#whose peace would be a better question actually

[jesuis-snips]

LIES: Palestine is murdering civilians.

TRUTH: Palestine is expelling occupiers.

LIES: Palestine is attacking Israel.

TRUTH: Palestine is standing upon its rights in its own lands.

LIES: Hamas is giving Israel reasons to attack them.

TRUTH: Israel has already been attacking Palestinians without a reason for years. Every resistance counts and weakens Israel.

LIES: Israel is the victim.

TRUTH: Israel is suffering for its sins for the innocent children they have killed.

[absurdthirst]

High Infidelity {Dave York x F!Reader}

Rating: Explicit

Word Count: 11.1k

Warnings: Cheating, fraud, mentions of divorce, payback, forced cuckolding, restraints, oral sex (male and female receiving), vaginal sex, unprotected sex, cream pie, revenge sex

Comments: When you find out that your husband is banging the neighbor's wife, you and the neighbor decide to make them pay.

Co-written with @pedropascalsx

**Follow @absurdthirst-writes and turn on notifications to stay up to date on all new fics.

|| MasterList || Dave York MasterList ||

Click Keep Reading only if you have read the Rating and Warnings and understand the warnings may not be complete to avoid listing spoilers. As AO3 says 'creator chooses not to use warnings'. You also agree that you're the right age to be consuming anything here.

The moment was bittersweet, finding out that your suspicions were correct and that he could no longer gaslight you was a temporary feeling of relief. Quickly replaced with hurt and devastation. He was your childhood sweetheart, your first and only love, and for the better part of a year he has been sleeping with the woman next door.

The same woman whose kids you babysat during the week to let her and her husband have a peaceful date night, the same woman who had sat in your kitchen a few nights earlier with a group a mutual friends and drank your wine, the same woman who had held your hand and reassured you the night that you found out your husband wasn’t able to have children.

Rewatching the footage of them kissing as they entered the bedroom you shared, him ripping off her dress as she unbuttoned his shirt made your heart lurch. Never would you have imagined it was with Carol York.

The signs he was cheating were there from day one; being overprotective of his phone, working late, charges on your joint account that just weren’t adding up and then the biggest cliche of all; lipstick on his collar. 

The urge to confront him was bubbling up in your stomach, and then you thought about Dave… Did he know? Did he suspect anything? Should you tell him? 

After going back and forth a few times you had settled on yes, he deserves to know. So you pick up your laptop, and slide in under your arm. Ready to go next door and tell him everything.

****

Rolling his eyes after the doorbell peels, Dave sighs and stands up from the kitchen table. His laptop open and report that was making his head throb was never fun but distractions just makes it harder to get back to work. Especially since the house is actually quiet with the girls at school and Carol at work. Moving towards the door, he opens it to find you, his next door neighbor waiting. He hums your name in surprise and wonders if something is wrong. “Hey.”

“Hey,” you reply with a weak smile, “I’m really sorry to interrupt whatever it is that you’re doing, but we need to talk.” 

“Everything alright?” Your face is filled with concern and he’s immediately on guard, eyes sliding behind you and not seeing anything that would have him reaching for the pistol kept in the entryway table.

“Honestly, no,” you admit with an uncomfortable laugh, “Can I come in? I don’t think it’s something I should tell you standing at your door.” 

Frowning, Dave stands back and lets you in the house. He normally doesn’t like having someone - especially female - at the house when Carol isn’t here. Busybodies talk and he hates that kind of shit. “What’s going on?” He asks as he closes the door. 

“Thank you,” you say as you walk into the kitchen and settle your laptop on the counter. “Look, I’m so sorry to have to be the one to tell you this, but you deserve to know, and I’ve bought this here as evidence. I don’t have to show you it but I thought bringing proof was the best way to handle it... Carol and Tommy are having an affair.” 

The first instinct he has is to deny it. To question why you are telling him something that he knows isn’t true, but he doesn’t. There’ve been times where something doesn’t sit right with Dave. Carol’s ease of assuring him that Tommy will handle something while he’s out of town. “What evidence?” He demands, knowing the best thing is to hear you out. If it’s flimsy, he can start watching his wife’s actions. If it’s concrete proof, he will know.

“It’s a video,” you say as you open your laptop, “I’ve been suspicious for a while, and then I found underwear that definitely doesn’t belong to me. So I bought a nanny cam. Are you sure you want to see this?”

“Shit.” Dave hisses but he nods. “Show me.” He demands, hating how his stomach is curling at the thought. It’s not like he hadn’t thought about other women, but he hadn’t touched one.

You nod a few times before moving the laptop to face him, pressing play on a scene that makes you feel violently sick. “I’m so sorry, Dave. Never in a million years did I expect it to be with your wife… my friend.” 

Dave’s brows pull together, jaw tightening in anger as he watches, listens to the scene in front of him. There’s zero doubt that is his wife, bouncing on another guy's dick. He doesn’t even realize his hands clenched in anger as he watches, furious at the betrayal.

Seeing the fury and the obvious hurt on his face, you decide to pause the video and close down the laptop. He doesn’t need to see anymore and neither do you. “As soon as he gets home today, I'm making him leave. He can go back to his mothers.” 

Dave huffs, nearly glaring at you. “Show me the rest of it.” He demands.

You push the laptop over at him, and shake your head, “Fine, but I don’t want to see anymore.”

Nodding, he watches as you log back in and he pushes play. Glancing at you when you winch, hearing the moans and the breathless conversation as they fuck on what he assumes is your bed. “Fucking assholes.”

“She’s faking it,” you scoff, as the moans get more animated. “The man couldn’t give a woman an orgasm if his life depended on it.”

He snorts and it’s on the tip of his tongue to ask why the fuck you stayed with him then. “Don’t kick him out.” Dave decides seriously.

“What?” You say with a raised eyebrow, before both of your attention is immediately drawn back to them. Laying in their ‘post coital glow.’

“God, I swear she gets dumber every day,” your husband says with a laugh, “All I’ve got to do is pay her five minutes of attention and the stupid bitch thinks everything is fine. Doesn’t even realize that my lawyer has pretty much voided the prenuptial agreement. I’ll hand her the form to sign and just like the dutiful wife she is, she’ll be signing half her money over to me without as much of a second glance.”

“Dave makes good money, but he’s so fucking boring. He wants to ‘save for a rainy day’.” Carol hums. “But he doesn’t ever spend time with just me. He always wants the girls around. I’m tired of being a perfect mother. I honestly didn’t want Molly. But Dave had to try for his boy.” She snorts. “Too much of a pussy to give me a boy, I guess.”

Dave growls, pissed at the way she is talking about their daughter. He doesn’t give a shit about what she says about him. “She’s the fucking one who decided to take out her fucking birth control.”

“It’s been about a year,” you say to Dave, “Well, that’s when I started having suspicions. Always working late on a Thursday night, and unexplained charges on our joint account. I’ve let him walk over me for a year.” Tears start to well up in your eyes, and embarrassment floods through you. “I’m so sorry.”

“You didn’t fucking cheat.” Dave scoffs. “Don’t be sorry.” He shakes his head, “don’t kick him out. Don’t show him that you know.” He advises, the gears in his mind already turning. “Get a lawyer, start moving your money around so he can’t take it.”

“Okay,” you say with a deep breath, “I have an account that he doesn’t have access to. Fuck. I’m so stupid. I knew he was cheating, I just let him gaslight me over and over.”

“You didn’t want to believe it.” Luckily you and the fucker don’t have kids, and he would just fucking kill them both, but the girls would miss their mother. He narrows his eyes at the screen. “Get a lock box, or safety deposit box for all your paperwork. will, social security cards, jewelry. Lock them up. Start removing him from shit. Access to the cell phone plan to make changes. Utilities, whatever you have jointly, unless it’s something he uses everyday.”

“I, uh, I should write this down,” you say, nodding your head, “Dave… Thursday nights… Was she here? There were nights where he came home the next morning after claiming he slept in the office.”

He shakes his head, huffing to himself. “She had ‘book club’.” He gives air quotes. “And since they supposedly always got so hammered, she would stay there.” He had thought it was stupid, but he had also felt like his wife deserved a night out, away from the kids.

“Fuck.” Shaking your head, “I’m going to go home. Start the things you’ve suggested. I’m really sorry again, Dave. I just felt you deserved to know.”

“Thank you for telling me.” His own situation is slightly more difficult, often the agency will put people on desk duty when finding out they are divorcing and he doesn’t want that. “Let me know if they make more videos. I’m going to install a camera here too.”

“Write down your email address and I'll send you that video. I guess we will have to work out a way to approach this together.”

Dave nods and reaches for the pad he keeps next to the home phone. Ripping off a sheet and writing his private email down, along with his phone number. “I’ll think of some way to make these fuckers sorry.” He promises, handing it to you. “I’m going to be finding out the toughest lawyer in the business. I’ll let you know their names.”

“Thank you, Dave,” you say as you feel your reserve slipping, the urge to cry coming back in full force. “Let’s make them pay.”

He nods, watching as you pick up your laptop. “Call me if you feel like you’re going to tell him you know.” He asks, knowing that he would tell Carol and then Dave would have to figure out a plan b.

“Will do.” The second you’re back inside, you start the tasks he gave you. Starting with gathering up all your important documents and putting them in a temporary safe space and then ordering a safe. You wonder how long Dave’s plan will take and hope it won’t be too long, the idea of sharing a bed with your husband makes your skin crawl.

****

Thursday’s have become sort of a check in day. You normally end up coming over and spending the evening with Dave and the girls. Sometimes having dinner and then staying once the girls had gone to bed. Tonight is another check in and Dave pours you a glass of wine. “How are you holding up?” He asks quietly.

“Better,” you admit with a smile, “Everything except the joint account is handled. Just ready to move on with my life and hopefully meet someone who actually cares about me. How about you?”

“Most everything was in my name anyway.” Dave admits with a small smirk. “She can’t touch the house since I bought it with my VA and I’m going for custody. I might have to pay her out, but whatever.”

“I guess him being infertile ended up working in my favor,” you say sadly, “I wasn’t allowed to tell anyone because he said that it was embarrassing, but I own the house. My Dad left me an inheritance and I was fortunate enough to buy it outright with it. I’m going to miss living here.”

“Why are you going to move?” Dave asks. “If you own the house and bought it with your inheritance, it’s yours.”

“I always imagined filling it with kids,” you say with a shrug, “I don’t want to be in a big house that’ll remind me just how alone I am.”

He frowns slightly, even as he voices his next thought. “You could always bring in another guy.” He reminds you. “Find love and fill it with kids.”

“I guess.” The sadness is evident in your voice, so you change the subject, “So are you any closer to coming up with a plan?”

Dave chuckles and glances up just as there is a loud thump upstairs. “After the girls are asleep.” He promises, knowing little ears don’t need to hear his plan.

“Sounds like you have something figured out,” you say before taking a sip of your wine.

“Do you want to humiliate them?” Dave asks with a small smirk. “And get revenge?”

“Yes,” you answer with a smile, “I want him to hurt the way he hurt me.”

“Then I’ll tell you about my plan in twenty minutes.” He promises and nods to your wine.

“So drink up, you’re gonna need it.”

Wordlessly you nod and take another large sip of your wine, desperate to hear his plan.

The two of you dance around the subject, talking about things in the news, events happening in town and Dave enjoys it. He’s come to enjoy talking to you and spending time in your company. Your husband is an idiot to throw over someone who is funny and nice, actually pays attention to the world around her - he doesn’t deserve you. When Dave’s self appointed time is up, he sets down his own wine glass and leans in close. “We should sleep together.” He announces.

“What?” You say with a giggle, convinced you’d misheard him. You had thought about it, fuck the last few times you’ve slept with your husband you’d found yourself imagining it was Dave, circling your clit with such intensity that you came harder than ever before. “I mean… Fuck, I want to. But wouldn’t that make us just as bad?”

“Not if we fuck in front of them.” Dave chuckles, smirking slightly because of your admission of want. “As a sort of goodbye gift to them.” 

“Oh,” you say, thinking about the look of Tommy’s face as Dave fucks you. Tommy paraded you around like a trophy, having no issues embarrassing you by announcing to anyone and everyone that you lost your virginity to him and he’d be the only man to have been inside of you. Like you were his possession. “I like it. But I have one condition…. and you might find it a little weird.”

“What’s that?” Dave tilts his head and looks at you curiously. It’s not unusual to have conditions and he would be surprised if you didn’t.

“I want you to cum inside of me.” You say after taking a deep breath, “I’ll buy Plan B in preparation and you can watch me take it. But I need for him to see that it’s really over, and despite what he thinks… he doesn’t own me.”

Dave frowns and then he remembers the first Christmas party after you had moved into the neighborhood. Tommy had been shit housed and bragging about how his was the only ever cum you’ve had. He had marked you good and proper. Dave hums, his lips curling up wickedly. “Done.”

“Thank you.” It feels oddly liberating to think about. “I don’t think we should do it in the houses though… Maybe book a hotel. Request adjoining rooms and keep everything a surprise. Blindfolds and gags. Only reveal to them what’s happening after they’re strapped to some shitty hotel chair unable to move.”

He raises a brow and smirks at how quickly you came up with something that is so feasible. “Noise canceling headphones.” Dave adds, nodding. “So they can’t hear us opening the door and whatever, not until we are ready.”

“Perfect. I want them to suffer. And I know that’s awful to say out loud but the way they spoke about us… fuck.” You shake your head and laugh, “You know that he doesn’t pay for a single bill in our house. Works part time and the entirety of his paychecks go on his stupid hobbies… Golfing or gaming. I put money into our joint account each month and he just… Fuck. He gets nothing.”

“You have a prenup, and a clause for cheating.” Dave smirks and chuckles. “Carol’s gonna get something, but it won’t be enough for her liking.”

“I can’t wait to see the look on his face as you fuck me.” You say with a chuckle, before finishing up your wine. “What’s your favorite color?”

Dave grins and imagines you in his favorite color. “Green.” He hums. “Dark green.”

“Dark green it is,” you say with a wink. “When do you wanna do this?”

“I say we wait and do it when the lawyers finish the divorce papers.” Dave suggests. “We pack their shit that day and load it into a storage unit, change our locks and codes, fuck in front of them, drop the keys and the papers and shoot them the bird on the way out the door.”

“That sounds perfect. I know this sounds weird to say, but I'm kind of grateful he cheated. I would have spent forever living in his shadow and the past few weeks I’ve really started to realize that he doesn’t deserve me.” You say, with your first genuine smile in weeks. “Also I get to fuck my sexy neighbour in revenge.”

“You think I’m sexy?” Dave’s brows wing up and he’s flattered by the compliment. It’s been a long time since someone’s said that. The marriage had hit rocky patches before but never like this and he sees now that she’s been disengaging for a while.

“I have eyes, Dave,” you say with a giggle, “Every woman on this block stops and stares when you walk past. Those shoulders… Fuck. Those lips.”

“You’re so full of shit.” Dave huffs, rolling his eyes even if he secretly likes the compliment.

“Oh please,” you say, “Like you haven’t noticed the staring. Honestly, I’ve thought of you whilst using my wand,” you admit with a shrug, “After seeing you mowing the lawn shirtless.”

He smirks and leans back. “Might do that on purpose.” He admits with a shrug. “Tanning and all.”

“Well thank you for the show,” you giggle. “God, I can’t believe she cheated on you with him. I know he’s my husband but I had the excuse of him being my high school sweetheart. We’ve been together for years and he’s never made me cum once.”

“Bullshit.” Dave snorts and shakes his head. “Not even once? By accident?” He asks, nearly amazed by how fucking horrible that is.

“Never. He doesn’t do foreplay, and he’s never found that spot inside of me,” you shrug, “Usually I let him do his thing so I can roll over and sleep, occasionally I’ll rub my clit just to distract myself.”

“He doesn’t eat your pussy?” Dave’s eyes widen in shock and disgust. He understands that not all women cum from sex, he had a girlfriend before Carol who could not cum from penetration but he damn sure made her cum on his tongue.

“Nope. Never. He’s never even tried it, says the idea of it makes him ‘queasy’.” Looking over at him and seeing the look of surprise on his face makes you chuckle, “Guess I didn’t pick a good one.”

“Jesus fucking Christ, what a moron.” He shakes his head and his opinion of Tommy drops even lower than before and he didn’t think that was possible. “What a ….fuck, a pussy.”

“Nah. A pussy is useful,” you correct him, “I should get back. I’m super tired and he hasn’t texted saying it’s a ‘late one’ tonight so I figure they’ll be home soon. I will be counting down the seconds until the lawyers are done with the paperwork.”

“I would offer to show you what a real man does with his mouth, but I’ll wait to give him a ‘lesson’.” Dave hums, standing up and offering you a hand to get up off the couch.

“Oh, yeah? You going to eat my little pussy in front of him?” You ask with a raised eyebrow. You take his hand and let him help you up.

“Fuck yes.” Dave smirks. “If he finds it repulsive, I also wanna remind Carol what she’s missing. She fucking loved when I would go down on her.”

You hum happily, “I can’t wait to feel those lips on me.” Leaning forward you place a small kiss on his cheek, “Thank you for tonight. I really enjoy spending time with you and your gorgeous girls. I’ll be waiting impatiently for the paperwork to be completed. Goodnight, Dave.”

“Good night, sweetheart.” Dave walks you to the door and opens it for you. “As soon as it’s in, we’ll make sure they regret cheating on us.”

“Yes we will,” you agree with a smile, before walking back over to your house. Creeping upstairs and getting into the shower. Letting yourself get lost in imagining the feeling of Dave’s hands all over you, his mouth on your cunt and his cock buried inside of you. Your fingertips work your bundle of nerves as quickly as they can and you cum with a soft moan of his name. Climbing out of the shower you get dried, fix your hair and get into your pajamas. Wanting to be asleep or at least pretending to be when Tommy finally crawls in beside you.

****

“I got my papers.” Dave risks a call, knowing Carol isn’t checking the phone bill and calling you as soon as he steps out from his lawyers office. They don’t approve of his idea, but he also wasn’t told he couldn't do it. Just that he shouldn’t and he doesn’t agree with that.

“Me too,” you say gleefully down the phone. “You want to do it this weekend?”

“I’m thinking so.” Dave grins at the glee in your voice. “How do we want to lure them to the hotel?”

“I’m thinking we both book a room - request they’re adjoining, and once they’re both blindfolded, gagged and wearing headphones, we unlock the door and I'll lead Tommy into your room?”

“That works.” Dave agrees. “I’ll tell Carol I want to put some spice back in our marriage.”

“I’ll tell Tommy I have a surprise planned. I’ll go ahead and call and book the hotel.. and then I have some shopping to do… Dark green right?”

