#I am not tagging all fifty I am gonna just tag who's out right now. and then when other people come out I'll tag them specifically

[atomicpowered]

Last night my bestie of besties launched another kickstarter! (If you remember me talking about those gorgeous fullmetal tattoo like pins a... god, I guess it's a while ago now. This is the same bestie.) She doesn't have a tumblr so I am taking the liberty, (It's my pleasure really, I benefit too.) of slinging it here in front of you guys!

It's really ambitious, and I'm not gonna go super into it because she already has some nice copy to read on the site itself, but we have over 50, yes, Fifty, Five Zero, designs up for funding. And my specific blorbos wont get done unless we get them funds. This, of course, wont do!

I don't have to worry too much as of posting this it already is funded for the initial tier in only about an hour and a half of being live, but again, fifty designs.

I've helped a lot with the project both from a support angle and brainstorming! And when it comes time for the fulfillment portion of the exchange I will be seated in those trenches. Each design comes with floriography attached, and we both put a ton of thought into each choice! If you have a FMA character you like I am pretty damn sure they're gonna be here.

Please take a look, or at the very least share it around! Oh! Also if you backed the previous kickstarter I mentioned, you get COLOR VARIENTS! AND! If you back this one in the first 48 hours you get BLACK HAYATE! A must if you like the military crew, cute dogs, or are a completionist. For completion sake he's a must for any collection, so stop on down!

[leafostuff]

Blind sexDate[Ft. StayC's Isa & Fromis_9's Chaeyoung]

Tags: none, its a threesome

Word count: 6.5K

Author's: that...took a while, started to write this in 26th of August so i did take a very long time to finally have this out but here it is: my October upload

I really want to thank @prael @capslocked @octoberautumnbox and many others from the discord for helping me with stuff I wasn't sure about, i am really proud of that fic and i hope everyone else will enjoy reading it as much as i had fun writing it.

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She sounds pretty.

It's the lilt of her voice, how it does a cute thing where she almost, but not quite rolls her r's and chews on her consonants. A voice that sounds like it belongs to someone small. Someone, you know - conventionally attractive. 

Four minutes, fifty-five seconds. And that's pretty much all she has going for her.

"Let me tell you about my friend's vacation," she starts again, and you've lost track of if this is the same friend, same vacation - or a new one. They're all blending together.

you always thought the ‘blind’ was a figure of speech. it's fucking pitch black, you wonder if compared to the other guys you were underdressed,, you did see one guy with a blazer and jeans your paycheck couldn't even pay a quarter of it.

But back to the girl, her non stop ramble is now a background noise in your ears, not even sure you can recall who is the ex of who and which boyfriend cheated on her best friend with her sister. Your brain can't keep up.

but regardless, the first round is thankfully over, say your goodbyes to the first girl and stay in your chair.

you consider leaving right now to try and not get disappointed even more, however…

“Hey” The next girl is already here, it will be rude of you to leave just like that.

“Hi I am Jake” you respond

“Nice to meet you, my name is Chaeyoung, but you can just call me Isa” she responds. The first impression you gather is her voice, Airy and sweet like honey

“Huh, it's a pretty name, First time I ever heard a name like that ” you can hear a quiet giggle to your compliment.

“Thank you, I am actually from South Korea, I came here to LA for summer vacation”.

“That's cool, I actually live in LA myself” You lean back in your chair, getting comfortable around the mysterious girl.

“Oh wow” you could hear the excitement in her voice. “Do you have any places you can recommend to me?” she asked.

“Uhh…well, Here in Santa Monica Pier it's always fun for tourists too walk around here, I assume you have already been at the walk of fame in Hollywood and Universal studios” you answer. 

“I have to say though: this whole dating in the darkness is very fun, isn't it?” Fun is certainly one way to describe this, the other way is a gamble but for the sake of keeping the conversation fun you agree with her.

“Its like all of my other senses are much stronger, like some superhero…” Isa giggles, it's addictive that you can't help but join, with the sound of small shifts on her chair you can imagine how she is doing some battle poses.

“Hehe thats truuu-” quickly shut your mouth, that voice crack was the last thing you needed on a date but fortunately for you, Chaeyoung sounds a short laugh.

“Nervous?”

“hehe…Yeah, been a while since i was on a date” you explain, recalling your experiences with your failed relationships, it still stings a bit.

"Let's play a game then." There's some faint sounds of movement—a ruffling of clothes and the creak of a chair. She sounds clearer now, her voice doesn't have to carry as far and she's far more pronounced. 

"Help you relax a bit: What do you think I look like?” she asks, her tone is playful and happy as if she is the host of a game show, This second date goes better than you expected.

“Hmm…let me think…I am gonna guess that you have…black hair…is it long?” Your first answer is hesitant.

“Not telling~” she responds with a playful note. “How about my clothes?”

There is curiosity in her voice, excited to see how you will respond, you could hear her fingers tapping on the table, remembering to not waste time. “Well, you sound like a sweet girl, like the simple things in life, so…” you pause, trying to imagine her in many different styles and clothes that could fit her in the 5 or so minutes that you got to know her. 

Remember who is wasting who’s time so better lock in your answer now and say.

“My guess is… a summer dress?” quite the answer you give out, and the way you say it like you are one answer away from receiving the grand prize of Chaeyoung's game show, but back to her answer…

“You think it's something I will wear?” Isa questions, her tone sounds like she is also imagining herself wearing one.

“Yeah, it looks cute,” you respond. “And its not too crazy to wear on a first date” you add, hearing a small giggle after.

“Ok, i will keep it mind next time we meet”

“Will there be a next time?”

“I don't see why not”

You're happy, a bit surprised it didn't take you that much time to find someone in this speed blind dating thing, expecting more or less what happened the prior date but here you are.

“It's your turn to guess now?” You ask, already feeling comfortable around her.

“Ok ok, so i-”

But sadly as if life has decided to cockblock you, the time is over as an alarm can be heard as a signal to switch, you can only look at the general direction of where Chaeyoung could be and sigh, showing your disappointment.

“We can always meet later if you want” you can feel her wanting to continue her date with you but every good thing must come to an end

“Of course, it was very fun talking with you”

“Same to you as well” you can hear Isa lift herself from the chair. “See ya” she added in a happy tone before leaving you at the lone table. You can't help yourself but smile.

“Maybe it won't be as bad as i thought” 

=================================

Time goes on and other girls come and go, however, you can't help but wonder more about Isa, what makes her laugh? What does she like to do on the weekends? what are her dreams, aspirations and everything in between, the curiosity killed you inside.

more importantly: you wonder what she looks like, outside of the darkness you were both in. If it wasn't clear enough: you are interested in her, they all say love at first sight doesn't exist but here you are, letting your mind fill with the idea of her.

You are set in stone of your choice, and there is no chance you will change yo-.

“uhm Hello? Are you there?”

Zoom out of your thoughts, focus on the husky, feminine voice coming from what seems to be in front of you. How long has she been sitting there? How long have you been daydreaming?? Thank god it's dark so quickly compose yourself before it can get awkward and start talking.

“Oh hi, im jake. Nice to meet you”

“Uhh, nice to meet you too,” she responds, it's not hard to hear the shakiness and in her voice showing her nervousness to you, the small shifting sounds in her chair. “I am Chaeyoung”.

You're caught off guard, the world is smaller than it seems with you meeting two girls Sharing the same name, “isn't that a Korean name?”

“Uh, yeah, how…how did you know?”.

“I actually met another girl named Chaeyoung before in here” you say, it would be funny if they actually knew each other but the chances are slim. It's not like you know every Jake either.

“Oh, that's cool…” she mumbled, sounding as if she was disappointed to hear it

The silence is now getting awkward, you both wait for the other one to start breaking more of the ice and it seems that she was the patient one between both of you since you are the first to give up and get the conversation going.

“So what do you do? For a living I mean” you are met with unintelligible mumbles as an answer, a bit unsure you ask her again to clarify.

“I…model, it's not super serious though” Chaeyoung quietly answered, you could hear light, quick taps beneath the table.

“Oh wow, I bet you are like, really pretty if you do modeling” you dont know how much confidence you got to say such a thing but you are already mentally face-palming yourself. You could feel yourself gaining some creep points in her mind over this comment.

“Oh, uhh Thank…thank you very much” Chaeyoung stutters, her tone jumps an Octave, sounding a small giggle. You can only sigh in relief that you didn't weird Chaeyoung out.

“I'm in LA for a photoshoot, since we finished earlier than expected i got a couple of days free to hang out around the city” she explains, still sounding nervous but much more at ease than before. “So what do you do for work, Jake?” She returns your question to you.

“Ah, I just work as a barista in a small café, nothing much.” you manage to say in a montone, unpleasant tone. You are a bit embarrassed that you have the chance to blind date a model while you are the equivalent of nothing compared to her

“It’s-It’s okay, i'm honestly not some super popular model” her words quickly come out of her mouth. “Besides, I can imagine being a barista is much more relaxing of a job, not trying to get every deal possible just not to lose money.”

“I mean, it doesn't pay much but it is less stressful,” you respond. You can hear two glasses of water placed on the wooden table with one of them handed to you, together with a straw since you could imagine how drinking from the cup would end like.

“So, what does a model like you” you stop, taking a small sip of the water to refresh yourself. -doing in blind speed dating?”

“It's just easier for me, usually when i go on dates I get nervous, and my eyes travel too much, and I kind of panic…” Chaeyoung explains, lightly giggling at her own experience before taking a sip from her water glass as well .“So I thought doing something like this could help me feel uhh you know… less stressed.”

“Hey, you do you, as long as you are comfortable.”

“Yeah, that's true,” Chaeyoung replied. Her voice turns less shaky and more clear than at the start of your date, it was clear that both of you had fun on that date.

So much so that in fact, you both were caught off guard by the timer for your date finishes and the lights suddenly turn up again, revealing the girl in front of you for the first time.

Right off the bat; you understand why Chaeyoung is a model.

A heart-shaped face and a delicate, soft jawline paired with brown, expressive eyes and Black shoulder-length silky hair that is enough to make every man look at her in awe, including you. Even her clothing is model-like with a Chic, stylish black off shoulder shirt and Denim jeans that show her features exceptionally well. By the way, you should say something before you will sound weird

“Oh, nice to meet you” stand up from your chair and raise your hand to a handshake.

“Nice to meet you too, i gotta say that i didn't see that coming at all” Chaeyoung cheerfully responded while shaking your hand, sounding a sincere chuckle while her eyes joined her wide smile.

“Same, i almost had a heart attack” you jokingly say while you get your jacket off your chair. “Say, wanna go outside? Maybe get to know each other more” she only nods, taking her jacket from her chair as you both head out from your table toward the exit of the bar.

=================================

“Oh, here you are” you recognize this airy voice, taken aback as you look at where the voice comes from.

Though you were right about the black hair, you did miss the mark on Isa's outfit. Short crop top and tight jeans, that cute summer dress was nowhere to be found.

Her cat-like eyes lock onto yours, she flashes a sweet yet devilish grin before heading toward the two of you.

“Gotta say Jake: i had a feeling you were good looking, but i didn't expect you to be this good looking” Isa compliments you, giving a small wink then her gaze turns to Chaeyoung with curious eyes.

“Your friend?” She asks you,

“Hi, I'm Chaeyoung, nice to meet you” She says, reaching her hand forward as Isa is suddenly taken by surprise.

“Um, I am Chaeyoung”

“That's my name”

“That's… also my name"

“What's your family name?” Chaeyoung asks, now intrigued by the other girl.

“Its Lee” Isa responds, now it's Chaeyoung’s turn to be surprised.

“that's also…my family name”

During this, you are just looking at what's happening in front of you. As much as you are curious, you are also worried since it seems like both were interested in dating you after this.

However, one quick look at each other, another one to look at you and then looking back at each other, the two girls started laughing, both covering their mouths to muffle the volume. You can only sigh in relief that it turned for the better.

Eventually they both let their laughs out as Chaeyoung speaks. “It's quite a surprise to meet another Korean here in LA”.

“Please, call me Isa, and same, nice to meet you too Chaeyoung” she replies, chuckling lightly as the other girl can't help but start chuckling as well before they reach their hand for a small handshake

“Well that went better than expected” you manage to slip in the conversation reminding them that you are still here.

“You also met him on Speed dating?”

Chaeyoung nods. “We were the last round before the lights turned on, you two met earlier?” 

“Yeah, the other guys were kind of boring but he was a breath of fresh air” Isa explains, turning her gaze to you and winking at you. You could swear your heart skipped a beat.

At this moment one question rose in your mind and as you looked at the two girls with an awkward look, they both realized what you were as they sounded a small ‘oh’ before looking at each other again. As much as you didn't want you, you had to choose one of the girls to be your date.

“You can go out with Jake” Chaeyoung quickly says, smiling sweetly and lightly pushing Isa toward you, both you and the cat-like girl are surprised.

“Chaeyoung? Are you sure?” you question, why was she suddenly

“Yeah yeah, I'm sure, You two met before I met you, so she should have you” she explains, her eyes joining her smile. You did feel bad about leaving Chaeyoung out however an idea was about to be suggested that would fix that problem.

Then again, you aren't sure if this was an actual fix…

“I dont mind you dating us both”

What

“What?” Chaeyoung raises her eyebrow in surprise at Isa, the one who suggested that idea out of the blue, you were not far behind Chaeyoung in your reaction as well, being completely confusement.

“I mean dont see why not, I like you, you like me, she likes you, You like her. I am bad at math but it doesn’t seem too hard to solve this problem” Isa explains looking at you, You and Chaeyoung swap looks, you can feel your cheek heating up and changing to a pink shade.

“I mean uh…as long as Jake doesn't mind, it's okay by me” Chaeyoung stutters, Isa likes this response as she smiles at her new friend, her arm goes around Chaeyoung’s shoulder.

“Im sure it will be great, So what do you say Jake?~” Isa’s voice is sweet when she looks at you with her warm smile, Chaeyoung’s smile is also there but is much more timid.

The choice was now in your field, you didn't expect there to be a third option in the first place and all in honesty: That idea seemed like trouble. But when Isa looks at you with her cheerful smile, standing like that next to Chaeyoung with a smile that makes them look together like the next cover page for a magazine, it's hard to say no to them.

And deep inside: you don't want to.

“Sure, if that's what you two want” you respond, it seems they are both satisfied with your choice as they look at each other with warm smiles. 

you honestly didn't mind this idea as long as they were both happy, besides, what's the worst that could happen?.

=================================

“Dang it!” Isa yelled, almost managing to block your hit of the air puck but it ended up inside the goal because of the unusual angle you shot it. “So…a model, that sounds like a cool job to have, no?” She directed her question to Chaeyoung, giving her the mallet she was holding.

“Huh? Oh yeah, it's fine, I'm not getting many offers compared to the average model” Chaeyoung answers, half focused on aiming the first shot before quickly shooting it at your goal. “but it's good money”

You reflect the puck. “I mean, if it's something you like to D-” Stop what you are saying and block the surprise attack Chaeyoung does, look at her cheeky smile as you know she almost scored“-Do, you can do almost everything you want” you continue what you were saying as you send the puck toward her direction.

“Yeah that's true” Chaeyoung smiled toward you, then quickly smacking the puck directly into your goal, getting herself a point. “So, what do you two work at?”.

“A Gaming cafe, Came to LA as a summer trip with my friends after exams” Isa replied, taking your mallet and shooting the puck from her side.

“Damn, compared to you two my job sounds boring as fuck, You are a model, you work at a gaming cafe, and i am just a barista at a cafe” you jokingly roast yourself, eyes moving from side to side with each side the puck goes to.

“Huh, not my first thought when it comes to your job,” Isa says, a bit surprised. “But…i imagine you look quite handsome in barista clothes” And there she goes again, with that flirty smile and curious eyes that you swear you fall in love deeper than you were.

Now look at Chaeyoung, not as flirty as the other girl but it seems that, unlike the first time you met her, she is much less tense, more at ease around the two of you, genuinely enjoying her time.

After the air hockey game is over and a quick stop to get some of LA’s finest street food (which the two seemed to really enjoy for their first time), the three of you are now sitting on the boardwalk, the sound of the waves going back and forth is singing in your ears, however now they topic of the conversation seems to get more…laid-back.

