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#I didn't read the complete article
kitchenalia · 2 years
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i think a plain language guide to abortion that fails to define what an abortion is, who can get pregnant, and how pregnancy happens is a partially failed plain language guide. for example, this plain language guide does a good job of explaining what an abortion is, unlike another one which barely even made reference to what abortion was. that was one of the things that i appreciated about the guide; i have some problems with the entire document, but i’m going to focus just on the language that it uses about sex (both in the sense of intercourse/its role in pregnancy and in the sense of male/female).
while it used language like “people who can get pregnant” throughout, it failed to explain at any point which people can get pregnant—explaining the role of sex in pregnancy, as well as the fact that only female people can get pregnant and only male people can impregnate, seems like an important detail in a guide that is supposed to teach us about our bodies. that this plain language guide incorrectly assumed was that everybody reading will understand which “women and non-binary people” can get pregnant (what do they have in common? does pregnancy occur randomly?), and that everybody reading will understand what types of sex make it possible for you to get pregnant. that should be seen as a flaw in the document. if you plan to use language that may be confusing to your readers—which they are—then you should explain clearly and early on what your language means.
this guide never defines male or female; in fact, both words are not mentioned at all in the text, despite their important role in reproductive rights/justice, the supreme court decision, and healthcare. no references are made to anatomical or sex differences. “sex” is only used in the context of having sex, and it is never specified that not all types of sex lead to pregnancy.
We say “pregnant people” instead of “women” to include all people who can get pregnant. Some transgender men and non-binary people can get pregnant. Also, not all women can get pregnant.
this is their disclaimer. to me, this isn’t really helpful because it doesn’t explain much to the reader. how is the reader meant to know which people can get pregnant from this? can the reader understand why transgender men and non-binary people get pregnant, but not all women? it’s not enough to say “people who are pregnant” or “people who can get pregnant” in a plain language guide to abortion and bodily autonomy. if you feel like terms like ‘girls and women’ are too reductive or imprecise for your guide, the responsibility is still on you to explain those concepts. even a short section explaining the different roles of male/female in reproduction/pregnancy, and explaining that only female people will need access to an abortion/natal care/birth control, would have been better. even if the rest of the document had gone on with the neutral “people” language, that informational section being included early on would have been clarifying.
i find this part especially poorly done because it’s about abortion and bodily autonomy for disabled people, who already experience higher rates of sexual assault and poorer sex education. among disabled women, pregnancies are 42% more likely to be unintended than among non-disabled women. the fact that this document did not even bother to provide basic information on pregnancy, sex, or sex differences is fairly disappointing to me, for a document that is both geared toward disabled people and supposedly in plain language.
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grin-unsettling · 1 year
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i don’t know what chatgpt is and at this point im too afraid to ask
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isanyonetoknow · 2 years
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reasons i should be your friend: i will not text you hi or good morning or anything like that. but i will let you know that a plant started growing in my bathroom sink
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everlastingbracelet · 16 days
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huh i wonder if crunching (overworking employees overtime to fit into a very quick schedule) had anything to do with the burnout
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sophiamcdougall · 4 months
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You're a reasonably informed person on the internet. You've experienced things like no longer being able to get files off an old storage device, media you've downloaded suddenly going poof, sites and forums with troves full of people's thoughts and ideas vanishing forever. You've heard of cybercrime. You've read articles about lost media. You have at least a basic understanding that digital data is vulnerable, is what I'm saying. I'm guessing that you're also aware that history is, you know... important? And that it's an ongoing study, requiring ... data about how people live? And that it's not just about stanning celebrities that happen to be dead? Congratulations, you are significantly better-informed than the British government! So they're currently like "Oh hai can we destroy all these historical documents pls? To save money? Because we'll digitise them first so it's fine! That'll be easy, cheap and reliable -- right? These wills from the 1850s will totally be fine for another 170 years as a PNG or whatever, yeah? We didn't need to do an impact assesment about this because it's clearly win-win! We'd keep the physical wills of Famous People™ though because Famous People™ actually matter, unlike you plebs. We don't think there are any equalities implications about this, either! Also the only examples of Famous People™ we can think of are all white and rich, only one is a woman and she got famous because of the guy she married. Kisses!"
Yes, this is the same Government that's like "Oh no removing a statue of slave trader is erasing history :(" You have, however, until 23 February 2024 to politely inquire of them what the fuck they are smoking. And they will have to publish a summary of the responses they receive. And it will look kind of bad if the feedback is well-argued, informative and overwhelmingly negative and they go ahead and do it anyway. I currently edit documents including responses to consultations like (but significantly less insane) than this one. Responses do actually matter. I would particularly encourage British people/people based in the UK to do this, but as far as I can see it doesn't say you have to be either. If you are, say, a historian or an archivist, or someone who specialises in digital data do say so and draw on your expertise in your answers. This isn't a question of filling out a form. You have to manually compose an email answering the 12 questions in the consultation paper at the link above. I'll put my own answers under the fold. Note -- I never know if I'm being too rude in these sorts of things. You probably shouldn't be ruder than I have been.
Please do not copy and paste any of this: that would defeat the purpose. This isn't a petition, they need to see a range of individual responses. But it may give you a jumping-off point.
Question 1: Should the current law providing for the inspection of wills be preserved?
Yes. Our ability to understand our shared past is a fundamental aspect of our heritage. It is not possible for any authority to know in advance what future insights they are supporting or impeding by their treatment of material evidence. Safeguarding the historical record for future generations should be considered an extremely important duty.
Question 2: Are there any reforms you would suggest to the current law enabling wills to be inspected?
No.
Question 3: Are there any reasons why the High Court should store original paper will documents on a permanent basis, as opposed to just retaining a digitised copy of that material?
Yes. I am amazed that the recent cyber attack on the British Library, which has effectively paralysed it completely, not been sufficient to answer this question for you.  I also refer you to the fate of the Domesday Project. Digital storage is useful and can help more people access information; however, it is also inherently fragile. Malice, accident, or eventual inevitable obsolescence not merely might occur, but absolutely should be expected. It is ludicrously naive and reflects a truly unpardonable ignorance to assume that information preserved only in digital form is somehow inviolable and safe, or that a physical document once digitised, never need be digitised again..At absolute minimum, it should be understood as certain that at least some of any digital-only archive will eventually be permanently lost. It is not remotely implausible that all of it would be. Preserving the physical documents provides a crucial failsafe. It also allows any errors in reproduction -- also inevitable-- to be, eventually, seen and corrected. Note that maintaining, upgrading and replacing digital infrastructure is not free, easy or reliable. Over the long term, risks to the data concerned can only accumulate.
"Unlike the methods for preserving analog documents that have been honed over millennia, there is no deep precedence to look to regarding the management of digital records. As such, the processing, long-term storage, and distribution potential of archival digital data are highly unresolved issues. [..] the more digital data is migrated, translated, and re-compressed into new formats, the more room there is for information to be lost, be it at the microbit-level of preservation. Any failure to contend with the instability of digital storage mediums, hardware obsolescence, and software obsolescence thus meets a terminal end—the definitive loss of information. The common belief that digital data is safe so long as it is backed up according to the 3-2-1 rule (3 copies on 2 different formats with 1 copy saved off site) belies the fact that it is fundamentally unclear how long digital information can or will remain intact. What is certain is that its unique vulnerabilities do become more pertinent with age."  -- James Boyda, On Loss in the 21st Century: Digital Decay and the Archive, Introduction.
Question 4: Do you agree that after a certain time original paper documents (from 1858 onwards) may be destroyed (other than for famous individuals)? Are there any alternatives, involving the public or private sector, you can suggest to their being destroyed?
Absolutely not. And I would have hoped we were past the "great man" theory of history. Firstly, you do not know which figures will still be considered "famous" in the future and which currently obscure individuals may deserve and eventually receive greater attention. I note that of the three figures you mention here as notable enough to have their wills preserved, all are white, the majority are male (the one woman having achieved fame through marriage) and all were wealthy at the time of their death. Any such approach will certainly cull evidence of the lives of women, people of colour and the poor from the historical record, and send a clear message about whose lives you consider worth remembering.
Secondly, the famous and successsful are only a small part of our history. Understanding the realities that shaped our past and continue to mould our present requires evidence of the lives of so-called "ordinary people"!
Did you even speak to any historians before coming up with this idea?
Entrusting the documents to the private sector would be similarly disastrous. What happens when a private company goes bust or decides that preserving this material is no longer profitable? What reasonable person, confronted with our crumbling privatised water infrastructure, would willingly consign any part of our heritage to a similar fate?
Question 5: Do you agree that there is equivalence between paper and digital copies of wills so that the ECA 2000 can be used?
No. And it raises serious questions about the skill and knowledge base within HMCTS and the government that the very basic concepts of data loss and the digital dark age appear to be unknown to you. I also refer you to the Domesday Project.
Question 6: Are there any other matters directly related to the retention of digital or paper wills that are not covered by the proposed exercise of the powers in the ECA 2000 that you consider are necessary?
Destroying the physical documents will always be an unforgivable dereliction of legal and moral duty.
Question 7: If the Government pursues preserving permanently only a digital copy of a will document, should it seek to reform the primary legislation by introducing a Bill or do so under the ECA 2000?
Destroying the physical documents will always be an unforgivable dereliction of legal and moral duty.
Question 8: If the Government moves to digital only copies of original will documents, what do you think the retention period for the original paper wills should be? Please give reasons and state what you believe the minimum retention period should be and whether you consider the Government’s suggestion of 25 years to be reasonable.
There is no good version of this plan. The physical documents should be preserved.
Question 9: Do you agree with the principle that wills of famous people should be preserved in the original paper form for historic interest?
This question betrays deep ignorance of what "historic interest" actually is. The study of history is not simply glorified celebrity gossip. If anything, the physical wills of currently famous people could be considered more expendable as it is likely that their contents are so widely diffused as to be relatively "safe", whereas the wills of so-called "ordinary people" will, especially in aggregate, provide insights that have not yet been explored.
Question 10: Do you have any initial suggestions on the criteria which should be adopted for identifying famous/historic figures whose original paper will document should be preserved permanently?
Abandon this entire lamentable plan. As previously discussed, you do not and cannot know who will be considered "famous" in the future, and fame is a profoundly flawed criterion of historical significance.
Question 11: Do you agree that the Probate Registries should only permanently retain wills and codicils from the documents submitted in support of a probate application? Please explain, if setting out the case for retention of any other documents.
No, all the documents should be preserved indefinitely.
Question 12: Do you agree that we have correctly identified the range and extent of the equalities impacts under each of these proposals set out in this consultation? Please give reasons and supply evidence of further equalities impacts as appropriate.
No. You appear to have neglected equalities impacts entirely. As discussed, in your drive to prioritise "famous people", your plan will certainly prioritise the white, wealthy and mostly the male, as your "Charles Dickens, Charles Darwin and Princess Diana" examples amply indicate. This plan will create a two-tier system where evidence of the lives of the privileged is carefully preserved while information regarding people of colour, women, the working class and other disadvantaged groups is disproportionately abandoned to digital decay and eventual loss. Current and future historians from, or specialising in the history of minority groups will be especially impoverished by this.  
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I watched James Somerton's final video, and all I got was this 6 page document
As soon as I learned his final unreleased video was on Revolutionary Girl Utena, I knew I had to hate watch it. I didn't know that I'd spend the following 4 hours making a comprehensive doc on everything I hated about it. But here we are.
The TLDR (is this too long to be a TLDR?)
The intro section, as well as Part 2, are directly plagiarized from wikipedia. The rest is unclear.
He makes a “haha this show is so weird right guys” joke 10 different times
He reads Anthy as so emotionally stunted she literally has to be taught how to think for herself, and believes that being the rose bride makes her feel good
He says that his reading is ‘vastly different” from the rest of the community, before boldly stating that this is because he sees it as a “deeply allegorical and symbolic story”
He sees the sexual abuse as “not to be taken literally”
Insists that the show be separated into parts that are strictly literal and strictly allegorical for the entirety of parts 3 and 4, before making the contradictory move of analyzing characters as allegories during part 5
The only characters that get dedicated sections are Akio and Dios, who he doesn’t believe are the same person. 
He says Dios gets his powers by “deflowering women”
He calls Akio, known child predator, a chaotic bisexual
Uses 14 year old SA survivor Anthy’s passive personality to make a joke about her being a bottom
His final point is that Utena was the real prince all along
There are no citations
Anyway, full version for people who hate themselves under the cut. With time codes, because I cite my sources.
Part 1: Intro
This entire section is almost exclusively quoted from the Wikipedia article for Revolutionary Girl Utena. Words have been changed, but the order at which certain topics come up is not. Highlights include:
0:56 In his introduction of Be-Papas, lists the founding members in literally the exact same order as Wikipedia.
1:40-2:00 His list of Be-Papas previous works is lifted entirely from wikipedia, only with the words changed. This leads to a strange moment at 1:52 where he claims Be-papas ‘lent their talents to’ Neon Genesis Evangelion, a show which started production at least a year before Be-papas was founded. On the wikipedia article for Utena, this is instead referring to the previous work of Shinya Hasegawa and Yōji Enokido
4:23 he uses a quote by Yūichirō Oguro describing the production as a “tug of war”. He seems to have lifted this in its entirety from Wikipedia, as he does not cite the actual source it is from (the box set companion book, btw)
As for James Somerton originals, at 0:44 he claims that out of all magical girl series,”none to my knowledge have been more discussed and dissected than the 1997 series Revolutionary Girl Utena” He will go back on this at 5:05, where he states that “Sailor Moon takes the lion’s share of discussion” in regard to influential magical girl anime
Part 2: Part 1
(At least I know I’m not funny, unlike James Somerton)
Speaking of which. Here is every single time he makes a “wow this show is sooooo weird you guys” joke: 6:00, 8:50, 10:40, 10:58, 13:46, 17:07, 24:16, 30:34, 41:19, 48:01
Here’s every time the punchline to the joke is the existence of Nanami, a character who he otherwise completely disregards: 10:56, 12:05, 16:22, 42:40
6:16 Claims that the “Apocalypse saga” and “Akio Ohtori saga’ are two names for the same several episodes, depending on the release. This is untrue. Instead, different releases either only have the Apocalypse saga, or split the episodes into an Akio Ohtori saga and then the Apocalypse saga. 
7:58 Claims Utena intervening on Anthy’s behalf begins the first duel. While this happens in the movie, Touga intervenes in the scene he uses clips from (like literally right after the shot he uses in the video). Utena only gets drawn into the duels when Wakaba’s love note to Saionji is posted. Youtuber Noralities’ Utena video also gets this wrong, which makes me wonder if this was copied.
9:09 Claims Akio’s “End of the World” moniker is actually more closely translated to “Apocalypse”. In reality, the translation moves away from a more apocalyptic reading, with 世界の果て (Sekai no hate) apparently translating closer to “the furthest reach of a known world” or “edge of the world”. (Love the implications of this translation, but I digress)
9:10 As can be assumed from the previous point, this means I can’t find any sources that point to them not using the title “apocalypse” for religious reasons
10:10 Uses Anthy’s extreme passivity under her Rose bride persona to make a top/bottom joke. I’m gonna repeat this in case you’re just skimming. He uses a trait that likely stems from years of abuse, (possibly exaggerated by the persona Anthy uses to manipulate people), and uses it to call her a bottom. 
He also just doesn’t seem to understand how the whole point of Utena constantly telling Anthy that she's just a normal girl who should make more friends is framed as Utena imposing her will on Anthy, just as much as the previous Engaged have done. 
11:54 Apologies in advance for my most “um, actually!” point yet, but technically his statement that Anthy stops being host to the Sword of Dios is wrong. Akio literally pulls a sword out of her chest in the final duel. It's a more evil-looking sword of Dios, granted.
13:02 !!! CANTARELLA SCENE ALERT !!! He interprets it as them fighting over Akio?? Which like. I will allow people to have their own interpretations of vague and symbolic scenes. I will. I swear. This is not technically incorrect. It just makes me want to eat my own intestines.
14:44 Bad Anthy take #1: He states Anthy “is emotionally stunted to the point where she needs people to make decisions for her because she does not know how to think for herself” This ignores several moments of Anthy clearly making her own choices throughout the show, including the suicide attempt Somerton mentions about a minute prior. This also strips Anthy of what little agency she has throughout the story, usually exerted through messing with Utena or Nanami. (The fact that she repeatedly makes choices that contribute to her own abuse is, in my opinion, one of the most interesting parts of her character, and it's a shame that Summerton’s ‘reading’ of the story completely disregards that)
Additionally, he once again reads Utena ‘urging Anthy to think for herself” in the first arc as an unambiguously good move, and not as something critiqued in the show.
14:52 Summerton reads the Swords of hatred as symbolizing men’s hatred specifically. Again, I’m trying not to completely disregard differing interpretations to a show like Utena, but this feels very simplistic, especially considering the harm we see aimed towards Anthy by other women
16:42 Here he claims that his reading of the story seems to be “vastly different” from the bulk of Utena discourse. What is this reading? That the show shouldn’t be read literally. Or, in his words, “[we can interpret] Revolutionary Girl Utena as a deeply allegorical and symbolic story about the struggles of coming of age amidst widespread institutional corruption in a high school and which describes a passive culture of inaction in regard to brazen instances of domestic exploitation in which there is not only a question about the caporeality of the events transpiring but also which events can be taken for granted and which events are meant to signify abstract sociological institutions.” The idea that he believes this is in any way a new reading of the material honestly baffles me.
Part 3: Part 2
17:48 through 18:50 differently quotes the Wikipedia article for postmodernism. He even makes a joke at 17:55 about Wikipedia. Please kill me. 
The first three themes he lists at 19:11 are just the three main themes listed on the Revolutionary Girl Utena Wikipedia page. What was that about a “vastly different” reading, James?