“Dark green.” He hums. “I’m going to enjoy ripping it off of you.” He admits, voice dropping.

“Keep playing with my pussy to the thought of it,” you whisper into your phone. “Only a few days to go.”

“I’ll book the rooms together but put one under your name.” Dave tells you, knowing that he will be able to convince them of it.

“Perfect. Is there anything you need me to do?”

“Start making noises to your husband about getting away. Doing something romantic this weekend. I’m going to ‘surprise’ Carol.”

“Perfect. Can’t wait to see the look on both of their faces. I’ll text you tonight, once I've told him about the surprise.”

The rest of the day goes by smoothly, you pop into Victoria’s secret and spot the perfect set and make your way home. Large glass of wine poured, you sip it generously as you listen to his footsteps approaching the door. 

“Good day at work?” You call out from the kitchen with a roll of your eyes. 

“Long,” Tommy groans before reaching over and helping himself to your wine, “Tomorrow is going to be longer.” 

“Oh. I really hope they’re going to start paying you for those long Thursday nights. Sometimes you don’t even make it home. It’s not good for you sleeping on your office floor,” you say with the most sympathetic smile you can force. “Anyway, I have a plan for Saturday night that’ll make it all better. A surprise for you.” 

“A surprise?” He says with a raised eyebrow and a curl of his lips, “What kind of surprise?”

“All will be revealed,” you say as you turn to him with a small kiss on his cheek, “A surprise that involved me spending a huge amount of money in Victoria’s secret for someone.” You leave him standing in the kitchen with a grin plastered on his face as you begin to climb the stairs with the rest of the wine and a new glass, “Dinner is ordered, i’m going for a bath.”

Dinner passes with its normal antics from the kids and Dave watches Carol. Nothing about her demeanor says that she’s cheating but he’s found the credit card she’s using to pay for it. It’s a secret one that she opened in his name. Not only is she renting hotel rooms, but she’s doing it on his fucking credit. It’s malicious irony that Dave booked the rooms at the same hotel that her and Tommy frequent.

Avoiding him for the rest of the evening, you have a long hot soak in the bath and only retreat back downstairs to grab your dinner and a drink. Spending the rest of the evening in bed watching netflix whilst he watches TV downstairs. 

You decide to shoot Dave a quick text to let him know you’ve told Tommy about the surprise, and check you’re still on for to meet up and go over the plan the next evening. 

‘Hey. Told him that I’ve booked a special surprise, and he ate it up. He’s told me he’s “working late” tomorrow, so I can pop around and we can go over things?’

Dave hums as his phone buzzes, Carol engrossed in her show so he slides his phone out and grins. His own reply comes quickly. ‘Sure. Now I wonder if Carol will be told about your plans this weekend? Ever wonder if he tells her that you two still have sex?’ 

You huff and type back. ‘We’ve had sex twice in the past two months, so I’m pretty sure if he’s saying anything, it’s about my lack of interest in the cheating bastard. Only fucked him so he would stop questioning why I was being distant. I doubt he’ll say anything though. The last video of them cheating he spent most of it, reassuring her that he doesn’t love me and never did. Do you think she’ll tell him about your ‘plans’?’

Dave snorts. ‘Haven’t told her. Plan on doing it at the last minute and making it seem like a romantic gesture.’

‘Good idea. I can’t wait till he is out of my house. Out of my life.’

‘Won’t be long. Just don’t kill him over the next few days.’ Dave chuckles to himself and when Carol looks up, he points to the tv. “They are so stupid it’s funny.” He explains, putting his phone away.

‘I’ll try.’ You reply before settling down for the night, wanting to be fasting asleep before Tommy gets upstairs.

****

The next day Tommy is ‘working late’ and Carol has a suspiciously timed meeting that runs over. Making Dave shake his head at how stupidly brazen they are getting. Still, he looks out the window and sees you walking over about an hour after he gets home with the kids.

You knock the door, dessert in hand as Alice whips open the door and immediately informs you that she and Molly are going to eat pizza in her room and watch a movie as you chat to Daddy.

Dave chuckles as you walk in. “The girls are getting spoiled.” He hums. “And so am I.”

“You have no idea,” you say with a wink, “I hear it’s pizza tonight? Sounds perfect.”

“Yeah, Carol had a “meeting”.” He scoffs, rolling his eyes. “Strange, right?”

“Who’d have thought?” You giggle, “Well-,” you say as you pick up the glass of wine he’d poured for you, “Here’s to the last time they lie to us.”

“Are you ready for it?” He asks quietly, picking up his own glass. “For the big reveal?”

“I am counting down the seconds.” You say with a smile. “God, I hope they realize we aren’t to be fucked with.”

“I think they will figure that out when they don’t walk away with the pot of gold like they were expecting.” Dave snorts.

“I just can’t wait to see his face when he realizes that I'm not his trophy anymore.” The doorbell rings and Dave goes to get the pizza as you pour the girls out their juice, ready to take it upstairs to them for their movie night.

“Girls!” The two girls thunder downstairs to grab their cheese pizza and disappear just as quickly, each one fighting over who was going to sing the first song. Dave shakes his head and looks at you with a faux harried expression. “They are going to be trouble later on.” He predicts with a groan.

“I’m sure you can handle it, they worship their Daddy.” You say before topping up your glasses, “I’m going to miss this.”

“Why are you going to miss it?” Dave asks, frowning slightly.

“It’s been nice. Coming around and eating with you and the girls, the highlight of my week. They’re both absolutely adorable.”

“You can still come over anytime.” He offers. “If you aren’t out on dates, you know.” He shrugs and shoots you a smirk.

“Me? Dating? Unlikely. But I’d still love to come over. I mean it when I say it’s the highlight of my week.” You take a small sip and try to ignore the way he makes you feel, the past few weeks you had grown closer to Dave and started to really appreciate how good of a man he is. 

“Shit.” Dave snorts. “You’ll be dating before the fucking ink is dry.” He predicts. “You’re beautiful, kind, funny and smart. And I bet you are killer in the sack. He’s an idiot.” He tells you, talking about your stupid soon-to-be-ex.

“You think I’m beautiful?” You ask quietly. “I can’t remember the last time someone complimented me. And the killer in the sack? Well I guess you don’t have long to find out.”

“I can’t wait to find out.” Dave admits quietly. “And you should be getting compliments all the time.”

“As should you. You’re remarkable. The best daddy ever, you work so hard and it’s appreciated, Dave.” You say before squeezing his hand, “And I’m excited to show you just how appreciated you are.”

“Is that what it’s going to be?” Dave asks, grinning slightly. “A show of appreciation?”

“If that’s what you want,” you tease, “Going to suck your cock. Just the thought of it makes me so wet.”

“Jesus.” His eyes widen, surprised you even said that out loud. He’s thought about it plenty, but apparently so have you. “Then we’ll have to do a sixty-nine. Because I’m gonna give your dumbass husband a lesson on how to make a woman squeal his name.”

“Fuck, that sounds perfect. But also to start I want to look into your eyes as I'm sucking your cock. Feel you fuck my mouth,” you whisper quietly.

“Have you ever done that before?” Dave asks, raising a brow and trying not to spring a boner at the thought of you letting him face fuck you.

“Nope,” you admit quietly. “Tommy had me blow him for a bit pretty much every time we had sex. But it was tame.”

“Bet he likes you to ‘look pretty’ while his dick is in your mouth.” Dave scoffs. “When your mascara should be running and the split is soaking your chin.”

“He just wants to get off. Fuck. I want that.” 

Dave has been careful not to touch you. Not willing to put himself in the same level as Carol. He still won’t fuck you but he does reach out, talking ahold if your chin and rubbing his thumb over your bottom lip. “Then we’re going to enjoy it. You’re going to enjoy it.”

You reach out and squeeze his hand again, before taking another sip of your wine and a bite of your pizza. This time in 48 hours it’ll be the beginning of the new end, and the start of something new and exciting.

****

The day of, Dave walks up to Carol at the kitchen sink and wraps his arms around her. Imagining choking her, he forced himself to kiss her neck. “I arranged for the girls to have a sleepover tonight.” He hums, pressing himself up against her and imagining fucking you so he gets hard. “Booked us a hotel room.”

“Oh?” Carol squeals with excitement, “Which one? What’s the plan?” Pushing herself against him a little harder. One thing about Carol York is that she’ll never say no to a surprise.

Dave names the hotel and pretends not to notice the split second of his wife freezing in his arms. He knows she panics and the moment she relaxes, making him hum. “Figured it’s been awhile since we had a night to ourselves.”

“That sounds lovely, darling,” she says, “But I don’t want you wasting your money on me. We can just have a quiet night in.”

“Travel points.” Dave lies easily, knowing that she doesn’t want to go back to the same hotel where she’s been visiting every week. “Already booked and waiting on us. Already checked in.”

“Sounds great,” she lies, hoping the weekend staff aren’t the same as the ones during the week.

****

“You excited for tonight, honey?” You ask Tommy, who’s wolfing down his breakfast. 

“Can't wait to see what you spent a fortune on in Victoria’s Secret, I think I’m due a sneak preview, just to get me through the day.” He says with a wink. 

“No previews. The someone I bought this for will absolutely love it. I assure you.” You say as you go upstairs to pack you ‘both’ an overnight bag.

Dave manages to talk Carol into packing a bag, hustling her out of the house and into the car without much fuss. The girls have already been deposited at their friends house and as soon as she and Dave leave, a team of professional movers will be coming and boxing up everything Dave discreetly tagged to move into the storage unit he had rented.

You stick to the plan and wait for the text from Dave telling you they’re about to check in before you leave. Not wanting any awkward run-ins at reception. “Hey honey, I forgot to fill up my car, mind if I drive yours?” You ask innocently. Knowing that Dave had arranged for the movers to come to yours after they’ve collected Carol's stuff, and taking his car meant he’d have no reason to come back to your house.

Huffing, Tommy rolls his eyes, desperately thinking if he had left any evidence of Carol being in the car. “You’re lucky I make sure that my car is filled up all the time.” He lectures. “You need to take care of those things.”

“I’m sorry, love,” you say with a fake pout, “Had a lot on my mind.” You take the car keys from him and load up the car, seconds after the go ahead text from Dave. He huffs again as he enters the passenger side and starts droning on about how ‘he needs to know’ where you’re both staying that night. 

“You’ll know soon enough, baby,” you placate with a squeeze of his knee, “Heard great things about this place.”

The plan was for Dave to unlock the adjoining door on his side when Carol was in the bathroom but leave it shut so she wouldn’t know, and you were to do the same when you got into the room.

“You won’t tell me where we are going and you won't let me see the lingerie.” He grumbles. “I thought you were spoiling me.”

“Like I said you’ll see soon enough,” you smile, “We’re not too far from where we are staying.”

Tommy shifts uneasily as he watches his normal hotel come into view. “Here honey?” He makes it sound like that’s a horrible idea. “I’ve heard this place is a dump.”

“Oh no,” you say with a shake of your head, “It’s a five star hotel, honey, cost me a fortune but tonight will be worth it.” You say with a wink, come on, let’s get checked in. “Maybe we can order room service.”

Tommy plasters on a fake smile and chuckles. Praying that no one recognizes him. It would ruin his plan.

You notice how antsy he is as you check in and it makes you grin and shake your head. He cowers behind you at the check in desk and stares at the floor, refusing to make eye contact with anyone and practically running towards the elevator once you’ve got your keycard. 

‘Here.’ You text Dave in the elevator, pretending to text your mom. “God this hotel is gorgeous, I can’t wait to see our room.”

“Maybe we can just stay in our room all night.” Tommy manages, reaching out and snagging your waist. “Lock the world away.”

“Oh, don’t worry, sweetheart,” you assure him, “The plans I have for tonight, don’t involve you going anywhere.”

He’s relieved, planning on hiding in the bathroom when you decide to order room service. He can’t let anyone let you know about his plans, he’s not ready yet. Still needing access to the deed for the house. He wants to add himself to it so he can take it from you. It’ll be nice rental income, moving in with Carol and renting out that house.

You open the door and take a look around the room, unlocking your side of the adjoining rooms as Tommy has a “first look”  around the bathroom. You open your bag and start to take out a few bits, quietly calling him back in the room so Carol can’t hear you shouting his name. “Are you excited for tonight?”

“Depends on if you're going to suck my dick or not.” Tommy grins, thinking that he’s being romantic. The one bad thing about Carol is that she’s not willing to give him head if he doesn’t go down on her. Claiming that you might have understood, but she wasn’t a doormat. He missed someone sucking his dick.

“I promise that there will be some dick in this pretty little mouth tonight,” you tease, before picking up the blindfold and gag you had hidden in your purse, “Are you going to be a good boy and do as I say?”

Tommy’s brows shoot up. “What’s this?” He demands, grinning. “You never want to play.”

“Just thought we’d spice things up a little,” you reply softly, “I can feel you slipping away from me. I read some tips… you don’t want to?”

“No, no.” Tommy’s greedy. You might be boring in bed but you are also the only woman who has only had him. “I want to. I’m just surprised you want to. Sure you don’t want me to blindfold you?”

“Maybe later, but right now I want to do this my way.” Walking over, you untie his tie and motion for him to give you his hands, using the tie to restrain him. Before gagging, blindfolding and putting on his noise canceling headphones. 

‘Ready when you are!’ You text Dave after sitting Tommy down on one of the two hotel chairs and lightly restraining him to it. 

Lifting off one side of his headphones you whisper into his ears, “Good things come to those who wait.”

Dave hums, deciding that he would lift his own noise canceling headphones off Carol’s ear. She’s already tied up, but not in a chair. “Come on baby, I’m going to guide you.” He coos in her ear. “Trust me.”

You open the adjoining door after hearing Dave open his, and flash him a little smile as he guides Carol to the chair next to Tommys. 

“You ready?” You ask him, as he steps back and places his hand on the small of your back.

“Are you ready, sweetheart?” Dave doesn’t fucking care about them, they made their bed. But if you don’t want to do this, he can pull the plug and just snatch the rug out from under them without ever laying a finger on you.

Rocking up on your tiptoes, you place a fleeting kiss to his lips before nodding. “I’m ready, ready to follow your lead.”

“Do you still want to suck my cock?” Dave asks, reaching up and cupping your cheek.

“Fuck, yes, i’ve been thinking about it all day.”

He hums and pats your cheek lightly, “then strip down. I want you naked on your knees so I can fuck you right away when we get done indulging.”

“You don’t wanna rip this off of me in front of them?” You ask as you unbutton your sundress and let it fall to the floor, revealing the dark green lacy lingerie set you had picked out just for Dave.

“Fuck.” He hisses, cock twitching at seeing his favorite color on your body. “Never mind. Keep it on. I’ll strip.”

“Yes sir,” you say with a giggle, excited to finally feel his hands on you.

Dave strips down quickly, watching Tommy and Carol start to shift restlessly in their chairs. Antsy. He smirks and arches a brow when he shucks his pants and reveals his hard cock. “Sure you want to do this?”

“Holy shit, it’s gorgeous,” you choke out at the sight of his cock, “Fuck yes. You ready to take their blindfolds off?”

“Blindfolds and headphones.” He hums. “Not the gags.”

“Let’s go.” You walk towards Tommy and Dave walks towards Carol. On his signal headphones are removed and then masks. The look on your now ex-husbands face is a sight to behold. Both of them stare at each other in utter bewilderment as you take a step back and take Dave’s hand. “Hello, honey, how are you liking your surprise? Must be nice to see the woman you’ve been fucking for the better part of a year here with us and her husband too.” 

Dave chuckles and shakes his head as his face drops into a scowl at the two of them. They are completely frozen and panicked. "It's funny that you think we wouldn't find out." He tells them flatly before he turns to you. "Why don't we show them what it's like to watch your spouse fuck the neighbor?"

“I think we should,” you say with a giggle, as you perch yourself on the end of the bed. “Hurt them, how they hurt us.”

“Maybe they won’t give a shit.” The muffled protests coming from the two seems to disprove that, but Dave just leans in to press his lips to yours softly. It’s the first kiss he’s ever given you. When he pulls back he tells them that before smirking. “I want you on your knees, pretty girl.”

You ignore the sounds coming from that side of the room, and immediately get up and sink down to your knees. Looking up at Dave with your sweetest smile before gently holding on to the base of him, and placing a light kiss on the tip of his cock. The tip bright red and begging for release, you lick the bead of precum that’s gathered at the top and slowly wrap your lips around him. Not used to having something so big in your mouth, you moan at the stretch, taking him in just a few inches and swirling your tongue around him. 

“Fuck.” Dave hisses, looking down at you and cupping your cheek. “Take more of it. I know you can. But don’t choke. I’m going to fuck that pretty throat of yours.”

You do as he instructs as take him further into your throat, breathing through your nose and swallowing around him. Slowly bobbing up and down before taking him further, loving the firm grip he has on your face. You can feel yourself getting wetter the deeper you take him, the sounds he makes spurring you on and making you crave more.

“Unlike you two, this is the first time for us.” Dave groans, sliding his hand around to cup the back of your head. “So you get to enjoy the first time I fuck your wife since you’ve been fucking mine.”

You hollow your cheeks and suck as hard as you can as your nose just brushes against the patch of hair at the base. Drowning out the groans of annoyance from Tommy and Carol by moaning happily around him. Tears stream from your eyes as he keeps your head from moving, keeping you still as he feeds you the last inch or so of his cock.

Once Dave feels the back of your throat constrict around him, he pulls his hips back. “Fuck, I’m gonna enjoy this.” He groans, holding your head tights as he snaps his hips forward roughly and buries his cock in your mouth again.

You almost squeal as he fucks into your mouth, groaning in pleasure as you suck around him. Praising you for taking him so well, and telling you how pretty you look with his cock in your needy little mouth.

Both Tommy and Carol are struggling against the ties that bind them in the chairs. Shouting against the gags, but Dave doesn’t even pay them any attention. Focusing on you. “That pretty little pussy is wet, isn’t it?” He huffs. “Can’t wait to taste it. To lick you until you squeal my name.”

Looking up at him through your tear stained eyelashes you nod dutifully, a smile stretching across your already stretched out mouth. Before you resume your focus on his cock, bobbing your head to meet the snap of his hips, chasing more of those groans he floods the room with.

“You should have licked her cunt, Tommy.” Dave growls mockingly. “Now I’m going to and she’s going to realize what she’s been missing being with a piece of shit like you.” He smirks, looking over at his wife as she cries. “Can’t believe you put up with that shit. Especially since you know how good my tongue is.”

You pull off him and stroke his length, you’ve drenched the lacy material from sucking his cock alone and feel yourself flood the fabric further as he talks about eating you out. “Dave,” you say with a breathy moan, as you lick the weeping tip of him, “I need you.”

