#I probably missed some things but I'll edit this later if so

[box-architecture]

I was rereading some of your stuff on Ao3, and went “huh. I know Sapnap kidnaps Dream out of a misguided idea of what’s happening at one point, but how does that all go? How did Dream react? What was Sapnap like?”

So now I’m asking you. At 12:20 am. I have class in 7.5 hours!

Okay so we're going to ignore how long this has been sitting in my drafts, half answered. Okay? Okay. Awesome

-

So at some point during the Discovery Of Many Kinks (because when you're having a weird poly relationship with your former Warden, you're going to try a bunch of different things. For Science) awesamdrunz attempt to do a sex tape. It gets left around and found within like three days. By Sapnap.

So of course because of burning curiosity he has to watch the mysterious tape to see whats on it.

Then the only reason he kept watching was shock and also trying to figure out who the hell the third person was, why they looked familiar but also what the hell happened to them. Fun ways to find out your former best friend wasn't lying when he said he was horrifically tortured by your kind-of finance: finding his sex tape.

And listen, originally it was a fun crack idea to have him see this relationship nonsense where awesamdrunz was basically fucking in sex dungeons (made by Sam) after kidnappings, and decided that this was actually a really good template to fix his own relationship. He ends up trapping Quackity and Karl in what might be a previously unused sex dungeon!

(Resounding success: both of his boyfriends did not murder each other (due to bars in between them) and even spoke to each other in order to escape. This is the most progress he's had in months.)

But then! Alternate Idea! Sapnap sees the sex tape and (honestly not unfairly given his prior knowledge) believes Punz & Sam are at minimum, pressuring Dream into this relationship, and somehow this is a worse crime than murder. No wonder Dream couldn't stay in the prison! (Which. Not inaccurate.) So Sapnap sets about needing to find and protect Dream.

Sapnap finds Dream, and tries to convince him that he'll protect him. Dream is confused about what Sapnap saw, and has a tough time refuting anything. He also does really miss his friend. So he,,, doesn't really fight when Sapnap takes him to a secondary location.

-

"The windows are nice. Not as defensible, but you'll know if the enemy approaches." Dream commented, staring at the cloud-covered sea.

Sapnap laughed nervously, pulling open kitchen cupboards. "Yeah, I don't know. There shouldn't be any way for someone to find us out here though; its not like I told anyone where we were going."

Dream pursed his lips, but said nothing, eyes following the way the waves crashed against the shitty boardwalk Sapnap cobbled together half asleep. He figured Dream wouldn't want to be cooped up in the cottage all the time, not after… everything, so they could go sit out on the beach and fish, maybe, or go look for seashells. They hadn't built a sandcastle since they were kids, either, so it would definitely be something fun to try. Just like old times.

The wheat was crumbling in his hands, so Sapnap quickly tossed it on the counter.

"Are you hungry?" He called out, trying for a bit more cheer. Dream's gaze pulled to his, and Sapnap began pulling more ingredients out on the granite. "I know I'm not usually the person who cooks, but I've been getting into it lately! I made rabbit stew for Karl the other day, and he didn't even make a face when he was chewing."

He didn't really think about the potatoes as he dumped them into the sink, but he did notice the way Dream flinched, drawing in on himself and towards the doorway.

"Dream?"

"Just…" Dream looked back out into the sea. His fingers, what remained of them, dug into the fabric of his pants. "Nothing with potatoes. Please."

Sapnap felt his anxiety roll like the tide.

"Yeah, dude, that's cool. Doesn't sound appealing right now anyway." He said uncertainly. Dream's shoulders relaxed marginally, but Sapnap still felt off. "Anything you're in the mood for, though? Beet soup? Cheese sandwich?"

"Whatever you cook is fine." Dream reassured him. A brittle, but teasing edge appeared in his smile. "Unless you somehow got worse at baking bread."

He had, but god forbid would he ever admit to that. He grinned, and sat up on the counter. "Oh, like you're so good at it. I tried your stupid 'Everything' bread, and it tasted like ash."

"You turned off the timer and it burned."

"Well maybe next time don't leave random timers on the oven and expect anyone to know what they're for."

"Maybe next time you should assume its there for a reason and not touch it." Dream said in exasperation. Sapnap stuck his tongue out, and Dream threw his hands up, exiting the kitchen. He was so dramatic, Sapnap thought fondly.

-

Its a lot of Sapnap attempting to reestablish their previous connection and realizing how much Dream has changed, and staring at the scars when he thinks Dream isn't looking. He gets Super Protective and promises he wont let anything else happen to him. Dream is instinctively upset (why now, why does it matter now, why do you care, I am Perfectly Fine) but its one of his People and he is So Tired.

Sapnap is sorta kinda keeping Dream with him. It's not exactly against Dream's will, but it's also like, if Dream could walk out the door and come back later without Sapnap freaking out he'd rather do that. But Sapnap is freaking out, and seems to believe that there is a credible threat against Dream if he leaves. Given Sapnap's previous relationship with Quackity, Dream is willing to believe he might know something and that alone makes him anxious enough that he wants to stay.

Sapnap gets more horrified the longer he's with Dream (Dream flinches under his touches, his fingers are gone, Dream makes a snide comment about Quackity when Sapnap asks about the scars,) and this only convinces him more that clearly he needs to be protecting Dream. Sapnap expresses a lot of fury towards Sam, and Dream doesn't have any good arguments against it. There's a lot of stuff that he just sorta, decided to ignore, and now that coming back up is messing with him.

They get into a brief yelling match when Dream gets tired of what he presumes is pity and fake behavior, and it ends with Sapnap holding Dream to keep him from leaving or collapsing.

(The irony(?) of Dream comforting Sapnap for most of his life only for them to switch places in this moment is not lost on him.)

He gets to snuggle with him under the covers and gets a kiss on the chin (Dream is half asleep, and thinking about how much he missed him.)

Meanwhile, Punz is going to Murder Sapnap.

Punz has no context for why Sapnap took Dream so he is assuming Sapnap is going to attempt to imprison Dream again (after failing to kill him) and while he is 100 percent confident in Dreams abilities he also is aware that Sapnap is one of Dreams People and therefore capable of hurting Dream emotionally. Hurting Dream is Not Allowed.

Sam is having a panic attack because Dream isn't within sight line and isn't with Punz and therefore everything is Wrong and Bad in his world.