“So let me get this straight: your best friend is Korean, right?” You ask, Isa responds with a small nod

“And she has a British accent?” Chaeyoung continues your question, getting Isa to laugh again.

“Yes-” she stops talking to take a sip from the water bottle in her. “Fully Korean, with a British accent, one time my friends and I were listening to a song called ‘Run 2 U’ by some random group, and she said the name of the song as” she suddenly released a small chuckle unable to keep her cool.

“As what? Just tell us” Chaeyoung comments, half smiling as if she already knows the answer, Isa meanwhile slowly downed the water so she wouldn't choke before finally saying after a deep breath.

“Raeun tew yew…” The mock accent that Isa adds gives the punch line more of an oomph as you all start laughing, small tears of joy leave your eyes as you slam the wooden deck, meanwhile, Chaeyoung covers her mouth to hide the amount of blush she has on her cheeks from how hard she is laughing.

“Oh that was good, I didn't expect to laugh this hard” You exclaim, taking a deep breath as you now go back to staring at the waves. “Honestly…this date has been really fun, with both of you,”.

“Like-wise, we both enjoyed your company as well” Chaeyoung replies, sweetly giggling while her left fingers go to her hair, pushing it aside with the side effect of getting your cheeks slightly pink, luckily the weak lighting make it hard to see for the two girls.

“Same for me” Isa chimed in with a smile. “Say, want to continue it somewhere else? It's getting late” she prompts as a soft yawn escapes her mouth.

“Huh? Okay, if you want my place is close” you say, standing up from the deck as you lend your hand to help her stand up.

“That's great” She says as her gaze turns to the other girl. “You're coming as well Chae?”.

Chaeyoung suddenly tensed up in surprise. “Chae?” she asks, to which Isa just giggles at her rather cute reaction.

“Yeah, it's a cute nickname, you don't mind it, right?” Her tone is sweet when she asks her friend with a warm smile, that way when Chaeyoung smiles, she mirrors the same warmth with her own smile.

“Of course i don't” she responds, standing up and lightly stretching to gain some sense of her body, “So? Lets go”

“Great” Isa comments before turning her gaze to you. “Jake, mind leading the way?”

=================================

The ride home is quieter than usual.

Not that there were not any talks inside the cab you decided to take to your place, but most of the talking was done by the two girls, sitting on each side of you, only speaking in a language you can only assume is korean.

It’s a simple loop: Isa says something, they look at you (which you could only smile awkwardly at their happy gazes), Chaeyoung answers with something else and they start giggling, sneaking another look at you and then it goes back again.

Eventually the taxi stops, leaving you right in front of your apartment complex. “Hmm, it really is close to the pier” Isa commented, easy for her to say when the entire bus ride has been ten minutes but for you it felt like an eternity.

As you scale the stairs up to your floor and walk to your apartment, you manage to fish the keys to your apartment out of your jeans pockets and open the door.

“Well here we are,” you say, getting inside and turning the lights on, revealing the living room, a couple boxes of instant-noodles on the table, the tv is on with a random news channel. “As you can see, it's not that big but its co-”

As you turn around to look at the two girls, your mouth opens wide in shock.

In front of you is Isa, head tilted slightly to the side as her lips close the distance with Chaeyoung’s. Her hands are not left idle as they both smoothly travel across the older’s back, feeling every inch of her partner’s body.

Meanwhile Chaeyoung's eyes are wide open and her body froze, surprised by the sudden act of Isa. It's not long until she as well eases up into the kiss, gently closing her eyes and putting her hands on the younger’s hips, you can hear how tongues slowly starts getting into the mix as the two girls vocalise small hums and whimpers. Eventually the torture comes to an end as their lips part from eachother but not their hands

“That… was your plan in the…end?” Chaeyoung asks in between pants, trying to collect air to aid surprise

“Of course, and besides…” Isa answers, turning her head enough to get her eyes on you, more specifically a bit down from your eyes. “It seems like he enjoys the show”.

Look down at the visible tent that is forming inside your pants and your hand that is slowly stroking itself to the beautiful yet unholy sight in front of you, another look into their eyes and you can see the arousement both girls share at your own prize.

“Come behind her jake, she feels divine” Isa elongates the last word-just the right way to get you Following her prompt, walking toward the two girls and getting behind Chaeyoung, your hands wrap around her midriff and your lips find themselves on the back of her neck causing her to quietly gasp.

With each second that your threeway makeout session was passing you could feel your pants getting tighter and your lust growing larger, enough that in a very bold move you let your palm find Isa’s right buttcock, giving it a gentle squeeze that makes her release a soft moan and take a look at you with a slutty smirk.

“You sneaky motherfucker” she playfully said, getting one of her hands off Chaeyoung's hips and wrapping it around your length. “You're hard already” she exclaims, leaving the two of you standing in front of her, wanting more from her, and from each other.

“I cant wait any longer~” Isa breathily says, giving you two a playful wink before disappearing into your bedroom. As lust quickly takes over your body you grab Chaeyoung by the hips and pull her into a kiss, and by how Chaeyoung quickly reciprocates the kiss and doesn't pull away, you can tell she wants it too.

You don't have time to process the texture of Chaeyoung lips, or how her long, soft legs are wrapped around your waist. Your only goal is to get the two of you into the bedroom, where Isa sits on your king sized bed with hungry eyes, licking her lips in anticipation. 

You let Chaeyoung get on your bed as you quickly join the two girls while tossing your shirt off to the side of the bed letting the two girls marvel at your naked chest.

“Fuck” Chaeyoung mouthed.

“Told you he was hot” Isa adds, scooting herself in front of you to get a hold of your chest before leaning in for a quick peck on your lips. “You don't mind undressing yourself, do you? me and Chae here have a show we need to give you” No answer was needed besides a nod as you went to the edge of your bed, letting the two girls begin.

It starts with kissing, slow yet sensual with Isa taking the lead by Straddling Chaeyoung's lap while one of her hands begins to glide across Chaeyoung's curves, ending at her left breast. “Fuck unnie, the things i will do to have a body like yours”.

Chaeyoung elicits a muffled moan to the soft grope Isa gives her, eyes completely shut and her and head looking up to let the pleasure take over. Soon Isa begins moving her hands all around her body, giving every inch of skin attention until eventually she stops one hand on the hem of Chaeyoung's shirt, the other supporting her from behind.

“You don't mind letting me take it off, right?” A quick nod of approval from the older one and Isa begins to slowly pull it up, moving to the right to let you see how slowly but surely more skin is revealed until finally the shirt is completely above her head giving you a clear view of Chaeyoung's black, lacy bra.

During all of this you are hard as a rock, can't take your eyes off from the two girls in front of you, even while you attempt to zip your jeans and rid them off your legs leaving you only in your briefs. You could swear you saw Isa lick her lips at the first sights of your briefs.

“Can I take yours too?” Chaeyoung's question is needy, eyes showing every sign of want to her Partner, hands are not left idle either with both of them resting on the upper part of Isa’s midriff, slightly below her two mounds.

“Of course, Unnie” she responds, leaning her body back and relaxing herself to let the older begin a strip tease of her own, every second that passes raises the sexual tension between them to a new level.

Unlike Chaeyoung, Isa’s crop top is not as loose compared to her black shirt, revealing the younger's breasts, covered with a crimson colored undergarments of her own with nipples taut from the arousal.

“Much better” Isa sighs in relief, feeling lighter without her crop top that is now thrown somewhere to the floor as once again she looks at you with a soft gaze however her mouth is anything but, painted with a sultry smile that can only speak trouble, finally with a breathy voice she playfully asks

“You're coming, Jake?”

The way Isa says your name, it's enough to let your primal instincts take over you, every red light is now turned green as you quickly pull Isa from behind into your lap, feeling her naked skin in your palms, right hand rests on her breast while the left hand goes to her thigh, rubbing and squeezing it to your heart's content.

“Oh god, yessss” Isa hisses the last word, it was clear that she enjoys every second of this, enough so that she doesnt pull away but instead leans in, meeting you in a torrid, messy makeout session, you two don't notice how Chaeyoung has already got rid of her whole bottom, only with her bra on with fingers already inside her pussy, definitely enjoying the view.

“Don't just stand there Chae, join us” This might be the most confident thing you have said this entire evening but it sure works on her since Chaeyoung now sits in front of Isa, palms massaging her clothed thighs, giving you a free hand to grope Isa’s other breast.

Those are not the same girls you met a couple of hours ago during that blind date, any semblance of innocence and fluff was left outside the door, now replaced with Lust and it's oh so clear with how Chaeyoung's eyes get aroused with each button she pops out of Isa jeans until eventually she finds her undergarment, same color as her bra with a wet spot in the middle.

Knowing what Chaeyoung was doing, Isa takes her hands into her denim jeans, lowering both the jeans and her own panties before throwing them away, leaving her creamy, thick thighs for both of you to revel in.

With the excitement in your body. You don't notice how Isa left your grasp, crawling away with a sway of her hips from side to side, now near her Chaeyoung they both look at you with an inviting smile, now giving you a chance to see both of them in their full glory.

With a devilish smirk Isa now moves behind the older girl, her eyes looking directly at you in an attempt to lure you in. Then a click can be heard as Chaeyoung’s bra now falls onto the mattress, Isa quickly joins her as now in front of you, two naked, gorgeous ladies sit in front of you.

And finally, knowing what the last piece is missing from the puzzle, you finally grab the hem of your boxers, pulling it down to let your Hardened cock stand strong and proud.

“Told you he was big” Isa exclaims, giving a small nudge to Chaeyoung with a small giggle, her friend quickly joins her.

“Yeah…so big” she mumbles quietly, her finger inside her mouth, lightly chewing on it to hold in the excitement of seeing your size. 

However, you didn't come this far with them just to watch each other naked, and they are not either as without saying a word, the two of them playfully shove you down into the mattress and get into their positions.

It starts off with Isa finding her place on your legs once again, looking directly at you with her thighs wrapped around your cock, only the tip is exposed to the air as after a flirty wink, she starts rubbing her thigh on you.

“Oh shit, Isa…” 

You groan, the rest of your voice comes out as a moan that gets her excited, you could have witnessed the obscene act of her thigh job until the end of time, however it is quickly obstructed by Chaeyoung's ass planted on your chest, her rear side all for you to view how it moves, you are not surprised why she is a model with a body as divine as hers.

“Jake…i can feel you twitching ” Isa whines, feeling your tip slightly touch her entrance is enough to let some precum leak out of your tip with you releasing another moan.

“Hey, let me have some too” Chaeyoung interrupts, taking her thumb and brushing it over your tip and grabbing some of it as you could hear how she gives it a small lick before humming cheerfully at your taste.

“Ooo, he taste good~” how the fuck did you even think this girl was innocent again?

“Can I have some unnie?”

“Sure” as if Chaeyoung’s timing was perfect, your first shot of cums leaks out of your member as she quickly gets some on her fingers. 

“Say ahhh” Chaeyoung prompts as Isa happily obliges, letting her fingers get inside her mouth, tasting . Its down right torture how you are not allowed to see what might as well be a scene from an adult film but regardless you can only enjoy the sounds, its not like you didnt do it before.

As your libido starts growing, so does your confidence as your palms firmly hold each buttcock of Chaeyoung, feeling its texture by softly squishing it, kneading it like dough causing Chaeyoung to utter a moan while arching her body back to give you all of the signals that she is enjoying it.

“Okay, this is enough teasing, we want the real thing now” Isa exclaims, Freeing your cock from the confines of her thighs giving it a breath of fresh air as now she squats over your face, giving you a clear view of her shaven pussy. Chaeyoung meanwhile heads over to sit next to your cock, still standing, waiting for the next storm to hit.

“I assume I am still not gonna get a look aren't i?” You ask, trying to sound cocky however Isa didn't say anything as she was slowly lowering her body, obstructing your view once again. With her thighs around your body and her pussy so close to your face, you let your tongue out giving her lips the first lick, just to test the waters.

“Oh fuck, yess” You hear Isa muffled moans from pleasure, feeling her ass gyrating on your tounge, enjoying every moment as you could feel the friction of her thighs on your face.

“You should join us Chaeyoung-AH, i can see him waiting just for you~” you could feel yourself getting even harder than before by the way Isa playfully invites her friend, all the while she is overtaken by pleasure. you are excited to see how Chaeyoung goes off with you, however your thoughts are stopped with a loud groan, not expecting your cock to feel the tightness of her pussy wrapped around you.

After the first contact Chaeyoung starts slowly moving up and down, each dip takes your cock deeper inside her, you could feel how each time you were inside her fluids were coating you more and more. “Oh my god Isaaaaa-” she stops her sentence, quickly releasing a sultry, husky moan. “His f-feels so good…”.

“His tongue too unnie, he is eating me out so well” Isa adds. It's nice to hear the compliment, so much that you get the confidence to start moving at your own pace, pushing your tongue inside. Meanwhile your hands grope Isa’s ass, giving you the grip to start pushing your hips in a matching pace to chaeyoung’s downward movement, Causing the two girls to scream from pleasure, holding each other in order to not collapse on the spot.

You could only Imagine how the girl’s lewd expressions were, just from the ungodly sounds, the scent of lust and cum, and the feeling of their curves on your body you could guess the fun they were having, but it would not be over until you all finally relieved yourself.

“Are you close Jake?” Isa manages to form a question while looking down, you could only respond with a muffled ‘yes’ and a nod of approval.

“I'm close too guys, i have to cum” Chaeyoung replies, releasing another moan in between bohnces it seems like you were all in on the same train of thought as you could feel yourself getting closer to your climax, even without Isa’s Ass directly on your face your view was getting hazy from ecstacy.

“Shit girls, i am going to-” you couldn't even finish the sentence before finally releasing your cum, thank god you pulled out of Chaeyoung just in time.

Your thick load goes all over their bodies, on Chaeyoung thighs, on Isa’s midriff, some even spills on your own abs, you are also not alone as they both get their own orgasm which goes all around your body, Chaeyoung coating your cock and Isa spilling around your face and abs

It takes a while but eventually you are all drained, both girls fall into each of your side, finally giving you a chance to see the two girls laid on the mattress, their bodies painted with cum from the three of you, their faces happy and satisfied.

For a couple of minutes it's quiet, the only way you communicate is with your eyes, looking at each other not with lust but instead with a warm, peaceful gaze.

Eventually Chaeyoung finally breaks the silence. “Fuck, im not a virgin but i gotta say; that is the best sex i had in my life”

“Same for me, i don't know if i want a round 2 or to stop” Isa joins between heavy pants, her hands wrap around your body as she looks at you with the same warm smile she had back when you first saw her.

“I don't know about you two, but i need a good rest after this” you manage to say as you once again lay down on the bed, eyes looking at the ceiling with each hand goes behind the girls’s back, pulling them closee to you.

“Okay then, we will start cleaning and then join you” Isa replies, letting you close your eyes and get some rest. However not before you can hear faint sounds of slurping as you open eye and see Chaeyoung's lips wrapped around the tip of your cock, isa behind holding her hair and tying it to makeshift ponytail.

“Hmm, it seems you two wanted another” you say, smiling at the two girls.

“Hey, you're still hard and we are still horny, you complain?” Isa asks, her eyes locking into yours paired with a flirty grin and a cute wink.

Something tells you that you wont get a good rest from those two girls.

[justporo]

Even more fluffy relationship headcanons for Astarion and Tav

Listen guys, I'm not done yet. For now, as soon as I get one idea out, three more pop up in my mind and since you guys seem to really like these (it's seriously and positively insane to me), I'll happily provide you more as long as I am able to. So, let's-a go: more headcanons and little ideas about them being together!

(I formerly used an reuploaded and stolen version of this gif here - I didn't check where it came from and that wasn't right - I'm sorry!)

You love when Astarion smiles at you - just openly and full of joy; the sort of smile you've rarely seen from him during your adventures but they keep getting more and more, also they make him look just so young and carefree and beautiful and your heart just... melts

When Astarion quickly notices how you basically faint whenever he does this, he starts employing it to work his charms on you when he needs it - not the real big and joyous smiles though because they are so real and cherished to him he wouldn't dare use it to tease or manipulate you - they're only reserved to make you happy

Charming you is like breathing to Astarion though, you are just so helpless against his flattery and flirting because why would you resist if you could just give him everything that makes him happy?