Smirking, he grabs your hand and helps you up, sliding his hand down between your legs possessively. “Fuck, you’re soaked baby girl.” He growls. “Want to see how much wetter I can get you. Gotta undress you first.” The panties are ripped off, pulling a moan out of you and he chuckles when the expensive green top also rips apart in his hands. The chairs are positioned so that the bed is on full display and he pulls you down onto it with him.

“I wanna show him,” you mumble, “I wanna show him how fucking wet I get when I actually want to suck a cock, I want him to see how you could slide right in with no fucking lube.”

“Shit.” Dave slaps your ass and smirks at the two spouses. “Never really thought about fucking her until we found out you two were cheating.” He admits. “So thank you.”

“Can’t say I didn’t think about Dave,” you admit with a shrug as you shuffle towards Tommy, opening your legs and letting him see your glistening cunt.

"I thought about it." He amends, "but I never considered doing it until now. Because I was fucking married."

“Same,” you shrug, “Shame that the people we married didn’t feel the same.” You shift back up and take his face in your hands, “I want you to do whatever you need to me, baby.”

"Fuck, I want you to sit on my face." Dave coos, reaching down to slide a finger through your folds and grins when you shiver. "Show you how a real man eats pussy."

“Yes sir,” you whisper before kissing him, watching as he lays down on his back and as he motions for you to move up. You lower yourself down slowly, hovering a few inches from his face.

“Fuck.” Dave groans, his cock twitching at the sight and he tilts his head back to look at Tommy. “Don’t know how you didn’t dive into this cunt every chance you got.” He huffs before he grabs your hips and pulls you down onto his tongue.

“Dave,” you yelp, as he slowly drags his tongue through your folds. Teasing your clit over and over. One of the hands finds purpose in his hair, tangling in his slightly overgrown style as the other grips onto the headboard. Your hips start to rock of their own accord, chasing your high, as a brand new sensation overwhelms you.

He flicks and curls his tongue, showing off for the cheating bastards who are still squirming and huffing through their gags, but also for you. Wanting to make the first time you’ve ever been eaten out memorable for more reasons than just showing up your cheating ex.

You can’t stop panting his name, moaning it over and over as you soak his face. It doesn’t take long until you’re hanging over the edge, seconds from cumming because of another person for the first time in your life. “So close, baby, so close.” You choke out through ragged breaths.

Dave groans, squeezing your hips and encouraging you to cum for him. Eager to taste it and to show your bastard husband that you deserved it.

With a few more flicks of his tongue against your clit, you’re cumming hard, flooding his face with your arousal as he pulls you apart in the most incredible way.

Dave groans and keeps you pressed against him, wanting to have you soak up every bit of your pleasure until you are sobbing his name out loud.

It doesn’t take long until you’re meeting his silent demand, and the yells shimmer down to you whimpering his name. You want to taunt your husband, tell him that’s what it looks like when you cum, but you don’t. You focus on Dave, moving yourself down him slowly and straddling his waist, before leaning back down and whispering the softest ‘thank you’ into his ear.

Smirking slightly, Dave nods. He’s not thinking about Tommy or Carol right now, he’s tuned them out. But he is thinking about you and how fucking wet you are, grinding down on his cock. “Can I fuck you?” He asks, even though you are on top of him.

“Please,” you plead, with a smile. “How do you want me?”

“Do you want to ride me to start out with?” He asks, caressing your hip.

“Can we build up to that?” You say quietly, “You’re huge. It’s going to be a stretch, I’m not used to anything like this.”

“That’s good,” Dave nods, knowing he doesn’t want to hurt you. “Lay down on your side, facing your loving husband.” He smirks, imagining the look on the bastard's face when he slides into you.

“Okay,” you nod, biting back the endearment hanging off the tip of your tongue. You do as he says, looking at your furious husband, feeling a shiver run through. Fearing what he might do once he’s unrestrained.

Dave curls around you, hand sliding up to cup your breast and then down to your thigh. “Don’t worry. He’s not going to touch you.” He promises, whispering in your ear. “I won’t let him lay a finger on you.”

Within seconds of feeling his touch, the fear is replaced with excitement and lust and the need to feel him slip into you. “Fuck me, Dave,” you plead, letting your eyes flicker up to your husband one more time, before letting yourself forget he’s in the room.

He chuckles quietly and lifts your thigh, bringing it back over his hip and opening you up to their view. “I’m going to fuck you. Been thinkin’ about fucking you for weeks. Imagining how tight and hot you’d be.” He kisses along your jaw as he slides closer and shifts to take his cock in his hand.

You let him mold you into the position he wants you, loving the way his hands feel on you. “God, me too. Fuck. Played with my pussy every night dreaming about this.”

The head teases your slit, sliding around and he hums. “Good.” He glances at his crying wife and your angry husband and smirks. “Let me know how it feels, baby.” He orders as he starts to push inside you.

You whimper as he starts to inch into you, the stretch of him feeling delicious. “Feels so good, baby,” you choke out, before placing your hand on top of his and squeezing. “So fucking big.”

“That’s it.” Dave growls, slowly rocking his hips and sinking deeper. “You’re taking it so good, baby. Squeezing my dick like a vice.”

“Fuck,” you moan, as he hits something new inside of you. Something that makes you clamp down hard around him and chant his name like sacred prayer, over and over.

He doesn’t start fucking you like it’s his last day on earth. Not yet anyway. He takes his time. Measured thrusts meant to make you cry out and yet he’s not giving it his all. Changing the pace and force often to keep things stimulated for you and remind Carol what she’s given up.

It’s nothing you’ve ever experienced before, someone chasing their high whilst chasing yours just as hard. With every moan, and flutter he praises you for taking him so well, for soaking his cock and squeezing him so perfectly.

His hands start to wander. Knowing that women love to be worshiped while they are having sex, his hands squeeze and grope adoringly. Forgetting about your audience, he concentrates on the breathless moans and whimpers that come from your throat. Seemingly made more desperate everytime he praises you.

“I think I’m go—,” is all you’re able to get out, before you clamp down around him hard and cum on his cock. Focusing on his sweet praises as you convulse in pleasure, feeling your sheets dampen beneath you as he keeps the same delicious pace throughout your high.

"That's it, fuck that's it, baby girl." Dave moans as he feels you cum all over him. "Soak my cock. Show me how fucking wet your little pussy gets when you cum." He huffs. "You needed this, didn't you? It's been so fucking long since you've really cum, hasn't it?"

“Needed it so bad,” you pant, as you come back down. “Never cum like that before. You want me to ride you now, baby?” You ask, as you pull his hand up to your mouth and gently kiss it.

"Yes." Dave pulls out of you and rolls onto his back, eager to feel you on top of him again. "Ride me, baby girl."

“I love it when you call me baby,” you say, as you straddle his hips and sink down onto him. Taking him inch by inch, until you’re filled with him. Slowly you start to rock your hips, building up to a pace that has him groaning your name. The sound of muffled cries and shouting drowned out both of your pleasure. His thumb finds his clit and he rubs gentle circles into it as you ride him, wanting to feel his cock throb against your tights walls that are fluttering around him.

You don’t bounce on his cock, or slam yourself back. It’s a slow grind that he finds himself grunting every time you circle your hips. He just keeps his eyes on you. Enjoying the way your own close and your head tilts back as you moan.

With every rock of your hips, he notches against paradise. Soft moans slip from your slips, as you chase your high again. Wanting to cum one more time before he does. Needing to feel him as much as you can, for as long as you possibly can.

One hand on your hip, another on your clit, he urges you to cum. “Come on baby, I know you can cum around my cock, again.” He groans, thrusting up into you shallowly. “Want to see it, beautiful.”

You rock your hips a little faster, chasing more friction from this hand on your clit and with a one word command for you to ‘cum’, you’re clamping down around him once more. Pleasure coursing throughout your body as he keeps you from falling forward, and continues to fuck up into you. Praising you for taking him for so well and fitting around him like a glove.

Once you have collapsed into his chest, Dave rolls you over and pushes your legs wider. Grunting as he takes over and his next thrust is hard enough to have you yelling.

“Fuck,” you scream, as he begins a breath stealing pace. “F-fill me up,” you beg, as he pounds in and out of you.

There’s renewed struggling and muffled screaming. Tommy most likely when he hears the plea for Dave to fill you up, but he doesn’t give a shit. Focusing on you and his own mounting pleasure as he fucks you hard and fast.

The sounds that are coming from you are unrecognizable. Brand new. Noises of pure unfiltered pleasure drowning out everything else. “Please,” you choke out, the word pained as another orgasm threatens to devastate your exhausted body. “Please, Dave.”

“Gonna- gonna cum.” He growls, clenching his jaw to push another few thrusts out of his body that screams for release. He knows you’re close again. He can feel it. Needs to see you do it again for his own selfish pride.

With little to no warning, he pulls you back over that edge with him. His thrusts sloppy as you clamp down hard around him, practically screaming his name as you milk him dry of his cum. He grits out a little praise in your ear, before groaning your name and wrapping his arms around you as you sink deeper into the mattress. 

Dave groans at the first piercing sound of his name, giving in and pushing deep as he starts to cum. Tightening his hold on you as he groans your name. Rolling his hips as he fills you.

“You feel so good,” you whimper as he paints your walls. You don’t want it to end, you want him to stay buried inside your desperate cunt forever. You can’t pretend that the past few weeks you haven’t been falling for him, and now being wrapped in his arms, you’re well and truly screwed. Literally.

“So good, baby. Fuck, that’s a tight little cunt.” He coos. “Never would have gone anywhere else if I had you in my bed.” It’s a shot at your husband, but it’s also true. He pulls back and presses his lips to yours before looking back at the cheaters still tied to their chairs. “We’re divorcing you both.” He announces.

“And you’ve already signed the papers,” you say with a smile, before immediately looking back at Dave. “Tommy gave me the idea. You were going to hand me an amended version of the prenup right? And this “dumb dutiful wife” was going to sign it without even glancing it over.”

Dave smirks when he sees Tommy’s eyes widen and his face drops. Discovering that his plot has been discovered. “Oops.” He hums sarcastically.

You giggle, before gently turning Dave’s face back towards yours and kissing him as hard as you can, a kiss that speaks a thousand words without saying any. “Thank you,” you murmur against his lips, knowing it’s time to face the music.

“Of course.” Dave sees the uncertainty and anxiety cross your face. He can tell you are scared of what might happen now that this is done. Pulling out if you gently, he sits up and looks towards the cheaters. “All your shit had been moved out of our houses to a storage unit. We’ll leave the keys, but you, especially you, Tommy-“ he growls, pointing his finger at the man. “Are not to come back tonight. Carol, you can come by and see the girls tomorrow. But you two enjoy the rooms.” He stands. “After we are dressed, I’ll untie you, Carol and you can untie Tommy after we’ve left.”

“You have no reason to come back to my house,” you say to Tommy, with a new found courage. “That’s why we drove your car. Don’t come back. I’ll see you in court with the video evidence of your cheating and your plans to fraudulently amend our prenuptial agreement.”

Dave ignores them as the two of you clean up and redress. Not even sparing them a glance. It feels freeing, setting out the papers and dropping the keys into a table before he smirks at you.

“Still ok to get a ride home?” You ask quietly, before he goes to untie Carol.

“Of course it’s okay, baby.” Dave stops and nods, giving you an encouraging smile before he moves back towards Carol.

You collect both yours and Dave’s things as he unties Carol, staying back just in case she decides to lunge at you. “Enjoy sleeping here tonight,” you say to Tommy, “This room will be the last thing I ever spend my money on you on. Sorry about the soaked sheets.” You add with a smirk.

Dave pulls off the gag and Carol sucks in a lungful of air. “Dave- Dave please, it’s not- I’m so sorry.” She sobs, leaping up out of the chair. “It was- God, I shouldn’t have done this.”

You see her leap towards Dave, and take another step back. “But you did,” you say quietly, “Both of you did this! For almost a year and the shit you said about us both, was worse than the fact you were fucking. You don’t deserve him and Tommy doesn’t deserve me.”

“I’m sorry Dave, I’m so sorry.” She reaches for him but he pulls back. 

“Don’t.” He warns her. “The day I found out you were fucking him was the day I was done with you.”

“Same with you,” you say to Tommy. “I mean it when I say that you’re not welcome in my home again.” Turning to face Dave, you reach your hand out for him to take, “You ready?”

“I’m ready,” he assures you, taking your hand and looking back at the other two people with a look of utter disdain for them plastered on his face. “I hope you two are happy together.”

You lead him out of the room. Hand tightly gripping his as you make your way to the elevators, and pressing the button. Wordlessly you turn to face him and rock up on your tiptoes and press your lips to his.

He’s surprised by the kiss but he doesn’t push you away. Instead, he’s wrapping his arms around you and leaning into it. Enjoying the fact that you aren’t crying like he had expected.

“I’m going to feel you for days,” you say against his lips, before pulling him for another kiss. Stepping into the thankfully empty elevator still attached to him, wanting to extend the moment for as long as you can.

“Do you-“ he pulls away and frowns. “The girls are at a sleepover and I told Kayla’s mom that Carol isn’t to pick them up. Do you want me to crash on your sofa? Make sure Tommy doesn’t decide to show up tonight?”

“Honestly, I was hoping you’d sleep in my bed,” you admit quietly, “But you don’t have to… if you’d prefer to crash on the sofa, you can.” 

“I wasn’t going to assume anything.” Dave chuckles quietly, reaching up and rubbing your back. “If you want me to be in your bed, I’ll sleep there.”

“I want you in my bed,” you say with a smile, “How are you feeling?”

“Indifferent.” He admits. “I’m angry for the girls, but I’m completely over Carol. Just cut the infection out and move on.” Maybe not the healthiest way to deal with things, but he managed. “How are you feeling?”

“Kids are super resilient and we both know that they love their Daddy, they’ll be okay.” You say with a squeeze of his hand, “I’m really good, great actually.”

“A good fucking will do that.” He teases, smirking at you slightly. “What are your plans for tomorrow night?” He asks suddenly.

“Yeah, I-uh-I could get used to that,” you mumble, “I’m free. How about you?”

“Well, considering I’m free and you’re free…” Dave shrugs slightly. “Thought I might take you out on a date. If you wanted. If not, I get it.”

“Sounds perfect,” you say with the biggest smile you’ve managed for weeks, “Do I get to wear something pretty?”

“Where whatever you want. Figured we’d go somewhere fancy to celebrate being free of them and decide what we want to do.” Dave hums.

“I like that, nice and breezy.” You say as he slips an arm around you as you make your way towards his car.

“To new beginnings, baby.” Dave jostles you slightly with a grin. “It’ll be ironic if we get together and are happy while they are miserable and don’t last a year.” He pulls his arm from around you and opens the door on the passenger side for you. “We’ll see, won’t we?”

“We will. Now that you and that incredible cock have completely ruined other men for me, I'm excited to see where it goes.” You giggle before thanking him for opening the door, “Thank you. To new beginnings.” You say as you smash your lips up against his.

Dave grins. Yes, your ex and his might have hurt you, but you are going to end up winning. He’ll make sure of it.

****

[A year later]

Life comes at you quickly. Your first date with Dave quickly became a 3rd, 4th and so on. The girls adapted quickly with their new changes and before you knew it, you were practically living with them.

He asked you to put your house up for sale and move in with him two months after your first date and a year on, life is perfect.

The sight of Dave napping comfortably on the sofa with your newborn son sleeping on his chest fills your heart. It’s everything you’ve ever wanted and so much more. 

It turns out that your ex-husband having an affair would be the best thing that ever happened to you.

[starlight-eclipsed]

Rockets Pointed Up at the Stars (Pt 2/2)

Part I

Despite what Phantom had implied, tracking down Batman wasn’t done in an instant.

Sure, they’d be back seconds after when they left. But with time travel in the mix, that could be hours or days apart. They’d already followed him back to his initial landing time, when Neanderthals were still around (and wow, was there a difference between factually knowing some people had been around since the dawn of humanity and physically seeing Vandal Savage in the flesh as a caveman). According to the trail left by Clockwork, the ghostly guardian of the timestream, they were getting close.

Apparently Bruce couldn’t make things easy and was also making jumps through time, which if left unchecked would cause the timeline collapse that Clockwork had recruited Phantom for. Specifically Phantom, as it turns out the thief that liked messing with him on weekends was also the Master of Space and the King of everything.

(Phantom insisted it was just a title, and he was only king of the Ghost Zone. It just so happened that the Ghost Zone was also known as the Infinite Realms, which contained every reality of every universe in existence.

And he’d won that title by defeating the previous ruler in single combat.

The High King had to scramble to catch Tim when his knees gave out at the realization that he had unknowingly gone toe to toe with someone who made Darkseid look like a toddler in a sandbox. What the fuck, Phantom.) 

As of now, they were waiting for the actual Blackbeard’s ship to dock to investigate the fabled Black Pirate he supposedly fought a week ago, whose description matched Bruce’s. Phantom had gone to grab them something to eat while they waited in a tavern, leaving Tim to save his seat. If someone told him even a week ago that this was where he’d be, Tim would’ve interrogated them for hours to try to figure out what it meant.

But no, he was just sitting at a table in the 18th century, a medallion from the Master of Time hung around his neck, waiting for his hero-turned-king-gone-rogue to return with food while they waited for Blackbeard the legendary pirate to show up. Jason would probably kill to be here in his place.

Tim was broken out of his thoughts when Phantom returned, two bowls of soup in hand and balancing an additional plate of tough-looking bread on his forearm.

They’d been forced to ditch their masks when Puritans tried to have them hanged a century ago, now dressing in more accurate clothing to better blend in. Phantom had apologized for discovering Tim’s real name, going as far as to reveal his own secret identity: a black haired blue-eyed teen named Danny.

“Heads up, it’s gonna be either too salty or bland as wood. I’m pretty sure the cook wanted to strangle me for asking too many questions about the ingredients.”

Tim snorted, accepting his bowl, “Is that why we don’t get spoons?”

“Nah, the owner doesn’t trust customers to return the utensils. Drink from the bowl, though you might want to soak your bread if you don’t wanna pull a muscle chewing it.”

“Noted.” Tim dared to take a sip, mulling over the taste. It wasn’t anywhere near Alfred’s level, but a step above his own adventures in the kitchen before getting a hard ban post-pancake incident. It tasted closer to brine than soup, but it went surprisingly well with the bread.

Phantom hummed in pleasure, proving yet again that his standards for food consisted of ‘isn’t actively resisting consumption’. Tim could hardly judge him for it, seeing as his own bar wasn't much higher.

“So, I’d say we have an hour or two until our man arrives. Want to go over the plan again?”

Tim shrugged. “Unless it’s changed from ‘confirm Bruce was already here before following the nearest skip in time’, I think we’re good.”

