#wait before that what is a virtual safety car

[arieslost]

loudest in the paddock | cl16

summary: you’re charlie’s biggest fan.

word count: 1,013

warnings: suggestive comments at the end, possible bad writing (apologies in advance if this ends up being true)

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© arieslost 2024. DO NOT REPOST WITHOUT PERMISSION.

being charles leclerc’s girlfriend is a badge of honor that you wear with pride, and you love to make it known to everyone, whether there’s a camera on you or not.

the fans have a field day with all of your reactions that get captured on camera during race weekends, to the point where charles has a folder on his phone that is home to a number of memes that they’ve made of you. you just get easily excited, and clips of you yelling about something, whether good or bad, have gone viral on many separate occasions.

things are a little different this race. since the moment max’s brakes caught fire and then exploded as he was coming into the pit lane, you’ve been laser focused on the fact that your boyfriend’s teammate is in the lead, with your boyfriend himself only a couple seconds behind in p2. the only time your eyes weren’t glued to the tv was when you noticed someone standing in front of you to block the camera’s view of your celebratory dance when it was official that max had DNFed.

you’re practically biting your nails off as the laps go by, praying harder than you ever have before that this race ends well for ferrari. you hadn’t been able to attend the last race, so the possibility of witnessing charles on the podium in the flesh had you shaking in your boots. especially after how rough last season was.

and then george crashes on the last lap.

“what?!” you exclaim, flying out of your chair and covering your mouth with both hands.

the tv switches to a different camera that shows his car on its side in the middle of the track, and you can feel your heart in your throat as you wait for what looks like an obvious red flag. you can hear someone say your name, and out of the corner of your eye you can see your own face on another tv. usually you smile, wave, or make a funny face at the camera when you catch it filming you, but right now you’re too worried about the fact that only a yellow flag has been called along with a virtual safety car. your hands go from your mouth to your head as it’s confirmed that the race will finish under the virtual safety car, meaning a guaranteed ferrari 1-2 and charles on the podium.

you waste no time in throwing your headset down and cheering, getting wrapped up in hugs by the team as they pass you by to head to the side of the track and cheer carlos and charles across the finish line. while they do so, you rush out of the garage to find your way to the podium in order to get the best spot to see both ferrari drivers up there and hear the dulcet tones of a different anthem than that of the dutch one.

the wait goes by quicker than you thought, and they’re announcing lando’s name as he walks onto the podium to claim his third place finish. then the graphics behind the podium change to charles’, and the second his name is called you do what you’ve been waiting to do since the moment max retired from the race.

years of attending concerts and dance competitions had thoroughly prepared you for this moment. you cup your hands around your mouth, and the second you spot charles, you shout as loud as you possibly can.

“CHARLIEEEE!”

your scream renders everyone else silent for a few shocked moments, and you giggle when charles nearly trips over his own feet as he cranes his neck to try and find you. you shout his name again, sending the ferrari team into a chorus of similar cheers, and when charles finally spots you, his smile grows impossibly brighter and he blows you a kiss from the second place position on the podium.

he looks nothing short of ethereal— his hair fluffy and messy from being encased in his helmet, the rings adorning his fingers, the way he holds his chin up with barely contained pride as the team sings the italian national anthem. you make a mental note to tell him he’s been looking a lot like tony stark lately, and you’re loving it. even more so when he gets drenched in champagne, the confetti sticking to his soaked skin.

he has no struggle in finding you after the ceremony— as soon as you spot him, you let out a wolf whistle that has him blushing.

“there’s my girl,” he laughs as you launch yourself into his arms, kissing the top of your head. “made sure i could hear you all the way from the podium, huh?”

“of course, what did you expect?” you ask, smiling widely as you look at the trophy that got sandwiched between you both. “i’m so proud of you, charles. the whole world needs to know about it.”

“here,” he holds the trophy out to you. “pour toi, ma belle.”

“you’re shouldn’t have,” you tease, taking it into your hands and admiring it as best you can while trying to ignore your reflection in its surface. “this is amazing. you’re amazing. where’s carlos?”

“i thought you were my girlfriend,” he snatches the trophy back. “no more trophy for you.”

“but he won,” you continue, rolling your eyes when he pouts. “hey, i only gave him gracious applause. i seem to recall screaming your name before.”

“and it’s the only name you ever will.” he says with a wink, and you elbow him in the ribs.

“you are so…” you trail off, at a loss for words courtesy of his audacity.

“correct?” he supplies, wrapping an arm around your waist and pressing a kiss to your temple.

“i was thinking ‘unbelievable.’”

“i’m taking that as a compliment.” he says, before leaning in and whispering in your ear. “now let’s go back to the hotel and see how loud you can be for me there, hmm?”

you can only hope that the hotel walls are soundproof.

note: for some reason writing for charles is like fucking impossible for me so if this flops i have nothing and no one to blame but myself 💪🏼💪🏼

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tags: @venusacrossthestars @67-angelofthelordme-67 @emails-i-can-send @nelly187 @cixrosie @fangirl-dot-com @sainzluvrr @imheretoread @mellowarcadefun @yourbane @monsieurbacteria6 @c-losur3 @papayatori @ssprayberrythings @namgification @maih23 @evlkking @witchycarmen @ilovethispookie @maxverstappenfan79 @sya-skies @sweatrevenge5436-blog @kimis-gloves @mia-rrrs @decafmickey @customsbyjcg-blog @bigheartsthings @tania2748 @scuderiadevils @iloveyou3000morgan @ctrlyomomma @hiireadstuff @daemyratwst @arian-directioner @evelyn-ny @avg-golden-retriever @likedbygaslyy

#blurb #charles leclerc #charles leclerc x reader #charles leclerc x you #charles leclerc imagine #charles leclerc fluff #cl16 x reader #cl16 x you #cl16 imagine #cl16 one shot #cl16 fluff #formula one x reader #formula one imagine #formula 1 x reader #formula 1 imagine #f1 x reader #f1 imagine #f1 fanfic

[alphabetatoes]

tennesee whiskey (n. kento x reader)

a.n.: this is basically a drawn out version of the prompt i posted earlier. fic title is in reference to the chris stapleton cover song (felt appropriate for the bar theme) (and and also also lets admire how cute the dividers i made in canva are) does this jump around in characterization? yeah maybe. go ahead, call the whimsy police on me! summary: nanami teaches you how to play pool c.w.: reader referred to using she/her pronouns, alcohol (reader is 21+), suggestive themes, smut if you squint, jealous nanami, and the ever-present risk of writing ooc. barely beta read (though what fic of mine is lmao) w.c.: 1.4k

You and Nanami were sent out to the middle of nowhere to exorcise a curse, in hopes of stopping it before it had the chance to propagate into something worse. Even though it was a Grade 3 curse, the higher ups deemed it safest for the two of you to go as a pair.. It was an in-and-out mission, the two of you making quick work to intervene. Soon enough, you were back in the car and headed back to campus. The simple pitter patter of raindrops hitting the windshield brought a strange sense of comfort. But the calm could only last for so long. A barricade of rain began to drop, bringing a swift end to the peace. He drove until the road was unnavigable, pulling off into an empty parking lot. The two of you were stranded. Your options were to either wait out the storm in the car, or attempt to find solace somewhere nearby. You chose to press your luck with the latter.

“Over there.”, he points out, pulling your attention.

Across the street, there was a dive bar still open despite the storm. The flickering neon lights were your own personal Eden. When you enter the bar, you’re immediately hit with warmth. A concoction of body heat and cigarette smoke fill the room. You can’t seem to mind it though. It draws the attention away from your clothes starting to form a second skin on your body.

“Now don’t you two look wonderful.” The bartender jokes. He bears a giant grin, and you can’t help but to feel unsettled by it. “If you got a change of clothes, restrooms are over that way.” Today was one of the days you were grateful for the spare set of clothes you kept on hand. Missions were unpredictable, and you never knew when you’d be stuck somewhere. You seize the opportunity and head to the restroom, eager to remove the soaked clothes. While you change, Nananmi orders two drinks from the bar.

“For you and your girlfriend?” “Hell, if she’s not spoken for, I’ll have to make her mine!” It’s not like he had a claim over you or anything. But as your partner, and even more so as your friend, he made your protection a top priority. It didn’t matter if they were one off comments. Nanami had lost too many to be careless.

“She’s fine.” Nanami’s tone is dry, unimpressed by the barkeep’s boldness. You return from changing, noticing the blond standing closer to you than before. It’s probably just a safety thing. Better to stay close together than apart, right?

“Drink this.” He hands you the other glass of whiskey. “It’ll help warm you up.” The liquor goes down relatively smooth, and you revel in the warmth of it. “How about a game of pool to pass the time?” You nod over at the table in the corner of the bar. The rain wasn’t letting up any time soon, and you figured it was a good way to pass the time. “You’ve played pool?” 

“I’ve dabbled in it… online.” He rolls his eyes and hands you a stick. A hint of a smile crosses his face. That stoic exterior he fronts at all times slowly starting to chip away. “We could make it fun. Loser has to do something for the winner?” An opportunity for the adult of all adults to let loose. You were curious to know what was behind that rigid exterior. “If I win, you buy me a drink.”  

“And what if I win?” A virtual win does not a professional pool player make, but you weren’t completely oblivious to the game. Even if the odds were stacked against you, you weren’t going down without a fight.

“Given the likelihood of that, I’ll do whatever you want.” He breaks, immediately shooting 3 balls into the pockets. Show-off. “Where’d you learn to play like that?” Of course the man of many secrets would turn out to be a semi-professional. Or he just really wanted a free drink. “Shoko and I used to play all the time when we were younger.”

It’s your time to shine. You step up to the table and ready your shot. “You’re doing it wrong.” Nanami smirks at your rigid form.You’re stiff as a board, awkwardly hovering the stick over the table. “Then show me, Mr. Professional.” Nanami moves from his spot across the table and positions himself right behind you. He places one hand on your stomach, arching your back out to him, and lets the other rest on your waist. “Now place your hands here.” He moves your right hand to grasp the pool stick; your left hand rests on the table forming a hand bridge toward the end of the stick. “Line up the shot and pull back when you’re ready.” He guides you to move, yet never adjusts his position from behind you. Hell, if you moved even an inch back, you’d ram right into him. You couldn’t say you minded though. 

Just as instructed, you line up your shot and pull back. Once you release, the pool stick makes perfect  contact with the cue ball. It spins for a moment, then promptly hits a striped ball into one of the six pockets. “Good shot.” His breath tickles your ear as he speaks. “Now do that about 8 more times and you’ll win.” You line up your second shot and- “Fuck.” The cue ball bounces off the side of the table and right into one of the pockets. “You’re overthinking it. Try not to be so stiff.” His tone is soft, sickly sweet almost.“Relax yourself.” He gives you a simple smirk as you relax, albeit into him. His strong hands hold on to your shoulders, kneading into them gently. Were you not in the middle of a game, you’d melt into his touch. Right here, right now.“

Easy for you to say. You’ve got like 4 balls left!” You whine, and his smirk grows wider. “Anything could happen.” Cocky. Such an easy claim for the blond to make! He was practically prodding a reaction out of you. And you would give it to him. A slap on the arm that he’d hope would linger for a second longer, but you pull away to align your next shot.

It had to be a fluke. The two of you were tied; it could’ve been anyone's game. But Nanami slipped up, knocking the 8 ball right into one of the pockets a turn early. Meaning you had won. Despite his banter with you about playing, he didn’t seem all that upset about the loss. “Alright, winner. Name your prize.”

“Kiss me?” You test the waters, careful not to scare him off. Be it the adrenaline rush from winning or the liquor, something emboldened your choice of prize. Nanami didn’t seem opposed either. His hands found their way to your waist, pulling you closer to him as you lean in. You can feel the heat radiating from his body, his touch sending shivers down your spine. Your arms wrap around his neck, fingers tangling in his hair, as you lose yourself in the intoxicating taste and feel of him. Nanami is the one to deepen the kiss, pinning you against the table with his thigh. You let your hands fall to his shirt collar, playing with it and pulling him in closer.

As he cast a pointed look towards the bartender across the room, it became clear that Nanami had no intentions of letting anyone encroach on what was rightfully his. His lips trail down your jawline, leaving a trail of wet kisses in their wake, and finally rests against the sweet spot between your neck and shoulders. Nanami nips at the skin, deep enough to leave a mark. You pull away, trying to catch your breath. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you lost on purpose.” You smile, fixing the creases in his shirt collar. Nanami’s bruised lips pull into a cocky grin as he brushes his thumb over your lips. “Don’t doubt your ability. If anything, call it a newfound talent.”

“And what if I wanted to take this celebration somewhere more private?” You raise your brows, desperate to keep going  but without prying eyes. Nanami picks up on your request immediately, releasing you from the pool table. Possessive, his grasp pulls you close. It’s firm but gentle, a simple comfort as he leads you. You both shuffle into the small bathroom and lock the door. And right now, more than ever, you’re grateful for the deep drumming of the thunder and the loud pour of the rain. 

#this is kind of dialogue heavy but i still hope yall enjoy 😭 #x reader #nanami kento x reader #nanami kento #jjk #jujutsu kaisen

[anonymous-rendezvous]

An Unconventional Relationship

💛 Luca Kaneshiro x GN!Reader

✦ — Written by Mod S 👿. Beta Read and Edited by Mod I ✨.

✧ — Contains: Humor, strangers to friends to ???, & open ended

✦ — Word count: 3.3k+ | Ao3

Based on these prompts - "You're lucky you're cute." "Wait, you think I'm cute?"

─── ⋆⋅☼⋅⋆ ───

The sun is just beginning to dip below the horizon as you take your usual route home after work. “Hmm, maybe I should order something for dinner…I don’t feel like cooking, plus I’m pretty sure I still have to do the dishes. Ugh, curse you past me!” You trudged your way down the street, practically sulking as you walked. This was virtually routine for you at this point: getting off work, walking home, debating about dinner, sleeping, repeat. It was a pretty average life, and you accepted it wholeheartedly; the motions and all.

Well, it had been pretty average until a fairly strange encounter happened; the monotonous routine led you to make a very unusual… friend(?) roughly half a year ago. You can still recall the night vividly; the events playing through your mind are more similar to a show than an experience that had happened to you.

You had worked overtime resulting in you leaving work much later than you normally did. The moon was already high in the sky as you attempted to rush home. That was cut short when you were suddenly pulled into an alleyway; a knife pointed right at your neck. Like any sane person, you were about to give the person all your money, until – inches from your face – you see your attacker get punched straight in the jaw. The force sent him tumbling further into the alley. Hardly having the time to process anything, you didn’t notice that the nice stranger had proceeded to pull you away, two people dressed similarly to bodyguards rushing past you towards the mugger.

“Are you okay?” With the moment of calm, you took in your savior’s form. Broad, blonde, a very expensive-looking suit and matching hat that almost hid his lavender eyes from view, and from what few words he spoke; an Australian accent.

“U–um…” You quickly collected yourself, looking down to take a deep breath before thanking the stranger. “Yes, I’m fine. Uhh, thank you for that, by the way. You sure got a punch on you.” Before you can mentally smack yourself for being so awkward, he laughs, causing you ease.

“Well, thanks! I pride myself on my good punches! Oh, but do you need a ride home? Don’t want you to get mugged for a second time tonight. Lots of unsavory characters walking around during this time.”

“Really? Well, sure, a ride would be nice! Although, in exchange, I’d like to know the name of my savior.”

He takes off his hat, and brings it to his chest, letting you see his face without obstruction. “Heh, I can’t give you my full name, but you can just call me Luca, okay?”

You accepted his generous offer, and he did, in fact, drop you off safely. Ever since then, he’d occasionally pull next to you in his very expensive-looking car to check up on you. Hell, sometimes you’d run into him on your later shifts, and every time he’d offer to take you home. In his words, “To make sure you don’t get mugged again, you know?”. Honestly, you have no clue why he cares so much about you. He dresses so expensively, his car looks like it costs more than your entire life’s savings, and he has what you assume are bodyguards. He seemed like someone very important. So why is he constantly coming back to check on your safety?

This question loops back into your brain again as you walk, so much so you don’t even notice the car that pulls next to you. It’s not until the person rolls down their window and calls, “Hey!” that you snap back to reality, head-turning quickly as they stop. You notice there are two people in the car, and they look very similar to the same bodyguards who were with Luca the night he saved you. “Heya, you're the Boss’s friend, right? He wanted us to come pick you up.”

“Pick me up?” You blink in confusion, shuffling closer to the car and leaning toward the window in order to talk clearly. “For what? I don’t remember us making plans or anything…” You rack your forgetful brain for a moment, but nothing comes up. Hell, you’d have probably made a memo on your phone about something like this.

“He made dinner plans so he could talk to you. Said something about feeling bad that he hasn’t had the time to properly talk to you.” The bodyguard has to hold back a laugh at the face you make, waving their gloved hand in front of your face to get your attention again. “He also wanted to make sure we tell you that you don’t have to come if you have prior plans.”

Shaking your head, you respond, “He’s very lucky I don’t have any plans. I’m not gonna turn down a free meal. I’ll meet up with him.” Lowering your voice to a mumble, you speak aloud to yourself, “Lucky too that I had no clue what to eat today…” With your confirmation, you hear the car unlock and, with slight hesitation, you slide into the back seat. As soon as you're all buckled in, they take off.

It’s not long before you realize the car is heading toward an area of the city that you rarely go to. Looking out the window, you watch as the car moves through the richer part of town. Fancy hotels and lights everywhere, you even pass a fountain show going on outside. When the car suddenly stops, your eyes move to the two bodyguards in the front seat, who are already getting out. You scramble to reach for the door, but before you can grab the handle, one of them has already opened the door for you.

“Don’t worry, I got it. My partner here will show you to the Boss. I gotta park the car, then I’ll be in there as well.” You give them a nod as you get out, patting yourself down to look more presentable; and to shake off your embarrassment. Looking up at the restaurant, your jaw almost drops at just the exterior. Suddenly, you feel like you might need more than just a pat down.

Now listen, you've been to some pretty nice places before. However, this part of town is way too expensive for you to even think about coming here too often. So when you take in what you know to be the most expensive restaurant in the city, your nerves start to settle in. You're brought out of your thoughts by the car starting and taking off down the road as the other guard calls to you. “Please, this way. The Boss will be super happy to see you. And don’t worry about being underdressed. I’m sure the Boss doesn’t care.”

Pouting a bit, you begin to follow them. ‘Yeah, but that doesn’t mean the other people won’t think that…’ Preparing yourself for the telltale heat of judging stares, you keep your head down as you follow the guard inside. Eyes only watching the nice red carpet and the backs of the movement of the bodyguard's brown dress shoes – preoccupying your eyes with the stitches in the leather. It’s not long before you arrive in the section where Luca is waiting, only looking up when the guard announces so. “Here we are.” You look up and take in your surroundings, eyes widening at the amount of gold detailing in the room. The lights are warm and dim to give the space a sophisticated yet cozy atmosphere. Something you take in almost immediately is that there is no one else in this section of the restaurant, the only one being the person your gaze falls onto next. As soon as Luca hears his guard talk, he sets his menu down and gives you one of the most infectious smiles that you’ve ever seen. Your lips barely refrained from smiling just as widely, settling on a small polite smile and a wave.

The blonde opens his arms in welcome from his seat, energy radiating from his voice. “I’m so glad you could make it! I was so worried you’d have other plans since this was pretty sudden on my part. Next time, I promise I’ll get your opinion on future hangouts first.” Before he puts his arms down, he beckons you to sit, the chair across from him being pulled open by the bodyguard. “Come, sit. We can order and then finally have a proper conversation.”

You take the invitation, even if you are a bit nervous about what exactly is going on. After you sit and are pushed in, thanking the guard as they make their way to stand behind Luca’s seat. Picking up the menu, you immediately try your best not to physically cringe at the prices. Flipping through the pages, you go all the way back to the appetizers – probably the only thing you can afford on the menu. Luca seems to notice, and he tilts his head, voice laced with confusion.

“Oh, are you not hungry? Hm?”

Looking up at him, you give a nervous smile. “Uhh, well, everything here is pretty out of my usual price range. The only thing here that I can really afford is a soft drink and a small appetizer…” You’re about to wave it off as fine until he puts his hand up, stopping you from continuing.

“Oh! Don’t worry about that. I invited you so I’ll be paying. It’s the least I can do for springing this on you. So order anything, I got it.” He smiles, then looks back down at the menu.