You’re gonna have to take my word for it, but this section is so short because it's just him talking about the various ways the story can’t be taken literally. He does, ironically, call this a hot take.
Part 4: Part 3
Here’s where the reading falls apart folks
At 23:15, he states that some things in Utena are allegorically coded, while others are to be taken literally. This is true. However, he seems to take this to mean that some parts of the show are Strictly Literal, while others are Strictly Allegorical for things going on in the Literal World. 
This is apparently why he prefers the Anime to the Movie, where there basically is no separation between the Literal and Allegorical
This take is bizarre to me for several reasons, but here is my favorite. At several points, he mentions how Revolutionary Girl Utena is a work of Magical Realism. Magical Realism is literally defined by its blending of the “literal” and “allegorical”, the mix of fantastical elements in a mundane, realistic setting. This idea of the impossibility of a blurred line, that Utena must either have lore where the magic is all real and means nothing, or dedicated allegory segments quarantined from the rest of the story, is contrary to the very idea of Magical Realism.
I can’t help but wonder if Somerton took his mentions of Magical realism from a previous work, due to how little it is consistent with his final argument. Either way, this section suggests a great lack of creativity in his analysis, a shame for such a creative work.
24:36: Shiori slander, for those who care
After this he gets really worked up about people assuming symbolism in everything, even when the author ‘doesn’t make it clear something is symbolic’. He shuts down a reading of a shot in the Lord of the Rings. Miley Cyrus is there? Very The Curtains Were Blue of him. 
28:22 Claims that Wakaba is the key to telling where the Strictly Literal segments end and the Strictly Allegorical segments begin. He states that, under this lens, deeply personal moments of character suffering such as all of the sexual abuse and Anthy’s suicide attempt (which he literally cites) should be read as symbolic and be “approached with uncertainty rather than confusion”. (28:24-29:13)
This also somewhat falls apart when you consider Wakaba is the jeep in the movie's car chase
And then he rants about people not liking his Attack on Titan video for a bit. Since its potential symbolism also doesn't follow hard enough rules to be symbolism. Once again, the separation of “fact vs allegory” I haven’t watched AOT, so that's all I’ll say.
Part 5: Part 4
Thank god this part is short. Much like Dios’ on-screen presence.
32:55 Makes the extremely bold claim that Dios is not Akio. As in, never even became Akio. because Dios is Strictly Allegorical.
Just to be a pedant, this is pretty explicitly disproven in the show
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Confusingly, both earlier and later he will address these two as the same character. 
33:04 he also explains the root of Akio’s name in a tone that suggests this is supplemental information and not like. Literally something he explains out loud in the show?
Part 6: Part 5
This section is nearly entirely about Akio Ohtori. I would like to note that him and Dios are the only characters with dedicated segments.
38:30 The part where he states that Dios gets his powers from deflowering women.
38:46 Claims, once again, that Akio’s abuse of Anthy “may not be literal”. 
38:59 “the instance of exploitation here is used because assault has deep roots as indicating that akio's gender is the source of his imbalance”  THE ASSAULT IS ABOUT AKIO NOW???
39:45 Bad Anthy take #2: “Anthy’s conformity to the Rose bride is based around the fact that she feels good being subservient because this is the only thing in her life that has ever brought her any kind of positive reward”. This is a direct quote. Anyway, I can’t think of any instances in the show where Anthy’s subservience gives her a positive reward, except maybe when she’s intentionally using it to manipulate others. As for her feeling good being the rose bride. She tries to commit suicide. Dude.
Side tangent, but isn’t this exactly what Akio says during the final 2 episodes? That Anthy enjoys being a witch? Is the main villain, who consistently says things during that very episode that are blatantly false, our source of information for this take? I guess so, since this is the dedicated Akio section.
At 40:20 he decides to introduce the concept of Anthy, Akio, and Utena as stand-ins for wider concepts, which is antithetical to his approach in analysis beforehand
Part 7: Part 6
42:40 he finally acknowledges that he’s been spending too much time talking about Akio, and literally no time on characters like Nanami
46:10 states that Utena’s exclusive motivation “is to protect Anthy from the predatorial intentions of the other dualists”, which disregards the fact, which she states herself, that she was largely participating in the duels and protecting Anthy to feel like a prince
48:04 The part where he says that Akio has ‘chaotic Bi vibes’ in regards to him sleeping with Touga, who is 17 and implied to be a long-term victim
Part 8: Part 7
54:01: His concluding point is that Utena was the real prince all along. 
In true Somerton fashion, the video then ends over a scrolling wall of patrons, with not a single citation in sight.
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de4dlyniightshade · 4 months
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munch! spencer, reader with migraine, spencer reads something about how orgasms can help with pain
꩜ warning!: this post is +18!!! mdni!
꩜ word count: 1.6k (got a little carried away;-;)
꩜ A/N: honestly i don't rlly like this but hopefully it's good enough :,)
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You let out a quiet groan in pain as you squinted your eyes at the tv, trying to watch your favourite show but the light from the screen only made your throbbing headache worse, to the point it was almost unbearable.
"Another migraine?" Spencer asked quietly from the other end of the sofa as he looked up from his book, keeping his voice low so as to not make it any worse. You just nodded, holding your head in your hand and letting your eyes close, feeling slight relief from the light no longer beaming into your eyes.
You didn't get migraines all that often but when you did they could be pretty bad and Spencer hated seeing you in pain and hated the fact that there was nothing he could do to fix it even more, or so he thought. He'd spent hours researching ways to alleviate your pain after your last migraine, which got so bad that it practically debilitated you and you couldn't do anything but sit in a darkened room for hours until it passed.
After reading countless articles and blogs a unanimous opinion was that an orgasm relieves a large amount of the pain, one woman going as far to say that hers was completely gone afterwards. Honestly the remedy was a complete win-win, he'd be able to help you and make you feel better and he'd also get to do his absolute favourite thing at the same time, which just so happened to be eating you out.
"Do you want me to help?" Spencer suggested, laying his book down on your coffee table and turning to face you, a slightly excited feeling bubbling in his chest.
"Remember nothing worked last time, Spence" you murmured, sighing at the realisation that you'd probably end up back in your bedroom, cocooned under blankets for your unforeseeable future. You felt Spencer shift closer to you and you could practically feel the excitement radiating from him, knowing that meant he'd found some scientific way to help you and wanted to try it.
"I researched a lot about migraines and how to help you since the last one and the method that came up almost every time was that a sexual release would alleviate a large amount of the pain and i was thinking maybe..." he didn't even have to finish his sentence for you to know what he was thinking, as soon as he uttered the word "sexual" you knew what he had in mind.
"You seriously think it'll work?" Your tone was hopeful and you were prepared to try anything at this point, feeling your pain slowly worsen the more time went on. you'd tried almost every other remedy you'd been suggested by friends and nothing had worked even a little and painkillers did nothing for you no matter how many you took.
"It's worth a try," Spencer smiled, resting his hand on your lower back. you knew he wasn't just doing this for himself, it was just convenient that he loved nothing more than to be buried between your legs.
"Alright, but if this doesn't work I'm not gonna be happy" you were only half serious, you were happy to let Spencer run his little experiment, considering that if it did work, you'd both not have a migraine anymore and would have had an incredible orgasm, so either way, you got something out of the experience.
You watched as Spencer moved to turn off the TV, leaving just a lamp on so that it was light enough that he could still see but dark enough that it wouldn't hurt your head so much.
You quickly hooked your fingers into the waistband of your underwear and pants, lifting your hips to tug them down over your ass and slide them down your legs, kicking them to the side to deal with later as Spencer moved to eagerly kneel in front of you, placing his hands behind your knees and leaning down to press a chaste kiss just above your left knee.
You smiled as you slowly spread your legs apart, watching Spencer's eyes glint with anticipation. You already knew the drill—moving to place your legs over his shoulders the way he liked it and shifting forward on the sofa to give him better access.
Spencer didn't waste any time with teasing, reminding himself that this wasn't for him, no matter how much he enjoyed it; this was an attempt to alleviate your pain.
You let out a sigh as you felt his warm tongue lick a bold stripe up your folds before he circled your clit, moaning quietly at your taste that he'd grown to love so much.
You tangled your fingers in his hair as he buried his face deeper into you, urging your thighs apart to lap at your pussy, your quiet whines and moans egging him on as he took your clit into his mouth, sucking and licking at your sensitive nub, the stimulation making you twitch and grip his hair tighter, rolling your hips into his face as you let your head fall back against the couch.
Spencer wrapped his hands around your thighs as he nuzzled his face into you, making sure to get as close as possible to you so that he could dip his tongue into your entrance. The feeling of his warm, wet tongue pushing into you causing you to arch your back, a loud gasp falling from your lips, your migraine long forgotten.
"F-fuck spence," you whined as you tugged on his hair desperately, letting yourself grind into his mouth. Spencer continued his ministrations on your sensitive cunt, drinking in everything you had to give him with pleasure as he whined into your wantonly.
You felt Spencer push one of your legs to the side, and instantly you got the message, lifting your leg to sling it over the arm of the couch to give him access. You couldn't help but gasp when you felt his middle and index fingers prod at your entrance, teasing your hole briefly before he began slowly sliding them in. The copious amount of saliva and your arousal making it easy.
"Oh, f-fuck!" you moaned out as you felt his fingertips curl right into your g-spot, the mixture of his mouth on your clit and his fingers pressing right into that spot that made your toes curl, making your mind go completely blank as you whimpered and moaned, his name falling from your lips in breathy gasps.
Spencer began massaging his fingers into your g-spot, drawing needy moans from your lips as he brought you closer to your release, revelling in the way you moaned his name and the way that your walls clenched around his fingers.
You got completely lost in the pleasure as you rutted your hips into his face, gripping his hair harshly and pushing his face into you. You felt the familiar knot in your stomach tighten as you squirmed and shuddered, the feeling of Spencer's fingers nonstop stimulating your sensitive spot making you a needy mess.
"C-close! 'm close, Spence." Your voice was high-pitched and whiny as you warned him, Spencer only pushing his fingers harder into you, the action pulling a loud moan from your throat as your body began to shake and tremble.
You couldn't help but sling your leg back over Spencer's shoulder, letting your thighs clench around his head as you felt your orgasm approaching. Spencer's tongue never letting up his brutal sucking and licking on your clit, sending shockwaves through your body.
Spencer began moaning and whining into you, the sounds sending vibrations through your sensitive cunt and making you cry out in pleasure as your breath came out in gasps and huffs, your whole body tending as you felt your release dangerously close.
"G-god spence, I'm gonna c-cum!" You practically wailed with no regard for how loud you were being, letting out a constant slew of desperate noises when Spencer massaged your soft spot more precisely, coaxing you to your release as he sucked harshly on your clit.
Spencer let out an especially loud moan as you tugged on his hair, the intense vibrations sending you over the edge as your mouth dropped open in a silent scream, your whole body shaking and writhing as your release gushed around Spencer's fingers that continued to curl into you, coaxing you through your orgasm while he gently licked at your clit.
You were breathing heavily and still shaking slightly when Spencer slowly pulled his fingers from your sopping cunt, wincing slightly as his skin dragged against your sensitive walls. You watched as he buried his fingers in his mouth, cleaning off your release like he always did, sighing at the taste before he pulled them out and leaned back in, dipping his tongue into your slit to lap up everything he could, not daring to waste any of it.
Spencer leaned his cheek on your knee when he was satisfied, looking up at you through his lashes as you lay completely fucked out with your eyes closed, a beautifully content expression on your face.
"How do you feel?" he asked quietly, watching as you cracked your eyes open and furrowed your brows, scanning around the room and sitting up slightly, a smile spreading across your lips as you looked back down at him.
"I feel...great?!" You laughed slightly, completely fascinated by the effectiveness but also relieved that you'd found something that worked, both for you and for him. Spencer couldn't hide the wide smile that adorned his lips. He was overjoyed that his method worked as he pressed gentle kisses up your leg before he situated himself beside you, nuzzling his face into the crook of your neck and sighing.
"i'm glad" 
(dookie ass ending again ik</3 i need to work on that :,)
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woso-dreamzzz · 1 month
Text
Injured VIII
Alexia Putellas x Child!Reader
Jenni Hermoso x Child!Reader
Summary: There's an emergency
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"Alexia...Alexia...Alexia!"
Alexia comes back into consciousness slowly. It's still dark out and her alarm clock proclaims it to be nearly two in the morning.
Olga is standing over the bed and even in the dim light, Alexia can tell something is wrong. Olga is saying something but Alexia is still waking up and only tunes in at the very end.
"-Already called Jenni. She's going to meet us there."
Alexia sits up, rubbing her eyes. "Meet us there? Jenni? What's going on?"
She flicks on the bedside light. Olga is still in her pyjamas but she's wearing her coat over the top and a pair of shoes. She's got Jaume on her hip.
He's got old little red pinpricks all over his neck and arms.
"Is that chickenpox?"
"No," Olga says, babbling at rapid speed as she shoves the sheets off Alexia's body," I thought it was but I saw some article on my feed about how to make sure it's not anything else and-"
"Olga? What is going on?"
"I think it's meningitis," Olga finally says," And we need to take him to the hospital."
Alexia's up like a shot, hopping around on one foot as she grabs the first set of shoes she can find. "It can't be," She denies," We got him vaccinated. I remember it!"
"That's what I thought!" Olga says back," But the rash doesn't go away when I press a glass to it and you know how he's been lately!"
Alexia nods, pulling on a Barca issued jacket. She pauses as she moves. "Bambi," She murmurs before raising her voice," Shit, Bambi! She was running a bit hot after her ballet class. But I just assumed it was all the movement. My phone...Where's my phone? I need to-"
"I used it to call Jenni," Olga says as they both go running out the door," She's going to meet us there."
She and Olga get there well before you and Jenni do.
Jaume is taken to get a spinal tap but the doctor is confident that it's meningitis so puts him on antibiotics as soon as the procedure is done.
"I don't understand," Alexia says," My kids are vaccinated! Both of them! They're up to date. I took Bambi to all of her boosters! Jaume's scheduled for another one when he hits a year!"
"Sometimes vaccines aren't one hundred percent effective," The doctor says, clearly used to calming enrage parents," What matters is that you saw it and you got him in tonight. The spinal tap should confirm the diagnosis but we've already got him on an IV." The doctor turns to leave before stopping. "You've got another child?"
Alexia's head frantically nods. "Yes. A girl. She's four. She's being brought in now."
The doctor nods, scribbling something on his clipboard. "As soon as she's here, have someone page me. Older children find it harder to stay still for the spinal tap. I'll contact anaesthesia and get someone to bring a mask."
Alexia's head changes from nodding to shaking furiously. "No!" She says it a bit louder than she meant to that even Olga looks shocked.
"It'll be better," Olga tries to explain," If they put her to sleep-"
"No, I mean..." Alexia shakes her head, the words spilling out of her mouth naturally. "She's allergic! To Isoflurane! That's the gas anaesthesia, right? Right?"
She looks around wildly as the doctor's face turns grim.
"I'll get some local," The doctor says," I know we made you wait outside for Jaume but it would be best if you came in for your daughter, if we're only using local, to keep her calm."
It's a waiting game until Jenni arrives with you and Alexia finds herself doom scrolling. She's dived into whatever article she can find on meningitis in children and the more she reads, the worse she feels.
They're yet to be allowed into see Jaume as the staff work to get him a bit more comfortable but Alexia can see him through the window and he's completely passed out asleep.
"I didn't know y/n was allergic to anything," Olga says softly.
Alexia laughs. It's more a nervous chuckle than anything else. "I don't even think Jenni does. My father was allergic. It skipped me and Alba but I wanted to check for Bambi, just in case."
"It's a good thing you did," Olga says.
Alexia looks down at her phone. "Where are they? They should be here by now."
"They'll be here soon. It's going to be okay."
It takes another ten minutes for you and Jenni to arrive.
You look infinitely worse than Jaume. The rash is completely obvious, taking over your whole body and Jenni looks just as distressed.
It takes another ten for the doctor to return.
You don't understand what's going on. Your Ma-Jenni woke you up super early before the sun has come up. She didn't get you dressed or brush your hair how you like it.
She didn't explain much at all...or, anything really. She just put you in the car and didn't say anything.
You'd tried to ask but your throat felt all scratchy and your tummy hurt.
All you know now is that you're at the hospital with Ma-Jenni, Mami and Miss Olga. There's a strange man with cold fingers that takes your shirt from you and makes you curl up on your side.
"Ma-Jenni?" You ask, trembling," What's going on?"
"Ssh, Bambi," Ma-Jenni says. Her tone is harsh, harsher than you've ever heard her speak to you and your tummy ties itself in a knot at her words.
You can hear the strange man talking nonsense to the adults and your eyes go wide at the tray of tools that's wheeled in. They look pointy and sharp, like the tools from that silly doctor show that Tia Alba likes.
You suck in a harsh breath when you feel a pinch at your back. You yelp and instantly try to wiggle away.
"No!" You cry," No! Off! Stop it! I don't want to! I don't want to!"
You force yourself to uncurl. You don't want this strange man touching your back. He makes it hurt and you got want any more of his sharp tools in your skin.
There's a grip on your legs though, forcing them back into position. You turn your head to look at who's got you against your will.
It's Ma-Jenni.
Her grip is firm and hard as she forces your kicking legs still. One of her arms has clamped them together, forcing them to stop moving while her other hand is on your hip, forcing your down onto the table until you're immobile.
You want her hands off you. Ma-Jenni has big hands that are perfect to hold you but not like this, never like this. You don't want her touching you like this.
"Ma-Jenni," You sob," Stop it! Stop it, please! Please!"
She doesn't stop though, merely readjusts her grip and pushes you down further until you well and truly can't move your bottom half.
