have a small dick princess,” Lando states confidently. 

“Great to fucking know!” You reply annoyed, “Maybe you can start acting like it.” You don’t wait for another reply from Lando. “I just wanted to say sorry for entering the wrong room, but forget it. I’ll gladly leave you alone Lando.” 

With those words you turn away from Lando and are quick to walk towards the other door. Your brothers actual drivers room. You feel Lando his eyes burning on your body. When you’re in Max his drivers room, you’re still annoyed by Lando. How can someone be like that? You only tried to apologize. Lando is plain rude and incredibly annoying. What a dick. 

+++

“He’s the absolute worst,” Max sighs, “I have spend hours in that little office of Christian and Norris still won’t say sorry about anything! I even apologized for going a bit to wide on track, but he doesn’t say anything.” 

“How further?” You ask your brother, “I can’t imagine that the team is going to drop him. So you have to find some way to work together with him, right?”

“I don’t even want to think about that,” Max states.

You doubt about telling Max about your own encounter with Lando. It won’t be good for his already angry feelings towards Lando. But it would be nice to talk about it with him. After a bit of doubting you decide to tell Max a few things about it. Maybe you can leave the worst stuff behind. You know it isn’t the best plan to tell him, but you’re in the mood to vent about it. And who’s better to vent to then someone who also hates Lando? 

It doesn’t take long before Max is even more angry then before. You told him about your encounter with Lando, but you left behind some details. Like what you said exactly or what he said exactly. You just told Max what happened. 

“He’s the absolute worst,” Max tells you. 

You nod as a form of agreement. 

“I don’t like asking you things like this, but please stay away from him,” Max asks, “You can’t trust him and I know for sure that he’s already planning to use you to annoy me even more.” 

“I get it Max,” you say, “I’ll try to stay away from him.”

“Thanks,” Max sighs. He seems a bit more relaxed now. “I hope this doesn’t last too long, I’ll try to be friendly with him.” 

You slowly nod. “You do realize that if you become friendly with him, he’ll probably see me more also?” You ask Max.

“Yeah, you’re right,” Max says, “Just keep watching out around him. Don’t trust him. I have heard enough stories about girls who did trust him and that didn’t end nicely for everyone of them.”

“I’ll keep my distance,” you promise Max.

“Come on, let’s go out,” Max says suddenly, “I’m in the mood for some alcohol and fun after that awful race.”

You smile. Max doesn’t want to go out a lot, but you do always like it. You tell him enthusiastic that you’ll make yourself ready as fast as you can. You search in your suitcase for a cute outfit and are quick to find a nice dress. You put it on and look in the mirror for a bit. The dress is a bit on the short side, but it fits nicely. You like the way white looks on you. Quickly you continue to search for matching shoes and a bag. After that you redo your make up for a bit. It doesn’t take you too long before you’re ready to go. 

This is a great idea. Dancing and drinking will make the both of you forget about the frustrating day. Full with enthusiasm you walk with Max towards the taxi he called. 

part two

[justagalwhowrites]

Yearling - Ch. 33: Discovery

You, Joel and Tommy go on patrol. A continuation of Yearling ch. 1-32 found on Tumblr here.

Pairing: Joel Miller x Female Reader

Warnings: Canon-typical violence. Torture. Smut :). No use of Y/N. Minors DNI 18+ Only 

Length: 9.8k

AO3 | Chapter One | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

February, 2028 

“Bambi, tell your husband to stop being a wuss.” 

“Wuss?” Joel shifted to look around you to his little brother. “Who you callin’ a wuss?” 

“Think I’ll call my brother-in-law a dumbass instead,” you smirked over toward Tommy. “Seems more accurate.” 

“You tellin’ me we shouldn’t be following that path there?” Tommy nodded toward a worn spot in the snow on the other side of the river where the three of you had stopped, sitting astride your horses. “The one that looks like it could’ve been made by a dozen fuckin’ men?”  

“Who knows how old that is,” Joel said. “Been weeks since it snowed. And water’s lookin’ high. Would be real easy to end up cold and wet for no damn reason…” 

“Seem awful scared of winding up cold and wet for someone who’s not a wuss,” Tommy teased. 

“I don’t want my wife,” Joel stressed the word and you smiled a little, tucking your chin into your chest to hide it. “Being cold and wet and getting sick because you’ve got some harebrained idea that we need to run down some track that’s long dead.” 

“Bambi, c’mon,” Tommy said. “You know I’m right, you know the horses can handle it and you know Joel’s just bein’ paranoid because you’re here.” 

Joel wasn’t about to tell Tommy that he was right. At least, not while he was out on his first patrol since the incident in November. It would just worry you, might make you drag him back to Jackson before patrol was done. But Tommy was right. Joel had been nervous all day, worrying about seeing you hurt. Worrying that, whoever had been after him would hurt you, too. That wasn’t something he could abide at any time but now that you were his wife, it was more vital. It felt different somehow.

A lot of things did. 

Not that there had been much tangible change since the two of you had said your vows that night in Joel’s bed. Since the attack, you hadn’t slept at your own house even once, you were already living together in every way that mattered. Ellie and Savvy had become like sisters in the few months that Savvy had been in Jackson, you like a mother to his daughter and him like a father to yours. And Joel had always been driven to protect you, from the first moment he saw you he knew he would do damn near anything to keep you safe. But the sense of peace and permanence he had calling you his wife made life alongside you another thing entirely. Protecting and caring for you was all the more necessary now. 

The girls had taken the news well, all things considered. Joel hadn’t really been worried about Ellie’s reaction, of course. You were the closest thing she had to a mother and lord knew the girl had been working overtime trying to shove you and Joel back together after you’d left. 

But he could tell you’d been worried about telling Savvy. 

“That ring fittin’ OK?” He asked as he brought you a cup of coffee in bed just as the sun started to rise on Christmas morning. 

“Hm?” You looked up at him from your spot nestled into the pillows, chest bare and blankets over your lap like they had been the night before as the two of you made promises to each other. The hand that was twisting your ring around and around on your finger stilled. 

“You’re fidgetin’ something fierce there, Mrs. Miller,” he smiled a little and handed you the cup of coffee. “Wanted to know if that ring was fittin’ OK or if you were just getting cold feet on me.” 

“It fits great,” you smiled a little over the coffee cup, taking a sip. “And no, no cold feet.” 

“Alright,” he said, sitting in bed beside you in nothing but his pajama pants. His fingers trailed up the bare skin of your arm. “Then I think you should tell me what’s on that pretty mind of yours.” 

“You’re gonna get us in trouble, touching me like that,” you said, taking another sip of coffee. “Girls will be here soon…” 

“Oh I can be quick,” he teased. “But I’d rather not rush our wedding… well, morning…” 

You rolled your eyes but laced your fingers with his, brushing his ring as you did. 

“Talk to me,” he said, turning serious. “Don’t want to start this off with secrets.” 

“It’s not a secret,” you sighed, looking at his hand for a moment longer before looking him in the eye. “But… I don’t want to hurt Savvy. I want this with you more than almost anything else. The only thing I want more is for her to be OK. I just don’t know how to tell her.” 

Joel nodded slowly, watching you. 

“Want to do it together?” He asked gently. You raised your eyebrows. “I don’t want to get in the way of anything but I don’t want you thinkin’ you’re in this alone because you’re not. That’s the whole point.” 

You laughed once and then sighed. 

“It might help,” you said after a moment. “I think she likes you more than she likes me.” 

“Don’t think that’s true,” he said. “She’s just… dealing with some complicated things. And there ain’t a real guidebook for regular parenting, let alone how you raise a kid after the world ends. She loves you. She really does.” 

“Should we tell the girls together then?” You asked, looking uncertain.  

“I think, if you’re OK with that?” Joel shrugged. “Yeah. I’d like to do that with you.” 

You smiled a little and the two of you adjusted in bed so that you were in his arms, your skin soft against his. You finished your coffee and got dressed just before the clatter of teenaged girls took over the house not long after. 

Joel kept you tucked against his side as the two of you watched the girls open their gifts, his lips brushing your temple and giving you a squeeze when he could sense you getting tense. He gathered the two of them that afternoon as the four of you got ready to head to Tommy and Maria’s for dinner, your hands stuffed into the back pockets of your jeans as you paced the kitchen until Ellie and Savvy were there and you joined him at his side. 

“What’s up?” Ellie frowned, looking between the two of you. 

“Well,” Joel said gently. “We were hopin’ to talk to you girls about something…” 

“Oh God,” Ellie groaned. “Please tell me no one’s doing anything stupid…” 

“Nothin’ stupid,” Joel smiled a little, slipping an arm through yours to curve around your back and tug you close to his side. You looked up at him for a moment but he didn’t need to look back to know that you were on the verge of panic. He could feel it, your whole body was tense, your breaths short and shallow. “Something real good, actually. We wanted the two of you to know before anyone else but… well, we decided to get married.” 

“Oh shit!” Ellie’s eyes went wide for a minute. “Congrats! It’s about damn time, honestly.” 

Savvy, however, was silent. She looked between the two of you, her brows drawn together, a small frown on her face before she stalked out of the room. 

You pulled away from Joel immediately and he went to follow you but you put up a hand and shook your head before chasing her down. 

“Shit,” Ellie, said quietly, staring out the back door that you and Savvy had just left through. Joel clenched his jaw for a moment, resisting the urge to go find you no matter how badly he might want to. 

“Still a sore subject for her, huh?” Joel asked Ellie after a moment. 

She sighed. 

“I really wish Bambi would give her some idea of what happened,” she said. “Because she really seems to think that she had some kind of easy fucking time… She asked me a little bit about it after you both got back last month. I guess she overheard the doctors talking but I didn’t know what to fucking say. I don’t think she’s actually pissed about the two of you. I think she’s pissed at the idea that she was on her own while her mom was having some happy life here.” 

Joel sighed for a moment before giving in and following you out the back door. You were standing in the snow, halfway back to Ellie’s place, your back to him as you focused on Savvy. 

“Don’t let me get in the way of whatever dream life you’re tryin’ to have here,” her tone was sharp. “Didn’t let me hold you back before…” 

“That’s not what this is,” you said, calm and steady. But Joel could hear the pain on your voice.  “You’re the most important thing in the world to me and…” 

“You’ve got a funny way of showing that!” 

Savvy noticed him then, narrowing glaring at him for a moment. You looked back over your shoulder to him, your eyes large and round and watery. He came up behind you, a hand going to the small of your back as he pressed himself against your shoulder. 

“Baby girl,” Joel said gently. “I know this is something that’s big…” 

“No shit,” she snapped in a way that was so Ellie that Joel considered talking to the older girl about how she spoke around the younger one. 

“But,” he continued. “You and Ellie are our number one priority. Always have been…” 

She scoffed and rolled her eyes, looking into the distance instead of at either one of you. 

“Us getting married is just about me and Joel,” you said, pressing yourself back into him. “It doesn’t mean we’re choosing each other over you, it doesn’t mean we love you any less. It just means we wanted to make that commitment to each other, that’s all.” 

She sighed and closed her eyes for a moment before looking back at you. 

“So what does this mean, then?” She asked. “What’s going to change?” 

You looked up at Joel for a moment before looking back to her. 

“Not a lot, really,” you said. “We haven’t really talked about where we’re going to live but that’s not too different from how things have been the past few weeks. No one here uses my real name, anyway, and you have your father’s last name, not mine, so even if I did decide to take Joel’s name, it wouldn’t change anything for you.” 

She nodded slowly, considering. Joel marveled, for a moment, at how your daughter held her face just like you when she was thinking, the same purse to her lips, the same scrunch of her brow. You’d passed on so much to her even if you didn’t give her your blood. 

“Think you can be OK with this?” You asked gently after a moment. “I don’t want to hurt you, honey. I love you more than anything, I don’t want you to be unhappy, especially not because of me.” 

“I don’t want you to be unhappy, either,” Savvy said quietly. “I just… I still don’t really get this place. I’m making friends, I’m going to school but… it’s all so different. I still don’t know how I feel about any of it.” 