Okay, now you're really suspicious. No one this loaded just… does this. Or if they do, they have a catch. Forcing your expression to remain neutral, you decide you’ll ask when dinner arrives. Even if this is immensely suspicious, he doesn’t seem to have anything malicious planned. Although you haven’t known him long, nothing has really set off immediate red flags in your mind. He’s been super kind and if this is a kidnapping or something, he wouldn’t go through all this trouble. He’d have just done it by now – he’s had more than enough opportunities. Taking a deep breath, you settle on a meal and let him talk you into sharing a bottle of some high-class wine with him. When the server arrives to take your orders, you notice the other guard has returned from parking the car, making their way to Luca standing behind him next to the other one. You're too busy giving your order and feeling nervous about the establishment, that you don’t notice how uneasy the server is; constantly looking to the side and shifting nervously. He scurries off pretty quickly after your orders have been filled, and before you can ponder it, you’re pulled into a conversation with the blonde. 

Luca lets you talk about your life first, and you're surprised at how intently he listens. It’s not like you lived anything remarkable as he must have, but when he listens to you speak, you see the genuine spark of interest in his eyes. The wine arrives in the middle of your story, and you're about to thank the person, but they leave so quickly that you barely have time to. Maybe they saw you talking and just didn’t wanna interrupt or that could just be how the service is here. Either way, you finish talking about yourself before turning the questions back to him.

When Luca starts telling you what he does, you make sure to give him the same level of attention he gave you. He tells you how he’s the owner of a casino; explaining that they have passed it down to him through the family. Well, that explains why he looks so expensive. The bodyguards are still a bit weird to you, but you’ve heard that children of rich families tend to get kidnapped so that could be explained away. After he talks about his family business, you are actually glad he starts to talk about his hobbies and interests. The longer you talk to him, the more you realize just how down-to-earth he is. Admittedly helping you calm down as the minutes roll by.

The food gets to you just as he finishes talking about how he used to surf, and you can’t help but express how talented he seems to be. “Wow, you have so much skill under your belt. If you didn’t own the casino, you’d still be set for life.”

Luca laughs shyly, sipping at his wine. “Well, most of it my parents had me take classes for. They wanted me and my sister to be prepared, you know?” He sets his glass down and gestures to your food; changing the subject. “I hope you enjoy the food, by the way! That looks really good. I might have to get that next time I come here.”

You chuckle, picking up your utensils. “Don’t worry, I’ll give you my premium review of it after I’m done.” He laughs and follows suit in your actions. You both dig into your food, and you have to hold yourself back from letting out a noise of delight. This food was unlike anything you’ve ever had, really tasting like the high price it was. Being so engrossed by the food, you almost forget what you wanted to ask Luca, your brain circling back to the suspicions you had earlier. You wait a little while, but when you think enough time has passed, you call the blonde’s name. “Luca?” He pauses in his sentence, looking at you with concern at the seriousness of your tone. 

“Y–Yes? Is something wrong?” His lavender eyes scan over you, trying to get any hint as to what might be bothering you. 

“No! It’s nothing wrong, per se." You immediately reassure, seeing how he physically deflated. Luca perks back up, a look of anticipation on his face, encouraging you to continue, "I have an important question to ask you." He gives you a firm nod. Seeing his silverware down to give you his full attention. “Okay, this is gonna be a very uh… interesting question, but I have to ask. Is this like some sort of, uhhh, fancy dinner to win me over for favors? Like… convincing me to be your sugar baby or something?” The blonde in front of you seems to choke on a breath, one guard coming up to pat his back. Glancing at the three people in front of you, you realize there's a look of shock written across each of their faces. When Luca gets over his coughing fit, he looks back up at you, starting to chuckle, believing you're joking. He stops, however, when he takes in your serious expression – worry in your eyes – and quickly explains himself.

“No no no! This is nothing like that!” He’s a bit frantic with his tone, waving his hands in exaggeration as he speaks. “I just wanted to have a genuine conversation with you. I…” He pauses for a moment, brows furrowed as he thinks over his next words. “I’ve felt bad that I’ve never gotten to talk to you properly all those times I would pass you and say ‘Hi’.” His gaze re-meets yours across the table. “This is just a normal dinner with a friend, I promise.” 

With a sigh, you cross your arms, “You realize how…” you struggle for the right word, “odd that is right? Like, you look like you own a private island and seem very comfy in places like this.” One of your hands gestures to the lavish restaurant around you. “I’m just a regular person you saved once from getting mugged. I'm nobody. What reason would a rich person like you have to constantly come to talk to me if not for some other motive?” Honestly, you almost feel bad about the way you're interrogating him. Though this is something to be questioned, and as nice and sweet as he is, it’s still good to have a sense of caution. Especially with the wealthy. 

Luca’s silent for a minute, seeming to think over what he wants to say; eyes downcast, staring at his half-finished food. It’s only a few silent moments until his lavender eyes look back up at you, their determination shocking you. “Because you didn’t treat me like that when I helped you.” You blink for a second, confused, tilting your head as he continues to speak. “Well… how do I put this… You just seemed like a nice person who wouldn’t judge someone no matter their status, so I wanted to get to know you? I–It’s honestly nothing like a ruse or a scheme. Trust me, being in this business, many people do try to deceive me. I’m an excellent judge of character because of that, and you just seemed very kind and down-to-earth. It gave me the push to try to befriend you.”

As he speaks, you can feel warmth start to pool in your cheeks, causing you to look away, not expecting that answer. After a moment, you let out a deep breath and then turned your gaze back to him. “Well, honestly, that’s pretty surprising." You say with a light laugh. Slouching back into your seat, you continue. "I’m sure all of this is normal for you, but maybe when we hang out in the future, these places–” your hands raise to gesture around the restaurant once more– “are not really casual for people like me.” 

His eyes seem to light up a bit, a small crooked smile on his face. “So… you still wanna try to be my friend?” 

You have to hold back a giggle at how closely he resembles a puppy at this moment. Uncrossing your arms and picking up your utensils as you return to your meal. “Mhm, you're not a bad person. I can tell that you really are interested in my life, and if you did have any bad intentions, you would’ve done something by now. Plus, you’re lucky you’re cute. Hard to say no to the puppy dog eyes you’ve been giving me.”

He hears his guards snicker behind him, but chooses to ignore it as his cheeks begin to flush. “You think I’m cute?” He watches as you laugh, smiling at him as you take a bite of your food.

“Mmn, this is really good. Do you wanna try some? I can give you a bite.” Luca pouts a bit as you change the subject, but nods nonetheless. He’s happy as you converse for the rest of your meal, talking about nothing and everything. It’s refreshing for you and him, as you act like equals. Feeling like friends.

The pair of you stay for a while, but eventually, you do tell him you have to work the next day. He, of course, offers to take you home, especially since you’d both had a bit of wine. With the moon smiling in the sky as the four of you leave the restaurant, and the surrounding street was lit up by dazzling lights. The bodyguards escort you to the car, giving them your address. The trip gives the two of you a chance to continue talking. Luca couldn’t help the smile on his face, content with just listening to you speak, and this time remembering to give you his number so you could make future plans together. It wasn’t long before the car pulled up to your home. Luca, ever the gentleman, helped you out and up to your door. When you finally say goodbye and wave them all off, you feel warm, and you’re sure he shares the same sentiment.

To Luca, this experience feels like a blessing to him. To have a normal conversation – a normal friend – in his unpredictable life. And to you, this was an exciting change to your routine; being able to make such an excitable and interesting new friend. You only saw good things ahead, and you hoped that it’d continue to get better from here.

It could only get better from here. Right?

─── ⋆⋅☼⋅⋆ ───

Likes are nice and we do appreciate them. However, comments/feedback is what really motivates us to continue writing. Even just a keyboard smash or emojis are a joy to see!

We do not allow our stories to be translated or reposted/shared anywhere. The only places our stories should be found are on Ao3 or Tumblr. Nowhere else.

#luca kaneshiro x reader #luxiem x reader #nijisanji x reader #luca kaneshiro #nijisanji luxiem #nijisanji luca #nijisanji en #nijisanji #luxiem #x reader #gn reader #gender neutral reader #Written by Mod S 👿

[loveforlandonorris]

🏁 Lando finished P5 in the Mexican Grand Prix

⏱️ Time: 2hrs 3mins 4.08s (+33.266s behind Verstappen in P1)

🔥 What a race! I'm honestly still speechless from that absolute masterclass Lando displayed today. It was truly special to watch. From qualifying in P19 yesterday, starting P17 today, he showed everyone just how much of an immensely talented driver he is, making it all the way to finish in P5.

Lando got off to a good start on Soft tyres, and quickly made his way up to P15 before a Virtual Safety Car was deployed for contact between Pérez and Charles which left debris on the track. He then pitted on Lap 12 for Hard tyres, dropping to P18 in the process with a 16.5s gap to Ocon in P17. Amazingly, he got past Ocon, and in lap 24, he passed Alonso too for P15. Lando then seized the opportunity of cars in front going to pit to make his way up to P8 on Lap 31.

On Lap 33, he was P10, and after Magnussen's crash, Lando pitted under the Safety Car for new Medium tyres. A red flag was then raised on Lap 35, stopping the race temporarily while the marshals cleaned the track. When the race restarted, Lando dropped to P14, but he held his nerve and began a series of breathtaking overtakes to climb his position.

After passing Ocon on the inside on Lap 47 and passing Hulkenberg, Lando made it back up to P10. By Lap 50, he was P8, just behind Oscar in P7, and on Lap 56, he managed to overtake Oscar for P7. Lando then passed Ricciardo on Lap 61 for P6, before executing another stunning overtake on George for P5. He managed to hold this position, eventually crossing the line in P5.

That was truly an insane drive from Lando today, not only finishing in the Top 5 and securing 10 points for the team, but he also very deservedly won Driver of the Day today too, his 2nd in a row after Austin 😊👏🏻

After a tough start, Lando finished the Mexican GP in excellent style and made us all so, so proud! I hope he can enjoy this amazing drive before moving on to prepare for next weekend. I'm super excited for it as Practice & Qualifying are on my birthday this year, so getting to watch Lando on that day, I can't wait ☺️🧡

➡️ Onto Brazil

#lando norris #landonorris #ln4 #mclaren #mexican gp 2023 #mexico gp #mexico gp 2023 #formula one #formula 1 #f1

[little-pondhead]

Fenton Family on Vacation (part 3)

Original Post

Part One⬅️➡️Part Two

(This is kind of a filler cause I’m trying to get an AO3 account set up, but Elle fighting a rat just got stuck in my head and I couldn’t get it out.)

Lights come on in a studio. Two people sit behind a glass desk, expressions neutral. 

"Good evening, and welcome to C3TV. It's 6:45 p.m. central time on August 4th, 20XX. I'm Kimberly Anderson."

"And I'm Frank Meyers. For today's Fifteen Minutes of Heroes, we'll focus on one man in particular; The Flash."

A screen turns on behind the news anchors. 'Fifteen Minutes of Heroes' is written in bold letters. The screen cuts to a close-up picture of the Flash.

"That's right, Frank. Our city's protector is not often in the spotlight, so let's get down to business."

"Right you are, Kim. To start with, Captain Cold was spotted outside the Flash Museum earlier today. It is still unknown why he was there first, but Flash was quick on the scene and chased the rogue through the downtown shopping district."

A blurry photo of Captain Cold is shown.

"What stopped Flash from arresting him immediately?"

"Well, Kim, according to CCPD reports, a recent delivery of high-alloy austenitic stainless steel was stolen at a checkpoint before it could make its way to S.T.A.R. Labs. It's now known Captain Cold was the culprit and used the metal to produce new weapons. These new weapons gave both Flash and civilians alike a scare, as the rate at which they generate ice is astounding."

An image of S.T.A.R. Labs comes up. It switches to the silhouette of a crate with a question mark, and then a silent video appears. The video is of the recent destruction in the downtown area and captures crowds of people milling around. Some are cleaning up debris, and some are trying to evacuate their families and neighbors. Several emergency service trucks are lighting up the whole street. One man has a flamethrower and is trying to thaw out his car. 

"Yes, traffic was horrible on the way to work. This new ice has a particularly high melting point, so its removal is still ongoing. Flash was spotted chasing the captain but frequently had to sidetrack for quick evacuation. Captain Cold was shooting to hurt today. There was no regard for civilian safety or public property. It seemed like he wanted to cripple the city. A few neighboring counties will pitch in for relief efforts; more at eight."

Snippets of their fight all over the area are edited together. Pictures of the destruction show up.

"Reports say their path took them west through the district before making a sharp turn on Roanoke Parkway and doubling back to Central City Plaza. There, Flash cornered the rogue. You can see the two arguing through nearby store cameras, but no audio can be provided. Captain Cold is visibly angered and takes a hostage at one point. The hostage, one Lacey James, was under threat for less than a minute before the Flash stole her away and returned her to waiting police officers. Cold is upset by this and douses the whole plaza in a thick ice sheet."

A virtual map follows the path taken with a red line—the screen changes to an out-of-focus storefront video. Captain Cold has a blonde woman at gunpoint, but Flash disappears with the woman too fast for the cameras to follow. Flash returns a few seconds later. Captain Cold seems angered, and the cameras short out soon after. 

"Uh oh, we all know how hard it is to walk on ice. Captain Cold obviously wanted to slow down the Flash, but why?"

"We're still not sure, Kim. I mean, it's his thing. But does anyone know why villains do what they do?"

"You have a point, Frank. But that's not why we're here today."

"No, it is not. While the Flash did his best, bless his heart, a few civilians were stuck inside the plaza with the two supers. No deaths have been reported citywide, and only a single person has been admitted to the ICU due to a case of hypothermia. More about this young soul can be found on our website and the link to their family's GOFUNDME. But aside from that, one of the civilians managed to get an interesting part of the fight on video. None of the stores in the area had working cameras at this point, so let's look at the video now. Please be warned, viewers' discretion is advised."

The video opens showing the face of a young teen. The video is obviously from the point of view of their phone. The teen is swearing, and viewers at home can hear a long string of beeps. 

A voice from off-screen: "Yo! Are you getting this??"

The teen swears one last time, but the video's perspective is changed. The camera is peeking out into the plaza between a car tire and a chunk of ice. "[beep], it's so cold, man. It's [beep]ing August. I hope that kid is okay."

"It was nice of you to give that family your flannel."

"It was that or let that kid freeze, man. Now shut up. I'm tryin' to hear what they're saying!"

The two teens pipe down. The camera is adjusted a few times, but eventually, the audio is picked up. Flash can be heard arguing with Captain Cold, although the dialogue is spotty due to the range.

"-can't do that!"

"The-[beep]ing [beeeeeeep] upstairs--hospital-----"

"-new procedure-----s West--gone clean---"

"NEVER! THOSE---[beep] this, GG---home--too sick---"

"-can help! S.T.A.R. Labs---new meds--won't------"

Flash is cut off by a scream of frustration from Captain Cold. The rogue begins to point and shoot at Flash, who has to zoom out of the way. Viewers can tell there are many close calls, as Flash stumbles more than once due to the slick ice.

Suddenly, a swirling green portal appears and spits out a figure right into the Flash's path. A loud smack is heard when they hit the ground face-first. One teen behind the camera sucks in a sharp breath, and the other whispers, "Ouch, that had to hurt."  Flash has no room to stop and trips over the body.

"[BEEP]!" Flash face-plants and doesn't get back up. Captain Cold pauses, staring at the two on the ground. A loud groan is heard a second later, and the figure raises its head. The camera zooms in. 

The figure was a glowing little girl with white hair and unnaturally green eyes. Glowing green blobs circle her head like cartoon birds. Bits of asphalt are stuck to her face, drawing green blood, but her skin heals as viewers watch.

The girl seemed disoriented, staring blankly at Flash and then at Captain Cold. The teen holding the phone can be heard scooting closer. The video shakes violently for a few seconds, but now viewers can listen to the conversation more clearly. 

"Uh...hi?" Small animal noises are heard, and viewers realize it's coming from the blobs, whipping around faster than before. 

"Where the [BEEP] did you come from?"

Whispers of astonishment come from the teens as the girl pushes herself off the ground and into the air, visibly struggling to stay afloat. "Hey, watch your [beep]ing language, dude. Children are present."

Captain Cold spluttered. "Wha-??"

The girl ignored the villain and turned towards the Flash. She bends over him, placing two fingers on his neck, presumably to check his pulse. Viewers see the girl wearing a big, black backpack in the shape of a ghost. From the camera's distance, it was difficult to determine what else she was wearing, but one of the teens said, "That's a sick outfit. I love the boots. Big 'Prometheus' vibes."

A scoff. "Yeah, no. I'm thinking 'Star Wars,' for sure." 

An argument begins behind the camera, and the view tilts a bit since their attention is no longer on it. 

A thin whine draws back the attention of the teens and the audience. Captain Cold is pointing a gun at the girl, who has a bemused expression on her face. Over the sound of the weapon, their quiet conversation cannot be heard. 

(Later, a famous child psychologist would do a ten-minute interview for Beefood's new show, 'Cohabiting with Cryptids.' Analysis shows the child was actually terrified at Captain Cold's actions and more confused than she let on. Some comments point out that the girl attempted to put herself between the Flash and the rogue, proving that she hadn't meant the Flash any harm.)

Suddenly, the girl scoops up Flash into a fireman's carry and dodges an ice blast. The teen filming the event swears and drops their phone. Shuffling and more gunshots can be heard. 

"You gotta chill out, man!"

"Ah, [beep], the screen cracked-"

"What?!"

"I can't-"

"Maybe a little shock therapy will get your Christmas spirit going!"

The shooting pauses. "It's Aug-AAAAAUGH!"

A scream startles the teens. It's coming from Captain Cold, and viewers can tell he's in pain. 

The screen is still black. 

"What the [beep], what the [beep]-"

"Is that lightning??"

"She's electrocuting him. How-"

"It's pink!"

"That's not what you should be focusing on right now!"

"But it's PINK LIGHTNING."

"She is literally burning holes into his parka, what the [beep]."

"Do you think Flash can make pink lightning? Should I ask him?"

"I don't [beep]ing know! She's going to kill him!"

"No, she isn't; look!"

A quiet moment. Captain Cold has stopped screaming, but small groans can be heard instead. 

"She stopped, see?"

"How much electricity was that??"

"I dunno, but obviously not enough to kill him."

"You're very calm about this."

"Don't worry. I'll freak out later."

"Oh, Jesus-"

"Look!"

A clatter. "Sorry about that." The camera finally refocused, although it was shakier than before. The girl was hovering over the prone form of Captain Cold, still holding onto the Flash. Viewers could hear her voice tremble. "On the plus side, a few of your screws may have been knocked back into place from the electricity. Anyways, see you later, [beeeeep] Ice Prince!"

The camera swings around to face the second teen. Their eyes were lit up in fascination. "New life goal: Pull a Zarina from 'The Pirate Fairy' and figure out how to make pink lightning."

"Oh, my [beep], Lynne! Why-"

The video ends abruptly, and the news anchors fade back into view. 

"Well, that was...interesting." 

"I'd say so. We have seven minutes left; let's discuss the theories."

-----

Dani stared at the tv. A quick re-run of the video from Fifteen Minutes of Heroes was playing. It was well past ten now, but she'd managed to hole up in someone's party shack on top of some apartments. And while she refused to touch the poorly-hidden weed, Dani had no qualms about raiding the stash of (packaged) food and flipping on the old tube tv. She'd turned on the local news channel to learn more about this new world since wandering around for a few hours didn't tell her much. 

And she'd learned a lot. 

This was a world of superheroes. Dani didn't know how to feel about that. On the one hand, she thought it would be easier to care for herself. She wouldn't have to try as hard to hide her powers-hell, she was being featured on the news! And these people weren't discussing her imminent capture. No public warnings about reporting her, nothing about being a danger to society. These news reporters were doing their job, relaying the facts and throwing out theories about her identity and powers. Was she a super? A rookie? An alien? A meta? What was her name? The people on the screen flashed a phone number below and asked if anyone spotted her please call their hotline. Not to hunt her down but because she was a kid. A superpowered kid whom no one knew the identity of and seemed to be very much alone. And yeah, Dani knew there were people out there with malicious intentions. But the fact that she was on the news and not in a bad way was baffling. 