"Stop it!" You continue to say," Stop it, Mama! Mama, stop!"
Hands curve around your shoulders and these are familiar hands too.
Mami's hands are perfect to hold in yours. They're always warm and they always hold you so gently. But now they've got your arms pinned to your chest and are forcing your shoulders firmly into the examination bed.
"Mami," You cry," Please stop. Mami, please. I'm sorry! I'm sorry, Mami! Stop!"
Mami's lips ghost your hairline. "I'm sorry, Bambi," She says, her voice a whisper that you can barely hear over your panic," I'm so sorry. It's going to be okay. You just need to be still. I'm sorry."
You can't move and the strange man is doing things to your back. You can't feel any pain but you can feel pressure and you can feel when he sticks something beneath your skin where things aren't supposed to go.
The only thing you can do is move your eyes and they focus on Miss Olga, the only adult in the room that's not actively hurting you.
"Miss Olga," You sob," Make them stop."
Her eyes nervously dart to the door like she wants to run away but she doesn't. She steps closer to where the adults are holding you, crouching down until your heads are almost the same height.
"I'm so sorry," She says to you," It's going to be okay, I promise. They're just making sure you're healthy."
"Miss Olga, please," You reply. You try to kick out your legs but Ma-Jenni just grips them more tightly," I'm sorry. I can be good. I can be better!"
"Hey," She says softly when your eyes dart towards your Mami," You are being so good. There's no one being better. Do you know what's going on?"
"No."
"You're very sick," Miss Olga speaks gently to you and brushes away a portion of hair that's covering your eyes," And we need to know what's wrong. Do you remember a few months ago when we came here and they put a needle in my arm?"
You do remember that. It was on one of hospital visits that you went on to see baby Jaume in Miss Olga's belly. They took some of her blood that appointment.
"They takin' my blood?" You ask shakily.
"They're taking a little bit of fluid from your back," Miss Olga explains," And they're going to test that for the illness they think you have. Like how they took my blood to make sure I was healthy."
You sniffle.
Mami and Ma-Jenni's hands are like shackles around your limbs, wrapped around your flesh and unwilling to even give you an inch.
"I'm scared," You whisper.
"That's okay," Olga whispers back," It's always okay to be a little scared. But you're doing so well. You're being such a brave girl. I'm sure it won't be much longer now."
You can feel the thing in your back moving and you try to shift with it but Ma-Jenni's hand clamps down on your hip and anchors you to it so you can't move again, not even a little rock back and forth.
"Hey," Olga says, pulling your attention away from what's happening at your back," Your Mami told me that you've moved up in ballet. I'm sure it's so much fun."
"It is."
"That's great! Do you want to tell me about it?"
Actually, you find that you do what to tell Olga about your ballet. Your words come out stilted and stuttered but you force them out of your mouth.
Olga smiles at you. She's got a pretty smile, you think. Mami must really love girls with pretty smiles.
"That sounds so cool," Olga says to you," You must be so talented." She leans a bit closer to you and you don't even feel the man taking the pointy thing out of your back. "Hey, maybe when you're all better, you can show me some moves. Only if you'd like to."
You duck your head down as the hands slowly leave your body. "Yes, please."
You're rolled onto your back but you keep your head tilted to look at Olga.
You don't know much about her apart from the fact that she's marrying your Mami and they had baby Jaume together.
Mami and Ma-Jenni are still talking to the doctor so you can fully focus on Olga.
She and baby Jaume look alike, you think. They've got the same eyes and nose and face shape. You think that baby Jaume might get her pretty smile when he's older too.
Her hand is gently resting on the side of your bed and you very gently move your own until your fingers are touching.
She hasn't got big hands like how Mami and Ma-Jenni's are big but they're still bigger than yours. They're safe too. You know this because she's never once dropped baby Jaume, even when she once tripped over and fell on her butt. She didn't drop Jaume once.
She smiles her pretty smile and you smile too, not even noticing when the nurse hooks you up to an IV.
"Hey, Bambi," Mami says," Everything's going to be okay now. I'm so-"
You stubbornly don't look at her and she frowns.
"Bambi?" Ma-Jenni asks," How's your back?"
You don't even deign her with an answer. It's still early and you're very tired. You don't want to talk to them, not when they pinned you down like that.
"I'm sorry," The nurse says," But I'm going to have ask you all to leave. The legal guardians can sleep over but that's all."
You don't know what legal guardians means but you do know that Ma-Jenni isn't one. She lives in Mexico for most of the year so she can't be your guardian because you don't live there with her.
She looks like she's going to argue but she doesn't. She reaches to give you a kiss on the forehead but you flinch away and she stops before her lips can press against your skin.
"I love you, Bambi," She says," And I'll be back to see you as early as I can."
You don't answer her.
It's just Olga and Mami left.
"I'm going to go sit with Jaume," Olga says and you frown.
"Jaume's sick too? Did I get him sick?" Your bottom lip wobbles.
"No, of course not." Olga says firmly," You and Jaume just got sick at the same time. It's very sad but it does happen."
"Really?"
"Yes." She heads to the door. "I hope you feel much better later. Maybe, if you feel up to it, you can tell me about your trains? Your Mami says that you love them a lot."
You nod. "Yes."
Then, it's just you and Mami left.
The nurse has set up a little bed next to yours for Mami to sleep on.
Mami seems a little nervous with you, pulling at the sleeves of her pyjama shirt. She looks at you.
You look at her.
You only saw her a few days again, when you painted pottery together and you asked her if you were wanted.
Mami doesn't sit in her bed, she pulls up a chair next to yours. She tries to reach for your hand but you pull it away before she can touch you, cradling it against your chest as you stare.
"Bambi," She begins before shaking her head and stopping. She takes a few moments before opening her mouth again. "I'm very, very sorry."
Those weren't the words that you were expecting.
You still don't answer though. If you blink, you can still feel her phantom hands over your body and the iron grip she had on your limbs.
She scoots the chair closer.
"I love you so much and I'm so sorry that you're sick."
She looks like she wants to say more but you don't really want her to keep talking.
"Bambi, I...I have not been a very good Mami to you," Alexia has to force the words out of her throat even if you give no indication that you can hear her," And I'm very, very sorry."
You still don't say anything. You just lie on your back with your eyes wide open.
"I'm sorry for what happened at home and I'm sorry for what a few-"
"I'm tired, Mami," You say, your voice quiet and exhausted.
"Right," Alexia says, scolding herself inwardly at keeping you up. It's still the middle of the night. "You go to sleep, Bambi. I'll be right here if you need me."
The stress of everything tonight seems to knock you out quickly but Alexia doesn't move to her own bed. She doesn't move. She doesn't sleep. She just stays in that seat even as a nurse pops their head in to confirm that both you and Jaume have bacterial meningitis.
A week hospital visit and IV's full of antibiotics is what awaits you both, baring any complications.
Jenni returns as soon as visiting hours begin again, pulling Alba and Eli in tow.
Eli diverts briefly to check on Olga and Jaume while Jenni and Alba come straight to you. You're still asleep when they arrive, lying on your back with a cannula in your hand to administer your medication.
"You look exhausted," Alba says in greeting, handing off a cup of to-go coffee to her sister," Did you sleep at all?"
"No." Alexia continues to stare at you, focussed on the soft rise and fall of your chest as you sleep.
"I'm surprised you're still here," Alba continues and, for once, her tone isn't biting. She seems genuinely surprised. "Haven't you got training?"
"I called off for the week," Alexia replies," And next week. It's more than enough time for them both to recover."
"You're taking time off?" Alba looks even more surprised than before. "Like, actually?"
Alexia doesn't know why that's so confusing. "Of course. My kids are sick. They need to be looked after."
Alba's mouth opens and closes a few times before she settles on something to say," How is Jaume?"
"Good, better. The doctors said that it's good we caught it when we did. The longer the rash is there for, the worse he could have gotten. It came up last night. We caught here as quick as we could."
Alexia's glad for that. She has no idea what could have happened, how much worse Jaume could have gotten if they had left it a few hours, let alone a few days.
Jenni is strangely silent at her words, reaching out to gently brush some of your hair out of your face.
"How long of a hospital stay?" Alba asks.
"About a week for both of them. The doctors said that they're going to do a hearing test with Bambi in a few days and then four weeks after she's recovered."
"And Jaume?"
"The same," Alexia confirms," Olga is with him now."
"Mama's with her," Alba says," We picked her up on the way."
There's a rustle of sheets as you blink awake. A yawn takes over your whole face as you wake up.
Mami, Ma-Jenni and Tia Alba are all looking at you and you pull your blankets up until they're over your nose.
You don't like the fact that Mami and Ma-Jenni are in the same room together. You can still feel their weights on you, pinning you to the bed as you struggled to get free.
You don't want them here. Not within arms length of you, in case they take your top away again and pin you down.
"Tia," You croak out and Alba pushes past Ma-Jenni to take your hand.
"You're not looking too good there, Bambi," Tia Alba says," How are you feeling?"
"Is Jaume still sick too?"
"He's getting a lot better. Your Abuela and Olga are with him now."
"Is Abuela and Olga going to get sick too?"
"No, don't be silly. Adults don't get sick like that." Tia Alba's teasing you. She's putting on a silly voice and it shocks a little giggle out of you. "I'm sure once your Abuela is done with baby Jaume then she'll be right in to see you."
"And Olga too?"
Alexia goes rigid in her seat. "Olga doesn't have to come in if you don't want her to."
You don't even acknowledge she's talking to you.
"No one has to come in that you don't want to," Jenni promises you but you don't give any indication that you heard her either.
"Olga thinks that I'm talented," You say to Tia Alba," She asked me about my ballet and my trains. She wanted to know more. Did you bring any of my trains?"
The bag on Jenni's shoulder is passed off to Alba. She digs through it, pulling out a spare change of clothes as well as a few model trains that had been shoved in there this morning.
"I want to show Olga my trains," You say," When she's done with baby Jaume." You run your trains over the bed, making little chugging noises with your mouth.
"I think that's a great idea, Bambi," Alexia says but you don't answer.
You haven't acknowledged her or Jenni since you woke up and it's put her on edge. Even when you were scared a few days ago, you still acknowledged her.
But your focus is purely on Alba but even that is hit and miss.
Whenever Alba reaches out to play trains with you, you flinch away. You look up at her in shock each time before glancing back down at your arms as if you can't believe you flinched.
"How are you feeling, Bambi?" Eli asks as she comes in.
You shrug and raise your hand. "They put a thing in my hand."
"They put one in your brother's too," Eli says," It's to give you your medicine."
"Did they put the thing in Jaume's back too?"
Eli nods. "They did."
Your eyes are haunted as you stare at her. "Did they pin him down too?"
Whatever bubble that the room was in bursts and Eli notices the way Alexia and Jenni both exchange a wide eyed look, like two little children caught red handed.
Eli has to think over her words carefully. "You're both very sick," She settles on eventually," Do you know why they had to put something in your back?"
You parrot back the words Olga told you and Abuela nods.
"That's right," She says.
"Olga says I was very brave even though I was crying."
"I'm sure you were the bravest little girl in the world," Abuela kisses your forehead but her lips feel too much like Mami and Ma-Jenni's and suddenly you can feel their hands on you again.
You kick your legs out and move your arms to shake the phantom hands off and they're gone as quickly as they appeared.
"Alexia, Jenni," Abuela says," Can I talk to you out in the hall?"
As they all leave, you look through the windows of your room.
Olga is lingering outside, looking into your room every so often before looking away.
"Tia Alba," You say," Can I still show Olga my trains?"
"Should I bring her in here?"
"Yes, please."
Ma-Jenni and Mami stay outside with Abeula for a long time but you don't even notice.
You've never talked with Olga like this before, not really. There had been a few moments when she was pregnant with baby Jaume where you watched things together and you helped her cook but you had never been like this with her before.
You hand her one of your trains and smile when she plays with you, gently moving the trains around your bed together.
"Is Jaume going to be okay?" You ask her because she's Jaume's mami and she knows things like that.
"He's going to be just fine," She promises you," And so are you. Just a few more days."
"I'm going to miss ballet," You say," That's bad. Mami never misses her training so I shouldn't miss mine."
"Your Mami's missing training now," Olga says," And she's missing it until you get healthy again. That's what you should focus on. Getting healthy again so you can go back to ballet."
"Mami is missing training? Why?"
"Because she wants to make sure you're okay," Olga says," Because she loves you."
You don't believe her but Olga looks very serious so you think that she must think that's true.
"Olga," You say," I'm hungry. When's lunch?"
She laughs a little bit about your blatant change of subject. "A few hours still," She says," How about I go to the shop and get you a snack?"
Olga slips out into the hallway where Eli is still lecturing Jenni and Alexia about their treatment of you. Your sobs and begging still rung in Olga's ears, the way that you cried and cried and begged and begged.
"She's hungry," She says, interrupting the lecture," I'm going to get her a snack."
"I'll come with you," Jenni says," I need a coffee."
The trip to the little shop was awkward, made even more awkward when Olga selected a plain chocolate bar only to have it plucked from her hand and replaced with one with caramel.
"She thinks the plain ones are too hard," Jenni says, almost carelessly," She doesn't like how they feel on her teeth. She prefers caramel."
Olga stares down at the chocolate in her hand, noting down another new thing in the column dedicated to you in her mind. It's painfully bare with only a few things - trains, ballet, the allergy she found out yesterday and now your favourite kind of chocolate.
She had told Alexia she wasn't threatened by Jenni and that's still true but that doesn't mean that Olga isn't intimidated.
Jenni just looks a bit intimidating with her tattoos and her height and the stern look on her face when it comes to you.
"Thanks."
It's silent for a moment as they both wander through the winding hallways back up to the peds wing.
"No," Jenni says eventually, shaking her head like she had been fighting with herself," I'm sorry, Olga. But I have to know...How could you let this happen? With Bambi, I mean? Stuff like this doesn't happen overnight."
Olga wants to bolt, to run and escape this but she holds herself firm as she scrambles to find something to say, knowing exactly what Jenni is talking about. "I didn't notice," She settles on eventually," It is wrong to say but it is true."
Jenni can't seem to understand though. "But how? Bambi is...How could you just not notice?"
"I just didn't," Olga says," And that was wrong of me. It was wrong of Alexia. We've talked about it...a lot...We're trying to move forward, for y/n."
Jenni looks at her, long and hard and Olga suddenly understands what rival players feel when they see Jenni come onto the pitch.
"Don't let it happen again," Jenni says firmly before taking off again, leaving Olga to scramble to keep up.
You're exactly as they left you, sitting in the middle of your bed. You're making chugging noises with your mouth as you run a train over Eli's arm.
Alexia is back in her seat next to your bed but you've scooched away from her as far as you can get.
"Caramel!" You cheer when Olga presents your food," That's my favourite! Thank you!"
"You're welcome."
You munch happily on your food a little but before you stop to scratch at your rash.
Automatically, like she did a few days ago when she first noticed it, Jenni takes your hand to stop you scratching.
You violently flinch away, tearing your hand away from hers. You scrunch your eyes closed firmly as you suck in air.
You can feel the hands on your legs again, forcing you to go immobile as the strange man pokes and prods at your back.
"No!" You cry out, turning away and curling up under your blanket," Stop it! Stop it, Mama! No bad touches! No more bad touches!" You kick your legs out. "No! Stop it!"
"Out," You can hear your Abuela say.
Eli-"
"Out, Jenni! Alexia, you too! Olga-"
"I'll go and see Jaume. He should be up from his nap by now."
"No! No! No!" You continue to chant as the blanket is pealed back.
It's not Ma-Jenni though. It's Abuela with Tia Alba hovering over her shoulder.
You sniffle if you sit up again.
"What happened, huh, Bambi?" Abuela asks," What was that about?"
"Mama hurt me," You say," When the strange man touched my back. I asked her not to! I asked her to stop!"
"I know," Abuela says," I know, Bambi."
"I didn't know what was happening," You say," It was scary and Mama wouldn't tell me what was going on."
It was very scary. You didn't think Ma-Jenni would do that to you, would pin you down and not explain what was happening. Mami could be harsh sometimes and you know she can be rough on the pitch too. She even said she was sorry while doing it but Ma-Jenni didn't.
Ma-Jenni told you to shh and pinned you down and didn't say sorry. You can still feel her hands on you, constantly pinning your legs down and pushing you further into bed.
She didn't say sorry at all and that's what scares you.
"I'm sorry that scared you," Abuela says," I'm sure Jenni didn't mean to."
"She didn't say sorry," You say," And she hurt me."
"Bambi-"
"She did! I'm not lying!"
"No one says' you're lying," Tia Alba assures you," I think you're telling the truth but, Bambi, you needed to have that done, so you can get better."
Ma-Jenni comes back when it's dark. There's no lights coming through your windows and the moon is out so you know it's night time.
Mami is meant to be sleeping on the bed next to you but she's not there.
The door to your room opens though and Ma-Jenni steps in.
But she doesn't look like Ma-Jenni though. There's something different about her. Maybe it's her too sharp features or her too pointed teeth. Maybe it's the curve of her nails or the way she's looming over you.
You can't move and Monster-Jenni's sharp claws dig into your legs easily.
You shriek but she's pressing her whole weight down onto the hand that's got your legs while her other one pins you down by your chest. You can't move. You can't stop her no matter how much you plead and beg and sob.
She's still holding you with bad touches and the strange man appears again. He's got too sharp teeth too and a massive needle that looks even scarier than before.
"Mami!" You cry as you jolt awake, gripping your bedsheets and screaming.
Mami's up like a shot, looking around like she thinks someone's hiding in the shadows. You're scared that Monster-Jenni is there too.
"Mami!" You sob, reaching desperately for her, your mind recycling her apologies as she held you down.
This time though, you crawl into her arms and sob, burying your face in her shirt as you cry.