“I know,” you said quietly, reaching out and cupping your daughter’s cheek. Joel held his breath for half a moment, until he realized that she wasn’t going to pull away from your touch. “And I’m sorry I didn’t find you sooner or get you here when you were smaller and it would have been easier.” 

“I don’t want to be angry,” she said, her voice thick and wet. “I’m so tired, Mom.” 

“I know,” you said again, pulling her into you and holding her to your chest. She was stiff for a moment before relaxing into you, her arms going around your waist. “I know, baby.” 

It got easier after that. At least on the surface. Savvy was still distant but she didn’t seem to be as antagonistic as she had been before. You moved into Joel’s house - though you traded the sound system at your house for Joel’s - and you set up one of the bedrooms upstairs for Savvy, even though she was still living at Ellie’s. 

“At some point, Ellie is going to need her space,” you said, moving the twin sized bed for the fourth time, the wood groaning across the floor as you shoved it into a new place. “She’s a grown woman now…” 

“Rather not think about that,” Joel grumbled, even though he’d been trying to find a way to talk to Ellie about her friendship with Jesse in particular. They seemed… close. And who knew what  she’d been taught in that damn FEDRA school. 

“Think about it or not,” you said, standing back, hands on your hips as you looked at your handiwork. “It’s comin’ for you. She’s going to want to actually live an adult life and that means adult space. Would rather her not feel like she needs to move out of the backyard right away to have that. So… Savvy can just come here.” 

Joel thought it was a bit optimistic to think that Savvy would be willing to come here, but he couldn’t bring himself to say that. You were finally showing signs of hope about your relationship with your daughter. You’d been suffering with her so far away. You had done a good job of hiding it - he doubted anyone but him had noticed - but you couldn’t keep going like that, not forever. He didn’t want to ruin it, not now. 

Your hopeful nature around Savvy was just another way the world seemed to be changing. The patrols outside Jackson were reporting more and more signs of people and, with them would come more infected. Patrols were starting to pick up and Joel felt the push to make himself useful again with more urgency than ever. 

While Jackson was filled with incredibly skillful riders and hunters, Joel knew he was one of the best. Many of the folk here had lived a life that didn’t involve much struggle - at least, relatively speaking - after the outbreak. He’d survived with blood and he was more than willing to shed some more to protect his home and his family. Sitting on the sidelines, lame and useless, didn’t suit him. 

He’d learned to avoid the gates and the stables when patrols were coming and going, not wanting to look at the men and women who got to go out and actually make themselves useful with envy that was rooted in the self loathing that had started to bloom inside of him. 

He started going to talk to the doctors at least once a week, seeing if he’d made enough progress to start going outside the walls of the city again. It was slow going. Getting approved for sex and lighter work around town was one thing. Getting the OK to go outside and hunt down raiders was - apparently - another matter entirely. But, eventually, he got a hesitant OK from both doctors. 

Joel got them to put it in writing - feeling only a little bit like a school boy taking a report card home to his mother - and headed straight for the stable to show you. You were working with a horse, one that had been foaled in Jackson right around the time he’d first found you in the snow. It was old enough now that you could work with it, accustomed enough to people that you’d told him you thought you’d be able to get the horse to broke fast. He stood and watched you for a bit, you standing beside her and getting her used to someone putting pressure on her body to guide her, talking to her in that gentle voice you used when working with animals. 

“You gonna just stand there and watch, cowboy?” You asked after a few minutes, not looking over your shoulder to him but Joel knew you were smiling all the same. “Or is there something I can do for you?” 

“Man need a reason to come look at his wife?” He asked. You twisted look at him at that and he was right, you were smiling. “I don’t think he does. Not when she’s as pretty as you, anyway.” 

“Uh huh,” you looked back to the horse, giving her a treat of some kind. “Feel like you’re tryin’ to butter me up over there.” 

“Maybe,” he shrugged. “Or maybe I just needed to look at ya for a minute.” 

“Gimme five minutes,” you said, throwing a mischievous look over your shoulder. “Then maybe you can do more than look.”

Joel laughed a little and watched you finish up with the horse before you led her inside and put her in her stall, him trailing behind you. In all honesty, he was happy to watch you work. You were so good with them, you cared so deeply. It was enthralling in the best possible way, just the physical manifestation of one of the infinite reasons he loved you. 

You latched the stable door when you were done with the horse and stood close to Joel, taking his shirt by the fistful and pulling him against you so you could kiss him. He was happy to let you, one of his hands finding your face to hold you in just the right spot so he could dip his tongue into your mouth while you moaned against his lips. 

“Before this goes too far,” he said after pulling back from you. “Should talk about something…” 

“Should we?” You asked, tugging him against you for another kiss. 

“Mhmm,” he hummed against your mouth. You released him and stepped back a little, frowning. He smiled a little. “S’nothing bad, don’t gotta look so worried about it.” 

“Alright,” you said, a hint of challenge in your voice. “Then what is it?” 

“Well,” he said, holding your gaze and trying to shake the feeling that he’d done something he shouldn’t have. “Talked to the doctors…” 

Your eyes narrowed. 

“And they’ve OKed me to go out on patrol again…” 

“GodDAMMIT Joel!” You stomped away from him, back to him, arms crossed. He gave you a moment to seethe, his hands in his pockets, thumbs drumming a stuttering rhythm on the denim. After a few deathly quiet seconds, you turned back. “Really? You really want to go get yourself fuckin’ killed…” 

“Sweetheart…” 

“Are we just not enough for you?” You demanded, stalking up to him, arms still crossed tightly in front of you. “Me, Ellie, Savvy. Are we not enough? Do you need to go get some kind of goddamn adrenaline rush, is that it?” 

He resisted the urge to fight you on it. Your eyes were watery and wide and pleading. 

“You know that’s not what it is, baby,” he whispered. A single tear slipped down your cheek and he reached out to gently take your face in his hand, catching it on his thumb. “You’re more than enough, you’re more than I deserve. And you know I don’t want to hurt you…” 

“Don’t make this about me,” you snapped. He ignored that, too. 

“But we need people who can keep Jackson safe,” he said. “For you, for our girls. I can do that. You know I can…” 

“You can’t if you get yourself fuckin’ killed!” You took a deep breath and centered yourself for a moment. “You’re still limping…” 

“I know,” he nodded slowly. “But they think I’ll probably limp at least a little for the rest of my life. S’OK. I can ride just fine, won’t hurt me bein’ able to fight…” 

“Bullshit.” 

“It’ll be OK,” he said gently. “And I’m willin’ to go out with you or Tommy….” 

“And,” you cut him off. 

Joel frowned. 

“And?” 

“Me and Tommy,” you replied. “Deal’s changed. You’re limping, you can’t go out with just one of us, it has to be both.”

He sighed. 

“Bambi…” 

“You want me on board?” You asked. “That’s the deal.” 

He sighed again. 

“We can talk with Maria,” he said. “See if we have the space for it.” 

“Alright,” you said “Because I’m not going to just sit here and watch you get yourself hurt or killed. That’s not what I signed up for.” 

“Not what I’m asking you to do,” he said gently. “I don’t want to not come home to you, baby. But I need to make sure I’m doin’ my part to keep Jackson safe.” 

It had taken a few weeks for things to line up right with patrols and Joel could feel how tense you were leading up to the day the three of you were heading out. You’d clung to him especially hard the night before. Ellie and Savvy had joined the two of you for dinner and then to play cards and you’d held it together pretty well until they left. But the second they were gone it was like a switch flipped. You pressed yourself against his side, your arms wrapped around his bicep, your head tight against his shoulder. 

“You alright?” He frowned. 

“Fine,” you said, voice tight. 

When he took you to bed, you rode him aching and slow until you came and collapsed on top of him, Joel only lasting a few more deep thrusts into your tight heat before coming undone himself. He held you there, your head against his chest as his hand trailed a slow and easy path up and down your spine. He was still inside you when he felt your tears on his chest. 

“Baby,” he said softly. 

“Don’t make me come back alone,” you said, lifting your head from his chest enough to look at him, the rest of you still tight against his body. “Please, Joel. Don’t make me lose you, too.” 

“Not losing me,” he held your face in his hands. “Promise.” 

“You’ll always come back for me?” You whispered. 

“Always,” he said softly. “I promise. As long as you promise to always be there to come back to.” 

“Promise,” you said quietly. 

He’d been worried about how the patrol was going to go after that, but you, him and Tommy had fallen back into your usual patterns easily once you were outside Jackson and you let yourselves relax into them a bit. 

It had been an easy patrol until the three of you stopped to give the horses a chance to take a drink and saw the tracks across the river. And Joel couldn’t seem to shake the clutch of fear that gripped him at the thought of putting you in harm’s way by following the trail. 

“Tommy, I swear to God, you ever hold this against me…” you began, but he cut you off. 

“You’ll shoot me?” Tommy teased. 

“Trample you with a horse,” you replied. “But… yeah. You’re right. We should check that trail.” 

Joel gave you a look and you just looked back, your brows raised. He sighed. 

“Alright,” he said. “Tommy, you take the lead since this is your damn scheme.” 

“C’mon lovebirds,” he said, starting across the water. “Sooner we follow this path, sooner we can get back to town and the sooner you two can go back to leavin’ me out of whatever it is you two do.” 

Joel was about to give Tommy shit but you beat him to it, lobbing a snowball at him and hitting him straight in the face. Joel barked a laugh as you tried to stifle yours, your arms crossed demurely over your saddle horn. 

“Nice,” Tommy said as the snow slid off his face. “Real nice.” 

“Well, say stupid shit, win stupid prizes,” you shrugged, smirking a little. 

“Not cool, Bambi,” he said, wiping his face clean. “Not cool.” 

“You’re right,” you replied, smirk growing. “Think it’s technically cold…” 

Tommy leaned around you to look at Joel. 

“You’ve had too much influence on your wife,” he said. “I remember when she was a nice girl…” 

“Bullshit,” you said. 

“Wouldn’t even look at someone mean…” 

“Tommy, she’d have always kicked your ass whenever you did somethin’ dumb enough to ask for it,” Joel smiled, a little proud. “Now let’s move before you give ‘er another reason.” 

Tommy wiped the last of the snow from his skin with a good natured shake of his head and started off. You called Gatling back into her spot on your saddle as Joel nodded for you to be in between the two of them so he could bring up the rear. At least this way, Joel or Tommy would get hit before you would. 

The three of you followed the tracks for a few hours, until things shifted. You noticed it first, that the footprints in the snow looked more well traveled, like people were coming and going from this point in the forest more often than all the way to the water. 

“There,” you said quietly, nodding to the brush off the trail. Joel looked where you indicated, a baited trap primed and ready. 

“That ain’t been there long,” Tommy said. Joel came up alongside you, closer than he’d normally try to be when on horseback. But it kept the rising fear in him calmer, more contained. He looked around at the ground, the snow so worn down it was hard to have even a remote idea of how many people had been through here recently. Gatling gave a low, rumbling growl and you soothed her with a pet.

“We should go back,” Joel said. “Get backup…”

“That’d be wise.” 

Your gun was drawn before Joel or Tommy could reach theirs and you twisted in your saddle to  look behind you. Joel turned, too, his sidearm drawn, a group of six men on foot standing about 20 feet back. Their rifles were drawn, at least two of them trained on you. Joel’s jaw clenched. 

“Why don’t you folks get off those horses,” a man at the middle of the group said. “See what we can figure out.” 

You glanced toward Joel before you whistled Gatling down and started to dismount before he had a chance to argue. Joel did, too, arranging himself in front of you - Tommy at his side, shielding you, too - before stepping closer to the group. Joel slung his rifle forward on his arm but kept it tilted toward the man’s legs and not his head. The man who’d spoken smirked. 

“Haven’t seen you out this way before,” the man said. “Care to tell us where you’re from?” 

“Not really,” Tommy said as Joel looked the group over. They were all large and broad, young and cocky. Looked to be well fed. These weren’t travelers passing through, of that he was almost certain. “You can tell us, though, seein’ as you’re traipsin’ through our territory.” 

“Your territory?” The man raised his brows. “Seems like a bold claim for two men and their… pet to make.”

Tommy snapped his rifle up before Joel did.