(On the other hand, Dani knew her dad. A world full of superheroes meant a world full of supervillains that normal humans couldn't fight back against. Dani hoped with all her core that he'd stay away from the fighting. His Obsession wasn't protecting people, thank the Ancients, or they might never find each other.) 

At the very least, Dani expected one or two comments about her 'horrible intentions' to hurt their city hero. Still, Flash himself came on in an interview earlier that night and said while he woke up in a really weird place, he did not have any injuries besides the ones he caused himself. Flash noted that "The kid even tried to make me comfortable. She made a cardboard nest for me to lay on and tried hiding me in a private location. Sure, that location was a dumpster, but it obviously worked because no one found me until I'd already woken up."

"In this picture, you're seen with a pair of-heh-handcuffs. Any idea why the girl might've attached you to that pipe?"

"If I had to hazard a guess, the kid is scared. I saw the footage. I know I got knocked out pretty quickly. But that girl did her best to defend me from my enemy and get me to safety. However, it's obvious that knocking out two men twice her size has her spooked. Those handcuffs were probably an attempt to restrain me so she could get a head start. Probably thought I was mad at her. She even left an apology note. But don't worry, Spooky. I'm not mad. Thank you for saving my hide, and I'm sorry I tripped over you."

Dani's eyes were glued to the screen. Those last words, Flash had addressed towards the camera. They were for her. But she told him her name, her human name. Why use Spooky? 

Fuck it. I'm too tired for this. 

-----

Whether she liked it or not, it was too easy for Elle to get used to life on the streets again. She'd done it before; stealing food, sleeping in alleys, squatting in abandoned buildings, always looking over her shoulder a second time.

She knew her family wasn't happy about her time on the streets-Danny especially. When they first separated, she could feel the pain from his core. He hated sending her away. But it was that or risk worse from the potential backlash. At least this time, she had an extra pair of eyes. Or five. 

Blob ghosts were a common thing, especially around Amity. The more ecto-contaminated you were, the more blob ghosts tended to hang around. They weren't the weakened souls of the dead but more like collections of intense emotions imprinted on ectoplasm. Elle usually got a whole hoard following her back home, but in this new universe, only five managed to find the strength to follow her. Elle thought it was only appropriate to claim them as Hers and give them names. 

So now, Noodle, Buffy, Preston, Shaniac, and Boogara were a part of her little fright. And as such, they became extremely handy in her city exploration. They were her scouts, her lookouts, her moral support. They could not, however, help out much when she was in a big fight, like yesterday. They just had to hide in her hair. 

But with the smaller enemies, they really came through. For example, she was having a nasty brawl with a particularly ugly rat over a breakfast sandwich at the moment, and her blob buddies were being a huge help. 

Yes, you heard right. 

Elle was hungry. She'd been hungry before, and it was nothing new. But the fight and panic attack yesterday took a lot out of her. She'd barely touched the food at that weed shack, too afraid it was laced with something. So after picking an alley and transforming back into a human, Elle started looking around for something to eat. Her search led her to a small café, where she used the last of her allowance to buy an egg and ham breakfast sandwich. Which she promptly dropped onto the ground after face-planting for the second time in the past twelve hours. She was close to another alley, and Elle could only watch with wide eyes as a giant rat darted out into the sunlight, snatched the corner of the wrapper, and dragged it away. Why'd she fall? Elle tripped over a chunk of ice from the café doorway. ICE. 

I should have kicked that man in the dick. Elle thought, scrambling up to chase after the rat. Her blob buddies led the way, harassing the rat as best they could to slow it down. They cornered it in a box. Buffy was chittering especially loud, leading the others. 

Elle knelt and reached in blindly, grasping for anything. One of her knees was bleeding, and bits of broken glass were getting into the cut. "Where are y-ouch! Motherfucker! Did you just bite me??" The rat screamed and bit her again. "Oh fuck no! Get your ass out here, you little-"

The rat ran out, still dragging the wrapped sandwich. Elle tried stomping on it but missed. Noodle was handing around the rat's neck like a rope, trying to restrain it. Shaniac and Boogara were tugging at the sandwich, and Elle managed to snatch it up a second before the rat escaped into a shoe. Without hesitating, Elle punted the shoe into the street like a football. 

She snorted in satisfaction when the shoe and its passenger were lost in the crowd. 

"I can't believe that just happened." Elle whirled around but didn't see anyone. "Up here!"

Above her head, watching the whole thing with an amused expression, was a woman sticking her head out of a window from the second floor. The woman had tight brown curls and an equally tight face that looked strained when she smiled. 

"You're that Spooky kid from the news, right?" The woman called. How did she-? Elle scrunched up her face. Right, blob ghosts. 

"No!" Yeah, that was believable. "Anyways, mind your own business!" She stalked out of the alley, hard-won sandwich in hand, and did her best to ignore the woman's stifled giggles she could still hear two blocks away. 

Okay, maybe staying as a ghost will be easier in this big new city.  

-----

@passivedecept @lehana37 @kobol1 @cat-in-a-fedora @starkcravingmad

#danny phantom #dp x dc #dani phantom #elle fenton #Elle fights a rat #her blob buddies will avenge her #Buffy the vampire slayer #and ghost files #are Elle’s favorite shows #noodle looks like a noodle #and Preston just likes the name Preston #flash #central city #Captain cold #golden glider shows up #towards the end #filler chapter #how do tag lists work #i just tag whoever asks #ffov #fenton family on vacation

[ilguna]

hellbent pt4 (Ellie Williams)

summary; they should’ve listened.

warnings; swearing, angst, death mention, fluff??? 

wc; 5.6k

notes; MAJOR SPOILERS for tlou2!!

part one, part two, part three, part five

–

When you were younger, you loved traveling with your parents. There was something about seeing a city that you never got to know, getting overtaken by the greenery. Nature taking back what belonged to her, and making it more beautiful than before. The flowers, the trees, the grass, the rivers that flow down the middle of the streets. It was mesmerizing. 

And you’d see them everyday, going from town to city to the quarantine zone, trying to find a place that you could call home. It never worked out the way it was supposed to, so you’d pick up your belongings and move again. There’d always be another place around the corner, it was a matter of finding it.

There were cities that had gone completely untouched by the disease, just one big ghost town. There were no infected, no fungus growing out of the walls of office buildings. It would be ransacked of supplies, but virtually the same as it should’ve been. Windows, signs, doors intact. Houses clean, besides the dust, beds neatly made for when the person would come home.

It was like they’d all disappeared overnight.

Sometimes your parents would make a game out of the abandoned buildings, how it would’ve operated if it were still working. The grocery stores, the coffee shops, the construction sites. You still have the library card that they managed to make for you, hidden back home in Jackson.

It was your favorite part about this world, being able to explore without interruptions. While it could be gruesome, deadly and uglier than anything, it could be the complete opposite. There were times they would find a fairly tall building, and the three of you would sit up on the roof, eat and watch the sunset. They’d tell you stories from their past life, and you wished that you’d get to tell stories like that one day.

It’s a shame that neither of them can see how you are now, still wandering the earth, drinking in every scenery possible, thinking about them every step of the way. Your dad died years ago, searching for that safe place with you and mom. It wasn’t too long after you came across Jackson, the two of you deciding to stay. A year later the two of you would get caught by a group passing through, not at all friendly. And she died trying to protect you from them.

They would be so happy to know that you’re exploring, even if it’s because you’re looking for revenge. Each state looks different from one another, Seattle didn’t look anything like California, which can’t be compared to Nevada. If you had a camera, you’d take pictures of each state and tape them into a book for them.

It would be easier to remember them that way.

Despite this, you hope that this will be the last big trip you take for a while, because you’re growing tired of looking over your shoulder. That’s a factor that you’ve been reminded of constantly since leaving Jackson, that you’re responsible for your own safety. You don’t have two parents to do that for you anymore. 

However, you do have Ellie.

She’s doing better now than she did when you two found Abby. That cut along her stomach healed pretty well in the span of a month, she’s able to walk without much pain. It’s not entirely done, though, the two of you have to watch where you go through and the moves you make. Anything too harsh can fuck up the process and force you two to wait out the pain she’s in.

Not that it matters, at the rate you’re heading, you’re going to crash and burn here within a week. You two crossed a group a week back, there were ten of them, friendly, a few kids. Ellie was looking for more bullets in this old, dusty town, and they were searching for food. It was the perfect trade, and didn't put either of you at a deficit.

The problem is that they weren’t looking so hot. A few of them were hanging back, near a broken down car, mouths covered with their shirts. You thought it was because of dirt they were inhaling, the wind had been pretty bad that day, kickin it up into your sinuses. It wasn’t until their leader—the guy you were trading with—started asking about medicine, explaining that they’d caught a nasty bug, did you realize that it was more than just dust.

They were obviously trying to keep their distance to be courteous, but it was already too late. For a few minutes, the twelve of you had stood in a big group talking to each other, close enough to breathe in their air. They had to be pushed away to be reminded of the fact that they weren’t exactly healthy at the moment.

The good news is that Ellie’s got a good immune system, the bad news is that you don’t.

“I’m thinking we should sneak into the Vegas quarantine zone to gamble for a little while.” You murmur, playing with your knife, “I’m feeling lucky.”

“Lucky enough to take out a few thousand infected?” Ellie asks, laughing, “I’m pretty sure we wouldn’t make it five feet before being spotted.”

“You’re not being very optimistic.” You smile, “I wish we could get on the wall and look inside, see what’s going on down there.”

She makes a face, thinking about it, “That might be possible.”

“Should we check it out?”

She looks at you, “Are you stupid?”

You laugh, shaking your head. Las Vegas will have to be one of those cities that you’ll never get to see. Only in postcards that you find in gas stations, and the occasional post office. It’s a shame, really. You’ve heard the stories about the lights, flashing and colorful, all over the strip.

The inside of casinos are supposed to be different from the outside. You’ve heard Tommy explain that it smells like cigarettes and booze, people wandering around with glasses, sitting at the machines. He never got to experience what it was like to win the jackpot, but the people around him did. Their smiles, the screams. Back then, it was a dream to be rich and successful. Now it’s about survival.

Well, since it is a quarantine zone, you’re sure that there are generators inside, maybe it wouldn’t be super hard to hook them up to a building’s fuse box. It’d take a lot of work to find the generator, transport it to the area, make sure it has gas, and connect it without electrocuting yourself. It would be worth it in the end, though. 

Ellie hums, “If you really want, we could try.” 

You don’t think you would make it halfway before having to give up. If you didn’t feel the way you do now—lightheaded, dizzy when you turn your head, hips aching with every step, shooting pain down your back—you’d go. You could probably make it in time to get on the wall and watch the sun go down, for old time’s sake. And when you’re done, you could leave in darkness, because it’d be safer.

It would slow you two down, though. Instead of being back in Jackson in just a few weeks, it could be a month. You’re pushing too hard enough as it is, if you do this, you’ll have to take a break. Which, in reality, isn’t so crazy to think about. You should be resting anyway, you’d move quicker if you did.

Maybe this isn’t a bad idea, just a little break before you take a breather?

You tilt your head, “Let’s go.”

“Really?” She raises her eyebrows.

“Yeah, why not? We can take care of ourselves.” You turn left, heading toward the city, “We’re on vacation.”

She lets out a laugh, following you, “Oh, so me and you are going to start taking vacation trips?”

“I hope.” You run a hand through your hair to get it out of your face, “This is fun. I might let you choose next time.”

The cement walls around the tall Vegas buildings are visible even from where you are, almost ten minutes away. It’s going to be a long walk there, but it gives you plenty of time to figure out how you’re going to scale the walls. In Jackson, Ellie had to use the scaffolding, which almost killed her. You’re not sure if you’re up to that.

There’s got to be a ladder.

While you brainstorm out loud to Ellie, she leads you onto the freeway because it’s still holding up, and it’ll lead you to Vegas faster. And because it’s a road into the city, it’s a straightforward path. There’s no need to weave around cars, they’ve all been pushed to the side for easy travel, back when the military was still traveling through here.

You can’t imagine what it must’ve been like in Vegas when one person woke up dead, and went on a spree of biting and killing. How impossible it would’ve been to contain an outbreak like that. Those infected could get lost in the city, and the military would never be able to find them. A hellish game of hide and seek, where you lose your life if you get found.

The quarantine zones you’d been to years ago were all run differently from one another. It was either the military, a group that had claimed it after abandonment, or hunters. Those were the worst to come across, having to run and hide, keep quiet in the shadows until they gave up. Occasionally you’ll have nightmares about not being quiet enough.

“What was it like growing up in a zone?” You ask.

Ellie makes a noise, “I went to a military prep school, what do you think?”

“It was safe.” You say, trying to put yourself in her shoes. You ignore the way she looks at you. “You slept soundly most nights, not having to worry over getting your face eaten off in the middle of the night. Or the paranoia that some runner had followed you into the house you were staying in that night. It was warm, far from perfect, but it was home, even temporarily.” Now you look at her, “How’d I do?”

She smiles, “Pretty good, you missed the part where I got in trouble a lot.”

“For what?”

Ellie lets out a breath, “I never told you about the time I snuck out?”

You shove her shoulder, “Shut up, that’s bullshit.”

“No, it’s not.” She says, “Listen.” 

She goes on to tell you about her time at the Boston military school, the fight that she’d gotten into when she first arrived. How she met another girl named Riley, and the two of them were by no means friends at the beginning. She got sent to the principal's office on her first day, being told that they won’t tolerate her behavior.

“Okay, details Ellie, come on.” You motion, “You can’t leave it at that.”

Ellie rolls her eyes, “I got into a couple fights, stole, ran away, the usual shit to get away from the people around me.”

She ended up finding out her Walkerman was stolen by Riley, and demanded to get it back at lunch. Later that night, she heard Riley trying to sneak out and decided to follow her. Together, they ran rooftops and ended up going to a mall, where Ellie got to ride a horse for the first time.

The story’s hard to believe, but the more she tells you, the distant look in her eyes grows, staring off ahead. She talked to the man that owned the horse for a few minutes, and when they’d returned to where Riley was waiting with a magazine, a bomb had gone off nearby. The man left, and Riley wanted to run straight into danger, while Ellie wanted to go back to the prep school to be safe.

Then the girl heard that the Fireflies were the ones to blame for the explosion.

“And that’s when I got tangled in that mess.” She says quietly.

Riley left, Ellie ended up going with her, not wanting to leave her alone.

They followed the directions on the walkie-talkie that the military were giving to other units, needing backup. They ended up on a roof, watching the battle below. The smoke, the fire, the noise. Riley had thrown in two smoke bombs to allow the Fireflies to get away before too much damage was done, at the cost that the military would turn their guns to them, instead.

To get away, they went back to ground, hiding behind a dumpster. Where a woman, infected, would find them and attack Riley. Neither of them were bitten, managing to kill it, only to be chased down the alley when two more appeared. The Fireflies saved them, Riley tried to explain what they’d done to help the Fireflies escape the military.

She was introducing Ellie and herself, when she was hit with the stun rod, bringing her down. Ellie had tried to take the man down with the stick she’d used to kill the infected, except it was a stick, and he had a stun rod. She was saved by a woman, coming forward, already knowing her by name.

Ellie wasn’t able to respond before being blindfolded and moved.

“Long story short,” Ellie’s returning to herself, “We’d been captured by Marlene, my mom’s friend. The one that’d promised to take care of me after she died. She was the leader of the Fireflies.” She digs out the knife, “She gave me this, and a letter, and then sent me back to the prep school with Riley because she didn’t want either of us to join the Fireflies, not that I’d really wanted to. It was Riley that was obsessed.

“And we stopped being friends for a while because she left, and I stayed. I got drafted, she became a Firefly at that time. In the summer, she came to see me again, and we left the prep school to go back to the mall together to talk. She told me about the Fireflies, and we walked around the mall.”

She goes quiet for a few minutes, slowly continuing, “She asked if I still had my Walkerman, and then hooked it up to the speakers. We thought the mall had been cleared, Winston had lived there for months. We didn’t think that they’d get in so easily, but there they were, chasing us.

“We went out a window onto scaffolding, trying to get away. I tipped one of the shelves, though, moving too quick. I fell, Riley came to save me. She ended up getting bit in the process.”

Ellie’s lips are turned downward, eyebrows drawn in, shaking her head.

“I’m sorry, El’s.” You breathe.

“It is what it is.” She shrugs, “It’s your turn, tell me what you did when you were young.”

“You want the good or the bad?” You ask.

“Both.”

You take in a breath, starting to tell her what you can without getting caught up in side-stories that have little relevance but add detail. You tell her what it was like being inside a zoo, climbing an overgrown amusement park, stealing practically all the chocolate in a town you stayed in for a week. 

The friends you made, which got you into so much trouble. That was the best three months of your life, being told that you were going to go to school with teens a couple years older than you. Your parents encouraging you to hang out with them, only for you to get caught smoking weed less than an hour later. And then you were forced to make new, less interesting friends that wouldn’t get you in trouble again.

When your parents finally trusted you to shoot a gun, or when you’d been shot by a bunch of hunters that survived off of human meat. It was the first time, but it would be far from being the last. You can’t count them all on one hand, because your luck with getting shot is lower than the ground beneath your feet.

It was frigid in the winter, bundled up in as many coats and long sleeved shirts that your mom could find. The worst pair of winter boots alive, that left blisters so bad that you still have scars on the back of your heels. You explain to Ellie what it was like seeing the sun’s rays on the sparkling snow, watching it fall from the sky.

In spring, you’d be a big target for bees, something about the way you walk attracts them like you’re honey and not a person that could kill them if you flicked them. Regardless, you get stung too often, and try to avoid any flowers if you can help it. You don’t want to give them a reason to track you down.

The blazing heat of summertime, the baking feeling of the houses. It was a constant temperature that was inescapable. There were no generators that you could use to plug in a fan and lay in front of. Your complaining got so bad that your parents took you to a thrift store and told you to find a collapsible fan. You thought that they were fucking with you, until your mom found it for you.

“That’s why I have these muscles.” You flex, watching Ellie’s face contort, letting out a sudden laugh, “What? Don’t believe me?”

“No, I believe you.” She manages to say seriously, and then dissolves into a fit of giggles right after, “What’d you think of the fall?”

A cool breeze, that’s what you thought of fall. Trees shedding their warm-toned leaves, creating a palette on the ground. No matter where you went, they always dragged you to the same halloween store, explaining that it only popped up in autumn, and it was gone by November.

You’d spend every single year like this, traveling, pretending the world isn’t the way it is. It was hard to come out of Jackson after they’d both left. You knew you couldn’t hide away forever, no matter how hard you tried. You gave yourself a time limit before you came out, deciding to work with Jackson, become one of them.

You sigh, “I hope Vegas isn’t this depressing.”

“We’re about to see thousands of dead people, (Y/n).”

You press your lips together, “Well, at least I don’t know who they were. That makes it easier to swallow. Also, we’re not going to see them, we’re going to see the strip, picture what it was like when it was all lit up.”

Ellie hums, “I bet there’s a generator down there.”

“Now you’re the one being stupid.”

It takes an entire hour and a half of walking down the freeway before you’re close enough to the neighborhood that’s easiest to cut through. Neither of you speak, unsure of whether or not there’s infected roaming around. The houses here look nearly identical to the Mesa Bluffs in California. These ones are cream colored with red roofs, some of them are brown with black roofs. Either way, it’s not a gated area to keep people out, and there sure as hell isn’t a hidden private beach for you two to explore, maybe just a park.

Which you’re grateful for, by the way. It took two weeks to get the sand out of your shoes because they were embedded in the cracks. You’re not entirely convinced that you got it all out. Ellie thinks that you’re paranoid and need to get another pair of shoes if you’re really that concerned about it. 

That’s coming from the girl that’s had the same pair of sneakers for a couple of years now. How they haven’t fallen apart or lost traction is a mystery to you and the people of Jackson, Wyoming. You wouldn’t be surprised if Ellie’s secretly got glue holding them together.

“There’s cars blocking the road.” Ellie murmurs, you look up from the asphalt to see.

It’s more than just cars, but it definitely started that way. The trees and bushes took advantage of them to make themselves bigger. There’s too many branches to climb through it.

“To the houses we go.” You say.

Ellie inspects the houses that you’re passing, looking for a good one to pass through, a broken window, an open door, a beaten down fence. She finds the latter, turning to walk through the side gate. There’s a brick path that leads to the backyard, it’s covered in bright green grass. It’s fake, you don’t even have to touch it to know. 