For a moment, Alexia is in shock at your willingness to touch her. Whatever you had dreamt about must have been bad because you've curled your body around hers and Alexia very carefully curls her arms around you.
"It's okay, Bambi," She whispers," It's okay. It wasn't real. None of it was real. I've got you. Mami's got you."
"Mami," You whimper," Mami, it hurts."
"What hurts?"
"Everything!"
"I'm so sorry, Bambi," Alexia says and she knows that you know what she means, just like how you know she knows what you mean by everything," It's all going to be okay. I promise, this is all going to be okay. No matter what happens."
"I'm scared, Mami."
"I know, Bambi. I'm going to help make it better."
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elainavoid · 5 months
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LN4 - And it's all too much for little Lando Norris
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Hellooo! I'm back, sorry for not being active for like six months :'c I was actually on tumblr but just didn't feel like writing anything. And this just came up to my mind randomly. Enjoy reading, feedbacks are much appreciated. Also there might be some grammar mistakes, i know they are very annoying but i just loved this sm. Love you, enjoy again <3
dad!Lando x mom!reader
You were lying in bed comfortably, moonlight was your only source of light in the middle of the night. Since you were pregnant, bright lights annoyed you, even the smallest bit of light while sleeping woke you up. You rolled onto your side, seeing your husband sleeping peacefully made you smile. You slowly raised your hand, tracing his facial features. Lando kept his little mustache and beard growing before you gave birth, but when he read an article about how it can irritate baby’s skin, he shaved it all of. Even if Daniel made fun of him.
While staring at your lover, you were disrupted with the sound coming from the baby monitor on your night stand. You sighed and tried to get up, before feeling Lando’s hands stopping you. “Sorry for waking you baby. You can go back to sleep, i’ll check on Julia. She’s probably hungry.” You said quietly. Lando laid you down, “Shh, you don’t get enough sleep darling, I’ll take care of her.” You smiled at his words, your pregnancy was tough, Lando knew this very well. He scolded you whenever you tried to get up, cook or do some housework. After giving birth to Julia, you had many sleepless nights. But Lando always stayed by your side. He couldn’t stay in bed, knowing you were probably sleep deprived and tired while taking care of Julia.
You watched him as he got up, leaving your bedroom and closing the door after him, so you wouldn’t get annoyed by the lights if he ever turned them on. You heard the nursery door opening, Julia’s soft cry, getting louder as the footsteps told you that they arrived to the kitchen. He turned on the kettle, he was probably preparing some baby formula. You heard Lando talking to Julia, trying to get her calmed down before her food cooled a bit. “Please don’t cry my little ray of sunshine. Daddy’s here now…”
After a little while, there was nothing but complete silence. Lando left the bed probably twenty minutes ago. You decided to get up, look at what they were doing. Of course you didn’t really want to interrupt their daddy-daughter time but you were getting kind of nervous. You slowly got up, you had shivers down your spine as your bare feet touched the marble floor. Getting out of the bedroom, you found them on the sofa. Lando probably fell asleep while trying to get Julia to. He had one of his arms wrapped around her, other one was holding the half empty baby bottle. You stared at them smiling, knowing that you chose the right person to spend your entire life with, you chose the perfect husband and the perfect father. But probably being a father at a young age was hard and the responsibilities it brought was a bit too much for little Lando Norris.
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vanteguccir · 10 days
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Girls like girls and boys | Chris Sturniolo
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Chris Sturniolo x reader
Summary: Where Y/N faces a journey of self-discovery when questioning her sexuality. Fearing rejection, she is reluctant to reveal her truth to Chris, her boyfriend. But with the help of Nick, Y/N finds the courage to finally come out as bisexual.
Warning: None.
Requested?: Yes, by anons.
Author's note: That is my work, I DON'T authorize any plagiarism, copy, or "inspiration"! | English isn't my first language, so I'm sorry if there's any grammar error.
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Y/N found herself in a moment of deep introspection, a journey of self-discovery that led her to confront truths that had long been kept within her.
Sitting in her favorite armchair, in her cozy bedroom lit only by the soft light of a bedside lamp, she found herself immersed in tumultuous thoughts.
Since a few months ago, something inside her had started to change. Small sparks of doubt had turned into an uncontrollable fire of questioning. Y/N, who had always considered herself heterosexual, now found herself slipping through the choppy waters of sexual uncertainty.
It was difficult to name exactly when it all started. Maybe it was that long look at the pretty girl who crossed her path in the cafe, or maybe it was the sudden intensity of feelings she felt while watching a romantic movie in which the protagonist couple were two girls.
These experiences, seemingly insignificant at the moment, now echoed within her like a deafening echo. And the more Y/N tried to ignore these feelings, the more intense they became, like a relentless tide that was dragging her towards the truth she wasn't ready to accept.
She looked at Chris, a kind and caring boy who had won her heart a few years ago. They were inseparable, sharing big dreams, secrets, and plans for a future together. But now, an abyss opened between them, an abyss fueled by the confusion and fear that Y/N carried within her.
The fear of rejection, of judgment, of change. She didn't want to hurt her boyfriend, but she also couldn't deny her growing awareness of her own identity. She wondered if he would be able to accept her completely. Would he still love her the same way when he knew the truth about her sexuality?
Y/N found herself tormented by vivid images of an uncertain future, where she was alone. She feared that revealing her bisexuality would trigger a chain reaction of events that would lead to their inevitable breakup.
She found herself turning over scenarios in her mind, rehearsing the words she would need to say to Chris, but never finding enough courage to truly face her truth.
The nights became long and lonely as Y/N spiraled into self-questioning. She read articles, sought answers in the far reaches of the internet, and desperately tried to fit into a clear definition of who she was.
She lost count of how many times she watched the video on her boyfriend and his brothers' channel, where Nick told his story of coming out to his family, trying to find some direction or inspiration.
Until she understood that there was no point in remaining closed off like she was doing. Chris was increasingly worried, filling her with questions when they were together and messages when they were away, while Nick and Matt tried to understand the situation and help both sides - that of a best friend and that of a brother.
And seeing the desperation in Chris's eyes again when he facetimed her that morning - while on his way to a photoshoot with Matt - made her finally make the decision to seek real help.
And who better to do this than Nick, who was openly gay and had gone through his own journey of self-discovery?
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With her heart racing, Y/N knocked on Nick's bedroom door after entering the triplets' house with her own key. She wondered if she was doing the right thing by seeking his guidance, but an insistent inner voice was pushing her forward, telling her it was time to confront her fears and uncertainties head on.
Nick opened the door with an excited smile, having already been notified minutes before through a text message that she was on her way, his welcoming eyes conveying an instant sense of comfort. He opened the door wider, giving Y/N space to enter, turning around and returning to his gaming chair, Y/N finding herself surrounded by the relaxed atmosphere instantly.
"Hey girl!" Nick greeted, his voice carrying a tone of euphoria. "What do you want to do today?"
Y/N swallowed, feeling a lump form in her throat. Nick probably thought she had gone to his house to spend time together - which wasn't a lie - completely unaware of the matter at hand.
"Actually, I need to talk to you about something important." Y/N began, her voice wavering with built-up tension as she walked with shaky steps towards the bed. "It's about.. my sexuality."
Nick nodded understandingly, pointing to the mattress with his chin, inviting her to sit there, and turning his body on the chair so that he was facing her. He quickly sent her a compassionate look, encouraging her to continue.
"I've been... thinking lately." The girl continued, carefully choosing her words. "And I think I'm... bisexual."
A wave of relief swept over Y/N as she finally voiced the truth she had been keeping inside herself for so long. Nick smiled gently, looking genuinely happy for her.
"Oh my God, this is amazing, Y/N!" Nick's voice was overflowing with support and encouragement. "Discovering and accepting your true sexuality is an incredibly brave step, I'm so proud of you!"
Y/N felt tears of gratitude bubble up in her eyes. She could never have imagined such a positive and loving reaction, despite him not being heterosexual himself.
"Thank you, Nick..." She sniffled, wiping the tears from her eyes in a quick movement, letting out a low laugh. "But I'm... I'm scared to tell Chris." Y/N said, her eyes lowering to her thighs and her voice cracking with anxiety. "I don't know how he will react, and I'm so afraid of losing him."
Nick sighed, getting up from his seat and walking over to his bed before sitting next to the girl, pulling her into a big hug and resting his head on top of hers, conveying a feeling of calm and security.
“Y/N, I understand this is scary.” He began, his voice soft like a comforting whisper. "But if there's one thing I've learned on my own journey, it's that being true to yourself is the most important thing we can do. And if Chris truly loves you, he will accept you for who you are, no matter your sexual orientation."
Nick's words echoed in Y/N's mind, filling her with courage and determination. She knew that she could no longer postpone the moment of coming out to Chris, he was one of the most important people in her life - if not the most important - and keeping that from him was being a martyrdom for her.
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Y/N's heart hammered hard against her chest as she prepared to take the bravest step of all: telling Chris about her bisexual identity.
She found herself in front of him, in her own room, watching him with a mixture of nervousness and determination while searching for the right words to express what she was feeling.
Chris looked back at her with his extremely blue eyes carrying gentle and loving emotions, his face lit up with a warm smile that always made Y/N's heart melt. He held her right hand, conveying a comforting sense of silent support.
"What is happening, gorgeous?" Chris asked softly, his voice thick with concern. "You said you needed to talk to me, and you seem nervous. Did I do something?"
Y/N's eyes widened at his deduction, shaking her head quickly.
"No! No, of course not, baby." She took a deep breath, gathering all the courage she had within herself. "It's just... There's something I need to tell you." Y/N began, her voice trembling slightly as her breath came raggedly, her cold fingers trembling between his. "It's about my... sexuality."
Chris's eyes widened slightly in surprise, he hadn't really expected the conversation to be about that - the possibility hadn't even crossed his mind - but he remained silent, waiting for Y/N to continue.
"I've been struggling with this for some time." The girl continued after a few seconds, carefully choosing her words. "And I realized that... I'm bisexual."
The silence that followed seemed to echo around them, filling the space between the two with palpable tension. Y/N held her breath, waiting for Chris's reaction, her heart beating wildly and her posture falling almost automatically, as if a weight was put on her shoulders.
And then, finally, Chris broke the silence. His eyes ran over Y/N's features with a gaze full of love and understanding, a tender smile curving his lips.
"Oh my baby, I have no words to describe the honor of you sharing this with me. Thank you for trusting me." His voice sounded soft like a comforting whisper. "I want you to know that I love you exactly the way you are, and nothing will change that... I'm so proud of you!"
Tears of relief and gratitude welled up in Y/N's eyes as she threw herself into her boy's welcoming arms, feeling overwhelmed by an overwhelming wave of love and acceptance, a sob escaping her lips.
"I was so scared of losing you." Y/N admitted, her voice cracking from crying. "You really are the love of my life, huh?" She let out a tearful laugh, wiping away the lone tear that rolled down her cheek.
Chris hugged her back tightly, pulling her into his lap in a quick movement and wrapping his arms around her waist, pressing their chests together and burying his head in the crook of her neck, enveloping her in a comforting warmth that seemed to melt away all her worries and fears.
The boy sealed the exposed skin gently before pulling away slightly, cupping her face gently in his hands, looking into her eyes with an intensity that made Y/N's heart flutter.
"Princess, I'll always be here for you, no matter what." Chris revealed, his voice filled with silent promises. "You are the light of my life, and I will do everything in my power to make you happy."
Chris' words echoed in Y/N's heart, filling her with an overwhelming sense of gratitude and love. She felt infinitely blessed to have found someone so incredibly loving and understanding to share her life with.
And in that moment, as they hugged each other tightly, Y/N knew that no matter what the future held, she was right where she belonged: in the arms of the man who loved her unconditionally, regardless of who she was or who she loved. And with that came a feeling of peace and wholeness that she knew would last forever.
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My requests are open! Please read my rules before sending anything ♡
And remember to treat people with kindness always!
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~ taglist:
@lustfulslxt @ladybunny44 @worldlxvlys @earth2starkey @remussbitch @freshloveforthefit @sturniolowhore @luvr4miya @alorsxsturn @urfavgirllyyyyy @hearts4chriss @cupidzsq @dracoflaco @rootbeerworshiper @junnniiieee07 @elliesturniolo1 @sstvrnioloo @lightsgore @gidgett11037 @ksskianshd @soimightlikeoldmen69 @ldr-sl0t @breeloveschris @its-jennarose @sainzzsturns @ecliphttlunar @madsintheikea @soso-scarlettolivia @sturnolio-luvs @bitchydragonparadise @lvrsturn @freshsturns @h3arts4harry @patscorner @iammattswife @strnilolo @orangeypepsi
(If you want to be added to the taglist, please comment here)
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matrixbearer2024 · 2 months
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Reunited Again Aren't We?
Vox x CollegeStudent!Reader
A/N: Lololol I felt bad I left you guys on a cliffhanger in "Troubles Unforeseen" so here's Vox's POV to the whole thing. Bro already has minor panic episodes when you go inactive so let's see how he deals with the fact you're just entirely gone. Oh and this chapter will feature a bit of the iconic radio demon because trolling Vox will never be unfunny to me HAHAHAHA.
A/N: This interlude's gonna be a wild ride, it's also gonna have some lore dumps because of Lucifer lolol. Hence it is fucking LONG- Btw please send me ideas for Vox and Reader now that they've reunited in death. Fluffy, angsty, smutty, doesn't really matter hahaha, I'm still going for the slowburn btw so please keep that in mind XD ANYWAYS- I hope you guys enjoy this interlude and as always, happy reading!
There was something wrong.
Like, really really wrong.
At least to a certain technology overlord.
Vox just couldn't get rid of the sick feeling he had in his gut.
It had been just a few hours after you said you'd leave for the party.
Knowing that, he tried to just distract himself with his work and hoping the feeling would go away.
Only to find himself counting minutes as nothing seemed to change.
Against his better judgement, he found himself shooting you a quick message.
He was just checking in on you, no harm no foul right?
"Hey doll, how's the party?"
He stared at the phone for a bit, wishing you'd reply and quickly put his paranoia and nerves to rest.
Instead, Vox was quickly reminded that he had a broadcast in a few minutes by his secretary.
Fuck.
He just really couldn't shake that ominous feeling.
Despite that, he put on a charming smile and just went about his business.
Unfortunately, he'd lost track of time after getting swarmed up by work.
So it was only hours later that Vox was able to check back in on you.
And to his dismay, there was still nothing from your end.
You didn't even see his message.
He tries to convince himself that he's just being paranoid.
That there really wasn't anything wrong.
But as he was staring at the screens connected to your gadgets hoping for even just the slightest activity-
The one that showed your phone suddenly fizzled out into static and abhorrently loud white noise.
He recoiled from the loud noise before the panic finally settled in.
Vox had known you for almost two years-
And this hadn't happened once.
The screen where your phone's interface had once been just went back to being one of his typical monitors.
Displaying statistics, graphs, surveillance and whatnot.
The overlord quickly checked if he could still interact with your laptop and tablet and breathed a sigh of relief when he could.
Especially when he could still control that little desktop version he made in his likeness for you.
So, maybe things didn't entirely go to shit.
But still-
What fucking happened?!
He kinda goes off the walls blowing up your notifications or trying to get your attention through the devices he was still tied to.
Which only makes his anxiety worse when there's still no response from you at all.
At this point, it's been a few hours since you've completed dropped off the radar and Vox was just not having a great time.
Were you still at the party or something???
That was of course until a news article appeared as a notification on your laptop.
Vox knew he shouldn't have cared about it much, it was probably just another one of those internet clickbait things anyway.
Especially with the headline.
"Students Injured by Drunk Driver, One Dead"
Who wouldn't think that was an exaggerated story?
But something in the back of his mind demanded that he check it.
It was probably the paranoia filling up with just all the worst possible scenarios.
The overlord just shook his head, he'll check it just to prove to himself you weren't part of it.
Just anything that could tell him that you were okay.
But the second he opened the article to read through it-
Vox immediately felt his stomach drop.
He could immediately identify the bloodied individuals in the headline picture.
It was your group of friends that had gotten caught in that accident.
And it was you who'd gotten killed.
Seeing you bloodied and battered in the outfit you so proudly showed him mere hours ago made him feel downright horrid.
It was like he couldn't even breathe.
No-
No way!
It couldn't be, it was just someone that looked like you!
It had to be!
Was what the overlord tried to tell himself.
But when he scrolled down the page and saw your name written in the article as the one unfortunate death-
Vox knew for certain that he didn't see wrong.
The sick feeling he'd been getting was his instincts giving him a warning.
A warning he didn't heed.
And it costed you.
He sat there in his chair for a minute trying to process it all, especially when the overwhelming guilt finally hit.
Vox wasn't ever one to feel that way, especially in his ruthless line of work.
Not to mention how he generally is a cutthroat businessman who would do anything to get what he wanted.
But when it came to you, he felt immense regret for not having better painted his worry.
That he didn't tell you something felt really off.
It was a new kind of weight at the moment, especially when he was still shell shocked from the blitzkrieg of information.
And even if you still chose to go to the party-
He still could have warned you.
And that was a fact he couldn't let go.
Holding his screen in his hands, Vox just sat there trying to calm himself down.
He definitely couldn't just go back to work like this.
This was bad.
He couldn't remember the last time he felt this kind of overwhelming anxiety.
Was that it?
Would he ever see you again?
Or had he lost you for good?
The overlord was about to kind of just let his emotions run it's course until another realization hit him.
It only popped up in his mind when he saw some random surveillance footage of the city on another one of his monitors.
If you were dead-
There was a chance you could be down here.
He highly doubted it given your nature-
But there was still a chance.
He hadn't lost you yet.
So that was how Vox found himself rapidly traveling through wires and cameras all over pentagram city just holding onto a thread of hope that you would be around somewhere.
