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httpiastri · 19 days

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PERFECTLY FINE – CHAPTER ONE (BAHRAIN)

genre: fluff, angst, etc.

warnings: hmmm nothing i think

word count: 5.3k

author's note: aaaa first chapter !! i don't rlly like it but still !!!! a very much opener/get-to-know-the-characters/intro chapter, so maybe boring at times idk. still so excited, thanks to everyone who's contributed. love u all <333

author's note pt2: when i write about the different drivers and their living situations, i know it's not all accurate to how they actually live irl. ik i wrote modena instead of maranello here for ollie although idk exactly when he moved, but there are mentions of milton keynes for the rbj drivers bcs it made it easier for me. anyways, just go with whatever i say about how they live lol. also !!!! i changed yn's team from mp to campos hehe. okay now let's start :)

series masterlist

the winter break coming to an end is always a bittersweet feeling.

having a lot of free time to catch up with friends and family is always greatly appreciated, but at the same time, it doesn't take many days before you miss racing after the last race of the season. especially when the season is as short as the f3 season is, and especially when you don't partake in any of the winter-season races.

this year, though, coming back to the paddock doesn't feel as complicated as it most often does. your heart is light and your smile is big as you enter through the gates after the long taxi ride from your hotel, and you already can't wait to get started.

as you make your way toward the campos truck, you greet a few people you meet here and there, but it's the sight of a head full of dark, curly hair that makes you stop in your tracks. "jak!"

the american turns around when he hears your voice, grin taking over his face already. you strut all the way over to him, practically throwing yourself into his arms. "hey there," he chuckles, giving you a big hug.

"oh, i've missed you so much!" you exclaim, giving him one last squeeze before pulling away. "it feels like i haven't seen you in ages."

"right? the break was way too long."

juan pokes his head through the door to the truck when he hears your voices, making some kind of comment about all of these loud teenagers always causing a commotion, before coming down to greet you with a hug as well. "how was your break?" he asks.

"wonderful, really. i spent most of it at home, catching up with family and friends. then me and ollie-" your eyes widen at your own words. you clear your throat, looking away from both of the boys for a second. "well, i went to italy."

your relationship with ollie isn't exactly a secret around the paddock, but it's a bit of an unspoken rule not to mention it too much. both because you all want to separate your personal lives from your racing ones – you don't wish to crash into a close friend like jak any more than you'd like to crash into ollie, after all – and because a certain other driver might be around to hear.

someone who's quite the conflict of interest in this specific topic.

your break truly was wonderful. it felt like the only things on your schedule were skiing in the italian mountains, gym-and sim-training, and just relaxing at home in england to recharge for the next season. you had spent a lot of it with ollie, getting to know both him and his family better. it hadn't taken you long before you were best friends with his little sister, sharing little inside jokes and spending time cheering her on at the stable. and you'd even grown surprisingly close with ollie's younger brother, and you loved seeing the three siblings interact.

they all made you feel truly at home with them, like an extended family. you couldn't have asked for anything more.

ollie was well-known in your family even before the break, especially considering how he was one of the first drivers your father picked out for the academy. and during the break, he only further impressed them; he always helped out with household tasks, he did his best to create connections to every relative of yours that he met, and he even bought the sweetest little christmas presents for your parents and grandparents. however, just the mention of italy in your current conversation is enough to make the dams drivers understand. no other detail is necessary.

when you're done talking about your break, it's juan's turn, and then jak's. during the catchup, more and more people drop by to say hello, and it doesn't take long before there's a full-on gathering outside the dams truck. dennis, another one of your former academy members, and pepe, your new teammate and newly found platonic soulmate, both listen in as jak tells you all about how jetlagged he is after coming back from the states just two days ago. "have you gotten properly settled in with aston?" you ask with a smile.

"totally. it's been great, honestly. even the apartment they found for me is top-notch."

"oh? better than milton keynes?"

jak raises his eyebrows at you, and then he bursts out laughing. "duh." throughout the many years of living next-door from each other, there wasn't a single day when the two of you didn't complain about something the apartment complex. the smell, the noise, the trails of blood in the staircase; not exactly things you'll miss when you move out one day.

"i still can't really believe we're not neighbors anymore," you complain, jutting out your bottom lip as you speak. "i've been so close to knocking on your old door so many times, but now some other freak lives there-"

"hey!" pepe shoves your shoulder, and the whole group laughs. "you're much worse than i am!"

"i'm so glad i finally moved out of there," dennis chimes in. "if i had been neighbors with y/n and pepe at the same time… i don't think i would've gotten any sleep at all, man."

"i didn't get any sleep for four years when i lived there..." jak groans.

"is this your first time in a series together?" juan jumps in, looking between you and jak, but seems surprised when you both nod. "best friends but you've never raced each other? maybe this season is what forces you apart."

"yeah, what will you do if i crash into you when you're in the lead?" jak teases, pressing an elbow into your side.

"then i think a few compromising pictures of you might make their way to the aston martin headquarters..."

when it's like this, being on the same grid with all of these people is so easy. you're all friends, not opponents. all in the same boat with the same excitement and expectations for the season. unfortunately, you know it won't stay this uncomplicated for long. when you're actually out on track in a few weeks, forcing each other into the walls and swearing at each other over the team radios, there won't be any more happy faces.

but for now, you enjoy smiling with the people who are just as much your friends as they are your enemies. that is, until you spot someone else joining your little group.

paul.

suddenly, the smile feels much more forced; the air is thicker and harder to breathe in. and when he makes his way over to you, a lump forms in your throat.

a lump you understand probably won't disappear all season.

the second you're back in your hotel room, you reach for the little dark blue book you've hidden in your bedside drawer. the pen in your hand is one you've had for years, one you always bring with you to every race weekend. the ink has been refilled possibly hundreds of times, but the plastic body has remained the same ever since you bought it.

the journal itself is torn; it's been used and loved for many years, too. it's like an extra best friend, a second home. when you're writing in it, it's one of the few times you feel like you can actually be your true, authentic self – it's one of the few times when you're not afraid that someone will judge your emotions or thoughts.

today, you know what you want to write about instantly.

i saw paul for the first time since abu dhabi.

i haven't been able to stop thinking about him. no matter how hard, i couldn't get him out of my mind. i've been wondering what he looks like now, how his voice has changed, if his smile is still as bright. and suddenly, he was there and i saw him.

the answer? he's just as he always was. and i can't tell if that makes me feel alright or awful.

you're pulled out of your head by the sound of a knock on your door, and you instantly scramble to hide your journal in the drawer again. the second you pull the door open and ollie's gaze meets yours, it's like all of your previous thoughts disappear. it's just you and him again; no one else even exists.

especially not paul.

"are you ready to go?" ollie asks, hands finding your sides as he leans in to press a quick kiss to your cheek. "i found the address of some good pasta place, it's just a few blocks from here."

you nod, your hands landing on top of his and giving them a quick squeeze before pulling away. "i just need to put on some earrings," you start, backing into the room. "will you help me choose?"

"of course."

"carlos set a stunning lap today. did you see it?"

the question makes you roll your eyes, letting out a sigh as you bring out three plates from the cupboard above the stove. your dad has always been quick to comment on anything good regarding ferrari; to anyone living in the max verstappen era, even a sliver of a good result is enough to spark some hope, so you aren't exactly surprised. "yes, dad. of course i saw it."

"i reckon this will be our year," your dad continues as you walk past him cooking by the stove, carrying the plates to the dinner table. "carlos will make them regret getting lewis instead of him."

you can't help the chuckle that leaves your mouth. your mom gives you a knowing glare over her newspaper – don't start anything. you choose to ignore it. "you really think this is how it's going to look next week during the actual race?" you ask. "you don't think max is sandbagging the slightest?"

"i'm just telling you," your dad starts, giving his stew a good stir. the snarky tone in his voice is unmistakable. "don't come home crying to me when you realize red bull isn't going to cut it anymore. if you regret your choices, go somewhere else."

even like this, when you're back home for a few days to catch up with your family, neither of you can stay away from this bickering. your dad is always pestering you about sticking with the red bull junior team, and you never can back down from a fight. you're way too stubborn.

"are you saying that i wouldn't have a place in ferrari if i wanted to?" you set the plates down with a thud, the sound making your mother flinch in her seat by the table. "you would say no to your only daughter, huh?"

"i'm just saying that you'd need to prove yourself to get into the academy."

despite your harsh tones, most people around you think you're just joking around when you act like this; some family-mockery can never hurt, right? however, there's always a hint of seriousness behind it. it's been like this between the two of you forever, and especially ever since your dad became the head of the ferrari driver academy – the rivalry between you two is stronger than ever.

you've always been sure of your choice; you've always felt like the red bull family is perfect for you. but recently, you've started to wonder if staying with the team actually was the right thing for you. what really is your future in the team? it's not like you haven't got great drivers ahead of you, drivers who will be called in for a possible f1 seat before you.

and it's not like red bull has a stellar record of keeping all of their drivers. they only have four seats in formula one, after all.

your dad wants you in ferrari, that much is clear. you may have joined the red bull junior team because of his past with the team; he did win their first ever championship, after all. accepting was the only option when you got the offer to join. however... your dad really wants you in ferrari. there's just something about the brand, the colors and the history that obviously is intriguing for everyone. even lewis hamilton couldn't stay away, for god's sake.

you can't admit it, though. not here, not right now.

so instead, you choose to fight fire with fire. "bullshit," you mumble under your breath before speaking clearly again. "second in the championship last year wasn't proof enough?"

"stop this," your mom says, folding up her newspaper and placing it on the table. you roll your eyes yet again but look back at her when she speaks again. "new subject: how is our dear ollie doing?"

you visibly relax at the question, your heart softening in your chest. "he's good. he's back in modena now, so..."

if it had been your dad asking about ollie, you know it would've been because he's interested in how the academy is doing. but since your mom is the one asking, you know it's real concern and curiosity. "how did he find the new car? did he enjoy testing?"

"not really," you say, slipping into the seat opposite your mum as your dad places the pot of stew in front of you on the table. "though, you know, the prema cars are never that good in bahrain. but he assumes they'll bounce back."

there's something in your dad's tone when he speaks again that makes you stop in the middle of your reach for the ladle. "yeah, so i've heard..." it's almost sarcastic, maybe a bit... irritated?

you turn towards him, a frown on your face. "what?"