The walls are made out of brick, some of them are weathered down, but not enough to pull them apart. You watch as Ellie pulls herself on top of the wall, and then turns to you, holding out her hand. With one hand on a tree branch, you use hers to swing yourself up.

This backyard has a pool, there’s a puddle of green-brown water at the deep end of it. You avoid walking next to it, hating the idea of accidentally falling inside. It’s not realistic, Ellie would never push you, and you’ve got a good sense of balance. It’s not that big of a fall too, you wouldn’t hurt yourself. Well, unless you slip on the water at the bottom.

You guys enter through the broken sliding glass door, being careful to avoid the shards on the dining room floor. Ellie unzips her backpack, heading toward the kitchen for supplies. 

“Where are you going to stay when we get back to Wyoming?” You ask, curious.

Ellie shrugs, “Dina made it pretty clear we were over when I left. I’ll probably go back to the garage.”

“Your stuff’s still in there?” You lean against a chair.

“Most of it, what I didn’t need when I moved.” She gives you a look, “Why’re you asking?”

You shrug, “I have an extra room at my place, if you want new scenery. It���s the one downstairs.”

Ellie smiles, “I’ll think about it.”

She leads you through the impossible neighborhood, roadblocks covering every street. By the time they’re gone, you’ve cleared the area completely. At one point, Ellie had gotten onto a roof to check out why, and she told you that there were infected inside, a whole infestation. They must’ve been corralled inside and trapped. You were boarding on getting caught in there, too.

All it takes is another hour before you’re finally at the cement walls. They tower over you, taller than the ones in Seattle. It’s like you’re standing in a hurricane of the infected, that’s how clearly you can hear them from this side. Unfortunately, you were wrong and there’s not a single ladder that you can take to the top.

However, there is an apartment building that you can climb, and it’s at the perfect height to the metal walkway that has a staircase to the top of the wall. Ellie shrugs, turning to one of the window panes that’ll lead into the lobby. The doors are locked, you already tried.

She swings the butt of her gun into the glass, turning her head away when it shatters and rains. She picks out a few of the big pieces, making it slightly safer, and then climbs through. You’re careful with where you place your hand, sliding through. She holds the door to the stairs open, letting you inside first.

Your footsteps echo off the walls.

“Perfect place to play your guitar.”

She nods, “Maybe I’ll sing for you on the way out.”

“I bet one of these apartments has a guitar.” You gnaw on your cheeks, thinking, “We could bring that back as a souvenir.”

“And risk breaking it on the way back?”

“I’m sure you could fix it.” 

The stairs lead you to the top floor, but the ladder to the roof is hidden behind a metal door. You watch as Ellie kicks at the drywall, puncturing a hole in it. She doesn’t stop there, gripping onto the piping while she breaks down the wooden paneling on the other side.

She breaks through, revealing the dark room with a single stream of light on the floor from the hatch. She kicks around the edges of the hole to make it big enough to crawl through. She ducks, waddling inside, and turns on her flashlight so that you’re able to see. You hold your breath, gritting your teeth at the sight of the spiderwebs.

You turn on your own flashlight, following her up the ladder. 

“There’s a lock.” She says, once she’s at the top.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” You sigh, lowering your head to look at the ground. Is there anything that can break it open? There’s got to be some lock cutters in case residents get locked out, right? That makes sense.

“I’m fucking with you.” She suddenly says, opening up the door, letting the light flood in. You squint, covering your eyes.

She climbs up the rest of the way, moving aside so that you can pull yourself up. The sun’s beginning to set. If there’s one thing you learned about the desert, it’s that it can have some of the most beautiful sunsets.

Ellie wanders over to the ledge, “Well, we’re gonna have to jump.”

“You first.” You join her side, leaning over the cement. The two of you are far up, a fall from this height would kill you. And you’re not even at the top of the wall yet.

“I’m always first.” She says, tightening the straps on her bag. She backs up as far as the ledge will allow, before propelling herself toward the walkway.

She lands in a crouch, slamming into the wall because of the momentum. The walkway shudders at the impact, but holds tight. You get up on the wall, mimicking Ellie’s movements. You jump.

You’re airborne, stomach churning because any wrong move could mean certain death. Still, there’s not a single thing that can stop you from reaching the walkway. Even a bird couldn’t knock you off course. 

Your feet hit the metal, Ellie steadies you, “Okay?”

“I don’t know how we’re going to get back down.” You breathe, standing. You grab the railing for support.

“Let’s worry about that later.” Ellie laughs, moving out of the way, “Ladies first.”

You give her a look, yet you don’t argue. The steps up are steep, you watch where you place your foot, not wanting to accidentally slip and go tumbling down. Ellie’s right behind you, keeping a safe distance so you don’t kick her in the face. The higher you go, the more of the city you’re able to see, the neighborhood you’d just come out of.

At the top, you turn your back to the cement, knee out, cupping your hands for Ellie’s foot. You’re almost there. She steps up, hands reaching for the top. You dip, and then launch her up, turning around to watch her squirm to find a good place to lay to reach for you. She has her arm down.

You jump, gripping onto her hand tightly, walking up the wall until you can pull yourself the rest of the way up. She keeps a hand on your bag, guiding you. There’s a good three feet of cement for you to sit on, not having to worry about accidentally falling off.

The walls outside of Las Vegas stretch for miles, containing what might be the biggest horde in history. You get to your feet, wanting to get a better look at the clickers, the runners, the mushrooms growing out of street shops. Grass and bushes cover every inch of the street below, trees blossoming out dividers. 

You laugh, “Holy shit.”

Ellie has pulled out her journal, scooting to the edge, letting her feet dangle. She’s sketching out the buildings, the rollercoaster, the fountain. You muster up enough courage to sit on the edge, too. It won’t be too long before the sun’s gone. You’ll close your eyes, and picture every one of those lightbulbs lit up.

“Did you mean what you said earlier?” Ellie asks, pausing.

“About being roommates? Of course.” You nudge her with your elbow.

She doesn’t speak for a second, thinking, “Do you think Dina moved back to Jackson?”

“Probably.” You say, leaning back on your hands, “I don’t live anywhere close to where Jesse’s parents are, though. I’m sure she’ll be staying with them, because it is their grandbaby.”

“Where’d you move?”

“To the other side.” You shrug, “Maria wanted the four bedroom sorority house because a family came in, they needed it more. She gave me a two bedroom in exchange, but she was expecting me to get a roommate to make it worth it. I couldn’t do it, the house was so fucking quiet for once. I could sleep in.”

Ellie laughs, “I thought you got along with those girls?”

You scoff, “After we came back from Seattle I didn’t want to be friends with anybody, especially them. They kept prodding me about what happened. If we found them, who killed who, if they were still alive, why you were with Dina. I started screaming at them, and I didn’t stop. I was just so—” you make a motion, “Pissed! I wanted to be left alone. Jesse was dead, I couldn’t patrol because of my leg, Tommy was fucked up, you were gone. I was done.”

Ellie’s drawn you two in the middle of her sketch, back facing Vegas as if someone’s taking a picture of you on the wall. 

You tilt your head back, “I think about Seattle a lot, the trip back.”

“It’s okay.” She says, “You don’t have to apologize.”

“Except, I do. I was so mean to you, and I couldn’t see past the fact that this wasn’t a choice you were making. It was being forced on you. We were all hurt, Jesse was dead, and you were the only one that’d be able to go after her. And if you did, you’d run the risk of us dying.” You look at her again, “In California—that was a choice. That was you deciding enough is enough.”

She’s watching you carefully, “Ellie, I’m sorry.”

She smiles, “I forgive you, (Y/n). I did a long time ago.”

The two of you watch the sun go down, the colors take over the sky. The pink, purple and orange hues, blending in and out of each other. Ellie continues her sketch onto the next page, and beneath writes an entry. You skim over it, since she’s not making an effort to hide it from you. It’s about what the strip looks like, how you’re sitting on the wall.

The colors are gone thirty minutes later, slowly being replaced by the navy blue.

You’re about to close your eyes and lay down on the cement to imagine the strip when it was in full swing. The colors, the costumes, the vendors, the ladies in feathers. The way that everyone in Jackson describes it, exciting, fun and sinful.

That’s when it lights up by itself.

You jolt upright, “What?”

Ellie’s set her journal aside, “Maybe they’re automatic? Solar panels?”

“That wouldn’t make the whole area light up, Ellie.” You breathe. 

The lights are flickering, some of the bulbs have gone out completely. Yellow, blue, green, red, orange, purple, every color imaginable and the in betweens light up the streets of Las Vegas. It alerts every runner, their screams filling the air as they all begin to run to the middle, gathering together. 

It’s quiet between the two of you, unable to tear your eyes from the lights, afraid that they’ll go away if you blink. You can see the appeal, why they would come here to vacation. People used to sleep in those hotel rooms, watching the city below through the windows.

“Hey.” Ellie breathes. You turn to look at her, eyebrows raised. She presses her lips against yours in that second, fingers gently touching your cheek. She’s warm, soft, and familiar. When she pulls away, her eyes are already averting yours, “Sorry.”

“Do it again.” You whisper, “Please.”

Ellie doesn’t, instead she turns her body so that she faces you more, “Can I tell you something?”

Your face twists at the sudden change, “Of course.”

She’s rubbing the tattoo on her arm, like it’ll come off if she tries hard enough, “You know how I told you that my friend Riley was bitten in the mall?”

“Yeah.”

“I was too, right here.” She pushes her thumb into where her chemical burn is, “I was fourteen when it happened.”

You lean away from her, eyes searching her face. Sometimes when she’s lying to you, her lips will turn up at the corners, cheeks twitching to resist the urge to laugh out loud. She messes with you all the time, and recently she’s gotten the look under lock, to keep you on the edge of your seat.

There’s not a single hint of amusement in her eyes, though. She’s staring at you, head tilted down, lips pressed together, waiting. You genuinely can’t tell. This is something she’d say to get a reaction out of you, then again she’s so serious that it can’t be a lie, right?

“Ellie, I can’t tell if you’re kidding or not.” You say, prepared for her laugh.

“I’m not.” Ellie says, “I’m immune. The chemical burn was a coverup, and I got the tattoo just to be safe.”

You can see her arm, the area where the skin is uneven, bubbly but firm. You used to trace the tattoo that Cat gave her, because you liked the design. For a while, you joked about stealing it from her to get it for yourself. She’s couldn’t care, she liked the idea about matching tattoos with you.

“Who knows?” You ask.

“Joel did,” She nods, “Tommy and Maria are the only ones now.”

“Dina doesn’t?” Your eyebrows twitch.

“I was afraid of how she’d react.” She takes a deep breath, “I can’t get you infected, or make you immune.”

You shake your head, “When did this happen?”

“Four—five years ago.” She places her hand on top of yours, squeezing, “I trust you, (Y/n), that’s why I’m telling you. And you deserve to know this about me if we’re going to try again.”

You watch her for a second, slowly nodding, “It’ll die with me, Ellie.”

Her eyes are a little watery, letting out a shaky breath, “I love you.”

#ilguna #ellie williams #ellie williams imagine #ellie williams oneshot #ellie williams fanfic #ellie williams x reader #tlou #tlou2 #the last of us 2

[madaboutmunson]

Creep - Part 11 of 12 - Disorder

TW: Violence, death

Party....ripples....hooded figures...Connie's ring..the coldness of the floor...skull rock...lights.... sirens..... blanket

Moonlit water, an actual body of water, this time gently moving in the darkness, but oddly it feels misplaced in the upper part of your horizon, making craggy rocks and the speckled blanket of the night sky the bottom half. Your brain deduces you must be upside down.

The landscape bobs rhythmically, and you are jostled side to side. In the uncomfortableness of it all, you try to reorientate by lifting your head, but you have no power to do so. Some of the rocks are getting further away, so somehow, you are moving.

You feel pressure under your legs and back...you strain your eyes to look around. You catch a glimpse of red fabric. Could it be? The exact figures from the cold place?

Before you can glean anything else from these figures, the moon is nowhere to be seen, and footsteps begin to crunch and echo.

Lamp lights and darkness interchange as you are carried along until an abrupt stop, and you are dropped onto the cold hard ground. You expect a searing pain where your head should make contact with the ground, but there is nothing.

The nothingness spreads into darkness and darkness into void.

"Wakey, wakey", you hear someone say sinisterly before your eyes are forced open to face the voice, but as you hurriedly look around, there is no one there. You are alone in your bedroom. The safety of your blush striped wallpaper and softness of your bed cover embrace you to security.

You look at the clock and smile. Well, at least you weren't going to be late today.

The next part of the morning goes by in a flash. All you can possibly think of is seeing Eddie again. Everything between the present and being in his arms again is just a nuisance, and the quicker the tasks can be ticked off, the better.

You've got here so early, maybe too early for someone like Eddie. The parking lot is virtually empty. Unfortunately, lack of distraction means you are alone with your own thoughts.

You sit there for a few seconds and wonder what the correct thing to do in these situations is. Should you even be waiting here like this? Is this the definition of too much, too needy? Should you be playing it cooler after yesterday? Why did everything feel more complicated now?

You suddenly feel very uneasy, not now, not already. You roll your eyes at yourself. Surely it's just infatuation, right? It's not like it hadn't gone this far before physically with anyone else, but this was different. He seemed sweet and respectful and gave a damn about what you had to say. Your Dad's voice echoes in your head. He was right. It had only been a matter of days. Anything more than a deep crush was impossible. At least that's what you'd been lead to believe about things like love. This could just be that phase like with the jock, right? A bombardment of niceties before the inevitable cliff drop into cooling off.

You feel annoyed with your own brain. Why could it never let you just enjoy something, be stupid, or get things wrong? Everyone else seemed to be allowed.

You decide you need to busy yourself and get out of your car, and head into your locker.

You take a long look at your music heroes at the back of your locker and wonder if any of them felt so confused as this?

Was there even anything you needed to be confused about, or was this just an over-complication in your mind?

A haphazardly folded piece of paper is just tucked into the side of the locker. You grab at it quickly and unfold it. The disappointment is heavy and instant. It is just a time. You knew this was from the Jock. You feel disgusted, screw it up, and toss it into the nearest trash can.

Was it just this place that made you feel unsure about everything? If the world knew something made you happy, they try to take it from you. You wanted to keep all of this so precious and private they'd never be able to get to it, but to treat Eddie like a secret? You could never do that to him. Urgh, this was all so frustrating, yet nothing seemed more straightforward this past weekend.

You lean against the locker's cool steel and try composing yourself. Unfortunately, it's interrupted by a gentle tapping on the other side of the door. You don your social mask, pushing the door closed to reveal your peace assailant.

It was the ranger from the Hellfire club. You look a little confused, but inside, you feel relieved, "Hi there", you give them a small smile, "You ok?"

They look at you very seriously, "I think we need to talk about something. I didn't want to bring it up before, but I think I have to." They are talking pretty quickly. You are wondering how long they had been planning this discussion with you.

An icicle of panic slips down your spine, and your eyes widen, had something happened? Was Eddie ok?

He looks awkward at first but then steels himself and blurts out quickly, "We just don't think you should come to Hellfire anymore."

The We stings a little, but it still wasn't clear where this was coming from, "But, you all-", you start.

He cuts you off, "Look, Eddie does a lot for us. He's taken us under his wing when we could have been Jock fodder." He looks you in the eyes, "and I know you've felt that first hand."

"Well, I-" you try again.

"Eddie is set to graduate this year, the same as you, except he doesn't have the grades you do, ok? But he could just make it if he's not distracted" he puts heavy emphasis on that last part.

You look at the ground and nod, "I hear you. I don't want to ruin anything for Eddie" Oh, selfish you, so wrapped up in your own feelings and problems, you hadn't even thought about what all this might be doing to Eddie and what his own struggles were.

"And if it even crosses your mind that him flunking isn't enough, know that we are somehow all much higher up on some of the jocks' radar than before. I have no idea what you did to upset them, but they are pissed, one of them in particular." He doesn't have to say anymore. You know exactly who he's talking about.

"It's not like we want you to break up with Eddie. It's more like, give him some space, especially here, before you make the target on his back any bigger. Eddie is a very passionate guy. He gets so absorbed in things sometimes he can't see anything else. He looks tough, and for the most part, he is, but he's also quite fragile," He says earnestly. These guys really cared about Eddie, and you were potentially causing Eddie problems. You could see it in his eyes.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't realise. I'll speak to Eddie and give him some space."

"No! Do not talk to him about this. He will just try to talk you around. Trust me on this. Just don't turn up or say you've made other plans, ok?"

You nod sadly at him in agreement. Then, as he walks away, you feel the first crack in your heart spread from the surface to the centre, this is how it starts, and this was going to hurt.

Classes were challenging today. Your brain was in a whirlwind of scripts for potential conversations you needed to have with Eddie as you pretended to focus on the teacher.

The lunch bell comes, and you start towards the cafeteria on autopilot. You quickly turn on your heel, grab a few things from the vending machine and head to your car. There was no hiding in the cafeteria, and it could show Hellfire you were really genuine about wanting the best for Eddie.

As you look down to reach for your keys, you notice someone waiting on the other side of your car in your peripheral vision. You scan your eyes up, the white and green jacket, it's him. You intensely glare at him, the repulsion in your face unable to be disguised and the anger in you rises.

"You didn't get my note for meeting up earlier then?" he says in that cocky, self-assured way that says, you couldn't have possibly found it because otherwise, you would have been there, waiting obediently.

"Oh, I found it, alright", your voice dripping with venom, "Once I had found it, I thought immediately of you. Trash!" The sound of your own voice plunges you into instant regret, you had wanted to remain cordial and calm, but there were no resources to do so.

He does a quick scan around, but no one is in earshot. He eyes you slyly, leaning on the roof of your car, "Got a bit of fire in you today, have you? Where has this been hiding? Much more exciting than your usual sorry excuse for a corpse, I get to have my way with."

Your flame-filled eyes bore into his as you feel yourself grip your keys tightly in your fist, the metal pushing into your flesh painfully. You wanted to end this bastard.

"That might have been true once, but not anymore. It's over. It's been over since..."

"Since when? It's over when I say it is."

"It's over," you say through gritted teeth, "now leave me alone. Won't your cronies be wondering where you are? You don't want them to find you out here in conversation with me, do you? Whatever will Cap say?" You strike a nerve. They all did what they were told without arguments, but pointing it out was a little too much for them.

" You know what," he says aggressively, " if it wasn't for me, you probably be dead in that arcade parking lot right now."

You instinctively let out a laugh at the audacity of this guy. "Oh, you saved me, did you? Is that what that was?" You snarl, "not before getting in a few jabs yourself though first though right and standing at the side doing nothing. All you did was see a weak, vulnerable person at their lowest and took advantage of them, and what is worse, I know that, but I let you because dealing with your disgusting hands on my body was a step up from being beaten to a pulp."

He looks furious, but you don't back down an inch, "Well, now it's over. You don't have that luxury anymore, do you." he added sinisterly.

To your left, you hear the rapid crunching of gravel, "Hey, everything ok?" Fuck, it's Eddie. Your furious stance is squashed at the sound of his voice.

You turn to him. He is looking between you and the jock, a little nervous, a little angry. So you say softly, "It's fine, they were just leaving" as soon as the words leave your mouth, you realise your mistake. Your change in demeanour has given the game away.

"Oh my god! Are you serious right now? The Freak and The Creep?!" He starts laughing. "Is this why it's over?" He starts circling your car towards Eddie, "Because of this Freak?" He pokes Eddie in the shoulder.

"No, you know why. It's got nothing to do with Eddie. So why don't you just back off, ok?" You say with a simmering rage.

He grabs Eddie by the collar and is about to say something when you launch yourself at him, keys first. With the element of surprise, you manage to get the jump on him, and he falls to the floor under your weight.

The next part happens in slow motion. Eddie's calls fade into the background and are only replaced by the pounding of your heart. The first hit was to protect Eddie, but all the blows that follow were for every tear he'd made you shed, every time you'd let him violate you, every bit of violence you'd endured at their hands. You cannot stop hitting him. You see her face in your mind, poor Connie. If only you had, had the sense to not trust this guy. She's still be here. Keys still firmly in your grip, you hit him with all your might. You feel wetness on your hand. It's warm. Looking down, you can't tell if the blood is from your own knuckles or his face, but it's enough for you to take pause.

You feel a pull from behind as you sob into your blood-covered hands and scream out for Connie. An arm around your waist is pulling you backwards, a hand in yours desperately trying to get purchase on your keys, the school doors bursting open, a sea of white and green headed your way as you are forced into your car and driven away.