When you finally get a confrontation between Sam and Sapnap (because at this point, they don't know that Sapnap knows about Punz, so Sam is going in first), Sapnap responds viciously, tearing into Sam both for the scars on Dream's body, but also stating he knew they were fucking, and there's no way that's even remotely acceptable given the position of power Sam had (he's not wrong. this is a true statement of fact for everything that occurred prior to the prison break. it's just that things got weird after that). Sam has no good rebuttal, and faced with violence from Sap, has to flee. He's left shaken from everything.

Dream: listen he may have enabled my torture and abuse, and starved and isolated me, and accepted sexual favors from me while being in a position of power over me But he's also a very sad wet cat of a man, and I'm a control freak

Punz tries to talk with Sapnap on slightly less,,, angry grounds? On his part. Knowing about the interaction with Sam, he feels better about the fact Dream is probably safe and Sapnap probably has good reason for what he's doing.

To be clear though, Sapnap is furious with Punz. Right out of the gate he reveals he knows Punz was involved. At first, he's assuming that Punz was paid off to help Sam, but Punz decides "fuck it" and reveals at least part of things. He explains he was working with Dream after the prison break, that he felt bad for betraying him, and that they had a relationship. Dream wanted to involve Sam post-prison, Punz was against it, but wanted Dream to be safe.

Sapnap: you're forcing him to do this! Punz: I DON'T EVEN WANT HIM TO BE DOING THIS Sam: >:(

Sapnap needs to take some time to processes that, but he then presses to clarify; Dream and Sam had a relationship while Dream was in prison? Yes.

Sam had a hand in the torture and Dream's condition? Also yes.

After he broke out, despite all of this, Dream still felt like he wanted to return to Sam? Yes.

Sapnap: And you LET him?!

Punz doesn't have a good answer for that, other than Dream is his own person, and Punz can't stop him from doing what he wants with his life. To which Sapnap responds, yes you can motherfucker

It's a very fundamentally rift in their two perspectives. Punz, particularly post-prison, couldn't morally justify restricting Dream or telling him how to life his life or cope. Sapnap, thinks that Dream was not in a position to make a choice like that.

Punz doesn't have a good answer for that, it's the exact thing he's been feeling guilty over. So he ends up leaving, Not for forever. Just to think.

Meanwhile, Dream overheard everything. He now understands what Sapnap is seeing as the "real issue" (or at least, the current threat at hand), and he knows that he's going to make his own choice here.

Dream: I understand that my decisions are problematic but have you ever considered that I've made my choices and will continue to make them, even if you don't agree Sapnap: NO

Dream tells Sapnap gently that he's leaving now. He wants to go back. Sapnap doesn't want him to, he makes fair arguments about how much Dream could be hurt here. Dream understands, but he's also an adult, and he's decided what he wants. He's forgiven his stupid creeper hybrid boyfriend. It might not make sense to, but he has. It's his choice in the end.

Sapnap doesn't like it, there's a long people where he's just holding Dream and in tears. He's apologized a lot. For leaving Dream there. He says it again for good measure. Dream gives him a soft kiss on the forehead and he doesn't say it's okay, but he does say that he loves him. That it will be okay.

Dream has to go now, but he promises to come back, they set a time and they get to just spend time together. Talking about things one at a time.

(Sapnap and Dream see each other a lot now, as he slowly enters Dream's life again. Occupying his space and checking up on him and fretting. They get more kisses, more cuddles in bed. Once a week they come back to their little cottage and grow something that isn't what they used to have, but its still good, and its full of love.)

Later, Dream will be reassuring Punz that he made the best choices he could make, sighing and pulling Sam out of his prison depression hole. Kidnapping once again proves to be a great way to solve problems.

[mintjeru]

hypothetically speaking, these would be cute sticker designs ^^

open for better quality | no reposts

[pillowenvelopchair]

Hey guys!! this is just my insane ramble on Still Waters Run Deep that's made by the lovely @un-local. I've had so so sooooo many thoughts about this fic and I decided to try and put it all coherently in a post :)

Probably not a lot of new insights, just many, many rambles

Magdalene analysis and her view on Rogier + some other stuff

Magdalene, at the start of the story, is aimless and refuses to follow any line of Grace, putting off whatever it leads to and going in the opposite direction. Yet Grace is fickle, and it all eventually converges, so she gives in. (aaaand a life-changing partnership ensues)

She wants out of the competition of becoming Elden Lord, and she wants nothing to do with it. Someone else to take lordship is what she wants. Magdalene, in her eyes, is not worthy to take the throne. But Rogier on the other hand…

Rogier is, quite literally, built different. He thinks differently compared to Magdalene (a STR vs INT user difference lol). He’s able to pick out all the details that she would miss. Be able to extrapolate and examine it all and be able to learn from it. Magdalene can't do that.

It's basically:

Rogier: says some fun facts about the most random thing in the room, saying all the history behind it, and what the tiny details could mean Magdalene: yeah, that's a rock.

So instead, she becomes a tool for Rogier to be able to use, because that's the least she can do for him.

“She can already feel the faint grin forming on her lips at the thought. She never wanted to be Elden Lord. She’d finally picked up and followed grace to... to get away, with no idea what it called her to do. When Melina told her where it led her, she felt only dread. But Rogier... To save Those Who Live in Death... Two birds, one stone. She meets his eyes, and doesn’t look away. In them, she doesn’t see pride, or avarice. She doesn't see a man who wants to rule the world. Not at all. The path forward is clear now.” -Chapter 22

For once, she really sees a light from the dark future she sees. She's hopeful that she won't have to take the throne, that Rogier can burden it instead of her. He's worthy in her eyes and because of that, she devotes herself to him with all she can do. (Ah but… I believe Rogier wants her to be Elden Lord? Not sure but her not wanting to be Elden Lord doesn’t quite fit with what he has planned)

Magdalene really holds onto Rogier, and his guidance (a comfort wizard, if you will). And so the idea that he won’t make it… that she’ll be left alone with Grace again, forced to join back into the competition for lordship... It's sickening to her. So she really clings to him, desperate to not be left alone with a destiny that she despises.

Magdalene is always pulled into different directions. Grace pulls her to one but she pulls herself to the opposite one. Fia and D are both on extreme sides of the spectrum on Rogier's survival, and Magdalene is caught right in the middle of it.