Phantom nodded, silence falling over them as they ate their way through dinner. Tim kept an ear out for trouble, but the tavern was quite peaceful this time in the evening. It was likely to change once the Queen Anne's Revenge finished docking, but for now he’d savor the ambiance.

“Wanna play twenty questions?”

He blinked, refocusing on Phantom sitting across from him. “Huh?”

“I just figured it might pass the time. Twenty questions, no lies, though you can reject them if you don’t want to answer.”

Tim considered it before nodding, “Sure. How old are you?”

Phantom grinned, “Seventeen, same as you. Why Robin?”

“I wanted to help Batman after the previous one died. Nobody else would intervene, so I stepped in. Why Phantom?”

“Okay, hear me out…it’s a pun.”

Tim paused, gesturing for him to elaborate.

“Before I was half-ghost, my last name was Fenton. So as a ghost, Danny Fenton became—”

“Danny Phantom,” Tim groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I can’t believe I ever thought you were subtle.”

“Hey, nobody expects the dead guy to moonlight as a living person. Sunlight? Whatever. Favorite hobbies?”

“Photography and skateboarding. Favorite power?”

“Ooh, that’s a hard one. I’d have to say flight. Nothing beats flying at night. Sexuality?”

Tim spluttered, making Phantom laugh as he blushed. “What the heck?!”

“Hey, you can always skip,” the asshole offered.

“No, it just caught me off guard. I’m bi. You?”

“Pan. And trans, while we’re at it. Ghosts can shapeshift, so I got a perfect transition at the low cost of death.”

Tim snorted, “Death is an ally.”

“Absolutely, it comes for us all,” he winked. “If you had a single power, what would it be?”

“Something so I wouldn’t need to sleep. I can manage otherwise. What determines the things you take?”

Phantom grinned, “Once a detective. But seriously, I just aim for things that look cool and won’t be missed too much. Some people will kick up a fuss over their trash if they think it’s worth stealing. Thoughts on soulmates?”

He stopped, some part of him catching on how serious the otherwise silly sounding question was phrased. As if the way he answered this could mean life or death. “You mean, a couple acting like they’re made for each other?”

“Ah, I wasn’t sure whether you had them in your universe. On my Earth, everyone is born with some kind of connection to at least one other person. Shared thoughts, a timer countdown to the time they first meet, stuff like that. Platonic or romantic, they were called soulmates.”

“So…someone you’re destined to meet and get along with? Is it magic based?”

A nod. “Humanity’s done research but they haven’t concluded on that yet. I asked an Ancient whose domain was centered around it, and they said it was determined by a soul’s resonance. I don’t know the specifics, but something about how all souls that resonate a certain way are born with soulmarks, so that they have an easier time finding each other. There are studies about how soulmates tend to understand each other easier, but other than that there’s no empirical proof that they’re different from any other relationship.”

Tim considered it. What it might’ve been like, to be told the second he met Dick that fateful night at the circus, ‘this boy will permanently alter the course of your life’. To have been able to approach Batman that first time, point to his wrist, and automatically be listened to instead of resorting to blackmail. How much easier it would have been to avoid the misunderstandings that defined their whole family.

Then again, it would be just his luck to have been born in that world and not have any soul connections to the Wayne family, making him work twice as hard for the same level of trust. Or to be born without resonance at all, and be left knowing that he was truly beyond reach. What would that do to him, in a society where people could point at the worst criminals and say ‘even that monster has someone they love’? To be soulmates with a genuinely terrible person?

“It sounds like a mixed blessing,” Tim said, meeting Danny’s gaze directly. “I would love to have someone like that by my side, and I’d be terrified of being defined by it.”

Danny leaned back, wearing a self-deprecating smile that Tim was quickly learning to recognize. “Yeah, that’s fair. Your turn.”

“What…what is your personal experience with soulmates? If I’m allowed to ask.”

He hissed out a breath through his teeth. “Yeah, that’s exactly what I thought you’d say.”

“I can ask something else?”

Danny waved a hand in dismissal. “I’ll answer, just lemme figure out how to put it.”

“I’ll return our dishes while you think through what you want to say.” Tim stood with his empty bowl, easily accepting the other bowl and plate as they were handed to him.

Walking back, Tim cataloged the people hanging around the tavern. A group of friends huddled around a dozen plates, decked out in gear that made it look like they just finished having some grand adventure. The bartender, a sly smile on her face as a drunken man clumsily flirted with his own wife. The cook instructing a boy to retrieve the dishes from Tim, sending a calculating glance in Danny’s direction before nodding at Tim and turning back to the fire.

Tim didn’t spend a lot of time in public anymore. His fame attracted far too much attention now that the press could consistently recognize him. But maybe once things settled back down again, he’d try civilian life again. There was something different about living alongside the people he worked to save, instead of far above looking down.

By the time he returned to his seat, Danny looked ready to talk.

“My soulmate rejected me when we were little.”

Tim blinked. “You can do that?”

“Ah…sorta? Depending on the connection, one side can choose to shut it down. Mine let us exchange messages. I was a dumb kid, and sent out a ton every day to try and get any kind of response that they were out there. They got sick of it and blocked me.” Danny laughed, but it wasn't very funny.

“I’m sorry. That sounds awful.”

“Don’t be. I annoy everyone—it was only a matter of time before I did something to chase them away.”

“Would you stop doing that?”

Danny blinked, tilting his head in silent question.

“Look, I get that you went through a lot of shit before coming to Gotham. But you keep acting like it’s a given that everyone you meet will be awful to you, and it sucks to hear you talk like that when I’m having fun with you. It wasn't your fault, so stop claiming credit for it. If I can’t justify losing Robin, you can’t justify being abandoned.”

“...alright then.” Danny huffed, folding his arms and pouting. “Neither of us can talk shit about ourselves.”

The twinkle in his eyes was enough for Tim to know he got through to him.

— - —

Tim leaned up against a fence in the Wild West, shifting uncomfortably in his dust coated clothes. Danny was perched beside him, smugly radiating a cool breeze that may very well have been the only thing keeping Tim upright in the summer sun.

“There’s too much sunlight here, it’s unnatural.”

“That’s just your Gothamite showing, city-boy.”

“Fuck off.”

Danny’s laughter had become a staple of the past few days spent traveling through history. In turn, Tim found himself happier than he’d been in ages, making sarcastic comments about anything that caught his eye in an attempt to get Danny to laugh more.

So far, he’d yet to fail to bring at least a smile to the other’s face.

Right now they were in the late 19th century, following rumors that Bruce had somehow crossed paths with Vandal Savage again. It was bordering on ridiculous, and a part of Tim wondered if this was why the legendary criminal stayed well away from Gotham waters. He was going to have to ask Bruce what was up with that after this whole mess was over.

“So,” Danny started, leaning closer to him. “Have any plans for when we’re back in modern day?”

Tim shrugged, “I see a lengthy report to Batman, hours spent explaining everything he missed while he was gone. I swear I’ll be up all week helping him catch up.”

A snort. “I meant about Robin. No offense, but you looked miserable in your new costume.”

He paused. He hadn’t quite processed the knowledge that bringing Bruce back wouldn’t also bring back his role as Robin. It was obvious whenever he actually thought about it, but to him Bruce coming home was still synonymous to going back to how things were before he was lost in time.

“I don’t know…Red Robin was just supposed to be temporary. It was one of Red Hood’s old aliases, not really mine.”

Danny turned to him. “Do you want a new one? If you decide now, we can lay the basis for some local legend to act as future inspiration for the new title.”

Tim elbowed him, “We aren’t messing with the timeline to establish lore for my new identity.”

“C’mon, it’ll be fun! I did it back in my original world, there’s ancient frescos of me winning chariot races and everything.”

“How are you and Clockwork still on speaking terms?”

“Oh, he totally finds it as funny as I do. He just has to pretend to be serious all the time so the Observants don’t crack down on him for shirking his duties.”

“You’re a bad influence on the embodiment of time,” Tim concluded with wide eyes.

A wide grin stretched across Danny’s face as he lied through his teeth. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“How did you even—he’s millennia older than you!”

“Counterparts, remember? It’s not a soul bond, but it’s easy to see ourselves in each other. Besides, time is relative; he's like a weird grandpa-uncle-cousin.”

Tim shook his head, but couldn’t quite force down the laughter in his lungs.

“Hey, I know for a fact I’m not the only bad influence here. No matter how much you claim that sleep is for the dead, I’m physical proof against that.”

“Whatever. You know when the next jump is?”

Danny tilted his head, as if listening for something only meant for his ears. “If Bats already came through here, there’s only two big timesinks left he could be in. Either sometime in the 20th century, or in a designated Vanishing Point.”

“Vanishing Point?”

“Yeah, it’s something of a collaboration between the Observants, Clockwork, and Ghost Writer. Each universe has an archive set right around its eventual heat death. It’s like an empty room in a video game with props the devs left in to keep the system running after inadvertently designing the whole code in reference to a lemon.”

“I…never mind. Why would Batman be there?”

“Oh, ‘cause he’s traveling through time without one of these,” Danny tapped Tim’s chest, right where his Time Medallion lay under his shirt. “They’re designed to safely disperse the energy gained each time we make a jump, among other things. Otherwise we’d just be building up enough to wipe the timeline from existence. Or something like that, I wasn’t really paying attention.”

Tim suddenly realized that this was what his former teammates meant when they complained about him executing strategies without explaining his thought process first. He still stood by his stance that it was more effective to explain things as they happened, but he was developing a new sense of empathy for them.

“Okay. Batman is a time-charged universe level bomb threat, and is getting funneled into the Backrooms so he blows up with everything else in existence. What can we do to stop that?”

Danny blinked. “Sorry, I thought it was obvious. I already carry a medallion with me wherever I go, so I was just gonna have you put the spare Clocky gave me on him to filter it out.”

Yep. This was karma for never giving people the full story behind any of his plans.

“I’m going to need you to go over everything we need to do when we get to this Vanishing Point. Twice.”

“Okie doke! So I’m gonna leave you with my spare medallion to help Bats while I throw down with Darkseid’s hyper-dimensional mind slave he sent after him to ensure his demise—”

Gift baskets. Tim owed so many people gift baskets for putting up with his bullshit.

— - —

When Tim found him, Danny was perched on the same apartment building they’d last met on.

His hood was down, freeing his flaming white hair to burn without heat in the night. His face was turned towards the sky, looking for all like he was somehow stargazing in spite of the thick smog that blanketed the city. It would’ve made for a stunning picture, if not for how soul crushingly lonely the scene felt.

Danny startled when Tim’s grappling hook latched onto the rooftop beside him. The halfa was quick to brighten upon seeing Tim down below, scooting over to make room for him as he reeled in the line and pulled himself up.

“Fancy meeting you here, Detective.”

Tim huffed, readjusting his utility belt. “The others won’t stop pestering me about how Batman was brought back when I shouldn’t have access to any time travel devices. It’s a miracle I was even able to get out of the Batcave without getting smothered.”

“You didn’t tell them about me?”

“You didn’t want them to know.”

Danny looked stunned. He physically shook himself out of it, a glowing green blush rising to his cheeks as he turned away. “Thanks.”

Tim absentmindedly nodded as he smoothly slipped a black marker from his belt while Danny was distracted. This had the potential to either go very smoothly or backfire completely, but it had to be done to sate his curiosity. Now that Bruce was home and he’d gotten the time to think over their conversations, pieces had started to align in his head. It was just a matter of taking the leap and confirming it for himself.

Reaching up to his own cheek, Tim wrote in practiced motions, focusing on the thought of sending it through to whoever was on the other side.

Danny jumped, hand slapping to his own cheek as he whipped his head around to stare at Tim in open shock. He shrugged sheepishly.

“Your description of soulmates was familiar. Between that and the cloak, I really should’ve put it together sooner.”

“You’re…not mad?”

Tim shifted, stashing the marker back in its rightful place. “I wish I knew sooner. I never meant to hurt you—Batman was getting on my case about the writing on my arms being recognizable in costume, and I never thought to wonder why it was happening in the first place.”

Danny shook his head, a wet chuckle escaping his lips. “You couldn’t have known. It would’ve freaked anyone out, getting messages from a different universe on their skin.”

“Neither did you. Know, I mean. Me blocking the connection was never on you.”

“Well…”

“I mean it.”

“Fine, fine. So…does that mean…?”

Tim carefully reached out his hands to grasp onto his soulmate’s, intertwining their fingers. It was remarkable how easily they fit together. “I don’t know if it’s romantic or not, but I’m willing to give it a try if you are.”

Danny collapsed forward into Tim’s arms. He could hardly make out the muffled affirmative, but the message was crystal clear. Leaning down to set his chin on the top of Danny’s head, he let himself savor this moment.

Tomorrow, he could beg Danny to experiment with the extent of their bond. They could talk about new ideas for his hero name, and Danny could get another shot at convincing him to go on a worldwide anti-multi-billionaire tour. The two of them had potentially forever to work out this newfound aspect of their relationship.

For the time being, Tim relaxed back against a chain link fence with his soulmate in his arms, the word ‘BOO’ scribbled in black marker across both their faces.

— - —

And that's a wrap! There's definitely room for more, but these were the all the scenes I wanted to cover ^-^

I think in this universe, Danny and Tim end up working as a slightly morally grey hero duo. They go global for a bit, Tim wanting to train under more people to better keep up with Danny (who follows along invisibly as backup). This eventually gets the attention of Ra's, and you can imagine how that goes XD

They're a bit overly attached; neither of them really have a healthy sense of boundaries, which causes a bit of conflict here and there. Tim is the one that insists on taking breaks to avoid becoming too codependent, which only really results in them deepening the soul bond to a ridiculous degree. Ironically it's during this that Tim discovers how he can send pressure marks through to Danny, who immediately converts it to morse code (oops).

Thanks for reading!

Tag list:

@skulld3mort-1fan @profoundsoulsong @daemonlogical @bobred18 @ashoutinthedarkness @hilariousseagoat @undead-essence @ekatkit @wolfjackle @awkwardmaiden @vehan-tikkun-olam-and-stuff

[animelovelover123]

DMC: Family Pet AU – First Breeding Privileges

Link to Master List

Set-Up

After giving you (up to) 2 years to mentally prepare, the time came for you to start fulfilling one of your primary responsibilities. Children needed to be had. Now usually the demon family would fight, sometimes to the death, for first dibs on breeding a Pet. But this was the Sparda family, who loved and respected your feelings. So instead, they gathered in a meeting and unanimously agreed that you may choose whose child you wish to bear first, and within a month you are to announce your decision. Though, if you couldn’t come to a decision yourself, several members were ready to fight for the privilege.

Lady, Eva, Kyrie, and Nico

Being human women, all four were eliminated from the running automatically due to not actually being able to impregnate you.

Eva is at peace with this. She has already experienced pregnancy with her own body, and though she would be lying if she said she wasn’t a bit curious of what it would feel like on the other side of the situation, she also wished for her children to enjoy the pleasure of creating new life.

If you request her to parent your first child, she suppresses her shocked expression and instead gives a genuine smile full of love and sympathy. “My dear,” Eva motions you to sit in her lap. When you do, she holds your pouting face to her chest and pets you. “it’s very sweet of you to think of me. I am honored to have you even consider an old lady like me, but you know that I cannot do this for you, don’t you?”

Kyrie was a naturally nurturing person and would rather be the one getting pregnant. If anything, she was excited to care for you and live vicariously through you during your pregnancy.

If you try asking her to parent your child, she will freeze for a moment in confusion then break out in a light giggle. “Oh my.” She will smile jovially at you as she scratches behind one of your ears. “Such a sweet little thing.”

Nico wasn’t really interested in having kids, at least not at this point in her life. She was still hung up on her own family issues and trying to settle down with the one she suddenly had now with the Spardas. Though she is a little disappointed because “you and I would have made the cutest little munchkins”.

If you try to choose Nico she will blatantly laugh, though she will rein her humor in if you become upset. “Don’t take it personally sweet pea, but I ain’t got the equipment to do that, if you know what I mean.” She gives a playful wink.

Lady was the only one of the four actually upset that she couldn’t be the parent. She was kind of hoping that, through some magical or demonic means, she could maybe pull it off. And she technically could, but not without her becoming a demon like her father did, which was obviously out of the question. She wanted to be a mom but the idea of getting pregnant herself was scary and it would involve asking someone else to help her which would be excruciatingly embarrassing, even if she wouldn’t mind if it happened with a select couple of the other members. And maybe she wanted the satisfaction of having you and shoving it in the face of the twins.

If you come to her and ask her to be the first to breed with you, her disappointment grows tenfold. “God, I wish I could. I want to. You have no idea how badly I want to. But I just… can’t.” At that moment, for but a minute, she truly considers becoming a demon.

Dante

Technically, Dante is the most optimal choice. He is the oldest and strongest of the possible partners that do not already have an heir. This is something he holds over everyone else as a playful jab. In all honesty, he doesn’t feel anywhere near worthy to have a kid. Still, he has always kind of wanted one and he couldn’t ask for anyone better to be the other parent than you. Even as he looks through porn magazines to try and get his mind off the possibility, his face goes red with daydreams of you happily waddling over to him for a kiss with a full belly and later coming home to the excited calls of “Papa!” as his cute little guy or gal waddles over to him. His self-doubts keep him from expressing these more enduring feelings though, instead hiding behind teasing and jokes.

If you are unable to decide and it is left up to a fight, he will naturally stick to his usually cocky and cheeky attitude. But as the fight goes on, he becomes more determined and, if provoked enough, may give in to his demon blood to upgrade the battle into a life-or-death struggle. Someone, most likely Sparda or Trish, may need to step in if Dante and Vergil get each other too heated.

If you choose him though, his facade nearly shatters that instant. His casual smile and posture suddenly flip to that of an excited puppy. If there are other people around he tries to rein it in, both out of wanting to uphold his image and not wanting to risk making others feel worse for having not been chosen. But when you are alone, he is more affectionate than usual. And by the time you hit your second trimester all his restraints are gone as he excitedly prepares his place for his kid and showers you in attention.

“Thank you.” Dante says, making you look down at your lap where he is resting his cheek on your thigh and rubbing a hand over your swelled stomach. “Thank you for choosing me. I’ll be the best damn father I can be.”

Vergil

Vergil already has a son. He and his father are the only ones out of the potential partners who have already secured an heir, and this results in some pressure to not participate in the competition. To step back and let others have the chance to be parents first. But that’s the thing, Vergil never truly got the chance to be a parent. Sure, once he is properly reunited with Nero, Vergil has been trying to form a bond with his son, but he can never make up for all the lost time. Vergil wants another chance to be a father, one in which he can be there for every special moment and lead his child through life’s difficult hurdles.