As soon as the scene is out of sight, the world rushes back into your present. Eddie's eyes are trained on the road, as he's probably going way faster than he should.

"Pull over," you say weakly.

"Are you out of your fucking mind? We can't stop now. I know someplace safe ok?"

"You can stop Eddie. This isn't your fault. I caused this whole mess, and now I've dragged you into it. I'm sorry, you should be concentrating on other things before..."

"Before fucking what?" He hits the steering wheel a few times. He is frustrated right now. Still, he's desperately trying not to raise his voice in anger.

"Before what? Before you get yourself killed? Before they lock you away? Before you disappear on me again? Before you break my heart into pieces? It's too late, it's too fucking late, man" you hear his voice break a little, "Don't disappear on me like that, alright? Just don't."

"I didn't disappear..." You protest, even though you know you absolutely tried to, so he would have some space.

"Yes, you fucking did! I swung past your house today. You were already gone. I get to that fucking hellscape of a school. Your car is there, but you are nowhere to be seen. You aren't at the doors, you aren't at your locker, you aren't in the halls, you aren't at lunch, and then you lied to someone saying you didn't want to come back to Hellfire?!" he scoffs.

It's only then your brain tunes into what he's actually saying. He wanted you to be waiting for him, but you weren't, and you weren't in any of the places he thought you might be. So, in his mind, you'd abandoned him. You felt so cruel right now, but your intentions had been good. You had been trying to do the right thing.

"I'm sorry, Eddie, I didn't mean..."

"Then what did you mean, ok? I was confused as fuck, man....and then I came out here, and you were with that guy...Jesus," he says, wiping his eyes with the back of his sleeve, "Oh, and then there was the matter of you, you know, knocking seven shades of shit out of a jock because he just poked me?! I called for you, but you were gone, man. So gone....so go on...go ahead....explain all of that....please...I'm all fucking ears" he punctuates the last bit with several hard taps on the steering wheel. You'd really pushed him to his limits.

"I'm sorry, Eddie," you say sincerely.

"No! No... ok? Not Sorry, Eddie. Tell me what is going on. All of it. I don't care how crazy it is. You tell me, right now." his hands tighten around the steering wheel like he's bracing himself for something, but he can't or won't even look at you.

You feel like the scum of the earth, maybe the town had been right about you all along, and you'd managed to trap poor Eddie in your evil web to bring him down with you.

You could at least give him the truth he asked for. You swallow your pride and proceed to spill your guts.

"I was up early because of a nightmare. Once I was awake, all I could think about this morning was you. Everything else was just in the way." You look over at him, but his stern expression is fixed on the road.

"I thought I'd get here early, so I could wait for you, and it scared me, alright. It scared me because it's been just days, and I feel like this. I felt like....well... I've never felt like this, not ever, and I'm so terrified of saying or doing the wrong thing. I thought it might be that I'd...." you shake your head and shut your eyes in frustration. You were just not brave enough to say it.

"Then I thought it best to not wait, in case that was wrong or it was too much. At my locker, I found a note to meet that guy, which I threw in the trash immediately" you emphasise that so hard, it might leave an imprint in space and time itself, " because I'm not interested in him. Then it occurred to me that the only way what we had could survive that place was for it to be a secret. They wouldn't let me have that happiness. But I'm not that cruel, to make you feel like a secret Eddie, to snatch my hand away from yours before someone notices, push you away when someone walks past, and make weird meetings in the woods. So I thought if I just gave you some breathing room, you wouldn't get targeted and could concentrate on school. I would have called you tonight. That was honestly my intention."

Your words hang in the air. You look over at Eddie. His posture has relaxed a little, his expression still unmoving. So you continue.

"So I told them I'd be skipping hellfire, I went to class, I tried to have lunch in my car, but that oaf was waiting there because I hadn't met him at the earlier time on the note." You look down at your stained hands, "And when he laid his finger on you...I lost it completely...it was all slow motion, and my heart was racing. I wanted him to hurt like I hurt, but I couldn't hit him enough... I couldn't hear you, Eddie. Now I've forced you on the run with me. That's everything."

The car is silent for a few minutes. You look nervously over to him once more, finding it unbearable. His stern expression had softened, as had his grip on the steering wheel, his fingers gently drummed against it.

You want to ask him to talk to you, but after your performance today, you do not get to make those demands on someone processing your absolute bullshit behaviour.

You try not to stare at him to force him into a reply, but it's difficult to not want your eyes to be there when or if he ever looks at you again. So you stare out at autumn. The mush of leaves on the ground, compared to the fiery display in the trees, mirrored your own feelings right now. You had really fucked up.

Eddie takes an audible breath, forcing your eyes to him. He looks thoughtfully out onto the road in front of him and utters gently, "You don't get to tell me what is best for me, ok. No one except for me gets to decide that."

Another lingering pause, just the noise of the engine and the outdoors rushing past you, "If you are unsure of anything to do with me or this", he moves his hand to indicate the both of you, "you ask me. Understood?"

He shifts uncomfortably in his seat and clears his throat, "When anyone gets together with anyone, no one is given the time limit. It could end in hours or decades. They just don't know. We don't know, ok? So trying to predict when something will end or thinking about it ending is a waste of time and energy. You also don't get given a timeline. Sometimes things happen quickly, something's slowly, something's never." He shifts again, his leather jacket creaking against the seats.

"You were with that guy a year, you weren't in love with him, you didn't even really like him, but it crushed you all the same because you lost a safety net, part of your routine if you will. You liked him so very little you rearranged his face" you hear a slight smile.

He does a small cough again, adjusts his posture, and says quietly, "But you can...if you want to...you can love me... I'd.....I'd like that" his lips are tensed together again.

"It doesn't scare you?" You ask carefully.

"Of course it fucking does", he laughs nervously, but the words spill out anyway "handing over your heart to someone you've known a few days or any length of time is scary as fuuuuck, but even more horrifying is when they give you theirs to take care of too. That, my love, is the real terror. Now you're responsible, now you're invested, now it's serious, but if it's something you truly want, well, you strap on that helmet and shield, pick up your sword, flip the universe the bird, and dive in head first. Love is wonderful, but it's also a formidable bastard!" he chuckles.

You digest what he's just said and sit back comfortably, gazing at him for the rest of the journey, you really wanted to reach for his hand, but yours were a bit gross at the moment.

As the car comes to a stop, you lean over and plant a small kiss on his cheek and say, "I love you, Eddie Munson" he looks a little shy, genuinely, maybe for the first time that you've seen, he blushes, and smiles a little to himself.

He takes a deep breath, looks at you from the corner of his eyes, and says adorably, "And I love you".

You try not to make a huge deal out of anything, but your heart just rocketed straight through the atmosphere.

Eddie quietly approaches the door of the house, carefully checking around, and after fiddling with the handle for a bit, he beckons you over.

Inside the house, which, from the smell of it, you were pretty sure was just made of blocks of weed, you manage to get cleaned up and sit at the table opposite, a very deep in thought Eddie.

He grabs at both your hands with his, "This place is a good hiding spot for a while, but let's use it sparingly, so it stays that way." Then, he looks at you seriously, "They are gonna look for us, so we need to be one step ahead, and that's why...now stay with me on this one... I think we should call Hopper."

You try to pull your hands away, but he grips you tightly, "I get it, I do" he moves around to your side of the table so you can't avoid his eye line, "Please, think about this... I haven't actioned anything yet. We're talking about it first, ok? So if we call Hopper, he'll call your folks, and we can all meet up at the station as a safe space. The worst you are gonna get is a slap on the wrist. The jocks are not gonna want to make a big thing about this publicly. One of us, putting one of those orcs on their ass? Coach will be pissed." He nudges you trying to make you laugh, you smile a little, but the worry of the damage you've potentially done and talking to Hopper is too heavy, "What do you say?" You look into his hopeful eyes and nod reluctantly. Eddie kisses your cheek and runs off towards the phone. You knew he was right. It was just the thought of having to actually face it all was trying your stomach in knots.

Sitting in the interview room at the station was terrifying. It made you grateful that all the conversations you had about Connie previously had happened at your home.

Your right leg bounces up and down with nerves. Eddie puts his hand on your thigh and says gently, "I'm right here" you search for his hand under the table and grip it tightly, interlocking your fingers.

The door opens, and Hopper comes in with a file. Slamming the door behind him, you just about make out your mom and Dad's protests. He slams the file along with his hands against the table in front of you, "Speak!"

Eddie squeezes your hand. You take a deep breath and look up at Hopper. "The guy was hovering around my car, I felt afraid, and I attacked him. Eddie saw me, pulled me into my car, drove me away, and called here," it was imperative you made sure Eddie wasn't implicated in anything but trying to remove you from a bad situation.

You see Hopper inhale sharply and poke his tongue around the inside of his cheek, "You're lucky that matches up with the majority of eyewitnesses at the school, for the most part, and if I'm being really honest...you are really fucking lucky he's a bench warmer. They aren't pressing charges. It makes them look weak or some high school bullshit, like that. That doesn't mean you're off the hook with them. Just legally speaking, you're clear," he didn't care for you. Some part of you felt that whenever you had taken a hit from anyone in the past, he'd thought you'd deserved it.

Hopper sits down and glares at you coldly, "You missed out a bit though. You called for her again" he flicks through the file, "screamed it apparently. Have anything to say about that."

You and Hopper lock eyes with one another intensely. Eddie puts his other hand on top of the hand he's already holding and says calmly, "Just try to relax. Tell him everything."

You haven't taken your eyes from Hopper's, "I shouted her name because, as you know, he was the one that invited me to the party I shouldn't have gone to. So when I'd hit him for scaring me, and hit him for violating me, and hit him for harassing me daily, I hit him a few times for Connie, too."

You clench your fists under the table and accidentally squeeze Eddie's hand a little harder than you meant to and stop immediately.

"Hey, hey, it's over now, ok", Eddie soothes.

Hopper looks over at Eddie and back at you, "You know Munson, you're getting involved with some deep shit here. I'd be careful if I were you."

"Are you threatening him?" You feel yourself rise out of your seat a little. Eddie grabs on to you before you can.

"Ooof, that bad, huh?" Hopper smirks at you.

You couldn't decide if being infuriated was better than being a stuttering, terrified mess, but it's not like you could do anything about either.

"Just tell him about the things we found out," Eddie says to you, ignoring Hopper.

You compose yourself and try to get back to a level of civility, detailing all the new information you have discovered. Hopper didn't seem convinced until you told him about what happened at Skull Rock, "So you conveniently remember that now, huh?"

Eddie interjects, "Look, I know it sounds weird, alright, but I was there for some of it. It was pretty fucking scary."

"Oh, did they put on one of their Oscar-winning performances for you?" He mocks Eddie, "They've been giving those out for a few years now."

"Hopper, please, I know you don't like or trust me, but please understand I want to find Connie too." You insist as Eddie puts his arm around you

"Oh yeah, so why is this new information just magically appearing after you assault someone."

"Because I wanted to try and get more details so you'd believe me, but then this happened, and I fucked everything up!!" You yell, bursting into tears.

"Come on, man", Eddie pleads with Hopper, who is seemingly still dissatisfied, "We didn't offer the extra information before we found out there were no charges. We can try it again, and you can see for yourself."

"Yes, genius, I sort of worked that one out for myself", he barks sarcastically at Eddie, "let's start with something tangible, shall we? This watch you saw, can you describe it for me?" He begrudgingly starts to take some notes of your description.

"Sparkly? Do you mean like the shine from the metal?" He says, losing his patience.

"No, it was a small single sparkle."

"A small single...." He starts in an annoyed tone, but then you see a glimmer of something. He eyes you suspiciously for a few moments and then abruptly gets up from his desk and runs out of the room.

As the door swings open for Hopper's exit, your mom and Dad quickly rush in, checking you over, asking if you are ok, and hugging you tightly.

"You should see the other guy", Eddie tries to joke.

Mom doesn't laugh, so by proxy Dad doesn't either, but when she's not looking mouths "Really?" at Eddie.

Eddie mouths, "Oh yeah", back to him and nods heavily.

You catch your mom and Dad up with the fight you had at school, excluding any details regarding intimacy with the Jock. You Mom looks a little concerned, "I'm sure Eddie would agree he doesn't need you to start a fight because someone poked him."

"Yeah, it was pretty dumb of me in hindsight, but I was just tired of him wearing me down every day. It wasn't just about Eddie. I just got to my breaking point."

"But honey, you can't-" your Dad starts only to be interrupted by Hopper rushing back in with some paper copies of photographs of watches and spreading them over the table.

"Is it any of these?" He asks, a little out of breath.

You check over each picture carefully, and one keeps drawing your eyes back to it. Your vision seems to liquefy, and it's like your brain is blending the black and white photocopy reality with your technicolour memories.

Something grabs your back, and you plummet to the cold hard ground. The watch glints under a sleeve and the laughter and footsteps fade away. You try to lift your hand, and for the first time, It moves, it's heavy, but it's moving. The pale thing above you comes into focus. You try not to scream, an arm, the hand of which is wearing Connie's ring.

You pull yourself up, feel dizzy from the head rush, and try to focus. Your eyes try to adjust in the darkness, and the moonlight finally helps you focus on the figure on the table.....Connie. You try to pick her up but can't quite grip her, and she is too heavy right now.

It's only when you try to lift her again you realise she is.... wrong...no expression, pale, she's cold, so very cold. You put your fingers against her neck and then her wrist, but nothing. You see a flicker of light, grab the blanket from her body and run into the night.

A cold sweat breaks down your spine, and you feel yourself shaking violently side to side, with pressure on your upper arms, "Hey!!! Hey!! That's enough." It's Eddie. You can hear your mom crying. You push yourself towards the sounds and find yourself sitting on the floor, bolt upright gasping for air. The chair you had been on was thrown to the floor behind you. You immediately scramble to your feet, pushing past them all and grab at the picture that started it, "This....one....".

"Are you sure?" Hopper asks seriously

You force the crumpled piece of paper into his hand, "I've never been more sure of something." He moves away, but you grab his arm, "We're gonna get them, right?" Your voice and lip trembling, "right, Hopper?" You grab hold of his other arm, "right?!"

In that moment, Hopper sees something he recognises in your eyes, a pain, an insurmountable pain. He's still looking at you but speaks to the others. "Connie isn't coming back. She's gone"

#eddie munson #eddie stranger things #eddiemunson #stranger things #eddie the freak munson #eddie x reader #stranger things fanfiction #fanfiction #fanfic #mystery #romance #eddie munson imagine #eddie munson x reader #stranger things imagine

[vro0m]

vro0m’s rewatch - 146/310

2014 US GP

Alright. Round 17. As we said at the end of the last review, Caterham and Marussia went into administration and so there's only 9 teams in this race.

After the Friday FPs the FIA tested the virtual safety car system for the first time, as a response to Jules’ accident. The drivers found it good but also said it needed to be perfected before its implementation in 2015. Also Max Verstappen replaced JEV in his Toro Rosso during the first FP. He apparently already did at some point in 2014 and I missed it. Felipe Nasr drove Valtteri's car. 

There were talks that Sauber, Lotus and Force India basically considered a strike for that weekend, withdrawing from the race, to alert the F1 commercial holders about their financial situation, after Caterham and Marussia's absence. Ecclestone basically didn't give a shit and said the teams should only take part if they're competitive anyway. Extremely stupid opinion because what will you do once you only have 2 or 3 teams left on track, Bernie? Later on, these three teams' principals pretty much denied that they at any point discussed a possible boycott, or at least they didn't do so seriously. 

The Mercedes are on the front row again. Daniel is 5th. Seb is starting in the pitlane for some reason I'll research at the end of the race (he used too many PU components). Massa is 4th. Aha it's Nico on pole this time. Bottas is 3rd. 

Formation lap. 

Lewis stops on the grid ready to go facing clearly towards Nico. 

And they're racing! 

Uneventful start. And then there's contact at the back, between Sutil and… Perez? Safety car. A handful of cars pit. That may be good for Seb. Yeah wow Perez has a lot of damage. Sutil has stopped where he got hit. Brundle says of the replay that it's "roughly 100% Perez's fault." Safety car in at the end of lap 4. Oh. Unbelievably, Seb pitted twice under the safety car, once for softs and then once for mediums so he could stay out to the end?! Did I hear that correctly? It doesn’t sound right. Loads of attacks on the restart! Lewis is over a second behind Nico but then he's told he's safe on fuel and sets the fastest lap. Let's go. And he brings that gap down to 0.6 in a matter of a few corners. Hot. 

Massa and Daniel pit. I forgot to update you on the order on lap 10 so we'll wait for lap 20. Lewis tyres hit a cliff and he's losing time dramatically. Nico pits. Valtteri pits. Then he fights Daniel for P6. Lewis pits. Alonso pits. Oh. Hulkenberg is out of his car on the side of the track. That's a double DNF for Force India. 

Lap 20 then. So Nico in the lead, Lewis 1.8 behind, then Massa, Daniel, Valtteri, Kvyat, Magnussen, Jenson, Alonso and it's Seb in P10. Alonso and Jenson fight for P8, Jenson managed to maintain his position. Lewis is catching Nico fast. The fight is on. 0.3. It seems it's rather Nico going slower than Lewis going faster. The fight between Alonso and Jenson is back on. Alonso overtakes him but they're wheel to wheel… no Alonso makes it stick BUT NOW IT'S LEWIS ATTACKING NICO AND HE TAKES THE LEAD it was so close I thought they touched each other. Lewis sets the fastest first sector of the race, he has much more grip than him on these tyres. He's already put him out of his DRS zone. And Grosjean overtakes Seb for P10. Seb has been complaining about his pace getting worse over the weekend, even with the new PU components. Alonso now attacking Magnussen for P6. Seb pits. Magnussen pits. Jenson pits. 

Lap 30. Lewis is still ahead by 1.5 seconds. It's still Massa in P3, and then still Daniel, and still Valtteri now followed by Alonso and Grosjean, JEV and Maldonado who I guess haven't pitted yet? Yeah Grosjean and JEV pit as I write that. Raikkonen is currently P10. Daniel pits. He's still P4. Massa gets called in in response. And that's a successful undercut for Daniel. Lewis is called in, in reaction. Nico is told to push hard. Fastest lap to Daniel. Nico pits. Let's see… nah easy. Lewis in the lead. 

It's lap 40. It's another not so exciting race as you can tell. Lewis 2.4 ahead of Nico. Then Daniel, Massa, Valtteri, Alonso, Raikkonen, Kvyat, Magnussen and Seb. Apart from that last one, those are all gaps of at least a few seconds if not a lot of seconds so you just know this is going to be boring to the end. Seb managed to overtake Magnussen but missed the corner and lost the position again. Alonso pits. Seb manages to overtake him for P6. But not long after he loses the position again. Bono tells Lewis to be careful with the AstroTurf at turn 19. 10 laps to go. Seb gets called in?! He's out in P14 on softs. Weird strategy. 

It's lap 50. Lewis 2.5 in the lead. Then the usual : Nico, Daniel, Massa, Valtteri, Alonso, and then Magnussen, Jenson, Grosjean, and JEV. There's a train behind Jenson. There's been contact between JEV and Grosjean behind him. JEV is up in P9. 

5 laps to go. Massa is closing on Daniel. 3 laps to go. And then Jenson, Maldonado and Seb are wheel to wheel into a corner. Maldonado gets ahead but Jenson keeps Seb behind and behind them Grosjean goes wide. Then Seb gets Jenson in the next corner. That's P10 for him! Someone just went on the AstroTurf and dislodged some of it. And Seb overtakes Maldonado for P9. As he starts his final lap, he overtakes JEV for P8. And then Magnussen for P7.

And it's the end of the race. 

Another Lewis win and another 1-2 for Mercedes. Daniel P3.

Bono : "Get in there Lewis, get in there mate. Epic drive, epic!"

Lewis : "Guys, thank you so much! All the hard work, you all back at the factory and here… I couldn't have done it without you, I'm so grateful for all the efforts you put in, thank you."

That's 5 consecutive wins for the first time in his career. His 32nd win. It's a British record. He's 24 points ahead in the WDC. 

Nico just says "Sorry guys, didn't work out".