“Say that shit about her again,” he snapped. “Fuckin’ dare you.” 

Your hand went in the middle of Joel’s back, right between his shoulder blades, a gentle and grounding force, before you appeared at his side, Gatling practically glued to your calve. 

“Bambi,” Joel growled, your hand trailing over his back before raising your rifle. 

The man looked at you, amused. 

“She’s come to play,” he smiled. “That’s good, I like ‘em with a little fight…” 

“Trust me when I tell you that I’m doing you a favor, giving you the chance to deal with me,” you said, sounding almost eerily calm. “Try me and they’ll kill you. Assuming I don’t kill you first.”

Gatling growled at your feet, crouched and ready to spring. 

“Now,” you said. “Where are you from.” 

The man looked at you for a moment, all but licking his lips, before turning back to Joel and Tommy. 

“You really let your little woman run the show?” He asked. “Can think of a lot better uses for her smart mouth…” 

Gatling snarled and flattened her ears against her head. Joel’s eyes narrowed, raising his gun so it was now aimed at the man’s chest, not his legs. 

“That’s my wife you’re talkin’ about,” he strained to keep his voice calm. “Now, you gonna tell us where you’re from or are you gonna make me gun you down?”  

“How about this,” the man said, still seeming over confident. “You tell us where you’re from, maybe let us have a little fun with your whore wife, you go on your merry way. Otherwise, we can just kill you.” 

Joel’s jaw clenched. Tommy adjusted his grip on his gun and Joel gave him a look before glancing over to you. 

“Any of them look familiar?” He asked, voice dangerous and low. 

“No,” you said. “Don’t know any of them.” 

Joel focused back on the men. 

“Good.” 

He reached out an arm and swept you behind him a half second before he started shooting, Tommy following suit almost immediately. The men shot back, a bullet glancing off Joel’s shoulder as they did. You, of course refused to stay where Joel had tucked you for long. You stepped alongside him, firing, too, as Joel tried not to be distracted by the terrifying possibility of you, bleeding on the ground. 

But the three of you were lucky. The men clearly hadn’t been doing this long. Joel wasn’t sure if they were just bad shots or if shooting and killing a person wasn’t something they were really comfortable with yet but either way, they’d dropped five of them, the sixth taking off, a bullet hole in his leg. 

You lowered your gun. 

“Gatling,” you panted before snapping and pointing toward the man. “Capture.” 

She shot off like a rocket, her ears pressed flat against her head. The man was no match for her speed and she launched herself at him, her jaws clamping around the man’s bicep as she wrenched his body to the ground. 

You took a deep breath and then looked to Joel’s arm, where there was now a hole in his jacket that the cold air bit through and a small spray of blood. 

“Why do you always find some way to get fuckin’ shot?” You asked, your thumbs gently tracing the outside edge of the small wound. 

“Just talented I suppose,” Joel smiled a little before looking over at Tommy. “You OK?” 

“Fine,” he slung his rifle over his shoulder. “Should question that fucker and get the hell out of here before worse shows up.” 

Joel led the way, drawing his knife. The three of you stood over the man, the same one who’d done all the talking before. He seemed much less cocky now, whimpering as Gatling growled around the meat of his arm. 

“Call off your fucking dog!” He sobbed. “Fuck, please! I’ll tell you whatever you want, please!” 

“Not one to give in to demands like that, but…” Joel looked at you. 

“Gatling,” you said. “Release.” 

The dog dropped the man’s arm and came to stand against your side, her ribs pressed to your leg. Joel caught the man’s shoulder with the toe of his boot and rolled him onto his back. He tried to sit up but Joel stopped him, pressing his foot into the wound from Gatling’s jaws on the man’s arm. He cried out as Joel forced him to the ground and Tommy kicked the man’s gun away. 

“Now,” Joel said, getting down low and putting a knee at the center of the man’s chest. “You’re gonna answer some questions for us.” 

***

Normally, watching Joel hurt someone would turn your stomach. It wasn’t a sight you enjoyed to begin with and you’d never seen him torture someone since you’d known how he learned how to. The fact that he had anything in common with the man bleeding on the ground made your stomach clench. 

But this was different. Savvy was back in Jackson now. There were a lot of lines you were more than willing to cross to keep men like this far, far away from her. Including this one. 

You rested your hand on Gatling’s head, the warmth of her fur comforting and familiar. 

“Look at her,” Joel said, taking the man’s chin in his hand and forcing him to face you before looking at you himself. “You sure you don’t know him? Want to make sure I make this worse if you do.” 

“I’m sure,” you said. It was oddly comforting, his threat. It was good to know that Joel was still Joel, even when doing stuff like this. 

He nodded once and looked back at the man. 

“Count yourself lucky,” he said. “She’s makin’ this easier for you. Now, where are you from.” 

“Territory north west of here,” he panted. “In Idaho.” 

“What brings you down this way?” Joel asked. 

The man was silent for a moment outside of his labored breaths, his eyes closed in a wince. Joel sighed, sounding exasperated before lifting his knife. 

“I’m gonna ask again,” Joel said. “Last time it’ll be nice. Why are you here.” 

“Why should I tell you, hm?” The man spat. “You’re just gonna hurt me, kill me anyway, what goddamn difference does it make?” 

“Now see, that’s just a bad attitude to have,” Tommy said, kneeling next to the man. He grabbed a fistful of his hair and forced his head to turn. “We can make this real hard or real easy. We got a lot of incentive to make this easy. We want to get back home to our families, don’t want to just be out here in the cold for hours on end because you’re being a goddamn dumbass. But, we have shit we need to protect. And if that means stayin’ out here while we take you apart piece by piece until you tell us what we want to know then, well, so be it.” 

“Give you just a second to think about what my brother told you,” Joel said, pressing the tip of the knife to the man’s shoulder but not pushing it in. “And then you can answer now or you can answer later. Why are you here.” 

The man closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep, shuddering breath before opening them again. 

“There are too many of us,” he said. “Too many groups, been fighting over space for the past few years. Decided to work together for a time, find new territory to expand into. Sent us out here to see what might get in the way. Been tracking the territory of a settlement about a day’s walk from here, trying to see where we can push in and what they’ve got to push back…” 

You stiffened, a chill running up your spine. Joel looked up to you, his eyes as concerned as you felt. He looked back at the man. 

“How’s that been workin’?” Joel asked. “How are you tracking it?” 

“We’ve been marking what we think the outside edges are,” he said. “We’ve been pushing in closer, last few months…” 

“Who’re you workin’ with?” Joel asked. 

“What?” The man asked, confused. 

Joel sighed before pressing the knife into the man’s shoulder and he screamed. 

“Don’t ask stupid questions,” Joel said. “The way you were talkin’ about my wife? I really wouldn’t mind taking my time and takin’ you apart. Who are you working with. Want names.” 

“I don’t know!” He sobbed. “Swear I don’t, we run with a guy called Smith, he’s joined up with a couple other guys with groups like his, I don’t know their names…” 

“Try and remember,” Joel growled, pressing the knife deeper. You winced and looked away, trying not think about Joel doing this before. Your stomach turned. “The name Mitchum ring a bell?” 

“No,” the man said quickly. “Please, no, I promise I don’t know the names! Just that there are three or four of ‘em, that’s all.” 

“How far out are the others you’re working with?” He asked. “They gonna be breathing down our necks any second?” 

“No,” he said. “No, they’re a few days walk at least…” 

Joel nodded before he reached out, brushing his fingers over the outside of your thigh, bringing your attention back to him. 

“Any other questions?” He asked you. “Other names?” 

“No,” you shook your head quickly. “Nothing else.” 

Joel nodded, turning back to the man. 

“Can’t let you live,” he said. “You’re a liability. You’re too hurt to get a message back to your people so there’s no point in risking it.” 

“Fuck you,” the man spat and Joel shrugged. 

“Shitty last words,” he said, pulling the knife from his shoulder before quickly slitting the man’s throat. He gasped and burbled on his own blood for a minute before he went still and quiet. Joel wiped his knife clean on the man’s shirt before sheathing it and getting to his feet. He looked to you then, his eyes wide and soft and deep. 

“You with me?” He asked gently. You nodded quickly. He reached out, slowly, to take your face in his hands. His thumbs traced your cheekbones and his eyes looked into yours. “You’re OK? Not…” 

“Yeah,” you said softly, cutting him off. “I’m OK.” 

You weren’t sure how true that was. He pulled you against him, pressing his lips to your forehead before cradling you against him and holding you for a moment. 

“Much as I’m happy you two have worked your shit out,” Tommy said. “We should get moving. Pretty sure he was tellin’ the truth but I don’t want to bet our lives on it.” 

The three of you mounted up again, Gatling settling into her space on the front of your saddle. 

“So,” Tommy said after you’d been riding for a bit. “Am I allowed to ask the obvious question?” 

“Tommy,” Joel said, a warning on his voice. 

“Look,” he replied. “Not tryin’ to hurt anyone or fuck up things between you two. But I’ve got a job to do when it comes to protecting my town and protecting my family and you two are a part of both of those things. Can’t defend from something I don’t know.” 

“You don’t need -” Joel began but you cut him off. 

“Mitchum was the man who held me captive for two years,” you said, staring straight ahead. Gatling gave a small whimper and you scratched her head. Tommy was quiet for what felt like a small eternity.

“He…” Tommy’s voice trailed off. “Two years?” You nodded, not able to look at him. “Two goddamn years?” 

Your jaw tightened and your stomach turned. 

“Two goddamn years and he ain’t dead yet?” Tommy asked, voice shifting to anger as he rounded on Joel. “The fuck have you been doing?” 

“You think he’d still be breathin’ if I knew where to find him?” Joel snapped. “Ain’t that easy.” 

“Should do to that fucker whatever he did to you,” Tommy said, ignoring Joel now. “Why haven’t you mentioned this before? We could’ve helped you, could’ve tried to track him down…” 

“She don’t want to talk about it, Tommy,” Joel hissed. “Leave it.” 

Gatling stretched up to give you a small lick on the chin. 

“Joel’s right,” you said, finally making yourself look at the man who had become as much of a brother to you as the boys you’d grown up with had been. The pity in his eyes almost made you turn away. “I don’t want to talk about it. But you should know that he’s still after me. Joel and I ran into trouble on patrol before. One of the men then was one that… I knew him, from before. He said Mitchum is looking for me. He’s got a crew, at least 50 guys when I got out, and he’s looking for me.” 

“Jesus,” Tommy shook his head for a moment before steeling himself. “He’s not gettin’ his hands on you. We’ll protect you, not going to let him hurt you, you understand me?” 

“I know,” you said, looking straight ahead again. You tried not to think about what the man had just said. That there were groups of men like Mitchum, all bearing down on Jackson. 

“Who all knows?” Tommy asked, calmer now. “About… what happened.” 

“Joel,” you said, though that should have been obvious. “Ellie knows the broad strokes of it. Now you.” 

“Not Savvy?” He asked, frown so evident in his voice that you looked over at him again. He looked sad and you tried not to resent him for it. 

“Don’t need her having that shit in her head,” you said, looking forward again. 

Tommy was silent for a few minutes. 

“I’m really sorry, Bambi,” he said eventually. “You shouldn’t…” 

“I don’t want your pity,” you said, harsher than you’d really meant to. “Just… forget I said anything.” 

“But…” 

“I said fucking forget it, Tommy.” 

The rest of the ride back was quiet and you wanted to fix it. But, more than that, you wanted things to go back to how they’d been before. Where Tommy would give you shit and you’d give him shit back, not where he was going to pity you and handle you with kid gloves. You wanted him to keep being your brother, not someone who kept you at arm’s length because they kept picturing the shit that had happened to you. 

Olivia was at the stable when the three of you made it back and you were almost disappointed that you wouldn’t be able to get lost in handling the horses on your own for a while. When she stepped to the side for a moment, you took a deep breath and turned to Tommy. 

“I’m sorry I snapped at you,” you said, hoping that this would at least start to fix things. “I get that you need certain… information. I just don’t want you seeing me any different.” 

“I don’t,” he gave you a sad half smile. “Just think you’re more badass now, that’s all.” 

You scoffed but he waved you off. 