And so, if the privilege to have you carry his child is left up to a battle, Vergil is ready to fight tooth and nail. It doesn’t matter if he is up against his brother, his father, or even his own son, Vergil has no intention of giving in until he is on death’s door. In reality, others will step in to stop the fight before it gets to that point, but Vergil is ready.

If you instead seek him out to be your first breeding partner, he feels as if the world is giving him a sign. A sign telling him that he can repent for his failure with Nero, even though Vergil had been enslaved and did not choose to abandon Nero. Vergil takes the utmost care in every step of the process. From conception to each trimester and to the birth itself, Vergil has researched every possible thing. This actually gets in the way sometimes, but it is the thought that counts. He wants to do things right, not just by the child but by you as well, who was suffering more than he would like to bring this child into the world. He also tries to integrate Nero into the process by encouraging Nero to spend time with you and him. To speak to his future sibling, to play games of tag when the child is restless, and to be the third, after you and Vergil himself, to hold the baby once they are born. Seeing Nero half lay on your bed so he can get a good look at the bundle in your arms, watching you both smile down at the wriggling baby, cooing things at it like “you’re so cute” and “I’m gonna teach you all sorts of crazy stuff”. Then seeing you both look up at him and excitedly beckon him closer… that was the first time you or Nero saw Vergil cry.

“I can do this.” He finally truly believed. “I can grow a family.”

Nero

Fuck YEEEEESSS! Nero is so ready to have a kid. He’s always wanted to be a dad, to be everything he never had growing up. And ya, he had Kyrie and wanted to have kids with her too, but why can’t he have both? He knew that was a bit selfish, but he loved you both so very much, and maybe the thought of getting you both pregnant ignited a weird but intoxicating masculine pride in him.

So hell ya. If it’s a fight the others want, it’s a fight they’ll get. He’ll pull out all the stops weapon-wise. Thankfully though he hasn’t awakened to his full devil trigger yet so he won’t go into ‘kill or be killed’ mode like his dad or his uncle.

If you pointedly choose him though, he is honestly overly proud. He will parade this information and your full tummy around, usually not intending to offend or rub it into other people’s faces, except sometimes with Dante and Vergil (and maybe Trish if he is mad at her). He wants everyone to appreciate your strength and beauty, and to acknowledge him as a mature adult who can take care of himself and others. People are quick to point out that his giddiness in showing you, and anything to do with his child, off to anyone that would listen was not helping his mission to be seen as mature.

He will be nervous to leave you alone while pregnant, but he will manage to still do his jobs if you are in the care of other family members, especially Kyrie. But if he actually manages to get both you and Kyrie pregnant at the same time, all restraints are off. A family meeting is being held? Unless both of you can safely attend then he’ll pass, someone can give him the 411 later. There’s a mission to do for Devil May Cry? He has a family to deal with that. He has more important places to be. The world is ending? Well, he has to be with his lovers to make sure they and his future children make it through the apocalypse. Okay… maybe he’ll let others watch over you both while he helps. But this better be quick!

V

He knew this was coming, but when the time did come, he still wasn’t sure. He did not really want children. He wasn’t averse to children or having them, but he felt nowhere near ready to father one. Even though he was physically an adult and mature in many ways, he felt far too naïve. He has only existed in his own body for a handful of years and has spent even less time as his own being with individuality. He was comparatively a child to the world, how was he supposed to lead a baby through it? Even if he did indulge in scribing the most beautiful of art in his mind while imagining you with a child he helped create from time to time.

Even so, he was pressured to participate. As the only human eligible to be a breeding partner, other humans in the family (namely Lady and Nico) elected him as some sort of representative and encouraged him to put up a good fight at least. His familiars, primarily Griffon, argued with him every day to assert more dominance in the family, and being the first to impregnate the family Pet would definitely raise his standing. Others egged him on through mocking comments. Some were unintentional, like Sparda and Nero honestly worrying that the battle over you may be too rough for him, while others were very much meant to aggravate him, such as Dante’s playful remarks of V being “too fragile” and Vergil’s assertion that V is “simply too weak”.

If the brawl is to be scheduled, V approaches it with a tired frustration and hidden discomfort. “I suppose I must,” he says over and over with a shrug to get others to stop bothering him about it and to try and work up the nerve in himself. Despite fully expecting to fail, V still trains for the fight and hopes, at the very least, not to leave the fight as an utter disappointment to everyone present. He, in fact, ends up impressing his family.

Everyone is utterly shocked if you ask him to father your first child, including V himself. Whether other people are around when you utter the words or it is just him present, the room falls silent for a long while, wide eyes turning to watch you as if you would throw your hands up and laugh off the joke any moment. It’s Griffon who breaks the silence as he emerges unsolicited to cheer. This becomes a recurring problem, Griffon gloating to everyone that his master was chosen which means his master is better than them. V gets in the habit of calling Griffon back within seconds of sensing the avian’s pride. Shadow is also prideful but at least she simply struts alongside you proudly like you are a queen out for a walk with her faithful pet. V, though taken aback by this sudden responsibility placed before him, does take it with all due respect and seriousness. Though continuing to ask, “are you sure?” even after the baby is born, he will do everything in his power to be the man he needs to be for you and the precious gift you have given him.

Credo

As a loyal follower of Sparda, and later Vergil, and a well-researched man on demonology and society, Credo knew from the moment the idea of adopting a Pet came up in a family meeting that the stream of children would follow soon enough. What he was still trying to wrap his brain around was that he had the privilege of being in the running to have you. He still very much felt like a simple soldier under the great Sparda and his eldest son rather than being part of the Sparda family, even though most of the family had treated him kindly and welcomed him wholeheartedly. Credo also hadn’t really considered being a father before. Having spent most of his life helping to raise his little sister and adoptive brother while also leading the holy knights, he never really stopped to consider what to do with his life outside of these things. If he did take time to consider the possibility, he found that he kind of liked the idea, but the single month between having the meeting and you giving your answer was not enough time for him to come to a clear decision.

In the end, if he was called to the battlefield, he would fight. However, if he was ordered to stand down he would comply. With his lack of commitment at the moment, he treats the fight almost like training. A clash of blades to test each other’s prowess without grievously wounding anyone as they were all on the same side.

If you approach him to be your partner, he stares at you long and hard, his expression seeming to be an angry glare but was actually furrowed in thought. If any of the higher-ranked members of the family are around Credo will look to them before responding to you. What did they think of this? Was this acceptable? Was he acceptable? Whether there are third parties present or not, Credo will say with a straight face, “Thank you for telling me this. Please give me time to think things over.” He gives you a bow and leaves the room before his racing heart and heating face ruins his stoicism.

Credo feels the need to converse with the heads of the family, Sparda and Eva, about this matter. Credo considered inviting Vergil to this meeting but there was a nagging fear in his heart that Vergil would vehemently deny you and him. This was picked up on by Sparda and Eva who recognized it as Credo seeking affirmation and blessing, which they give him. After a bit more consideration he agrees.

“Though I am still unsure of my qualifications, I will stake my honour as the head of the holy knights on providing for you and our child.”

Trish

As a demon, Trish was the only female that could get you pregnant and so was the only woman in the running. This resulted in her feeling just a bit pressured, by other girls in the family and herself, to step up and succeed as a gender representative. Not that she doesn’t want to be a parent with you, far from it. She has always held a maternal instinct that, though somewhat soothed via her teasing mothering of other family members, she knows she won’t truly be vindicated from until she has a kid of her own. Now whether that kid was with you or Lady didn’t matter, both of you were her favorites. But this was a prime opportunity.

If it came down to a fight she would step up to the plate. With the sword Sparda in hand and the cheers of Lady and Nico she would give it her all. But she also was levelheaded enough to not take things too far. No matter how much she wanted a kid, she had no intention or desire to kill her family for it. She would subdue the others, not eliminate them. She knew her limits and the limits of her family and would keep an eye out for how much damage they and herself had taken. If things got bad or those observing became too upset at the violence, her maternal instinct would drive her to abort the fight and try to stop it.

If she is the one you choose, she coos affectionately. “Why of course sweetheart.” She pulls you into a loose hug so she can look at your cute blushing face as she strokes your hair. “Let me handle everything darling, I’ll take such good care of you.” She won’t gloat about it to others, though maybe throw around a teasing remark occasionally. This was mainly between you and her, so she never gave out unnecessary information or listened to others’ unsolicited suggestions, except perhaps from Eva and Sparda out of loyalty and understanding that they knew best in this scenario. Even though she knew you belonged to the family, for the time being, you were primarily hers and she was yours.

Sparda

As the head of the family, Sparda had full right to simply choose whom you bred with first and when. The only thing that would get in his way is any family member who dared fight his authority, which Sparda could only think of Vergil and/or Nero trying such a thing. But that wasn’t the kind of man Sparda was. His eyes have been opened to the kinder ways of humanity and he no longer wishes to continue the cruel treatment of Pets that his kind primarily did. He was also reasonable enough to understand that he already had two strong, healthy, adult (in terms of human biology) children. Though his demon body was formed with the natural intention to live several thousand years and create many offspring in that time, he was mature and self-aware enough to understand that he has had his time as a father and that now it was time to give others a turn. And yet, he couldn’t help his craving to bear children with you. He cherished the experience of having children with Eva and wished to have it again, and again, and again. What an uplifting and proud life he has lived since becoming a father, but with his sons carving new paths in life he desired to bring about more joy into the world. But this he kept contained, only speaking to his wife about it if she could pull it out of him.

Sparda did not intend to participate in the battle for breeding privileges if it came to that. But he may be convinced to join if encouraged by others, whether that be by Eva telling him to follow his desires or his children and grandchild itching to fight him. The fight was admittedly tougher than he had expected, which gave him a rush of demonic violent adrenalin and a surge of fatherly pride at how strong his kin was. This paternal pride is what held him back from letting out his full power though, not wanting to hurt his children’s pride by a swift defeat and still believing that his kin deserved the chance to be parents like he already had.

If you request him to be your first partner, he is able to hold back his pride and excitement to give you a kind but questioning look. “Are you sure Pet? I am flattered but perhaps we should give others the chance first.” He quickly gives in to your pleading eyes and pouts at his gentle rejection though. He lifts you into his arms, just as he did with Eva on their wedding night. “I will be sure not to fall short of your expectations. Now, shall we begin right away?”

Sparda is a family man, and so he does his best to involve as much of the family in the new child’s life. From relying on his patient and considerate wife to help lead you through the highs and lows of pregnancy and childbirth to easing the twins into accepting their new sibling. He also uses the experience as a teaching opportunity for his kin on what to expect from fathering/mothering a child and what they should do. He’ll even encourage others to play at being a parent for practice, assuming you are comfortable with that. It becomes a regular occurrence for all family members to hover around you; figuring out how to hold, cuddle, lift, and support you and your changing body; and to expect the unexpected, sudden, but strong desires you will have, along with knowing how to keep you and the baby safe while they satisfy you in every way.

[apas-95]

do think it's reasonable to call Palestinians who are a member of a terrorist group terrorists. I do understand where they're coming from with that

i have enough faith in you to believe you aren't really stupid enough to think my point of contention is over 'are members of a terrorist group terrorists' and not 'do the Palestinian resistance organisations qualify as terrorists', and that you're just trying to get weak digs. in that case, I'd enjoinder you to specify the ways that Palestinian resistance organisations can be classified as 'terrorists' that, say, the liberation fighters of the warsaw ghetto uprising don't.

'terrorist' is a nothing term that gives absolutely no information about the political direction of a group, or its practical impact, other than that the person talking about it has different political aims than it does. necessarily, any discussion about whether Palestinian resistance groups 'are terrorists' or not is completely intractable, because it just boils down to the question of 'do you like them or not'. a much more important and fruitful discussion is of what the impact and context of these organisations is. terror attacks are, in actuality, a specific tactic deployed in given situations by definite groups for definite reasons, to achieve certain goals. it is useful to some groups and not useful to others, depending on their aims and context. communists generally do not find terror attacks to be a useful tactic, as it's difficult to carry out terror attacks that don't ultimately target (some section of) the proletariat. are terror attacks useful to the bourgeois-democratic national liberation movement? do Palestinian resistance groups carry out terror attacks? these questions are both ultimately secondary to the fundamental one at the base of this discussion - is Palestinian liberation, by whatever means it comes about, a progressive thing? by this I mean actual Palestinian liberation, the complete destruction of the occupation state and the restoration of complete Palestinian sovereignty. if you consider this to be, in the final analysis, a progressive movement in society (one that resolves existing contradictions and develops the ascendant forces in society), and you posess the basic ability to analyse the world factually, then it should be concluded that Palestinian resistance organisations should be supported wholeheartedly - that whatever excesses they can commit, that whatever their failures and crimes could be, they would still be a thousandfold better than any extension of the occupation of Palestine whose reactionary nature and opposition to progress is unshakeable.

ultimately, the israeli occupiers have, just now, flattened a hospital, killing 500 people instantly, and critically injuring hundreds more. the reality is that terror attacks are being committed. you can hue and cry over it all you want, but the only choices that exist are a continuation of the genocide under the occupation, or the destruction of that occupation by any means necessary. any decrying of Palestinian resistance in favour of an imaginary peaceful third way is solely support for the status quo of israeli occupation and genocide. you are either in the camp of the genocidaires or outside of it, and no logical flights of fancy can obfuscate that.

[wazzappp]

Alright whose ready to see my lose my mind over continually more ridiculous au ideas? Trick question your gonna see it happen anyway (I have. so much bullshit. i have an entire other au that I havent posted about yet and i am thinking. about the re7 au again brother. I have fallen into the pits don't come save me or I'll drag you down too).

also jesus FUCK @moosemonstrous coming in clutch again with both star wars knowlege and the ability to actually remember things beyond a day and a half of talking about them THANK YOU.

STAR WARS AU

The Jedi originally came to Tatooine looking for Gabe. Sensing his strength with the light side of the force they thought he would be a prime candidate for training. Unfortunately for them, Robbie and Gabe are a package deal. They begrudgingly allowed him to come along as well because he is also force sensitive, but a little older than they would usually let in for training. Robbie agrees to because 1. if he just says no who KNOWS if they'll just take Gabe away forcefully and 2. STEADY FOOD SOURCE. ROOF OVER THEIR HEADS. ADAQUATE MEDICAL CARE. NO MORE FUCKING SAND. He doesen't trust these people as far as he can throw them but FUCK anything must be better than here.

During a sparring session another padawan purposefully infuriates Robbie, causing him to reach out to the dark side. He nearly kills the other padawan with the strength of his outburst. It then becomes EXTREMELY EVIDENT that Robbie is VERY strong with the dark side of the force. As a result of this outburst, one of his eyes gets the usual 'sith look', he gets special training to try and suppress those feelings, and he gets permanent pariah status in the Jedi Temple (I have. plans. i am being vague on purpose because FUCK I want to draw this scene in my head so bad but I also want to get this out to yall in the same month so it will be coming later. my dramatic bitch syndrome demands it).

After the clone wars get started (he's around 16 at this point) the Jedi realize that they need more people to fight. Robbie, though being previously disqualified for his history, is accepted for training and assigned Jedi Knight Johnny Blaze as a master.

Unfortunately, along the way Johnny starts picking up more solo missions and eventually disappears about 6 months in and everyone thinks he's defected (he's spying on the sepratist's for the republic). Which MEGA sucks for Robbie because 'holy shit the unstable padawans master defected' is getting thrown around and thats really not great. He wanders off deep into the temple where he can hopefully find a place to throw his feelings around in peace and stumbles into the artifact room, which opened in response to sensing the dark side. Bad news, you cant use the same method to get out.

Even MORE unfortunately one of these sith artifacts starts talking to him. After telling him how to get tf out of the vault and convincing Robbie that things are about to get bad ('I FELT what you could to out there kid do you REALLY think they're gonna let you stay? You gotta get out of here. And if you take me with you I can guide us to a ship they can't trace')

So Robbie sets out to run away, fully planning on taking Gabe with him and gets second thoughts while packing to which Gabe goes 'fuck that were GOING' (he's like. 11. But he'll be damned if Robbie goes somewhere and leaves him who knows how long). While escaping via unauthorized ship takeoff, Elis holocron makes it look like Robbie has fully gone to the dark side and there are clones sent to stop him.

Robbie responds by using the force to throw another ship at them and escapes with Gabe. Now they're both on the run. Robbie wanted by the jedi council for kidnapping, and Gabe wanted back to complete his training.

Eli died as a dark side user and a wannabe Sith. He never really graduated into full sithhood and spent most of his time working for Senator Ivanov and his dealings in Hutt space. He was OBSESSED with the prospect of immortality and sought ways to survive even after death.

When he was used as a scapegoat by Ivanov (he reported Eli to the Jedi council to make him look a little less suspicious), his back up plan of imbuing a holocron with his force presence was put into use. He's been sitting gathering dust in a vault of darksided relics for the past 10 years, just waiting for his chance to get out.

Gabe is an EXCEPTIONAL student in the Jedi temple. He enjoys learning about the force and how to use it, and for the most part gets along with his peers. His mobility aid has been improved since Robbie first built it for him out of scraps he was allowed to take from working on ships on Tatooine. Some days are still better than others, and there are times when a wheelchair is more appropriate, but generally the braces are good for daily use.

He is VERY defensive of his brother and absolutely will not hear a bad word said about him (many bad words are said about him. everyone things Gabe is incredibly sweet, but also to blinded by his love for his brother to see that he poses a threat). It very much so does frustrate him, he's just better at dealing with those feelings then Robbie is.

Anakin gets his fun force choking so I think that Robbie should get something fun and funky and special too so enter: JAW BREAK!! Yes it is very ring inspired but I wanted to make it MORE. So fuck it he rips the whole jaw off its hinges I think this would also probably kill you very dead.

Plus some doodles because brainrot brainrot brainrot brainrot

[ndbookstudy]

robert adams, silence of the heart, ch. the 3 principles, pg. 222-230

purple for highlights. pink for very important highlights.

part 2 of principle number 1.

That's how you work with the principles. I feel, I understand, that everything, everything, is a projection, a manifestation of my mind. Whose mind? My mind. Whose mind? Mine. My mind. Who am I who has this problem? And as you ask yourself this question, you will begin to feel better and better and better. You will actually begin to feel better, and as you begin to feel better, the problem becomes less and less important, and it will vanish. This is great psychotherapy. It works. If psychiatrists gave this to patients, they wouldn't have to give them any drugs. It should be like second nature to you. When it's second nature to you, then you're going to find true happiness in your life, and reach your goals. But when you have to think about it first, it means your mind's impressed with something else.