When you mention once though that you'd hope to gain some immunity to it some time, Astarion is insulted: "No, love, making you blush is my favourite thing in the world. You are so beautiful with your cheeks all flushed. As long as I have a say in it, we will never stop!"

Tav likes teasing him just as much as Astarion enjoys it the other the way around: "You know if you would stop drawing your brows together all the time, it'd take fifty years off your face immediately." Moments of silence in which Astarion is just utterly shocked by your burn, then: "Who taught you to be this brutal, darling?" You raise an eyebrow at him, he helplessly lifts his arms: "Yeah right, I have only myself to blame."

Also, Astarion and Tav are definitely the kind of power couple that throw each other meaningful sassy looks when they're with other people and those are talking shit or something

Also, afterwards they will most definitely discuss and gossip over everything they experienced

Astarion is definitely the kind of man that would shower Tav with gifts, from coming home with a single beautiful flower that "reminded me of you, my beautiful blossom" ("How cheesy..." "Ah, so rather a gouda next time?") or a nice bottle of wine to share to bigger gestures like jewelry or expensive dresses ("When am I ever gonna wear this, Astarion?" "I don't know, we'll just make an opportunity!")

Tav loves all of his gifts but probably the small ones or the hand-crafted ones the most, she's happy with the little things but Astarion insists she deserves the big ones just as much

One time though, Astarion comes home with something else entirely; it's pouring outside and he's completely drenched and hiding something in his doublet jacket; "What do you have there, Astarion, a wheel of cheese?" Astarion carefully opens up his jacket to reveal a small white kitten that is just as drenched as him and is desperately trying to cling to the vampire's chest. "I found her all alone in a dark alleyway, cold and completely soaked, I thought maybe we could take care of her and she could be friends with Scratch?", he says while he carefully lifts up the small ball of fluff with an incredible softness in his eyes. Your heart is thoroughly melting as you walk over to them and you give Astarion the most loving of kisses

Well, the last one would almost be a drabble on it's own, I saw a similar post that made me think of this (I will find and tag them later!) Hope you enjoyed and I'm late for work now, whoops...

This is the post I mentioned before, by @mushy6902 (I hope it's okay I wrote a somewhat similar idea, thanks for inspiring me!)

[thisapplepielife]

Written for the @corrodedcoffinfest June warm-up round.

Eddie Munson's Corroded Coffin Celebrity Full Metal Upside Down Memorial Awareness Pro-Am Fun Run 5K Race For Hunger

Prompt: Band on the Run | Word Count: 1000 | Rating: T | CW: Language | POV: Eddie | Pairing: Steddie | Tags: Future Fic, Middle Aged Famous Corroded Coffin, Established Relationship Steddie, Steve's Made Eddie Watch Too Much of The Office, Eddie Munson's a Runner, But Not Like This

"How did we get roped into this again? Who do I need to kill?" Goodie asks, lifting his leg into the air by the leg of his shorts, until Jeff catches his heel, resting it on his thigh as he ties Goodie's running shoe for him. 

"It's for charity," Jeff answers, cinching the laces, tying them.

Eddie's lacing up his own shoes, and he definitely shouldn't have bought new ones for this. Rookie mistake. He'd be better off with his vintage Reebok's that he wore into the ground.

He stands up and looks at himself in the mirror. He looks ridiculous. He doesn't know the last time his legs have seen sunshine, and they look like little chicken legs, under his baggy, black shorts.

This was a mistake.

Gareth is stretching, a foot up on the arm of the hotel couch, and Steve is all but laying over his back, pressing against him. 

"Um, do we need to let you two get a room?" Eddie asks.

Steve chuckles, and Eddie loves the sound. 

"You just want me to do this to you instead," Steve snarks.

"Well, yeah. Fucking, duh. Always, forever," Eddie answers.

"No, we don't have time for that," Jeff answers, looking at his watch, "it's twenty-three minutes until we have to be at the starting line."

"This is my worst nightmare," Goodie bemoans, "It's high school PE all over again."

And Eddie grins at him, because he feels exactly the same way. Goodie's hit it right on the goddamn nose. 

"Agreed," Eddie says, "and look, Steve Harrington is even here, bullying us freaks."

"I didn't bully you. You were the bully," Steve banters back, because they've had this disagreement a thousand times. 

"Agree to disagree," Eddie says, playing his part. Then he looks at Steve's back, still plastered to Gareth in a way that Eddie would definitely be jealous about if he were doing it to anybody else. "How much money is this raising, again?" Eddie asks, because that's the only thing that's gonna get him out of this room and onto the street. 

Steve straightens back up, "With what you've matched? Nearly fifty thousand dollars."

"That'll feed a lot of kids," Eddie says.

"It will. Your fans have really come through."

"They just want to see us in shorts," Eddie mutters.

"Well, that's at least ten thousand of it, yes," Steve says, and Eddie's pretty sure he's serious.

"Ugh, I'm gonna die," Eddie whines.

"You won't. It's a 5K, not a marathon. Over and done in under an hour, I promise, even if you walk the whole thing."

"I'm definitely walking the whole thing," Eddie insists. 

"And that's fine," Steve tells him, again. "But I'm not."

"And that's fine," Eddie mocks. 

"At least the route's along the ocean, so your casual stroll will have a view," Steve says, goading him.

He's still not running. He's walking.

Eddie doesn't walk. He's too competitive, and he should have realized that long ago. Goddamn Steve for getting him into this. 

So, when Steve, Jeff, Gareth and Goodie take off, Eddie matches them. So much for not conforming. He's embarrassed for himself right now.

Steve pulls away quickly, getting further and further ahead, and then Jeff and Gareth settle in beside each other, which leaves him and Goodie.

He thinks as soon as Steve totally disappears, Goodie will walk, and then he can walk, too.

Goodie doesn't walk. He's not fast, but he's in shape. They all are. Playing live shows like they do, even now in their forties, is more cardio than they even realize. So, they jog along together, and aren't even last.

"Are you dying?" Eddie asks, glancing over at Goodie.

"No," Goodie answers. 

"Me either," Eddie admits. 

Eddie was pretty sure he was gonna be last, and he's a little disappointed he isn't.

Steve is at the finish line, and doesn't even look like he's broken a sweat. Not a hair out of place, that asshole.

Eddie's drenched, and he feels like he just played a three-hour set in the sun. He and Goodie didn't finish fast, but they finished strong. And Eddie only stopped running to take a few pictures with fans along the route, as happy to get the breather as the fans were to get the picture, he thinks.

The volunteer hands the finisher's medal to Steve, letting him do the honors, and Eddie sees how hard Steve is smiling as he holds it up to put on Eddie. So, Eddie smiles back and leans his head forward to accept it, as cameras click all around. It's embarrassing, but he turns on the stage charm, bows and shows it off. Kisses Steve, lets them take pictures that all the tabloids will run with their own spin. Some good, some bad. 

Then, he poses with the rest of the band with the comically large check made out to the children's charity of their choice. 

It was worth it, he guesses.

"Rub my calves," Eddie demands, putting his legs in Steve's lap back in the hotel room, freshly showered, and already feeling more human again. 

Steve laughs, but he digs his fingers into the meat of Eddie's muscles, and they are a little sore. Goddamn new shoes.

"I'm proud of you, you know," Steve says.

"Yeah, yeah," Eddie answers, brushing him off.

"No, I am. I always am, but extra today. I know this isn't your thing, but you did a lot of good today. You all did."

"Yeah, well…"

"And got some great press," Steve adds, and now he's talking.

"Did I look good?" Eddie asks, preening, flipping his hair.

Steve grins, "So good."

And then Steve moves, lowering Eddie's legs back to the couch, settling on top of Eddie, covering Eddie's body with his own.

He presses his lips to Eddie's, then pulls back and looks in his eyes, "This mean you're gonna start going on my morning runs with me?"

And Eddie feels no remorse, as he laughs right in his husband's face.

If you want to write your own, or see more entries for this challenge, pop on over to @corrodedcoffinfest and follow along with the fun! ���

Notes: Obviously the title comes from the Michael Scott's Dunder Mifflin... race name from the Fun Run episode of The Office.

[saturnine-saturneight]

OC questionnaire

Thank you for the tag x2 @paeliae-occasionally (here and here)!!

The questions:

Why did you leave home?

What is your ideal job?

What will life look like when you complete your main goal?

When were you most tired?

What would it take for you to give up on your goal?

What is a flaw that you have?

I'm gonna do something different with this - I'm gonna have my main group of characters answer these from the vantage of when they were younger :) More precisely, under a year before disaster strikes.

So we have Ron (15), Teo (19), Haru (18), and Yamilé (18).

Why did you leave home?

Ron: "Home like in Santarém? I picked the wrong fight with the wrong people! Pretty simple chain of events there."

Teo: "Wouldn't call it simple at all. Neither for him nor for me, but he's not gonna tell you that. I left because I just couldn't see eye to eye with my family about the whole Ron thing. Lost a lot of respect for them that night when I got him to the hospital, and they told me that it was the wrong thing to do and I should've just let him bleed 'cause street kids are used to it. It was a tough decision to leave, and it's been rough, but I don't regret it."

Haru: "I do regret it, and I am still conflicted on whether I should go back or not. But I just don't have it in me to take care of my father for even another minute. And - well. I'm needed here. Right?"

Yamilé: "Sure you are. For me, I was living a dead end life. Who knew if I was ever even going to get a job in our home town - by that I mean Teo's, Ron's, and mine. I need more. I can die of heat stroke or catch something nasty anywhere, I don't need to stay home for that. I need to see more of this world so badly."

What is your ideal job?

Ron: "Something that pays? I don't know. People like me don't exactly hold stable jobs."

Teo: "What's that supposed to mean, people like you? I think being a bandit, this whole thing we're doing right now, is as close to a dream job as it gets for me. We're sharing a tiny space, and we never know where the next meal comes from, but it feels free. You know?"

Haru: "Architect."

Yamilé: "Why an architect? That sounds boring. I would like to be an actress. A scream queen, or a romantic lead."

What will life look like when you complete your main goal?

Ron: "I'm supposed to have a main goal? I'm just winging this right now! Things are honestly pretty great as they are, and I just want it to stay as it is." (Uh oh, Ron.) "It's pretty sweet to have people around to rely on, and to get a chance to travel and see more of the planet. Lele's got the right idea there."

Teo: "What he said. Maybe I'd like to get some of my writing published, too. Can't actually imagine myself being famous. Would be pretty sick though, wouldn't it? No idea what life after that could look like. Do poets still get book deals?"

Haru: "My main goal in life... I would like to figure out where and how to help the most effectively. We aren't in a good state. The only people having a good round of existence right now are the ones who are extremely rich. I would like to do something useful with my life that changes that, at least for some people."

Yamilé: "Well, now mine sounds lousy in comparison, thanks a lot. I just want to be famous, no matter what. I want my face somewhere on a huge mural, blown up to fifty times its size. After that? Who knows! Whatever happens, happens."

When were you most tired?

Ron: "Like, yesterday. Shit's tough when you've got a bunk mate who snores like a bear choking on jello."

Teo: "When I fucking get you - "

Haru: "Right now. I am feeling the most tired I have ever felt in my life right now."

Yamilé: "Pull his hair! Get him!"

What would it take for you to give up on your goal?

Ron: "Still just coasting, sorry! As long as I'm still alive, I'm good. And that's not something I'm gonna give up on."

Teo: "Stop talking when I'm trying to kick your ass. I don't really care about the whole being published thing, and with leaving home, I'm pretty sure I've given up on it already anyways."

Haru: "I don't think I will ever change my mind or lose focus, really. I am a very determined person."

Yamilé: "But don't you ever just want to do something for yourself? For me, something better would need to come along before I give up on the fame dream. And - you know, I know that it's just a dream. Most people don't make it, one way or another. But it's fun to think about, isn't it?"

What is a flaw that you have?

Ron: "Can't keep my damn mouth shut to save my life."

Teo: "I've got a bit of a temper."

Haru: "...I suppose I put myself last."

Yamilé: "Nothing, I'm pretty cool."

I am tagging @rotting-moon-writes @fortunatetragedy

@cowboybrunch @fairytaleinagem @noblebs @davycoquette

Your questions:

What is one thing you'd change about the person you're closest to?

What is the best thing you've ever been told?

What is a good gift to get for you?

[neko-naruto]

I am denial, guilt, and fear (and I control you)

Summary: there are good nights and bad nights in the mountains, turns out there's a similar cadence to how they show up even after he's back with his brothers

Warnings: angst, check Ao3 port for full tags

Authors Note: I went insane over the idea that John wrote songs about his brothers while he was out in the mountains, said idea spawned by the fucking epic @ohposhers who draws lots of good art and you should go check it out. title from Mr. Self Destruct by Nine Inch Nails. hope ya'll enjoy and if you do please consider dropping a reblog or checking the ao3 port

He hasn't exactly written any songs since he left BroZone to go be alone in the mountains, but it's a bad night, and this pit of guilt has knotted itself into his gut once more. He feels nauseated with himself for leaving his brothers and he was sure that stopped many years ago, sometime after he found Rhonda.

Sadly, Rhonda no longer counts to fit that empty little brother shaped space because she's his van now. She didn't really fit that little brother role very good anyways, she's more like his daughter whenever he really thinks about it.

Which he doesn't do very often, think about what he's become and how he adapts. He's usually too caught up on whether or not he'll find dinner, or if he'll catch some sweet slopes after a snow fall. He's usually more focused on keeping Rhonda well fed and making sure she's pleased as punch. He likes to make sure he absolutely doesn't have any time to think about his brothers or his past.

But he can't do anything to distract himself tonight, coming out of a fight with a wild animal that was supposed to be sedated doesn't leave a lot of stuff in your head aside from adrenaline. And the small little patches of pain and scratches that he's disinfecting, those are also on his mind. Otherwise it's empty, not focusing on much of anything and he knows where his train of thought will lead him so he tries to avoid it.

He fails, he fails to avoid thinking of his brothers and tonight he can't just cry himself to sleep because the sun is just barely setting. He'll be up while it's still dark out if he succeeds in passing out which he'd like to avoid. So he pours himself a mug of tea, dried berries and mint leaves, and starts looking for his ash tray. He'll just get a little bit high, that should take his mind off things, or make it so much worse, he's not quite sure. Smoking ring pop dust like it's weed is always a fifty fifty on whether or not he'll come down from his high feeling okay or lost in the mountains unable to find his way back for a considerable while.

He does find it, but all that remains are the ashes and a couple cigarette butts he just knows aren't gonna cut it. He gives this long aggravated sound before throwing open his closet and pulling out a very important memento from the before times. From before he left, from before BroZone, from before Branch was born, the guitar his parents gave him when he wasn't even thirteen. It's scratched, it's banged up, but it still works which is really what matters right now.

"Do I still got it," It's a mutter really, strumming the cords of his guitar, still almost perfectly tuned, but just close enough. It doesn't need to be perfect anymore, it just needs to get the job done.

Before he knows it he has paper splayed out in front of him, words and musical notes written atop them, each labeled with a brothers name. He doesn't know why he's doing this, but he is. It eases the guilt in his core, it takes his mind off the animal attack he just survived, it tears away this sheet of denial. Picks away the facade that he's fine, pulls apart the notions of him being over it, holds open his chest and reminds him he still has soft insides despite the roughness the mountains have conditioned him into.

Writing songs about his brothers, some of the lyrics don't rhyme, most of them don't actually. They just match the advances the guitar brings with the tune, the intensity gathers as it crescendos. He'll have to rename them later, so he can tell himself he wrote them for fun instead of this all consuming guilt and regret. He was sure he killed off said emotions many years ago, but apparently he didn't, and they've returned to rear their ugly heads once more.

So he writes and he plays and eventually he finds himself crying, that tight twist in his in his stomach migrates to his chest until it's unraveling. He hasn't sung in a while either, but he does so regardless, words spilling out of his mouth even though he intended to just write them and never say them. Never let out what's been boiling up for the past god knows how many years, but it's nice, working his voice and just getting it out.

He plays well into the night.