"william," your mom says with a shake of her head. she knows something. "let's not go there." but just as you're about to call them out on how strange they're acting, she speaks again: "what do your upcoming weeks look like? for how long will you be back in england?"

anyone with eyes – or even without, to be fair – can tell that they're hiding something. and while your curiosity is killing you, you're not in the mood for a full-fledged fight at this time. you take the high road, which isn't your most familiar way of handling things like this, and try your best to push away any wishes to question your parents. you answer, engage in polite conversations and chat about your upcoming season. then, you thank them for dinner and leave the house after giving them their respective kisses on their cheeks.

but all evening, your mind is on something else. and when you get back home to your apartment, your fingers itch to send ollie a text asking if he knows anything. but instead, you go to bed with a knot in your stomach. maybe it's a topic for another day.

being back in the car for testing was great, but it was nothing compared to being back on the track for an actual race weekend. the first round of the championship was something you'd looked forward to for what felt like years, and now it was finally time. you've never been more excited, or nervous, for any race weekend.

you weren't off to the best of starts, though. qualifying has always been one of your stronger suits, so coming 13th was not a result you had anticipated. thankfully, it meant you had time to practice overtaking and had a good chance of improving your place. having to start right behind pepe and paul in both races was an interesting coincidence, but you were obviously not going to let any of it affect your racing.

though p8 is not the best place to finish, you are actually quite pleased with having gained several positions in the sprint race and taking your first point of the year. the car was, as you knew it would be, very different from the f3 car, although you were surprisingly confident and managed it well despite the circumstances.

paul, too, handled it all very well – p12 to p5 is a great record. and when he sees the timing board and realizes that you also did well considering the circumstances, he's overjoyed. he's practically bouncing down the paddock when he finally gets out of his car, accepting the fans' cheers and the handshakes from his engineers with a big grin. and when he sees you further down the paddock, his mind is filled with memories of the two of you celebrating your good placements in all other categories.

just because you aren't a couple now doesn't mean you can't honor these results together, right?

but just a second later, he realizes that you're surrounded by the familiar red-clad staff members instead of your own campos staff, and you're standing right by that red prema car he knows so well. and, sure enough, soon the person he'd forgotten about steps up to you.

paul watches as you wrap your arms around ollie's shoulders, and his heart sinks in his chest. your boyfriend hides his face in your shoulder and your hand comes up to stroke the skin on the back of his neck. paul can tell how your lips are moving, and the pout you're showing off tells him enough about what's going on even though he can't actually hear what you're saying. you aren't prioritizing being happy about your own race – it's more important to comfort ollie.

to paul, there's something so unsettling about the sight. he's seen the two of you together many times before – besides, he gets tagged in pretty much every picture a fan takes of you with your boyfriend – but it isn't your proximity that he has issues with.

the thing that upsets him is the fact that there's a frown stretched across your features; one that doesn't leave even when you part from ollie, or when you're cheered on by your mechanics, or when you leave for your post-race interviews. a frown that any other time would be replaced with a big, proud smile because of your accomplishments.

the music blasting into your ears from your airpods cuts out the rest of the world, the usually so busy and loud paddock all gone the second you pressed the play button on your phone. it's been your favorite way of getting in the race mood for years; you're not superstitious in many other ways, but your playlist has stayed the same since your first season in f4. walking around the garage, doing your warmups, or even just sitting around and waiting to get in the car like you are right now, you listen to the exact same songs on repeat. it's one of the few things that makes you truly focus on the race ahead of you.

so when you feel two hands on your shoulders from behind, you jump in your seat. turning your head, you're relieved to see the big smile of pepe shining down at you. "did i scare you?" he asks loudly enough to cut through the music, and you barely have time to nod and take one airpod out before he speaks again. "good, that was my intention."

you slide your airpods into their case as pepe plops into the seat next to you, eyes zoning in on the f3 feature race on the screen in front of you. "i'm so upset," you huff, shaking your head. "did you see the start?"

"i heard," he answers just as dino's red car appears on the screen, and he crosses his arms over his chest. "but he's made up ten places already, right?"

"yeah..." you lean your head onto his shoulder with a sigh. "we should focus on the positives. like chris!"

"and like our upcoming race." you can practically hear his grin when he speaks. "i have a good feeling about it."

when you found out that jak was leaving the red bull junior academy last fall, you were heartbroken. he's been one of your closest friends ever since you first met; the two of you have always been joined by the hip, despite how you've never raced in the same series before, and you spent most of your free time either training together or just hanging out. how would you ever get over him leaving you all alone in the academy?

thankfully, pepe joined in the late summer. at first, you were just acquaintances, but something about his personality was too good not to fall for. it didn't take long for him to become one of your closest friends, too. another boy your age, another boy with crazy energy and amazing potential – he filled the void in your heart quite well.

as well as jak's old apartment.

you'd raced each other in f3 last season, though barely ever crossed paths or talked. but living next to each other, doing all of your sim work together, and now even being on the same team meant that your relationship went from zero to one hundred in just days.

this season is your first with campos, while he's been with the team for several years already, and so far he's been very good at helping you get used to everything off track. they took a big chance choosing two rookies for their lineup, and the two of you promised each other to do your best to make them satisfied with their choice. so far, you've gotten one third and eight place in your first-ever f2 race – and you're just getting started.

"i do, too," you hum. "let's go out there and show them today."

paul is beaming when you see him stroll back to the paddock after his media duties. his cap is perched on top of his head – the right cap, finally – and his fingers are still tightly wrapped around the neck of his champagne bottle. when he notices you leaning against the doorframe leading into the f2 hospitality, his smile grows even bigger.

you meet him halfway, arms wrapping around his shoulders easily, just like they have so many times before. one of his arms drapes around your waist and he holds you close, a hum vibrating from his chest. finally, he thinks to himself; this definitely makes up for all of the things he felt yesterday.

"congrats, paul," you tell him. "that was amazing. you were amazing."

"thank you," he says before pausing. then, he lets out a chuckle. "to be honest, i wasn't sure if you would care."

you frown at him when you pull slightly away from him, just enough to look into his eyes. is that what he really thought? that you wouldn't care about his driving? "oh, please. you still mean a lot to me, okay?" your hand moves down to his upper arm, giving it a soft squeeze. "i still consider you to be one of my closest friends."

friends. the word stings like a knife in his heart. it's been months since you broke up, and yet, it still feels like a raw wound.

paul forces a smile. he understands that despite how painful it is, there's something good in it. there's still a place for him in your heart, even if he's forced to share it with someone else.

he pulls you in again, and the hug is even tighter now than before. it's a comforting feeling; you're both at peace, with a good weekend behind you, in the arms of someone so close to you. after everything you've gone through together, but especially everything he has gone through these last few months with the mercedes academy and prema, you're finally through to the other side. "it all worked out in the end, huh?" you ask after a few moments of silence.

"i guess it did." you part from each other to leave that oh-so-familiar gap between you yet again. "will you be celebrating with us tonight? i think pepe had something planned. you know how he is."

you snort. "yeah, i do know. maybe i will." you shift uncomfortably, crossing your arms over your chest as your eyes dart to the ground. "but, um... i'll have to check with..."

you don't even say his name – you don't have to. ollie's entire weekend has been so far from everyone's expectations, and if you know him correctly, he will not be in the mood for celebrations tonight.

paul nods slowly, pressing his lips into a thin line. "right."

the silence that follows is so awkward you can't help but chew on your bottom lip, a tiny sigh escaping through your mouth. he must be hating this, you think – today is supposed to be only a good day for him, he shouldn't have his ex's new relationship pushed up in his face.

"well, i have a debrief to get to," you make up, flashing him a quick smile. "congrats again, paul."

"thank you." he gives you another nod, before turning away and making his way towards the paddock. "pepe will text you!"

and just like that, he's off, and your mind wanders to the thought of actually going out to celebrate. ollie will definitely not join you, though you're not sure why you don't want to go without him. is it because you'd rather stay and comfort him?

or is it because you're scared of what you'll do, or feel, when you're alone with paul for the first time since you broke up?

"p5 is still good, my dear." your mom's voice booms out from the speakers of your phone as you drop it onto the desk, and you can't help but let out a sigh, taking a step back.

"of course, but... i feel like i could've done more." it was both true and not; with paul's five-second penalty, you definitely could've gained at least one more position if only you had stayed within that gap. but then again, a fifth position and ten more points was a great result for a rookie.

"but you'll still be going out to celebrate with your friends, right?"

you ended up telling pepe you weren't in the mood to party, despite his persistent complaints, and decided to instead use the evening for relaxation and recovery. your entire body, especially your neck, has really suffered this weekend – you were already sore after the shakedown, but this is on another level – so a bubble bath and a good night's sleep in your hotel room seemed like a much better choice.

"no, i'm just going to rest a little..." you hum, flopping down on the chair by the desk. "maybe grab something to eat with ollie."

weirdly enough, you haven't been able to get in contact with him all evening. you were told that he hurried back to his hotel room right after the race, not in the mood to talk to anyone on the team at all, so you chose to give him some time alone to cool down before you'll eventually go over there. still, you thought he would've answered at least one of your many texts by now.

thinking about your boyfriend, you suddenly remember something. "hey, mum?" she lets out an affirmative sound. "you remember when i was home last time, and dad said something about ollie and the car? and he acted all weird?" you pause for a moment, but when she doesn't say anything, you keep going. "what was that all about?"

"well darling, we..." you take the sudden silence as a sign that she might not be sure how honest she wants to be right now, and it makes you frown instinctively. she sighs. "we're just a little worried about him, that's all."

your confusion only grows. "what's that supposed to mean?"

"we're worried he's feeling too pressured to impress us." you hear her take a deep breath. "of course, your father is his boss, so it is natural in that way. but we wish he would just see us as any regular parents. he's always talking about racing like there's nothing else in the world, and..."

"that's not fair." you shake your head despite the fact that she can't see it. "that isn't him. he isn't all racing and no fun."

"oh love, i'm sure he is loads of fun, but-"

"i really have to go," you cut her off, standing from your seat. "talk to you later."

you hang up before she can even answer, the guilt in your head from treating your mother like that already pushed away by the anger growing inside of you.

you always assumed your parents loved ollie. sure, you knew they adored having paul over when you were still a couple, too, but ollie is every mother-in-law's dream son. he's from your country, he's a pure sweetheart, he's even in the fda for god's sake. how could they not love him?

and so what if he tries to impress them? who wouldn't do the same?

when ollie opens his door for you, he looks like he's just woken up from a bad night's sleep. bed head, bags under his eyes, and just a general aura of tiredness. if you didn't know better, you'd think he was an insomniac. but thinking back to how badly his race went, the sight of him just makes your stomach churn.

your arms wrap around his neck in an instant, pulling him into your warm embrace. you feel the tension in his upper back release right away, and ollie's hands find your sides, giving you a light squeeze. you refrain the urge to pull away when he nuzzles his nose into your neck, standing strong against your usual ticklishness, and your heart softens slightly when he lets out a deep sigh into your skin.