But for her, Rogier will survive, he has to survive otherwise... that light, that small hope she has will all fade into obscurity.

Ghosts from the past (Lorens and Ida)

I absolutely love how something, or rather, someone haunts both of them.

Lorens had been the catalyst of all of what Rogier does now. Why he’s so desperate to save those who live in death. He's literally devoted his body and mind to Lorens just to see him alive (maybe Rogier's devoting all of himself to finding a solution to death because he wants it to come back to the old times when it was just him and Lorens in the Rise, or maybe not!! I'm just rambling lol).

Every thought of Lorens is painted with a sort of bittersweetness to it. From Rogier's perspective, at the very least (I'm super curious as to how Lorens would view Rogier but we'll probably never get it because... you know...). He's almost obsessed with him, and it's all pretty unhealthy lol.

Magdalene, who’s haunted by Ida who's probably a sort of lover that hadn't been fully brought to fruition. Different opinions on what they have had made Magdalene leave with (from what I have seen at least, we have scrapes of her, people! I can't wait to see more of Ida though)

Now with Ida... Magdalene absolutely shakes herself out of every thought she has about Ida. Spurning every single thought or imagination she has of that woman.

"Nausea comes in waves. Fever. She can feel delirium taking her—she’s convinced she’s submerged in the very waters of creation, for a while. She vividly feels herself sinking deeper and deeper into a current; cold and dark and inescapable. As it pulls her down, she’s overcome with the instinct to breathe it in— Against her temple she feels a hand, with gentle fingers dragging softly through her hair. Suddenly, every layer of the dream collapses in on itself, and she jolts awake with a gasp.  Here, in Liurnia, she hauls herself up, rubbing at her face. Even the memory is a shock of cold water to her. She’s a woman haunted." -Chapter 23

(I just really love this part- I can't help it)

I think it's also really interesting how Magdalene leaves Ida due to their differences in what they have (?) while Rogier just absolutely hangs onto Lorens no matter what, despite him being... er... him. Not so sure about his personality with the small flashbacks we get of him but he’s probably not good for Rogier.

In short, Rogier venerates Lorens, while Magdalene absolutely rejects Ida. (Opposites!)

Rogier’s overthinking

Also found it interesting that when Rogier thinks he really thinks. He's a professional overthinker, even in the past

"He thinks of the labyrinthian etiquette, the way he’d triple-check every sentence for a double meaning. The secrets, the ruthless political schemes. It all felt like a spider’s web to him. He’d learned the game, and he played it well, but it had been nothing but paranoia and misery for him. Just like it was for everyone else." -Chapter 17

It's what's kept him alive (Ch. 17), and what's been able to pave the way for his findings Yet, it’s also his curse. He tries to pick out every detail that he can and think of every possible reason or motivation. Every single outcome he just needs to know so that he won't get caught by surprise again. He needs to be in control of the situation, he needs to be the master of the chessboard.

Oh and once this guy spirals, he really spirals. He starts thinking and looking at details, rewinding every single thing, every interaction, and trying to label a reason for every little thing. Yet... something emotional seems to break the surface of the water.

I personally think that he was raised to overthink. He was a noble after all, and he dealt with politics. He truly needed to check, double check, triple check, every single sentence and word in case it would have a double meaning. "He’d learned the game, and he played it well" (Ch. 17) . Getting worse after Lorens' death, being fooled by "Only a cut." (Ch. 25) and seeing the aftermath of it.

He can't not do it because if he doesn't, and he gets surprised it would break him (or at the very least, freak him out).

ALSO!! Rogier hating on "saccharine conversations" (Ch. 17) good lord. This guy cannot be real with anyone. Rogier refuses to show vulnerability because:

1. He was raised like that (the whole attachment theory thing) 2. He will absolutely break if he does

Do you guys remember when Fia tells Magdalene that "dear Rogier began to weep as he spoke" (Ch.14)? Fia saw through Rogier's walls through the cracks and he just absolutely breaks down. (Get yourself a man who, after "embracing" tells you all about this thing he's obsessed about and then cries because of it)

It's a mortifying ordeal, that someone's able to see through the walls you've meticulously put up. It hits something deep within that he’s tried to bury.

Despite the walls he puts up people other than Fia see through them. Magdalene (Ch.7) was able to see through the small cracks that have broken, and Roderika... hoo she really hit a nerve didn’t she? (But it also hit one of her nerves too, Rogier vs Roderika am I right?)

Chapter 17 analysis

Also, while we’re on the topic of Roderika, let's talk about chapter 17! Seems I have a lot to talk about.

I absolutely love this chapter so much, it gives us so much insight into Rogier's backstory and the way he thinks. His noble background really shines through here, with how he acts with Roderika who is a fellow ex-noble too.

"His grin is wide and carefree, but it rather feels like he's baring his teeth.  There’s no room for your pity here." -Chapter 17

This guy cannot accept any sign of sympathy/compassion with anyone. It's all pity to him, and he absolutely hates pity. Once Roderika starts to console him too it sickens him and it makes him bare his teeth like an animal, his baser instinct showing just a little bit.

He’s probably bore his teeth to other nobles in the court, or whatever meetings they have with one another. Small threats that get the message across by a vicious smile, is something he is all too familiar with.

I also think that it's a little bit funny how he gives advice to Roderika but then is also a little bit of a hypocrite about it

“It’s hard, to leave it behind. But the old world will keep its claws in you, if you let it.” -Chapter 17

Rogier while it's not his past life that he's stuck but rather, he is stuck on Lorens. Even though Rogier is no longer Lorens' student, even though Lorens is dead, he still has his claws on Rogier. It's his entire motivation, why he's in a "pathetic" state now. He isn't letting those claws go, he lets them dig deeper within him, and they dig in deep.

“You already have it within you," he says. "They were only trying to bury it.” -Chapter 17

Rogier immediately buries his own emotions in this interaction when Roderika tries to console him lol. Just based off of him being an ex-noble and his whole family thing, it's well established that he is very much used to burying it all down his gullet. I mean, is it really Rogier without emotional suppression?