Velvette had given him an odd look when he just bolted of the Vee tower like his own ass was on fire but he couldn't bring himself to care.
The priority was you.
As he had unfortunately realized over time.
Zapping himself around through some cables, and cameras wasn't hard.
Tiring as he continued to do it but moving around like a shock of electricity was nothing new to the overlord of technology.
The problem now being that Vox had absolutely no idea where to even begin looking.
Pentagram city was huge, there was his tech and products in nearly every corner.
Aside from Alastor's stupid hotel-
And maybe cannibal town-
So it wasn't that difficult for him to get places.
But where would he even start?
It was unlike him to do something in such a sporadic manner.
Appearing here, appearing there-
Just to check, just to see.
He'd completely lost his cool in his panic and tried to picture what you'd look like as a sinner.
If there's one thing Vox had grown to recognize and love about you, it was your bright eyes.
That gaze that always looked at him with either cheer or mischief.
He was certain that wouldn't have changed even if you were launched into heaven or hell.
Problem was that didn't narrow his options at all.
How was he supposed to know how your other physical features would translate once you were down here?
Hell, he had a TV for a head!
The overlord zapped himself out of a nearby CCTV camera with a huff.
He couldn't keep traveling like that unless he wanted to exhaust himself before he'd even searched half of the pride ring.
So he straightened out his bow and brushed off his suit before just walking down the sidewalk and subtly searching that way.
He wasn't phased when some sinners took pictures of him, nor did he have the capacity to even care.
As long as they didn't get in his way, he left them be.
So imagine his surprise at the sense of familiarity he got passing by someone staring at the display TV screens on one of his many stores.
He swears he's never seen the person before, but there was something about their vibe that just hit like a sense of Deja vu.
Looking over at the sinner that seemed to even be amused at one of his broadcast reruns-
He got a good look of your face.
Your gaze really didn't change.
"Huh, so this is what he does down here. Goofy ass TV-"
And that was your voice.
He wouldn't mistake that anywhere.
"(Y/N)?"
You screamed in shock before you turned your equally surprised gaze to him.
When you met his eyes, Vox knew for sure it was you.
"Vox!!!"
You dropped the bag you were holding and immediately tackled him in a hug.
The overlord opened his arms instinctively to catch you, but he was caught off guard by your sudden movement that he ended up falling backwards and landing on his ass with you in his hold.
He couldn't really say anything when you were just rambling on and on into his chest about who knows what.
Vox couldn't even keep track of what you said.
He was just too relieved to still have you around.
It took a brief moment for him to tighten his hug on you, fearing that if he let go you would disappear.
The both of you stayed like that for a good while, until a certain princess Morningstar and her girlfriend found the two of you.
"(Y/N)???"
"(Y/N) get away from him!"
Vox could only compare how fast you whipped your head around to the times he'd caught you doing something silly.
Subconsciously his hold tightened on you as Vaggie approached, how in Lucifer's name did they even know you were here?
"No! I'd been looking for Vox ever since I ended up down here! I know he's not going to hurt me!"
He was more surprised at how quick you were to defend him, especially since-
Wait-
You'd been looking for him ever since you ended up in hell?
He couldn't catch the rest of the conversation you had with Vaggie and Charlie as he was too busy buffering.
By the time he'd finally been able to pay attention again, you were helping him stand back up with a bashful smile.
And that was when his worry finally reared it's ugly head.
"Wh- How the fuck are you even down here?! I told you to be careful and you'd gotten yourself killed?!"
"As if that's my fucking fault! How was I supposed to know I was gonna die that night?!"
The both of you go back and forth for a little while and you slowly calmed Vox down from his emotional rollercoaster.
He only noticed he was shaking slightly when you grabbed his hand and smiled at him.
A smile Vox was scared he'd never even see again.
He felt a little funny with your hand in his, not to mention just how small your palms were against his own.
"I'm okay now, see? You're such a worry wart."
"I could've lost you, why wouldn't I be?"
You just flick his screen with your free hand in response, but Vox didn't miss the slight red that dusted your cheeks accompanying your pout.
It was only then that he was able to get a good look at you.
He wanted to both laugh and scream at the fact you seemed to have taken traits of a doe, ears and all.
It was like Alastor just had to give him a middle finger no matter what he did.
He also noticed your outfit was the same as the one you had died in, which was probably a hint that you hadn't been down here for long.
Plus, you were just...
Short.
Well, you only stood up to his chest so you just seemed small in comparison to him.
A soft cough brought his attention away from you.
Ah.
Right.
"Hey there Mr. Vox! I see you're well acquainted with (Y/N)!"
Vox was about to just shrug off Charlie's greeting and leave with you when he noticed your stern gaze.
Oh fine, he'll play nice.
"You can just call me Vox, princess. No need for the formalities. It's a pleasure meeting you!"
He returned, extending his free hand to shake with his signature grin propped up on his screen.
Charlie just smiled and shook his hand, introducing herself and Vaggie.
Well, he already knew who they were but he played along.
"Oh just call me Charlie and this is Vaggie, we were actually just shopping with (Y/N) before you appeared?"
Huh?
Vox raised an eyebrow at you but you just nonchalantly pointed to the dropped groceries nearby the two of you just sitting on the sidewalk.
So that was what you were holding before you tackled him.
Before he could respond to Charlie however, you beat him to it.
"Saaaaaay why don't you go back to the hotel with us?"
"Excuse me?"
"I mean I'd reckon it's not like you have anything else to do if you're out here."
Vox didn't really know how he was supposed to react first.
One, he was done with the day's work so you had him kind of cornered.
It wasn't like he could say no to you anyway-
And two, the hotel-
If Charlie and Vaggie were here with you then he could assume what hotel you were talking about.
And he was absolutely livid because he knew fucking Alastor was there.
Alastor.
And you were staying there?!
Though it seems like you heard his thoughts and poked his screen to snap him out of it.
"Oh and don't worry about Alastor, I've been a pain in his side ever since I came to the hotel. He's just really easy to piss off, kind of like you actually- and it's entertaining to watch."
Vox just gave you an annoyed glare from the comparison to which you shrugged.
Though when he weighed his options, maybe it was for the best that you stayed at the hotel despite his rival being there.
It was probably the safest space in hell at the moment-
Especially with how they were able to drive away the exorcists.
That and...
He wasn't so sure about having you in the same space as Valentino.
The pimp already blew up at him when you were just on his phone-
How much more if you guys were in the same room?
He broke from that train of thought though when you just suddenly started messing with his bow tie.
Tugging and poking, Vox couldn't help but find your behaviors as puzzling as it was cute.
He gaze softened slightly at you before he chuckled.
"Just what do you think you're doing doll?"
"Messing with your tie, what else?"
"Hmm, I can see that. Mind telling me why?"
"Cuz I can? Besides- do you wear this outfit all the time?"
"Only when I'm working, aren't you curious."
"Eh, it's all I've seen you wear so I figured I'd ask. Besides, this is the first time we've physically met."
Vox missed the weird glance Charlie and Vaggie gave the both of you.
Not that he would've noticed anyway when you were busy taking up all his attention.
Eventually, you were able to talk the tech overlord into walking you back to the hotel.
He felt a little weird when you finally let go of his hand to pick up the groceries you'd dropped but he wasn't sure why.
Well, more like you were dragging him along.
Charlie and Vaggie were talking excitedly in the front as he just strolled alongside you.
He wasn't really paying attention to them.
"I don't actually know much about what happened in the accident, just that it was a car crash. Speaking of- how did you know I died?"
"A news article popped up on your computer, I almost thought it was clickbait at first."
"Huh, well at least I ended up on the news!"
You both fell seamlessly into conversation all the way on your walk.
And despite you just behaving the same Vox was familiar with, seeing your reactions in person was a completely different experience.
Your energy was almost contagious even.
Vox just intended to drop you off at the hotel and return to his tower-
But you being you, decided to drag him inside despite his protests.
Charlie and Vaggie went ahead inside with the groceries while you once again grabbed Vox's hand to take him inside.
The overlord could already feel all eyes on him the second he stepped through the doors.
Talk about awkward.
"Greetings old pal! What brings you around here?"
Vox visibly cringed when he heard Alastor, forcing his trademark smile onto his face before looking at the deer.
Everyone already seemed to be taking cover for the inevitable fight that was going to happen between the two overlords when-
"Cut the shit Alastor, I don't need you antagonizing Vox when I want to chill out with him."
Vox didn't even have room to reply when your voice immediately cut through the tension like a knife through butter.
Even he looked at you with slightly widened eyes, did you just not fear Alastor at all?
In hindsight, Vox realized you didn't seem to fear him at all when you guys met so was this really unexpected?
The radio demon only narrowed his eyes at you in annoyance, static starting to surround him and you simply crossed your arms.
"If this is meant to be scary, I suggest trying something else. Cuz, you're honestly kinda just being creepy."
Alastor tilted his head before suddenly laughing off your words, your own deer ears pinning back in irritation.
"Why I was just trying to say hello my dear! No need to get so hostile!"
"Don't call me that. It's either my name or nothing ya weirdo."
That piqued Vox's interest, you never had any issues with his petnames-
And yet it seems like you had every bone to pick with his rival.
Was that because of him???
He bit back a laugh and just continued to spectate your exchange.
"If you do insist (Y/N), but I will say you have a terrible taste in companions."
You just flipped Alastor the bird and Vox raised an eyebrow at you.
He didn't even have to say a word to the deer before he disappeared back into the shadows.
"So what was that about who antagonizing who?"
"So much as say another word about this exchange I'm going to punch your screen in Vox."
"That's if you can reach it dollface."
And just like that, you both fell back into your usual banter.
The others would've thought you and Vox were arguing if it weren't for the seemingly genuine grins on both your faces.
There wasn't an air of hostility around you and Vox like when you confronted Alastor.
It was friendly, which was... weird to say the least.
All the more for the current residents of the hotel.
You were a new arrival, so the fact you were so buddy-buddy with one media overlord while having every bone to pick with the other was a little confusing.
Not to mention that Vox was kind of just... there.
Like he wasn't trying to strike up a deal, or even do anything to the hotel.
Was he there just for you???
That fact made them more concerned about your backstory than anything.
When a lull in the conversation between you and Vox finally hit, Angel spoke up.
"Say uh, toots. How'd you end up down here?"
You didn't seem to mind the nickname this time, instead simply shrugging nonchalantly.
Vox was sure now you just said you had problems with it because it was Alastor.
"That's actually a good question. I've got no idea."
"Seriously? Then how do you explain the fact you're friends with like- hell's biggest media overlord?!"
"Oh that? I met Vox when I was alive. No biggie though."
Vox just snickered from everyone's dumbfounded expressions.
Of course he could leave it to you to completely misunderstand just how important the title of "overlord" is.
"I think I might be able to help figure out why you're down here (Y/N)."
It almost entirely caught Vox off guard when Lucifer of all people suddenly made his presence known.
Not to mention the guy was just really short.
Like- wow.
You'd think with all the paintings and tales he'd be a bit more intimidating too but nope.
Vox just looked over at you next to him while you just gratefully gave Lucifer a hug and accepted his offer.
Seems like he wasn't wrong when he mentioned that you could easily make friends anywhere in the past.
The overlord nodded his head slightly to acknowledge the king of hell but was more focused on what he was going to do to help.
It wasn't like they could just watch your entire life on rewind-
Or could they?
Vox just watches as Lucifer uses his magic to form this... golden orb thing in front of everyone.
So color him shocked when it suddenly starts playing some of your memories.
From when you met him because of the ouija board incident-
Up until the point you died.
Was he the reason for your damnation???
Was that why the orb showed that??
"So that's how you guys know each other- don't see anything that could've caused you to be down here though. Let's go farther back."
What-
Now the overlord was completely stumped.
Just what.
Okay, maybe he jumped to conclusions too soon.
Apparently, from skimming through your memories- it seems like the main reason why you were down here with the rest of them-
Was because you stole a candy bar when you were like- five.
"And you were worried about not meeting me."
"I mean, how was I supposed to know I was damned since I was FIVE?! What the hell is this bullshit?!"
Vox could only laugh at you throwing a hissy fit, everyone else around you still being a little confused and dumbfounded that you were in hell for such a small and kind of idiotic reason.
"It's not funny Vox! I can't believe I'm stuck down here because of a fucking candy bar!"
"I thought you didn't mind being down here?"
"Oh trust me I don't, I'm good with wherever you are. But I could've at least gone down for a cooler reason! Fucking hell!"
He couldn't help but smile fondly as you continued to rant.
It wasn't the first time he'd seen you like this, but he always found it cute anyway.
Screens between you both or not.
508 notes · View notes
kwnnys · 4 months
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BAKING WITH BLLK BOYS !
cw ; a bit suggestive/established relationship w the first one, I have no idea how to bake so don't!! sue me!!!, swearing, inconsistent writing style
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THE FLIRTY ONES !
he's somewhat innocent at the beginning, reading out the recipe and grinning as he watches you confidently put on your apron. woah, he didn't realise how hot you could look in such a simple piece of clothing.
he doesn't try to hide the fact that he's shamelessly flirting and trying to coax you. purposely smudging icing and powdered sugar on the corners of your lips, letting out a chuckle when you shoot him an annoyed glare.
hes standing behind you and peeking over your shoulder as you mix the batter. he shakes his head, saying that you're doing it all wrong and he places his hand over yours, 'demonstrating' on how to properly mix it. he shrugs in denial when you call him out for just wanting an excuse to hold you, whistling and glancing to the side.
you know those creepy thirst traps of men baking and they just completely violate the food? he probably does that in front of you for the shits and giggles. pouting and whining that you're 'no fun' when you scold him to stop.
he can't keep his hands off you. playfully slapping your ass the moment you bend over to put the tray into the oven. he ignores your little scoldings, and he cuts you off by scooping you up and placing you on the kitchen counter, caressing your waist as he presses his lips on yours.
the cute baking date you had planned quickly turns into a steamy makeout session as his hands run through the back of your head and he pushes you closer, exploring your mouth with his tongue before— wait, did the smoke alarm just go off?
SHIDOU, REO, BACHIRA, AIKU, KARASU !
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THE LAZY ONES !
he wasn't too fond of the idea of baking. couldn't you two just place an order from your local pastry shop?
you end up having to drag him by force to the kitchen, where he's standing boredly and watching as you do basically everything. it's his presence that counts.
he does help out every once in awhile, passing you the ingredients required or the utensils that you needed. his brows furrow when he sees you pour 3 cups of sugar into the mix. isn't that too much?
all of a sudden he's backseating and pointing out your little mistakes. your inaccurate measurements, or your poor decorating skills. it drives you crazy, to the point where you just shove the bowl into his hands and tell him to do it himself if he's so bothered.
he quickly shuts up at that, and the two of you finally finish baking the pastries! and what do you know, they taste delicious.
NAGI, KAISER, OTOYA, CHIGIRI !
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THE GRUMPY ONES !
he's reluctant at first, but eventually agrees. he is very strict when it comes to recipes, and he makes sure that everything goes perfectly according to what the article says. its hard to take him seriously though, not when he's wearing a pretty pink apron with that stoic look on his face.
it's a bit suffocating. he's bossing you around, and he always has his eye on you. oh, you're trying to sneak some sprinkles into the batter? not on his watch, sprinkles weren't included in the recipe.
he's uptight, but it's just the perfectionist in him. he needs everything to be flawless, it's like he was baking for the minister of Japan himself.
he also makes sure not to make a mess, scolding you when you even let a drop of icing drip onto the counter. he's washing the utensils every 5 minutes. you're sure your water bill is going to suffer.
though, it's somewhat worth it in the end, because these taste like the best sweets you've ever had in your life! the texture is perfect, and the cute decorations on top make it all the better. even so, you might have to think twice before inviting him over for another baking session...
BAROU, RIN, SAE, (WILD CARD) KUNIGAMI !
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THE 'HES TRYING HIS BEST..' ONES !
he's not too experienced when it comes to the art of baking. sure, he's made christmas cookies with his parents every once in awhile— but he's amateur level at best.
he's squinting his eyes trying to read the instructions, tilting his head in confusion. what was the difference between baking soda and powder again..? was there even a difference? what would be the consequence if he accidentally mixes them up?
but no worries, you're there to guide him! or, he hopes. turns out, you know just as little as he does. and the two of you look like clueless puppies in the kitchen.
you end up having to bring in a third party, someone that has much more experience. he tries to help as much as he can, offering to do the more simple tasks like washing bowls and preheating the oven.
the end results isn't too bad. it's slightly more burnt than he expected. oh well, nothing a bit of frosting can't hide fix.
ISAGI, KURONA, YUKIMIYA, NANASE !
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THE SURPRISINGLY EXPERT ONES !
he had told you he wasn't much experienced when you brought it up, to which you said was completely fine! you had been wanting to brag about your newfound skills from the classes you've been taking, after all.
so then why.. is he doing everything? you're confused. he said he wasn't experienced, and yet he was far better at this than you. he didn't even need to look at a recipe, he's doing everything by feel and instinct.
he's even giving you tips. not in a taunting or teasing way, but in a genuinely trying to help way. you want to be mad at him, to call him out for lying but— he's smiling so sweetly, and he seems to genuinely be having fun.
you ended up missing the chance to show off to him. but it was worth the joyful and fun memories you made that day.
HIORI, NESS !
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hunnylagoon · 1 month
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Take Me to War
PT2 Metaphor
Streamer! Ellie Williams x reader
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Where do I pour my love if you take away my pen and paper?
Premise: You are starting to like your annoyingly loud neighbour more than you want to admit.
PT1 Here!
Warnings: Raunchy humour
The gym was busy on this particular day, I absentmindedly judged others for being at the gym at noon on a Saturday like they should have been doing something more interesting with their time until I realized I was at the gym at noon on a Saturday with no other plans for the rest of the day "And she's hot?" Abby asks me while she effortlessly benches something around 170 and I do nothing more than lean on the wall behind her.  