"you okay?" you finally manage to get out, and his answer comes in the form of a nod against your shoulder. "is there anything i can do for you?"

he pulls away but stays so close that you feel his breath against your face; so close that you're both slightly cross-eyed when your gazes meet. "stay with me?"

your answer is expressed through the fleeting kiss you press to his lips, your way of saying of course. ollie doesn't waste any time pulling you into his hotel room, and you flop down onto the bed with him. he sits up and watches you lie down against the covers, your head nestling into the pillow. "tell me about your race," he says as he reaches down to take your hand, his fingers slipping in between yours. "eight positions gained, huh?"

of course he doesn't want to talk about his own race. but the fact that he's willing to think about racing at all, just to let you have a chance to talk about how well you did and boast a little; it all makes your heart flutter.

and you're sure, you're so sure that he is so much more than just a racing driver. he's not what your parents think he is. he's an incredible racer, sure, but he's also the sweetest man you've ever met. the perfect boyfriend.

even when he's feeling like this, he takes his time to still pay attention to you and ask questions. and then he listens, he really listens, because he wants to understand every inch of your mind just as well as he geeks out about every detail of apexes and tyre degradation. and then he says just the right things, the things to sweep you off your feet yet again.

he's so perfect that he's incredibly easy to love.

so why is there a knot in your stomach at the thought of the race – and more specifically, the person on the last step of the podium?

why does your mind keep running back to how he's celebrating, and what it would be like if you'd been there with him?

yourusername just posted!

yourusername double pookie podiums & good points in the bag! thanks camposracing for a great car ❤️ we go again in a week!

show all 81 comments

user top job this weekend!!

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎

user i will stop hating on red bull if either of these get into f1

→ user red bull juniors >>> anyone else

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎

user what happened to ollie though 😭

→ user it's just the first round, calm your horses

→ user why always bring up ollie on her posts... is that all she is, ollie's gf? 😐

→ user forreeaaalll

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎

redbulljuniorteam y/n and pepe making us proud 🥺

→ user pls admin you're making me cry

→ yourusername me too 😭

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aoioozora · 1 month

Text

Simon.

Part 7

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6 - Part 8 - Part 9

Character: Simon Riley / Ghost Content: Biker! Ghost x Fem! Reader, strangers to lovers, fluff, civilian au

Note: Reader and Alejandro interactions that make Simon jealous and a wee bit insecure. Tags: @cmbghost @gluttonybiscuits @paintlavillered @eatingtheworldsoffanfiction

____ pulled into the underground parking lot of the apartment complex, sighing. She had just come back from an underwhelming meeting with her editor.

She had proudly submitted the first few chapters of her manuscript, hoping they would be a hit, but was instead bombarded with the many suggestions of changes that should be made; while the plot itself was alright, the main complaint had to do with the male lead.

“Frederick is not captivating or interesting enough. He needs more depth and personality… Definitely something different from Elystran,” the voice of the editor echoed in her thoughts as she killed the engine of her car and stepped out of the car. The thought of it once again made her shoulders slump with disappointment.

Just as she did, out of the elevator across her parking spot came Alejandro. He spotted her and smiled. “Hey,” he greeted, twirling his car keys around his finger.

“Hey, where you off to? I thought you were at work already.”

He shrugged, “Took a day off for a doctor's appointment.”

“What happened?”

“Nasty back pain,” he sighed. Then noticing her dull spirits, he asked if she was okay.

“Yeah, I just came back from a meeting with the editor and apparently, I have a lot of stuff to change in my manuscript.”

“Ah,” he nodded solemnly, “I'm sorry to hear that.”

She shrugged. “It is what it is.”

Alejandro was silent for a moment, unsure whether to ask whatever he had on his mind. He decided to just go for it. “Do you mind if I read the manuscript? I'd like to see what it's all about. Maybe get a sneak peek into your next book too.” He winked at her.

“I was actually thinking of asking you just that.” She beamed, happy that he asked.

Alejandro raised his eyebrows. “Really?”

“Yeah. Actually, most of the problems in my manuscript are with the male lead, so I think your valuable input as a man would really help me out. And your general opinion as a reader too.”

The man couldn't help but feel flattered. “Is that so? Then I'd be happy to help you out. Just send me the manuscript and I'll read it soon.” He threw his car keys in the air and caught it in his rugged, tan hand and smiled.

“Perfect.” Just as she was about to say something else, she got a notification on her phone, which she immediately took out, hoping it was a message from the editor changing his mind about the manuscript.

But it was Simon. Though a little disappointed, she still smiled, and he noticed.

“Boyfriend?” he asked, raising his eyebrows teasingly at her.

“Yeah,” she nodded, grinning. She kept the phone back in her pocket, deciding to answer him later.

Alejandro found it a little odd that she wouldn’t reply to Simon immediately, but he figured, “Maybe it’s just me,” and decided to let it be.

“I’m offended you didn’t tell me you started dating,” he smirked, playfully putting on a tone of feigned offense as he put his hand on his chest. “How’d you two meet?”

She laughed at his dramatics and then briefly related the incident to him.

“So you two started dating only a month and a half after meeting each other? That's… quick.” Alejandro remarked, raising his eyebrow. He knew people could fall in love at first sight, but that wasn’t the case with everyone.

“Yeah,” her voice squeaked and her gaze faltered; she cursed herself for it. “We found a lot in common and… hit it off.”

“Hm…” he exhaled, noticing the vagueness and lack of conviction in her voice and body language, but decided not to comment on it, not wanting to jump into conclusions too soon. “Well, good for you. I’m glad you found someone,” he said with a smile, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. He then looked at his watch. “I should get going. Don’t wanna be late for the appointment.”

“Alright, see you later!” she said with some eagerness, wanting to end the conversation, for she didn't know how else she could cover up.

“See ya, muñequita.”

Simon had recently followed ____’s spam/personal account, and saw that the skeleton plushie made a very frequent appearance. It showed up even on her main account to her tons of followers.

The story on her personal account posted late in the morning showed the skeleton perched against her laptop screen along with the caption, “Serious writer’s block rn. He’s cheering me on!”

The next image, posted three hours later was of Alejandro in front of a laptop that looked like hers, captioned, “@-alevargas is giving me some pointers. He's ruthless 💀”

Simon grunted, feeling a spurt of jealousy. He rolled over on his side on Gaz's sofa, nearly kicking Johnny– who was seated on the floor– on the back of his head.

He didn't hear his friend's yelp as he was too busy feeling bummed that she didn't ask him, especially after the two shared meaningful conversations over her novel before.

“It's not like I can control who she chooses to share her work with,” he told himself resignedly, “Besides, we're just friends. I'm not supposed to be feeling jealous like this.”

Yet he couldn't help it.

Simon decided to scope out his competition by paying a visit to Alejandro's Instagram page. Upon reaching there, he found that the man was an up-and-coming part time model with a fair amount of followers. Even though Simon saw him in real life and found him to be a handsome man, his modeling photographs rendered him dangerously handsome; he had perfectly tanned skin, thick glossy black waves styled gorgeously to suit his masculine features, straight pearly whites for teeth, a near perfect five o'clock shadow, an athletic and muscular body, and a dazzling smile characteristic of motivational speakers. He was Mexican, to top it off, which meant that he most definitely was an outgoing and energetic guy.

Simon felt his confidence fade into insignificance. Here was a man perfect in every respect like an expertly cut diamond, and compared to him, Simon felt like an ugly, misshapen rock. His own features contrasted with Alejandro's in his brooding, glaring eyes, his pale skin, thin lips, crooked teeth, his somber and quiet outward personality, and most of all, his marred face and body.

He immediately exited Instagram and dropped the phone on his chest, sighing. “Yeah, with a bloke like him as competition, there's no way I'm winning,” he thought to himself, now resting his arm over his forehead.

“Oi, Ghosty,” Johnny nudged Simon's leg with his elbow.

The familiar nickname irked him all of a sudden, as it felt like a reminder of his flaws. “What?” he asked, trying not to sound snappy.

“Did ye ask ____ if she wants tae come for our one night camp?”

Simon grunted. “I'll ask later.”

“No. Yer gonna forget. Also, tell her that Lindsey is coming too.”

Lindsey. Simon remembered Johnny telling him about her soon after he confessed their stalking. A short, freckled, ginger girl; Johnny spoke about her a lot and with excitement too, even calling her ‘Jolene’ in reference to the Dolly Parton song. Simon wasn't particularly surprised that Johnny was gallivanting with yet another lady; that's what he had always been doing since high school. His wit, charm, smiles, energy, and particularly his Scottish accent recommended him greatly to the opposite sex. He only hoped that Lindsey wouldn't take him too seriously.

Simon picked his phone back up and sent a quick text to ____ about the camping trip and its general details. No sooner was he about to throw his device aside on the coffee table to pay more attention to Gaz who was playing his electric guitar nearby, her reply came.

Author Girl: of course I'd love to come! Simon Riley: great. I'll let you in on more details later Simon Riley: Johnny has invited your friend too apparently Author Girl: Really? She didn't even tell me. Simon Riley: u better ask her about it then.

There appeared to be a slight delay in her reply even though she was online, and he wondered what she was up to. Finally, a reply came after two minutes.

Author Girl: I'll do that :) Simon Riley: Are you busy? Author Girl: yeah kind of. Alejandro is giving me some suggestions for my story

He felt a twinge of jealousy again. “He's still there? At this point, maybe they make a better pair than she and I,” he thought despairingly.

Simon Riley: yeah, I saw ur Instagram story. How's it coming along? Author Girl: it's coming along great. We're almost done here Simon Riley: he's at your place? Author Girl: yeah, he came over to give me some enchiladas he made and I invited him to come in.

Another twinge of jealousy, and another skill to add to Alejandro's repertoire.

Simon was so close to typing, “I wish you invited me instead,” but immediately deleted it.

Simon Riley: cool. Simon Riley: I'll leave you two then, I got other things to do Author Girl: sure. I'll text u back soon :) Simon Riley: alright. Cheers

She noticed how he went offline so quickly and stared at her phone for a moment. “Is it just me or did he seem a little off?” she wondered to herself, hoping she wasn't reading too much into it. She shrugged it off, thinking it had to do with whatever he was busy with.

“Muñequita?” Alejandro's voice interrupted her reverie.

Her eyes snapped back to the man sitting across her. “Yes?” she smiled, not realising she had been engrossed with Simon.

He looked at the clock on her wall. “I should get going now. It's gotten late,” he said, now placing her laptop on the coffee table and rising.