Also Rogier tends to close off all the matters that relate to what he feels in his dialogue both in game and in SWRD. This guy cannot let out just a slight moment of vulnerability

A Color Theory Thing on my read on Rogier's garb:

Rogier, with his background being grounded in nobility has suppressed his baser desires in exchange for meaningless political schemes that have only brought him misery. Yet after coming to these lands, he finds himself with Lorens.

He wears a Raya Lucarian Robe and it has red on it. It's a sign of baser instincts being shown for once. He has grown an infatuation with Lorens despite being his student.

Yet, Rogier is still mostly blue, and he still suppresses that baser desire that he’s developed, that infatuation for Lorens. He never once builds up the courage to be able to tell Lorens what he feels. He would always bury those feelings down, and as a result he can't let go of it. It's far too deep to be buried back up.

But once Lorens has died, Rogier changes too.

He exchanges those garbs for yellow and turquoise (I think?). He's a mix of colors and beliefs.

He still has the blue in the turquoise, which symbolizes calm, intelligence, and emotional control (you can’t spell Rogier without emotional control) But turquoise isn't just blue, it also has green.

Green represents growth, life, and new beginnings. This is a new beginning for Rogier, who's set out for a new goal, to be able to save those who live in death (and perhaps give them life? Not so sure on that but in SWRD that seems to be the case with Lorens).

It's balanced by yellow. Creativity and originality, he's almost the only person we meet who wants to save TWLID. Not only that but yellow also symbolizes illness, which could be a foreshadowing of what happens to him later in his life.

It's not just sickness though, yellow also symbolizes deception. Rogier lies, but I necessarily think he's someone who is always deceptive. He's more like the type of guy who would lie so that an encounter would go well or not hurt someone else's feelings. I think he's like that from that whole ex-nobility thing he's got going on. Political schemes and lying through a smile is something that he's familiar with. (It also doesn't help that he keeps being emotionally suppressed too lol)

Cowardice is another. Rogier is scared to tell anyone about his emotions, to take that risk of being honest with someone. His background in nobility and his family definitely doesn't help either.

Rogier had been too scared to be true to Lorens and tell him his feelings, and because of that, he would never be able to. I feel like he's avoided it even more afterward. He refuses to take that jump of being honest with someone, whether it's about his emotions or his ideals, he doesn't let them go.

But when he does? With D, it completely breaks off everything they've had. Everything that they could have been.

"Beguiled fool. A rotten, sick bastard. Fouled by them. A wicked, two-faced user. Heartless. Loathsome parasite. How could he? Were they not supposed to set this crooked world straight? Profane. A perversion of honor. A madman." -Chapter 5

“Get out of my sight.” “I’m sorry.” He’d said, and he was. But Darian’s lips curled back, and he jerked his head away and locked his eyes on the horizon. His jaw twitched, in the moment he took to reply.  “Don’t talk to me.” There was nothing he could do to fix this. To undo his mistakes, to spare Darian his intentions." -Chapter 5

It's all gone because he had been honest about his goals (presumably). This experience probably strengthened that emotional suppression so as to not be hurt/caught by surprise.

So when Magdalene, someone who wholeheartedly accepts his ideals and sees his side for once, he's cautious. He can't believe that someone can genuinely agree with him because all the times that he has been honest, he's been punished for it. (though, he reminds himself that she's not like that)

In short, this guy's a mixed bag. A mixed bag with problems

(basing this off of the Elden Ring color theory video, it was an absolute joy to watch)

[EDIT]: idk what to call this section but he seems to seek out some form of approval. Lets see how that ties in with his grief!

"He still doesn’t understand why. What did he do, specifically? Or was he just past his usefulness? Deemed unfit to rule? He never truly wanted to rule as Lord, but to be cast aside so indifferently—it had shaken him.  Every now and then he fumbles with this, again and again, but he knows. He does. He knows that grace has forsaken him for good reason. He’s a heretic. An apostate. He who does not obediently bow before a faltering, decrepit Order, so ill-equipped to handle the world as it is. " -Chapter 5

"All these years. Couldn’t change a thing. Rather pathetic, I’d say—what a fool, thinking that this crooked world could be made right by mortal hands. Sure, deathblight. Truly, a fitting end for a worthless, rotten bastard." -Chapter 12

Now, speaking from some personal experience, being raised in a family that's of nobility and expects so much out of you from a young age definitely breeds some kind of self-worth issues that really stick with you. Especially if you haven't had anyone to truly support you.

Because of that, I believe that Rogier, in a way, is trying to prove his worth. But not to the Order, I think that he's in some way trying to please Lorens. Even in death.

He puts everything into his studies of Death, searching and scouring for scraps of information just to give him a single lead on anything, and for what?

"Its fulfillment will be a selfish act of altruism. These crooked lands will set right, by his hands, for a reward of nothing at all. But make no mistake: he needs another day. And another after that, and another after that. He needs his questions answered with questions, he needs his notes corrected in an unreadable hand, he needs to hear one more “Well—” followed by the most opaque, convoluted tangle of sentences ever constructed. There’s no reward he seeks, but the warm smile of cold gray eyes and a scoff about just what he’s wearing nowadays. " -Chapter 19

Rogier devotes himself to saving TWLID (saving Lorens, in reality), but it's not because it's all for selfless reasons, he seems to want things to go back to the way things used to be. Back at the Rise, with just him and Lorens once more.

I don't think Rogier ever accepted Lorens' death. He's determined to bring back Lorens, desperately trying to find a solution to bring him back no matter what.

And it’s quite hypocritical isnt it? That Rogier wants to change the Order to be able to sort of… revive Lorens from Death. To go back to the old times that they both had had.

This guy refuses to grieve and is searching (desperately) for a solution for a dead man who's probably not even good for him. Get this man some therapy

This entire post's summary is just me going:

Anyway, that's all for my crazy rambles! I can't wait to see how SWRD will progress, and how everyone will intermingle and grow with one another (Rogier and Mags)!!!! :0)

Have some doodles + a WIP that I'll probably never finish as a treat for reading this! (Mag's torso was wayyy too long on the second one oops)

(bonus boggart because I love him)

[snowthedemonfox]

So we got some screenshots for Ep 3, and I'm going to talk about some things I've noticed + some theories

I went off for over an hour in the bunnydoll burrow's VC talking about everything I noticed, but I'm realising writing it all down would be a smarter move, cause I know I'd forget it. If I've missed anything you think is important, let me know! I'll edit this post with new notes.