Niki says it was outstanding, Nico was in the lead but Lewis was clever and saved the tyres "and off he went." He says they did a perfect job, "we can't say more". Ted says "they got close, didn't they?" and Niki adjusts his red cap "yes they got very close but not too close which was for me important." and now the WDC is officially truly only between them. Ted asks how much of a blow it is to Nico who was on pole. Niki says Lewis was outstanding and the better one, clearly, and it's all about how much tyres you use and he thinks Nico was a bit too conservative at one point, while Lewis did everything right. He says Lewis is a tough cookie, but at the end of the day we have to congratulate the both of them. 

Oh right… I'd totally forgotten… but there's this new rule now… I mentioned it back in the first 2014 review… the last race gives twice the points this time… It’s so stupid…

Lewis and Nico shake hands and Lewis says good job man. Then Daniel also shakes their hands. What the fuck. The. No. The facial hair. Omg.

The interviewer says it's Lewis’ 10th win of the season. He asks a question I don't even understand because he can't align his words properly. Lewis answers whatever he wants. He's got a great support here, thank you to the fans, he's been very fortunate, "an incredible team, an incredible car" and he's had a great competitor today and he's grateful to be upfront and it's a privilege to represent his country and be at the top of the driver wins. 

What the fuck is the interviewer saying. Let me write it down word for word. His speech patterns remind me of Trump istg. "Now beautiful job, obviously uh, you didn't you know you had work to do and uh… and you've done that in the past and uh… you made a beautiful pass to your… friend here Nico and I don't, I think you might have caught him by surprise a little bit but uh… after that in clear air you seem like uh… clear sailing because looked like the car just worked perfectly for you." The two others are bored to death, Daniel is making plans to give his champagne bottle to his team. Lewis says the car was great today but he asks the guy (oh it’s Mario Andretti lmao) if he can have his hat. That guy says in a minute. He says he's still on official duty. "Oh okay you're the sheriff" Lewis says. He does have a sheriff insignia on his cowboy hat. Does it get more American that this. 

The crowd is chanting Lewis' name. It feels nice. And he did get that hat in the end!

#f1 #lewis hamilton #vro0m's race reviews #2014 #2014 us gp

[chewriting]

One Will Die Before He Gets There

Relationships: Kit Herondale x Ty Blackthorn

Word Count: 4.3K+

Read it on Ao3

Content Warnings: semi-graphic depictions of medical procedures, brief character death

Summary: Ty made a friend. They know virtually nothing about each other but they talk nearly every night. But Ty gets a call that speeds up their plans to meet in the worst possible way. 

“ ‘I need to tell you something.’ Kit pleaded. There was a sound of a door being kicked open and shouting. It made it near impossible to hear what was said next. ‘Sherlock, I love you.’ The line went dead.”

Ty was thinking about talking to Watson after dinner. He’s been doing that a lot; viewing his days as spaces between getting online and messaging him or opening up a video-sharing site and watching a movie together. It was sometimes all he thought about. How he was going to share what he did during the day, or show off some of the creatures he was able to find on the beach earlier. At first, he was worried that Watson was bored with Ty’s consistent long messages about animals or the Sherlock Holmes story he finished rereading, but that was quickly eased when Watson said he liked reading what Ty had to say. Something lit up in Ty’s chest that had yet to die down.

It didn’t matter that Ty had never seen Watson’s face, he hadn’t seen Ty’s either, or that Watson was a nickname Ty had given due to not knowing his real name. But Watson was funny and considerate and really interesting. He had heard Watson’s voice numerous times, so Ty was sure that he was a teenager too. He liked Watson’s voice. So he liked Watson. 

“Are you waiting for something Ty?” Julian asked from across the table. He was dutifully pinching pasta in Tavvy’s bowl with tongs. 

“What do you mean?” Ty put his phone into his jacket pocket. 

“You keep checking your phone. Is there a message you’re expecting?”

It was an idea Julian had said in passing about Ty trying to make some friends online, one that in retrospect maybe wasn’t totally serious, but one that stuck. So Ty found an anonymous messenger. He was able to put his own interests to find people like him, so he put nature, animals, mysteries, true crime, and Sherlock Holmes; then books, video games, and cars in hopes of finding somebody. He’d gone through quite a few people that quickly moved on after chatting with Ty for a bit before finding Watson. It was all completely anonymous, but they had gotten along so well so quickly that they both made accounts on an instant messenger app to talk more without giving up information. Despite his great luck at finding Watson, Ty hadn’t told anyone of his success at making a friend. He trusted his family but this was something precious and he wanted it just for himself for a little while longer. 

“Yes,” Ty said, adjusting the phone in his pocket. He didn’t like lying, but he didn’t want to hear Julian lecture him again about safety online. Ty could almost hear Watson’s heart over through his headphones: there’s a trick to lying, you have to use something that is still likely; a lie will never be believable if you try to say something out-of-character. “A classmate from AP Biology needs to send me her part of the assignment.”

“Okay. But you know there are no phones at the table. The text will still be there even if you don’t check it immediately.” Julian said, handing Tavvy his bowl of spaghetti. It wasn’t hard to obey the rule, there weren’t many people outside of his immediate family texting Ty, but that was before Watson. Still, Ty kept his phone in his pocket. He let the clear notes of violins muddle the conversations around him.

Ty was hoping for a text, that part was not a lie, so when his phone began to vibrate and the shrill tones of the default ringer cut off his music he didn’t answer. Everyone in Ty’s phone had their own ringtone and pattern of vibrations for texts, so Ty could know who was trying to contact him without even looking at the screen. Anytime it was the default settings Ty ignored it outright as it was usually spam. He had a new song lined up for when he and Watson finally shared phone numbers; he couldn’t wait to use it. 

The second time his phone rang, Ty pulled it out to check. It was a Los Angeles area code, but not a number Ty recognized. He heard Julian clear his throat when he put his phone away again. 

“It’s just spam I think. Or maybe a wrong number.” Ty clarified. Julian didn’t say anything more. He felt Livvy nudge him. Livvy was the only one Ty had told about Watson, he had to as they shared a room. He didn’t disclose too many details. He just nudged her back. Ty was able to get through a piece of garlic bread, a few bites of pasta, and half of Rachmaninov no. 2 before his phone trilled. 

It was a special note. One that only sounded when he got a message on the app he solely used to talk to Watson. Ty pulled his phone out to check. Julian huffed from across the table.

“Tiberius. I don’t want to have to take your phone.” Julian’s voice had that steely tone he usually got when he was being authoritative. 

“Hey, maybe it’s an important assignment,” Livvy said, twirling her spaghetti but not eating it. She knew why Ty was antsy and she knew Ty didn’t want to tell everyone. He appreciated it.

“Maybe Ty got a boyfriend,” Dru spoke up. Ty wasn’t fully paying attention to tell her no. Not technically. He was staring at the message Watson sent. 

HowToPickALocke: Homes, please picked up. 

Sometimes, Watson had typos if they were talking late at night. When Ty had inquired about it, he said it was because he’d be falling asleep and his thumbs would drag against the screen. It was too early for him to be so tired. Something was wrong. The unknown number called again. Ty picked up.

“Absolutely not.” Julian said but Ty wasn’t listening. On the other end of the call, Ty could only hear hushed, labored breathing. 

“Watson?” Ty asked. Livvy turned to stare at Ty. Sometimes when Watson called, Ty was worried that the proverbial shoe would drop. That no matter how much he enjoyed talking to Watson, it was all just some elaborate joke. There were some other kids at school that tried to make Ty’s life miserable. He wouldn’t find it all that unbelievable if they had paid some guy to talk to Ty as a highlight to his general inability to make friends. Ty still had no idea what he had ever done to those kids; Livvy told him sometimes people were just mean.

“Sherlock?” The voice croaked. That was Watson, his Watson, undoubtedly. There was still something wrong with his voice. It was quiet but hoarse. “Oh thank god. I didn’t know if you were going to pick up.”

“I’m not supposed to. I’m eating dinner.” Ty stood from the table and pushed his chair back. He really wasn’t supposed to be on his phone at the table, so maybe if he excused himself he could finish the call. It had to be urgent because Watson never called first.

“Okay. Then I appreciate you answering.”

“Watson, what’s going on?” Ty asked, he moved from the table. It sounded like Julian was protesting but Emma was talking to him. He heard a sharp inhale of breath through the receiver, then silence. In the background, there was indiscernible shuffling and thumping. Once it quieted again Watson spoke. 

“I can’t really explain. But something is going on at my house and I don’t know what’s going to happen.” His voice was so hushed Ty had to strain to hear him. 

“That’s very vague.”

“I know but I really can’t say more as I don’t know more. I think my dad is dead.”

“Dead?” Ty paused in the doorway. He heard Livvy gasp and the scrap of a chair that could only be Julian. 

“I saw him. There was so much blood. Sherlock, there was so much blood.” Watson’s voice took on an uncharacteristic waver. He was one of the coolest people Ty had ever talked to, in the sense of staying calm and collected. It was unusable to hear his words shake. 

“You can still survive severe blood loss.”

“I can’t check but I’m assuming the guy hit an artery.”

“Is he still there?” Ty asked. 

“Yes.”

“Can you get out?”

“No, he shot me in the leg. I really can’t move.” Something thumped into Ty’s stomach. It was probably his heart. “Sherlock I called you because I’m probably not going to make it out of here.”

“Don’t say that. I told you that Emma is in the police force. We can get people to you.” Behind him there were still voices, Julian and Emma asking him what was going on, Livvy trying to calm down Tavvy who was likely reacting to all the stress in the room. He didn’t hear Dru but she usually got very quiet in distressing situations. Ty didn’t answer any of them, his entire focus was on Watson. 

“It won’t matter. They won’t get here in time.” Watson said. His voice was wet like he was crying. Ty’s heart in his stomach began to freeze.

“Watson you-” Ty began but Watson cut him off.

“It’s Kit.”

“What?” Ty asked, the conversation was moving faster than he could comprehend. 

“My name. It’s Kit. Kit Rook.” He whispered it into the phone. Ty’s breath caught.

“Kit Rook?” It was like a thief’s name from a fantasy novel. Quick and easy to yell out in frustration as he made away with the spare coins in your pocket. It was fitting, as during one of their late-night conversations Kit had confided in Ty that he could pickpocket and had done it on more than one occasion. His name was perfect. 

“Wait, Rook?” Emma spoke up from the hush that had fallen over his family. In the phone, the rustling had started back and the thumping was louder. It was footsteps. 

“I need to tell you something.” Kit pleaded. There was the sound of a door being kicked open and shouting. It made it near impossible to hear what was said next. “Sherlock, I love you.” The line went dead. 

Ty couldn’t believe it. Still, the call-ended screen flashed before going dark. The chill that had encompassed most of his stomach began to spread to his chest. Ty couldn’t just let Kit die, but there was little he could do. Somewhere in Los Angeles, Kit was likely suffering the same fate as his father. In all the times they talked, Kit was very careful to not tell Ty details about his life. The few things Ty did know, that Kit lived with his dad, without siblings, and went to online school, couldn’t help him here. None of those things narrowed down where Kit was. The area code for the phone number covered basically all of downtown Los Angeles. Kit had called Ty instead of 911, in hopes of telling him that he loved him. 

“Ty?” It was Emma. She was standing just next to him but kept some distance between their bodies. “What’s going on?”

“My friend, Kit, had something happen at his house. He said he was going to die. He called because he wanted to say-” The words caught in his throat, stuck to the walls of his trachea like spines. “He wanted to say goodbye.”

Everyone gaped at him. Ty didn't have the energy to try to decipher what it all meant. He needed to get to Kit somehow and time was quickly running out. 

“You said Kit Rook. That’s his name?” Emma asked. Her voice was steady and calm as she was the only one not in shock. Ty could only nod. She grabbed her jacket off the back of her chair. 

“I think I know the house he’s talking about. Do you want to go with me?” Emma was still a new officer but Ty had been listening to her stories from the precinct ever since she graduated from the academy. She loved telling stories about the high-stakes arrests and thrilling shootouts, but she always added the behind-the-scenes detective work most everyone else found boring but Ty loved. Emma was one of the reasons Ty wanted to be a detective. Ty nodded again. 

“Hey, hey, hold on. I need to know what is going on.” Julian cut in. Emma looked at him and suddenly they were having one of their silent conversations. When it happened for the first time, Ty thought it was just him who didn’t understand, but both Livvy and Dru said they never knew what they were saying to each other. It was a type of communication exclusively for Emma and Julian. Julian sighed, but the tension had eased from his shoulders. Emma turned around sharply to leave the room with Ty hot on her heels. 

Ty had never been to Echo Park before, specifically Victor Heights. It was far enough away from Ty’s house that he had no reason to go and it wasn’t a shortcut to anything he cared about. Ty couldn’t believe Kit was only 30 minutes away this entire time. If Ty was feeling up to it, he could have taken the bus to his house. 

Emma was speeding down highways. If her car had sirens installed, she no doubt would have had them on too. The way she drove matched her personality, fierce and passionate. Usually, Ty would have objected to cutting people off at every turn and flooring it on any open stretch of road; but, he appreciated that Emma was taking this as seriously as he was. She has been on the phone with 911 before they even entered the car. 

It was dark, so Ty couldn’t see much of the neighborhood they were entering. It was built on a hill, giving the houses a comical tilt to their foundations. Most of the houses were single-story bungalows, most likely with light-colored roofs to repel light and painted green-grass lawns. He couldn’t believe that in one of these houses was Kit. Ty had no idea which it could have been, but Emma drove down the street like she was familiar. She stopped in front of a house that didn’t appear much different than all the others they passed. But, the front door was wide open and the lights were on. Ty jumped out of the car before Emma got a chance to put it in park. He heard Emma call from behind him but Ty kept running.

Inside, it was a disaster. Furniture was either skewed across the floor in unnatural positions or flipped over completely. Various nicknacks littered the ground in varying stages of brokenness. Clearly, there had been a fight here; a violent one. There were no obvious bodies from the front door. 

Turning the corner to see further into the house, Ty saw feet sticking out from behind a half-wall dividing the kitchen and living room. They still had their shoes on. He peered over, between dirty cups of coffee and one dry plant, praying it wasn’t Kit.

The man on the floor was just that, a man. Easily in his late-40s to early-50s with flecks of grey in his dark brown hair. Ty couldn’t see his face well from the angle, as the man’s head was dropped forward, but the large chunk missing from his temple was obvious. Blood dripped from his head down his neck to mix with the splotches of red already staining his shirt. There were cuts and bright red marks ready to develop into bruises all down his arms. This man could have been the assailant or another victim. 

He heard Emma come through the front door but he didn’t look away from the body. It was a body now, not a person. This was the first real-life dead body Ty had ever seen.

“Good, god.” Emma choked out. She moved around the wall to crouch in front of the man. According to protocol, Emma still had to check for a pulse despite part of his brain tissue being exposed to the open air. Her hand came back bloody as she shook her head.

“That’s Johnny Rook.” Emma had surely seen more than enough victims of gun violence while on the job. Yet, she still trembled on the balls of her feet by Johnny’s feet. “I was hoping, foolishly, that he’d be alive.”

Johnny Rook. Kit’s dad, supposedly. Ty didn’t know of Emma’s relation to Johnny Rook. She hadn’t had time to disclose it in the car and Ty didn’t have the time to ask now. A clue he could figure out later. But this clearly wasn’t Kit so Ty still had to look. He turned on his heel to look around the living room again. In the far wall from the front door, there was the opening for a hallway. When Ty got around the knocked-back couch and overturned coffee table, he saw a new stain of blood disconnected from the ones already seeping into the carpet. 

It was a larger blob where the hallway met the living room with a light trail leading to the rooms at the end. Ty didn’t have to follow the trail as only one of the doors was opened. Ty heard that door slam open on the phone. 

It was a room that could only be described as a teenage boy’s room, with 90s band posters on the walls, a skateboard propped in the corner, and comic books stacked on the nightstand. There was nothing knocked on the floor here, a sharp contrast to the rest of the house. If not for the smear of blood going behind the bed, Ty would have been tempted to investigate the other rooms. 

In the corner, slumped against the wall, was a boy. One of his hands was covering a dark red stain on his abdomen while the other was outstretched to his right. His Superman pajama pants were darkening just above his left knee. Ty’s eye followed the boy’s hand to see a phone just out of reach. His breath caught in his throat. 

“Kit?” Ty’s vocal cords strained around his name. The boy broke his stare out the window to look at Ty. There was blood in his blonde hair and splattered across his face but he still had the bluest eyes Ty had ever seen. Like staring out into the Pacific during a bright Summer day. 

“Sherlock?” Kit asked. His voice was weak, but somehow he smiled at Ty. In a flash Ty kneeled by Kit, trapping him against the wall. One hand went to cover Kit’s already on his stomach and the other reached to find the wound on his leg. If they were lucky, the bullet missed his femoral artery; there wasn’t much Ty could hope for with a gunshot wound to the abdomen. Too many organs to rupture. 

“You’re going to be alright. We called 911, the ambulance should be here any minute.” It wasn’t like Ty to feel frantic but he was struggling to come up with basic first aid. He’d never been properly trained for trauma aid but he’s read enough to know the fundamentals. Apply pressure above and below the wound, especially if arterial. Ty didn’t have enough hands.

“Emma!” He yelled. There was no way she couldn’t have heard him, the house wasn’t that big, but Ty wasn’t going to take any chances. He heard the thumping of her footsteps as he turned back to Kit. 

Kit brought his free hand up from the floor to brush Ty’s jaw. For some reason, Ty didn’t flinch. 

“Somehow I knew you’d be the prettier of the two of us.” His laugh afterward was wet. Ty hoped blood hadn’t gotten into his lungs. He heard Emma gasp sharply from behind. She too rushed to Kit’s side. Ty moved his hand from Kit’s leg to allow Emma to apply pressure herself.

“If I knew you were here I would have come so much sooner.” She said as she pulled a small pocket knife from her jacket pocket to tear open Kit’s pant leg. The entrance wound didn’t look too bad but there was so much blood.

“If you knew I was here, my dad wasn’t doing his job.” Kit mumbled. He rested his head against Ty’s knee to look up at him. “You should tell me your name, handsome stranger. I want to know the last face I ever see.”

“Tiberius Blackthorn. I go by Ty.” He could feel warm blood soaking his palms but he didn’t move them. The pressure wasn’t slowing the spread. 

“Hmm,” Kit hummed letting his eyelids droop, “sounds like the name you’d give an angel.”

“My father named me after the Roman emperor Tiberius Claudius Nero.”

“My dad named me Christopher, after nobody. No one calls me Christopher though.” Kit’s voice was slowing and fading at the end of his words. Emma heard the difference too. 

“Hey, Kit. Buddy, I need to stay awake for us okay? The EMTs are here, I can hear them. Can you tell me about what happened?” Emma asked. She was right, the ambulances were here. Luckily they didn’t keep their sirens on in a residential neighborhood but Ty could see their red lights flashing through the window. Any moment now they would come in.

The light didn’t leave his eyes. As bright and blue as they were Ty wouldn’t have been surprised if they began to dim like fading headlights. But they didn’t. Kit just closed them. Like he was going to sleep.

“Christopher. God please stay awake.” Emma’s voice was wet like she was crying. Ty didn’t know if she’s ever lost someone on the field before; if she had, she never shared the story. She was still at Kit’s knee, so Ty was the only one who felt Kit let out a shallow breath but not take another in. He felt his only friend die against his leg. 

His skin was still warm. His blood was still soaking both Ty and Emma’s hands as they scrambled to stabilize him with no tools. Ty knew they had 3-5 minutes before irreversible brain damage occurred due to lack of oxygen. EMTs were coming but they needed to get here faster.

So Ty moved around Kit’s chest to start CPR. He stacked his hands on top of each other and pressed into Kit’s sternum. Ty counted off in his head, 30 2-inch compressions before stopping and checking for a heartbeat. Nothing. Ty did another 30. Still nothing. He opened Kit’s mouth to try rescue breaths. The small amount of oxygen Ty could get in would be better than nothing. 

It felt like Ty’s head was being split in half. He had to focus on getting Kit back. He couldn’t stop the compressions for longer than ten seconds to check for breathing. But there was another part that was screaming. Begging for Kit to defy odds and wake up for the EMTs. It wasn’t likely. Kit’s body was shutting down, too much blood had been lost and oxygen wasn’t getting to his organs. His heart wasn’t beating. His brain waves were likely weak, if there at all. 

Kit wake up please. You have to wake up.