-/-/-/-

It's been three months since John Dory got his brothers back, and they spend most of their time in Branch's bunker (except for Bruce, father of thirteen) and John spends most of his time in Rhonda. He can't help it, old habits die hard, but he does spend the days with his brothers at the very least. They let him stick around for board games and he gladly plays, and even though he loses he appreciates it regardless because his brothers want him around.

But, he doesn't want himself to be around.

He ruined everything twenty years, whose to say he won't do it again? On purpose or accident he doesn't want to lose his brothers again (he doesn't know that despite everything they don't want to lose him either). He'll fuck it up again, he'll do something stupid and they'll leave him unless he leaves them first. His brothers that he just got back, his brothers that he's missed and been isolated for so fucking long that it makes his chest ache just to see two of them in the same room.

He needs to leave before he breaks their harmony again, a harmony of four is still a harmony. But if he's gonna do that then he at least needs to leave them something so they know he's doing it because he loves them. He's doing it for their own good and he'll go rot alone in a mountain for another twenty years if that's the price he needs to pay so they can be happy. So they can be happy without him because he sees it a lot more clearly now, they weren't happy with him all those years ago. He just made everything worse, his need for perfection, his need for the perfect family harmony, his need for the band to work out- he fucked it all up.

He really hates himself for doing what he's doing, but he has copies, it'll be fine. He never wanted them to know about the songs he wrote for them, about them, he wrote those songs over the memory of them and they're so visceral no one should have to read them. But it's the only thing he can think of to leave in place of himself, so they'll have a memory of him in his absence.

He gives brief skims of each sheet as he returns down the elevator of Branch's bunker, guitar slung over his shoulder so he can get a sense of how the chords will sound if they play said songs. They all sleep like bricks (even Clay which is a shocker considering how constant of a vigil the putt putt Trolls had going on), he can get away with a couple strums without any of them noticing and maybe even a few muttered lyrics. He needs to rework the one for Bruce more than any of the other ones, rewrite the name if it ever pops up for starters.

He finds himself sitting on a stool beside Branch's kitchen counter, scratching out words and rewriting them. He's getting too wrapped up in this. This was supposed to be a quick little in and out operation. But nope, he's stuck reworking Bruce's song so it seems sincere, he wants them to have a good memory of him. Not an oddly tainted one like they did for the last twenty years, if he's gonna end up making the same mistakes he'll at least try to avoid that one.

"John Dory, it's eleven PM,"

It's Bruce, the voice is groggy and coming from behind the teal Troll who spins on the stool to face his younger brother.

"It's when I do my best writing," A lie, a partial lie at least, enough truth to make it sound true. His nervousness comes off clear on his voice and it is very clear that Bruce is seeing directly through his bullshit.

He takes a couple steps forward and watches with John's reaction with rapt attent, the scuffle to hide something. He acts like he doesn't see it, "What's with the guitar?"

"Oh, this old thing?" He holds it up very, very carefully, "I got tired, thought I'd strum out some tunes to try and get back in a sleeping mood."

"I thought you quit making music for the last twenty years," Bruce countered with, he'll build to what's on the counter, ease his oldest brother into it. That's how it works with his kids, just calm them down from the panic and they'll tell him anything. He presumes it'll work the same for a fully grown Troll who couldn't emotionally mature past the age of seventeen out in the woods.

"Hard to forget how to play guitar, it's part of me," John said, the anxious edge slowly disappearing. Fucking Bruce, he thought only Floyd had that magical ability to calm people down, apparently not. And if he's unlucky he'll end up pliable enough and tell Bruce everything, by accident of course, not because he's been bottling it up for twenty years and needs someone to hold onto him while he cries-

Hey now, that's a pretty big jump, he cried plenty when he was out in the woods.

"And," Bruce takes a seat beside John before reaching for the papers. There isn't any recoil and he distantly wonders if this is a trap, but it isn't. As much as John Dory can be a dick, he wouldn't be a dick at this hour, "What about these?"

"Songs, wrote 'em while I was in the mountains," He half lied, although he wouldn't call it lying, just telling half of the truth. Bruce already has the papers, he'll know what's actually going on soon enough. John can feel his chest constricting again, he's not making out of this one alive.

Bruce places them back down, he's not gonna violate John's privacy any further, "How was it out there anyways?"

"I- to be honest it was kind of boring after I found Rhonda, my lovely daughter," John answered with, making sure to cut himself short. He gave just enough for Bruce to push further, to pry him open because John sure as hell isn't spilling it without incentive.

"No stories to tell me that you don't wanna subject Branch too?" Bruce teased.

There's this long sigh and the knot in his chest starts to come undone, pressure starting to build in the back of his eyes, "I really missed you guys, I thought I'd never see any of you again I kind of thought some of you might've died. And hell Floyd nearly did die, we nearly died trying to save him," He takes a shuddering breath and he just knows that he's probably crying just a little bit, "What a mess."

Bruce doesn't even know what to say, a part of him was sure John Dory was untouchable in terms of emotional hurt, a part of him knew nobody was untouchable. But he was the younger brother, he idolized John for a short period of time and turns out that he still hasn't beaten it all down. He just spreads his arms, "Do you want a hug?"

John doesn't even answer, he lurches forward, fully slumped against Bruce and just crying. He hasn't cried in the arms of literally anyone in far too long, he can barely form a sentence, it's almost pathetic. But Bruce just holds tight and doesn't let go and it grounds John into reality, into the reality he was planning on running away from.

He can't believe he'd ever do that, run away from his brothers again, go be alone in the mountains ago. It fucking wrecked him last time and now he's trying to willingly surrender himself back to a place where the only control he holds is where he goes. He's never been more glad to have a brother in his entire life, even when he pulls back he's still sniffling just a bit.

"Feel better?" Bruce asked quietly.

John laughed, "Oh absolutely not, it helped but I think a dad hug isn't gonna cut it this time around," He reaches for the papers, the one for Bruce. As much as he wants to shut up and go to sleep he keeps talking because he knows he won't reach this momentum again for a long time, "When I was in the mountains I really missed you guys right? And I was writing songs you know, busted out the old guitar and some pencil 'n paper."

Bruce is handed the paper and he's cautious to read it.

"Wrote songs about you guys, try and take the edge off," John admitted quietly, "They're kind of bad, and old, and I was going to leave so I thought I'd leave them behind 'in my memory' or whatever but then I got caught up fixing mistakes."

"You were going to leave?!" It's a lot louder than he intended and panic is quick to blossom across John's expression.

"Shut it! Or just, be quiet, I've changed my mind," John said, "But, no one else is allowed to know about this."

"They'll be flattered to hear you wrote songs about them," Bruce said.

"Yeah, and no one was supposed to learn about those songs unless I died or disappeared which backfired big time, so don't tell anyone," John practically demanded.

Bruce held out a paw, "I won't tell," he swiped it away when John went to shake it, "If you spend more time with your family."

"Fine, I'll spend more time with you guys," John agreed, Bruce placed his paw into John's they shook on it.

There's this small, comfortable beat of silence.

"Love you bro, we all do,"

John doesn't really believe Bruce, not entirely, but he says it back, "Love you too man."

[reigningqueenofwords]

Let's Make a Deal

Pairing: Dean x Gabby (OC), Reader x Crowley Word count: 1,819

Read on AO3

Part 1 of Father Dearest

Tilting your head back, you downed your third shot. Currently, it was just you and Sam sitting at a booth in the bar. Dean had gone off to fetch his current girlfriend. You hadn’t spent too much time with her, but you just didn’t like her. Simply chalking it up to not knowing her, you had no objections to her tagging along. Seeing movement out of the corner of you eye, you looked over and grinned. There was Dean. You��d been in love with him for about a year now, and while it hurt knowing you weren’t his type, you were happy for him. “Welcome back!” You beamed.

“You guys remember Gabby?” He said as she sat down.

“Yeah. How are you?” You tried to be polite for Dean’s sake.

Her eyes quickly scanned over you, and you knew why. She was thin and pretty. Chances are, she was a cheerleader in high school, and never left that mindset. You? You had some meat on you. Neither boy had ever commented on it, but you were very self-conscious. If you actually took the time to do hair and make-up, you thought you were pretty attractive. Who had time for that in the hunting world, though? Gabby gave you a fake smile, making you tighten your jaw. “I’m good, sweetie.” She said.

“Whey don’t you girls get to know each other, and we’ll go get some drinks.” Dean suggested. You let Sam out and watched them walk away. It was pretty crowded, so you knew that they would be a bit.

“You should probably leave.” She said, your eyes snapping to her.

Raising your eyebrow, you looked confused. “I’m sorry? What?”

She chuckled. “Men that look like that don’t need to be seen with girls who look like…you.” Gabby shrugged. “You’re what? Fifty pounds over weight?” She guessed, her eyes looking you over again. “I also see how you look at Dean. Keep dreaming, honey. He isn’t a chubby chaser. Obviously.” Her words stung. It brought back all the rude comments from school. All the teasing, the jokes, the pranks. “I’d also look into a gym membership.” She added.

You chewed your lip slightly. As you went to open your mouth, you saw the boys returning. Letting Sam in, you gave him a small smile. “I’ll be right back. Just gonna run to the bathroom.” You motioned to the side. They nodded, turning their attention to each other, and their drinks. Holding back tears, you made it look like you were going to the bathroom, but you looped around the bar and walked out.

The motel that you were staying at was only a few blocks away, so you simply walked back. It was a cool spring night, so you weren’t worried about getting cold. Taking a deep breath, you wiped away a stray tear. You had no idea if you were doing the right thing. You had no idea if Dean would hate you after this or not. All you knew was that if you didn’t, you would be the fat friend for the rest of your life, always the target for people like her.

Walking into your room, you shut the door and kicked off your shoes. It was ten minutes before you gained the courage to do what you planned. “Damn it.” You muttered. “Crowley!” You said as loud as you dared. He seemed to have a soft spot for you, so he usually would show up when you called.

“Yes, love?” He asked from behind you. Spinning around, his face fell. “What’s wrong?” He asked.

Licking your lips, you swallowed. “I…I want to make a deal, Crowley.” You told him. “I want you to give me the perfect body.”  Another tear escaped.

He moved closer to  you, shaking his head. “What’s brought this on? There’s absolutely nothing wrong with your body. You’re a goddess.”

“No, I’m not.” You sighed, sitting on the edge of the bed. “Dean’s new girlfriend reminded me of that tonight.” The mention of Dean’s name made Crowley’s face shift from concerned to angry. “She pointed out how over weight I am, how men that look like them don’t need to be seen with girls like me, and that she sees how I look at Dean. Told me to keep dreaming, that he’s not a chubby chaser.” Crowley had moved to pull you into his side as you cried.

Gently making you look at him, he smiled. “I’m going to show you exactly how you should be treated. If that bloody moron can’t see how amazing you are, it’s because he doesn’t deserve you.” He said sweetly. “Will you let me show you how gorgeous you really are?”

After a moment, you bit your bottom lip and nodded. Maybe you just needed someone to hold you for the night, make you believe the words he was saying. Even if when you woke up, reality would set it.

Crowley really did make you feel like a goddess that night. Not once did you feel the need to shy away. He hadn’t even zapped away right after, which was slightly shocking. You two had laid naked, under the covers, chatting. It was nice to relax and laugh. You had no expectations from sleeping with him, and you wouldn’t pretend to. Before you knew it, you had drifted off, snuggling your pillow between  your arms, your head resting on just part of it. He had slipped out quietly after pulling the sheet up to your shoulders.

Once he was sure you wouldn’t wake, he got dressed and clenched his jaw. Snapping his fingers, he popped himself into Dean’s room, which wasn’t too far down the hall. “Hello, Squirrel.” His smooth voice broke the silence around the moans in the room.

The girl that was on top of Dean screamed and rolled off of him, pulling the sheet over her chest. Dean covered himself and leaned on his elbows. “What the hell, Crowley?” He snapped.

“See, for once, my issue isn’t entirely with you.” Crowley shrugged. “It’s with her.” He pointed to Gabby, making her eyes go wide.

“I’ve never even met you!” She yelled.

He shrugged, giving her a ‘whatever’ look. “Ah, but I’ve heard about you.” Dean looked confused. “Don’t look so confused, Squirrel.” He snapped, obviously annoyed. “See, your little fling there? The one looking like she went swimming in mommy’s make up? She said some very hurtful things to Y/N this evening.” His eyes were staring at Gabby. “She needs to be taught a lesson. See, she needs to know what it feels like to be judged negatively by her looks. Well, and that looks aren’t everything.” Snapping his fingers, a grin spread across his cheeks. “Now, you’re going to gain weight. Lots of it. So, you may want to go shopping. Oh! And before I forget, I’d get used to being in the dark.” Turning to Dean, his face fell. “As for you, if I have to comfort her again, you won’t get off as easy.” With that, he was gone.

“What the hell?” Dean mumbled. He slid out of bed and pulled on his boxer briefs and jeans.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Gabby snapped, obviously offended.

He looked over his shoulder. “To see what the hell that was about, that’s what.” Getting up, he didn’t bother with his shirt. He had the spare key to your room, so he didn’t even knock once he got there. Walking in, he stopped dead in his tracks. He did not expect to see you laying naked in bed. Clearing his throat, he shut the door a bit loudly.

Groaning, you stretched. “Crowley, what the he–” You stopped as you looked over your side, eyes growing wide. Sitting up, you pulled the sheet tight to your chest. “Uhhhh…” You looked around, spotting a note from Crowley.

Hello, Love. You were sleeping so peacefully, I didn’t want to wake you. The issue has been addressed. I had an amazing time. If you ever need reminding, you know who to call. -Crowley

Smiling, you set it down on the nightstand. “You slept with Crowley?!?!” Dean snapped you out of your own little world. “Crowley. The King of Hell?” He was pissed.

You held the sheet to you as you got out of bed. “Excuse me?” You were pissed, tear stains still on your cheeks, made more evident by your mascara. “Why the hell do you care?” Shaking your head, your knuckles turned white on the sheets. “Just because you wouldn’t touch me with a ten foot pole, doesn’t mean other men don’t find me attractive. Apparently, Crowley is one of them.” You told him.

“So, what? Are you dating him or something? How long have you been sleeping with him?”

“No. And just tonight. Not that it’s any of your business.” Your cheeks were heating up, between your anger, and realizing that all you were wearing was a bed sheet. “Now, If you’ll excuse me, I think you should leave.” Your voice was calm.

Dean stood his ground. “No.” He crossed his arms.

You looked at him, shocked. “And why not?” You asked, tilting your head.

Licking his lips, he moved a bit closer. “Because I don’t like the thought of that douche-bag touching what should be mine.” His voice held a danger to it, sending shivers down your spine.

“If you cared so much, why go out and bang every Barbie you can get to drop their panties?” You snapped, dropping your own voice. “And why not say anything until now? Don’t want to admit that you’re into a bigger girl?”

He narrowed his eyes. “I didn’t want to push you away!” Dean said, sighing. “I didn’t think that you’d be interested in me. Gabby’s the first girl you’ve seen me date, I fly off the handle easily, and I have a habit of dying. Not exactly the kind of guy you should go for.”

“You’re an idiot.” You teased. “I’ve been in love with you for ages.”

Dean looked shocked. “Really?” He asked, hopeful.

You nodded. “But, I need time, Dean. If anything is going to happen between us, I need time. I can’t jump into anything. Not after tonight. Not after Gabby.” You told him honestly.

“I get it. She’s gone. Walked out when I came over here.” He shrugged, shoving his hands in his pockets. “I’ll give you whatever time you need. Can we just…not let this effect our friendship in the mean time? And no more sleeping with Crowley?” The thought made him cringe.

You gave him a small smile. “I can try. And, don’t worry, it’s not like I plan on jumping into bed with him any time soon. So, now that that’s settled, can I get some sleep?”

Dean chuckled. “Yeah. Night, Y/N.” He said, kissing your forehead before walking out. That was an unexpected night.

[polizwrites]

Down in the Hole (Some Emotions Are Hard to Hide)

This is a fill for today’s  @flashfictionfridayofficial prompt  [#FFF190 Trapped in the Dark] as well as my @samwilsonbingo  G1 - Rescue Mission square. 

Sam helps Bucky deal with both physical and mental/emotional injuries while they wait for rescue.