Let's start with the first screenshot, because that just makes the most sense:

The elephant in the room is the realistic human hand. I don't doubt this is the scene that has some level of blood and gore in it. We can't see what the hand is connected to, but whatever it is, it seems to be taller than Pomni and Kinger. They're both looking up, and the camera angle is facing down towards them both.

We can see 2 heads hanging from the wall behind Kinger, and what we can assume to be a 3rd behind the desk behind the hand.

One of these heads, as many have pointed out, seems to resemble Pomni. The face is entirely white, what I can assume is an eye seems to be the same size as Pomni's, and you can see that familiar looking hair on the side.

Even the other two things we see look like other members of the cast!

The head to the right of Kinger looks like Ragatha. It's got the hair, and even the face looks to be made of actual fabric, like a real doll. It seems whatever these things are, they're meant to look like more 'horror' versions of the characters.

(Side note, but if I had to guess, if Glitch releases a 3rd sticker sheet for episode 3, I wouldn't surprised if we got a new set of icon variations for the main cast. But instead of candy, we get these horror versions instead. I think that'd be cool, and I really hope that's what happens.)

You could even go as far to say the 'human' hand we're seeing is from the horror version of Kinger. Like I said before, the camera is looking down at them. Why would it be looking down? Because whatever's looking at them, is attached to the wall.

Moving onto other details in the room, we can see there's a chair behind Pomni with some kind of light on it. At first, I thought this might have been the tape recorder from the February trailer, but you can see the tape recorder is on a desk, not a chair.

And while there is a desk in the room, whatever is on there doesn't look like a tape recorder. It looks more like a photo, or some kind of radio.

The giant 'M' on the rug. We know the ghost lady's name is Martha Mildenhall, so this probably implies she owns the mansion the gang are exploring. Why would she need their help, though? Maybe whatever force is moving the hand in the screenshot, is some kind of 'evil' ghost, and that's why Pomni and the others are there to help. There's evil ghosts inhabitating the mansion, and Martha needs help to get rid of them. It's simple, it's your basic video game quest, it seems like a normal adventure plot that Caine would come up with.

There seems to be something behind the chair, but I can't make out if it's a door, some curtains, or some kind of closet. The lighting isn't doing me any favours. Either way, I doubt it's important to the episode, probably just background decoration.

As for my other thoughts that aren't as related to the screenshot itself, I do believe that everyone is going to be split up. Obviously Kinger and Pomni are working together, but I'm still not sure if Jax would be hanging with Ragatha & Gangle, or if he'd be off doing his own thing. As for Zooble, I'll get to them later.

And this might just be me looking into things too much, but it almost looks like one of Kinger's eyes is focused entirely on whatever is behind the camera, while the other isn't focused at all. Like he's half paying attention to the 'danger' he and Pomni are in.

But that's really all I have to say about the first screenshot. Let's move onto the main event:

Again, let's get the obvious out of the way: new Zooble design! They've got some new parts, like the arms, unicorn horn, and the blocky yellow and pink thing, but also some old parts, like the bluish-green ring, and their classic black and white antenna. So far, I like this design! I'm happy to see that they've decided to mix things up a bit. Not my favourite design, but still decent. They've got good taste.

Before I talk about Zooble and Caine, I first want to talk about the location they're in. At first, I thought this might've been Zooble's room, but looking closer, it's obviously not. Then I thought it was that little desk area at the end of the dorm hallway.

But nope, the hallway has different plants, picture frames, wallpaper, and no chairs to be seen. The plants we can see look similar to those seen in Caine's resturant realm from Ep 1, so I think I can safely guess that this is a new location, made specifically for him and Zooble to chat.

Speaking of that, I think that's going to be the driving point of Zooble's character development this episode. Something is going to convince them to join the future adventures, and it seems this will be that something. We know thanks to the AMA, that Zooble not going on adventures is important to their character, so having their episode focus on this topic makes sense.

What I can assume happened to lead up to this interaction is this:

Caine announced the adventure, and just like in both Ep 1&2, Zooble immediately expresses that they are not interested, and walks off. Caine can't really do anything about it yet, so he focuses on everyone else. Explains the rest of the adventure to them, and sends them on their way.

He then catches up to Zooble before they reach wherever they planned on going, and teleports them both to this new room. It looks almost like some kind of waiting room, or a room where they're both supposed to talk things out. It's got the comfy chairs, wall art, I wouldn't be surprised if there's a little table between them.

Zooble, obviously, is not impressed. They don't care about Caine's adventures, and want nothing to do with whatever he has planned for them in the meantime. Caine, on the other hand, just wants to figure out why Zooble doesn't want to go on his adventures. He spends so much time figuring them out! Just for the humans! Why won't Zooble participate!?

This very likely evolves into an argument between the two. I like how Caine is clearly angry in this screenshot. It's nice to see him show some more variety when it comes to emotion!! Zooble doesn't care for whatever Caine is saying, and Caine just wants to understand why they don't care.

Something happens, maybe they do talk it out, maybe something else, but by the end of the episode, Zooble decides that maybe going on a few adventures isn't that bad. I think it's way too early to guess what happens in that huge timeskip, but for now, this is the best I've got.

I feel Zooble's arc in this episode might touch on a few topics, like how while they might think staying by themselves all day and doing their own thing is better for them, isolating themselves isn't doing anyone any favours, and that, for lack of a better term, going 'outside' every once in a while can't hurt.

... and that's pretty much all I can think of to say regarding these two screenshots! I'm sure we'll get to learn more as the episode release gets closer, but I'm excited to see how things turn out!! :3

[celestial-grls]

Party 4 You - Paige Bueckers x fem!reader

summary: you decide to go out with the women's basketball team and a certain member has always confused you - before now word count: 2.9k a/n: fav concept ever is #partypaige...title inspired by the best Charli XCX song ever. please leave comments / reblog if you liked this ok mwah <33

"It's my job that you come out with us tonight." A very out-of-breath KK Arnold informed you on the phone about her new job. 

"KK, did you just finish practice? Why are you out of breath?" You'd started an internship about two weeks ago, and when you agreed to take it, no one warned you that interning meant piling on a ton of work that no one else wanted to do. It'd felt awful to be holed up inside, spending nights hunched over a computer when everyone else was only getting their summer started. 