“I mean it,” he said. “I do. And I’ll keep it to myself, alright?” 

“Thank you,” you said and he pulled you in for a small hug. 

“You might be Joel’s girl,” he said. “But you’re my sister. I’m gonna look out for you. No one’s allowed to fuck with you except me.” 

You laughed a little at that, Tommy reminding you so much of Richie for a moment. 

“I’ll go report out on this patrol,” he said, stepping back from you and looking to Joel. “We got some good information, it’ll help us be ready for whatever’s comin’ our way.” 

Joel nodded, a concerned look on his face. 

“We’ve weathered hard shit before,” Tommy said. “We can handle whatever these assholes have to throw at us. Took a lot to establish our territory here and I’m not afraid to shed a little blood to protect it.” 

He set off and you, Joel and Olivia took care of everything else in near silence, Olivia just filling you in on the goings on while you were gone, seemingly unaware of any tension on the air. 

“Should we go by the doctor?��� You asked as you and Joel went to leave, your arms tight across your chest. “See if you need stitches or anything?” 

“No,” he replied, draping an arm over your shoulders and tugging you closer to press a kiss to your temple. “It’s nothing too bad. Just want to get home.” 

You just nodded and let him guide you home, walking in silence, the looming threat from the man Joel had questioned keeping your mind far away. 

But when Joel opened the front door, you weren’t met with a quiet living room. Instead, Ellie and Savvy were sitting on the floor around the coffee table, Uno cards fanned out in their hands. 

“Should never have told you how the draw cards work,” Ellie was muttering, her back to you and her already sizable hand growing as she drew from the deck in the middle of the table. 

Savvy looked up as the door knob thudded into the wall, her eyes finding yours. Her face lit up like she was happy to see you - actually happy to see you. 

“Mom!” She dropped her cards and jumped up. “You’re back!” 

She ran over to you but stopped short of hugging you, looking you up and down before looking at Joel, too. 

“Are you guys OK?” She asked, a little more reserved now, more how you were used to seeing her over the past few months. “Everyone made it through and stuff?” 

“We’re fine,” you smiled, trying to actually be in the room with her instead of worrying about the threat of raiders on the horizon. It was easier, knowing that she actually wanted you there. “Is everything OK? What are you two doing here?” 

“You were gone a little long,” she bit her lip and shoved her hands in her back pockets. “We just… we wanted to make sure you got home.” 

You smiled, reaching out to tuck the stray curl that always popped out from her braids behind her ear. It was an automatic thing, a gesture you’d done countless times since she was a toddler. It didn’t occur to you until your fingers were almost brushing her skin that she might pull back from you now. But she didn’t. She let you touch her, adjusting her hair and cupping her cheek. 

“Missed you,” you said quietly. 

She smiled. It was tight, a little hesitant, but it was a smile.

“I missed you, too.” 

Ellie had gone to the mess hall and brought back dinner for you and Joel and the two of you ate as Ellie and Savvy got Monopoly set up at the kitchen table. The four of you played a game, you paying more attention to explaining things like rents and mortgages and how they’d worked in the real world to Savvy. She crinkled her nose, the concept of money and paying to live inherently foreign to her. Joel kept a hand on your knee for most of it, his thumb tracing a gentle pattern there as you let Savvy clean you out, a small smile on your face every time you had to pay her. 

“Well, some of us have to be up early tomorrow,” Ellie said, stretching, back arched like a cat after she won the game. “C’mon Savvy.” 

“Yeah, alright,” Savvy yawned and tried to stifle it before getting to her feet. 

“It was good to see you,” you said, crossing your arms to keep from reaching for her. “Thank you for staying a while.” 

“Yeah,” she smiled, small but not as tight as it had been lately. “It was good to see you, too.” 

She looked at you for a moment before hesitantly stepping closer. You lowered your arms and forced yourself to keep them at your sides until she reached for you, hugging you. You slowly, cautiously, hugged her back, tears pricking at the corners of your eyes as you held her close. She felt so foreign but so familiar all at once. You’d never had a chance to truly get used to holding her in the body she’d grown into in the years you were apart but she was still so her, smelling and moving the same as she always had.

You held onto her until she pulled away, her awkwardly staring down at your shoes before clearing her throat. 

“Well…” she said. “Goodnight Mom. Joel.” 

“Night,” Joel said, coming up alongside you, one of his large hands splaying wide over the small of your back. 

“Goodnight,” you smiled a little, your voice wet. 

Ellie gave you an encouraging look and followed Savvy out the back door and into the yard. You just stood there, watching them go, until they were inside the shed and the light turned on there. 

“Hey,” Joel said quietly from beside you. You turned enough to look at him. He was watching you closely, frowning slightly. “How we doin’?” 

You frowned. 

“I’m fine,” you said. “Not really sure what you’re asking…” 

“Well,” he looked off to the side for a moment before steeling himself and looking back to you with a heavy sigh. “Back when you first came back to me… You said you might need space sometimes. Today… There was a lot that happened, I had to do some shit that I’m sure ain’t easy to watch and… baby, if you need some distance from me…” 

“Joel,” you said softly, twisting in his gentle hold so your front was pressed against his. You reached up and trailed your fingers through his curls. 

“Want to give you whatever it is you need,” he said as your hands came to rest on his broad chest. He took your wrist gently in his palm and brought it to his lips pressing a kiss into your pulse point. “Even if that’s time away from me.” 

“I don’t want that,” you said. “I just want to know you’re here.” 

He pulled you a little closer, the hand that was on your wrist trailing down your arm before curling around your back. 

“Why don’t we go get cleaned up,” he said, voice low, before leading you upstairs. 

You undressed each other while the shower warmed up. You unbuttoned his shirt slowly, methodically, running your fingers over his bared chest before pressing your lips into him there. You examined the place on his arm where the bullet had grazed him, the cut already scabbing over. 

“You got lucky,” you said, your fingers tracing over the older scars on his body before you kissed just below the new one. 

“Been a lot luckier than I deserve for a while now,” he said quietly. 

Once Joel undressed you, you took his hand and led him into the water. You cleaned him gently, lathering the soap in your hands before running them over his skin, cleaning the blood and dirt from his body and finding every mark on him that you’d gotten to know so well. He washed you in return, his large hands cupping your breasts, trailing over your stomach, your arms, cupping you between your legs with tender care. When you were both clean, you wrapped your arms around his neck and pressed your slick, wet body against his own. His cock - half hard and thick - nestled against your stomach. 

“C’mon baby,” he said, tilting your head so he could look in your eyes while his nose brushed your own. “Let me take you to bed. Don’t want to rush this with you and don’t trust my bum leg to let me take my time in here.” 

You smiled a little and kissed him. 

“Promise you’ll take me to a lake this summer?” You asked. “Because I really want to fuck you in the water.” 

He closed his eyes and laughed, low and needy. 

“Promise, baby.” 

You kissed him again. 

“Then take me to bed.” 

Joel reached behind you to turn off the water and wrapped you securely in a towel before running one quickly through his curls and over his own slick body. You enjoyed the view for a moment - the muscle of his arms and chest, the soft and welcoming swell of his stomach - before starting off toward the bedroom, dropping your towel halfway down the hall and looking back over your shoulder to catch your husband staring at you as you did. 

It didn’t take him long to join you, his hands on your waist soon after you were in your bedroom, turning you to face him. His cock was fully hard as he kissed you, his lips hot and needy against you. You arched into his touch, the feeling of him against you, the taste of him on your tongue. 

He pulled back from you just enough that you could look into his eyes, all molten hot and soft and open, his nose brushing yours, still breathing the same air. 

“Tell me how to take care of you,” he said softly. “Tell me what you need.” 

“Just you,” you said, voice breathy and trembling. “I need to feel you, I need you close.” 

His mouth swallowed your words as he nudged you back down onto the bed. He arranged you in the middle of it, his skin never far from yours, before he settled in the cradle of your hips. His thick length pressed against your slit, making you moan as he kissed down your shoulder to your breast, taking the firm, pebbled part of you into his mouth and sucking you gently. You whimpered, grinding your hips against him. He kissed over your swell of flesh to your breast bone before looking up at you there, his gaze hot and desperate. 

“Needy, are you?” He all but growled before pressing another kiss to your chest. “Don’t worry baby, I’ll take real good care of you. Just let me enjoy you first.” 

He worked his way to your other breast, sucking you there while he cupped and gently toyed with the other one, his cock rocking against your core the whole time. You could feel your pussy starting to drip for him, your grasping entrance desperate for something to hold. 

“Please Joel,” you panted, working your hips up against him as best you could with the weight of him holding you still. “I need you, please, please…” 

He pulled his mouth from your nipple with a reluctant groan before adjusting his hips, your clit throbbing in protest of the loss of contact for a moment before you felt his head notch against your entrance. Joel hovered over you, the soft skin of his chest and stomach ghosting over yours, one of his hands coming to cradle the crown of your head, his thumb tracing tenderly along the peak of your hairline. 

“What do you need?” He asked, sounding nearly breathless himself. “What’s my pretty, perfect wife need, hm?” 

“You,” you whimpered. You didn’t really care if you sounded pathetic, you needed Joel too much. “Inside me, please, please…” 

“Don’t worry baby,” he said. “Give you exactly what you need, always gonna take care of you.” 

You felt him press into you then, his cock opening your tight channel as he sank into you. You closed your eyes and arched into the familiar, pleasant burn of the stretch of him followed by the almost shocking fullness when he was fully sheathed within you. He stilled there for a moment, your body adjusting to his size, and you could feel all of him. He was so close like this, closer than anyone else had ever been. Your body held onto his, your thighs around his hips, hands over his chest, pussy stretched taut over his cock. You could feel every breath he took, every throb of his cock within you. He was yours like this, yours and yours alone. 

“This what you needed?” His voice trembled. You could only nod. He pulled back from you and you whimpered before he thrust back in with a grunt. “Good. Always give you what you need, baby, always.” 

He fucked you hard and slow, his thrusts almost bruising in their force and making your hands leave his chest to twist and tangle in the blankets as your orgasm built. He set his aching rhythm, his tongue sweeping into your mouth and devouring all your needy, fucked out sounds.

Your whole being was drawn in tight and hot when he laced his fingers with yours, pinning your hand to the bed. 

“C’mon baby,” Joel panted as he thrust into you deep and hard. “Let me feel you, just let go for me. You’re OK, you’re here with me, just give in. I’ve got you, baby. Take care of you, just give in, just come for me. Just come.” 

You pressed your hips up against him and came, your fingers tightening around his as your pussy pulsed and throbbed and he fucked you through it. 

Joel didn’t last long, though. Your climax had barely begun to ease when he pressed himself deep and came with a strangled cry. He kissed you as he finished before collapsing onto you for a moment, the heavy weight of him soothing and centering as you came back down to Earth. 

After a minute, he pulled himself gently from your fucked out body and lay beside you, still panting for breath as he watched you next to him. You rolled to face him and pressed yourself close, burying your face in his chest that smelled like soap from the shower with a hint of sweat from what happened after. His hand brushed over your hair and down your back in a gentle, easy cadence. He pressed a kiss into the crown of your head and you felt him take a deep breath, his nose nuzzled into your hair. 

“You with me?” He asked softly. You nodded into his chest. “How’re you feelin’?” 

“After that?” You teased lightly. “I’m great.” 

He chuckled. 

“Not what I meant, love.” 

You took a deep breath, taking the centering scent of Joel into yourself. 

“I don’t know,” you said quietly. “I guess I just… I kept thinking raiders were far away from here. Sure, they were out there, we ran into them sometimes, but they weren’t a problem. Not really. But they’re not, they’re right there and I…” your voice cracked and he pulled you tighter. 

“I know, sweetheart,” he whispered. “M’sorry.” 

“Savvy’s here now,” you said, trying to keep yourself from crying. “Ellie… she goes out there. And now you do, too, and… I know I sound like a goddamn broken record but I cannot survive losing any of you. I can’t. And they just take, they take and take and they won’t stop until there’s nothing left and…” 

You buried your face in his chest, not able to keep going. 