“Oh right, I've kept you here long enough,” she chuckled as she rose too. “Wait here for a moment.”

Alejandro, confused and curious, stood by the coffee table as he watched her disappear behind her kitchen door. She soon appeared with a can of soda, which she put in his hand.

“That's for you, as thanks for the enchiladas and helping me out,” she said, grinning at him.

He chuckled and playfully gave her forehead a gentle knock with the edge of the cold can. “Thanks, muñequita,” he smirked, opening the tab of the can with a single finger and taking a long sip of the soda. “Well,” he began as soon as the sip was drowned, “I'll be off now. Good night.”

“Good night, Alejandro. Take care,” she said as she walked him to the door.

“You too, nena,” he gave her a little smile. “Call me if you need any more help, alright? I'll be at your beck and call,” he said only half-jokingly, giving her a wink.

She rolled her eyes and smiled. “You don't need to do that, but I'll let you know.”

As soon as he left, she breathed a heavy sigh. The conversation with Alejandro was fruitful, but she was exhausted. She decided to decompress and wind down for the night by taking a nice, long shower and a soak in the bathtub. She then had a simple dinner and just before bedtime, she was found on her bed in her satin pajamas and her phone, cuddled with the cushions and plushies; Little Simon, the most preferred and well loved, was tucked under her arm and pressed against her breast.

Her cute animal video marathon was interrupted by a message from (Bigger) Simon.

Simon Riley: wyd? Are you busy? Author Girl: watching videos. Hbu? Simon Riley: [photo] Simon Riley: watching a film with the lads. It's boring

The photo showed a glowing television screen in a dark room, and a little cameo of Johnny's familiar mohawk at the bottom as he was seated on the floor in front of Simon.

Simon Riley: I'd rather talk to you

She felt her heart skip a beat.

Simon Riley: I hope I'm not disturbing you btw Author Girl: no no you're not Author Girl: tbh I'd rather be talking to you too 😂

It was now Simon's turn to feel his heart skip a beat.

Simon Riley: good, because I'm in for a conversation Author Girl: what do u wanna talk about? Simon Riley: hmm Simon Riley: how did it go with Alejandro?

Unbeknownst her, Simon had to revise that text several times so as to not make himself sound unnecessarily overprotective, prying, and smothering. He hoped that he sounded casual and carefree enough.

Author Girl: went well. He gave me a lot of pointers for my male characters. My editor wasn't so happy with my male lead so I had to consult an actual guy to help me out Simon Riley: you could've asked me Author Girl: yeah well Alejandro was the first guy I came across so I thought I'd ask him. I was going to ask a bunch of different guys too so I'll be asking you next 😁 Simon Riley: good. I'll be glad to help. Simon Riley: btw about the trip Simon Riley: I need to fill u in w the finer details. Can I call you rn? Author Girl: sure

She sat up straight on the bed with bated breath. Though he had a few phone calls with him, she still felt a little bit nervous. She was about to get lost in her thoughts when the blaring of her ringtone made her jump with fright. She scrambled to pick up the call.

��Hey!” she squeaked in a high pitch, and immediately cleared her throat.

“Hi darling,” he said, his voice deep and affectionate; she could hear him smiling. “You alright? You seem a little… I don't know, surprised?”

“No,” she said breathlessly, “No, no, I'm fine.” She chuckled. When she heard the faint sound of traffic on his side, she asked, “Are you out already?”

“Just the balcony,” he answered.” How could you tell?”

“I could hear some traffic.”

“You're sharp,” he complimented.

She smiled. “Thanks. Now, what did you want to discuss?”

“Right, yes,” his voice immediately turned serious. He gave her all the finer details of the trip for a few minutes and at the end of it, he asked, “We're planning on using a car to get there since it's gonna be the five of us and it will save on petrol. Do you think we could use your car?”

“Well if my car is in good enough condition for you, then I don't mind,” she said, a hint teasingly.

He chuckled. “If I check it and find anything wrong, I'll give you a bollocking,” he teased back.

“Oh come on,” she rolled her eyes, smiling, “You gave me enough of a bollocking the other day when my battery died. I'm not going to let you do it again.”

She heard him laugh, and like it always did, her heart melted.

“You deserved it,” he scoffed. “But anyway, batteries and bollockings aside, you're okay with your car being used?”

“Absolutely.”

“And you're comfortable driving long distances? Like I said, it will be a three hour drive, which is quite long by European standards.”

“I'm okay with it. It's been a long time since I've driven that long though.”

“Don't worry, if you're tired, I'll take your place.”

“You? But didn't you say you were a bad driver?” she smirked.

He could hear her smirking and thought he'd try to make her laugh. “If I try really hard, I can avoid hitting a tree.”

She burst out laughing. “You're banned from the driver's seat!”

He smiled, gratified. “Whatever shall I do,” he said sarcastically, smiling and shaking his head.

“If you can prove that you won't hit anything within the first five minutes of the drive, then maybe I'll consider letting you drive for longer,” she challenged, shifting in her seat on the bed and running her finger over the contours of Little Simon on her lap.

“Challenge accepted,” he said with a self-assured snort.

She smiled at his confidence and willingness. “So where are we all meeting again?” she asked.

“At my place. I'll send you directions for it after this.”

“Okay,” she exhaled, now thinking of what his place looked like. What sort of decor and aesthetic he preferred, what sort of colors he liked, and if he kept house plants.

The two continued to converse a little more until their eyes felt heavy and they started yawning.

“Are your friends still watching the movie?” she asked, by this time half sitting up and half laying down on her bed.

“I think it's almost over,” Simon, who was still seated in the balcony, looked over his shoulder at Gaz and Johnny who had their eyes still glued to the television set, despite them having melted into the sofa. “You sound sleepy, darling. You should go.”

“Hmm…” she sighed. “But I don't want to go,” she whined in a soft, sleepy mumble.

“Why not?” he questioned smilingly, not wanting her to hear how her sleepy whine was making him melt.

“I like talking to you,” she replied in a tone that was trying to convince him to stay. She rolled over on her side, holding Little Simon close to her chest.

The man's distant eyes softened as he heard this and he felt a little tickle in his stomach. His voice deepened, quietened, and mellowed as he replied, “Same here, my darling, but we'll talk again soon, alright? You sound like you're gonna fall asleep right now.”

He heard another little whine, and he chuckled, unable to stop finding her cuteness so endearing and sweet. “Go on now,” he encouraged gently.

She finally relented. “Good night, Simon,” she said in a half-whisper.

“Good night, my love.”

There ended the call, and Simon kept his phone on his thigh, feeling his face turn warm against the cool, damp air of the outdoors. He inhaled deeply and then exhaled.

“Fuck me…” he murmured, running a hand through his hair.

This phone call was a huge boost to his earlier insecurity. Their banter, her acting cute, her not wanting to stop talking to him was evidence enough that she preferred him over Alejandro. He could only hope that his hunch was right and that she wasn't doing the same thing with the other man.

When the sound of her puppy-like whine echoed in his mind again, he groaned, wishing he could punch a wall so he could feel manly again.

Any more, and she was going to be the death of him.

The same woman, blissfully unaware of how her unintentional cuteness affected Simon, was now half-asleep on her bed, fingers curled loosely around her phone, and Little Simon nestled under her arm.

“Elystran, from your first book, was bubbly and energetic. So I think that it would make sense for Frederick to be a little more reserved and aloof, but someone with power and authority, unyielding, and kind to nobody but Adelheid. Maybe if you knew someone with similar traits like these, you could use them as a model.” Alejandro's words from their earlier discussion echoed in her thoughts.

Like lazily floating clouds on a clear summer's day, her thoughts drifted, trying to think of who would make the perfect model.

Her thoughts settled on one man:

“Simon.”

End of Part 7.

Part 8

Thank you all for your love on this series! I enjoy writing this and all your wonderful likes, comments, and reblogs fuel my passion some more. It's sm fun to write fluff; too bad I don't see a lot of it on tumblr lol. But anyway, thank you all once again. Remember, if you enjoyed this and want to be notified for updates, leave a comment so that I can add you to my tag list. x

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kumezyzo · 6 months

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p2 of the enemies to lovers pls!!

very fun pt.2 to thissss.... i rambled about their minecraft world cause its kinda cute and builds on their relationship a bit.

i know someone else asked for pt.2 but i could only find this one. so, im sorry it took soooo long to write.

i really hope you enjoy! or dont... :) m.list

having to share a minecraft house with sapnap made you realize what kind of person he actually was. he was just a six year old in a 22 year old body.

"I want my bed over hereeeeee," he whined, picking it up and moving it to the other side of the room.

it just so happened that one of the next requests from your viewers was to have your beds next to eachother. you two debated pretending like you never saw it, but the next day, it was the top comment on both of your perspectives.

or (when you first started your world)

"what colour do you want your boots?" he asked you as he died his own leather boots orange. you furrowed your eyebrows in confusion for a second, looking at your camera strangley.

"what do you mean?" you asked, crafting another pickaxe.

"your leather boots?" he asked, pausing to wait for your answer. "fuck it, youre getting the plain brown."

"okay?"

but you also started to realise how much differently he truly was from when you met him.

"yn, i have a suprise for you," he announced, smiling as he grabbed the item out of his chest. "where are you?"

"chest room," you replied, completely expecting to get thrown dirt or some garbage he didnt want in his inventory.

"close your eyes," he instructed.

"no,"

"okay whatever," he sighed and threw you a notch apple. you silently let your character pick it up before you opened your inventory in disbelief.

"where did you get this?" you asked him, reading the item title over and over.

"in the desert temple," he told you simply, waiting for a 'thank you'.

you were silent for a moment, "youre telling me.... you've had this... for 15 EPISODES???"

and you two started having normal conversations. texting stopped being you two asking for face cam perspectives or gameplay. you actually started forming inside jokes, laughing with eachother instead of at the expense of eachother.

your viewers started to notice as well. you two weren't in a visibly bad mood around eachother anymore. it was refreshing. in the later videos of your series together, you're smiling through half of it, laughing together, and talking kindly to eachother.

people even started making edits of your relationship. it would be of your first interaction, swearing at each other, then fading into your side by side face cams laughing and celebrating over beating the wither.

the friends in your circle started teasing you about how your life was becoming a little fanfiction. every time you would be streaming irl, you would happen to get a text from someone that made you smile at your phone.

"oooh, yn, who are you texting?" your friend teased, seeing you type on your phone excitedly. you look up at the camera and ignore your friend, finishing the text you were sending.

"does it start with s and rhyme with snap map?" your other friend teases.