"Was just playing pick up with Paige and Ice," KK sighed, "So, did you make up your mind yet?" 

"Ugh, I don't know. There's a ton of stuff missing in some of these documents they want me to edit. I still haven't even thought about what I'd wear if I did go out tonight—" You rambled on, pacing around your desk before KK interrupted. 

"I already know you got something in that never-ending closet of yours. Does that mean you'll come out tonight?" An air of hope in KK's voice made you pause to consider it. 

You mindlessly wandered all the way to your closet while you were on the phone with KK. Maybe it was a sign that your brand-new skirt was hanging on the door handle, begging to be taken out for a spin. You told KK, "Okay, I'll be there. But please, promise we will keep it contained, nothing crazy?" 

KK let out a scream that made you rip the phone away from your ear before she started laughing and said, "Come by later to pregame! Bye, Pookie!" 

You laughed at her excitement, "Bye, KK!" 

The going-out section of your closet only served as a reminder of how crazy going out with some women's basketball team members can get. Between their boundless energy, how they seem to know everyone (including bartenders), and how they attract a crowd everywhere they go, there is no telling where the night can go once you join them. 

You met KK when you partnered up in your communications class and immediately found her hilarious. Plus, it didn't hurt that she always got you better seats than the student section during basketball games. You knew that going out tonight meant you were going to see Paige, so it was crucial to keep yourself in check. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Paige and Ice took a water break while KK finished her phone call with you. 

"So Y/N's coming tonight?" Paige asked in confirmation. 

KK teased, "Why? So you can stare at her from a corner all night?" 

Ice added, "No, for real. Poor girl probably thinks you hate her." 

Paige interjects, "Alright, alright. We've talked to each other before. Y'all just don't wanna remember it." 

KK scoffs, "Girl, boo. Asking what her major is doesn't count. Especially because I already told you what it was before." 

They all gathered their things while Paige advocated for herself, "Y'all really have no faith in me, huh? Trust, it'll be a different story when I come by later." 

KK and Ice mumbled a combination of 'Yeah, sure' and 'Uh huh' before heading toward their building while Paige walked alone to hers. The truth was that she was a nervous wreck around you and always has been ever since KK and you became friends. 

It was one of those things that no one but Paige understood. She was her confident, relaxed self around her friends, in a stadium full of fans, even at events she would've never believed she'd find herself in. She got it in her head that maybe you didn't like her very much. Not because you were standoffish, you were actually the opposite. Paige never felt that you liked her enough to be around her alone. They were always in groups with their respective friends.

At first, none of her friends caught on to her little crush; she tried to keep it discreet. It was going well until you came over to watch movies and see them fight over the Xbox controller in a pair of striped sleep shorts and a UConn hoodie, and she officially became a goner. Sitting four feet away from you while you looked like that and periodically pushing your glasses up made her sweat from her palms and make her think up an excuse for leaving movie night early. 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Ice's apartment was filled with chatter, and Paige's pregame playlist came from the speakers. Everyone's shot glasses were haphazardly crowded on the table while some girls mixed drinks. 

You adjusted the bottle of Tito's in the crook of your arm before knocking on the door. When Ice answered the door, you could already tell you needed to catch up with everyone. She immediately wrapped you up in a hug and excitedly screamed, "We missed you, Pookie! And you came prepared." 

"I always do," You told her as she took the vodka from you so that you could adequately say hi to everyone. 

It was a natural relief to finally have a night out with friends, and any thoughts about work or deadlines didn't even cross my mind when I got to Ice's. 

KK must've been just as relieved to see you because she said, "Y/N, finally, someone who can make a mixed drink. I can't drink any of Paige's mid-ass drinks anymore." 

Paige looked offended and told her, "Call them mid, but they get it done." 

It's not like you received any formal mixologist training or bartending experience, but making drinks became your specialty whenever you went out. You got straight to work making KK her favorite drink and handing it to her. 

KK graciously sipped it and said it tasted "Perfect, as always." 

You turned around to see Paige standing empty-handed and decided to ask, "Want me to make you something?" 

Your pretenses were completely innocent, but how you softly smiled and batted your eyelashes made Paige's heart jump. Plus, she'd only heard five-star reviews about your drinks, so she couldn't refuse anyway. Once she gave you the okay, she was gearing up to ask you where you learned to make drinks like that until KK interjected, already half her drink downed. 

"Don't worry, Y/N. She's not picky."

You were done with the drink and ran to the fridge, your little heels clacking on the wooden floor, to grab the jar of maraschino cherries. When you topped off Paige's drink and handed it to her, you shrugged, "I have a feeling she'll like it." 

There it was again—your self-assuredness and complete ease in any situation made Paige feel weak and wobbly around you. The shiny red cherry on top, matching the shiny coat of lip gloss you were sporting, didn't make it any easier for her. 

She usually hates anything that tastes like alcohol, so whatever you made her was incredible. "This is fire. What is it?"

"A dirty Shirley. You like?" You stood looking up at her, hoping the drink could be a peace offering or a way to make Paige like you a little more. You never knew why she seemed more reserved or conscious around you, but you knew it always drove you crazy. 

"These are dangerous." Paige concluded with approval, and KK said, "Told you." 

After everyone was tipsy enough and you caught up with what some girls had been up to in the last couple of weeks, it was time to get into the Uber to start your night. Time collapsed into a whizz of final lip touch-ups, shuffling clumsy bodies into one car and waiting in anticipation to let loose. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There was a corner of the bar with a karaoke machine that KK and Paige excitedly ran over to like it was a toy. Everyone downed the shots you bought and got ready to hear their performance. They did their best rendition of 'Kiss Me More' and sounded nothing like SZA or Doja Cat, but since everyone was tipsy, they danced anyway. Paige and KK looked right at home, singing with their arms wrapped around each other and sassily dancing whenever they caught Ice or Azzi filming them. 

When they finished, your little group applauded their effort, and Paige unexpectedly took her place next to you and Azzi. She looked a little smug, sipping the drink in her cup with her other hand resting in her pocket. 

Azzi piped up, "Tone deaf and singing Doja Cat is crazy." 

Paige scoffed, "Alright, Azzi, I don't remember asking." Azzi and Ice got up to sing next, and Paige shifted closer to you. 

Emboldened by the drinks, she nods at you and says, "I like this skirt on you." 