You've got other thoughts that you're thinking about most of the time. The first principle, again, is that everything, and I mean everything, the universe, the world, your body, your fears, your problems, your happiness, everything that you can think about, everything that your senses behold, is a manifestation of your mind. It's a mind quality. When you close your eyes, it goes away. When you sleep you transcend it. But when you are awake, the world exists. The world only exists because your mind exists, and your mind exists because your ego exists. Therefore, when you begin to work on yourself, and you begin to realize that everything comes from your mind, you stop fearing, and you stop worrying, for you realize it's of the mind. And as you begin to change your mind, transcend your mind, annihilate your mind, bliss, happiness, peace, love, joy, truth, come all by themselves. It is the mind that is your enemy.

What is your mind? It is a conglomeration of thoughts about the past and the future. You worry about the past, and you worry about the future. That's all your mind is. It is not your friend. Therefore, ignore your mind. Do not believe what it says. Simply watch it, behold it, become the witness to it. But just to realize that everything is an emanation of your mind, that alone sets you free.

So, again, I ask you, "What do you remember?" You remember your personal problems, you remember your needs, and you think you're human. You think about the body continuously. That's why there is trouble with Self-realization. So you've got to investigate your mind, and watch it all the time. See what it's doing to you. Watch how it controls you. It makes you emotional, it makes you believe something is wrong. It makes you angry. All these things come from the mind. The idea is to be aware of this. The awareness alone leads you to the light; just being aware of that, alone. You don't have to know any book knowledge. Just be aware of what your mind really is.

That's how you conquer your mind. By being aware of it, and no longer responding to it. No longer to react to the mind. Something that usually makes you angry, before you would respond, and you'd want to win the argument, but now your reaction is no reaction. You simply smile and you watch. When your mind sees there's no response, it will become weaker and weaker, until it disappears. It's just like arguing with a person. What happens if you stop arguing? The person goes away. They don't know what to think. They just won't have anything to do with you. They just leave. So when you stop responding to your thoughts, your mind will go away, and become weaker, and weaker, and weaker, until there is no mind.

You understand, you feel, that everything is an emanation of your mind or it wouldn't exist. All existence, from the smallest nothing to the greatest cosmic galaxy-it all comes out of your mind. However, even ifl tell you this, you still feel that something is real, don't you? You feel that something is real. You may say the sun is real. You may say that God is real. You may say that an atom is real, but you do not comprehend that you are creating these things. They're all a projection of your mind. If you didn't have a mind, you would not have these concepts. That's why we have to annihilate the mind, to kill the mind. No mind, no concepts.

And you have to practice Self-inquiry, by realizing everything comes out of your mind, asking yourself, "What is my mind? Where did it come from?" And you will realize that "I" is the mind, "I" is also the mind! Because you say, "I think," don't you see? "I think," and the mind is thoughts. So we get back to the "I" again. We always come back to the "I." Subsequently again, if you want to remove your mind, you remove the "I."

You ask yourself again, "If the mind is I, then where did I come from? What is the source of this I? Who am I?" You always get back to the "I." Everything leads to the same thing, doesn't it? All the processes we use lead to the same thing. To "I."

The first principle: The whole universe is a projection of my mind. Then you say, "My mind. Who is 'my'? I'm referring to 'my' mind." And then again you tell yourself, "I am referring. I'm back to 'I' again. I am referring to my mind." Again you go back to, "Where did this 'I' come from? Who created it? What is its source? Who gave it birth?" And you keep questioning this way, again, and again, and again. And, as I said before, with most people, one day there will be like an explosion, and the "I" will blow itself to pieces. And you'll see light, tremendous light.

You'll become light. The light of a thousand suns. But that's not the answer. You have to go through the light, into Emptiness, into Nirvana, into Absolute Reality, which is called Parabrahman, Nothingness. That Nothingness becomes Everything.

part 1

[kingsholomon]

Table Manners !!

Subject: How are the brothers at the dinner table?

Theme: Headcanons!

Lucifer eats the second slowest out of everyone. He’s too busy listening and reacting to whatever everybody has to say.

Sometimes if the brothers are lucky Lucifer will start telling stories and talking more than he usually does. They’re always happy to listen and get a juicy story out of their big brother.

If somebody is talking, everybody makes it a point listen carefully, only intercepting when they need to ask a question or want to clarify something.

The most talkative people on the table is obviously Asmodeus and Mammon. They always have stories to tell and juicy gossip to share.

If Beel feels like it, he’ll tell a story of his own. Usually his stories get his brothers to gasp, scream, or even do laps around the kitchen because of the sheer chaotic absurdity that he’s saying.

Belphie is the slowest eater. Whoever is cooking makes a point to not make soup because Belphie might drop asleep and choke on it.

Mammon eats really fast without even thinking. He’s finished his meal before Beel is and doesn’t even realize it.

Satan is quiet on the dinner table unless he needs to ask a question or tease Lucifer.

That’s because he doesn’t really like giving out on his personal life, since its way more chaotic than his brothers would even think.

Leviathan and his snarky and sarcastic commentary sometimes gets all of bis brothers to laugh, which makes him feel good.

What feels better though, is when he gets Lucifer to laugh.

Lucifer only lets himself chuckle when he’s with his brothers, but sometimes they can get him to LAUGH.

it makes them feel great actually.

Mammon chokes on his food all the time

Beel sometimes has to be physically retained from eating somebodies food

Sometimes the brothers watch somethingf while they eat

When they do that, it usually gets Satan and Lucifer to talk more

They always comment on whatevers happening on screen and it’s always funny

One time, Beel sat on chair too quickly and he broke it, just with rhe sheer force of his monster booty

The stories Lucifer tells about his job are the most interesting. Mostly because none of them feature lord diavolo, but other people whose names and positions the brothers never knew about…

If arguments happen at the table, food WILL be thrown at some point.

That usually doesn’t happen, since the dinner table somehow brings the brothers together for a peaceful time…

[nordschleifes]

chapter thirteen — promesa

➝ charlie feels completely out of place in oviedo, following fernando's first weeks of recovery. however, he makes sure she feels completely at home.

➝ word count: 4,1k

➝ warnings: mentions of smut, insecurity, fernando being absolute down for his girl

➝ author's note: tagging @christianpulisic10, @alonsogirlie, @he-is-the-destined, @sunnytkm23 and @enaticosencantados as requested.

After closing the door to the dryer, Charlie pressed the buttons to start the cycle and glanced out of the laundry room window. The distant lights of Oviedo contrasted with the sky whose orange from sunset was replaced by the black of night. The low sound of the crickets overlapped the noise of the cars passing by on the nearby highway, in a scenario that could be described as the most absolute peace.

However, peace wasn’t what she felt at that moment. 

Charlie sighed as she leaned against the wall. There didn’t seem to be enough hours in the day, even though she was technically on her winter holidays. “And to think that I thought this would be a peaceful trip to Spain,” she thought, running a hand over her face.

Staying with Fernando in Oviedo seemed like it should have been a peaceful retreat on its surface, removed from the hectic circus of travel, races, and lots of people, but chaos followed them all the way back to Fernando’s house. There wasn't a day when the driver didn't have someone over to visit, either for a quick chat or to spend the entire day with him. 

On the first day, they had Fernando's parents over, along with Lorena, Edo and Fernando's nieces, Maria and Bianca. Some of his old schoolmates came over the day after. On the third day, the staff from his museum came over, as well as some Kimoa employees. Over the weekend, some of Fernando’s friends from his karting days came over, then Alberto and Luis. 

The visits and attention made Fernando happy, and Charlie was happy that he had so many people that loved him enough to come and visit, but she couldn’t help but feel a little bit out of place. For one thing, Fernando introduced her to everyone as his girlfriend — even without actually asking for it to be official, which was unforgivable, according to Fernando’s niece Maria — and everyone treated her with kindness and respect, she was still a stranger to them and that was evident by the way they looked at her.

The language barrier was another frustration. Some of them spoke English, albeit with a strong accent, but Fernando was by far the most fluent of any of them, which added to Charlie’s anxiety.

When they spoke in such rapid Spanish together, Charlie figured they weren’t talking about her, but as she walked around the house wearing some of Fernando’s t-shirts with yoga pants, her hair up in a bun with her bangs messier, she couldn’t help but wonder if they were talking about how Fernando could do better or how she was a slob. She could have worn nicer clothing or put on some makeup before they had guests over, but it wasn’t her priority when she was doing so much to keep Fernando comfortable and help him with his recovery.

He was her priority.

— Nena? — Charlie heard Fernando calling from the living room, bringing her back to the present. She took one last look out of the window before she took a deep breath and went to see what Fernando needed. The last time she was out here, Fernando was talking to Alberto and Chiara, Kimoa’s head of production. They seemed to have left, and Fernando was on his feet already, leaning on his crutches.

— Hi, did you need something?

— Can you help me up the stairs? — Fernando asked with a smile.

— Yeah, I can, but wouldn't you rather eat something first?

— No need, I'll come down later if I need to — he said, as he went to the stairs. Charlie didn't question him. After all, after a full day of visitors and a painful physiotherapy session, he must have been tired. He definitely needed the rest.

Charlie helped Fernando up to the second floor and followed after him slowly as he walked into the bedroom, the sound of his crutches echoing through the hallway. Then, she helped Fernando into bed, making sure he was comfortable with the way he was propped up, with his injured leg elevated. She turned to go back downstairs, but he stopped her. 

— Charlie — he murmured, causing her to look back — Please stay.

She smiled softly.

— I want to, but I have to finish doing the laundry.

— You can do that later.

— My darling, I'm already wearing your clothes because I don’t have anything clean anymore — Charlie argued, approaching the bed. Looking at what she was wearing, Fernando smiled broadly.

— I think you look pretty wearing my clothes — he said — Of course, you look best when you’re wearing nothing…

Charlie felt her cheeks heat up.

— You know I can't just walk around naked in front of everyone.

— I know, that’s for my eyes only.

Giving her a smile, she leaned over him and pecked him on the lips before making another attempt to leave the room. However, Fernando held her hand firmly.

 — Stay, nena — Fernando purred — The laundry can wait.

— And you can’t?

— Not when it feels like I've spent a lifetime away from you.

Charlie smiled, giving in to the request. Rounding the bed, she settled down next to him, feeling Fernando's arm pull her into a hug, her head resting just above his heart. The soft sound made her close her eyes momentarily, just to savor that moment of silence and peace, feeling his fingers glide over the fabric of the T-shirt she was wearing.

There were moments when Charlie found it hard to believe that the driver was alive, and in her arms. After the crash, she started having nightmares about it, but they tended to end more tragically than the reality. Last night, she remembered standing in front of his closed casket, draped in the Asturian flag, clutching a single rose in her hand, the thorns cutting into her palm and making blood drip down the stem. Everyone was saying goodbye to him, but she couldn’t. “He's still here”, she thought, gripping the rose, ignoring the blood flowing from her palm.

— I missed you — Fernando said softly, breaking the silence between them.

— We haven't been apart since you came out of surgery.

— But it seems like I'm always far away from you...

— I know, it’s like you've been more in demand than the King of England these last few days — Charlie muttered. Her tone made Fernando shift suddenly, their eyes meeting.

— Are you sad?

The question surprised her, in a way. As much as Charlie tried hard to appear relaxed and happy, she realized at that moment that she felt profoundly alone in Fernando’s house. It wasn't Fernando's fault, after all, he had almost died and what he wanted most was to have the people he loved close by as he recovered from his accident. However, the feeling of being an intruder there was overwhelming, not to mention suffocating.

— Me? — Charlie stammered — Well, I mean, uh, not exactly…

Fernando sighed.

— Charlie, I want you to tell me the truth — he said seriously — You just seem down. Did someone say something to you? Was it one of my colleagues from Kimoa? Or was it my mother? I know she's a little too direct sometimes...

— No, nobody said anything to me — she replied, looking away — Actually, I think that's precisely the problem.

His hand slid to her face, causing Charlie to look back at Fernando’s eyes.

— What do you mean?

— I'm feeling out of place, Fer. I'm feeling like a stranger here, with your family, with your friends. They talk to you in Spanish, they laugh and I don't know what the joke is — Charlie said, feeling embarrassed — Sometimes I think I'm the joke…

— But… Why would you be the joke?

— Because I’m, well... You bring some girl home with you after your accident to these people you’ve known most of your life. I feel like an idiot wearing your clothes, not wearing any makeup, just having my hair up in a bun, making it look like I’m not putting in nearly the amount of effort I should be into being a good partner and a good hostess. So it feels like I’m a stranger, and that I'm a joke.

Fernando kept looking at her, his expression serious.

— You're not a joke, Charlie.

— But…

— First of all, if anyone laughed at you, I would tell them to leave immediately — he said, stroking her face — Secondly, how many times do I have to tell you that you look great in my clothes? I wish you could wear nothing but my clothes for the rest of your life.

— I can't show up to the factory in your overalls, you know that, right?

— I wouldn't mind — Fernando laughed — And lastly, I couldn't be happier and more grateful to have you by my side. This house would be a complete disaster if you weren’t here.

— I'm just doing the basics...

— And that's enough to make me happy. The happiest man in the world, actually — he murmured, before bringing his hand to the back of Charlie's neck and leading her to a slow and peaceful kiss, his fingers caressing her skin lightly.

— I love you — Charlie whispered, her lips brushing his, carrying the promise of more kisses filled with the love that made her chest warm.

— I love you too, nena — Fernando answered softly.

Kissing him again, she felt the driver's touch on her skin like a match that scratched the surface and ignited a hot, powerful flame.

Charlie wanted to burn in Fernando's hands.

Carefully, she slipped a leg over his hips, settling herself over the driver's body. Bringing her hands up to his face, Charlie continued kissing him, feeling his fingers caress the skin of her back, underneath the t-shirt she was wearing.

That instant made Charlie realize how long she had gone without having sex with Fernando. The night in Suzuka was the last time the two of them had allowed themselves such an intimate moment, lulled by the taste of champagne and the afternoon's victory. At that moment, that night seemed like a lifetime ago. And, feeling something tingle under her navel, Charlie was willing to make up for lost time.

— I missed you, you know that? — she murmured. Fernando took one of his hands to her face, allowing her to savor the touch of his palm against her skin, her heart filling with the warmth that only love was capable of providing.

— I missed you too, my love — he replied, before pulling the fabric of the shirt she was wearing, exposing her breasts. Biting her bottom lip, Charlie brought Fernando's hands to her chest, closing her eyes to enjoy that deliciously intimate touch.

With the driver's thumbs brushing lightly over her nipples, a shiver of excitement ran through her body. Her hips moved unconsciously, seeking some stimulus, without success. So, she decided to lead one of Fernando's hands down, implying for him to put his fingers inside her shorts and touch her the way she wanted.

However, instead of a lust-filled comment or the shift of hips that she knew so well, Fernando let out a hiss of pain.

— Fer? — she asked, opening her eyes suddenly — Are you okay? Did I hurt you?

He gave a pained little smile.

— Yeah, no, it’s just — the driver stopped, closing his eyes tightly — My head started to throb. I don't think I can keep going...

Sweeping a hand across his forehead to brush his hair back, Charlie pressed her lips together. She'd been naive enough to think they'd be able to have sex a little over a week after the accident, especially considering the doctor's recommendation to avoid activities that would take a lot of effort on his part because of the concussion.

Rolling off Fernando, Charlie sat on the bed and grabbed the T-shirt she'd discarded on the mattress, pulling it on while she thought about what he could take to ease the pain.

— I’m sorry, nena — she heard him mumble beside her. Turning her face, she raised an eyebrow.

— For what?

— For this.

Charlie chuckled.

— Are you apologizing for not feeling up to having sex with me?

— Yeah.

— You know you don't need to, right?

— But, we've been away from each other for so long and now that we're together, I just can't give you what you want.

Taking his hand, Charlie smiled.

— You talk like I'm with you for your performance in bed and not for who you are — she said.

— I doubt my performance isn't a determining factor — he murmured, eyes squeezed shut as his other hand massaged one of his temples.

— Relevant, not determinant. I can survive without having sex with you.

— No, you couldn't.

— I did, for two months.

The driver smirked.

— I doubt you didn't moan my name on those nights away from me.

Her cheeks flushed, and Charlie felt like an open book in Fernando's hands, who read the pages like no one else. Of course she fantasized about him while they were apart, more times than she could count, wanting her own fingers to become his to reach the spot only he could find inside her.

— So what if I did?

— It just proves that you want me and that I failed you today.

Sliding across the mattress, Charlie sat closer to him, still holding his hand.

— You are recovering from a serious accident, my love. You've suffered a concussion and a fracture and need some time to recover. And it's okay. It's not like you have — she said, looking at the bulge in his pants — Erectile dysfunction or anything like that.

He followed Charlie's gaze before huffing in frustration.

— I hate this — the driver muttered.

— I don’t like it either, but what matters to me is that you’re alive and that you’re recovering  — she replied, giving a little smile — And I'll take care of you every day ‘till you are fully recovered.

They exchanged a long look, which spoke far more than anything they said. But then, a low rumble made Charlie giggle.

— And that means feeding you when your stomach starts to growl — she added.

Fernando brought her hand to his lips, placing a gentle kiss on Charlie's fingers.

— Thank you, mi amor — he said softly.

Charlie went downstairs, already feeling a bit better as she thought about what was in the fridge that she could make for dinner. On her first day in Oviedo, Lorena had taken her shopping and helped her prepare a few meals in advance. It was one of her more useful race season habits that helped her eat regular home-cooked meals instead of relying on Deliveroo while she was at home and didn’t feel like spending all of her time cooking.

Dinner came together quickly, since Charlie imagined that Fernando needed something comforting and she had a beef stew ready, which she liked to eat with dumplings. It was one of her favorite meals, as her grandmother used to make it when she was sad or frustrated about something when she was little. The flavor of the spices together with the softness of the dumplings made all the problems disappear from Charlie's day.

And, in a way, from Fernando’s too.

— This is delicious, nena — he said, still with his mouth full, after a few spoonfuls — Where did you learn to cook this?

— My grandmother taught me — Charlie replied, putting the spoon down on the plate with a smile — Great for those typically English rainy and cold days.

— It would have been great to know that when I was living there — Fernando muttered, taking a bite of a dumpling.

— You just had to date a good English girl instead of spending years going out with those skinny women — she replied, with a teasing little smile on her face — Although, maybe, they were skinny because you don't know how to cook anything.

He feigned outrage, dropping his spoon onto his plate.

— What? I’m a great cook!

— Your tuna omelette is proof that you are not, my love.

— When I'm recovered, I'll show you how good I cook — Fernando replied, before leaning over to poke Charlie in the ribs, tickling her — And I want to see you say they didn't eat because of me.

— Let's see, Captain Canned Tuna — she said, causing him to laugh out loud, the sound filling her with something warm and familiar.