“It won’t be like that this time,” he whispered. “You’re not doing this alone. I’ve got you and anyone who wants to even glance at you or our girls will have to go through me. And good luck keepin’ me from coming home to you.” 

You laughed once at that, the sound thick and wet. 

“I’m going to protect you, Bambi,” he said, his tone serious now. “I promise you. I’ll keep you safe. I’ll keep us all safe.” 

Next Chapter

A/N: I dunno guys, I feel like something might be about to happen.

Could just be me, though.

👀👀👀👀

Thank you, as always, for reading. I really can't say how much it means to me that you're here, that you're so kind and supportive, that you choose to spend your time with this story. I appreciate it so much.

Love you!

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[al1fers-haven]

Platonic hazbin hotel cast and gn!teen!reader with the personality of loona from helluva boss 👀

It could be a list of hcs or a oneshot. Either way is fine ^^

Hazbin Hotel x GenZ!Reader Headcannons

Imma do this as headcannons because...I can't really find any storyline for this lol CHARLIE

one of the things that Charlie seemed to actually figure out the most was why you were so moody lol, she went through that emo phase too but...yours was sticking a bit too long to be a phase.

She had mentioned a couple times that they were going to focus on your issues separately to keep you from feeling bad, but she never actually went for it. Scared it would set you off a bit.

outside of that, she thought you were adorable, treating you more like a younger sister than a normal hotel attendee.

Sees more of herself in you than she would like to admit, and doesn't truly understand why you are in hell but...she doesn't push.

VAGGIE

Oh god, you and vaggie DO NOT MIX. It's one thing to put two demons together, but Vaggie already acts like a depressed teen at times.

She doesn't really...demand respect but she tries to act motherly towards you and just fails miserably.

You think she is trying to be controlling because you are younger and don't know as much.

Genuinely thinks you can be redeemed, and that if anyone has shot at it, it would be you.

Despite the fact you two don't get along, you come to her for some issues that you know she would be good with, like trying to get better and maintain friendships. that doesn't happen often tho.

You and her mixed is awful for boardgames too, talk about competitive.

You and her definitely got a lot of bad blood on, especially if you get all mean with charlie and yell.

ANGEL DUST

Oh god, it's a beautiful friendship.

You and angeldust get along more than needed, despite both being assholes at times, you both love each other and think a lot of one another.

You are usually the one taking care of him (along with Husk) Whenever he gets too rowdy at clybs, not only that but he takes care of you when you are unstable as well.

You don't do well with men, or any sort of family figure that is a man so as much as you try you always blow up.

You deeply care for the spider porn star but sometimes your personality makes it harder than you'd like. And he is one of the people inside the hotel that understands this the most, it's what you guys bonded over.

LOVES YOUR ATTITUDE.

He thinks your absolutely hilarious and wishes that when he was your age he had half the courage to say the shit you say. Watching you tell Alastor he was a braindead prick? Oh it made his day.

But that worried him a little bit, while he was happy you hadn't been roped into any sort of deal or contract, he was worried you'd say something to the wrong person. And if you ever did he would be there in a heartbeat

you two usually get drunk together since he doesn't want you going to any bars alone (Which you hate, but understand) So he won't help you with the hangover, but he will be right next to you throwing up in the sink as you throw up in the toilet :) HUSK

If you had to have a father bond with anyone? It would be Husk. He refuses to give you drinks for no reason and even has late-night talks with you.

scolds you for not being careful and respecting yourself, and usually just sits there as you yell at him till you say something truly horrible to him.

(Which isn't a lot, this guy can take more than he admits.)

But at the end of the day, he's there to give you advice and let you ramble on about the shitty stuff going on in your life,

hell he even lets you drink if it's truly bad

he's more scared of you ending up like him than you getting drunk young, you are in hell.

definitely helps you to bed and takes care of you when you are drunk or after you are drunk. Seems like the type to have a soft spot for emotionally troubled drunk teens. ALASTOR

Oh god, he hates you.

if it wasn't for the fact you were a part of the hotel or one of Charlie's favorites. He would have killed you by now due to the comments you threw at him.

He couldn't tell who he would rather be in a room with, velvette? Or you.

Despite all of that he had an open mind to your behavior, understanding you were an emotional teen.

but that did NOT make the whole 'fossil' joke suddenly funny to him.

You two have bonded over a couple things, suits, food, and your insomnia. At the end of the day you still hated each other.

But he would totally cover you up if you fell asleep on the couch or something like that.

If you listen to his radio show he actually might start being nice to you, he's a sucker for teens as well. Especially if you are a girl.

DEFINITELY IMAGINE DEADPOOL AND THE SUPERSONIC GIRL FROM THE FIRST MOVIE.

"So what's it going to be? Mean comment? Or long sullen silence." "....you got me in a corner here." NIFTY

you two were an odd duo, usually, you sat through her horrible roach puppet shows and tried to hype her up, but in the end, you just couldn't.

she still appreciated you watching them and not booing.

Definitely tries not to get on your bad side, but ends up being annoying on accident,

you can't be mad at her though... SIR PENTIOUS (or however you spell it.)

This man obviously had cried multiple times because of your attitude and yelling.

He is a softy at heart, and you try to feel bad but he just makes it so easy.

the snake jokes are never-ending, especially if you two decide to form a bond? but I doubt that would ever happen...man is sensitive.

Didn't catch him during the trust fall, instead gagged about how slimy he was and called him a rude name.

Might make a part 2 to this, it's adorable

[fbfh]

Hey! Then in hoo it is mentioned that Leo has dealt with a lot of bullies and horrible people since Esperanza died, I could ask for something like him and his s/o going to do something normal like shopping and end up running into one of these people And they keep making fun of Leo so his s/o defends him and comforts him or something like that(sorry if it seems confusing, English is not my first language haha)

first of all your english is great babes!! not confusing at all <33

ah yes. the bitchy girls. the asshole mean girls who have a fucking superpower for sniffing out adhd and autism and other neurodivergent traits like fucking blood hounds. the devils in lululemon leggings and nike sneakers who worship the ground hailey bieber walks on and keep their marc jacobs tote bags full of knives to stab anyone and everyone in the back with the moment the see an opportunity to.

those girls.

Leo's been able to avoid them for a while. Drew was the worst at camp, but she was a watered down version of them - Leo realized at some point that Drew adopting those traits was her own way of dealing with shit, and the more time she spent at camp since Piper became head of cabin, the more chilled out she's gotten.

There were barely any mean girls at MIT, none he had trouble avoiding at least. But now he's here, back in the real world, shopping for groceries for your little apartment you have together. And in the real world, fresh out of nursing school, is Emily. The exact same Emily from the school he went to before camp half blood. At 15, Leo went through a lot of shit. School was hell, his foster family was so bad he ran away enough to be sent to the wilderness school, and he was at one of the lowest points of his entire life.

You don't know who she is, but from the look on Leo's face, the sudden, sharp drop in his energy, the way he starts picking at his hands and gets all jittery. He hopes he can get away with it, hopes she won't even recognize him.

"Oh my god... Leo Valdez?"

you grimace at her voice, the way she mispronounces his last name, and your hackles rise. She looks at you in shock, seeming to hold back a laugh.

"Wait, is he your boyfriend?"

She says it like it's some joke, like this whole thing is hilarious.

"He used to be so awkward!" she giggles, "Wow, you look exactly the same."

Leo can read you like a book, and he knows you are SO pissed off for him.

"Yeah," You say with an equally sarcastic smile, "I had no idea you guys were the same age, you look so much older. I never would have known you guys were in the same class."

She blanches a little, and you double down.

"Leo actually just graduated top of his class at MIT. He has, like, a dozen job offers already." You smile at him proudly. "So how about you, are you... doing anything?"

"Mhm." She nods, the humor suddenly gone. "Nursing school. I just started."

"Oh," you nod, glancing over at Leo and sharing a subtle look with him, "well, we better get going, we have some open houses to get to."

As you walk away, still close enough for her to hear, you mutter to Leo, stifling a smile.

"Wow. The mean girl to nursing school pipeline is real." You chuckle, "And like, she does know it's not 2016 anymore, right? Cause her eyebrows don't seem to..."

He's so surprised that after an interaction with her, after all these years, he actually feels... okay. Outside the shithole of high school, with you by his side, she doesn't seem nearly as intimidating as she had. He's not sure how you got him to realize that so quickly, but he realizes that there's nothing that feels that intimidating when you're by his side. And you're right, her eyebrows are just as awful as her personality.

[gummydummy19]

Hi Gummy!<3

You shared that awful experience and I imagine...

Captain Sy and his insubordinate younger brother. His brother (let's say, Jim?) flirted with you in a pub. You don't really spark and he seemed a bit too slick for your liking, but Jim is persistent and (gradually annoying). It was not long before Captain Sy came barging in and took his younger brother home (and surprise surprise, Jim isn't reaching his drinking age yet XD), which is how you met. Maybe you met him again a few days later in the same pub, maybe you worked on a project that involves the military (hence Sy)

And somehow one of the worst encounters you have had in your life turns out to be the one in which you met the love of your life :3

Just a lil thot :3

JDHDKHCB JAM WHY DO YOU ALWAYS HAVE THE BEST IDEAS I absolutely freaking love this oml

How I met your mother

Content Warnings: fluff, swearing, unwanted flirting (from Sy's brother)

Word Count: 1.9k+

A/N: Since we're in the middle of the holidays, I decided to give this a little holiday twist :)) Imagine this as a throwback to how you met your hunky husband Sy... In the throwback Jim is 19, Sy is 27, and the reader is 23. In the present Sy is 42, reader is 38, Jim is 34.

Alright? All clear? Everyone good? Let's get this party started then

The entire family was gathered around your beautifully decorated dining table. It was well past midnight, and everyone was stuffed full of delicious food and the expensive wine you saved for special occasions. Sy had his hand resting on your thigh as you both listened to his dad share stories of when he was in the Navy.

"Fuck!" you heard your 13-year-old son yell from the couch behind you, waking up your 9-year-old daughter who was dozing off on her dad's lap.

"Jacob!" you snapped your head back at him, but the boy just rolled his eyes at you.

He was playing some new zombie-murder-call thievery videogame he had gotten for Christmas, courtesy of his uncle Jim.

"Don't you roll your eyes at your mother", Sy stepped in, "and watch your mouth, or that game is going on the shelf till summer."

"But dad!" he whined

"No buts!"

Now it was your turn to put your hand on your husband's thigh, giving him a sweet look to let him know you'd handle it.

"Jake, why don't you come sit with us for a little bit, hmm? Haven't you played long enough?"

"Oh come on, let the kid have some fun", Jim chimed in, earning an angry glare from his brother Sy.

"Yeah and who better to teach him that than his uncle Jim, right?" Sy spat.

"What's that supposed to mean?", Jim shot back.

"You know damn well what that means."

"Dad?" your little girl tugged on Sy's shirt.

"Yes, princess?"

"Don't you think Uncle Jim is fun?"

"Of course I do, Maya, it's just that Uncle Jim used to give us a whole lot of trouble, just like your brother gives us right now."

"Hey!" Jim and Jacob groan simultaneously.

"Oh, I think Jim caused quite some more trouble than our Jakey", you defended your son, who had finally sat down next to you at the table. You gave him a loving ruffle through his brown curls, remembering what Sy's hair used to look like before he started buzzing it off.

"Yeah well, give him a couple years", Jim joked.

"What kinda trouble did Uncle Jim get into?", your little girl chimed in again.

The three of you exchanged some looks before you finally spoke up. "Oh, I can think of a few things, but my favorite one is the story of how your father and I met", you smiled.

"Oh god", Jim groaned, "Can't you just tell them about the pranks I pulled in college or something?"

"No no", Sy chuckled, "I quite like this particular story".

"I love storytime!" your daughter yelled out excitedly.

"I'm kinda intrigued now too," Jake agreed, grinning at his uncle.

Sy's mother gave her husband a look as she sipped from her herb tea and you knew she loved this story too.