You feel it in your face first, flushing from having her eyes on you. You played it cool and told her, "Thank you, the skirt likes you, too." As you said it, you didn't exactly know what it meant, but it made sense in your drunk brain. 

She laughs and nervously twists the bracelet on her wrist. "So what'd you think of my singing?"

You pretend to think about it, "You ball better than you sing." 

Azzi and Ice are making an Usher song into a duo. You sip on your drink while taking a video of them that they'll definitely be humiliated by tomorrow. 

Paige looks at you and asks, "Oh, so you've noticed?" 

You don't know where this confidence came from. Usually, Paige avoids you whenever you're out. You figure it's because she's been drinking and having fun after an intense season. You're suspicious of it, but you like this version of her. "You know I come to games." 

"Haven't seen you in a minute, though. You been busy?" 

You repeat what she said right back to her, "Oh, so you've noticed?" 

Paige laughs, touching your arm and lingering near your elbow. "I'm being for real. What you been up to?" 

Her touch makes you feel dizzy, going straight to your distracted brain while you try to find an answer for her. "Got an internship, and they're already overworking me." Before Paige can respond, you shift closer to her to ask, "Can I ask you something, Paige?" 

She steadies her eyes on you and says, "Sure, what's on your mind?" 

You start, "I don't know…Normally, you don't talk to me much." You kept it lighthearted, teasingly asking, "Am I that scary?" 

Paige looks down at her sneakers, "Nah, not too scary." She added, "M'glad you came, though." 

You looked up at her as she wet her lips and said, "I'm glad I came, too." 

When Ice and Azzi finished singing, they were exhausted from exerting so much effort. You rounded everyone up and announced, "Everyone's gotta do a shot, I'm buying!" 

After another round of green tea shots, all hopes for a contained and calm night went out the window. Some girls broke off into different groups inside the bar as they ran into different acquaintances and friends. There was even more karaoke, only getting slightly sloppier and more tone-deaf with time. Sometime between you dancing behind the DJ table and your third drink, your exchange with Paige from earlier caught up to you. 

You couldn't even precisely identify what you were feeling at the moment. You thought Paige was indifferent toward you, or at least not keen on getting to know you beyond being KK's friend. But when you remembered the feeling of her fingers grazing your arm, you felt confused by it. Suddenly, an emotional wobbliness started to creep up on you, and your next instinct was telling you to duck outside for a minute. You handed your drink to Azzi and told her you needed some air and would be right back. 

It was cool enough outside to wrap your arms around yourself comfortably as you stood with your back against the wall. When you leaned your head back to close your eyes and take a breath, you tried to collect your thoughts. It was bouncing around a few things: deciding what to doordash later when you got home, mentally writing a small to-do list of internship work, and Paige. 

You thought about how her hands looked around the drink you made her at the pregame, her long legs in a pair of cargos you liked on her, how she sounded so sincere when she told you she was glad you came. It was a lot, and your brain would overheat if you didn't duck out when you did. You were so startled when all you heard was, "Hey," coming from somewhere on your left. 

It was just Paige, who currently had her hands on your shoulders after you almost jumped out of your skin at someone coming up to you. She apologized profusely before she said, "Wanted to see if you were good." 

Your eyes soften at this. You forget that you were concentrating so hard on your shoes that you were about to burn a hole in them. It was replaced by Paige's presence, comforted automatically by her taller frame blocking out the view of the street at night. 

You straightened up, adjusting the purse she was touching on your shoulder, and evening your voice enough to say, "I'm good; I just needed a second." 

Paige looked down and nodded, "Good, good. DJ booth looked empty without you dancing." 

You shook your head and laughed, "Been a minute since I could dance until my feet hurt." 

"You think you'll feel it tomorrow?" With how Paige looked at you, you thought she was much more sober than you probably were. 

You shrug, eyes feeling heavy as you lean into the wall, "Think we all will." 

Right as you say that, all the rest of your friends start shuffling out. They were clearly tired. You remember they all decided to play an entire pick-up game earlier and announced they were ready to call it a night. No one disagreed. All of you had fun, but it was time for the drunk food and pajamas part of the night. 

Paige urgently needed to spend more time with you. One of those game-time decisions seemed to come out of nowhere when she said, "Y/N and I should take a separate one since our buildings are close together and everything." 

Thankfully, all your friends were gone enough to not question it and felt safe in knowing it was best everyone went home in a group instead of alone this late. It sounded sensical to you, even though you hadn't remembered that you and Paige lived in neighboring apartment buildings. But then again, you haven't been anywhere but work or home, which felt like forever, so maybe you hadn't noticed. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Something about being in this car in the backseat with Paige felt right. She spread out in the back while you crossed your leg, shifting your weight so the tip of your shoe would brush against her leg whenever the car stopped. 

It was a short ride from the last bar your friends hit to your apartment building. There were hardly any red lights, but you wished for at least one or two more. 

You turned to question Paige, "I didn't know you lived close to my building." 

She pressed her lips together, "KK didn't mention it?" 

You shook your head, more wide-eyed now that you sobered up.

Paige added, "I got a bigger place after the last semester ended." 

You nodded and teased, "Okay, big baller, I see you." 

Paige snickered and thanked the driver while you guys got out. She walked you into your building and even rode the elevator with you. When you asked what she had planned for the night, she mentioned some Advil and a big glass of water. When she asked you the same question, you told her about door-dashing some Taco Bell and taking your makeup off. 

She felt like you guys made it to your door too soon. You each stopped before it as you fished for your keys inside your purse. When you turned to tell her, "Thanks for walking with me. Text me when you get to your building."

Paige got that look again as if she was about to say something to you, the same one she made when you plopped the maraschino cherry into her pregame drink. She scratched the back of her neck, "S'no problem. And I will." 

You said, "Night, Paige." as you leaned against the door frame and kicked your heels off into a corner, shrinking in height and making Paige even taller than you for a moment. 

She paused to tell you, "Night, Y/N."

When you changed into your pajamas and got your cotton pads out to remove your makeup, your phone chimed with a text from Paige that read: Home. Remember to take that makeup off

You loved the message and wrote back: Doing it right now. Drink a glass of water for me!