"She's hot," I answer, scrolling through her feed on Instagram like the weird little stalker I was. I hadn't gone full FBI, just looked her up and possibly watched some of her videos "It's kind of cool that I have an internet celebrity living next to me."
"Define cool," Abby props the bar back onto the saddles of the machine and sits up, taking a chug from her water bottle.
"She is cool," I defend "It's not that weird Minecraft roleplay that your grimy cousins watch, it's just like video games and vlogs, that kind of stuff."
Abby looks back at me, sweat drips from her blonde hairline and rests above her brow "How is that even a career?"
I shrug in response "Sponsorships and donations and shit." 
"Why do people throw so much money at streamers?"
"Parasocial relationships, I wrote an article about it last year which you said you read."
She sucks a sharp breath through her teeth "You were writing a lot of articles, hard to keep up with."
"Define a lot," I mock Abby's words. I glance at a guy in between the rows of gleaming machines, their metallic frames reflecting the obnoxious glow overhead. He had been using the leg press upside down, his neck hunched over into an almost horrifying posture, his shoulders pressing against the top plate. It might've been the most normal thing I've seen in New York.
"So are you going to ask her out?"
I wrinkle my nose, thinking about it "I met her last week, I just don't think I know her that well." Within the past week that I've met her, I've been crawling out to the fire escape every morning just so her drowsy eyes could peer into my vacant skull and in recent months I had given up on dating, like a spider, I devoured my own heart.
"That's kind of the point of dating," She lays back down on the bench press "Getting to know each other."
"I think I'm too busy to date," I tuck my phone into my pocket, crossing my arms while I watch Abby. I wasn't entirely sure that I was too busy to date but I tended to consume myself entirely and make everything far more complicated than it needed to be. I still perform autopsies on conversations I've had years ago, clinging to every word like I need them to survive.
"Why don't you wanna be happy?" She asks, furrowing her eyebrows "You're always getting in your own way, is it a tortured poet type of thing?"
My breath hitches in my throat. How I hate when she's right. The last serious relationship I had was in college and even then I had sabotaged myself, I didn't know where it came from other than a nagging feeling that I wasn't deserving of the love that had been offered up to me on a shining silver platter. "I do I'm-
"Just not ready?" Abby cuts me off, finishing my sentence so perfectly as if it had been words on a script for some boring play about a woman who hates her life and won't do anything about it.
"Yeah," I say, my voice is quiet, she's got me in a box here.
"If you're not ready to date, you might as well be friends with her," She puts the bar back onto the saddles but this time, stands up after completing her reps. "You need to get out and it seems like you get along well."
"I guess," I say and Abby raises an eyebrow "No, you're right, I need to dig myself out of the grave I've dug for myself." What added to my overly apathetic mood was the season, I was so sick of February. It felt like winter had forced mold to grow on my bones to way me down onto the dirty city pavement where careless New Yorkers would gladly stomp over my body.
"How's it going with the family?" Abby is writing something down in her notes which I assume is her number of sets and reps.
"Nothing new," I answer.
She peers at me over her phone, digging for a more solid answer "Are you still sending your parents money?"
"Yes-
"Why?" Her arms dropped to her side, her phone still in one hand "You shouldn't have to play caretaker for two people who don't care about you," As true as it was, it didn't hurt any less to hear it out of my best friend's mouth. 
"It's easier said than done, those are my parents," I'm almost overtaken by a delicate drowsiness from the thoughts of leaving behind the one connection I had to my small-town life. My parents were so careless that I would run around barefoot on the road with the neighbour's kids for hours, narrowly dodging cars that flew past us like it had been a game; everything was a game back then, when I came home to my father's drunkenness, I could hide away in the treehouse and read Harry Potter until the screaming came to a stop.
I was bonded to them like I was to the stray cats who raised me. There was no getting rid of them, we ricocheted between hatred and love like the game of catch I never got to play.  
"I'm sorry," She says though I know it is ingenuine "I shouldn't get in between your family."
Abby didn't know them the same way I did. All she knew was the bloodiness of the relationship that I had cried into her arms, she didn't know how kind the wolves were after they tore me apart. The way my father would cheer for me the loudest at my soccer games and how my mother baked for me after a fight, wasn't the apology that I yearned for but the one that was shoved down my throat.
I dug through my brain to search for a way to change the topic "I saw Owen at the market yesterday and he said he wanted you to call him."
"You're fucking kidding."
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My deadline had passed with no issue and I was finally blessing myself with a day where I wasn't chained to my desk. I could finally let my poor bloodshot eyes rest and for once I didn't have to drown them in eyedrops.
I was freshly out of the shower when I heard a knock at my door, Margot yelling at me to answer it. I slipped into a matching pyjama set that Abby gave me on my birthday, hurrying as fast as I could to the door. Margot's consistent screaming did nothing to aid this. 
Ellie was the last person I expected to see on the other side of the door but there she was. I couldn't help the smile that cracked onto my face "Am I the one being loud now?"
She grins at me "No-it's just that my chat has been begging for you to come back all week and I was wondering if you maybe wanted to do a stream with me?"
I looked down at what I was wearing and suddenly felt like the scrouge, all I was missing was a nightcap and a taper candle. "Can I change first?"
"Go ahead but I think this is one of your best looks."
"Really?" I raise an eyebrow "You have poor judgement since you've never seen me in anything other than pyjamas."
"We should probably fix that then."
"I guess we should." I smile. I decided against changing, it wasn't like I was going out, just heading to my friend's apartment that was three feet away.
"Say as much or as little as you want," She opens the door to let me in "I owe you big time," Ellie says this like I don't want excuses to spend time for her. Like I haven't been freezing my ass off every day just to talk to her when she watches the city wake up as she prepares to rest her head. 
Ellie's apartment is more lively than the last time I visited, she's adapted some plants that are already beginning to wilt "Have these been getting any sunlight?" 
She furrows her eyebrows "No? They're fake."
"Ellie," I stifle a laugh "I'm like ninety percent sure that fake plants don't wilt."
"Nuh-uh," She walks toward one just rubs its wilting leaf between her thumb and index, it begins to crumble in her hand and she sucks a sharp breath through her teeth "I guess they are real," Ellie pokes a finger into the bone dry soil and wipes the dirt onto her pants "How much do you know about plants?"
"I'm going to go out on a limb and guess more than you."
 She nods "Sounds about right," Ellie walks over to her sink to fill a Game of Thrones mug with water before circling back to water her plants "Drink up little buddies."
"looks like you need some sunlight too," I watch her attempt to revive the dying plants and 
"Yeah," She keeps hyper-focused on the plants but she cracks a small grin, I could've sworn her smile burnt down the library of Alexandria "I think I'm turning into a vampire."
"The sparkly kind?"
Ellie shakes her head as she stands back up to put the mug on the kitchen island "Like the guy from Sesame Street."
I wrinkle my nose "Yeah, you're looking kind of purple."
"Damn, I was worried you would notice," She smiles again as she opens the door to her office, the purple LED lights are still running but the overhead light is turned on and washes away the colour.
The second I step into the room, Ellie rushes ahead of me and almost jumps to grab the folding chair. She sits herself down and pats her fancy gaming chair for me to sit in it. "Guys, she came!" 
I stare at her, eyes wide, jaw slack. "Ellie."
"What?"
"Do you hear yourself?"
She takes a minute to think about it before nodding her head, I could see the exact moment it clicked "No, I hear it," She addresses the camera "Not like that guys but I don't know what she did with her day, not our business though."
Ellie looks at me like she's waiting for approval of her chosen words. After a moment's reflection, I answer dryly "Thanks." 
"Sorry for taking so long, I had to water some plants," She watches the chat bar scroll by, squinting before she leans back in her chair, hand running through her hair "No, that's not code for sex."
"Could be," I shrug.
"They wanna know what your name is."
"Top secret."
"Okay," She reads some more comments from the chat "Can you tell them what you do for work?"
"I'm a ghostwriter," I say, giving a little thumbs up. I saw myself in the monitor and wanted to throw my hands at myself for being so awkward.
"Spooky," Ellie smiles "She writes about people instead of interacting with them, that's why she's socially inept." She reaches for her soundboard and presses a button, sounding a prerecorded effect of a crowd cheering and laughing.
"She's never had a girl in her apartment, that's why she can't flirt." I counter as she throws her hands up, I can tell she's about to retort with something before I cut her off "So what were you doing before you kidnapped me?"
"Guys, I didn't kidnap her, she willingly walked in here without the use of excessive force and I have had many a girl in this apartment," Ellie tells the chat before clicking something on her screen "So, they send in videos and we have to not laugh, which isn't hard because they aren't very funny." 
"You're not funny either but they watch you," I tease, Ellie fights a smile trying to uphold our image of back and-forth pocking and prodding at one another.
"Laugh three times and you're out."
"Of the apartment?"
"No, you just laugh three times and you lose."
"What do I get if I don't lose?"
"Fuck, I dunno," She furrows her eyebrows, searching the room for something. Her eyes land on a small silver tin, she snatches it up into the palm of her pale hand and sits back down "You get my dill dough."
"I'm sorry!?" My head snaps to look at her "Are you sure you aren't a cam girl?"
"No," She pauses "No, I mean no it's not what you think, yes," Ellie backtracks again "I mean I am sure I'm not a cam girl, not that that I'm not sure I'm not a cam girl, because I'm not," She looks like she's sure of what she said like it made perfect sense "Not a cam girl."
"You're not-not a cam girl?" I ask, pointing out the double negative "So you are a cam girl?"
"No," Ellie runs a hand down her face "Can you guys please tell her that I'm not a cam girl?"
Dcknb4llz:She's a cam girl
Nataliadepressed:I just subbed to her only fans!
Mclovin_fury26:She just wants to show you her dill dough 😕
Yayayalorde:I wish she was a cam girl 
The3nd_isn3ar:Ellie pls stop joking about it and become a cam girl already 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏
Ewmarryme:hahaha Ellie ur so funny now get serious and make an onlyfans
"Anyways," Ellie ignores the chat as they clearly aren't helping her case "This is my dill dough," She shows me the small tin she picked up, there's a picture of a pickle on the front. Over the translucent lid, it surely enough says 'Dill Dough! pickle scented'. It was just green silly putty with an oddly incredulous name.
"I weirdly want that," I answer.
"If you win, it's yours." She tucks it away into the pocket of her sweatpants "Mods, let's get this moving."
We sit through about fifteen minutes of videos; mainly people getting hurt, occasionally one of some type of animal. Nothing funny enough to make either of us laugh except for one of a man falling through a glass table which gets a little chuckle out of Ellie who denies it. 
Another video began playing, it was Ellie in this exact spot, screaming during a game of Fortnite. It looks like it's from the first time she showed me her odd job choice. In the distance, you can hear a knock on the door and this is when I'm sure it's from the day I had been thinking of. Ellie pulls her headphones off and looks at her camera "Shit, I think that's my hot neighbour again."
I slap a hand over my mouth and turn to see Ellie who's looking disappointed at her chat, shaking her head at the camera. "Whoever sent that is fake as fuck."
"So you think I'm hot?"
"Pfft, no, dude, you're ugly as fuck," Ellie makes an overexaggerated confused face like she has no idea what I'm talking about "I was talking about my other neighbour."
Kaylnncourting:Ellie y r u fumbling so bad???????
Overdam00n:You guys were right for saying she doesn't get 🐱🐱🐱🐱
Sestwouth:bruh she's ruining it for herself
Connerstollit:WHY DID SHE SAY THAT 
Cruel_summer:What is wrong with Ellie? Genuinely
F0gg4t:If El doesn't want her, I do
Aliinnnnnaaaaa:First girl she's ever met and she's ruining it
Randelwthehandle:Ugly as fuck??????? who says that 😭😭
Dcknb4llz:wow nice cover up Ellie
Marie_739:Bro Im gonna start calling the girls I like ugly as fuck
"Mr. Quigley?" I ask to which Ellie nods immediately "You think the eighty-seven-year-old veteran who is missing a foot and has swallowed four of his teeth is hot?"
"Yeah," She says, immediately regretting the hole she was digging herself into "I have a thing for older men."
"I don't think you have a thing for men at all, actually."
Her eyes go wide, Ellie opens her mouth to say something and she leans forward in her chair so fast that she falls out and smacks her head on the desk, folding over and onto the ground. I have the biggest smile on my face as I reach for her soundboard and press the cheering crowd effect.  I'm laughing too hard to offer her help, clutching my stomach and keeling over so my head is out of frame. Ellie gets up, and puts herself back in the folding chair pointing at the camera "Do not clip that."
Almost seconds after she says that a video gets sent in of her smacking her head on the desk in slow motion while I burst out laughing and now I'm cackling even harder. You can even hear her yelp in slow motion and she sounds like the dinosaurs from Jurassic Park "You guys are way funnier than Ellie," I say, addressing whoever was watching the stream. 
Another video pops on the screen right after the last one ends, it's Ellie again. She screams at something on her computer and you can hear me bang on the wall on the other side. Ellie goes quiet immediately going back to her game and muttering "She's so hot guys."
"I think my mods hate me," Ellie shakes her head.
"Thank you mods!" I smile at the camera.
A little clip of Ellie back at her desk pops up, she's wearing a Garfield shirt. This time she isn't playing anything, she just sits in front of the camera with that familiar lopsided smile "Guys, how do I trick my neighbour into going out with me?"
There's another video, it's a longer one with the caption 'Ellie Williams calling her neighbour hot compilation' Ellie's eyes go wide and she clicks off the video immediately, the camera goes to us full screen. "That's enough of that."
I pull my phone out and type in the caption of the unfinished video into YouTube, it comes up right away and I click on it. Ellie clicks around on her computer, unaware of my viewing until she hears her voice, echoing in low quality from my phone. She reaches for my phone but I pull it closer to myself. 
I'm dead set on finishing the video until something on the other side of the door, catches my eye. It rushes past the small crack in the slightly ajar door and instinctively, I drop my phone with a slight jolt "What the fuck is that?"
Ellie takes this opportunity to snatch my phone and place it face down on the desk, out of my reach. "That's just Kitty." She pushes herself out of the folding chair and steps out of the room. She walks back in carrying what looks to be a mound of cotton balls, looking a little closer, I realize it's a rabbit. He looks more fluff than flesh.
"What the fuck," My mouth falls open in awe "Can I hold it?" She places him in my lap "He just walks around your apartment?"
She nods "He's litter trained so he just kinda hangs out." 
I pet him, he's soft as a million feathers, and he looks like a mascot for a paper towel company "You are the only person I know that would name their bunny Kitty."
Ellie tries to wipe off the mass amounts of rabbit fur on her, it seems the more she tries to get it off, the more firmly it refuses to budge. "This is a good time to show you guys this new shirt that Dina ordered for me," Ellie stands up walking off camera. She has a couple of Amazon boxes stacked on her couch, she reaches into one of them and pulls out a T-shirt. Ellie turns towards the wall so her back is facing me, she pulls her hoodie off over her head.
All I can see is the back of her sports bra but I force my eyes to go wide "Guys, Ellie Williams has a tramp stamp that says cum dumpster," I lie and the chat goes wild and I grab my phone off her desk as she turns around in her Five Nights at Freddie's tee with a 'Seriously?' face. I take a picture of her with the flash on "I'll sell this rare image of Ellie for six hundred dollars on eBay."
Ellie walks back over to the desk with a stack of Amazon boxes "Every donation goes toward my tattoo removal," She jokes, digging around in the boxes. "I'm a little over your videos, you bunch of snitches so I think it's about time I finally open these up." 
I look in the boxes too, leaning over slightly, being very careful of Kitty where he sits in my lap. I see something and pull it out to hand to Ellie "You should try this one."
"World's hottest gummy bear," She reads the package "Why is there only one? What if I want another?" Ellie yanks the gummy bear, squishing it between her fingers. It looks like Red-40 personified. 
Melanie_felony:She's setting her up lmao
Dcknb4llz:Nobody say anything pls I rlly wanna see this
Elliewsidechick:YALL SHES TOO WHITE FOR THIS STOP
She eats the gummy bear in one bite. As she begins to chew it, she seems absolutely unfazed and partially confused about why it was labelled 'World's Hottest Gummy Bear' A moment later she begins to cough, balling her hand up into a fist and pounding on her chest. Ellie's little cough quickly turns into a deep wheeze.
Ellie lets out a scream, her face going red as she slams her hand onto her desk with watering eyes. I could see visible sweat on her face as she dry heaved, it only took thirty seconds until she sprinted out of the room.
"Oh my god," I watch her run out of the room while I give Kitty a little pet between his ears, he's so still I almost think he's taxidermy. "Guys, I think we killed her." You can hear her vaguely screaming and gagging from the kitchen "So what did everyone do today?"
Thelastgreatamericandynasty:wrote a fanfic about you and Ellie
Dcknb4llz:I got jumped at waffle house 
"Yikes, sorry to hear that." I suck a breath through my teeth "Tell me what I should know about Ellie." Her name feels so right on my tongue.
Jesse_chang:She's a virgin
D4aughter_:OMG HI JESSE
A_birthday_card:The only s3x she's ever had was in Minecraft
Whathasshegot:She has a crush on you 
Touching_theyouth:She's lactose intolerant 
Dcknb4llz:She sold me ketamine in an ally 
Gusty_queefqueen:She homophonic 
Torxhmydreams2:Pretty sure that’s two words that have the same pronunciation but different meaning
Gusty_queefqueen:Bruh it means she doesn’t like gay people
Heytheredelilah7:She has a boyfriend
When Ellie comes back she's filled her Game of Thrones mug with milk and has a bag of shredded mozzarella cheese. She reads the chat "Can you guys be cool for once?"