"It was 15 years ago", you started, "Me and my friends had just graduated college that summer. By wintertime, a couple of us had started working, or even gotten married, so we decided to catch up right before the holidays"

Flashback

"I can't believe it's almost been six whole months since we've all gotten together" your friend Sarah chided before taking a sip of her cosmo. “I know, I’ve missed you guys like crazy!” You said honestly. The five of you sat there and talked for what felt like hours, sipping on cosmo’s and sharing the juiciest stories from work or dating drama. It was like no time had passed at all.

“Alright girls, I’m gonna go get another refill anyone else need anything?”, you asked as you got up to walk towards the bar. The drinks were definitely starting to get to your head, but you didn’t care in the slightest. This was the most fun you’d had in weeks.

With a fuzzy head, you made your way over to the bar, still giggling at a joke your friend made 10 minutes ago. Leaning against the polished wood, you managed to catch the bartender's attention. "Um, two... wait, no, three more of these," you mumbled in your slightly tipsy state as you shoved your empty glass toward him.

You were patiently waiting for your drinks when a young, arrogant-looking guy slid up next to you, "Hey there! What are we drinking tonight?" he asked and you rolled your eyes.

"Just a couple drinks with my friends" you replied curtly, avoiding eye contact with him.

"Just you and your girls, huh? No boyfriend?"

"Nope."

"Are you looking for one?"

"Nope."

"Hmm I see, more a hit and run kinda gal, huh?" he smirked.

Damn, this guy was annoying.

"Look pal, I'm trying to have a good time with my girls, alright?" You finally turned to look at him. He sure wasn't ugly, but not your type. Besides, he looked a little on the young side you thought and you started to wonder if he should even be in here.

"That's alright baby, I'm all for good times", he stated with a proud grin, making you roll your eyes again.

The bartender slid over your drinks and grabbed them quickly "I'm not your 'baby', now if you will excuse me", you pushed passed him but his hand gently grabbed onto your waist.

"Oh come on, don't be like that...", if your hands hadn't been full you would have smacked him in the face for sure. You looked down at his hands on you and then straight into his eyes.

"You have about two seconds to get your hands off me before you get covered in Cosmo's and my knee introduces itself to your crotch."

"I just-" he started and you got ready to throw your 30 dollars worth of cocktails in his face.

"JIM!", a loud roar sounded through the bar, grabbing everyone's attention, including yours and the guy holding onto you.

He quickly dropped his hands and took a step back from you as the man who just entered stalked towards him. The entire movement made you drop your drinks, but you were too startled to care.

"L-logan....the hell are you doing here, man?", the boy stuttered and his whole demeanor changed in a split second.

"Me? What the fuck do you think you're doing here?!", you let your eyes roam over his body as he yelled out. He was clearly older than you. And definitely older than the arrogant guy. It was obvious that they knew each other. You wondered how. They seemed like two very different guys. The older one had a casual confidence whereas the younger one had made up arrogance.

You stayed frozen in place as you watched them yell at each other. The more you looked at their faces the more you started to notice similarities. The older one was bigger, with quite a bit more muscle to him, but they had the same strong jaw and nose, and their eyes were the same gorgeous shade of blue. Could they be...

"Miss, I'm really sorry for my brother."

"I uhm,...okay, that's okay", you mumbled.

The man gave you a friendly look before sticking his hand out.

"I'm Logan Syverson, but everyone calls me Sy. And that's my little brother Jimmy. I'm really sorry if he gave you any trouble, he's been acting out a bit lately."

You shook his hand without breaking eye contact. The second your skin made contact with his you felt your stomach drop...weird.

"Hey, I'm not a fucking kid!" Jim yelled out, earning an angry glare from Sy.

"Then maybe you should stop acting like one, Jimmy. You really think I wouldn't notice you taking my fucking bike? Huh?", Sy yelled, "You're taking the truck back home. Gimme my fucking keys back."

Reluctantly, Jim gave Sy the keys to his bike and Sy gave him the car keys in return.

"You didn't drink, did you?" Sy asked with a raised brow.

"No, Logan, I fucking didn't. Okay?!" he snapped before turning around and storming out. While you heard the car door slamming closed and the engine starting outside, Sy turned back to you.

"I'm really sorry about all that..." he scratched through his brown curls before his eye fell on the puddle of Cosmo's on the floor, "Oh christ, uh, here, please let me buy you a new round," he said, already pulling out his wallet.

"Oh no, no it's okay really, you don't have to", you assured him.

"No, I insist. I promise I won't stick around to bother you or anything, but just let me pay for them, please?"

Now how could you say no to that?

"Alright then, if you insist", you gave him a sweet smile.

The two of you walked to the bar and as you waited for your order, you couldn't help but give him a once-over. He was wearing a dark pair of jeans and a black shirt with some old writing on it. He was much taller than you, and big...very big. With a mind that was still half tipsy, you couldn't help the words that left your mouth next.

"You know...", you started, getting his attention, "I wouldn't mind if you did stick around for a bit...to bother me."

You swore Sy's eyes twinkled for a second as you looked up at him. Of course, he found you attractive. You were probably the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on. Scratch that. Not probably, definitely.

But still, the gentleman in him wanted to politely refuse, given your clouded state and what his brother made you endure already, but then your hand touched his arm and your eyes found his. "Please? I insist", you pleaded, and Sy caved. "Alright then, if you insist...", he was only a man after all, and he could only take so much.

Meanwhile, at the girl's table, everyone was far too drunk and caught up in whatever story they were telling to have noticed what just went down. But all the giggling came to a quick stop when a tall handsome man towered over them with four cosmopolitans in his hand.

"Ladies, this is Sy", you introduced him, holding three more drinks, "My savior of the night, and the buyer of our next round."

End flashback

"Aww, dad was her hero!", Maya yelled out.

"He still is", you smiled, leaning into Sy and pressing a kiss on his shoulder.

"Hold on. So, you tried to hit on mom?", Jake turned to his uncle, "That's gross, dude."

"Alright, okay, I remember that story a little differently", Jim spoke up, looking even grumpier than before.

"He was just a teenager", you defended your brother-in-law.

"I was almost twenty", Jim stated.

"Yeah, that doesn't exactly help your case, bud", Sy spoke up, wrapping his arm around you as you tried to stifle a giggle.

"So what happened after that?", Maya asked curiously.

"Well, your dad was too nervous to ask for my number, so I asked for his."

"Hey! I was just trying to be a gentleman", Sy defended argued, giving your shoulder a squeeze.

"Sure thing, hun", you grinned, "The week after we met up again in that same bar, and the rest is history."

"Is that bar still there?", Jacob asked.

"Actually, they turned it into a restaurant, but it's still called Mickey's."

"Hey, isn't that where...", your son started

"Where your dad proposed to me, yeah." you smiled fondly. "and we still go there every year on our anniversary..."

The end

Taglist;

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[coffeefiction]

Love Binds (Wally Darling x Reader) Pt 2

Lots of people have been asking for a part two so here's part two! Honestly, I did not think that people were going to enjoy the last part but then I saw people asking for part two and I was so happy that you guys were enjoying the story.

Thank you to everyone who had loved the last chapter! I truly appreciate it!

TW: Angst, Being replaced, Implications of vomiting, self-comparison ( in a sense) Overall, a huge angsty chapter. (If I'm missing something, please do tell me)

I hope you all enjoy part 2, thank you to these people:

@tiredly101 @thelivingdiary

They gave me ideas for part two!

Tagging: @capricorn-anon

I hope you all enjoy it!

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3

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You stare at the mirror, hair a mess with a tired look. Months into this sufferable misery finally caught up with you, sleepless nights and late-night walks have become a remedy for a while but now, you simply wanna black out and sleep. The maybes had run around your head like a child high on sugar, which was strange since you never experience what's it like to be in a sugar rush. 

Every time you walk down the street and see Wally and Veronica hand and hand together, you can't help but feel this awful feeling in your gut, the sudden feeling of sadness with the feeling of wanting to throw up the food you just ate. It was difficult that sometimes, you wish that you were as lucky as Veronica.

Lucky she was to not be in your shoes, wishing to say you part of this whole situation. But what if your friends get upset with you?! You can't have that! Gods how you wish you live a life without awareness but here you are, staring at your reflection, aware of what you feel and see, it hurts.

With a sigh, you left the bathroom, grabbing your satchel, and heading into the bedroom to grab your luggage, your mind troubled with the hurt and emptiness you feel. With a deep breath as the moonlight shines through your window, you grab your luggage. Ignoring the tears that fall, you swallow what you feel. It was time to leave now if you still wish to be able to catch the train.

You look around the room, remembering all the moments you and your friends have done in the place, remembering how Julie would style your hair, remembering how you and Sally would dress up as your favorite characters, remembering how you would welcome Eddie in when he wanted to talk about how amazing Frank is or dragging Frank in to talk to him to confess to Eddie before it was too late. You remember the days when you and Barnaby would throw jokes at each other while he helped you with the window he broke days prior. You remember the days of Poppy visiting with a bucket of paint to hide in the room from Wally.

You remember the memories with Wally, how he would throw pebbles on your window, climbing up when you invite him in. You remember the moments of late-night talks, reminiscing your college days, gossiping about how the rivals in the school were now dating. You remember his warm hugs when days were tough, you remember the rainy days when you two would hide under the bed, talking about the randomness of things, distracting him from the chaos outside. 

Your eyes were damp from all these reminiscing, the ringing in your head as you heart shatters from the pain. With a final look, you grab the luggage and left, going to the train station, letting the moonlight guide your road to wherever you wanna go.

The morning sun greets the neighborhood. Everyone is up on their feet to get through the day. New neighbors were being welcome by Wally and Veronica but Wally felt off...Like something is a miss...Is he forgetting something?  He shrugged it off, he'll remember later.

Hours passed by, and the afternoon came, Wally still feel that bugging feeling he can't seem to pinpoint. "You alright? You look distracted" A voice drags him out of his thought, looking at where it came from, he was met with a worried look from Veronica " I'm alright, I think I'm a bit beat, didn't sleep properly last night," he said, laughing nervously as he rubs the back of his neck. Veronica giggles " Very well then, go catch some z's babes, I'll take it from here," she said, pushing Wally to the direction of his house "You sure sweetheart? I don't mind walkin around to greet the new neighbors, would be not so neighborly of me if I don't" He said.

 Veronica simply laughs as she pushes him "Don't worry bout it, I'll drop by later when I'm done to raid your pantry" Wally laughs, knowing that she would do so, after all, it has been a sort of routine of theirs lately. After making sure and persuasion from the lovely woman, Wally lets up and agrees he'll catch some sleep. 

Walking down the street, he feel at peace, it was calming then slowly, he thinks of a certain someone, he hasn't seen you in a while, maybe a quick visit wouldn't hurt? Continuing his walk, he hums happily, maybe he can lay on the bed you own, your bed has always been the softest and the most comfortable one. He smiles at the thought, maybe he can raid your pantry for apples, you always had one due to him! The thought makes him chuckle a little to himself as he turns to a corner, going to where your house is located instead of his. 

The street was familiar, even though you two live in the same row, your house was quite far from his place but it was sure near to the street he was currently on. As he walks, he starts to think of how the two of you would run down the street, tagging each other out of boredom, being reckless and a little bit wild. Singing or listening to songs as you walk down to your place, he misses it....

Slowly....

He realized how it's been so long since he has truly hung out with you...It twists around his gut...No, you two hung out last...Wait when was the last time you two truly hung out?... He knacks his brain, thinking of the last time you both hang out, he was with you a week ago....yeah! He was with Barnaby and you, helping you fix the window he broke. You were at Julie's party that was hosted two days ago, he probably didn't see you there, you never really were that into parties but he was sure you were there?..... He sighs in frustration, he can't seem to remember, he knows you two hang out a lot! So why can't he remember when was the last time you two hang out?! Cause he swears he saw you two days ago! He even interacted with you and you both exchange some words! It's probably the lack of sleep, he has been having a hard time with sleep as of late. Maybe that's why he can't remember, lack of sleep for some odd reason, with a sigh, he continues his walk.

Reaching the place, he walks to your front door. Ringing the doorbell he waited. Silence answered him, raising his eyebrow, he rings the doorbell again and waited. No footstep, no shuffling, nothing, silence hugged him and the surrounding, he turns the doorknob and it was locked. Maybe you went to the store? It is Sunday. You mostly go to the store on Sundays, he would even accompany you on most days, so maybe you were just in the store.