"shut the fuck up," you roll your eyes, trying to hide your smile.

when dream and george saw the clip, they were hanging out with sapnap. and a similar situation occurred with them

"was this you?" george asked, giggling. the man in question looked up from his phone and watched the clip silently. the smile on your face was contagious. and he hoped it really was him that made you react like that.

"wait, let me see," dream said, pulling georges wrist toward him to see the phone. "looks like she might be dating someone."

"yeah... definitely not me..."

then you both realized you had feelings for each other. it was a harsh realization. but it was one that made you like imagining you two together. for sap, he knew it was coming. he just knew you would never be able to leave his mind. if a childlike crush didn't manifest from it, he would have known something was wrong with him.

sap started getting the feeling that you liked him too. he can't see all those clips and edits and think you didn't like him too. but he was afraid to shoot his shot, just in case you didn't feel that strongly yet.

"hey, what do you think about coming down to florida?" he asked you when you two were on a discord call and fixing up some building in your minecraft world.

"like... to visit you?" you asked, feeling excited by the invitation.

"well- i mean- if you want," he tried to sound nonchalant, but his stammering gave it away.

"if you really want me to... im sure the viewers would really like that, too..."

when he goes to pick you up from the airport, dream comes with him. and the entire drive there, he's considering hugging you or just shaking your hand.

"do i hug her?"

"yeah, if you think you're that close now."

"i dont know if she thinks so."

"I'll hug her first, and then you hug her?"

"what if i just shake her hand?"

the silence that fell over them was sickening. dream turned to sap slowly and laughed.

"dont fucking do that, dude."

and he hugged you after dream did. it was warm, and it gave you both such intense butterflies. it was a hug that you also never really thought would happen. you thought back to the first time you met im person when you refused to even look at him, let alone stand next to him.

dream thought it was adorable, seeing you guys laugh on the way back to their house. he happily sat in the backseat and let you two interact.

he took a picture of your backlit figures in the front seat, neither of your features visible. he thinks about not posting it for half a second before he puts it up on snapchat with "👀👀" as the caption.

everyone slowly lost their minds trying to figure out who they were looking at. most people assumed it was you with sap. he's not hard to miss. but it was even more shocking that you'd be there. so others assumed it was his secret girlfriend.

you two honestly didn't mind that dream posted the picture. it was fun when you two posted a dumb video announcing that you were in florida. it started with small subtle hints.

the first video started with you laying on their couch and patches laying on your chest.

"she's purring!" you coo softly, feeling your heart meltm

then it was of you talking about absolutely nothing while you walked around the parts of the house people had seen before.

"british people are so weird, you know? like, i was talking to one today. and he was just shitting on americans. but he lives here. so i obviously had to fist fight him. i won, obviously. and stole his sock to give to a house elf."

the last video was of sapnap finding you in his office, using his pc to play snake.

"i think george is in my office again," he said from behind the camera. he opened the door and stopped in his tracks when he saw you with a concentrated look on your face. "HEY!" the video cut with you looking up in pure fear.

all of those videos were posted to your account hours apart from each other, and your views felt like it was a slow coordinated attack to make them slowly go insane. with the first video, people were sure if it was patches. the second video made them believe it more so and they started going crazy. then the last video was the icing on the cake. it was filmed on your phone and posted to your accounts.

then, you had to stream together. and that was the definition of chaos.

"yn, move over."

"no?"

"youre sleeping outside then."

"what the fuck-"

'what's one thing you guys like about each other?' a donation read out.

you two sat there for a second, thinking. "hes..." you grimaced, trying to think of something

"she... is funny?" he said painfully.

"wait, i am funny," you said defensively.

"its pure crickets when you speak."

"okay-"

"wait, im you now," you said, laughing as you put on his headphones.

"you look nothing like me," he said, deadpanned.

"oh wait," you took them off again and ran out of the room. sap sat there completely confused before you came back in wearing his beige killua hoodie. then you put the headphones back on.

"you still dont-"

"what the fuck is this music?" you ask in complete horror from the sound coming from his headphones.

"is there something playing?" he asked, clicking his mouse around to find his spotify window.

"oh my god, is this cbat?"

"no, shut the fuck up, sage"

'i thought your name was actually sage?'

you both sat there in silence before laughing loudly.

"no he was just an ass."

"and you were just a bitch."

all you have to know is that a lot of edits and ship content came from that stream. and the future streams you did with the other two. and people loved that you were hanging out with the dream team now.

the longer you spent time together in person, the more you just wanted to be around each other he remembered being afraid to hug you, but now you were sitting next to each other on the couch watching movies alone.

it was a strange dynamic neither of you chose to acknowledge purely out of fear. but then it was hard not want to cuddle during movies or occasionally hold hands if you're walking together. so sap works up the courage to finally do something about it.

you're both once again, sitting in his room, on his bed, watching some random movie you found on hulu. you're resting your head on his shoulder, only really paying attention to how he's so close to you.

you look over when he sighs heavily. he looks down at you and, without thinking, leans down to kiss you. you sigh softly, feeling your heart soar. your reaction is almost immediate, and it gives sap the incentive to keep going.

when you pull away, you're looking at eachother with droopy eyes. your heavy breath hitting eachothers faces.

"i really like you, yn" he whispers quietly between breaths, looking down at your lips briefly.

you smirk, trying to catch your breath as well. "really?" you say before you lean back in, placing your lips on his.

i feel like there wasn't enough building onto them liking each other, but whatever. -nony

#sapnap #anon #sapnap x reader #sapnap x you #asks #dteam #sapnap x y/n #sapnap fluff #sapnap x streamer reader #sapnap x streamer #enemy!sap #bf!sap #dream team #bsf!dream #dteam fluff #dream team x reader

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tiny-cloud-of-flowers · 4 months

Text

Okay. As intended: the Clio rambles. This is probably going to be very long and disjointed, but hopefully that is tolerable.

To try and sum them up:

Clio will now have pointed ears once she becomes a Spirit, and I've figured out a way to justify this in the context of what those mean in this series.

I'm fairly confident that I now know when Clio becomes a Spirit, and the circumstances surrounding her doing so. The only thing I'm still slightly missing is how she would actually know how to do it, but the game doesn't exactly explain that when it happens later on to another character, so..

Her story now follows that of the canon KHUX player quite closely, including the bluff at the final battle. A main deviation is that she would have still been hesitant, but ultimately did accept the invitation to the Dandelions, so she comes back with Ephemer and Skuld to gather survivors instead of being one.

The one thing I still don't know at all is how things end - whether I leave Clio in KHUX, or bring her forwards, and if so how and how far.

Okay, now for the actual rambles. Suggestions/comments/criticism/etc. is very much encouraged, because right now I do feel like I'm talking to the wall a bit.

What first started things off, I think, was me trying to justify porting the pointed ears that Clio has in FFXIV back to her original KHUX iteration, because they look cute on her. Both games have characters with these ears, but they mean different things in each one. In FFXIV they're just a natural trait of any Elezen - or Lalafell, but Clio's specifically are because she's half-Elezen there. Conversely, in Kingdom Hearts, they're quite specifically gained from exposure to darkness (or in most characters' cases from being possessed by Xehanort - it's just that he himself is implied to have gained them from darkness exposure in the first place, since he doesn't have pointed ears or golden eyes yet in Dark Road).

Now, Clio is very much not someone who feels the need to use darkness - she has strong light in her heart, and wields it valiantly. So, it wouldn't make very much sense or be very in-character for her to start falling to darkness and gain them as a result of the effect it has on her heart and body. However, as part of the story of my selfship, Clio becomes Aria's Chirithy Spirit (since she was never given one like she should have been, and Clio becoming hers allows her to survive the story). Chirithies are known to be tied to their individual Keyblade wielders, in that if the wielder dies or falls to darkness then so does the Chirithy - so, since Aria is already technically fallen to darkness by virtue of being a Heartless, it makes sense that Clio would also appear to be affected by that darkness (though I don't think she herself would actually become corrupted by it, necessarily - it just looks like she might be). Therefore, I can use that as a reason why Clio has pointed ears, implying darkness exposure, but is still very much a Keyblade wielder of light!

That was the first thing, which then led into the even more rambly part of more general story logistics - specifically, the idea of Clio taking the place of the player in KHUX, but also things like how when and why Clio becomes Aria's Spirit, and what her doing so would mean for her own Chirithy.

To the first part (Clio taking the role of the player): it would be a nice way of giving her more plot importance, as well as making the game’s story itself more important to my selfship’s story. Clio is absolutely the sort of person to make friends with lots of people regardless of their Unions, after all, and it can be fun thinking about how she might interact with the main cast. It also makes the final battle in particular much more fitting: Clio can pull off the trick of being possessed by a true Darkness much more convincingly given that she actually has a supply of darkness to safely draw from - Aria’s.

However, some details would have to be taken into account; firstly, the fact that the player canonically refuses to become a Dandelion, whereas Clio definitely is, to the point that her being one is how Aria is able to reunite with her and make it back to Daybreak Town, as I’ve previously written. However, what I could do in theory is say that, because the two things I wrote as follow-ups to that first piece were both in the Darkling AU, then Clio escaping the war with the Dandelions is also only the case in that AU, leaving the default version of events to line up better with the player’s story in canon where they refuse to join for the sake of those who were not chosen to become Dandelions (which for Clio would absolutely include people like Aria).

This can then in theory lead on to the other big thing I still need to work out, which is how/when/why Clio becomes Aria’s Chirithy/Spirit. For the when and the why.. if Clio is already friends with Skuld and Ephemer like the player is by the time the Keyblade War breaks out, then maybe she can go with them to try and rescue people from the battlefield once it’s all over.. and come across Aria there, as she had been bearing witness to the war but became injured after trying to step in to defend her Nobody counterpart. In the Darkling AU, Aria simply escapes into the realm of darkness at this stage, allowing her injuries to heal and being determined to find her way back to Clio (though being in that realm for too long is what then turns her more into a Darkling). Here, though.. maybe she can be rescued and brought along to where the Dandelions escape to (like the player is in canon, ironically), but is too injured to wake in a world so filled with light, and so Clio decides to (and is somehow able to) dive into her dream - thus becoming a Spirit, in the same way that Riku does much later on? So, that potentially sorts out the Chirithy logistics (albeit I'm not quite sure what would happen to Clio's own Chirithy if she were to become the same type of entity herself).