"They're cooler than you."
"Very funny," Ellie eats a handful of mozzarella before she digs back in the boxes "What's next?" There's one box huge envelope that looks like it has a slip of cardboard in it. Ellie tears the corner open with her teeth and rips the rest of the top off with her hands. She pulls the content out of it, throwing the envelope over the computer for it to land on the ground. Just as suspected there was cardboard in it, not just a slip but it unfolded into a cardboard cut out of Ellie, she looked to be a younger teenager in it, giving an awkward little peace sign and showing her green braces off with a huge smile.
"Aww, you actually look cute in that."
She disregards me "Chat, interrogate Dina about this and report back."
"Dina?" I ask "Is that your girlfriend?"
"Nah," Ellie props up the cardboard cut-out and places it behind us, right in the middle to watch over us "She's my enemy as of right now."
"What did she do?"
"Send this shit," She eats some more mozzarella, holding the bag out to offer me some, to which I decline. Ellie shrugs it off and eats another handful, washing it down with a long chug of milk and putting it on the desk. She grabs a t-shirt, he eyes go wide and she pushes it against her chest so I can't see. "Are you ready?"
"Yes, ma'am," I watch a smile spread across her face as she turns the shirt around to show me a graphic of her on it. In the picture, her face is close up to the camera covered in a white powder (presumably flour). "Oh, wow!" I feign shock.
"I know!" She holds it out toward me "It's yours, you deserve it."
"Wow," I draw the word out, taking the shirt from Ellie "This is really great, I was always hoping I would get a shirt of you covered in flour." Sarcasm drips from tone but I accept the gift regardless.
"I know!" Ellie grins brightly "You should put it on now."
"That's fine, I think I'll save it for our date," I tease.
She perks up just the slightest "Ooo, when's that?"
"The second this stream ends."
"On that note," Ellie looks at the camera "Thank you guys for hopping on tonight and thank you to my neighbour who came here without putting up a fuss," Ellie clicks around on the screen a little bit before addressing them again "Alright, go bug Dina now."
With that the stream comes to a close, the blinking light on the camera turns off, and Ellie and I are left alone with ourselves and Kitty.
“So,” Ellie thumps her foot up and down repeatedly like those anxious kids in high school. “Do you maybe wanna get coffee tomorrow?”
“I don’t drink coffee but I’ll pretend to so I have an excuse to hangout with you.”
A smile splits onto Ellie’s face “Phew, I hate coffee I just thought it was an adult way to ask you out.”
A/N: This is super short but I’ll make up for it in the next part, thanks for reading! We got some angst on the way 👀
Perm tag-list: @veeveeisgay @whenlostinthedarkness @gold-dustwomxn @ellslvr
Series tag-list: @diddiqueen @camillecrellin @fullmachinegirl @eveshyper @lmaoo-spiderman @camicocom1a @elliessweetheart @melanie-watermelon @lanafresitas
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ferrstappen · 11 months
Text
max the extra wag l Max Verstappen
a/n: this is so bad im sorry but it just came to my mind! I hope to post the second part of the Lando break up series tomorrow, hopefully after he gets on the podium!!!!
pairing: Max Verstappen x female reader
genre: fluff
FIND THE REST OF MAX THE WAG SERIES HERE
summary: you can't keep up with all the drama outside the track, but your boyfriend keeps you updated.
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It's not like you didn't check social media or that your algorithm didn't show you edits of your boyfriend driving, trauma dumping, looking cute and hot as always, but after a couple of weeks being exploited as an intern, you didn't really have the time to keep up with the usual gossip from Max's work.
Monaco GP, 2023
It was great to be home. The best of the Monaco Grand Prix was that you could sleep on your own bed, you and Max could walk back home hand in hand, stopping to buy things you may need: sweets to fill your purse to binge while sitting on the garage, the special herbal blend Max liked to have before going to bed, condoms because the last box was almost empty.
Adored and precious routine. almost.
You had to admit Monaco made you a little more nervous, not only because of the narrow streets, but a lot of important, well-known people were all over the place, and Max was the center of it all. Even after years of relationship, you still felt nervous when he looked at your with glowing eyes.
This is my girlfriend, (y/n). She has this great internship because she's the best of her class. I'm sure you've met before.
When all that was over, you chatted a bit with known photographers from the paddock, and right when you were speaking to one of them, you noticed the special white and red look of Charles Leclerc, walking hand in hand with a girl.
It didn't catch your attention immediately, but when you were back home, comfortably sitting on your bed reading an article for work while Max viewed the photographs of the day, the image sneaked in your thoughts.
"You didn't tell me about Charles and Charlotte!" you released the statement a bit harsher than expected, Max's eyebrows furrowing.
"Tell you what?" Max was confused and his face showed it, it was funny.
"Charles Leclerc? Charlotte Siné? Sounds familiar?" you said playfully rolling your eyes.
"I know who they are, schat, but I don't know the thing I was supposed to tell you about? They broke up months ago, they even announced it on instagram, although it was completely unnecessary if you ask me," The last sentence painted a smile on your face, recognizing the change of the tone of his voice, posture and facial expressions, he was ready to gossip.
"But I saw them walking together today! They were walking towards the Ferrari garage, they were holding hands and everything!"
Right in that moment, you observed how his expression changed before realizing a chuckle, his loud and gorgeous laugh that instantly made your insides flutter because it came from his stomach, his lungs; the purest laugh, your favorite.
"She is his new girlfriend, babe," Max told you and your jaw dropped. "Checo said the same thing to me and Daniel when they walked in together for the first time, Checo was sure it was Charlotte until Charles introduced us before the press conference," Now he was in full gossip mode: sitting straighter, phone left behind, blue eyes open wide.
"I'm speechless," you told him, repeating what you saw in the morning over and over again, but your feelings suddenly deviated from surprise to betrayal, playfully hitting Max's thigh. "Honey, why didn't you tell me that sooner?!"
Barcelona GP, 2023
Today you entered the paddock alone, coming straight from the hotel room after landing just an hour ago. You were sad to miss Friday, but your boss said it was vital for you to be in the office on Friday, insisting the meetings couldn't be held on Zoom.
You knew it was because he's a Mercedes fan and hoped Max would be distracted without having you there.
As if. your presence wasn't very vital during the weekend and you were well aware of it.
Admiring the amount of fans cheering for their favorite drivers, a sea of red Ferrari merchandising and flags, you walked by the Ferrari garage to greet Carlos, letting him know you (and Max) were cheering for him to get P2.
P1 belonged to your boyfriend, always.
Quickly scanning the drivers lounge you noticed the Sainz family, very close to each other, Carlos Sainz Sr. listening to everything the engineers were saying about his son's strategy and car.
But something was missing, and it was easy to notice because every friend and family of Carlos was there.
With that idea roaming, you reached your destination, grabbing a sugar free Red Bull before finding your boyfriend with his suit hanging from his hips, tightly hugging him from his waist while carefully extending your neck to meet his lips.
Max was required to stay longer on the track, Christian letting him know they added a meeting to discuss strategy because of the changing wether.
This left you with almost an hour to kill; your head resting on his thighs as he carefully juggling.
"Max, have you heard anything from the party last week? after the gp?" this got Max's attention, already knowing you had a piece of information.
"I know Lando almost hooked up with a girl from Latin America, from Chile I think? but nothing happened because his brother was staying on his flat. Charles and... ex girlfriend 2.0? made it official. Checo didn't go anywhere because last year still haunts him..." Max was mentally remembering every piece of information he'd heard during the week. "Oh, and I think Carlos was with a girl that wasn't his girlfriend? Christian said they didn't do anything, but Max Fewtrell said they left together,"
"Interesting because you know who's not in the Ferrari garage? at his home race? Isa," You told Max, which caused him to drop the colorful balls he was juggling.
"No! So it's true? he cheated?" He whisper shouted.
"Maybe they've been broken up for some time, now that I think about it I haven't seen her since testing?"
Neither Max nor you heard when someone walked in, calling for Max. Because now Max's head was resting on your legs as your fingers caressed his hair, his hands moving around as he came up with a possible theory, tying loose ends and trying to remember anything he'd heard.
The subject was forgotten once you arrived to the hotel room; lights off, eyes almost closing, but Max gasped when he remembered something Alonso mentioned during a press conference, apparently after hearing Lance talking with Esteban.
"Lance said Esteban and his girlfriend are over, do you think it's true?" Max asked you, and this brought up another thing.
"Did you hear anything about Lance cheating or whatever at his sister's wedding?" now you asked him, bodies coming closer to each other.
Now sleep was long forgotten and the only important thing was the gossipy whispers, the loud giggle leaving Max's lips when something sounded too ridiculous, and the security of knowing you'd never be the subject of those rumors.
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roosterforme · 5 months
Text
How You Play the Game Part 8 | Rooster x Reader
Summary: Bradley was miserable without you, and the pain just wasn't lessening even though you left him weeks ago. He needed to find a way to move on, because you didn't want him, and you weren't coming back. But he should have known there was no substitute for the best thing he'd ever had.
Warnings: Swears, broken heart, angst, consensual sex, sex with a condom while intoxicated (18+)
Length: 5000 words
Pairing: Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw x female reader
Check out my masterlist for more! How You Play the Game masterlist. Banner by @thedroneranger
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Weeks later...
As you flew to Vancouver from Detroit, you thought about that six hour flight to Boston where you hadn't stopped crying for a single minute. You thought about leaving San Diego and how it broke your heart to move on to the next city and the next assignment. At least this time you had a window seat instead of the middle seat in the last row. And this time you weren't continually wiping your tears on Bradley's Padres jersey. 
You had his jersey on again today, but this time you felt calm as you reached into your bag to take out your computer and read over the research you'd outlined about the Vancouver Canucks. Your eyes caught on the blue golf ball, and after a second of hesitation, you reached for that instead. 
You'd taken it everywhere with you. It joined you in every hotel room, on every flight and in every rental car. You had it with you in your tote bag when you were in Boston about a month ago working on the exclusive with the Bruins' coaching staff. You were carrying it when you bumped into Abigail Archer for the first time in person. 
With your article completely forgotten now, you dug your phone out of your pocket. It was in airplane mode, but you took a deep breath and unlocked it. You had to scroll a bit to get to the text thread with Bradley, and then you tapped his name and you almost let the tears rise to the surface. You held them back as you read the series of sporadic messages he'd sent you since early November.
I miss you. 
Did you make it to Boston safely?
Ace, please call me back. I miss you so much. 
I have this whole weekend off, and I can't help but think it would be easy for me to fly to wherever you are. If you would want that. 
I still miss you.
I hope you're doing well.
You hadn't responded to a single one of them. And you never called him back either. But sometimes, when you were in a hotel room in a city that you couldn't even identify without looking at your calendar app, you'd get lonely enough to listen to his voicemail message. See ya, Ace.
It took until you met Bradley Bradshaw for you to really understand just how lonely you were. Going back to your apartment in New York City didn't feel like going home. There was nothing there that made you smile. There were no baseball cards or too small Angels tee shirts. There was no Bradley making sure you were taking a break when you needed one. 
And he was part of the reason why you let yourself start to be convinced that you could have more out of your career. Maybe he was right. Somebody else might have something better to offer than Greg or the New York Times. When you talked to Abigail and started to test the waters, it wasn't as terrifying as you thought it would be. Making some calls to see what else was out there ended up validating one fact for you: Bradley was right, your writing was in high demand.
But you had to complete your contract with Greg before you could do much else. And that included Detroit and Vancouver. But you hoped after this, your work-life balance might improve. If you decided to take this information back to Bradley, you hoped he would listen to you. Maybe he would even see what you wrote about your career change in your Detroit Red Wings article. If he was even still reading your articles. There was a chance he might still miss you now, and maybe he'd understand that you needed to see the bigger picture for yourself first. 
Before you left him alone in his bed, he told you that you knew where to find him. He made you feel like it was still okay to go there.
--------------------------
Bradley walked past his coffee table dressed in his flight suit with his travel mug of coffee in his hand. He paused at the front door and looked back at the mess he still couldn't bring himself to clean up. You left him weeks ago, damn near a month ago, but he just couldn't bring himself to clean up all of the fucking baseball cards. 
He closed his eyes and took a calming breath. He was being ridiculous. He was never ridiculous before he met you, so you must have made him this way. Every time he tried to clean them up and put them back out in his garage, his hands faltered and he left the cards out on the table. It was like some sort of sick reminder that you'd really been here with him. It was a way to convince himself he didn't imagine up the perfect woman in his mind and then have to live through the aftermath of watching her leave. 
He tightened his fingers around his mug and rubbed the heel of his other hand against his eyes. Then he took his phone out. He knew he shouldn't do it since you never answered his other messages before, but he texted you anyway. 
I hope you're doing well.
When he re-read what he'd sent, he started to panic. It sort of sounded like he meant it with an air of finality. The last thing he wanted was for you to think that he didn't want to hear from you, because it was quite the opposite. There were times when he felt so lonely, he'd have done anything for you to write to him or call him back. 
He swore he could still smell you in his house, and right now it felt a little too much like you were there. He wrenched his front door open and slammed it closed behind him, breathing in the crisp December morning air. He had to start making some changes, and he needed to do it this week. You weren't going to respond to him. After four weeks he should accept that as a fact and stop bugging you. 
He'd been skipping Hard Deck nights and leaving the locker room after work without really talking to anyone. Nat knew why he was miserable, but even she seemed surprised it had gone on for this long. 
A few days ago, she said, "You've never behaved like this over a woman before. This has all just been very surprising, and I don't know how to help you."
Bradley had shrugged and laughed sarcastically. "Well, I fell in love with her. First time for everything, right? I'll know better for next time."
And that was the truly fucked up part. He had fallen in love with you over the course of ten days. As he drove to work, he thought about your face and your voice. He knew exactly how many miles he put on his Bronco driving back and forth to see you at the games in Anaheim. He knew exactly how much money he spent on all the tickets. He knew how badly it hurt right now to be without you. And he knew he'd repeat everything all over again if he could see you for five minutes. 
Just like every other day, he had to collect himself before he could head inside to the locker room. There was no getting his time with you back. There was no second chance. There was no communication. He needed to stop. He took off his aviators that you'd liked so much and set them in his cup holder. When he checked the time on his phone, he had a notification that a new article from you had been posted eight minutes ago. It was like this every day. He'd wait to see each morning if you'd written anything, and then after it was posted, he'd read it at least three times. 
Your final World Series article was the worst one. It was released two days after you left. He must have read it a hundred times. He'd even take a screenshot of the short passage he was certain was about him.
This World Series was exciting and dynamic for so many reasons. We witnessed some of the best major league pitching in the last decade, and there were more stolen bases than the past three finals combined. Professionally, I may never witness anything like this again. And I can even tell you that on a personal level, I was profoundly changed for the better by everything I allowed myself to experience and enjoy between San Diego and Anaheim over the course of the series.
Bradley looked at his phone screen now. It had to stop. He desperately wanted to read your article on the Detroit Red Wings, but he needed to make this feeling stop. It was like he was constantly in pain every time he thought about you or even simply read your name on his phone. Your written words were never going to help him move on, so he needed to do something about it right now while he felt like he could. 
He deleted the New York Times app. He thought about deleting your number as well, but he needed to save some of his strength to get through his workday. So he just tucked his phone in his pocket and climbed out of the Bronco.
---------------------------
When Bradley walked into the Hard Deck on Friday night after work, he felt defeated and exhausted. He managed to delete the app you wrote for, but he still couldn't bring himself to delete your phone number. Moving on was a necessity right now. He didn't even know why he bothered to come to the bar, but staying home and looking at baseball cards on his coffee table didn't seem to be helping him. 
"You're here!" Nat called out as soon as he walked inside. The bar was decorated for Christmas. Was it that close to the holidays? He'd completely lost track of the weeks, but at the same time, he knew exactly how many days it had been since he'd seen you. His mind was too aware of that number, and it tacked a new one on each day. 
"Hey," Bradley managed to grunt when his friend came over to him and wrapped him up in a hug. The Christmas tree and the strings of lights blurred, and he had to close his eyes. He was missing the feel of your arms around him and the way you smelled. None of this was Nat's fault or anyone's fault really. Bradley didn't even blame you. He couldn't. You and he were nothing. 
"Let me get you a drink," Nat whispered, and she took him by the hand. He recognized the upbeat Christmas song, and he saw the guys waving from the pool table. But when he turned to face the bar, Shannon was right there with her usual smile and a pint glass in her hand. He didn't know why he wasn't expecting her. The last time he saw her was when he brought you here, and he'd give anything to go back to that night. 
Bradley just shook his head. "Something stronger. Please." Shannon raised one eyebrow at him and set the pint glass down in favor of a whiskey tumbler and a bottle of Johnnie Walker. "Yeah."
"Haven't seen you around in a few weeks," she said, watching the amber liquid slosh neatly up the side of the glass as she poured. "Kinda missed you." She met his eyes as she pushed the glass across the bar. "You look so sad."
He held eye contact with her, trying his best to push the intrusive thoughts away. "Maybe I'll be around more now," he muttered, downing the whole drink in one go and setting the glass down again. 
Shannon was familiar to him. Comfortable. He'd been messing around with women for damn near two decades without any deep feelings. You were really his first foray into something... more. But you were gone. You didn't want to talk to him. You weren't coming back.
She refilled his glass and said, "Take this one a little slower, Bradley." He nodded before downing it just like the first one, and she kind of smirked and shook her head. "You'll pay for this in the morning."
He laughed sardonically. "That's the idea." He left the empty glass on the bar with a little nod indicating that he would be back. He desperately needed to clear his head, but he'd been trying everything for weeks. Taking a walk outside, having a cold shower, going for a drive. Nothing fucking helped. 