He looks under the potted plant near the door to see if you left a spare key that you always leave for him. Nothing. There was no spare key, weird...Did you lose your main key again? With a sigh, he sat down on the stairs of the porch, you probably lost your main key if the spare key is gone. You don't always lose your keys but it had happened a lot that he know why the spare key would not be in its normal spot. 

He waited for you to come around, staring at the ground or at the sky, sometimes dozing off due to boredom or tiredness or probably both.  The afternoon sky was lovely, he thinks of painting it and gifting it to you. He smiles at the thought, maybe you and him could hang out on the porch and just paint the afternoon sky! That seems like a nice activity for the two of you, you had always told him how you love the afternoon sky, you were a sucker for it that he started to love it too...or was it the night sky? huh...No, it was the afternoon sky that you love. You told him when days ago about it when he dropped by with Eddie.

After what seemed to be forever, he heard footsteps, he looks up ready to greet you when...

"Ah, Wally! Dear! what a pleasant surprise to see you love!" That didn't come from you, it came from old woman Josie! He smiles at the older woman "Nice to see you too Mrs. Josie" he greeted as the older woman walks up to him.

"Now dear, what are you doing here?" She asks and Wally chuckles " I'm here to visit (y/n)" He replied and the woman's face looks at him with confusion on her features. "What? Dear, they moved out three weeks ago, didn't they tell you?" 

Wally's face dropped, and his smile was discarded "W-what? They moved out?" he ask, did he hear that right? "yes, moved out three weeks ago from what I can remember" She said and Wally felt his heart shatter.

Slowly, it cracks...and cracks....

" W-why?" he stuttered out, not wanting to believe it, old woman Josie is playing with him, and any moment she would start laughing saying she was joking, even though the joke seems a bit cruel...

But she didn't laugh....

"Dunno, although, they did mention about going back home, dunno what that lovely means but it did seem pretty serious" 

Wally has never run so fast in his life, not even when he was chased by a dog when he first moved into the neighborhood. He has never run so fast, never darted down the street to get to his house as fast as possible. Tears fall from his eyes throughout the time, he ran and ran until he was breathing heavily, collapsing on his knees in the middle of the street as he sobs, holding onto his phone tightly.

Several missed calls he had missed throughout the months from his best friend, several unread messages, several things he had missed!...

Slowly it dawned on him, you were never in the party, it was never your window he fixed with Barnaby, it wasn't you who he interacted with two days ago! It wasn't you who was at the party! You weren't the sucker who loves the afternoon sky! It was Veronica! Veronica Williams!

He sobs harder.....Slowly, he realized that you two had stopped hanging out, you two had never hanged out, and slowly he realized that he had been ignoring you and had been avoiding you...

And that realization hit him like a train...

It slowly dawns on Wally that you haven't been in the picture for a long time now...

----------------------------------------------------

Wooooooo!! Part two!!

I'll fix the spelling and grammar mistakes later, It's late here and I'm dipping out, night everyone!

Thank you for reading this and the last chapter, I hope you all enjoy it! Goodnight!

Edit: I have edited this, nothing really changes, so don't worry. I simply just added some colors and I hope you all are catching up with the colors now-

Also, I am very thankful for all the love this story is getting!

[starstruckmoony]

paper rings.

masterlist

pairing - sirius black x reader

summary - you make paper rings for yourself and sirius in potions class.

trope/tags - lots of fluff

word count - 1.3k

warnings - language

potions were never really your cup of tea. you could never wrap your head around anything you'd learn about them at all. the recepies, the effects, why people even made some of them knowing how awful the consequences could be- in other words, you loathed the class.

to top it all off, you were slughorn's least favourite student, or at least that what was what you managed to convince yourself. you had a feeling that the man was out to get you. you were pretty certain that he could sense your negative energy whenever you stepped through the door. sirius always tried his best to reassure you, but you were certain that your professor would get a thrill whenever you would ruin a potion or accidentally curse in the middle of his class because it meant that he could give you detention.

the class started off quite alright that day. slughorn was in a rather good mood and he settled for only having you all read a passage from your books, which was very conveniently about the most powerful love potion itself - amortentia.

you and sirius finished with reading the writing you were given by your professor a bit sooner than the other students, which meant you were left with nothing to kill the remaining time. the bloody thirty five minutes of it.

since you couldn't actually speak to your boyfriend, because that would result in the both of you getting detention (and having sirius get in trouble just because he happened to have some involvement with you was the last thing you needed), you were forced to look for a new form of entertainment - which somehow happened to be making rings out of paper. sirius was not as successful as you, though, he tried to find something interesting about the dirty classroom ceiling and he looked like all life had been drained out of him. nobody could blame him. remus wasn't doing any better either, the taller boy was absolutely exhausted and he had fallen asleep only a few minutes after the lesson started.

"fuck." you whispered, mostly to yourself, when the tiny piece of parchment in your hand refused to bend in the direction you wanted it to. sirius noticed your sudden change in attitude and got intrigued by what you were up to.

"what's that?" he shifted in his seat, curiously looking over your arm to get a better look at your doings.

"paper rings." you whispered in response, a happy smile making its way to your face when you finally finished with the second one. he took one of the rings into his hands and observed it for a moment before sliding it onto his finger, showing it off to you with the biggest grin. it fit perfectly.

"i wonder who was on your mind when you made this." he smirked in satisfaction and inched a little closer to you. you laughed quietly, glancing over at slughorn who was too busy with other things to notice that you weren't exactly doing what you were supposed to.

"your little brother. such a nice bloke, isn't he?" you teased, sliding the other ring onto your own finger. he snorted at your sarcastic reply to his stupid remark, but immediately composed himself once he heard slughorn clear throat. the man glared in his direction, and sirius quickly put his head down and pretended like he was still the reading the text from his book.

because of that, you had to spend the next few minutes sitting in complete silence. the only thing that could be heard was ticking of the old clock on the wall. twenty five sodding minutes.

you couldn't wait to finally leave the godforsaken class and head to your next one. you weren't even sure which lesson you needed to attend after potions, yet all you wanted to do was to get the hell out of there, even if your next class was going to be something just as frustrating. you would rather have sat through five hours of divination than whatever that was.

sirius seemed to have decided that he wanted to put his good reputation at risk, yet again. being one of the best students in the year and coming from a family that was known as noble had its perks, but sirius had always told himself that it had more disadvantages than anything else. he was supposed to be a model student, and set an example to others. that irked him the most, as it was pretty challenging for a marauder, considering he got detention at least ten times that year and november had barely started. he thought about it for a while, but after he realised he was probably no longer in professor slughorn's good graces after receiving that glare anyway, he moved dangerously close to you. you felt his breath fanning over your ear, his lips were almost pressing against it.

"i think i might ask you to marry me with one of these in a few years." he broke the silence between the two of you, whispering those words only for you to hear. that simple sentence turned your face crimson red. you inhaled sharply in attempt to hold back the surprised giggle that was threatening to escape.

"you're mental." you guffawed, hiding your blushing face in your arms that were rested on the table. he smiled in satisfaction, that was the very reaction he wanted to get from you and he'd never felt so proud of himself. that shit-eating grin of his only left his face when you pressed your own lips against his ear.

"wanna know a secret? i'd say yes." you said the words with a smirk and knew all too well that they sent him into a frenzy. one could say he was malfunctioning. you bit your lip harshly, struggling to keep yourself together. sirius turned his head look at you, and neither of you could hold back your laughter for any longer after seeing each other's rose red faces.

"miss l/n! mister black!" slughorn looked at the two of you in shock. he did not miss the mess that you created on the table, or the rings that you and sirius had on your fingers either. his surprised reaction and the sheer terror you saw in him only made the giggles more difficult to stifle, so you accidentally laughed in his face.

"miss l/n!" the poor man could barely keep himself together, so he glanced over at sirius as if he was the last possible resort (which he was), searching for some form of explanation, "mister black, what's the meaning of this?"

"well, if you must know, we were just about to start planning our wedding." he cleared his throat as he spoke, trying to come off as formal as he possibly could. his serious facial expression and the blaringly obvious mocking tone of his voice made you snort, which sent the rest of the students into an uncontrollable fit of laughter. james was having a hard time breathing, and the whole commotion had woken poor remus up.

"very well. i will see you both after class. you are free to leave now." professor slughorn said blankly, walking back to his table and putting his glasses on as he returned to grading a pile of essays.

"yes, professor." sirius choked out, tugging at the sleeve of your jumper. you left the classroom snickering, and not without almost falling over because of your clumsy sprint.

"planning our wedding?" you questioned in amusement as you walked with him in the hallway, and he intertwined your fingers with his.

"yes, i'd like to think we just got engaged. " he pointed out what he thought was obvious, that smug smile never leaving his face.

"oh-" he kissed your cheek before you could put your thoughts into words, and you realised that getting in trouble this time may have indeed been worth it.

[theelmoarchive]

Sanders Sides theory (rant). I know im mainly a mh acc here but I have thoughts i need to get out there

(just fyi this theory is Roman centric, I know most TSS people nowadays are talking ab Orange and Logan so if Roman's not interesting then continue on 🔥🔥)

(Also slight TW, talking ab the sides "ducking out" and depression themes, so yeah👍👍)

Okay so. I was scrolling through Sanders Sides theories and found that no one seems to have this theory, even though I thought the Roman angst enjoyers like me would be writing this all over the place but. Ig that means I need to talk about it.

I've had this theory for years now, since the day I first watched SVS Redux.

I think Roman is going to duck out.

I dont know if I have to explain why but. I mean, just looking at the explosive end SVS Redux had will tell you a lot.

He doesn't belive Patton when he tells him they love him. He thinks Thomas has lost all faith in him in favor of the person Roman views as the epitome of evil. He's been switching views left and right to stay on Patton's side (because Thomas prides himself on his morals), but he always ends up doing something wrong - he always ends up as an antagonist. He no longer believes that he is the one thing that being has kept him stable since "Am I Original?" - Thomas' hero. The only side he has a stable and positive relationship with is VIRGIL of all people. And tbh that could quickly be ruined too. Logan is second, though, but that's EXTREMELY fragile, as we've seen.

Roman always does something wrong and it will and has sent him over the edge. From Roman's perspective, with a very flawed view of everyone around him, he is inherently the thing that flaws Thomas.

+ Roman is really dramatic obviously, so ofc he would do this.

When you look at Virgil's reasonings for ducking out, it seems plausible after everything Roman has gone through recently, too. I mean like:

"I quit. Decided it wasn't worth it anymore"

Why would Roman keep fighting a battle he knows he will never win?

"Well, It didn’t seemed like I was wanted. You all made that pretty clear any time I showed up."

Again, from Roman's perspective, he is constantly and consistently antagonized.

"If I wanted to stand around being insulted, I would've shown up I would've shown up in person like I usually do."

[same thing]

"I actually think you were right to not want me around."

Roman fears that he is becoming the villain (as we see in SVS, SVS Redux and DWIT).

(In fact, Roman has already said something quite similar to that last one in sentiment.

In SVS Redux, Roman says this, which is pretty funny because of the dramatics and the stupidity, and does get shot down quickly, but I am begging you to listen to him.

"The blame falls to me. If you're missing that do-gooder drive... I think It's because I'm in the driver seat... And I'm an awful driver... Perhaps... Perhaps I should let Patton take the wheel.")

(2nd sidenote to the Virgil quotes, can we talk ab Thomas' acting again I just love how tired Virgil is in AA. He's so. Troubled. I love him.)

WAIT ALSO I FORGOT TO ADD THIS UNTIL I WAS AB TO POST IT-

"I've always aimed to protect you,"

THIS!! First of all his face makes me so sad BUT SECOND OF ALL yeah. Roman core idk what else to say, you get it right.

"I thought I was your hero."

So yeah.

Anyway, I think the episode where Roman does this will be centered around depression. Without Roman, Thomas is depressed. Let me explain this further.

Roman is Thomas' creativity, imagination, ego, passion, love, wills and wants, hopes and dreams, aspirations and enthusiasm.