Fandom: MCU/Marvel Pairing:  Sam Wilson & Bucky Barnes Rating: General Tags:  The Falcon and the Winter Soldier canon adjacent,  Mission fic,  hurt/comfort, Sam POV.  Warnings/Triggers -- injury (non-graphic), implied panic attack Word Count: 525 words

“I told you not to follow me!”  Bucky growled. “Now we’re both down here in this goddamned pit.”

It was dark and damp and cold, with barely enough room for the two of them.   “Could be worse,” Sam replied, trying to keep his voice light.  “At least there weren’t pointy sticks at the bottom.”  

“You think you’re funny.”  Bucky shifted slightly, making a muffled grunt as he did.  Sam knew how insanely high his partner’s pain tolerance was; something was wrong.

“Let me check you over.”  Since he couldn’t see a thing, Sam started patting his hands around, checking for blood or broken bones.  

“I’m fine,” Bucky mumbled between gritted teeth.

“Bullshit.”  Sam had just discovered the problem; Bucky’s left leg was twisted underneath him in a direction legs aren’t generally designed to go.  Sam would bet fifty dollars it was a torn ACL.  “Okay - we need to get this leg of yours straightened out.”

“Where am I gonna put it, genius?” Bucky shot back, grunting in pain again as he attempted to follow Sam’s instructions. “Not like we got a ton of space here.”

“Try sitting across the widest part of this pit.”  The two of them shifted around in the pitch dark until they were sitting more or less perpendicular to one another, giving Bucky just enough room to fully extend his leg across Sam’s lap. “Better?”

“Still hurts like hell. Where’s that drone of yours, anyways?”

“Redwing was doing reconnaissance outside the compound and I lost signal,” Sam explained.  “Let me see if I can reconnect.”   Sam powered up his wrist screen and sent a ping.  In the dim red light, he could almost see Bucky’s face, pale and drawn.  His breathing had quickened as well.  

“We’re gonna be fine,” Sam said, trying to sound more confident and reassured than he actually felt.   “Even if I can’t get Redwing back up, Torres knows where we are and he’ll call for backup if we’re gone for too long.”

“I know,” Bucky replied, his voice going tight. “Just – keep talking.”

“All right. Hey, did I tell you A.J. is going out for the basketball team?”  

Sam rested a hand on Bucky’s knee to help ground him as he recounted the latest family stories Sarah had shared, along with gossip about the neighbors that Bucky couldn’t possibly care about.  

But Sam remembered  Steve’s description of the damp, cold Siberia base and the cylinders that housed the Soldiers during their cryo sleep.  Whatever he could do to chase away those kinds of memories, he was all too willing to do.  

It didn’t take long before Redwing led the extraction team to their location.  After dropping down a temporary splint, they rigged up an emergency bosun’s chair to lift Bucky out of the pit, and Sam followed.  

Using a crutch carry, Joaquin and Sam helped Bucky make it back outside;  he wouldn’t let anyone else in the team do it.  Sam griped good-naturedly the whole time, mostly as a distraction.  As they eased him into a seat on the chopper, Bucky grabbed Sam’s hand.

“Thanks, pal.  I owe you one.”

Sam shrugged.  “Who’s keeping count?”

[eurydicees]

I WAS JUST ABOUT TO RECOMMEND 'BLUE LOCK' TO YOUUUU!!! IT'S SO GOOD!! PLEASE TALK TO ME ABOUT YOUR FAVORITE CHARACTERS!!

OH MY GOD YES OKAY I AM SOOOOO GLAD TO HEAR YOU ASK ABT THIS BECAUSE I AM LITERALLY INSANE OVER ALL OF IT. I AM UNWELL. I AM NOT ACTING NORMAL ABOUT THIS STORY.

okay anyways now that i've gotten that out of the way. oh my god okay favorite characters lets do this

tbh i am soooo in love with, like, 99% of them. the only character i am actually annoyed by is barou but i also feel like he could grow on me with a few more chapters, yk? oh! just to clarify, i've read up to chp 71!! so some spoilers up until then incoming :) i'm a little insane as i get ready to keep reading. i skipped out on a party to do this LMAO. so favorites! but not in any order because i can't do that!

bachiraaaaa!!! oh my god he is my boy. he is everything to me. just,,, you expect me to read the words "there is a monster inside of me" and expect me to NOT go insane abt it? he plays because it's fun and he's at blue lock to find someone who has the same monster, the same desire and passion, he is SO much and i am obsessed with it. literally the moment he stole the ball from isagi in the tag game they played, i KNEW. he's my type of character fr. rin telling him that "you're searching for someone with your soccer" i'm gonna fucking scream. oh and also he's the sleepy boy representation that i need, so.

^^things i'm not !!! ok !!!!!! about !!!!!

reo.... i just think he has sooooo many issues and they are so so so interesting. like, this is a character who gets everything he wants and then the one thing he really desires is just out of his reach. he is so broken up about nagi, too, and i loooove to see that in my pathetic little men. top ten things that had made me insane so far: reo saying "have you forgotten our promise" in reference to him saying they're going to be the best in the world, followed immediately by nagi saying that he's the one who's forgotten their promise, in reference to reo saying "let's play soccer." i'm literally howling at the moon. screeching at the sun like a bat. i am going crazy over this.

^^^reo you literally have so many problems and i NEED to see you self-destruct

isagi!! tbh idk if i'm really usually a main character person, but i'm a little in love with isagi. he's just. SO interesting. every time he talks about devouring other players' skills and making them his own....i am literally losing my mind. in the game against chigiri, kunigami, and reo, when isagi talks about devouring barou's darkness and turning it into light....catch me literally screaming out loud about him. his growth and "leveling up" is SO much fun to watch/read and i AM dying over it. every time he learns a new weapon or figures out how to better use one, i AM in my bed pumping my fist and screaming go best friend you go best friend!!! i believe the next chp is the game against bachira, rin, aryu, and tokimitsu, and i can already feel myself losing it a little bit.

^^^HELLO?????? I'M NOT OKAY ??????

chigiri! i'm not as insane about him as i am about the others, but i do love him very very much. the "i play for that joy i felt the first time i outran someone" and the "for as long as my legs work i want to play soccer" moments genuinely had me crying no joke. and his whole deal at the very start with "i was looking for a way to give up" versus his growth to wanting to beat isagi and become the best in the world... i am sooo unwell about it. in, like, fifty chapters he's grown SO much and i am so excited to see where he goes from here. and i think the match up between him and aryu is gonna be reeeaaalllyyyy interesting, too!! super excited to see how that pulls through. ahhh. he's just soooo.

^^literally trembling as i read this again

ahhhh. yeah ok extensive list oops. i think those are all the main faves right now !!! i am so broken about them and it has literally been 13 episodes and 70 chapters. that's so fucked up.

the thing is just that this show was, like, TAILOR MADE to all of my interests. it's sooo high stakes and for what. it's my favorite sport in real life. it has characters who need therapy for real. god. yeah.

[siriuslythatbitch]

I posted 3,175 times in 2022

That's 2,697 more posts than 2021!

140 posts created (4%)

3,035 posts reblogged (96%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@fuckboyregulus

@elder-millennial-trash

@dontbeanassbutt

@zackisontumblr

@classicdaisycalico

I tagged 265 of my posts in 2022

#sirius black - 91 posts

#remus lupin - 90 posts

#wolfstar - 87 posts

#marauders - 58 posts

#thank you for the ask! - 55 posts

#hp marauders - 51 posts

#remus x sirius - 44 posts

#marauders era - 35 posts

#my friends are so talented - 33 posts

#james potter - 28 posts

Longest Tag: 77 characters

#i came out to have a good time and i'm honestly feeling so attacked right now

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

I see it's time for our semi regular 'hey minors could you fucking not' chat. So Miss B is gonna have to school you again apparently.

JUST BECAUSE YOU DONT LIKE SOMETHING DOESNT MAKE IT BAD

Read that, repeat it, internalize it, fucking live it. You do not get to dictate an authors right to write what they want. That is not your prerogative and quite frankly it's disgusting for you to do. You wouldn't pull this shit with a GoT book. You don't care about the fact that there is teenage rape in that and teen pregnancy and incest. But because these authors are 'accessable' you decide to attack them. No that's not gonna work bud.

Fun fact teenagers fuck. I fucked as a teenager and I damn well know my friends did. It's not a secret and I wish to fuck there had been someone to write a queer sex experience when I was growing up. You should be bowing down to these authors for providing you with something we never had at your age instead of trying to shame us into not writing.

Now I know it's hard for you to understand but life doesn't just end when you become a parent or turn 30. We have liked this series our entire lives. You weren't even a twinkle in your parent's eyes when this Fandom started. You do not get to claim it as yours. This is our baby. We nurtured and tended to it until it became what it is today and like fuck are you going to take it from us.

Speaking of being an adult an adult is an adult period. The age doesn't matter. You are 18 congrats you're and adult now. You're 45 or 89 or 19 it doesn't fucking matter. You are an adult. And funny thing, adults fuck other adults. That's how the world works. As long as it is consensual it's none of your concern how "adult" you think they are or aren't.

Honestly for every whiney post I see about an age gap im adding a year to the gap in my next fic between the pairing. Just fucking try me bitches. I am so done with your filtering bullshit. Fight me I promise I'll win.

29 notes - Posted August 25, 2022

#4

Send Up a Signal, I’ll Throw You a Line

https://archiveofourown.org/works/37354114

It was three on a Tuesday and Sirius was near comatose at the counter. They’d had one customer in the shop all day, a fifty-something bloke looking for a Jefferson Starship record. Once found he proceeded to lecture Sirius on classic rock for the better part of an hour. Apparently, the man thought him completely ignorant of any bands at all. Despite the fact that he was wearing an Eagles t-shirt and worked at a bloody record shop. Not that he was surprised. Every man over thirty-five came in to see a man in his mid-twenties and assumed he must know nothing but Green Day and Foo Fighters. At this point, he was used to it, but that didn’t mean it made his exasperation with it all lessen.

“How’s it going down there, Black Dog?” His uncle called down from the upstairs that doubled as the man’s apartment and employee break room. Sirius couldn’t keep from grinning at the familiar nickname. Alphard had been the one to introduce him to classic rock in the first place. When his parents had been too busy to deal with him and his brother they’d come to the record store to spend time with their uncle.

He couldn’t have been more than four when he began grabbing records from the man’s collection upstairs, choosing them by the pretty art at first. The blond man, who he later learned was his uncle’s partner Nicholas, was always all too happy to man the shop for a while as he indulged his nephew’s newfound love for the music of their youth.

Nick had always found the fact that they were all named after constellations fascinating. It was that connection and Sirius’ particular fondness for Led Zeppelin that had dubbed him Black Dog. A name that stuck well through his teens and into adulthood. Black Dog was as much his name as Sirius at this point. It never failed to make him smile.

“I’ve seen legislation passed faster.” He groaned. The other man laughed at his joke. It was well known that their family had a distaste for both his and his Uncle’s career choices. Blacks were known for going into politics or becoming solicitors at the very least. His mother, father, and brother were all involved with it in one way or another. Fortunately, the idea of having a son without a uni degree compelled his parents to pay for it regardless.

Sirius didn’t regret his choice in the slightest. Music had always been his passion, and one his uncle had always indulged. Alphard was peering at him from the stairs. He’d moved just low enough to keep him in his line of sight.

“Nick is whipping up a batch of cinnamon scones now. I’ll bring you a few when they’re done.” In his younger years, his partner had been the pastry chef at multiple Michelin star restaurants. They often benefited from his penchant for baking when bored.

“Life may be worth living,” Sirius responded, completely missing the tinkling of the bell from the front of the shop. His uncle hadn’t. A sly smile crossed his face as he glanced across the room. Eyes flicking back to his nephew he replied.

“Perhaps there’ll be another soon enough.” The man winked, familiar grey eyes shining with mischief before disappearing back upstairs.

“Wha?” He tried to ask, shaking his head at his uncle before turning back to the store.

Sirius wasn’t sure what he might have expected to find when he glanced across the space, but this wasn’t it. A man in a dark brown cardigan had his back to him. His hair hung in sandy brown half curls that looked soft in the warm light. Even from across the store he could tell the man was a virtual giant. Sure, Sirius was shorter than your average bloke, a fact his best friend James loved reminding him of, but this man had to be well over six foot tall. He wanted to get a closer look though. It took him far too long to remember he worked at the bloody store and had every reason to approach the man.

“So… Do you come here often?” Sirius said, mentally berating himself for the cliché pickup line.

“Uh no, actually.” The other man laughed. His head was still downturned, long tan fingers rifling through the albums in the centre rack. The dexterity with which he did so did very unfortunate things to Sirius. Especially since he was at work, in the record shop, where his uncle was currently upstairs and well within earshot. “I had a friend tell me about this place, and I thought I’d check it out.” Finally, the man turned to glance at him. Sirius’ eyes went wide at the sight.

His lips were plush and a deep pink, one corner cocked up in amusement. His nose was almost button and utterly too adorable for Sirius’ good. The silvery band of a scar that ran across it just added to the urge to know this man inside and out. It was his eyes that were the real knockout. They were a shade of dark green, the kind of green that reminded him of warm summers spent in the countryside or his favourite jumper. He couldn’t be sure, but he thought he saw flecks of gold or perhaps amber filtering through them. It was as if they glowed in the light and Sirius was desperate to lean in and examine them closer. Swallowing hard he attempted to cover his instant attraction to this man.

“Is there something I can help you find?” Sirius could tell his voice was a bit strained. Fortunately, the other man didn’t seem to notice, or perhaps he didn’t care. Sure, he had no doubts that he was attractive, but there was no guarantee this guy was into blokes. He prayed to deities he had never been certain existed, that he was though.

“Yeah, actually.” Fuck. He’d been so distracted by the man’s appearance that he hadn’t really registered his voice. It was a smooth baritone that flooded his senses in the way that Alphard’s records had when he was a child.”I was looking for a Steve Miller Band record.” He had the faintest Welsh accent, the vowels leaving his tongue like music. Sirius was reminded of a much fitter Tom Jones.

“Oh, yeah, no, you’re in the completely wrong place for that.” He said, whipping around and making his way deeper into the store. “That’s where we keep all of the newer albums, anything from the naughties onwards.”

“Ah, well that would make sense.” He laughed behind him. The sound sent shivers up his spine, and he was glad he could play it off while walking.

“This is the section you want.” Sirius came to a stop in front of an enormous back wall. There were framed and signed classic rock records hung above a multi-tiered record holder. It ran from the staircase to the wall, wrapping around toward the counter. They truly did have the best collection in all of London, a fact his Uncle, and okay maybe Sirius too, was proud of.

“Woah.” The man’s eyes went huge as he took the setup in. “That’s quite the inventory you have here.”

“This isn’t even all of them.” Sirius laughed, thinking of the storage room where they kept the particularly expensive records. It took Sirius by surprise when the other man smiled at him. Not the half-smirk before, but an actual grin. His abdomen fluttered in a way he decidedly was not letting happen. Instead, he did his actual job “So do you want a specific album, or..?”

“Oh, yeah, sure.” He could have sworn he’d seen a slight flush to the man’s cheeks, but put that down to wishful thinking. “I was hoping you’d have a copy of “The Joker”.”

“I know we have at least one copy, but my uncle stocked it so we may have to dig for a bit.” Sirius fought a smile at having an excuse to spend more time with the mystery man. “You take that line, and I’ll look through this one.”

“Sounds like a plan.” He put on a jokingly solemn expression that had Sirius laughing despite himself. The other man let out an amused huff but turned toward his stack of records.

Unfortunately, or if he was honest with himself, which he steadfastly attempted never to be, quite fortunately, the two lines of records were quite close together. It was great for someone browsing alone. For two, however, it was close quarters. The cardigan covered arm of the other man brushed lightly against his bare one. At first, he’d assumed it was an accident, but then it happened again, this time staying in contact in some way. He bit his lip trying to keep his focus on the records and not the slide of the other man’s arm against his. Even through the garment, he could feel the radiating body heat and Sirius wanted to roll around in it like the dog his uncles had nicknamed him. This close he could smell the woodsy scent rolling off him. There was a faint hint of books, but the exceptionally old kind his parents had kept in the library of his childhood home. Somehow for once, the reminder didn’t make him want to bolt for the nearest exit. Contrarily, it made him want to press as close as possible, to claim the smell as his own. Christ, maybe he was a dog.