 “This is love”, she concluded, as she picked up the spoon again to finish eating.

The next few days were filled with a strange, almost unnerving calm. There were no friends or relatives of Fernando wanting to see him, just Edo coming by to do his physical therapy. It didn't take long for Charlie to discover that he had told everyone that he wouldn’t be taking any more visitors so he could focus on a complicated recovery process. The decision seemed radical to her, but in a way, Charlie was relieved that she didn't have to play hostess any more.

However, the biggest surprise came early one afternoon, when Fernando appeared in the living room for the first time wearing something other than pajamas.

— Are you going out? — Charlie asked, placing her phone on her lap.

— We are.

— And where are we going?

— You'll see, now go get dressed.

As she drove, following Fernando's instructions, she couldn't shake the feeling of anxiety. At all times, she was looking for some sign of where he was taking her. Until, when going through an entrance, an orange sign revealed where they were.

— Are you taking me to your museum? — she questioned him.

— Surprise — the driver said, smiling.

When Fernando said he had a museum and a circuit, on the way to Milan airport, Charlie had something else in mind, something like a shed or even one of the hangars she had visited as a child with her grandfather. However, what was there was a building with elegant lines, with his signature reproduced in giant form on the facade. As she parked in one of the spaces near the entrance, Charlie couldn't shake the feeling that she wasn't dating a normal man.

“I'm dating a national hero”, she thought to herself, as the two approached the reception desk, which was just inside the entrance.

— ¡Fernando! — the woman who was sitting behind the counter said, jumping up — ¡Que bueno verte!

— Buenos días, Isabel, me alegro de verte también.

— Te hemos estado extrañando por aquí, especialmente considerando lo mucho que te gusta pasar tus vacaciones aquí — she said

— Teniendo en cuenta que no son exactamente unas vacaciones, ¿verdad? — he replied, chuckling.

— Es una especie de vacaciones, no lo podemos negar. Por cierto, veo que has traído una visitante...

— Oh, sí, esta es Charlie — Fernando said, turning to her — This is Isabel, she's in charge of welcoming everyone here at the museum.

— It's a pleasure, Charlie — the woman said in heavily accented English.

— The pleasure is mine.

— Did you do what I asked? — he asked.

— Yes, we've closed both the museum and the circuit to you — Isabel replied, causing her to look at the driver a little shocked.

— Excellent — he said, before heading toward the entrance to the exhibit — Come with me, Charlie.

Walking behind him, she waited until they were far enough away before putting a hand on the driver's arm to stop him in the middle of the hall.

— Did you close the museum for us?

— Yes.

— Fernando — she said, in a scolding tone.

— The museum is mine, Charlie. And if I want to close it to show you everything, I'll close it, simple as that.

She didn't have time to answer him before he continued down the hall, crutches clicking on the floor. As she walked behind him, Charlie couldn't stop thinking about how insane the idea of closing the museum to them had been. However, when she finally had a good counter argument for him, Fernando stopped in the doorway of the great hall that housed the main collection.

And for a few seconds Charlie was out of breath.

They were the most different cars, from the different categories he had competed in. There were Toyotas, Ferraris, Renaults and McLarens, plus a multitude of trophies and helmets. Little pieces of an entire career, carefully placed there for admiration. However, Charlie's eyes were not on the objects, but on the man beside her. He was the one who deserved her admiration.

— Amazing — she babbled.

— What? — Fernando asked.

— You. You're amazing, Fer.

— And I thought you were talking about the cars — he chuckled as Charlie moved closer, her fingertips on his cheeks.

— They are incredible, but you are more — she murmured, before placing a delicate kiss on his lips — Much more, my love.

The next hour was dedicated to exploring every corner of the museum, with Fernando telling the stories behind each of the trophies on display, as well as the cars, letting her get into the Hilux he had used during the Dakar and the Toyota LMP2 car in which he had conquered Le Mans. After discussing technical aspects, they were passing the wall of helmets when the driver stopped in front of one of them, the only one whose visor was facing the wall, highlighting the back.

— Is there a problem, my dear?

— No, it's just — Fernando nodded — This is the helmet I made for the race in Suzuka.

Charlie looked at the piece in silence. In a shade of light blue, the design that surrounded the helmet was that of a garden in a style called ukiyo-e. In the back, she knew there was a samurai under a cherry tree, deep in meditation. She'd liked the helmet since the first time she'd seen it, as much as she liked the traditional version better.

— I ordered the design from Horiyasu, a very famous tattoo artist in Japan — Fernando continued — I always really liked his work, but I never had time to tattoo something with him, which is a shame. But the point is that I managed to convince him to make an art for the helmet and he drew the samurai sitting in the garden. But there's one thing I've never told anyone here.

— That is?

— This is not the original helmet.

Charlie blinked.

— No? But…

— It's one of the spares I had. The one I wore in the race is in Lugano.

— Why didn't you bring it here?

— Because it's yours — the driver said.

— Mine?

— It was always yours.

— Fer — she stammered.

— Didn't you notice the pattern of the hakama he's wearing?

Charlie looked at the helmet again, trying to unravel what was drawn. Bringing her face close to the glass, it took her a few seconds to make out what was drawn against the dark green background of the traditional shirt the samurai wore.

— Are these flowers?

— Roses. English roses, Charlie.

Her heart leapt in her chest. Looking at Fernando, she felt her eyes sting with tears.

— You didn't have to…

— Why not? — he asked, balancing on one of the crutches to bring a hand to her face — You are the most amazing person I've ever met, Charlotte. You are the light and color of my days, the person who keeps my feet on the ground and makes me float. My partner. My girlfriend.

— You never officially asked me to be your girlfriend, you know — Charlie smiled.

— It wasn’t enough for Maria to complain about it? — Fernando said, a laugh in his voice.

— She has an important point, my love.

— Do you want me to ask you, officially?

— I do.

He smiled, taking one of her hands.

— Well, Charlotte Elise…

— It's Elaine — she corrected him, laughing.

— You couldn’t have a normal middle name?

— Elaine is normal. By the way, it was my grandmother that chose it.

— Okay, moving on — Fernando said — Charlotte Elaine, do you want to be my girlfriend?

Charlie smiled.

— Of course I do— she replied in a choked voice, before giving the driver a tight hug — It's what I want most in this life, Fernando… um… What is it?

He laughed.

— I don't have a middle name.

— No? So it's just Fernando Alonso?

— Fernando Alonso Díaz. Alonso from my father and Díaz from my mother.

— That’s lame — Charlie muttered.

— I’d rather have two last names than a complicated middle name.

— Elaine isn't complicated — she snapped.

— Charlotte Elaine is complicated.

— It could be worse, my mom wanted it to be Irulan because of a movie she watched when she was pregnant, but my grandparents convinced me that Elaine was less weird.

— Charlotte Irulan Whitlam sounds excellent to me — Fernando said, seeming to stifle a laugh. She slapped his arm playfully.

— You really are a dickhead — Charlie said, before hugging him again.

[mcflymemes]

CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION PROMPTS *  assorted dialogue from the television show, season 1

we look at each case objectively, without presupposition.

i'm sorry. what are you saying?

it didn't have to be that way.

people make assumptions. that's the problem.

there were bodies.

you know, i'm not even gonna ask.

i want to be just like you.

how dumb are we?

i think we'd better head over to the police station.

that's a cop-out.

i'm not good with kids.

if that's your stance, how could it have been prevented?

they should have protected me.

where are you going?

i mean that as a friend.

i think you scared him. all his hairs are standing up.

fine suit.

get your finger out of my face.

you're kidding me, right?

hey, i'm just doing my job.

blood's like my grandfather. never lies.

oh. i barely heard you.

i can't answer that question.

i didn't know this was a competition.

that's a career killer.

i have no idea how it got there.

by law, you've got to disclose everything.

pin me up against a wall and lay one on me like you mean it.

you assholes.

if it involves the protection of my child, i fight to the death.

hey, give me a little credit.

look, forget the formalities.

what's that smell?

you can joke all you want. it's your ass on the line.

i didn't say i couldn't do it.

did i just do that?

normal would be nice.

my spider sense says it wasn't.

you didn't even hesitate.

half of them couldn't find their own ass with a map.

i love my work.

so who's winning?

do yourself a favor. think for yourself.

maybe i saw you perform.

i would never doubt your word.

keep thinking. that's what you're good at.

i never screw up one of my cases with personal stuff.

these things will only confuse you.

concentrate on what cannot lie.

whose blood is that?

somebody left a message. i need to see the rest of it.

you would've remembered.

i need to see their shoes.

we restore peace of mind.

you can pick up your gun tomorrow.

now tell me, why are we here?

it's our job to know how.

is there anything in there with alcohol?

if you stay with it, my hand to god, you will never regret it.

what do you think?

how about a gun?

stop flirting with me.

what an imagination you have.

actually, it's just an audio book.

are my observations distracting you?

i come here for calamari.

that's why i took this job.

what's the status?

high altitude enhances the entire sexual experience.

like i said, it's all about results. if you don't get them, i will.

you're right, you know.

would you mind taking off your jacket and rolling up your sleeve?

you can do that?

that's what's so sad. you see this as a career.

i saw some bruises.

it's not going to be easy.

would you hand me a swab please?

there's no smoking in here.

well, that's good news.

no offense, but i don't think i want to eat anything that's been in this office.

someone chased this kid to death.

i just thought it'd be something different.

what makes you think you belong here?

you're avoiding the question.

one life imposed itself on another.

you want to sleep with me?

it'll be back to normal in 24 hours.

how would the night end?

that is correct... according to this book.

i have a crime scene to process, so you'll have to excuse me.

i might have to do some field research to find out.

good thing i have a healthy ego.

i'm gonna go out on a limb here and say they're hiding something.

how do you talk to a dead body?

i should be just like you.

sometimes i have a beer with it.

how do you figure?

got anything for me?

so you slept through the whole thing and woke up next to a dead body.

we don't impose our will. we don't impose our hopes on the evidence.

what's the matter with your guys?

do you think we're dressed for a wedding?

i wish i had been married to you.

i hardly know that woman.

look, could we have a truce?

[casualsavant]

20 Questions More

This is a deeper and more detailed version of the 20 questions for AO3 fanfic writers. Thanks to @TetsujinOtaku88 for the tag. I'm doing this #Supercorp style.

1) How do you keep getting ideas for your ship / fandom?

I think the Supercorp Fandom is pretty self-perpetuating because the canon needs to be fixed and there's lots of AUs to put them in. Plus there are so many talented people whose art, video edits, and fanfic fuel each other.

2) Which authors inspire you in your fandom, and why are they so freakishly good?

Following the answer above I think the beauty of Supercorp is that it attracts really talented creators. I love reading @searidings, @jazzfordshire's fix-its and canon-adjacent stuff, @lgbtimelords, @coffeeshib, @mycatismyeditor, and @snowydragonscave just to name a few. They have such a deftness of language and an understanding of the characters that it's hard to stop reading!

3) Aside from the characters of your main ship, who are the characters you love to write?

I really love Sam Arias, Jess, and Alex. I wish I could get a better handle on Kelly because DANSEN forever. I also have a soft spot for Eliza and a deliciously evil liking for Lillian.

4) Are there pairings or tropes you know for sure you'd never write about? Which ones?

Karamel, Lames, Top Lena, Bottom Kara. To each their own. It's just not my thing.

5) What is your writing process and why is it cursed?

Carry around a little notebook to scribble ideas, lines, sometimes whole scenes. Figure out a rough outline / structure / plot. Do unnecessary amounts of research. Open doc file. Plunge into dismay and self-doubt. Watch the show. Get frustrated. Open the doc file. Be filled with despair and self-loathing. Get a blast of inspiration and productivity. Cycle through mental instability, writer's block, and actual writing. Get dragged by Kara and Lena to unanticipated places that derails what I intended to do. Sighing and doing what the muses want. The elation of completion. Struggling with summaries and tags. Posting. Crippling anxiety and running away from AO3. Lather, rinse, repeat.

6) What is your favorite part of your writing process?

The elation of completion. The unnecessary research is fun too.

7) What’s the weirdest thing you’ve had to research for a fic?

Cherry tree mutations and the structure of yakuza organizations in modern Japan.

8) Is there a particular writing rule you struggle with (grammar, spelling, tense, reality in general)?

Different tenses in the same document. Also it's and its.

9) What was your hardest scene to write so far and why?

Describing Kara's post-PZ night terrors and Lena’s fever dreams in Deliverance. Also the action sequence at the end of that story was so difficult.

10) Have your characters ever done something you didn’t expect, changing your plot completely?

ALL THE TIME.

11) If you could converse with any of the characters, who would it be and why?

Both of them. After I come to my senses and out of a dead faint because I was meeting them at all. And then I would die of sapphication.

12) What are some of the tropes or themes that you find yourself returning to in your writing?

Oh my usual tags are: light angst, tooth-rotting fluff, friends-to-lovers, Lena needs a hug, Kara gets a hug.

13) What's your most important resource as a writer?

Talking with other writers!

14) Can you share some of your strategies for editing and revising your work?

I usually give it some time before I edit so I can have relatively fresh eyes. Spell checking, punctuation, and grammar suggestions help you catch things but NOTHING beats reading it over yourself.

15) Which is worse: making the summary, picking the tags, or the anxiety when you post your fic?

Definitely the anxiety!!!

16) How do you define sucess for your fanfic - hits? Kudos? Comments? Bookmarks? Or just if you like it?

I think it's good to track kudos and I love getting comments. But ultimately I wrote for my enjoyment or for my peace of mind because the idea would not let me go.

17) Do you have a playlist for your favorite character / ship?

Nope but that's not a bad idea. 🤔

18) If fan art was going to be made from your work, which fic would you pick and which fan artist would you like to create it?

Wow I'd be thrilled if any of them got art. I am partial to the way @rustingcat draws Sakura blossoms though so maybe Cat for No Wrong Seasons.

19) How many WIPs do you currently have?

8 total. Finishing "the Arcana", "The Sound of Veracity" (Part 2), Prequel and Smutilogue of "Always With Me, Always With You", Supercorptober 2023 "Art" prompt, SG Mayhem fic, the Telepathy/Empathy fic, the Body Swap fic.

20) What's your advice to new fanfic writers?

I posted my first Supercorp story in March 2023 feeling it would be completely lost in this large fandom and having no hope for it. I felt that I was too late. That everything had been done (and done better). I did find readers who liked and some who really loved my work. But mostly I learned to write for myself, which has truly been a gift. Write for yourself. Write what you'd want to see. You'll get better at it over time.

Tagging but no pressure: @fyonahmacnally @nottawriter @chaotic-super @luthordamnvers @fazedlight

[powderpinkprincess]

Can't do it [Legolas x human! reader]

I think this one is my longest so far 🤔

Description: Legolas comforts you

tw: mentions of war

Heavy raindrops fell from the sky.

You looked up and all you saw were the grey clouds covering the sky. Misty darkness was all around you, and there was no way out now. You inhaled the thick air deeply. It couldn’t fill your lungs enough. Your hand wandered to your sword. You felt slow. Anxiety gripped your chest and you forced yourself to breathe in again.

Your eyes wandered to Legolas and Aragorn in front of you. They were talking in Elvish so quietly that you barely heard them. Not that it mattered as you spoke no more Elvish than ‘Mae govannen’. On your better days, you could even add ‘mellon nin’. Too bad you didn’t have enough Elvish friends to actually use the sentence. As if Gimli was reading your thoughts, he grumbled at your side.

 “The politeness is appreciable. I feel so honored by them waiting for us and involving us in their conversation.”

You chuckled. It didn’t bother you as much as it used to. You learned that Aragorn and Legolas had much more experience than you did, so there was no point in involving you anyway. You were tired enough to just be grateful for a moment of peace. It was enough if they found out something safe and filled you in later.

Suddenly, Legolas stopped. He placed an arrow on his bow before you could even comprehend that something was happening. He glanced around. You could practically feel his focus on his surroundings. Elves had this strange ability to hear and see things no one else could, so when you listened and heard nothing, it didn’t surprise you. Gimli opened his mouth to speak, but Aragorn raised his hand to silence him. When Legolas sharpened all his senses to find out what he heard in the distance, it was not smart to talk near him as he found it unpleasingly loud.

You even held your breath as you stared at his face, hoping to see any kind of a signal to know if you were in danger. His eyes were so blue. His soft features now looked stiff with concentration. Even in this humid darkness, his hair held a light, sparkling shade of gold that you admired. Next to him, all of you looked so dirty and ugly. At first, it really bothered your sense of confidence that you felt like an Orc when you saw him, but now the feeling melted into simple adoration.

Therefore, when Aragorn gestured to you to come closer, you were still staring at Legolas, not noticing the hole in the ground. You landed on the ground with a thud, and unwanted tears pricked your eyes when you felt the sharp pain in your left ankle. Now you were entirely doomed.

 “I’m sorry,” you whined as you looked up at your companions. Legolas lowered his arrow, and Aragorn reached out a hand toward you.

 “Are you hurt?” the ranger asked with a frown. He pulled you up and sat you on a rock by the pathway.

 “I can walk,” you insisted quietly, though your voice held some uncertainness. You twisted your ankle badly when you fell. Shame and guilt filled your heart. Shame, because if you could take your eyes off Legolas for merely a minute, you would have noticed the hole. And now your companions had to deal with you, too.

Aragorn untied your boot without a question and his eyebrows rose.

 “I do not think you will walk,” he shook his head. You glanced down, noticing how your ankle already started to swell.

 “How did you not see that hole anyway?” Aragorn asked, looking back at the obvious sight on the path.

Your cheeks reddened.

 “I do not know,” you lied immediately, hoping that he will let his question unanswered. He looked slightly amused.

 “I will carry you out. Legolas, how much we have left?” he turned to the Elf, whose expression was unreadable to you. Did he know why you fell? You would die if he did.

 “Not so much. I can already see the end.”

 “Another five hours or so, then,” Gimli mumbled sarcastically. You could tell he was already done with this forest as much as you were. He leaned on his axe, panting slightly. Keeping up with human-sized creatures over a long distance was not the easiest thing for him as his small legs needed to carry him almost as quickly as he was running. You found it really funny when Legolas sometimes turned back to him saying something like ‘come on, Gimli, we need to hurry’, not knowing if the Elf was really that clueless or simply was just teasing the Dwarf.

***

Aragorn ended up carrying you until you reached your spot for the night, which you found impressive. Legolas volunteered to do the first night watch as he needed much less sleep than any of you did. You adored his heart. He stayed up significantly more than the rest of the small companion, even if he could just let you all split the watches equally. Aragorn told him to wake him up on time when it was his turn, though at this point of the journey everyone knew that Legolas would let him sleep in longer. Seemingly the sleep deprivation did nothing to the Elf. He slept three or four hours a night, which was enough for him to function. Moreover, there had been a rough night when you all could not stop to rest, and he did not seem to mind that either.