The other way in which Clio’s story could differ from the canon player’s is at the aforementioned final battle. In the game, the player pretends to be possessed by a true Darkness in order to get Ephemer and Skuld to seal them and four of the true Darknesses away, which leaves the Union leaders with more lifeboats to escape the destruction of the data Daybreak Town. I’ve already said that Clio would be able to bluff this very effectively due to being connected to Aria (who, as a Heartless, is already an entity consumed by darkness), but.. in the game, when this happens, the player taunts the Darknesses before being attacked by them and falling in battle, letting their heart move on and be reborn. And I perhaps understandably don't want that to happen to Clio, unless I say that that's how Arete happens.

At the moment, I'm also not 100% sure what Aria is doing at this time. What currently feels like the most "keeping things consistent with how I had been thinking of them" idea is that Aria takes herself back off into the realm of darkness again to avoid the destruction of the data Daybreak Town, while Clio can then be tangled up with the finale plot alongside the Union leaders, like the canon player - but then when Clio tricks the true Darknesses, she's able to slip out of where she's sealed them thanks to Aria (somehow), so the two can escape via the realm of darkness and subsequently are able to survive together until.. well, maybe Missing Link? When Clio gets out of the darkness but is kept alive/essentially made immortal by Aria still being in there? But, it seems difficult to think that Clio would be able to escape in a way that true Darkness can't, especially if she's going into the realm of darkness to do so. Maybe we can fight them off together? But that's four of the true Darknesses against only two Keyblade wielders, one of which is already a Heartless (and therefore, entity of darkness).. which seems a bit too tricky

Alternatively, if I did stick to giving Clio the player's canon fate.. I'm wondering whether Aria would be able to salvage her heart somehow, preserving her until such a time as the pair can be together again in the light. There's an argument to be made that, as a Spirit and therefore technically a type of Dream Eater, maybe Clio can only appear in Aria's dreams - but Aria doesn't tend to dream in the first place, because I don't. I am still attached to the idea of her being alive and present, though - maybe even ending up on Destiny Islands, to the point of meeting the main/non-KHUX characters. There's still that one piece of writing I haven't finished yet about that. And I can technically do that with Player?? But it's still not clear how they ended up there, honestly..

I think my uncertainly mostly comes from a combination of the following: I don't want to kill Clio off for the sake of sticking to canon, because I don't want things to end with KHUX, but I don't think she would be able to persist in the realm of darkness like Aria does. Maybe I can pull a Nimda and canonically detour her into FFXIV, but I don't really like the sound of that for Clio specifically. So who knows?? I certainly don't!

I think this last part may have to wait until Missing Link is out, and we know how it ties to KHUX more concretely. The timing of how far apart each game is from the others is still up in the air, after all, and seeing how connected the two truly are might maybe help me figure out if I do indeed want to sacrifice self-indulgence (of keeping Clio alive and incorporating her into other games) for narrative satisfaction.

People who know KHUX: please critique. And anyone in general who has something to comment on about this: please also comment.

#heart of the void #info posts #selfshipping #love: crown of clovers (clio)#selfship: of flowers unchained (clio/aria)#of lux and daybreak (union x)#I told you that this would be rambly #self‑insert: darkness' champion (aria)#of flowers unchained: darkling aria AU #friend: transient silver (ephemer)#friend: fate of the future (skuld)#all those were sort of mentioned #how much have i even written here. it's a lot. it's very messy.#it's twenty to two in the morning #if all you want to know are the conclusions then i've put them above the readmore #if you're interested in seeing my reasoning and how I got to those conclusions then that is what is below the readmore #if you have any questions then *please* ask

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seravphs · 10 months

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Five recs (but the recs are my own writing)

Thank you to lovely @gardenofnoah and @stellamancer for tagging me!

Halfway through this I realized I was treating it like a writing critique instead of an actual fic rec so it’s more a reflection on how I’ve developed as a writer lmao.

hard feelings — I love Rin and the potential for exploring complicated relationships and feelings through him. Out of all my works, this is the most reader centric. I always feel like I can improve on my angst, and that it’s never as emotionally crippling as I want it to be, but I enjoyed writing about a more imperfect reader in this one. I’d love to keep writing for “bad” readers, actually!

ask me no questions and I’ll tell you no lies — I like amnqaitynl because it’s how I became friends with Aleks but also because I think it really captures the pining of a friendship turned something more. While it’s not high stakes because it’s just a college relationship, at the same time, it’s so intense! It’s everything to you, this friendship and the potential of losing it and the potential of earning something more, if you’re willing to take a little (big) risk.

religion, like crime, is also organized — Writing mafia fic is inherently hard because I’m constantly trying to avoid the wattpad label, but I really enjoyed exploring a fraught, tense dynamic where you’re not sure if the other person has your best interests at heart because the push and pull is so fun. Playing with religion as an element has always interested me as well!

a lost love takes a long time to die — The only long fic that made it onto this list is for Nanami, which is the way it should be. When I was writing Teen Dad Gojo all the way back in 2021, I always knew I was going to write a series of (unconnected) long fics for the big three (Nanami, Gojo, and Getou.) It took me until 2023 to finish alltalttd because I was so underdeveloped as a writer that I could never manage to write more than a few lines. I think it pushed me a lot in learning how to write fight scenes, deal with major character death, create a complete world, etc. whereas in Teen Dad! Gojo I completely bullshitted it if I’m being completely honest. I also really loved the supernatural element in this! If I could do it over, I wish I could explore the ghost marriage aspect more, especially culturally.

cruel summer universe — This is a love letter to the ordinary extraordinariness of having love in your life. Even though I write it to be very sweet and happy, in the back of my mind, I’m always thinking about how it ends in tragedy for Gojo and crew, so it reminds me of this quote about how even if the love didn’t save anyone, it was there. So this is the work that’s closest to my heart because it’s about how beautiful my relationships with others are.

It’s also my coming of age requiem! While I look forward to getting older, I’m nostalgic for a life that I know is now slipping out of my hands. I’ll still have the people I love, but the shape of our relationship will inevitably change with age. It feels like growing pains, something I have to resist until I realize how good it can be for me.

Someone commented that it feels like a hug to read, and that’s how it feels to write. Even though it flopped so badly when I first posted it to the point where I thought it didn’t make it into the tags, it ended up being the fic I connect most with others on. Cruel Summer has brought me the most beautiful and heartfelt interactions.

honorable mention: arrive through obliteration — I don’t like the smut in this and I wish I could take it out lmao but I like the atmosphere! Fight scenes are also hard for me, so I’m really glad I pushed through it.

honorable mention: starboy — technically star boy isn’t posted yet, but while I was working on it, I realized I’ve improved a lot since Teen Dad! Gojo. One of the reasons I dislike Teen Dad! Gojo so much is because I feel like a lot of the scenes could be trimmed down where I was struggling to move the timeline along, whereas in starboy, it feels fluid and natural.

no pressure tags: @seoafin (hope you’re enjoying Japan!) @oh-katsuki (also in Japan and presumably doing better things than thinking about fic lol but in case you want to!) @mintmatcha (no pressure means no pressure but I love your writing so I’d love to know what you think are your top five are!) @andypantsx3 (on hiatus...this is not shaping up well for me lol but if you’d like to, I’m interested in what your personal top five are!) @princess-okkotsu (you’ve definitely been tagged in this before but I would love to hear your thoughts on your writing!) And anyone who’s reading! I’m serious, I would love to hear people’s thoughts on their own work! A writer I really like does author’s notes whenever she posts a fic and reading them after I finish a fic is the best feeling.

#bea if you're reading this I'm so glad we mutually agree that #your god came to you bloody and you fell to your knees is INSANE writing #truly terrible what it did to me I'm so glad I found you #Niku between the moon's divide is going on my list right next to shine on the sea which is the very next thing I'm reading #I'm so so so excited for it based off the little bits and pieces I've been reading and the snippets of your writing #grateful every day for talented friends #but also the way half of my friends aren't available for comment lmao #this is what Gojo's non idol friends feel like in star power

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papuhater · 2 years

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Nolan Crane (cause I love the way you write him) having a chat with one of police woman about recent Scarecrow attack

"For someone who looks not so scary he sure know how to put fear in people."

He takes offence to that and says that in his opinion Scarecrow costume is pretty scary

"It's a dude with suit wearing bag on his head." Ok, now he is pissed and ask how in her opinion he would look scary.

Next day she shows him her sketches where Scarecrow has more comic book accurate costume that actually works.

"I wanted to add noose to his neck but I think it would be too much. Also it would be too easy to grab him by it."

They get to meet more often to talk about what in their opinion is scary and starts having conversations.

am i scary (pretty) enough?

pairing: jonathan crane x fem!police!reader

a/n: nya nya nya nya (my friend said that when i asked for a/n ideas)

summary: [ask]

☤) jon hated cops, he despised how nosy they were, after the scarecrow incident, some of them had to go to the asylum to check on his work, with the rumors going around of him being the scarecrow.

☤) when the noisy gcpd was asking him questions, the police who were writing the notes started speaking, which jon expected due to nosiness, and he responded rather nicely in a sarcastic way.

☤) until he heard a comment that piqued his interest, it was about scarecrow. it seemed you didn't find him (the scarecrow) scary enough, and doctor crane had the urge to find out why.

☤) he found out that she was named y/n, and he became the interrogator in the interrogation, he asked why you didn't think his disguise was terrifying, and you responded with:

"doctor crane you are giving him more credit than his costume deserves, for example, remember the joker? yeah, he wears a whole purple suit, has green hair and scary clown makeup, which can be considered a costume, while scarecrow literaly threw a potato sack into his head while wearing a nice suit and called it a day."

☤) first seconds of it slowly sinking in, he was offended, he seethed on the inside at the idea of being compared to the weird murderous clown, and refuted your opinion with his, thinking that the disguise was scary enough until it hit him,

you were right, his costume was really stupid,

"so, if you had to change anything on his disguise, what would it be?"

☤) the conversation flowed from there, the awkward ambient that could have ended in an argument became a pleasant meeting, you rambled about how he could theme the suit more around scarecrows and less about a weird businessman, and how scarecrows are used for crops he could use a scythe as a physical weapon and the fear gas as mental.

☤) jon actually started liking tolerating cop visits you had to do, looking forward to his one (1) social interaction of the week he actually enjoyed, tolerated. the topics of your conversation grew and it turned more into catching up in life.

☤) and in this visit, he is waiting outside of the asylum for you and when y/n arrives he feels his day just got a bit better, but different this time you came with an excited smile, and while you both walked into his office the chatter began and the conversation fell into the scarecrow again. but instead of asking, you pulled out a notebook with a sketch and handed it to him.

☤) the second jon laid his eyes on it, he was amazed,they weren't any sketches, they were scarecrow sketches, each trace of line was giving him the image of a scarier mask with a hood and a whole outfit, not to forget the scythe, he really liked the detail you put into the sketches.