Kit didn’t wake up. Distantly Ty heard more voices. The paramedics, maybe police. Ty didn’t stop until someone pulled him away. He had to watch a stranger press their hands into Kit’s chest while another placed an oxygen mask over his face. 

“I’ve got a pulse.” The woman said, her fingers roughly pressed into Kit’s neck. For some reason Ty didn’t feel relieved. In a flurry they hauled Kit onto a stretcher and were out the door. Kit’s heart could stop again on the way to the hospital. They could have taken too long and he’d never be the same. He could die on the operating table. 

“Ty, Ty.” Emma was trying to get his attention. She didn’t touch him. Ty knew he couldn’t blame the paramedics for acting in an emergency situation but it felt like his nerves were firing on overdrive beneath his skin. “We need to go. This is a crime scene now. They need to ask us some questions.”

It was protocol. Ty had expected to be a part of crime scene investigation, looked forward to it, but not on the victim’s end. When his parents died, there was little to no investigation on the matter. Both easily deemed natural causes and an unfortunate accident. 

Ty didn’t want to leave. He didn’t want to wash Kit’s blood from his hands. He wanted to look around the room. Find all the little things about Kit that he might never get to hear firsthand. Read through notes scattered around Kit’s desk, memorize the curve of his handwriting. Analyze the posters of bands he hadn’t told Ty he liked. Investigate his closet to see if he also had a preference for certain fabrics. Still, he knew he couldn’t stay as detectives and crime scene photographers would need to see everything as it was. It was all evidence.

 He followed Emma out of the room without a second look to the large stain where Kit once lay. 

As soon as Ty could, he was waiting for Kit to get out of emergency surgery. His family sat with him, but no one asked who this person Ty was staying up all night for was. He waited for any news, always fearing the worst. It didn’t matter if the doctors found Ty’s constant question endearing or annoying, as they relented and let him know bits and pieces. One of the bullets tore through Kit’s small intestine. The other shattered Kit’s femur. On scene Kit’s heart had stopped for 13 seconds. The female paramedic came up to Ty while he was still slouched in a waiting room chair and said he easily saved Kit’s life. Ty didn’t feel like he did. She said she’d seen people survive much worse. Ty knew people died from much less. It was a fever that eventually killed his mother. The car accident didn’t kill his father, the broken rib that shifted into his heart did. 

Kit was asleep for three days after the surgeons were able to successfully stabilize him. When he finally woke up, Ty was the first face he saw.

#kit herondale #kit rook #ty blackthorn #emma carstairs #julian blackthorn #livvy blackthorn #dru blackthorn #the wicked powers #TWP #the dark artifices #TDA #the shadowhunter chronicles #TSC #fanfic #fanfiction #chewrites #kit x ty

[karthiknayakm]

Unveiling the Next Level of SUV Brilliance: The Latest Volkswagen Taigun Takes Center Stage at Lally Motors in Chandigarh

Hey there, SUV enthusiasts! Buckle up because we've got the inside scoop on the game-changer in town – the all-new Volkswagen Taigun is here, and it's rewriting the rulebook for SUV excellence. Join us as we take a virtual stroll through the Lally Motors showroom in Chandigarh to explore what makes this beast stand out in the crowded SUV arena.

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Get in Touch with Us!!!

Book Your Favorite Volkswagen Car Today!!!

A Glimpse of Luxury: The Volkswagen Taigun Unveiled

The Taigun's Grand Entrance

Picture this: you walk into the sleek Volkswagen showroom at Lally Motors in Chandigarh, and your eyes are immediately drawn to the stunning display of the Taigun. The sleek lines, bold contours, and a stance that screams power – the Taigun has officially arrived to make heads turn.

Interior Elegance Redefined

Step inside, and you'll find yourself in a world where luxury meets functionality. Plush leather seats, a cutting-edge infotainment system, and meticulous attention to detail – the Taigun's interior is a testament to Volkswagen's commitment to providing an unparalleled driving experience.

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Power and Performance: Taigun's Engine Roars to Life

Turbocharged Excellence

Beneath the hood, the Taigun packs a punch with its turbocharged engine. We're talking about a driving experience that effortlessly combines power and efficiency. Whether you're navigating city streets or cruising down the open highway, the Taigun ensures a ride that's as thrilling as it is smooth.

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What sets the Taigun apart from the SUV crowd is its remarkable handling. Responsive steering, precise control, and a suspension system that glides over bumps – it's like the Taigun has a built-in GPS that anticipates every twist and turn.

Safety First: Taigun's Advanced Safety Features

Cutting-Edge Safety Technology

In the world of SUVs, safety is non-negotiable, and the Taigun takes it seriously. With advanced safety features like adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping assist, and a robust airbag system, Volkswagen leaves no stone unturned when it comes to protecting its precious cargo – you and your loved ones.

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Before hitting the road, the Taigun undergoes rigorous testing to ensure it meets and exceeds safety standards. It's not just an SUV; it's a fortress on wheels, giving you the peace of mind you deserve on every journey.

Taigun at Lally Motors: Your Gateway to SUV Excellence

Unmatched Customer Experience

Lally Motors in Chandigarh isn't just a showroom; it's an experience. The knowledgeable staff is ready to guide you through the features of the Taigun, answer your questions, and help you make an informed decision. It's more than buying a car; it's embracing a lifestyle.

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Feeling the need for speed? Lally Motors encourages you to take the Taigun for a spin. Because let's face it – words can only do so much justice to the thrill of driving this powerhouse. From the test drive to the purchase, Lally Motors ensures you're in the driver's seat of excellence.

Conclusion: Taigun – Where Style Meets Substance

As the sun sets over the bustling city of Chandigarh, the Volkswagen Taigun at Lally Motors remains a beacon of SUV excellence. It's not just a car; it's a statement. With a perfect blend of luxury, performance, and safety, the Taigun is set to redefine your expectations of what an SUV can truly be.So, what are you waiting for? Head to Lally Motors, Chandigarh, and let the Taigun drive you into a new era of automotive brilliance

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[racingliners]

F1 Re-Watch 2013: Round 9 - Germany

You have no idea how excited I've been to get to this race on my season watch through. Germany 2013 was Seb's first and only German GP win and frankly I'm very surprised that I'd never watched it before now.

This was also the second to last F1 race to be held at the Nürburgring (the last being the Eifel GP in 2020), and I'm ngl I likely picked it over Hockenheim to host the German GP in Life In The Fast Lane because of this race 😅

So this live blog post will likely go off the rails when the sebfucker meltdown kicks in, but for now let's jump in!

Honestly, for me this race onwards is likely going to be my favourite part of my 2013 watch through. Seb winning at home, then Lewis in Hungary, then Seb winning all the races from Belgium to Brazil. 11/10 would recommend to a friend on TripAdvisor.

Anyway, let's jump into the starting grid:

Lewis pole, he had a decent amount of them in 2013 given that fact that the car wasn't quite up to scratch (#JustLewisThings), Seb P2 🥰, Dan P6!!!!, The Ferrari's in 7th and 8th?! (??????), Jenson P9!!!! It could have been worse!!

oh it did, Jev in P16 😭

This is why I call it starting grid whiplash.

Helmet watch: Seb's helmet for this race was *chef's kiss* so good.

the metallic gold and matte black with the German flag stripe hidden in the gold. JMD Helmets superiority.

[Formation Lap]: Mediums and Softs the compounds for this race.

Apparently Lewis had a bunch of mechanical problems on his car right before the race. Good grief.

also also the giant Seb banner in the grandstand 😭😭😭😭

Cut to a very nervous looking Merc garage

[Start/Lap 1]: SEB TAKES THE LEAD AT TURN ONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I LOVE F1!!!!!!!!

ngl I was that overjoyed I haven't paid much attention to the first lap, gosh I've missed that feeling of Seb taking the lead 😭

Webber went from 3rd to second, so Seb, Webber and Lewis make up the Top 3

[Lap 2]: Perez going down the inside of Jenson into turn 1

Both Lotus' are in 4th and 5th

the replay of the start >>>>>>>>

[Lap 4]: oh someone spun in the background of the shot.

ah it was Massa

the car's not moving????

it's right on the run off at turn 1 so that should be a SC

I will say watching races that happened before the introduction of the Virtual Safety Car is quite unnerving in situations like this.

[Lap 5]: Not Force India with an unsafe release, Di Resta almost drove right into Jev 😭

also wild for people to be making their first stops this early and it to be legit

[Lap 6]: oh god they're investigating the unsafe release after the race aefjeihfe clown show stewarding once again

[Lap 7]: anyway Lewis pits for his first stop, softs off for mediums. He comes out in 10th.

[Lap 8]: and in comes Seb, also softs for mediums

and he comes out ahead of Lewis!!

Red Bull did have a quicker stop, which definitely helped

and interestingly they've come out behind cars that started on the mediums, so they're going to have to do some on-track passes early on

[Lap 9]: oh shit one of the tyres came off Webber's car and hit a cameraman.

what the actual fuck

the cameraman's being tended to by Merc mechanics and FIA medical staff, thank goodness.

[Lap 10]: And Lewis gets past Raikkonen for 7th

[Lap 11]: and Seb overtakes Jenson for P3

oh god. Lewis is behind Nico Rosberg. my eye is twitching.

I know this was before 2016, but watching this after the 2016 season is... yeah... I'm having anxiety.

[Lap 12]: There's been a team radio call for Nico to let Lewis by but I'm still feeling dread at seeing them be one behind the other.

[Lap 13]: Meanwhile there's a Lotus right behind Lewis waiting for an opportunity to get past.

...oh my days Nico let him past

[Lap 14]: So Grosjean pits, Seb retakes the lead, and Romain comes out in net P2, since Jenson ahead still has to stop

oh phew Lewis is finally past Rosberg, he's in P5

Grosjean passes Jenson on track for P2

[Lap 16]: The Lotus' are so quick, may be due to the high track temps suiting them

and Rosberg is finally called into the pits

[Lap 17]: What is a polar bear (Hulkenberg in a Sauber] doing in Arlington, Texas?! (P4)

I'd guess he hasn't stopped yet????

ah, he is indeed still to stop, thank you well timed TV graphic

[Lap 18]: and in he pits, Lewis into P4

"I have no grip man, these tyres are not holding together" something Bono Lewis' tyres are gone something

[Lap 19]: Oh Alonso's in P6, though probably P5 soon given how Merc are not having good tyre wear

Meanwhile Jenson is still to stop, though I think he started on Mediums (this was the days when people wouldn't run laps in Q3 to start on a fresh set of tyres)

[Lap 21]: aw yeah Lewis v Alonso battle 🍿

the pair of them providing the in-race entertainment since 2007

(however you feel about either of them, the battles between them are always so good)

[Lap 22]: Jenson finally pits

but back to Lewis v Fernando, Lewis' defending is >>>>>>>

"I'm pushing man I'm pushing!" ajkfvbjfvbd let Lewis cook!!!

[Lap 23]: oh, Lewis is back into the pits. Merc have moved him onto the 3 stop. He's onto another set of mediums.

so he was pushing bc it was an in lap, ignore me 😅

it was still a great battle though

And there's a Marussia with a big plume of smoke.... and catching fire. oh dear.

... now it's rolling down the hill backwards.

Oh so now they bring out the Safety Car.

[Lap 25]: Seb pits for fresh mediums

as do the Lotus pair, and Alonso

...and just about every car in the field 😅

Seb is still in the lead however 🙌

So the top 10 is: Seb, Grosjean, Raikkonen, Alonso, Jenson, Hulkenberg, Lewis, Maldonado, Perez and Sutil

[Lap 26]: It feels very on brand for Seb's first/only home race win is a race that's fine for him but very chaotic for everyone else. See Germany 2019 for further chaos.

Jev had a hydraulic failure?????? WHY????? 😭😭😭

also the cameraman from the pitlane incident is fine, and Webber is still in the race, but in plum last.

[Lap 28]: random garage and pit wall shots while the SC trundles round

[Lap 29]: and SC in at the end of the lap

time for ✨Safety Car restart anxiety✨

and off Seb goes!!

phew

[Lap 30]: How are we only at half-distance, I feel like I've watched a full race with everything that's gone on

(thought that might be bc my parents are watching Quantum of Solace on the TV and I keep getting distracted, ANYWAY)

[Lap 32]: a Lotus v Lotus battle you say? 👀

meanwhile Seb is already a second ahead of P2

[Lap 34]: and now Hulkenberg v Lewis for P6

[Lap 35]: oh damn both Lotus' have managed to catch up to Seb all of a sudden

like they're in DRS range and everything

Seb's still in the lead with about a half-second gap over Grosjean, who has 6-7 tenths over Raikkonen

[Lap 36]: The Lotus' are definitely fast

okay according Ted Seb either has a brake problem or a KERS problem based on radio messages, that would explain a bit

[Lap 37]: Lewis still can't get past Hulkenberg, even though he's the quicker car

[Lap 38]: nevermind, in comes Hulkenberg to the pits

[Lap 39]: Button watch: he still needs to make his second stop

Seb's gap over Grosjean is back to being just over a second

[Lap 40]: Hulkenberg fastest lap??????

this race has been surprisingly all over the place

[Lap 42]: Seb pits for the third time, Grosjean pitted the lap before

but Seb comes out ahead! He's in 5th

So Raikkonen leads from Alonso, Jenson and Lewis.

I'm guessing they all need to stop again? Jenson def does bc he hasn't ran the softs yet

It's funny watching this knowing who wins, but not how it happens.

[Lap 44]: very fittingly given the lap number, we have a Lewis and Seb battle for P4!!

(also carrying F1's in-race entertainment since 2007)

[Lap 45]: Seb almost get's the move done round the outside of turn 1, but Lewis juuuust edges it, but Seb eventually takes P4 in the arena section

🚨15 laps left klaxon🚨

[Lap 46]: Lewis makes his 3rd and hopefully final stop

Top 5 now Raikkonen, Alonso, Jenson, Seb and Grosjean (Jenson's still to make his second stop for softs)

Starting to wonder if someone on the McLaren pit wall accidentally had a mid-race nap in the motorhome

[Lap 47]: Seb's closing up to the top 3, and he's about 15 seconds behind Raikkonen

[Lap 48]: Jenson finally pits!!! he comes out in 6th

and cut to a dancing donkey toy on the Renault engineer's desk in the Lotus garage. #JustF1Things

It's worth noting though, for anyone who hasn't seen any races from 2013, that the first half of the season was very different to the second when Seb won every race. Seb and Red Bull only won 4 races in the first half of 2013, Mercedes won 3, Ferrari won 2 and Lotus won the first race in Australia. the 2013 grid was competitive to a degree. Seb just was in bastard mode for the second half of the season.

[Lap 50]: Live Ted Reaction to Raikkonen pitting for softs, as does Alonso.

So Seb is back in the lead!! 🥳

"Stunning pace from Jenson Button" inject Lap 50 from Germany 2013 into my veins

[Lap 51]: Lewis into P7!

And Jenson overtakes Perez after stopping, he's in 5th.

Once again, like the last few laps of Silverstone, everything is happening

Raikkonen is half a second faster than Seb. shit.

ah he's on softs while Seb is on mediums. That explains a part of it.

[Lap 52]: Grosjean been given team orders to not hold Raikkonen up 😬

Maybe I need to rescind my earlier comment about Seb driving off into the distance while shit happens behind him.

[Lap 54]: Okay Seb is roughly 2 seconds ahead of Grosjean

this is way more intense than I thought it would be dbhvudbhsuh

[Lap 55]: and with the help of some team orders Raikkonen gets past Grosjean (believe it or not, he was still seen as a championship contender in this part of the season)

Now for goodness sake Seb go fast

[Lap 56]: 🚨5 laps remaining klaxon🚨

Replay of Lewis getting past Perez for P6

[Lap 57]: Cut to Alonso P4, I had somewhat forgotten about him ngl

he's just kind of been... there I guess

[Lap 58]: 1.6 seconds gap between Seb and Raikkonen, stress

Lewis is also under 4 seconds behind Jenson and catching

F1 DRAMA!

oh god Raikkonen's half a second quicker than Seb

I know that Seb wins... and yet I'm anxious

[Lap 59]: 1.2 second gap...

and Lewis is 1.9 behind Jenson

Sewis are Sewising

[Lap 60]: LAST LAP

cut to Lewis getting P5!!

and cut back to Seb who's 8 tenths ahead of Raikkonen

[Finish]: SEB WINS THE GERMAN GP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

my GOD that was stressful

BUT IT WAS WORTH IT!!!!

idk if I would have preferred a lights to flag win but gosh, Seb's radio made me all kinds of weepy 😭

also the first German driver to win the German GP, THAT'S MY BOYYYYYYY!!!!!!

and his 30th career win 🥹

rest of the top 10 were: Raikkonen, Grosjean, Alonso, Hamilton, Jenson, Webber, Perez, Rosberg & Hulkenberg

WHEW. That was a race. A bit of a slow burner, but the last 10 laps were mad. And seeing Seb win his home race is just 🥹

Next up - Hungary!

#F1 Re Watch #F1 2013 re watch

[andyouwillscream]

Irene found herself in a familiar form, a crow, sitting on a lampost in the pouring rain. But hadn't she just been in the UBSC team's jeep, driving off to freedom under a beautiful sunrise? The last thing she recalled was morphing the body of the monitor Roger into a twisted half-form of herself, gloating to the mortally wounded captain about her abilities, her desire to return to human form and her intent to keep her research out of Umbrella's hands before brutally murdering him. She had been safe for the time being, all immediate threats eliminated and heading far away from Raccoon City, far from the death and chaos that was quickly consuming the town.

So why did the sights seem familiar? Abandoned cars piled up in the streets, rock blocks and debris and the smell of blood and rot everywhere. She looked up and a feeling of horror dredged up in the pit of her stomach. She saw those giant bright white letters: R.P.D. How often had she driven or walked past the police station when she was still human? It was hardly something she had to pay attention to, other higher up had dealt with the payoffs to the police chief. Her focus was on finding a cure for the pandemoc that had stricken the town. In the process, she had found something more: virtual immortality through her virus fusing with genes of other lifeforms and regereating her mind and form through their bodies. Still, it had come at a grave price: each new firm was unstable and eventually she would need to transfer to new bodies. And even then, none were truely what she would call her own.

She had work so hard to avoid the UBCS team and had finally found some use for them in providing her escape... had it all been a dream? What was that quote about an insect dreaming it was a man, loved it and but was now awake? She shook herself in the cold rain, fluffing her feathers. She was still alive and that meant there was hope of escape. She merely had to wait until someone came along, some desperate survivor looking for safety in the police station. Someone she could infect and then perhaps be taken with others to an evacuation point. Yes, it seemed like a wonderful plan, one where she wouldn't have to show her hand until it was too late for anyone to stop her.

#monstrous regiment (ic) #imposter syndrome (dr. irene cameron) #the mimic (dead by daylight verse) #new verse tryout #open starter #resident evil roleplay #resident evil rp #biohazard roleplay #biohazard rp #dead by daylight roleplay #dead by daylight rp #dbd roleplay #dbd rp

[wabashmfginc]

Tips On How To Inspect And Maintain Semi Trailers

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To forestall failure and a possible safety problem, those connections additionally want proper oversight and routine maintenance. When you cease for fuel, check the trailer wheel bearings. The good news is that virtually all premium boat trailers are designed to be low maintenance. Make certain your bearings are completely inspected when the trailer is in for scheduled maintenance.

[swish-swish-nyoom-nyoom]

.

#what did the virtual safety car do #wait before that what is a virtual safety car #virtual???? #i know what a safety car is but... virtual??? #chiara watches f1 for the imola cat

[tennessoui]

i really am just so excited for part two of the roadtrip au and knowing it might be from obi-wan's perspective??? seeing obi-wan fawn over anakin while anakin dotes on him?? i'm losing my mind.

hey!!! bless!!!! i know i said it would be part 1, part 2, part 3, but i started writing part 2 and it's like already 2.2k long and they're just in Pennsylvania so i think we should all start thinking of this story as part 1 (finished, posted), ARC 2 (very long, is in segments, depending on what people wanna see and what road trip shenanigans i can think up), and part 3 (tbd)

anyway here's the 2.2k (squick: a/b/o, mpreg)

“Uh, sir? Are you...alright?”

That’s the gas station attendant. Obi-Wan barely resists the urge to thunk his head on the side of the bathroom stall. The only thing stopping him is how absolutely unsanitary it would be, and he already feels dirty enough. He pulls a few more squares of toilet paper from the dispenser and wipes at his mouth.