He needed to forget the feel of your body and the sound of your voice. So he drank an extravagant amount of Johnnie Walker on Nat's tab, and he started to feel looser. He laughed at her when she asked how many he had so far. 
"Don't worry. I'll pay you back," he rasped with a smile that he knew could charm every woman except for his best friend. 
She just rubbed her hand up and down his arm and said, "I hope you know what you're doing. Let me know when you want me to get you home."
He kissed her cheek. "I'm fine, Nat. Just fine." He finished his tumbler and tried to remember if that was his fifth or his sixth, but it didn't matter. He was warm now, and his lips were a little numb. This was exactly what he needed tonight. After he shot a round of pool and lost, he flipped through the jukebox, but it was all bullshit Christmas music. He wasn't in the mood. He thought about playing the piano, but there was an empty stool at the bar now, so he headed in that direction.
"One more?" Bradley asked Shannon as he sat, and she reached out to touch his cheek.
"You sure you really need one?"
"Yep," he said, swallowing against the lump in his throat as she swam out of focus for a split second. "Just one more. It'll make it easier." 
She turned away from him to get one more clean glass. Then she filled it for him. "Thanks, Shannon," he muttered when she set it down in front of him. He was leaning on his propped up hand, and he knew she was kind of pretty. But he knew you were prettier and funnier and smarter. 
"You can't have what you want," he mumbled to himself after Shannon walked away. He pulled his phone out of his pocket, unlocked it and just looked at the screen. Delete it. He had to. He opened his contacts, and there you were right at the fucking top. 
Ace
You'd always be at the top, wouldn't you? 
Instead of deleting your number, he sent you a text before he could reconsider. 
Ace, I fell in love with you.
Fuck. Fuck! You didn't want him. And there was no way to take that message back now. He closed his eyes and shook his head, because he couldn't tell if he was about to cry or laugh. He was fucking miserable. Truly, he'd never experienced this before, and it hurt like hell. His thumb hovered over your name once again, but he couldn't delete it. He drank the whiskey and tried again. But still nothing. 
He watched Shannon move around behind the bar. She wasn't you. She wasn't what he wanted, but when she announced that it was last call, she made her way over to him. 
"But no more for you," she teased, reaching to take his glass away. But he had her wrist in his hand before he registered what he was doing. She looked a little surprised. The tears were in his eyes again, but maybe it wasn't so obvious to her. He couldn't say the words. He needed her to be the one. When he licked his lips, she leaned a little closer. "I'm done in fifteen. Are you interested? Or are you too drunk?"
He took a deep breath as his eyes closed. He needed to try to move on. The pain needed to stop, or else he didn't know what he would do. Right now he was numb enough. It was now or never. "I'm interested."
Bradley was very aware of what he was doing, it just vaguely seemed like someone else was doing it. He gave his keys to Shannon once they were outside. "Remember where I live?" he asked, walking toward the Bronco. 
"Of course I do," she whispered. 
He found himself with his back against the passenger side door with Shannon's lips on his. It felt fine. Would probably feel better the more he got used to it again. He could do this. He kissed her back and told her to drive, because he knew he shouldn't. 
She drove and parked and took him by the hand, leading him inside his house. As soon as he saw the baseball cards, he wanted to upend his coffee table. He wanted to do this and get it over with and go to sleep for a week. And if he didn't feel better after that, then he didn't know what he was going to do. 
When Shannon tried to turn on his bedroom light, he took her hand in his and guided it away from the switch. "Too bright," he mumbled, and she started to get undressed. He stumbled across the hallway to the bathroom and closed the door. When he looked in the mirror, he'd never seen anything quite so pitiful. He splashed a little water on his face, but it just made his flushed cheeks stand out more. He dug around under the sink for some condoms he thought he still had. When his hand closed around the box, he sat back against the wall and cried. 
He had no idea how long he was in the bathroom. He took his shirt off and used it to wipe his face. You didn't want him. He went back to his bedroom where Shannon was naked on his bed, her skin glowing in the light filtering in from the bathroom where he forgot to flip the switch off.
"Fuck," he grunted, running his fingers through his hair. But she must have taken that as a sign that he was ready to go. He wasn't, but he told himself he was. She touched him, and he let her. She kissed him some more, and he let her do that, too. He reciprocated. He knew to do that much. But it didn't feel like anything. He fucked her, but it just wasn't right. And then he fell asleep with a throbbing head and an aching heart and the wrong woman next to him. 
-----------------------
It had been years since Bradley had a hangover. When he opened his eyes, his left arm was hanging off of his bed, and his face was halfway smashed in his pillow. His mouth was completely dry, and he tried to press his lips together and swallow. He had no idea how he got home or what time it was. 
"Oh, shit," he groaned. He texted you last night. When he was sitting at the bar. He was pretty sure he told you he fell in love with you. He knew you wouldn't write back. You must have blocked his number by now. He was probably texting nobody by this point, but it still hurt like hell that you didn't want him the way he wanted you.
Then he remembered what he did after he texted you, and the bile rose in his throat so quickly. Shannon was right there next to him when he turned his head. He let her sleep over. He never let her sleep over before this. She was in your spot. He needed her gone immediately. 
"Hey," he grunted, his throat like sandpaper. "Shannon. You need to leave." 
She rolled over and glared at him. "Still tired," she whispered, completely naked in his bed. 
"Please," he begged. He was so fucking stupid, it was incredible. Now he was miserable and hungover and angry with himself. "I need you to."
She sighed and stretched, and Bradley made a beeline for the bathroom, stepping on a condom wrapper on the way. At least there was that. Then he emptied the contents of his stomach into the toilet. He sat back against the wall for a few minutes, afraid there might be more he had to throw up. He knew his head was throbbing due more to the fact that he regretted everything he did last night with Shannon than him drinking most of a bottle of whiskey. 
There was tapping on the door. "If you want me to leave, I need to use the bathroom."
"Give me a minute," he groaned, standing up and looking at himself in the mirror. There were dark circles under his eyes and he looked pale. When he brushed his teeth, he felt the tears burning behind his eyes once again. Was this ever going to stop? It had been more than a month. 
Bradley rinsed his mouth and opened the door, barely looking at Shannon as she walked past him, still naked. He went back into his bedroom for a pair of clean underwear and some gym shorts and fought the urge to put all of his bedding in the washing machine. He couldn't even be in here right now, so he left for the kitchen. And he passed the fucking baseball cards again. He would have to throw them away or ask someone to come get them, because he needed them gone as much as he needed Shannon to leave. 
As he turned on his coffee maker, he heard someone knocking on his front door. He already wanted this fucking day to end. He tried not to look at the baseball cards as he passed the table and wrenched his front door open, and then his jaw dropped in surprise.
"Bradley. Hi."
He braced his hand against the door frame as he looked at you standing there on his tiny porch. You were wearing his Padres jersey. He had to be hallucinating. This had to be a dream. You were here.
"Ace."
He watched your face light up at the nickname, and you laughed softly as you examined him like you'd been dying to see him. He gripped the doorframe a little harder as he reached his other hand out to cup your chin and feel your silky skin.
"Holy shit, Baby. What are you doing here?" His heart was pounding, but he felt somehow normal again. Just like he had five weeks ago before you left him in a state of panic. 
"I came to see you." He stroked his thumb along your lip, but you didn't back away. In fact you took a tiny step closer as you added, "I have to be up in Anaheim tomorrow afternoon for some Ducks interviews, but I wanted to see you first. I thought we could talk."
Your eyes were open and earnest, and Bradley felt weak as he looked at his jersey on you. He let his hand drop away from your face, because he had no idea what to say to you right now. He had convinced himself he'd never see you again. "Did you get my texts? Or did you block my number?"
You pressed your lips together and then whispered, "I got your texts. And I've listened to your voicemail a lot. I've missed you." Bradley watched you smile tentatively and give him a little shrug. 
"You missed me," he said in disbelief. "And you got my messages. And you missed me. And you're wearing my jersey."
You looked down at yourself and laughed. "I've been wearing pretty frequently, actually. Turns out I don't have a dress code at my new office, which ironically is in Houston now, but I hardly ever have to be there in person."
When you met his eyes again, he asked. "New office?" He was so confused as he reached out and stroked your cheek with his fingers again just to try to make sure you were still real. 
"Yeah," you said softly, taking another step closer to him. "I have you to thank for that. I have you to thank for a lot of things." You bit your lip before you said, "I left the New York Times. I just finished my last assignment for Greg yesterday. I'm working on a brand new piece now. I actually begged my new employer to let me come back to California for the Anaheim Ducks article even though it's a bit of a fluff piece, because it meant I could come here and tell you that I'm happier now."
"You are?" he asked, unsure what you meant by that. He was having a hard time listening to your voice and looking at your face at the same time, and he wondered how he'd managed ten days in your presence for the World Series. You were just so overwhelmingly perfect. 
"Yes, Bradley. You made me think about my career, and I kind of took the time to change some of my priorities. Because if there's a man as incredible as you who is willing to take a chance on me, then I can take the same kind of chance on myself."
"Ace."
You smiled up at what he was sure was a look of longing on his face. "I'm working for Velocity Report now, and I'm going to have a lot more time off between assignments. Which is important, because you reminded me that I need to take breaks and eat and take care of myself. Even when you're not around."
"I loved doing that for you," he gasped, suddenly dying to kiss you. 
"Yeah, well, you were really good at it," you said as your smile faded a little bit. "But that's why I'm here. To tell you all of this in person. You deserve to hear it in person instead of over the phone, especially since I never responded to you. I wanted to, but I just wasn't ready until now. And I don't know if you read what I said about you in my Detroit Red Wings article... but, I still miss you. And I love you."
His heart was pounding so hard, he thought he was going to pass out. "You love me?" he asked, absolutely needing you to say it again for him as your eyes drifted to where the box of baseball cards was still out on the coffee table. 
Your smile grew as you reached out for his hand and tugged him closer like you were going to kiss him. "Yes, I do. I love-"
Bradley heard a noise behind him, and his heart sank as his eyes went wide. You were looking off to the side, and he heard Shannon's voice. "Oh, sorry." He turned to see her with a puzzled look on her face. He had completely forgotten she was even here. After a few minutes in your presence, you were the only thing that mattered.
"Oh my god," you gasped, wrenching yourself away from Bradley. "Oh, fuck." You looked at him with your hands on your forehead and tears in your eyes. "You know what? Forget I was even here. I'm sorry," you gasped, turning on your heel and walking full speed across his yard to the black car that was parked at his curb. 
It took him a second, but then he was right behind you. "Ace! No, Baby, you don't understand." But it didn't look like you were listening as you dug the keys to your rental car out of your pocket. "Ace! Please!" He ran barefoot out onto the street to try to beat you to the car door, but you were too fast. When he reached for your hand and spun you around to face him, you had tears streaming down your cheeks. 
He was frozen, clinging to your hand as you whispered, "She's the bartender. I should have never come here."
"No," he begged, stepping into your personal space, but you kept dodging him. "It's nothing. I want you here. I need you here."
But you pulled your hand free and reached for the door handle as you sobbed, and it broke Bradley's heart. "I need to go."
He was ready to drop to his knees. "She doesn't mean anything, Ace! Please! I missed you too, Baby! I've been miserable without you, okay? You have no idea." 
You wouldn't even look at him now as you pushed him out of the way so you could climb in the car. He felt all of his dreams slipping through his fingers twice now as you slammed the door closed, started the engine and drove.
"Ace!" he shouted running alongside your door until you hit the accelerator and left him standing in the middle of his street without shoes on. "Ace. I love you," he whispered as you turned left at the end of his block, and then you were out of sight. 
Bradley sank down until he was squatting with his face buried in his palms. "Fuck!" he screamed, the sound only slightly muffled as he jumped up to his feet and made his way back to his house where Shannon was standing on his porch. She looked disgusted as another car pulled up in front of his house. 
"Why are we sleeping together if you're clearly in love with her?" she asked, barely looking at him as she headed toward her Uber. "You should go take care of that."
As Bradley watched her away, he tried to pinpoint exactly how he'd fucked all of this up. He wondered if there was any way to fix it. Once again, he couldn't breathe correctly as that crushing feeling returned to his lungs. This feeling has vanished for those few minutes he was with you again.
"Maybe you don't even deserve her," he told himself as he walked back inside alone, thinking about how for a minute there, you'd loved him back.
------------------------------
Oh, Bradley. Oh, you sweet thing. Should I add one more part? Thanks to @mak-32 and @beyondthesefourwalls
PART 9
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somehow-a-human · 29 days
Text
Whose POV is it anyway?
An Introduction
DO NOT ASK NEIL ABOUT FAN THEORY
Cracking down on the storytelling of Good Omens season 2 through the lens of a changing narrator.
If you haven't read this interview with Good Omens cinematographer Gavin Finney, and you're interested in the fantastic dedication and detail that went into this TV show, definitely give it a read. Not only is it lovely, but Neil also posted the article with a caption mentioning that it's got so many secrets in it. Obviously that made me take a closer look.
I have already gone into a fair bit of detail about the different Lens Filters that Finney mentions in the article in a separate post and I will be referring to them quite a bit so if you aren't familiar with them I would suggest reading that first!
This first post is going to cover the basics of changing narrator/POV's and I'll be writing additional posts for separate episodes/minisodes/scenes since there's obviously way too much to cover in a single go. So shall we take our first look?
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It's no secret that something's a *bit weird* with season two, and there are SO many theories about it. I love to read speculation, metas, theories, and opinions, it's definitely fun but my personal ideas align more with the idea that we're simply being shown the events of season 2 through the memories of multiple narrators, different POV's, and it slightly skews the story, sometimes within one continuous scene.
I am also a sucker for a good multiple timeline theory but that isn't this post.
Lens Filters
As I stated above, I wrote a post about each of these individual filters earlier. What I didn't go into in that post was speculation about the filters. While I think they're pretty straightforward, especially the filter for hell (Black Pro-Mist ((BPM)), I think the other two have a bit more room for speculation.
Bronze Glimmer Glass
BGG was described by Finney as being used for 'bookshop scenes', but after S2 back numerous times and paying as much attention as I could to the lighting and colouring of the scenes, I think this is generally true but not always true. There are times when bookshop scenes seem to use a different filter, and other locations also seem to be shot with the BGG filter as well. I think BGG aligns with Aziraphale's POV. Or if Not Aziraphale, an outside-of-Crowley narrator? Based on the scenes (which we'll specifically get into in other posts) which BGG seems to be used, context clues, character behavior, etc, I think BGG clues us in that we're seeing, if you will, through Aziraphale's eyes.
Black Diffusion FX
BDFX was described as being used for 'Crowley's present day storyline' and fuck me, that's not ominous or weirdly phrased at all Mr. Finney! This filter definitely aligns with Crowley. Most of the time he's separate from Aziraphale it seems that this is the filter being used, and certain scenes switch filters mid-scene when he begins to go off on snarky Crowley-centric commentary.
Catch-22 & Herzog
The books on Gabriels bookshelf, great books obviously, but I think books that are also meant to give us context about the story. Pride and Prejudice is a love story about making snap judgements on someone's character, and coming to recognize somebody might be good despite their title or appearance. The Crow Road is a story about life, death, love, morality, mystery, and God. 1984 details the tragedy of Julia and Winston's attempt at falling in love while living under in a police state. You see my point?
That's why I wanted to touch a bit more on Catch-22 and Herzog specifically when talking about the possibility of changing narrators/POV's in Good Omens 2.
Catch-22 frequently switches narrator and the events described are often not necessarily sequential. This way you're getting information about previous scenes as the story continues, so while you're reading the book you're forming a more complete image of the events as the story continues from different characters POV's and iterations of the story. Sound relevant?
Herzog is the other book I wanted to talk about. To be fair I haven't read Herzog in full like I have Catch-22 but I pulled out my copy to reference and flip through a bit to remind myself. Herzog unlike Catch-22 doesn't switch narrators but the narration by the main character, Herzog himself, switches between first and third person throughout. When he is narrating through his letters, you get a deeper look at his thought processes and emotions. It also relies on flashbacks to bring context to the life of Herzog.
While these books touch on other elements that are relevant to the Good Omens story, namely Yossarian's relationship and views of God in Catch-22, the way these stories are told intrigued me for this context.
Crowley's Hair
Yeah I'm gonna mention the hair, because I think the hair is linked. Crowley's shorter sideburns, trimmed mutton chops in the 1827 flashback, and shorter Job wig seem to be clearly aligned with the BDFX filter/Crowley's POV as far as I can tell. I don't know if this means it's just another way to denote POV, but it seems way too consistent not to mention it. The longer sideburns, fuller mutton chops, and longer Job wig all match up with Aziraphale's POV or the BGG filter. My thoughts here are that his hair is another hint of who may be relaying the information to us, AKA is it internal or external. I am making my best guesses though and there are still some situations that I feel less sure about. For example, when Aziraphale takes the Bentley to Edinburgh and Crowley is in the Bookshop with Jim his sideburns are long, is it because he's remembering these scenes unreliably? Is Aziraphale imagining the events? Is it because Jim is present? A brief fluttering thought I toy with from time to time is the fact that in the before-the-beginning scene they are long, and what that means in context of the rest of the season.
S2 Promo Posters
Finally this set of season 2 promo posters showing the characters thoughtfully considering scenes in their heads just gives me a lot of these POV vibes.
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I'm planning on doing individual posts for specific scenes, episodes, and minisodes that require detailed breakdowns. I'll update this list with links as the posts are finished!
POV "Your 'Something's Wrong' Voice"
POV a Trip to Hell and a 25 Lazarii Miracle
POV a Companion to Owls
POV The Dirty Donkey & I think I Found a *Clue*!
POV Bodysnatchers & Cosplaying a bookseller
POV 1941
POV The Ball
POV The End?
Whose POV is it Anyway - a Conclusion
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