You fell asleep almost immediately when you got the chance. In the middle of the night, you were awoken by your bladder, and you winced at the thought of pushing off your blanket and finding a bush in the cold darkness. However, nature was calling you, there was nothing you could do against it.

You felt absolutely horrible. Your ankle hurt a lot and you were miserable. Being away from home was always so much worse in the darkness. You glanced up at the stars. They kept shining, no matter what. They held the same light months ago as now, when a war was about to start at any given minute. A war. It was unfathomable to you. You grew up in peace. Even if you would survive a battle somehow, who knew what came after? And what would happen to all the people you loved? You were too small and weak to save them all. Hell, you could barely even protect yourself. Merely the thought of it gave you a feeling of anxiety that led to tears. You were terrified.

You limped back to your blanket, wiping your cheeks and sniffling. You nearly screamed when you saw a shadow moving right next to you.

 “It is just me,” you heard Legolas whisper on your side.

 “Why on Arda are you still awake?” you questioned. Your heart was still racing, and you blew out the air to calm yourself. Elves walked so quietly that your human ears were unable to hear their footsteps. Legolas had scared you quite a few times already.

 “I do not need as much sleep as you do.”

The faint flames of fire gave you a sight of his form. You forced your eyes to see him better. His presence always comforted you.

 “You are crying,” he noted the obvious.

 “I am not,” you replied, and then sniffled again. His lips curved into a small smile. You turned your head away.

 “Why are you crying? Does your ankle hurt that much?” he asked, his eyes puzzled. Not only you had never seen him shed a single tear, but you had never seen him suffer any sort of an injury, either. He could not understand you, yet he tried to put the pieces together, and you found it adorable. You chuckled and wiped your eyes again.

 “No, it really does not. I am just- A little homesick, I guess,” you admitted finally.

Silence fell between the two of you. Legolas took a step closer to you, scrutinizing your form, his eyes deep with thoughts. He did not really know how to comfort anyone that was crying. Elves barely even cried, you knew that. As his glance found yours, a question slipped through your lips.

 “Legolas- Does anything ever scare you?”

He opened his mouth to answer, but then he closed it. You were not sure if he got what you meant behind the words. You were not sure what kind of an answer you looked for, either.

 “Like- The war. Does it scare you?” you breathed out.

 “Of course it does. I am pretty sure it scares everyone that has any living spirit in them here on Middle Earth. Even the trees feel different, you know. They grew silent.”

Here he was, talking about the speaking trees again. Another thing you could not understand. You inhaled sadly, and looked away for a second before finding his blue irises again.

 “What do they sound like?”

Legolas put his palm on your forearm, gesturing towards the fire. You grabbed your blanket and sat down on the ground. He followed you.

 “It is not really a sound. It is more like- A feeling,” he replied to you, deep in his thoughts. “I do not really know how to explain. You can feel them with your whole body. Like the resonations of music maybe. Some are vibrant, some are slow and sad. And these days, lots of them are just silent.”

Before you could speak, he continued.

 “It is not shameful to fear something so devastating. And for you, maybe even unknown.”

A new wave of tears clouded your vision.

 “I do not think I can do this all,” you choked out. Legolas hummed.

 “You would be surprised to see what the race of Men could endure. You are stronger than you think.”

 “Legolas, I have no magical powers, I can not see the enemy coming from miles away, and I have not lived thousands of years to gain enough experience for a battle. I know nothing. I am nothing like you,” you admitted bitterly, this time letting the tears run down your face. Your heart hurt too much to move.

 “You do not even have to be,” the Elf shook his head. You could feel his stare on your face, but you refused to look at him. “Elves do have the experience, but humans have the ingenuity. Your lives are short, therefore you are able to adapt like no one else. You all are strong enough in your own way. Otherwise, the race of Men would have not survived among all the other creatures of Middle Earth.”

You said nothing.

 “And you are my friend, Y/N. If I see that you are in trouble, I will not hesitate to help you out, I promise you. There is no need for those tears of yours. You are safe as long as you are with us.”

His words made your chest feel warm again. Yes, you were still terrified, but the uncertainty felt much less excruciating with someone like him by your side, and you were truly, entirely grateful for that.

[finalmoment]

cw: discussions of childhood trauma, child abuse, eating disorders, and suicide.

i dont think brad and luida were perfect, or even exemplary, caretakers for vash. this is partially a perspective rooted in theories about trauma (especially childhood trauma) -- but like, clearly they imprison him for months. he's a young child fresh from an incredibly traumatic event that he feels personally responsible for. he has no family, his brother used him and hurt him, his adopted mother is dead, and he wants to die. and his first experience with humans is, functionally, them going "uh i guess you might be okay but we don't quite trust you, there's just something about you that means we have to keep you right here in this one room and not let you leave" and vash just accepts this. he's too tired, and he hates himself too much, to question it, and in some ways it must make sense to him bc he did do something terrible, so they shouldn't trust him.

and then, whether intentionally or not, luida ties his worth to his ability to be useful. "there has to be something only you can do," she says, and that would maybe work if vash's problems started and ended with feeling useless, but they don't. there's so much more going on. he's called monstrous by the other humans on ship three; he sees himself as monstrous already. the only reason he can't kill himself is because he's being monitored and also because he's handcuffed, like, constantly at this point. he spends well over 4 months in what is basically solitary confinement -- a period of time and a tactic that would break any adult, so what does it do to an already-broken child? especially one that's implied to have been starving himself for the entire duration of his imprisonment.

they only start actually trusting him as a person when he proves useful to them, when he saves the plant. his decision to start eating again and his freedom/official residence on ship three are connected directly to his ability to be useful, and this is the path vash will follow for the next few decades -- seeing his value to people as measured in what he can do for them, and otherwise seeing himself as someone whose existence is fundamentally at odds with other people's peace/security/happiness. brad was vocal about not trusting him, and even if vash doesn't seem to harbor any ill feelings towards him for this (and i would bet that vash doesn't, in fact, feel that this was wrong of brad to do), it's still really painful! brad is initially sulky and put-off around vash and disapproving of luida's decision to trust him, even if vash grows on him eventually i can't imagine vash didn't internalize this attitude to himself to some degree or another. it takes him long-ish period (around a few years) to decide that brad does in fact like him a little.

and the whole time he's keeping this massive secret from them and it must be driving him insane. he can't talk about it because his wounds are just as fresh, but he can't talk about it because he doesn't know what they'll do when they find out. he didn't feel secure with them; even if he felt loved, and loved them back. but he couldn't be open with them, he could only do his best to be as useful and selfless as possible so that he can store up goodwill against the time when his secrets spill out. and the moment they do, he's branded a traitor immediately. luida doesn't believe it, but vash doesn't hear her say a word in his defense. he only hears brad decide that all of vash's actions by his side mean nothing in the face of one childish error of misplaced trust.

and of course, all of this does get better, in some way or another. no family is perfect; luida goes after vash, and brad makes it up to him. but...trauma doesn't go away that easily. vash doesn't return home unless he really needs to, for his arm. luida and brad decide to put themselves into cryo-sleep, leaving vash without a stable family again. in the span of time vash has lived, many relationships can be repaired -- especially if the person wronged is so eager to erase his own pain.

i've been thinking for a while about the patterns in vash's behavior, trying to trace them to a starting point. i think this is as good a place as any: even if knives was the one to lay the groundwork for vash's issues, many people since have contributed to them, adding their own influences to the guilt and self-hate vash carries around. and many of those people have, genuinely and unreservedly, loved vash and been loved by him anyway.

[kiigan]

morning coffee thoughts:

Or, thoughts I'd actually love to explore eventually either in a meta post or actual plots/threads. Basically, the can of worms that is the Uchiha massacre and Konoha's justification for it. The whole this is a necessary evil to avoid civil war and then invasions and then another worldwide shinobi war. And the dichotomy Konoha good bc will of fire and Uchiha bad bc curse of hatred. And, specifically, Itachi's place in all this.

In Edo Tensei period he mentions having regrets about trying to do everything on his own and not letting others help, and I wonder. I mean, obviously he regrets having killed his family and friends and clansfolk, but I do wonder if he even realizes the way he was manipulated and instrumentalized. He also references the village not being perfect and having shortcomings but, again, to what extent? Does he ever realize the way he was used as escape goat and an easy way out by the elders, Hiruzen included? Does he resent them for that? Danzo is by far the easiest to despise, but what about the others who were equally responsible, if nothing else by passivity and neglect?

Itachi was deeply traumatized by the third war. War was something he NEVER wished to see happen again, especially after Sasuke's birth. Even if he was gifted and a genius and prodigy and all that, even if Hiruzen says that he was already as wise as a hokage, he was a child. By the time he joined ANBU and the talks of rebellion/coup start getting louder, he was 11/12 years old. Can you really expect someone at this age to grasp the true extent and implications of things, no matter how intelligent they are? And suddenly he gets told by the elders, people whose job IS to be wise and know better AND to protect and look out for the future of children AND to be trustworthy, that his clan will be responsible for starting a civil war, new shinobi war, etc etc. Do we even realize how perverse this is? Using a child's trauma and deepest fear and actually genuine motivations for peace - twist it all into believing the only solution to avoid those horrors is to basically wipe a whole clan off the face of the planet? Not to mention, send said child to get the dirty job done and bear all the blame, and the best thing he receives for it is Hiruzen saying I'm so sorry this happened?

It really makes me wonder, if Itachi eventually came to realize this or if he even ever gave it any thought. And it makes me wonder even more, if per chance he was allowed to return to Konoha, would he take a stand and try to change things? I really love to explore the theme of Itachi becoming his own person in my writing, and it's heartbreaking to see how someone with the best intentions can so easily end up committing atrocious acts due to a conjugation of factors: fear, inexperience, manipulation, deception. And maybe the hardest thing of all: to look back, at all these atrocious things you had to commit and that you can never erase, and question if it was even worth it. If there could have been a different solution you were too young/too indoctrinated/too scared to consider.

[kieiswrite]

Okay. I’m feeling like it, so here’s a bunch of speculation on the Was It Scripted question. Getting far too deep into it, because I like speculation. This is going to be long.

For the record. For the record. I think it’s even more impressive if it was planned. I hope it was planned, so that’s my bias. And here’s my biased analysis:

There’s no chance it was not planned.

It feels to me that the consensus is that Scar and Grian blowing up Doc’s redstone was a genuine accident, and that’s making me doubt my own media literacy here, so for my peace of mind, here’s how I see it. I’m convinced all the major beats of the story this far - Grian visits the Perimeter, Grian gets an intervention, Grian and Scar go to check out the tunnel bore, it blows up - were laid out beforehand, and then acted out for our viewing pleasure.

First, Grian visits the Perimeter. He goes to mine copper for a prank, standard resource gathering, and conveniently enough he is both recording the trip and narrating it. He decides to check out the strange new hole, and finds 80 wardens and the tunnel bores (that Doc builds every season). Somehow he is more fascinated by the bores than the wardens. 

Then the intervention. After some whispers to join a voice group (seen in Impulse’s episode) some chat messages are exchanged and Scar, Gem and Impulse arrive to force Grian to finally work on the back of his base. From what I've seen, it’s not very controversial that this part is planned. Would this be all? Is this the bit Grian wants to do - that his friends heckle him and he builds, without a blueprint - nah, for sure it’s set up for something more.

Grian brings up the tunnel bores and Scar - “Work, Grian, you may not wake up tomorrow” - is instantly on board. They go mess with Doc’s redstone. Scar is recording, something he rarely does when just hanging out with his friends, but since they were doing a bit for Grian (of indeterminate length) I’ll let this one pass. These two men who actually are very professional, and usually very courteous about other people’s delicate builds at least when the builder is not present, decide to start fiddling with it. Lol Doc’s redstone, what even could go wrong?

Scar, who has no clue how tunnel bores operate, nonetheless figures out with no time at all that the button they need to press is the singular noteblock - and he arrives to this conclusion before testing it. Then they press it. They blow up the whole thing and they are so so shocked and panicked it could not be acting, right, they sound genuinely terrified!

These men, whose job is creating entertaining content, whose server has back ups, who have known Doc for years and who for sure know what a big softie he is, are… actually scared there are going to be adverse consequences? Either they make a mistake and make a split second decision not to approach it rationally but instead amp up the drama, or the decision has already been made. 

Then they show the footage to their friends and laugh about it together, I guess.

Then they make a really pathetic but highly amusing attempt to repair what they broke. If Scar can build a sorting system by himself by following a tutorial, he could surely figure out a tunnel bore at least a little bit better - but I don’t think it’s very controversial either that at this point at least they have already decided to play it for content.

I’ve seen the idea that something was planned, they were going to do something, but they were never meant to go this far, because the damage they did was so excessive. But… it really was not? Doc’s tunnel bore had already served its purpose - to demonstrate building a moving mob switch out of wardens. It was out of sight, and it could easily be destroyed without damaging anything else important. Doc still has his much bigger tunnel boring system from the start of the season operational. A few episodes back, when he built this one, Doc mentioned that it took him about two hours to put it together, because he is so practiced in building these bores (that tend to blow up). Repetitive thing, he would have no trouble remembering how it was made, if he really needed to fix it for some reason. Two hours is not nothing, but on the scale of Hermitcraft it’s hardly devastating damage. It’s not much worse than Grian dropping Scar to the Boatem Hole and needing to replace all his stuff, for example. 

Then there are all the other convenient coincidences surrounding this event: Life series just ended. Scar just finished his castle. Grian doesn’t really know what to do. Doc just came back from an extended break. The TCG craze is winding down. Doc has built all these doomsday machines and has been itching to go to war with someone for however long. It’s all in all an excellent time for a bit of conflict, for some sweet shenanigans.

But Scar said on stream that it was not planned! Right. Do you remember last year when a curious lodestone appeared in front of Grian’s rift and there was some speculation if Grian had placed it himself, even though he denied it? I ended up thinking it was not Grian after all (spoilers: it was), because he was talking about it with Scar on stream and they were so convincing when they wondered who it could have been, when Scar said it was not him and when Grian suspected him and finally relented, that I was totally fooled. They have lied to us before. They have multiple times pretended they have no clue about stuff that they absolutely knew. What should Scar have said if it was planned after all, that yeah actually it was all an act, sorry about that?

But they always tell us when something is scripted! No they don’t. But they have said more events on Hermitcraft are (loosely) scripted than we think, in contrast to the Life series that's all improv.

But Joe Hills said it wasn’t planned! Okay, out of all the opposing evidence this piece makes me hesitate the most, but I will say, for all the things that have been said about Joe Hills, I don’t think “he never lies” was among them. Also, I trust his ability to spin it so that technically it was even not a lie.

(I could be very wrong. Of course that's possible. I realize my evidence is nothing but guesses, and guessing content creators' motivations is generally not a fruitful effort. But I've also seen people wonder how anyone could even think an event like this is scripted, and for me, it's very easy. This is how. These episodes sure left an impressions, since I haven't been able to stop thinking about it! And to reiterate: planning, scripting, does not devalue it at all.)

I leave you with this loosely related old tweet from none other than the Goatfather himself, the illustrious DocM77:

[itsmaferart]

Longings for Happiness!

From the mere introduction of the character Twilight makes it clear that he is a spy, working for WISE, whose goal is to "preserve world peace." And that any idea of "having a family and being happy next to someone" was thrown away. Any trace of a past identity burns to ashes.

But when you go in retrospect. Twilight's longings are present in it ALL THE TIME. But, I bias his mind and condition his to get rid of these feelings so he can continue to perform his role as a spy.

However, I think Twilight actually "isn't happy as a spy," doesn't really like being who it is, and deep down it may come to feel a slight disregard for the actions it should do. The way Twilight through his family shows small signs of "contempt' to the unethical acts a spy must do

Obviously, acts of mistrust are justified. Since it is his job, but at the same time, being with the Forgers has led him to discern and question himself Is it right to justify everything for peace?

However, as he well mentions at the feast he goes to with Yor - "someone who is willing to sacrifice himself for a greater good is worthy of admiration" (Even if you do something you don't want to do)

It is more than evident that Twilight's relationship with Yor and Anya is quite profound, because he manages to reflect on them as "mirrors" of his own sincere longings.

The way he always recognizes Yor's work, her initiative and her persistence even though she herself is unable to see it. How he has learned to trust her, and to dismiss any suspicion by seeing "the purity" of her actions. Although he doesn't really know the truth about Yor's work. He always notices how much she gives of herself for others (To protect Yuri's happiness and now Anya's)

Somehow, we see that Twilight really isn't indifferent to gratitude. Because, deep down, he "wants to feel that what he pursues has a benefit" - Something that fills his own void and gives meaning to everything he has sacrificed

It's curious, as Twilight seeks "idealized" happiness for the whole world. But he is unable to think "of his own happiness." As if having lost his parents and friends, it is synonymous with "my chance to be happy has passed and I will never have it again."

However, his gaze shows his longing for what he "wishes" to have. But he feels resigned to "searching" for himself

The mixture of frustration, fear and guilt lead him to seek a peace, to ensure the happiness of other people, and do not have to suffer the same as him. But he ends up content with only seeing at a distance the happiness of others.

Missing what he ever had, lost, or just couldn't have. (People who would stand by him and love him sincerely)

It seems to me that "Twilight" is not the real person, quite the opposite. Twilight is a role, a character, who is innate actor was perfecting in his years as a spy. He's a character, within other characters. However, the purpose behind this character is based on a survival reaction. Twilight is a mechanism of adaptation that (Eliminated). He believe in order to survive its painful reality.

Twilight's biggest fear is "facing the unknown." Obviously, it is a fear developed in the face of uncertainty and how vulnerable "a little boy" feels in the midst of a war and has lost everything. Hence, their distrust stems from dependence on other people. Having a job that involves "trusting no one" and "much less affectionately relating" works as a protective shield to his own fear. Preventing confrontation and "overcoming" them

It makes me very sad how Twilight is willing to settle for crumbs. Because of the deep-rooted trauma of "loving someone" and then losing it. And to suffer the very hell of war again.

But at the same time, the Strix mission is opening another opportunity for him and each of the Forgers. Proving that really, it is never wrong to seek a second chance to love and be happy. As long as you are surrounded by the love and support of the right people

To paraphrase his own words: Having a purpose to make a better world, and wanting to meet expectations to live up to is fine. But being caught up in it can make you lose yourself.

Actually, my greatest "expectation" or personal longing regarding the plot. It's Twilight/Loid/(Deleted). You can destroy your own emotional barricade, so you can build a life full of love next to your family.

End of Report