Sirius concentrated on the records instead, flicking past the Sex Pistols, The Smiths, and Stereophonics. At least he was at the st’s.

See the full post

34 notes - Posted February 24, 2022

#3

Wolfstar

Accidentally married

Intimate Artistry  

You spoil me so, Marigoals! I'll make this EXTRA special for you, babby<3

Remus opens up a tattoo parlor in Diagon Alley. He's done some research on basic charming for the designs, but has some he doesn't want to try out on his regular clients just incase. Sirius loves being his tester, which has resulted in quite a few tattoos (That Remus would love to trace with his fingers, tongue, and well anything Sirius would let him really). It's great, but it also means he's running out of room. Remus has come across some odd runes that he is pretty sure are meant to make the tattoo guaranteed not to fade, but he's not positive. Sirius decides he wants a wolf and dog baying at the moon on his hip, which means he has to take off his pants and use towel to try and cover. There's a lot of fumbling trying to keep from touching Sirius' cock, which just so happens to be making itself more obvious with each touch of the needle. (What can I say, he's a masochist and it's Remus afterall.) Both men are panting by the time he finally finishes tracing the last rune in invisible ink, but it doesn't have the effect either thought. A quick burst of pain has him gripping his own hip, working down his bottoms just enough to see the top of the very same tattoo he's just inlaid in Sirius' pale skin. Sirius, who has always been better at runes than Remus looks over the book and realizes the tattoo wasn't bound to his skin permanently but bound them to each other. And well, was that really so bad?

36 notes - Posted February 26, 2022

#2

Innocent Physical Contact and I Didn’t Mean to Turn You On Perciver (Percy Weasley/Oliver Wood)

Ooookay. First time thinking about this ship, but I'm excited so let's go. It's their 5th or 6th year and they've been the only two sharing their dorm just them since their first year, but things have gotten tense. Percy has tried to stay out of the dorm as much as possible and Oliver can't figure out why. He comes back from quidditch practice one day early because there was some issue or another and surprises Percy who had memorized his schedule. Percy has gay panic and makes to leave but Oliver stops him in the doorway with his hand on his chest. He demands that Percy tell him what's going on and after some very intense yelling Percy finally admits that he's pretty sure that he has a crush on him and the sight of him in that Quidditch uniform does things to him. Oliver definitely didn't think about what his uniform might do, but is very pleased with this revelation so takes it as a win and just kisses him. There's delightful frottage, Percy makes him keep the uniform on while he blows him (Because it's hot that's why) and it's just a lovely smutty time.

50 notes - Posted February 27, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Okay we're gonna have a fun time today because I am fucking enraged. It's clear that people have no clue what polyamory actually is or how a HEALTHY poly relationship works. I'm not just talking a triad, because outside of fiction those are fairly rare. Since apparently the cishets control the narrative I think it's about time I cleared some shit up. The key to polyamory is communication. THAT DOES NOT MEAN CHEATING AND SAYING IT'S FINE BECAUSE "Hey I'm poly"! There's a certain fic that tries to excuse this behavior and honestly I'm disgusted that it's so fucking glorified. That is NOT polyamory. That is cheating, plain and simple. If you want to write that that's fine, but call a spade a fucking spade. Don't you dare use a healthy and valid relationship choice to excuse your character's bad choices.

As a member of the queer community you should fucking know better. You wouldn't say being Bi or Pan is a reason to allow cheating, and if you would get the fuck out. I am tired of putting up with bi and pan phobia in the queer community. The hets fuck us over enough as it is, why the hell would you add to it?

I am polyamorous. I am in healthy and consenting relationships. I am fucking valid and am not a cheater or greedy or any of the bullshit that you all seem to perpetrate. I am so fucking done with you using my life as an excuse for your shitty writing. Don't pit partners against each other, don't make them keep from working out their normal feelings so it's healthy, and for fuckssake DON'T TRY AND COVER INFIDELITY WITH POLYAMORY!

Have a fan-fucking-tastic day, and think about what you say before you say it next time.

81 notes - Posted September 11, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[nessbarbecue]

11-28-23 11:35 AM

I'm in graphic design class right now. My physical diary is literally in my school bag as I'm typing this, but I've made the decision it might be fun to take up digital blogging. You see it all the time on TV, why don't people do it more often?! Plus, I just have a lot to say, all the time. I will admit, that I'm actually direct messaging all of this to myself on Discord, because Tumblr is blocked on the school computers. I'll just copy paste it into Tumblr later. My teacher will definitely yell at me for having my phone out, so I've got a little hidden tab to entertain myself with on the school computer. I really do not like my graphic design teacher. She's friendly, but also kind of rude. And very much a control freak. I want to go to lunch. I still have to go to computer science after this class ends before I can eat lunch. That's at least an hour and a half away... Oh well. I've got plenty to do, I guess. I could actually do my homework. I've been knocking a lot of homework out this week, because I've been out sick, plus Thanksgiving break for a bit. I have a little bit of catching up to do but I've been making quick work of it. I only have one assignment to do in this class, and I just started the layout for it until I got bored and drifted back to my little hidden tab here. When I do post this on my Tumblr, I'll tag it something unique like ness talks so people can filter it out, if they just want to see the art posts. I'll probably attach a few images to this post just to share what I'm up to and what kind of images represent my day. I love posting pictures online. I post shit on every social media I can get my hands on. Except, like, Threads, because who uses that. It was a thing for about a week, when Twitter was threatening to shut down or something I don't even remember. But it didn't, so Threads kind of just became a shithole. None of my social medias have a very prominent following, I think the largest follower count I have is nearly five hundred on Instagram? My Twitter has about three hundred, and my TikTok also has nearly three hundred. I don't know how much Pinterest counts as a social media like those, but I have like twenty followers there and it's basically all just my friends. I love my friends. As for Tumblr, I think it's around fifty? I don't really ever care how many followers I do have, though. I just post stuff for myself. The internet is an awesome way to document your life. If I do get famous one day, though, it'll be awesome for my fans because they'll have a ridiculous amount of content of mine to sift through. I wish it were easier to make friends and mutuals online. I would have a lot of fun having lots of people to interact with. I'm getting kind of bored of typing now so I'm gonna go draw in my sketch book while I wait for class to end. Bye

[jessielefey]

op of the dog time post here! the clarification wanst about me not being a furry in fact i Am a furry so yes in that sense i am a dog too but there were people who genuienly thought i metamorphosed into a dog. just like. shed my human skin. dog. bshfhshdhs

Okay, fair?

And.... also somehow even funnier not gonna lie, thank you for blessing me with this I cannot regret my tags in the slightest now. My joy completely eclipses my social anxiety and overreactiveness to correction.

I stand by what I said though in principle, like, it's 2023 people, if you're gonna take it literal, assume furry not... what magic?? lol Magic defeats the whole point of over-critiquing the realism of an obvious metaphor! Like, I am all for that kind of captious empiricist pedantry (pulling out the fifty cent words to emphasize the point while making fun of myself) as an amusing thought exercise and lowkey trolling, but if you don't ground it in the hyper-factual you take all the fun out of it!! //snort//

I seen you guys work those bulkier gloves, and they seem exactly the right amount of keyboard incompatible to be an excellent Excuse To Not Be On The Computer in the same way a cat sitting on your lap is an excuse to not stand up and do that thing you don't really want to do while also being like bandaids on your fingers to remind you to not chew your nails.

Or at least, that's how my autistic ass immediately interpreted it, and I am hysterically confused just. Even. How? ;-)

[starlightswordfight]

OMGGGG OC LORE YAY YAY YAY. THIS IS FUCKING AWESOME

WILL BE TALKING ABOUT THEM IN THE TAGS SO THIS POST DOESN'T GET TOO LONG (it's gonna get so fucking long regardless but it'll be okay)

answering the question back screams SCREAMS !!!! get ready (I wrote so much. I'm so sorry. I promise it's all relevant) (wrote the most for havamalt bc his ideas are most extensive my bad)

I am only doing my pikmin ocs because I have over fifty not counting them and the idea of doing all of them SUCKS. I BELIEVE I've mentioned all of them on here at some point but if not uh we ball

— SEA URCHIN PIKMIN

I have sea urchin autism

— LABRA DORIS

"here! right here! all your problems will be over"

"I'm hungry"

"IN A MINUTE"

my FIRST pikmin oc !! the best time I had actually coming up with a name that fit the running theme in 4 too, I literally haven't been able to make anything that matches. labra doris. labrador. jesus christ

I really like writing their personality out because they fall into the "one sane man" trope which I think is so funny but also they're like two seconds away from Losing It. he's very put together for his situation but he's also very perpetually stressed. he just like me fr

I don't have specifics ready for lore aside from some details but it's VERY fun to work on with my sibling. his sister is their oc and it's very fun to talk about their dynamic and how awesome and normal they are

when I eat wings I wipe my hands on my brother and he screams loud as fuck

— HAVAMALT

good fucking jesus christ

I actually am making art for him right now lore wise but generally the ideas I have for him in terms of story are by FAR the most in depth. he got fleshed out very quickly and I think he's my favorite character out of all of them solely because of that

eco uses neos which I did on purpose because I RARELY see ocs use neopronouns. and also he is demiromantic and I wanted to see the physically strongest character in a group be a trans man for once so there's that. making my rep MYSELF

personality wise havamalt is a very interesting character to pick apart to me because absolutely everything he does feels equally layered and surface level. havamalt acts on a whim, and there's no reason for him to make a lot of the decisions he does with the context of those situations, but considering his upbringing he very likely was going to end up like that regardless

it's a nature vs nurture thing w him. how much of ecos behavior is because of eco being Like That and how much of it is endangering lifelong disability and recently acquired additional lifelong disability and transphobia and growing up on Nightmare Storm Planet that sees the sun one day a year and

and his voice claim's accent implies the existence of a southern US-esque region somewhere on ocobo. I win worldbuilding

— JACKABEE

jackabee is my sona. so. let's justr say

— ROCKY OTTER

you know that one post that talked about luigi being terrified of everything and therefore invincible. equally afraid of cthulhu and a spider in the bathroom and therefore able to go up to combat both, but not recognizing because of this that he's actually doing something incredible w the former because it is ALL the same to him. yeah that's rocky

he's so afraid of EVERYTHING and he is ALWAYS having to push through that. she doesn't realize how good she actually does once she actually starts getting on the field because she can't stop herself from being scared but being brave is like. being scared and doing it anyway. so actually he's awesome

the design wasn't initially mine I adopted an oc and made her into a pikmin character. I like his ears and the fact that she has facial hair we need more trans ocs in any direction who have it please I'm going to die

also he discovers the sea urchin pikmin

— AMZI

THEYRE SO FUN TO DRAW. I LOVE HER WONDERFUL HAIR CLIPS AND HER STUPID FUCKING GOGGLES

I don't have a lot for her in terms of story yet apart from vague ideas but I have been having a lot of fun with fleshing out her interests!! she's fascinated by bugs like spiders and I've been trying to use that to stop being as scared of them. baby steps. I have many phobias

I like how her design and her behavior (really happy and joyous and whimsical forever) juxtaposes her interest in things a lot of people find scary. she operates under the assumption that the "weird" and the "frightening" are only such because she doesn't understand them, so naturally she's going to learn to understand everything. she's going to put everybody under a microscope. they can't stop her. she's the aeronautics engineer

did I mention the goggles. they're my favorite. it takes the hocotate eyes thing and makes that worse

— CARP / ICE MAGE

actually I literally can't talk about them at ALL. my favorite parts of them are their stories and I haven't mentioned either of them at ALL yet so that's spoiler territory

IF YOU GOT THIS FAR WHAT THE FUCK. HI. THANK YOU SO MUCH SNIFFLES SOBS

DID MY BEST TO ANSWER I HOPE THAT WASNT TOO OFF TOPIC!!! jfc that took me so LONG IM SO SORRY

teleports in here for ask game purposes. asking this one again bc I like this question

🌼 what's your favorite thing about your oc !! any of them! whichever one(s) you wanna talk about 🦅🦅🔥🔥🔥

OOOOOO HELLO!!! That’s a tough question I got no idea 🦅🦅💥💥 I love everything about my ocs but I will attempt to answer!!!

I have a ton of ocs a majority of which I have never and may never post about so I’ll try to stick to the ones that I have shown to the world (though I’ll briefly summarize those too because i doubt anyone remembers them) but I might sprinkle in some of my Super Scary Secret Ones as well

• OC NUMBER ONE!!! TERRI (the dumbass pikmin oc with the moth I posted about yesterday I think? Was it yesterday? I must admit I have been completely out of it this week and I have lost any concept of time but REGARDLESS)

I HAVE NOT DONE MUCH WITH HER SO THERE IS NOTHING TRULY DEEP TO HER CHARACTER. BUUUT I like how she was my first real oc based on a preexisting franchise. for a loooong time I was in the horribly toxic mindset of “heheheh oc? that’s so cringe hehehe” so a few months ago I made her as a big middle finger to that previous mindset. YES I made a pikmin oc YES she’s the sibling of a preexisting character YES I posted it on tumblr and NO I do NOT give a damn!!!

Or if you want a more basic answer I like how I made it so her hair kinda looks like butterfly wings cause it looks really goofy but she probably thinks it is So Awesome heeheehee

• OC NUMBER TWO!!! PUTTERS AND GAF (counting them as one)

I just think they are very silly. If I had to choose a favorite aspect it’d be how they influence other characters, like the pure, blinding jealousy and rage that Putters brings upon her owner’s husband. You either love putters and gaf or you want to see them dead and there is no in between

• OC NUMBER THREE!!! DOMITONE!!!

actually in my original post bout her I didn’t fully mention some of her personality traits. I was focused more on her relation to the Turtlemeister but there’s more to her. Not a whole lot more admittedly but yea. If I had to pick my favorite though I’d sayyyy her brashness. I feel like I didn’t get that across well in the original post but she is intense. She will speed down the road at speeds way over the limit (and in this universe driving is already a taboo unless you have good reason for it) while blaring music, she tried to start the “sequel to the ice bucket challenge” (the boiling water challenge, it did not go well) and has zero filter. She’s not completely insane (I think if she was constantly like that it’d be way too much) but those aspects are definitely my favorite

• OC NUMBER FOUR!!! GOURDIE

fear not if you have no idea who this is! You aren’t simply forgetting or weren’t around for me mentioning her, I have just never mentioned her existence! She’s putter’s owner. I could go wayyyy into her but then we’d be here all day and I’ve already been typing this out for way too long soooo. It’s incredibly hard to pick one favorite aspect soooo I’ll just go with:

she’s prooooobably the most emotionally intelligent of the ocs in this universe…….not to say she’s a complete saint by any means, hell she’s kinda the catalyst for a LOT of problems with some Really Bad Decisions but she actually owns her fuck ups (except for the time she accidentally killed someone and was too horrified to tell anyone so she staged an accident and lived with the guilt the rest of her life but shhhhh) and tries to improve. Which by the end she does! Yippee (SHE IS NOT OK BY THE END) (SHE WON BUT AT WHAT COST)

She’s also just one of the nicest characters, you wouldn’t get that from my brief description but she actually is. She’s forgiving to a fault, like she got back with her ex husband MULTIPLE times on and off despite the fundamental disagreement that caused them to break up in the first place never being resolved, and tries to be the best parent possible (uhhh she might’ve failed with her…fish daughter….crap I haven’t mentioned the fish people….uh BUT SHE TRIED HER BEST AND WORKED THINGS OUT WITH SAID FISH DAUGHTER AND THEY ARE A HAPPY FAMILY NOW YAYYYY)

• OC NUMBER FOUR!!! I AM YAPPING SO MUCH SOMEONE STOP ME: DEUX SOURIS

once again you are not crazy I have just never mentioned her before. And yes her name is French for “two mice” you will see why that is. Brief summary, she’s French (shocking) and joined the police force at a young age and was on path to be an incredibly successful and talented officer (much to the chagrin of her…grandmother I think? Yeah it’s her grandmother, who attempted to do the same as her but failed miserably and ended up being a lifelong traffic cop in a region where there is like. No traffic) but then!!! Had to go on a rescue mission and ended up getting. Extremely traumatized in the process! But she rescued the fellas she had to (said fellas losing their eyesight in the process uhhhh don’t ask) and got all sorts of medals for her bravery but she was like. Nah screw this I’m quitting (again to the chagrin of her grandmother, HOW COULD YOU THROW AWAY YOUR CAREER LIKE THIS I WORKED SO HARD AND I NEVER EVEN—) and spent the rest of her life in a group called the “two blind mice and one seeing eye mouse” with the people she rescued where she was the, well, seeing eye mouse! She didn’t actually have to do much work guiding them because the other “mice” in the group were incredibly adaptive and could pretty much function independently immediately but she stuck around anyway. Let’s pretend the story ends there heehee she had a happily ever after mmmhm nothing bad happened after that ahahaha. Um way too much exposition for a simple point but! My favorite thing about her! She carries a soundboard everywhere so she can make goofy sound effects for certain situations. She also plays the horn. Like a car horn. She will make music with car horns. She does a very good job at it surprisingly

I could yap so so so much more but I will restrain myself. Final oc who I am obligated to mention but I will be So Vague about: i won’t say his actual name but. Some call him pumpkin daddy. He has been haunting my thoughts for over 2 years now. He is not even an oc. He is not original. He is someone else’s old oc but when I mentioned he was my favorite part of his original universe, the original creator randomly gave me full ownership of him. So technically he is mine now I suppose. I changed him beyond belief, the only remnants of his old life being his name and appearance. I’m speaking of him like a cryptid lmao my favorite thing about pumpkin daddy is everything. That is all

I am still awaiting the shadowban lifting but pretend that I sent in an ask to you asking the same question!!! @starlightswordfight What’s your favorite part of your ocs!!!