Of all the pregnancy symptoms he hates, he thinks morning sickness is the one he hates the most. And it’s the one that seems to be, for some reason, sticking around the longest.

He’d never even known how much of a misnomer morning sickness is, but it’s not like it’s only happening in the morning. He’ll feel nauseous halfway through the day, mid-afternoon, early evening.

His doctor and close friend at the hospital, Bant, had assured him this was normal and nothing to worry about. But it’s hard not to worry about it, especially when he lives with an Alpha who worries about everything.

“Just fine, thank you,” Obi-Wan says politely as he flushes the toilet and leaves before he can watch his breakfast spiral down and disappear. That’ll only make him feel even more sick.

The girl wrings her hands as she watches him wash his, and he has to take pity on her. She can’t be older than eighteen. “Morning sickness,” he tells her, placing a hand on the virtually unnoticeable swell of his belly.

“Oh!” she says. Obi-Wan fights the urge to grimace when he sees her eyes dart down to his unmarked neck. He knows how it looks. He knows how it sounds. “Sorry, sir, I didn’t mean to--”

“It’s quite alright,” he says. It’s not, but it is. Obi-Wan doesn’t want to have this conversation, doesn’t want to talk to this girl anymore. They’re passing through a small town in central Pennsylvania. He’s a pregnant, unmated, thirty-eight year old male omega. A rarity. A talking point. He doesn’t want to talk to her, he wants--

There’s a loud knock on the door to the bathroom. “Obi-Wan? Are you alright? Is there someone in there with you? I thought I heard voices. Obi-Wan? I’m coming in, Obi-Wan.”

Anakin.

Obi-Wan gets halfway through drying his hands before Anakin’s there, crowding him against the sink and nosing at his face and neck.

“Sir, this is a bathroom for omegas only!” the gas station attendant protests, but Anakin growls at her.

As much as the pregnancy has made Obi-Wan lose parts of himself to his Omegan side, it’s been ten times worse for Anakin for some reason. As far as Alphas go, Anakin’s always been a thoughtful, respectful one. Quick to anger, perhaps, but never violent or suspicious.

Now it’s like everyone in the world has done something to personally offend Anakin. Everyone but Obi-Wan.

If he didn’t feel such a burning, unignorable need to get to Seattle, Obi-Wan would have called the whole trip off weeks ago.

But he couldn’t then and he definitely can’t now, not when they’ve both taken the time off of work and Obi-Wan’s let his doctor know he’ll be out of the state and they’re already in Pennsylvania.

He’ll just let Anakin do whatever he needs to do to feel alright with taking a pregnant, unmated omega across the country. It’s not as if it’s a hardship to put up with all the scentings and hugs and looming and protectiveness.

Quite the opposite, actually.

Which just makes Obi-Wan feel even more guilty, the way he’s using Anakin like this. His dearest, closest friend, who is helping him in such an amazing way, and every time he touches him, it’s all Obi-Wan can do to not arch up into the touch.

He wishes he could blame it on the pregnancy hormones, the way his instincts are going haywire to keep an alpha--any alpha--close. But it’s not. It’s Anakin. It’s the fact that Obi-Wan is hopelessly, irreversibly in love with the alpha.

The touches and the scenting don’t mean what he wants them to. It doesn’t mean anything, the way Anakin pushes his shirts and sweaters to Obi-Wan’s chest and watches him put them on. He’s an observant man, his alpha. He knows Obi-Wan likes wearing his scent now that he’s pregnant. It’s comforting.

So even though it doesn’t mean anything at all, the way Anakin’s hands roam over his waist and stomach and hips as he growls at the poor gas station attendant, Obi-Wan has to fight to not push back into the touches, to not scent him in return.

He’s afraid once he does, he won’t be able to stop. The thought of it, of marking the beautiful, strong, virile alpha with his smell, is too addicting to ever risk trying.

“I’m fine, I’m fine. It’s just a bit of morning sickness,” he says lightly, touching Anakin’s chest gently. “She was just checking up on me.”

Anakin glares at the girl and starts to herd Obi-Wan out of the bathroom. “Not hers to check up on,” he mutters, hands latching onto Anakin’s hips and guiding him through the aisles of brightly colored chips and candy.

Obi-Wan thinks that for both of their sakes he should remind Anakin that he’s not his to check up on either, but he doesn’t want to, not when he can pretend for a little bit longer.

“I think I would like to lie down in the back for a bit,” he says, holding his stomach. “Just until we get out of this state.”

Anakin agrees immediately, like he knew he would. “Okay, Obi,” he murmurs, opening the car door for him. They’d laid down their suitcases in the wells behind the two front seats, and Anakin had thrown a couple of blankets over the entire area to make a sort of makeshift nest for Obi-Wan to sleep in should he want to.

They’ve only been driving for four hours, but Obi-Wan already wants to. He’s painfully on edge.

He hadn’t understood how hard it would be to convince his hindbrain and body to leave the safety of their apartment, but all he wants now is to nest somewhere safe for him and the baby. It would have been impossible to do this without Anakin.

“Alright,” the alpha says. “Um. Wait. Here.”

He shucks off his sweatshirt, a faded college one that Obi-Wan’s been coveting with his eyes since Anakin had put it on this morning. “Oh, dear one, no,” he forces himself to say anyway. “It’s December. You need a sweatshirt.”

“I’ll turn up the heat,” Anakin holds it out insistently, stubbornly. “Take it, come on.”

Obi-wan can only make himself hesitate for a second more before he’s snatching the soft fabric that smells like sunlight linen honeydew out of his hands and holding it greedily to his chest. “Alright.”

Under the weight of the alpha’s watchful eyes, Obi-Wan crawls into the backseat and curls up with his head diagonal from the driver’s seat. He thinks it’ll be nice to wake up and see Anakin’s profile whenever he wants to without additional shifting.

“Oh shit,” Anakin curses suddenly. “I was going to buy a coffee.” The alpha pauses, clearly torn between going back inside and not wanting to leave the omega alone in the car. But Obi-Wan knows Anakin, and he needs his coffee.

“Oh,” he says as if he’s just remembering something himself, “can you get me one of those bananas on the counter? I think they’re good for babies.”

That, obviously, changes everything for Anakin who straightens instantly. “Bananas are good for babies,” he declares, nodding his head before narrowing his eyes. “Would you...can I lock the door? I won’t be long. Just for safety.”

Obi-Wan blinks and purses his lips to stop his little smile. His alpha can be so silly. Safety. In the middle of the afternoon in rural Pennsylvania. “Okay, alpha,” he agrees before he even realizes that he really shouldn’t be calling Anakin alpha. Especially not when the other man always reacts so strongly to it.

Case in point, he thinks to himself sadly as Anakin’s hand spasms on the car door handle before he slams it and hustles away, almost at a run.

With a long sigh, he flops back down into his nest and squirms until he gets comfortable. There’s a pillow close to his hand that he hugs to his chest when he realizes it’s Anakin’s pillow from his bed at home. It smells amazing, a mix of both of them together.

Ever since he’d told the alpha he was pregnant, Obi-Wan’s fallen asleep in Anakin’s bed more often than not. It’s a comfort thing, one that Obi-Wan feels intensely guilty about. Surely if he keeps being so clingy and whiny and Omegan, Anakin will get sick of him.

And this is just the beginning of the pregnancy. He knows rationally that Anakin loves him as a friend, a brother, but how long is that love going to last if Obi-Wan can’t get a handle on his goddamn hormones? Anakin hadn’t signed up for any of this. It’s not even his pup. How much is Obi-Wan willing to put him through just because he can’t imagine a life without the alpha in it?

Wouldn’t it be the best thing for the both of them to cut their losses now? Bail and Breha had told Obi-Wan he could move in with them for the duration of the pregnancy if he needed to. The only thing that stopped him from saying yes immediately had been the hope that Anakin would be willing to stay with him, keep living with him even after he’d fucked up so much.

And the alpha, by some miracle, hadn’t left, hadn’t moved out. But Obi-Wan can’t shake the thought that he will soon, that this will all get to be too much. Obi-Wan’s omega whimpers at the back of his mind at the idea that one day the alpha will be gone.

The scent of distressed omega fills the car as Obi-Wan feels his bottom lip start to wobble.

Alright, the influx of hormones that are wreaking havoc on his emotions is probably the pregnancy symptom he hates the most. But morning sickness is still up there, too.

He sniffs into Anakin’s college sweatshirt and tries to think happy thoughts. He shouldn’t make Anakin worry about his emotions when he’s already spending so much time worried about his physical health.

How much is Obi-Wan going to take advantage of Anakin’s kindness?

The doors unlock with a beep, signaling his alpha’s return to the car.

It doesn’t take Anakin even a second to catch onto Obi-Wan’s recent spiral of emotion, but at least he won’t know why unless Obi-Wan tells him.

“Obi?” he asks frantically, as soon as he opens the car door. “Obi, are you alright? Did something happen? Did someone see you--?”

“Put the coffee down before you spill it,” Obi-Wan instructs after peeking out of his sweatshirt haven. “I’m alright, Anakin. It’s just the hormones. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize,” Anakin shakes his head. “You don’t have anything to be sorry for.”

The statement pulls a wry smile from Obi-Wan. “Oh, I can think of a few things,” he murmurs, touching his belly with a pointed, gentle hand. Before Anakin can say anything about that, he continues quickly. “I was just wondering about something, I’m fine, really. Really.”

And then, knowing he shouldn’t but also knowing it’ll distract Anakin enough from this line of questioning, he tilts his head back to expose his neck and says, “Can we drive, alpha?”

The coffee cup still clutched in Anakin’s hands bursts open under the force of his grip. He really should have put it down.

Anakin curses up a storm as he shakes the hot liquid off of his skin, and Obi-Wan sits up worriedly. Anakin was bothered so much by Obi-Wan calling him that that he accidentally hurt himself. No more, the omega resolves. He can take a hint.

“Are you alright?” he asks, grabbing at Anakin’s hand to examine the red skin.

“I’m fine!” Anakin yelps, jumping away. “I just--I’m just going to go wash this off. Um. And get more coffee.”

He slams the door shut, and Obi-Wan wilts as he watches him go. He can’t even follow after him because Anakin’s locked the doors with his car key. He’s done enough already.

“Oh baby,” he tells his stomach. “I don’t think I’m ever going to have that alpha figured out.”

The baby is still and, of course, silent, but Obi-Wan takes comfort in their presence anyway. They can’t leave him. Not yet, at least.

Gingerly, he maneuvers his way out of his nest so he can reach his messenger bag he’d left in the foot of his passenger seat. It takes some finangling, but finally he’s able to fish out his headphones. As he resettles into his nest, surrounded on all sides by Anakin’s scent, he notices the bunch of bananas thrown in the driver’s seat.

Obi-Wan snorts at his silly alpha, but can’t deny that he’s touched at the same time.

It’s extremely easy to find the track he wants to listen to, what with how often he listens to it these days. Sometimes, it’s the only thing that can get him to fall asleep.

He pulls up the downloaded homemade album Anakin had given him for Christmas four years back. When he presses play, his alpha’s deep melodic voice spills into his ears.

“Whan that Aprill with his shoures soote, the droghte of March hath perced to the roote…”

Of course he can’t be sure, but he’s fairly certain he’s asleep by the time Anakin comes back to the car.

#asks #squick tag: a/b/o #squick tag: mpreg #prompt fill #roadtrip au #oh?? its somehow MORE angsty now that obi-wan's POV is being explored??? #is ANYONE surprised??? lmao #(no) #also yes at the end obi-wan is listening to anakin recite the general prologue of the canterbury tales with the original english #that anakin learned how to pronounce correctly so he could make obi-wan the best christmas present ever #was it going to be a love confession too but he chickened out at the last second??? yah #will anakin get jealous obi-wan's always lsitening to something on his phone and demand to know what it is??? yah #poor dumb men

[justasillybear]

Is that a Dog?

It all started, as did many of the things that went wrong in Percy’s life, by not asking the right questions.

In his defence, it hadn’t seemed necessary to ask Grover anything other than “Can I have one” when his best friend and roommate had pulled out some freshly baked brownies from the oven.

First mistake.

The second mistake was sneaking two more brownies while Grover hadn’t been looking.

It could be said, as Percy would later point out, that Grover was the one responsible for everything that happened after that. Months later Percy would look back on that moment and realise Grover hadn’t even attempted to warn him that there was weed in the brownies. Then he’d shake his head and think wow Grover really screwed me over. But that was months away.

In the present, Percy felt like he was floating, everything felt bright and new, and Grover was driving him to go get a milkshake. How could he be mad at Grover when he was the reason Percy felt so at peace? He could hear Grover’s Michael Franti CD playing, and his soft voice singing along, not quite drowned out by the loud honks of irate drivers stuck like them in New York traffic. If he were in a clearer state of mind, Percy would likely have realised that Grover had also eaten one of the brownies and shouldn’t have really been driving. But he wasn’t, instead he let his eyes drift out the window up towards the perfectly blue sky. So blue it almost looked like the ocean and Percy wondered if he just reached up would he fall in and-

What?

Holy. Shit.

“A puppy!” Percy screeched, starting out of the window and at the car a few places ahead of them to the left. He turned to Grover and pointed to the little golden retriever that was poking its head out of a car window. It’s tongue was hanging out of its mouth and Percy felt his heart clench at the sight. He hadn’t known it before, but now he realised that was what he’d been missing in his life.

“Nice spot, what a cute dog.” Grover approved, peering over, his eyes looking slightly red and heavy-lidded.

“He looks... Like he gives good hugs”. Percy mused. He desperately wanted to test out his theory. Percy sent up a quick prayer asking for help, and was elated to find the traffic moving. He waited with bated breath while their lane moved forward until they were parked next to the dog. “Fuck yes!” he virtually screamed. Today was the best day!

“He's so tiny?” Percy mused, eyes continuing to stare dreamily over and then… the puppy looked at him and BARKED. And Percy just knew he was calling out to him. Asking to be petted.

Percy unbuckled his seat belt and rolled down the window, decidedly ignoring Grover’s confused exclamations. “He wants to be petted!” Percy offered as he reached out to touch soft golden fur. The dog yipped happily in response, pushing his small wet nose into the offered hand. Percy could feel his eyes growing misty again. He loved dogs so much. He’d always wanted one growing up, but Gabe had never allowed it. His mum had felt bad about it, getting him a fish instead which he’d loved - but it wasn’t the same. Don’t get him wrong, fish were awesome and that gift had been one of the reasons he was now studying marine biology. But… no fish had ever given him this moment. The moment where they look at you with adoration in their eyes and promise to love you forever. Percy hoped the puppy knew that Percy felt the same way.

“Um, Luke. A stranger is petting your dog.”

Percy looked up from the deep blue eyes of his new ride-or-die bestie and saw a blond girl who looked to be around his age staring at him like he was crazy (which Percy thought was a little rude.)

“Is he your dog?” Percy questioned, reluctantly removing his hand away realising that he should probably have asked the owner’s permission before sticking the upper half of his body out of the car to pet their dog. Even a dog as friendly as this, with beautiful and kind blue eyes.

“No. He’s-“

“Mine.” A deep voice cut in, pulling Percy’s attention to the driver seat of the car, where a young man with bright blue eyes, soft golden hair, and a truly wicked smirk was staring at him. The guy looked around 19 with a gnarly looking scar trailing down from his eye to his chin. Which … Damn! The scar should have detracted from how unfairly attractive he was, but instead, it made Percy want to lean over and touch it. He wondered how it would feel. If it would be rough?

Focus Percy!

“Wow, Annabeth, you didn’t say he was cute��. Percy felt his cheeks flush, and he could hear himself spluttering out nonsense for a good few moments, searching for an appropriate response.

The guy kind of looked like his dog, which was weird. What was even weirder was that the realisation made Percy want to reach out and pet his hair too, to see if it was just as soft as his dogs.

“Uuuh, noo..what, not? I’m not… you’re the one that’s. I don’t – cute! Grover. This guy thinks I’m cute?” Percy managed eventually, much to the growing amusement of the man in question. He quickly averted his eyes, turning to Grover who stared back giggling softly. Traitor.

“Percy, you’re very cute. Now you need to sit back down. We could move at any moment.”  Grover managed between breathy giggles. He didn’t sound very concerned, so Percy decided it was safe to ignore his warning for now. If Percy had to choose between personal safety and the opportunity to spend time with a cute dog and an equally cute owner, well, safety didn’t stand a chance.

“Okay, Grover,” Percy said in a peaceful tone, turning back around to once again pet the head of the puppy, “but I’m in the middle of something very important right now.” At this Grover’s laughter got louder.

“You!” Percy pointed at the driver, “Have a nice face. And smile. And eyes. Grover and I are going to get milkshakes, would you and your puppy like to join us? We could hold hands and talk about your dog and how all three of you are rocking the blond blue eyes thing-”

“Percy the traffic is moving…” Grover butted in.

“Grover, a moment!” Percy begged, yelping when Grover started to inch the car forwards with the traffic, Percy’s torso still half out of the car. Luck seemed to be on his side today however as the other lane was also moving slowly alongside them, so Percy decided to just continue to pet the dog's head. He shot a quick glare at Grover for good measure though.

“Hey idiot, you need to listen to him and get in the car. What if traffic picks up?” the girl warned, mumbling to herself about high idiots.

“Percy is it?” the driver asked, drawing Percy’s attention away from Grover and back to his unfairly handsome face. Percy could feel a grin stretching across his lips.

“How’d you know my name?” he wonders, feeling pleased. He liked the way his name sounded coming from the older guy, all deep and slow like he was savouring each syllable. The guy laughed at the question.

“Your boyfriend there’s said it a few times.” He explained, and Percy nodded vigorously in understanding, and then begun to shake his head equally as energetically. “Grover? No! He’s like… a brother. Definitely not my boyfriend.” Percy explained forcefully, He really didn’t want the hot guy to get the wrong idea. Grover was his best friend, but he’d rather jump into the harbour than date him.

“Why the harbour?” the guy asked through chuckles. Percy hoped he’d keep laughing, the sound was making his head feel as light as the brownies had.

“Did I say that out loud?”

“Yup, green eyes, you did. And I’m sorry, I’d love to hang out more, but I need to drop my sister off at her girlfriends.” He said, pointing a finger at the girl in the backseat. Percy turned to look at her with sad eyes. The girl with golden curls looked like she couldn’t decide if she should smile or scowl. He was disappointed to note her eyes were more grey than blue.

“Oh, that’s sad.” Percy pouted, retreating back slightly into Grover’s car. Before he was fully in, the guy reached out a hand to stop him. He had nice hands, they were large and calloused, and Percy wanted to hold one.

“Wait. Um, maybe I could give you my number, so I know you got home alright? My name's Luke Castellan. C-A-S-T-E-L-L-A-N. We could get that milkshake another… less traffic-bound time?” Luke asked, looking nervous for the first time, making Percy grin. He quickly whipped out his phone and typed in Luke’s details.

“yes! .” He cheered, once to Luke, and then once again to the dog who was still nuzzling his hand. “So, I’ll see you both soon?”

“I’ll hold you to that, Percy.” Luke teased and Percy felt himself nodding.

“Promise,” Percy said firmly, sliding back into the car to Grover's relief. He waved at Luke once the window was rolled up, pleased to see the guy was still staring over at him. He looked like he was saying sometimes but Percy couldn’t tell what. Whatever it was, it made the girl in the backseat lean forward and smack his shoulder. Luke waved one final time before turning his eyes back to the road. His face looked bright and carefree, and Percy wanted to look at him forever. Then the traffic moved and Luke, and his puppy, were gone.

Percy tried not to feel too sad, but he wished he’d taken a picture.

“Only Percy-fucking-Jackson could get a guy’s number after molesting his dog while high in traffic.” Grover giggled, and Percy allowed himself to be dragged away from his thoughts.

“What can I say. I’m irresistible”. He stated, smirking over at his best friend. Grover just continued to giggle. Laying back in his seat he looked back up to the perfect blue sky and thought of Luke's eyes. Luke Castellan, Luke Castellan, Luke-

Maybe he wouldn’t blame Grover after all.

#Percy Jackson #fanfic prompt #Percy x Luke #Luke x Percy #Lukercy #grover underwood #Luke Castellan #annabeth chase #tw: drugs #[i don't agree with drug use] #[but the prompt was specific] #fanfiction #Percy Jackson au #[luke should have had a dog] #[no one goes evil if they have a dog]