Without any of that, what is left? A guy who can't even will himself out of bed, but can still feel the nagging voice of reason and logic telling him how unreasonable he's being. A guy who cant will himself to talk to friends, family and loved ones, but can still feel sorrow for letting them down and worrying them. A guy who can't will himself to pursue creative content that he relies on for a living but can still feel anxious about letting millions of people down and never being able to create again. A guy who cant even make food for himself or brush his teeth, but still knows he NEEDS to take care of himself. A guy whose only creativity is activly trying to disturb and scare him.

So yeah thats really awesome idk.

Furthermore, I think the sides might be SEVERELY impacted.

It has been said many times over the series that the sides are purely figments of Thomas' IMAGINATION. so. Without Roman, I doubt anything would be left. Obviously, if Roman does duck out, I don’t think they'd all immediately just cease to exist because an episode still needs to occur, but I find it likely that they'd all start slowly fading or maybe even "malfunctioning", glitching, putting them on a timer to get back Roman and making it far more tense.

Is this theory weird?????? I feel like it's the natural progression TO ME but I've seen no one even getting near this and im just confused ghfhfhfh. Maybe it is kind of weird and im just too much of a Roman enthusiast. SORRY I LOVE ANNOYING WEIRDO FREAKS!!!! AND IF I WAS HIM ID DUCK OUT TOO BECAUSE NO ONE IS APPRECIATING HIM ☹️☹️☹️ EVEN THOUGH HE'S LITERALLY WHAT MAKES THOMAS DO THINGS. 🙄🙄🙄🙄

Anyway.

I also think it fits really well because of Prinxiety's parallels, such as:

(using the ship name just as a duo name because that's what I usually do I am not trying to push the prinxiety agenda although I am a fan of it ghfyfgfh)

"Thanks everyone... Well, almost everyone."

And

"I mean, it's cool to see you all trying to be helpful. Well most if you, but-"

The only difference in these two is obviously that Virgil just silently ducks out, while Roman has the entire "You make us better" speech, probably effectivly saving Virgil and Thomas, because it seems like Virgil was going to insist.

(Also another sidenote that I think everyone will agree with: WE NEED A "YOU MAKE US BETTER" SPEECH BY VIRGIL FOR ROMAN that is all)

Also. Who can forget.

Virgil saying that he tried to "duck out" and then

"That's a thing you can do?"

😐

Do you understand what I'm saying. Do you. Huh.

Okay anyway.

Idk how to end this I feel like theres still more I wanna say but i forgot. In conclusion: prin up that xiety. Reminder that FWSA was real and not a fever dream. I lied this is actually prinxiety propaganda.

But Hey That's Just A Theory. A really quite depressing and sad theory. Thanks for tumbling down a hill with me 🫶

[gabessquishytum]

tw stepfamily fantasy, age difference. Human AU.

I promise this is Dreamling, stay with me lol

When Time dies, Night is eager to find herself a strapping young husband. Enter Hob, who has heard that the widow Endless is filthy rich. Don't get him wrong, Night IS a beautiful woman, but it's the money he's after. He charms her easily enough, and in less than 6 months they're married and living together in her huge mansion... it's only then that Hob gets to know her kids.

He knew she had 7 of them, of course, but, well, this is a lot. The eldest two seem well-adjusted enough, sort of, but they're early 20's and out of the house already? The youngest boy ran away from home and no one bothered to look for him. Del and Despair aren't getting any mental health care they seem to badly need. And then there's Desire and Dream.

Desire is beautiful and charming and smart as a whip, but they change sexual partners more often than most people do underwear and they're only 16. They love their twin but are awful to their other siblings and downright cruel to Dream.

And Dream... he's a piece of work, yes. But he's pretty. Just as pretty as his sibling, if not more. He's got a bratty cruelty that echoes Desire's but could still be corrected by a firm hand... He mocks Hob mercilessly for his humble origins and because Hob married for money, and to Dream's heartless mother of all people! He's so closed off to affection, shouts at Hob even while bursting into tears when Hob tells him Hob could at least be a friend to him, since 34 is a bit young to be a father figure to a teen. But oh, Hob can tell: this boy is so, so lonely. Dream wishes someone would take him, even if only for money...

Desire, of course, immediately figures out that Hob isn't actually in love with Night and promply tries to seduce him. Hob gently rejects them, of course, but they try again. And again. And again. And... well. And it's hard. It's really hard to resist them. They're really really beautiful, of course, and they're so good at this... but Hob's one braincell that's still getting blood knows better than to fuck a 16-year-old with that huge a cruel streak. That's just asking for trouble. And besides, Hob likes a challenge. Desire is just... too easy.

Dream, however... what a little temptation he is. He's so reserved. He tries to focus on his art. He tries to pay Hob little mind, but can't help to listen and smile at Hob's tales. He's gotten his heart broken more times than anyone should have any right to at his age, and is just as depressed as Despair and only marginally better at hiding it... Now, that's a challenge. And such an easy target at the same time. Seducing him would be so fun! Hob can just imagine how outraged Dream would be at first... but Hob can be convincing, and Dream so badly needs someone to want him. And Hob is so horny, with Desire touching him all day, whispering filth in his ear, trying to sext him and send him nudes. You see, Night has a pretty low libido, too low if you ask Hob, and Hob's hand is a poor substitute for sex with another person.

Hob doesn't want Night to divorce him, of course, so he's wary of looking for sex outside the house, afraid to get caught if he's out too long with no explanation (he doesn't need to work now after all) and he wouldn't stoop so low as to take advantage of the house staff...

Isn't it so convenient that Dream just turned 18?

-PA

(reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated)

Oh fuck oh FUCK this is hot. AND HEY PA ANON I MISSED YOU <333

Hob feels like he's living inside a powder keg, honestly. He thought that marrying for money and living a life of luxury would be wonderful, but now he even longs for a job that would just get him out of the house. He's trapped in horny hell and he's sure that he's going to do something terrible and/or stupid. As a last ditch attempt, he sweetly suggests to Night that the two of them could take a little vacation - just the two of them, to the gorgeous little tropical vacation spot that the family owns. Death and Destiny can watch over the kids, and Night can have a well deserved break!

Alas, she just smiles and kisses Hob’s cheek. Unfortunately she's far too busy for a holiday right now. But she encourages Hob to go and soak up the sun - he's starting to look pale and stressed, and she can't have her toyboy husband looking under the weather. Her one request is that Hob should take Dream with him. She's noticed that Dream and Desire's fights have been getting more and more serious recently, and she's tired of the screaming matches. Some time apart will be beneficial for the siblings. And it will make Night's life a lot quieter.

Hob can't backtrack now, so he agrees. And he's even more glad to get away, because when Desire finds out that Dream has been sent off on holiday with Hob, they throw an absolute fit. Naked. In Hob’s bedroom. Hob’s single braincell really needs to get out of there.

It's not like Dream is even pleased to be forcibly packed off on holiday with his "step-father". He spends the whole journey in snide silence, occasionally muttering under his breath about Hob being a total creep. (And he's right, because Hob is still shamefully horny about the beautiful 18 year old. He nearly embarrasses himself completely when Dream grabs his hand because they hit turbulence.)

But it's funny how you can hate someone and still want to fuck them. Older men were always Desire's territory, but Dream is starting to see the appeal. He's starting to think that his mother is a fool for letting Hob out of her sight. When he catches his first glimpse of Hob on the beach in his swimwear, Dream makes up his mind: he's going to be a bad person.

Hob fucks him for the first time on the beach-house balcony. There are stars above them, possibly - Dream doesn't really recall. He's sure that Hob recalls even less. He's desperate, primal, unhinged. He cums, and just keeps going until both of them are exhausted. Obviously somebody needs to take care of him properly, if this is how wound up he gets.

Well. The Endless family have always been fucked up. This is just another chapter in the story. Maybe Night will even be grateful to her son, for keeping her husband happy...

[taggedmemes]

SENTENCE MEME BALDUR'S GATE 3 / PART FIVE

we won't survive this if we don't stand together.

it is through conflict that we strengthen our bonds.

the next resolution may not end in her favor.

it's a question that burns in my belly day and night.

have you been looking at my differently?

i was too hasty to judge you.

i thought you witless, gutless, and unimpressively bland.

i thought you cruel, stubborn, and judgmental.

you have stoked fires i didn't know i possessed.

you've gained my respect.

you know how to set my heart racing.

we'll kiss and make up in our own time.

someone prodding at a newly opened wound doesn't help matters.

admirable conviction.

how can you go through all this trouble and not understand why?

secrecy is ingrained in me.

i like night orchids and can't swim.

i can't remember much of myself.

i hope that's the end of this silly quarrel.

killing's never my first choice, but they were too dangerous to leave alive.

i've come to sate you, and be sated.

time for pleasure has passed.

there's something i want to talk to you about, something important.

i owe you my life.

i may not have survived that night without you.

i'm trying to say that you've earned my trust in a way very few ever have.

i'm not usually one to elaborate if i can avoid it.

most fear the dark, because in darkness they see their fears reflected.

in darkness we do not hide, we act.

you pray with such conviction.

the presence of your goddess must fill your whole being.

perhaps we need not speak farewells.

i never pictured myself as a hero.

never thought i'd be the one they toast for saving so many lives.

i hate it, this is awful.

i would've liked more for my trouble than a pat on the head and vinegar for wine.

all i want is a little fun.

it's not you, it's me. i have standards.

you have no idea how good it feels to see these people smiling.

don't waste a night like this talking to me.

i thought you might care to have a drink with me.

i rarely imbibe, the stuff goes right to my head.

before you know it, i'd be breaking into song or declaring love to the first person i laid eyes on.

you strike me as extremely resourceful.

there are many grateful people here who want to spend time with you.

i must not keep you all to myself, as enjoyable as that may be.

this might be the wine talking, but i'm feeling inspired.

look at them all, guzzling poison l ike we've the right to be happy.

i need to dance.. nope, i need to lie down.

the others will kill me if i keep you all to myself.

spontaneous thank-yous make me suspicious.

this is a night for celebration, not suspicion.

amid all this merriment, i wasn't sure we'd have a chance to speak this evening.

were our bond a little stronger, i might even have shared a moment of magic with you.

our fledgling acquaintanceship has not yet taken flight.

such intimacy will have to wait.

they could not match your nerve today.

it was enough to drive me to madness.

i won't be nursing their pounding heads and sicks stomachs in the morning.

everyone seems to be in high spirits.

you know who i never thought i'd find myself caring for.

i think you'll find i've been showing ample concern for myself since the moment we met.

share a bottle with me?

i'll find you after everyone's turned in for the night.

i think a toast is in order. any suggestions?

sounds like you just need a little more liquid inspiration.

you're beautiful.

i know [i'm beautiful], but you're sweet to notice.

i'll trust your judgement.

i do not truly care if you approve.

that night meant a lot to me.

i'm not sure what kind of sourtship we'll be afforded, given all that we're facing.

if you want to see where this goes, i do as well.

we share something special.

my people are nothing if not resourceful.

thought i'd shaken you for good.

that'll teach me to underestimate you.

she's trying to trick us, don't believe her lies.

when i saw an opportunity to get away, i took it.

you're asking me to trust a devil.

i don't want this to end badly for either of us.

you know monsters, right? better than anyone?

thought i was going to have to take your head.

there have been enough threats today.

how would you feel about helping me kill some evil bastards?

turns out i've got a knack for killing demons.

she looks like she could throw me over her shoulders and carry me to safety.

i'd hug you if it wouldn't scorch your skin off.

she's got the brawn of a warrior and the wiles of a survivor.

she speaks her mind, plainly and fully.

in other circumstances, i would have done the same.

best to not dwell on nights past.

you've been naughty.

you know what happens when you're naughty.

aren't you a luscious thing.

if i had a warm heart, i'm sure it would be skipping.

i've taken more pleasant shits than you.

that's no kind of talk for a lady.

you better not lay a damned finger on [name].

a promise broken, a price paid.

been a long time since someone stuck their neck out for me like that.

he's a good man, maybe the best of us.

the sex gets better the more experience you have with someone.