☤) it was a whole character design you did, and he couldn't separate his eyes from it, it was marvelous, the curves and lines fitted perfectly and it looked like something he could pull off. you continued to ramble about how this disguise and how it was scary and thematic.

"i would've placed a noose, but i felt i was going overboard, so i erased it."

☤) he completely changed his outfit after that

#jonathan crane #the scarecrow #batman rogues #gotham rogues #jonathan crane x reader #scarecrow #batman x reader #nolan #the dark knight #the dark knight x reader

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new-lorien-artist · 8 months

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I wish that instead of passively acknowledging Nine being an asshole to Five and the other Garde telling him to just brush him off, there should have been more tension in that and calling out Nine going "dude what's you're deal he's one of us."

The whole thing was done to put Five as the victim of the situation while also being a bit of an off-putting guy for everyone and not easy to interact with. Then both of these facts are inverted by his infamous traitor reveal at the end of FoF, which puts Nine in the right for being an asshole (and makes a second read through feel more justified and satisfying for readers who hate Five) and makes Five's awkwardness entirely purposeful so that he appears less of a threat for a majority of the book. Because Five is the antagonist working for the main villain and is willing to put his own people behind him to get what he wants (later questioned as actual brainwashing though it never gets touched on any further than that because Five sucks ig)

Aside from that it would have felt more sensible for the characters who actually really hate asshole behavior to get on Nine's case during the book, I feel like the tension would have brought up a really good defining point about the Garde's situation and who they pick and choose as their allies. Nine was an asshole, but he was also one of their best fighters, teachers, and knew how to be sensitive when it called for it. He's rude, but he's honest and charismatic about it and knows how to play up a joke. He's annoying, makes crude comments, and is difficult to get along with, but dropping him from the team meant shrinking their chances at fighting Setrákus Ra. The Garde are all united under the same cause, and it's unlikely they'd all get along together if someone was constantly putting them on edge (something they did with Five going forward from FoT, so the writers knew how to pull this one off). So pointing out how Nine is difficult to be around for frustrating reasons puts to light the necessities of allies and community needed to fight a common cause, how not everyone you work with will be your friend, and how everyone has to deal with it when working with someone they would rather not be in the same room with. And instead of an anti-hero/villain-turned-ally character who creates the tension, it's a character who has sworn up and down he will fight for any Loric in his introductory book

It also brings out Nine's characteristic behavior from RoN that made his chemistry and parallels to John so interesting, and expands them to show how he creates tension and discomfort with other characters and how they deal with a person like him. Eight tolerating him because of his passive nature and revealing his discomfort for fights and unease because of his history and regrets with Reynolds and Lola. Marina having dealt with abuse and shying away from Nine when he starts getting riled up, and feeling conflicted because she thought the Garde would make her feel more confident and safe and learn to stand for herself, though maybe it's dealing with Nine that gives her a voice after all the shit she went through. Ella romanticizing Nine (whatever this meant to her character according to what the writers wanted) and ignoring his faults and finding him cool anyway, being on his defense and revealing to the reader's that this kind of romantic mannerism is integral to something deeper in her character, like finding comfort after Crayton's death and seeing Nine in a really protective and fun perspective that she admires, or having a regular crush like any pre-teen would and holding something so remarkably normal for what her life has been ever since she joined the Garde. Six having beef with Nine while respecting the way he holds himself in a fight, and hating it just a little how he's a good team player as opposed to her and her independent survival style that she has to learn while working with the others

It would have spiced up the dynamic between the whole group and maybe led to a different branch of character development for everyone if things went as they did in canon

And I wish there was a good reason for Nine being an asshole to Five in the first place, because what we got first and foremost was that he made the mistake of marking his presence via crop circle (understandably knocks on Five a couple pegs for a decision like that had he actually been running from the Mogs, but not a whole book of being ridiculed), and every instance after that had been a crude fat and lazy comment (consistent because Nine made similar comments to the truckers in RoN, still not great)

#lorien legacies #number nine #is this a hot take i don't even know

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louisdotmp3 · 1 year

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okay the thing about 911 this season is that obviously there is a glaring lack of buck and eddie even speaking to each other, regardless of what u think that dynamic is it's wild to write away from one of the bestie pairs on the show that have been so instrumental to each other's growth. but okay let's put that aside. it's just a lot of bad writing across the board this season! honestly the only characters who have escaped it are hen and karen, who the writers - thank god - have always gotten really well from the very beginning.

madney left s5 in an uncertain place and they, i thought, were trying to set up a more complicated journey back to each other but instead they immediately wrote that off with what can only be described as a bad fancam montage and "i felt sad" ??? that's so lazy lol. and a great example of how they just drop plotlines whenever they get bored! see the lack of throughline with many eddie plots. i'm always asking for kristen to prove me wrong but they're constantly inventing a new problem for eddie to deal with for a single episode instead of pulling on literally any of the things they've brought up previously. eddie breakdown being about afghanistan instead of the shooting. eddie saying "i feel like i'll never be normal again," and then never explaining or returning to that idea. more recently, eddie out of nowhere saying he thinks he might be cursed and not explaining or bringing that up after that episode. these are all interesting ideas i wish they'd explore! i don't think they will.

anyway, we're getting new combos of characters this season isn't that fun?? not really. it's mostly quips instead of actual conversations or even hijinks. the eddie athena cursed pairing feels entirely unmotivated. if you really wanted to explore eddie feeling cursed and pair him with a character he isn't normally paired with - maddie? anyone? it's almost like they have a ton of similarities in their stories and it would be interesting and fulfilling to see them interact. instead it's a bit of character backstory that's been made up specifically to fit with the episode theme & probably won't be brought up again, some quips between less common pairings, and way too much focus on side characters.

i don't care about these one-off characters this much !!! some of the 6a episodes have felt so focused on these one-off characters it feels like the main cast is incidentally there, instead of the other way around where the emergencies could have thematic resonance to the problems the characters are struggling with this season. which is something they've done in the past! the minutes long amnesia montage for Just Some Couple in the middle of the s5 finale was the canary in the coal mine lmao

so yeah on top of all of this buck and eddie barely speaking and being glaringly absent from each other's lives is a characterization issue. they were distant last season but it was, and this is vital, commented upon. there were scenes i could see with my eyes about them being distant and why that was. it's actually not good storytelling to just have people imagine what's happening in the background with two main characters lmao. it's not "subtle storytelling" it's bad writing. it's not even bait at this point flskjdfa

#cringe of me to write this but i do care about the nosedive in quality of the firefighters show lol #it's all the same writers and directors and s5 was rocky but it's still kristen! girl what's going on !#also it's bad writing to introduce little plots in one episode and then not return to it or even mention it for like 5 episodes lol #see buck's plots this season #911 #also. it's not surprising that a network procedural is not great but this particular network procedural used to be. significantly better #and has gotten worse in baffling ways

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roccinan · 4 months

Note

I know it's only been a day but I'm dying of curiosity, have you watched the spinoff yet? What are your thoughts?

Hi anon! As you can see, I posted an initial ramble in an earlier answer LOL I talked about my feelings for the new characters there so I won't bore you and repeat it.

In a nutshell: new banda was "meh." Cameron was hot and I hope she gets more breakout roles, but the character was written like a Tokyo/Nairobi knockoff without any of their depth or magnetism. And I personally didn't like how her backstory was treated (it wasn't taken seriously for the right reasons imo). Keila was surprisingly likable but I keep making a lemon face when I remember her being horny for Bruce's sweat. Same for Bruce. He would have been enjoyable if not for the pubic hair fetish that he keeps bringing up asdfasdf

I was most interested in Roi, and he didn't disappoint, but I was baffled over why the spinoff ignored the most important question: how did he meet Andres and why did Andres take him in?? Genuinely needed a flashback there.

Main questions that the show needs to, but didn't answer:

How did Damian/Keila/Roi/Cameron/Bruce meet Andres?

Why did Damian/Andres choose Cameron and Bruce to help?

Why weren't any of these people in the mint and bank heists? You can argue that Bruce/Keila/Cameron weren't close to Andres, but nothing indicated Damian and Roi would abandon him. Alicia "exposed" their identities, but they don't know she did that so it's HUH

Why did Andres replace them all with Jakov, Martin, and Santiago? I mean, I would too LOL but in universe, there needs to be some explanation

Why is he calling himself Berlin?

We also still have no idea why Andres and Sergio have different surnames since this show addressed nothing about them having the same or different parents. No idea when or why Andres became a thief, how he came to love heisting, etc. Overall, the spinoff chose to flash romances between the new characters instead of giving us more information about Andres, which was a stupid move imo.

That said, there were things I did like about the spinoff:

Aside from that hilarious tracksuit, Pedro pulled the various turtlenecks off more or less. He was gorgeous more often than not, but for what? smh

The ending was tight, exaggerated, and fun

I actually was hyped when Alicia and Raquel showed up

Lots of jokes/moments landed and made me laugh out loud

Camille topping Andres every chance she got was Quality content

The heist itself didn't have me on pins and needles, but it was entertaining and I never got bored of it

I liked that aside from Roi, Andres wasn't close to any of the young people on the team- that makes more sense with his character and also helps me forget the 27yo comment asdfadf

The shoutout to Sergio :') Hermanito lives rent free in Andres' mind

General elements that I wasn't a fan of, aside from the forced romances:

Not a berlicia shipper, but come on- why would you put Alicia and Andres in the same time space and NOT have them interact!?

The car race confused me, and not just because Cameron's phone breakdown made me cringe. I honestly don't understand why the racers needed a girl to stand on the roof. What purpose? How does that help or hinder the race- what- at first, I thought the girls were going to whack each other with sticks or try to break the other person's car and this was a high stakes death battle. But no, they just did this to be cool.

Speaking of the race, I think too many "cool" moments became boring because they were tailormade for the cool new stars; there should have been more moments like Berlin at the "opera"-- Ex. we should have gotten Damian and Andres at that race instead of Cameron and Roi- that would have been so much funnier, and thus more memorable

Andres' speeches were repetitive and made no sense, even for him. BUT it was hilarious how in the show's effort to ignore Martin, everything Andres says and does makes it look like he's waiting for his one true love in the form of Palermo, a man; even that no homo moment with Roi was so on-the-nose it has to be foreshadowing Martin XD

The ending with Camille was too open for my taste, especially pointless because we KNOW they don't end up together

BUT I do want a season 2, just so we can see Martin entering Andres' life and a glimpse of Sergio + any scrap of an actual backstory for Andres. They already did the romcom route, so maybe they'll experiment with yet another genre in s2, who knows lol.