[bombsonboard]

the day after yesterday (teaser)

summary: Time travel is volatile and destructive. And then sometimes it lands you in just the right place at the perfect time. Usually it’s both. You decide.

pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader

word count: 1.3k

tags: nausea, passing out, time travel is tricky, 40s Bucky is his own warning

A/N: Hey Guys! It’s been a hot second lol. Planning on this being a full fic and this isn't even all of chapter one, but it won’t be fully out for a while as I plan to write it all and then release weekly, so hold on tight cos it’s gonna be a while. (This also is probably not the final version but u guys deserve it)

“I should’ve asked you if this was safe, huh?” 

“Listen, just keep communications open and I’ll guide you through it, it's a piece of cake, really.” The glass wall between yourself and a smiling Scott Lang did little to reinforce his encouragement.

“I heard you turned into a baby-”

“That- that was a test run.” His voice nervously crackles through the speaker.

“You turned into a baby?” Hope Van Dyne returns with coffees for the pair.

“I will not tell you about that later.”

Failing to shake out the tension in your muscles, you conclude that it's not tension at all but just fear trying to freeze your body in place. Fear was never really a warning to you, though, more of an inconvenience to actually living an interesting life, at least that is what you told yourself.

All of the research you had done to get here, the words that flooded through your brain, underlined in red, were thrown out of the window, torn up and gone up with a nuclear bomb. This was diving in at the deep end, to the fullest extent. Who needed particle physics now?

Scott presses down the button for the microphone one last time “Ready?”

“Piece of cake.” You show him the least confident thumbs up known to man.

“Launching in 3, 2, 1-”

Time travel isn’t as fun as it looks in the movies, turns out. It’s nausea-fueled, jumping out of a plane and falling upwards, sideways and inside out. Having time to process you were small enough to pass through atoms was out of the question, you needed to focus. What were the directions he gave you again? Was it two lefts then a right, or three? 

“Scott?” You speak into your wrist. “Which way am I going?”

“It’s uh- hang on, Hope-” Something started to go wrong, his voice began to fizzle and snap in your ear, only able to catch “fifty” and “cake!”

“I didn’t get that, Scott?”

Only a distant crackle replied.

“Scott! This isn’t funny!”

Silence

“Lang!”

The twisted vortex was blasting past you at a million miles a second and zero sense of navigation was precisely what you didn't need.

“Shit, shit, shit.”

Plan A wasn’t happening and plans B through Z didn’t exist, a clear oversight on your part, so it was time for plan ‘I don't know what the shit I’m going to do.’ So, you closed your eyes, threw yourself into the next tunnel, and prayed to anyone that could possibly hear you that the fabric of space and time could handle a little mishap. 

No one tells you how much crash landing actually sucks, one minute you’re upside down and weightless and the next, you’re face down in someones discarded trash and aching all over, feeling like you've just been flung off the empire state. As your suit disappears in favour of casual clothes, the groan that emerges from the depths of your throat must sound like some mangled stray because as soon as you make a sound:

“Hey, is there a cat in there?”

You go still, not only did you not want to be seen so time could resume its uninterrupted passing but to be found in a dumpster? That’s just a bit embarrassing. 

“Here kitty, kitty…” The sound of a grown man making ‘pspsps’ noises makes you cringe a little, being mistaken for a cat was as demeaning as you might imagine and half of you wanted to burst out and give the man the fright of his life and stern talking to. But sense kept you still.

After a bout of silence, you assume the stranger has passed on with better things to worry about then a ‘cat’ in a dumpster. Crouching in your mess, you fish out the useless earpiece and glare, as if your irritation would force it to suddenly start working.

“Stupid little government issued-”

“Hey-Who’s in there?” 

You freeze again, bracing your hands against the sides of the dumpster. 

“I’m not going to hurt you, c’mon”

“Convincing” You scoff before clapping your hand over your mouth a bit too violently and losing any footing you had before.

You yelp as you land on your back, staring helplessly at the sky from the dumpster, the sun beaming in your eyes. Miraculously, shade appears over you in the form of a smiling face.

“You’re not a cat.” He pulls himself up a little further  “You alright?”

The sudden concern makes you want to laugh, but a wave of nausea stops you.

“I’m fantastic, thanks” You groan.

“What are you doing in-”

“What year is this?” You ask quickly, rubbing your eyes as the dizziness starts to fade.

“What year?” He asks, baffled, after a pause, he answers  “It’s 1943. You sure you’re okay?”

“What.” That had woken you up. Fumbling, you grabbed onto the side of the dumpster and pulled yourself up  “No, that can't be right I didn’t-”

Then you saw his face. 

“I fucked up.”

Inches from your face, staring back at you was The Winter Soldier. Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes. Right there in front of you. But, different, younger, you could’ve sworn there was a literal fucking twinkle in his eye. After a short pause, he draws his face back from your stunned expression in amused confusion and lands back down on the ground.

“You gonna get out now?”

It was a strange sensation, meeting someone you knew in the future, in the past. Well, you didn't really know him, more like you once stood in the same room. All the same, it was disorientating and your re-emerging headache wasn't helping.

Stuck, you search your brain for a way out, but you were cornered, literally “I’m gonna…” 

“Look, just get out so you can sort out whatever crisis I assume you’re having” He offers up his hand and you can do nothing but stare at his flesh that wasn’t metal yet. A thousand possibilities ran through your head of what could happen if you took his hand, most of them ending with the space-time continuum collapsing. But, something was telling you it was just a hand.

Tapping against the metal, he startles you into sliding your hand into his and you climb over the side, almost falling over again if it wasn't for the hesitant hand on your waist that disappears as quickly as it comes. 

“Ma said it was gonna be a strange day.” He mumbles under his breath and sighs “Always right.”

“I’m gonna go-” You don't want to screw up any more events of the timeline so you go to make a break for it but he's a quick hand, grabbing you by the forearm.

You winced out of instinct, he was still a super soldier to you, with ninety years of breaking skulls behind him. You hated thinking it but it was hard to see him as something else. Something before.

His brows furrow at your reaction. “M’am, do you need a hospital?”

“No!” You exclaim that would lead to even more consequences, records where there shouldn't be “No. No hospitals” You shook your head, “I’m fine anyway!” 

You forced a smile and he doesn't look impressed.

“You didn't know what year it was.”

“A momentary lapse!” 

“Look, I won't take you to a hospital, okay? But for my own peace of mind let me take you to my ma and she’ll check you over, and then you can call someone”

“Oh no, no I can’t” He’s still not letting you go. “Really its, I’m-” The dizziness comes back like a tidal wave, you hope the ground isn’t as hard as it looks.

“I’m not taking no for an answer, sweetheart, just- ”

"Don't call me sweetheart-" Your eyes roll back and everything goes black.

[justreadertings]

Till Death Do Us Part Chapter 1

I am absolutely thrilled to share this first chapter with you all! I have a feeling this is going to be a verryyy long ride, so thank you to anyone who is going on it with me! I absolutely adore this chapter, and I’m so excited to hear what you all think! If you want to be tagged, just lemme know and you can join our secret society where I give you forehead kisses and chocolates :)) without further ado, here is chapter 1-- Magee 

masterlist

tw: brief violence, anxiety Till Death Do Us Part- Chapter 1

Sixteen years ago, when the Galathynius family joined with the Whitethorns to reunite Terrasen and Dornelle into one country, 239 articles were set in place. The new constitution reunited the country in order to stop the tyrant empire of Adarlan, and restore order to a fifty year long civil war. The last article, Article 240, was set to be enacted on the day of Princess Aelin Ashryver Galathynius, Heir to the Unified Throne of Terrasen’s 18th birthday. On that day, the Galathynius family assured their now united country, all peace would be restored. 

-

“Are you asleep?” 

The princess squinted in the dark. She hid her smile in the sleeves of her nightgown. “Are you asleep?”

“Obviously not.”

Aelin pursed her lips and turned around carefully, as to not break their ill put together fort. She peered into the darkness. After a moment, the figure beside her turned too, and she was face to face with those green eyes. 

“I can’t fall asleep,” Rowan told her, whispering. 

Aelin cuddled her stuffed dog, fleetfoot, close to her. “Why are you whispering?”

“So we don’t wake anyone up.”

She laughed at that. Rowan was always so worried, so anxious. No wonder he couldn’t sleep. She didn’t know how they were gonna wake anyone up in the Great Hall. At least she hoped none of the guards lining the soaring windows were sleeping… her parents would have their heads. Well. Figuratively. They weren’t that mean.

“It was your idea to sleep out here,” Aelin argued.

Rowan frowned, pushing his hands through his shoulder length silver hair. She’d asked, earlier into their sleepover if she could braid it. She had been very convincing, telling him it’d be the same as when he had to tie his hair back for court. He’d only batted her hand away. She had threatened him with her father’s greatsword if he hurt her feelings again. It was all in good fun.

“I didn’t know it’d be so… quiet.”

“I thought you liked the quiet.” 

“I do,” he told her, even though she already knew it. “It’s just… this quiet is not a peaceful kind.”

Aelin would be much cozier in her bed right now if they’d gone with her plan, so she was feeling a little more prone to brattiness. “And what kind of quiet is this, pray tell?” She did her best Maeve impression.

Rowan didn’t answer for a moment, and she assumed he was just mad at her attitude. Huffing, she made to roll over again, until his voice rang out in the hall, causing goosebumps on her arms. “The bad kind.”

That ‘bad’ quietness settled over them. In the ten years of their friendship, she’d always been the dramatic one. Aelin did not like the change of pace.

“How ominous of you.”

That frown of his pulled on his face, and Aelin reached over to boop his nose. His answering scowl made her laugh. 

“Grumpy grumpy,” she sang. He only frowned at her some more. “How about this,” she said, rolling onto her back to stare up at the satin sheets draping off of Councilroom thrones. “Teach me more of the Old Language.”

Rowan, the party pooper, only sighed. “Why?”

Aelin flashed him a wicked grin. “Because it’ll help me fall asleep faster.”

They stared at each other in the darkness. Rowan watched her for a few moments, then settled down into the many, many blankets Aelin had dragged out. “Fine. If only to fill the silence.”

Only moments later, gunshots rang out into the hall. Silent no more.

Six Years Later…

Aelin Ashryver Galathynius, future Queen of Terrasen, Princess of the Unified Lands of Terrasen and Dornelle, the girl with fire in her heart, blessed by the gods themselves- was coming home today. 

Home. A foreign thought. Her home had been somewhere tucked in the Staghorns for nearly seven years. Not even her wards knew the exact location. But no more. Today, her titles and lands would return to her, and her word would once again be law.

Your Princess is returning, Terrasen, she thought to herself. Hopefully this time, you’ll know what's good for you and try to dispose of me after I save your asses. Elide would tell her to quit with her pessimistic attitude. Aelin would remind her that she hadn’t abandoned her country yet- nor would she ever, no matter the hell it put her through, so a bit of cynicism was allowed. 

The coach, bland and unassuming, rattled over gravel. Her cousin in question placed a hand on Aelin’s knee, pulling her from her thoughts. Her mind was always a crowded place, but in the days leading up to her return, there was hardly any room for more overthinking.

“Yes?”

A soft smile from her nursemaid who sat across from them. “Welcome home.”

Her heart skidded to a stop. The palace of Orynth. Her birthplace. Her throne. Home at last. With the screaming outside the silver walls, it seemed more so than ever. But Aelin knew it wasn’t her people that would make her feel so welcomed. It was not the old bricks of the palace, even if the sight of them made her heart clench in her chest. It was not the discrete back roads to the palace, keeping her hidden as she always would be.

No, Aelin would feel home when and only when those Ashryver eyes of hers met the green ones she had dreamed of since the day she’d been taken from them.

Yes. Aelin would certainly be home when she found Rowan.

-

She had asked to see his face thousands of times. Just a photograph, just a newspaper. Anything that would let her know how he’s grown. What he looks like now. So she could prepare herself, of course, but also so she didn’t miss him so thoroughly.

Gods, how she’d missed him. 

He was never allowed to visit. He’d draw too much attention, and “we couldn’t have my location revealed, now could we?” 

Her safety was of utmost importance- that she knew more than anything. Had learned that lesson time and time again. But nevertheless, she ached everyday for six years waiting to see his face. And now that she was within the walls of their home? Her whole body was buzzing. Celenea Sardothian no more.

The foreign taste of the word princess on her tongue made her feel so much… too much. It was not the first time she’d debated who was stronger, Celeana or Aelin. She shook her head. The thought was silly. 

She was Princess and soon to be Queen Aelin Ashryver Galathynius- and though her nervous body was telling her otherwise- she was not afraid. Her fingers brushed over the scars adorning her wrist just thinking the words.

The coach rounded to the old wooden stoop in the back of the castle, used mostly for maids and cooks. Elide squeezed her knee again as the curtains pulled back and a few dignitaries of her parents stepped out. Still, no silver hair. Her fingers broke the fabric on the seat, her long nails digging. 

“Remember,” Marion- Aelin’s caregiver, her mother’s closest friend, and Elide’s mother- had told her when they’d set route for Terrasen earlier in the week, “this is a first impression. You must keep that wild heart tame.”

Aelin had waved a hand. “I will be prim and proper for my country. Maybe I’ll even give them a reason to keep me alive this time.” Elide had whacked her for the comment. Aelin had only felt a twinge of guilt. It was her trauma after all, and she should be allowed to joke about it.

Either way, Aelin didn’t know if she could make good on that promise when she saw him. She’d been missing her best friend for six years. How was she supposed to keep herself calm when she saw- 

Oh Gods. She only saw a flash of silver, but it was undoubtedly him. She might throw up all over Celeana’s drab beige dress. What if he was different? She knew she was different. Flashes of fire and blood sparked behind her eyes. She had to shut them to focus. Rowan, she thought. Her nerves settled, her body returning, just a bit to her. Rowan. She was ready to be Aelin again. Because Aelin was Rowan’s. She would always have a place here. Her heart thumped wildly.

“Ready, dear?”

He was out there. Really. She’d seen him. Aelin rose her eyes to the heavens, asking Mala Firebringer, her shoulder God to aid her in this moment and keep her from doing something foolish.

“Ready,” she squeaked out. 

The door opened, and the row of men in suits, the row of guards with the Unified Crest of Terrasen, Elide and Marion at her back- they all disappeared. And Aelin immediately broke her promise and sprinted from the coach.

Rowan was bigger, taller, and much, much stronger than he was at fourteen. And when he caught her… it was home. She could smell his pine and snow scent as his strong arms banded around her back to hold her. Tears came embarrassingly quick.