#anonymous #berlin 2023 #I'm sure I have more LOL but these are my main ones #headcanon that damian ran off to some remote island with the tequila lady #and roi was so jealous and annoyed by martin that he LEFT the moment andres introduced martin to everyone

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absentcaryatid · 1 year

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San's New Friends

An ATEEZ fanfic by AbsentCaryatid

San makes some friends, including the reader, who help him de-stress from a busy career.

2.3K words, Content note: all tumblr using ages, gender neutral reader, cats, food, cheating is referenced, no pronouns used for the reader, no reader romance, there are characters named Spider and Ant but no actual bugs in the story

With a blissful grin, San cooed into the phone, “You know I miss my baby. Can I come over to your place tonight? I can make it quick.”

The other teammates eyed each other as they took a rest break mid-practice. ATEEZ did not have a dating ban, so the conversation was not surprising for that reason. Instead, the concern felt by all of them from Hongjoong to Jongho was due to the knowledge that San's partner was currently out of the country. Dancing resumed, but the mood was uneasy. When the others wearily trudged to the company vans to be chauffeured home, San broke off and headed out on his own.

When he got back to the dorm that night, San was smiling like a Cheshire cat. It did not go unnoticed by his teammates who were strewn about the living room engaged in a multitude of activities. For various reasons from a love of drama on Wooyoung's part to Yunho's concern for their good name as a group, nobody had wanted to miss San's return.

The first to speak, Yeosang commented warily, “You look happy.”

“Yes, very much so. I have a new friend.” San continued to beam as he passed through the room toward the kitchen.

Wooyoung trailed him and watched as San got himself a drink of water. Leaning against the cabinet beside the sink, Wooyoung wanted to know, “Is that all? Sounded like more on the phone earlier. Baby, was it?”

Unreadable, San drained the glass before responding. “Just friends, I promise.”

“With benefits,” Wooyoung snickered.

San laughed. “I guess you could call it that. I even feel like I am cheating sometimes.”

Hongjoong had been listening in. Risk taking sounded out of character for San, so he felt the need to caution, “Whatever you have going on, don't let it blow up in all our faces.”

The other members trickled into the kitchen to keep up with the conversation.

“All our careers are linked, and anything you do can tarnish the name of the whole team.” Seonghwa's serious tone matched the others' worried expressions.

“Whoa! I know that, and really am not doing anything dangerous.” Finally aware of the gravity of their assumption, San began to clear his name. “Here is what I have been up to. You will be okay with it, I promise.”

After bouncing around workplaces looking for something that felt meaningful, you had recently landed the perfect job for your skills and interest- manager of a cat cafe. It had been your idea to take on the project in an effort to increase adoptions from the shelter you worked for. With no interest in dealing with the food service part of the cafe, the current offerings were limited to several vending machines, but that did not seem to slow business down any. People generally weren't after the restaurant experience when they visited a cat cafe anyway.

The draw, of course, was the shelter cats hoping to find a permanent home. The playroom side of the cafe let prospective owners interact with cats in a far more comfortable environment than the shelter cages offered. Other people came to relax by playing, petting, or merely watching from the tables. College students living far from their own beloved pet were regulars, and you had recently seen an uptick in their numbers around the stress of finals. Seeing the community benefit from your job gave you a strong sense of pride.

You were pinning another adoption success story photo to the corkboard when a new visitor came in. He looked like a typical college age customer in casual clothes, mask, and brimmed hat pulled low on his face. The man got a can of hot coffee and also made use of the pet food vending machine to get a tube of salmon paste. He was guaranteed to be popular in the cat room with that choice.

First sitting at a table, he seemed mesmerized by the activity behind the glass wall. Some kittens zoomed after each other while the more sedate older residents zoned out with petting and massage from other customers. When you came by to remove trash from the next table over, he asked you about the two Siamese cats.

You tried to hold back talking too much, but it was difficult when he had asked about your favorites. “The bigger one with the gangly legs, we call her Spider, and her brother is Ant since he was the littlest in their litter. I'm hoping they end up in a home together, but at the same time, I am in no hurry to see them go.”

The man who listened happily to your tale of rescuing the orphans from a drainpipe soon became a regular customer very eagerly greeted by the cats due to his frequent purchases of the most expensive treats. Sometimes his visits to play were midday on the weekends, but more often it would be late on a weekday. There were also times when whole months would go by without seeing him.

It was after one of those absences that he came to the door very late begging for five minutes in the cat room just at closing time. With a gesture far more successful than expected, while still outside he took his mask off for the briefest moment to win you over with a show of dimples.

You hoped it was not visible on your face, but you immediately recognized him as Choi San from ATEEZ. All this time, you had had your suspicions when his eyes reminded you of one of your favorite artists, and then the voice too, but to know it was really him left you impressed. San had never acted like a big shot star, waiting in line for the vending machines like anybody else or making friendly conversation with the staff. His humble attitude impressed you.

The long absences coinciding with ATEEZ world tours made sense, and you were enough of a fan to know he had just gotten back to the country today. If letting San decompress with his favorite local cats was a thing you could do for him, you were eager to give this simple gift. “Take all the time you need, I'll be cleaning up and restocking for a while.”

The work went fast as you smiled to yourself. You left San alone, knowing he was there for the cats and some likely much needed relaxation. When it finally came time to move the residents to their cages he offered to assist, and you readily agreed to give him more time with them. It didn't hurt that you enjoyed watching the interactions either.

“Here you go baby, tuck down for the night.” After he put Ant away in his labeled enclosure, San made conversation with you too. “Thank you so much for this time. I have a job that can be stressful and don't get to see my own cat while I live so far from my parents. Tonight really helped.”

You nodded. “You must miss the comfort of Byeol terribly. I wouldn't want the hectic life of an idol for the world.”

San stopped petting Spider who was now snuggled in his arms, purring away. “You recognize me? You didn't freak out.”

Shrugging, and hoping the smile under your own mask reached your eyes, you explained, “I figured you wanted some normalcy. Cats probably make a nice break from effusive fans so I respected that.”

“Thank you. I love being here because the cats like me for who I am as a person rather than my looks or fame.”

When you laughed at him, San took it in good humor. “You win them over with salmon paste! You're gentle with them sure, so they feel safe to be around you, but we both know how well they respond to the customers who spoil them.”

From that night onward, you always got a special head nod in greeting when San showed up. It was clear from the behavior of the staff under your direction that his identity was kept close to your chest. Understanding San would lose the ability to relax at the cat cafe once his visits became public knowledge, you made sure to protect this secret. The two of you were always friendly, but you also made sure to limit your interaction, giving San space to be just like any other cat admirer.

It was right after another concert tour when San returned at closing time with a catnip gift for his favorite nearby cats. When you mentioned Spider and Ant were adopted while he was away, his shoulders slumped. “I hoped to see them again, they really did a lot for me when I missed my Byeol, even if it did feel like cheating on her sometimes to be giving affection to another cat.”

Luckily, you were able to soften the blow with some good news. “Well, if you want, I can take the present home to them, or you are welcome to visit and give it to them yourself. I live nearby.” Suddenly you were hit by how that sounded. “It really is an offer for you and the cats, I'm not looking for anything more from you.”

San laughed, “No worries, being undesired for once makes a nice change. I'm really pleased you gave in and adopted them yourself like you were always threatening to do.”

From then on San would come to play with Ant and Spider from time to time, watching them grow up and calling himself their uncle. He even video called from a tour once because his parents weren't answering to let him chat with Byeol and he really needed some cat time. It soon became clear you were also friends in your own right, the cats alone were not the only draw.

You could tell San felt comfortable after seeing you weren't begging to meet the other members of your favorite group, and could enjoy his company as just a person. He even teased you about it once when he brought snacks for an evening of dramas. Protesting you did like him for far more than being a provider of gourmet smoked salmon, San enjoyed the listing of traits you rattled off as to why his friendship was so valuable to you. None of those reasons had anything to do with his fame or looks, other than the happiness his smile brought you.

Shifting his cat time and friendship visits to the privacy of your home worked well because given enough time, even with the mask, it was a sure thing San was eventually going to be recognized by someone at the cat cafe. Once that happened, with the secret now out and mobs lingering for the chance of spotting a much-admired star, San gave up going to the cafe now that he had an in with you for cat access. Since his association with the shelter run cafe was already publicly discussed online, San approached KQ Entertainment with an idea to help the remaining unadopted cats he had gotten so much benefit from. Since the business was a non-profit, his employers agreed and you greatly looked forward to the project.

The day came and the cafe had a sign out notifying customers it was temporarily closed. Two sedans and plenty of equipment trucks arrived for a video shoot. You held it together far better than your giddy employees as ATEEZ filmed in the cat room. Jongho cheerfully complained but had a soft smile as a cat snoozed across his outstretched legs. Others seemed more at ease, such as Hongjoong who strutted around regally with an orange fur collar licking at his earrings.

In another corner, Yunho and San were splayed out on the floor letting cats walk on them while Yeosang taught a small gray cat to high-five. Seonghwa laughed as the kitten in his arms playfully batted at his bangs. Also true to character, Wooyoung was making recipes mixing together treats from the cat food vending machine to an appreciative audience. And then there was Mingi. The microphone on his shirt picked up quiet words of affirmation to the fat cat named Princess lovingly cradled in his lap, reveling in affectionate forehead scritches and Mingi's soothing voice.

Watching through the glass dividing the animal room from the cafe tables, you were in awe to see how easily San and the others slipped into model mode for the photography session afterward, even with the added difficulty of interacting while holding a cat. The resulting shots designed to showcase each available animal resulted in a complete emptying of the shelter you worked for. The pictures were passed around online, and in no time at all, even the previously hard to place cats had homes with dedicated fans.

The photo of Princess and Mingi in tiny matching tiaras generated the most interest. She was quickly spoken for, however. One of the managers on site that day came back soon after to make her his own to the delight of his family. Thereafter, Princess was occasionally seen around the KQ building on request, but for San she was no substitute for his beloved Byeol, or friends Spider and Ant. Regular visits to those local cats continued, as did his time with you.

San's romantic partners came and went, but your steady presence in his life as a person outside his idol work remained a cherished friendship. When the day came for him to settle down in a permanent relationship, you planned to be there cheering him on. And, should the happy couple wish to add a cat to their household, you would be ready with plenty of suggested feline companions in mind.

Masterlist of stories with no romance

General Masterlist

#ATEEZ #ATEEZ Fanfic #Kpop Fanfic #Kpop Fluff #ATEEZ Fluff #gender neutral reader #diverseinsertknet #Choi San #ATEEZ San #San #cross posted on ao3 #it was a rare day off #no pronouns used for reader #no reader romance

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