He whispered something to her, but it was lost in the mass of her hair. His voice was so deep. So much time had passed and yet…

It was still her Rowan. She hadn’t made him up, hadn’t only dreamt of a world where someone understood her pain and her person- but had remembered it. And she might’ve just let herself stand there and learn all the new planes of him if he hadn’t pulled back.

Reality snapped into place then, even in the fog of him. She was Aelin Ashryver Galathynius, Daughter of the Unitors, the Fallen Rhoe and Evalin. She was the future queen of her great nation.

And she was her country's greatest target. Starting with the men lined up behind their prince, trying to hide their disapproving sneers. They’d wanted her to be the proper princess since the day she was born under the United Banner. They’d always said that their country was given a second chance when Orynth and Dornelle merged to become Terrasen again, and that her impropriety was wasting it. Aelin had learned very young when to stand her ground, and Rowan had always been a proud presence beside her. So when they looked her up and down and scoffed, she stared right back, even as Rowan’s eyes branded into her skin.

Aelin’s back straightened, a portrait of her proud mother. Even as her favorite dagger, the one with the carved flower hilt, pressed uncomfortably under her corset. She forced herself to focus. She would do this, she thought. She would jump into the lion's den and save Terrasen, even after all these years. After all it did to her. Instead of her place in the mountains, she would be here, at the meetings, she would speak with her court. She could do this. Her gaze went to meet Rowan’s for assurance, but his back had turned. 

Panic clutched her at his missing face. From the wooden stoop, the hand that had just held hers was latched onto a delicate one, attached to an even prettier woman. Rowan’s smile was a knife to her heart, as painful as any bullet. And though she already had a hunch, his excitement could only mean one thing…

“Aelin… I want you to meet Lyria.”

I hope that didn’t ruin anyone’s night (lies) 

Taglist: @leiawritesstories​ @tomtenadia​ @fireheart-violet​ @backtobl4ck​ @morganofthewildfire​ @rowaelinismyotp​ @aelinchocolatelover​ @thegreyj​ 

[agapaic]

[19 days] whiplash [ch. 365 after-shot]

The shop will be closing soon. He’s seen an attendant wandering around, who will probably ask him to leave in the next five minutes. There’s no one else here. His clothes are vivid against the neon glow of the tanks. The fish cast strange shadows on his shirt, living out a second life on his skin.

They swim in half-circles before sharply changing direction, never touching the glass. He wonders if they know it’s there, as if they can sense some immovable wall that holds them back.

He’s not getting deep about this. He could contemplate, quite extensively, about how their freedom must be bought by some higher power, and they would really only go from one tank to the next, slightly bigger, slightly richer. It’s all fake shit, and he remembers that in some ways he’s got it better than an animal. He can, at least, run away. Maybe he won’t get far. Just to the edges of the city villages where he’ll get a job earning less than before and lose his place in school.

Guan Shan puts a finger on the glass in front of him. There’s a label in the corner, peeling away from the glass. Veiltail goldfish. They have wispy, membrane-like tails. He could put his hand on the other side and see all the way through. Guan Shan watches the only black fish in the tank move placidly through the water.

Beneath the label, a smaller one: Black moor. For a minute he considers tugging the label off and putting it in his pocket, a little secret. He remembers that would be stealing, in some way, and someone in the shop would have to go to the effort of printing and laminating and reapplying the label just for one fish.

Guan Shan turns away.

He wanders for a few more minutes. He’s aware of his reflection in the glass. He worries about how long the attendant will let him stay there, and the thought that they will make him leave makes him feel slightly sick. He likes it here—the quiet, the muted hum of the tanks, the strange lights. They make him feel somewhere else.

His mother is working the night shift and won’t be home until just before he’s meant to go to school the next morning. They’ll have long enough together that he could tell her he got fired from the shop, but not long enough that he could reasonably pretend to have forgotten as he tugs on his uniform and slips out the front door.

She won’t be mad—she never is.

She can’t take on another shift.

Mentally, he has started taking stock. His Xbox is a few years old, but he’ll get something for it. He has a stack of old music magazines from his dad that could catch the eye of a collector. His computer, maybe.

The earrings.

His stomach twists.

Really, it’s not much. It’ll earn them a month, which could be just long enough for him to get another job, but what’s the likelihood of that in a city where most kids are just trying to bulk their CV’s for their college applications. Besides, his grades speak for themselves. He got lucky with the shop, and lightning doesn’t strike twice.

‘Hey, kid. We’re closing soon, so unless you wanna buy something…’

Guan Shan nods. His shoulders round.

For no logical reason, he says: ‘Can I take a goldfish?’

‘Sure. The black moor? Saw you had your eye on that one.’

‘No, one of the others.’

The attendant comes up next to him. ‘Just the one? They don’t like being on their own, you know.’

He presses his jaw tightly. A small sound comes out of him. He looks at the price tag and is somehow shocked and saddened to see the figure so low.

‘Fine,’ he says. ‘The black one, too, I guess.’

He pays, then leaves. It’s late enough that the streets are quieter than he expected. He’s usually home by now, his shift over, reheating leftovers while he works on his homework. He stands there while the shop attendant locks up behind him, holding the plastic bag with two fish in his hand. He feels stupid. Behind his eyes, he can feel a sort of stinging sensation.

He has the unnameable urge to grab one of the passing strangers and tell them how he’s feeling, what has happened, what could happen. On some level he knows that everyone has their own problems, and he’s not the type of person to overstep his bounds. Instead, he watches them pass, and after a few more minutes he goes to the nearest subway station and gets the train home.

/

He had half expected He Tian to find him on the street. He’d imagined it, He Tian catching his arm as he wandered from store to store, deliberating at large windows with thin mannequins and expensive jewellery without price tags. There is a part of him that’s disappointed that it didn’t play out like this, a part of him that is even angrier to find He Tian sitting in the stairwell of his apartment when he eventually does get home.

It’s close to midnight, and the stairwell is clinically quiet. Outside, the stars are dusty and covered in a thin layer of smog that is less noticeable in the day. He Tian looks exhausted. He’s the type of good looking where even the slightest imperfection somehow makes him even more attractive. Guan Shan hates it.

He stands when Guan Shan walks in, suddenly filling the space, and Guan Shan says, ‘Get outta my way.’

‘Where have you been?’

Guan Shan shoulders past him. There’s a moment where he thinks He Tian will grab him around the shoulders, the air around him simmering enough that Guan Shan is convinced it’s a near thing, choking with danger, but he lets him pass. He follows Guan Shan up the staircase, his footsteps silent, his body casting long shadows on the steps where Guan Shan sets his feet.

At the door, Guan Shan pockets the notice that’s taped there, knowing He Tian has already seen it. Less sharply, he picks up the notes in He Tian’s and Jian Yi’s writing and folds them into careful squares.

‘You’re not comin’ in,’ he says.

‘I called you, like, fifty times. Did you block me?’

Guan Shan thinks He Tian sounds angrier than he really has a right to be. He turns and presses his back to the door. He has his keys clenched tightly in a closed fist.

‘Yeah. I didn’t want to talk to you. I thought you would’ve gotten that.’

‘I can get you another job. Something better paid.’

‘You’re so fuckin’ clueless.’

He Tian’s eyes tighten.

‘You’re ruining my life,’ says Guan Shan.

‘That’s—that isn’t true. I’ve helped you. You would’ve been expelled if—’

‘Maybe I would’ve gotten expelled. But I wouldn’t have had She Li on my dick all the time, would I? Wouldn’t need you to get me a job ‘cause you made me lose my last one, would I? You’re just—stickin’ a bandage on shit when you hurt me first.’

‘It’s not always like that. Don’t make it sound like it’s always like that.’

Guan Shan shakes his head. ‘I want you to go. I told you I didn’t want to see you again. Fuck off.’

He Tian says, ‘Let me pay what was on the door.’

‘Fuck off.’

He Tian doesn’t move and Guan Shan squeezes his eyes shut. He’s going to cry again, the frustration bubbling sourly in the back of his throat. He doesn’t trust himself to open the door while He Tian is still here because he knows he’ll probably let him in.

‘Do I really make you feel like a failure?’

Guan Shan rubs at his eyes with his fist. His voice comes hoarse and thick: ‘I am a failure. Bein’ around you just makes it so much more fuckin’ obvious.’

He doesn’t want He Tian’s pity when he says this, or his reassurance. He’s just being honest. Saying it out loud is kind of breathlessly relieving. He couldn’t say something like that to his mother, or any of the teachers at school. He couldn’t say it to Grey, who he’s known for years. He Tian knows more about him than anyone. It’s a terrifying thought.

If they never see each other again, will He Tian tell everyone the things Guan Shan has told him? About the restaurant and his dad, or about She Li and the things Guan Shan has let him do to him? He feels vulnerable and sick thinking about it, completely powerless, as he does a lot of the time when he’s around He Tian.

He oscillates between that feeling of uselessness and the feeling of being so empowered that he thinks it must be what being high or drunk feels like. That latter has him trusting his own convictions, having an unadulterated faith in himself like jumping from a bridge and thinking he might just fly—so long as He Tian is with him. He doesn’t like how it’s one or the other, empowered or powerless, and rarely anything in between. He’s heard adults on TV talking about being codependent, pulled punishingly into each other's orbit, and he wonders if this is the same thing.

In the end he supposes it doesn’t really matter. So what if He Tian tells everyone? Probably, he won’t see the rest of the year out at school. He’ll get a job on a different side of the city and no one will hear from him ever again. The embarrassment will all be internal and will only last a week or two. Then life will move on. He wishes he were older and wiser and better at believing this. He wishes it didn’t feel like the universe might fall out from beneath him.

‘Doesn’t matter what I do, it turns to shit,’ he tells He Tian. ‘No matter how hard I work, I’m never gonna earn enough. I can spend three hours studyin’ for a test and still come last. If it isn’t She Li, then it’ll be someone else. I just—I can’t catch a fuckin’ break, He Tian. But you do somethin’ and you come first every time. Life’s so easy for you.’

He Tian shifts from side to side. ‘Do you think things wouldn’t feel so hard if you stopped focussing on what you think my life is like?’

‘You’re pissin’ me off.’

‘I don’t know how I’m meant to help you. You won’t let me give you money. It’s like pulling teeth from you just trying to know what’s going on with you. What are you so fucking afraid of?’

‘I never asked for your help.’

‘You shouldn’t have to—that’s why we’re friends.’

‘I never said I wanted to be your friend.’

He Tian frowns, his look very serious. He isn’t teasing tonight. Neither is Guan Shan. There is the sense that their interactions are always anything but teasing, really, some dark undercurrent that runs between the two of them like dark veins.

He Tian says, ‘Are those fish?’

For a moment Guan Shan thinks he’s joking, deflecting wildly to distract from the seriousness of what Guan Shan has just said. Then he feels the crinkle of a plastic bag in his hand and, remembering how he’d just spent the last few hours, nearly drops the two goldfish onto the floor.

‘Yeah,’ he says.

‘You don’t have a tank.’

‘Yeah, no. I don’t know why I bought them.’

He Tian hesitates. There is a curious, predictable gleam in his eyes. ‘Red and black?’

‘It’s all they had left at the store.’

He Tian is looking intently at the bag. ‘Do you remember when we went to the aquarium? And you said I wasn’t someone you could forget?’

‘I just meant that—’

‘I know what you meant. But I always pretend like you meant it the other way.’

Guan Shan thinks, Don’t you think things would be easier if you stopped focusing on what you want me to mean and what I actually mean?

Instead of saying anything, he looks down at his sneakers. They’re scuffed and starting to rip at the seams. The thought of having to buy new ones makes him panic and the thought of buying a pair of second-hand ones online makes him panic even more. There’s no shame in it, but the thought of wearing someone else’s clothes makes him feel strange, especially when he knows He Tian could buy fifty pairs without blinking.

Guan Shan considers that thought and replays what He Tian has just said about focusing on his life too much more than his own. Maybe part of that is true.

Before He Tian, did he always feel things so intensely? Did the bad always feel so fucking awful? He knows that things were mechanical, and he was mean and didn’t think much about other people in particularly nice ways. He knows he didn’t laugh much then, or have dinners and sleepovers with friends. He knows everything hurt on a distant, muted level that was easy to ignore. Not much time has passed since then, and he reasons that nothing about him has probably changed, just everything else around him.

‘I can’t understand why you won’t let me help you,’ says He Tian, when the silence has stretched too long.

‘Because I’ll get used to it.’

He Tian frowns, not understanding.

‘One day, you’re not gonna be around. And I’ll be fucked.’

‘I’ll always be there for you.’

‘You don’t know that. People say that a lot and then they disappear or get taken away, even if they didn’t want to.’

It’s obvious they’re talking about his dad, but it feels safer to talk about things in vague, subjective conversation. Maybe things would be easier if they talked openly about things and didn’t use metaphors and hypotheticals. As it is, Guan Shan doesn’t feel ready to try the alternative. He is conscious of the fact that this feels like a conversation. They are passing words back and forth that hold meaning and neither of them has touched the other yet. It feels new and fragile as an oil painting, still wet, and so he doesn’t let himself think about this for long.

‘I think you’re getting this wrong,’ says He Tian. ‘I’m not asking you to rely on me. Obviously, I’d kind of like that. I like the thought of you needing me, and I know that says something about me. But—I’m just asking you to let me help you. Just here and there, no strings.’

Guan Shan rubs his forehead with the back of his knuckles. His keys are starting to pinch his skin and he can feel a headache starting to surface.

‘I’m tired,’ he says. ‘I actually do want you to go.’

He Tian’s jaw clenches and he breathes out heavily through his nose. He’s probably thinking he’s wasted his time.

‘Okay,’ he says then. ‘But we’re not done.’

A new wave of exhaustion comes over Guan Shan, crippling and final. He wants to get into bed with his skin against cold sheets and sleep for twelve hours without waking once.

‘You’re not the only one that ever gets to decide that,’ he tells He Tian, a little sharply. ‘You’ve gotta learn to let people go.’

‘But what if I know I can help them?’ says He Tian. ‘If I don’t, I’ve just—failed.’

They look at each other.

A minute stretches into an eternity that could be seconds or hours, and everything has gone backwards. Everything is the same.

Guan Shan can’t put his finger on what has just happened, but he feels like laughing. Their fears are twinned, self-perpetuating, some kind of ouroboros chasing its tail. Who will get caught first?

They both seem to take in a breath at the same time, and He Tian takes a step back.

‘Goodnight,’ he says.

Guan Shan nods. He waits for He Tian’s retreating back to disappear a few flights down before opening the door to his apartment, and shuts it swiftly behind him.

/

There’s a knock at the door while he’s brushing his teeth. The fish are swimming placidly in their bag on the edge of the bathroom sink. It’s past one, and he keeps all the lights off because his eyes are feeling sore. He’s adjusted to the dim glow that comes from street lamps seeping through the curtains, the blink of the timer on the electric stove, his Xbox gleaming in his bedroom. His mother shouldn’t be home yet and she has her own set of keys.

With a sinking heart, Guan Shan pictures his landlord demanding payment.

Worse, he pictures He Tian. Before He Tian left, they’d resolved nothing. It feels like being back to square one, chasing each other around a chess board. It fills him with a vast emptiness that makes him feel like he’s existing outside of himself, waiting for someone else to take over.

He pads silently towards the front door, his toothbrush jammed into his cheek, and peers through the viewer. There’s toothpaste dripping down his chin. In the hall, there’s no one there. He’s half-convinced he imagined it. He counts to ten before he opens the door, steps out—and his foot connects with something hard. There is a cardboard box sitting on the welcome mat.

Guan Shan peers around. The light in the stairwell is artificially bright. He kneels down and opens the tabs on the box, which hasn’t been taped. He swallows.

For the fish, says the note on the second box, nestled inside the first. Careful, it’s fragile.

Guan Shan rubs the heel of a palm into his right eye. He sighs. Then he reaches out, braces himself, and picks up the tank. He carries it into his apartment, and the door locks behind him.

/

thank you for reading! if you’d like to support me on my ko-fi/request a short drabble, you can do so here: https://ko-fi.com/agapaic 💞