You knew Paige had to go through group chats with all the girls in it to select your contact and text you personally since you guys had never texted each other before. It felt like too much to process in your state, and you thought it best to deal with it tomorrow. When you went to hang up your skirt, you ran your fingers over the fabric and silently thanked it for whatever magic it might've done for you tonight. 

[imaginespazzi]

Part 6: Leaps of Faith

Masterlist - Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 7

I hope that you catch me, cause I'm already falling (you put your arms around me and I'm home)

(In which a writer who can see the end approaching starts building towards that ending)

Pairing: Paige Bueckers X Azzi Fudd

Themes: Angst and Fluff

Words: 8.0K

TW: Swearing, Alludes to Sexual Content

A/N: Good evening my lovelies <3. Happy Sunday and Happy Mothers day! First of all, I wanna thank y'all for being ever so patient with me. I know I've been pretty bad about updating lately and y'all have been so sweet with your asks and I really appreciate it. This fic is very close to its end. I probably could have ended it with this chapter but there's a very specific ending I want to write so this one is more of a self-indulgent filler but I think y'all will like this one. There will be one more chapter and then an epilogue of sorts. Once again, there are most likely logistical inaccuracies. I'm not even gonna lie, the editing on this one is shoddy so there are definitely grammar errors/typos. For now, ignore them and I'll go fix them later. As always, even if we're near the end, feel free let me know what you liked, what you didn't and anything you'd like to see before we get to the end. Have a wonderful week my angels <3

April 2024 

“It’s a little early for ice cream hon,” Azzi jumps at the sound of her mother’s voice, startled eyes following the direction of the noise to find Katie leaning against the kitchen door, with a raised eyebrow. 

“It’s a little early to scare the living bejesus out of me mom,” she says with a hand to her chest. 

If possible, Katie’s eyes roll even further at her daughter’s sarcastic tone as she makes her way over to the kitchen counter. She’s gotten herself a spoon and everything, ready to steal some ice cream for herself, when she notices the flavour. Next to her, Azzi stiffens. 

“You hate mint chocolate chip Az,” Katie says quietly. 

“I couldn’t find the strawberry ice cream,” Azzi defends stubbornly, her face taking on a guarded expression. 

Katie walks over to the freezer, opening it and pointing at the strawberry ice cream, Azzi’s favourite, that’s sitting in plain sight, “it’s right there.”

“Well,” Azzi splutters, “I’m trying something new,”. 

“You hate trying new things.”

“I’ve grown up I guess.”

“Azzi.”

“Mom.”

“Azzi, why are you eating ice cream you hate at 4 in the morning?” Katie finally asks in her best mom voice, sighing when she gets a mumbled response from her daughter, “in words Az, please.”

“Paige likes it,” Azzi admits slowly, and before Katie can say anything, before Azzi can dwell on what she’s said, she launches into a rant, “god knows why. Actually I know why because she’s stupid and weird and likes the dumbest shit. Who the fuck likes mint? Who the fuck likes mint and chocolate together? Gross. This shit is disgusting. It tastes all wrong. Paige is just-,” Azzi throws her hands up in the air, “she just doesn’t understand that some things don’t belong together. They can’t. They’re too different and it just- there’s a fucking balance to things you know? And she just- she doesn’t get that. It’s just- it’s not meant to be.”

“That doesn’t explain why you’re eating it right now,” Katie says carefully. 

“Because I miss her,” the truth bursts out of Azzi like an erupting volcano, burning itself into every crevice of her skin, “because for some fucking reason I don’t hate the taste of mint chocolate chip. Because maybe they do go together and maybe I’ve been the stupid one this whole time.”

Since she’d stepped out of the hotel in Cleveland, all Azzi could think about was going back, saying fuck it to all the useless logic she’d come up with and going back to the only thing in her life that had ever made sense her Paige. But as it often did in that clichéd battle between head and heart, her head had won out. And she’s never questioned why her head wins so much, why she’s always chosen to listen to the practical side of her brain, until now. Until now when the urge to turn back time, to make herself stay in that hotel room, is all that’s consumed her for the last week. 

“Azzi,” Katie wraps her arms around the younger girl, “what happened with you and Paige?”

Azzi hesitates for a second and then everything’s spilling out of her lips, the good, the bad, the inbetween, all of it tumbles out like an uncontrollable waterfall. There’s something freeing about being able to say it all out loud, something freeing about the tears Azzi finally lets roll down her cheeks. She grips the edge of the counter to keep herself from keeling over, starting to feel herself crumble under the heaviness of all these stupid feelings. 

“It shouldn’t be this hard,” Azzi whispers, “we used to be so easy.”

“Oh Az,” Katie rubs a thumb against her daughter’s cheek, “you used to be kids. You’re all grown up now. It’s always harder when you’re older.”

“Well, I don’t like it. I just want to be the way we were again.”

“So why don’t you?” Katie asks like it’s the most simple solution in the world and Azzi shoots her mother an exasperated look. 

“What do you mean? How do we even do that? We can’t be just friends again. We tried. Were you not listening at all?”

“Azzi, sweetheart, you’ve never been just friends.”

“That’s not true,” it’s a futile attempt at arguing against what’s become more of a fact than an opinion in Azzi’s life. It’s a truth she’d let herself acknowledge once and then buried deep within her, scared that once unleashed, it would ruin everything. Except, it turns out, even without it, things had still turned to dust.  

“Do you remember when you came home from Minnesota that first summer with Paige? You were either moping around or you were on call with her. There was no in between. It got better eventually, the moping stopped but the calls? I think you fell asleep on facetime with her almost every night. And you were tired every morning after, you barely had time to eat before school but every time I suggested that maybe you cut back, that was never an option,” Katie smiles fondly, “it’s when I knew.”

Azzi does remember, remembers talking about everything and nothing, remembers laughing and crying, remembers when Paige’s breathing was the only lullaby that could relax her into sleeping. And she remembers battling with that voice in her head, the one convinced there’s something more, silencing it with I’d do this with anyone. But that wasn’t true then and it’s not true now because Paige has never been just anyone, never been just a friend. Because even if Azzi’s never been brave enough to say it out loud, Paige is and has always been everything.

Despite knowing the answer and maybe dreading it just a little bit, Azzi asks it to her mom anyway, “what did you know?”

“That she was your person. You were too young, I couldn’t call it love just yet but I knew Paige was different then, she was yours in a way none of your other friends were. You were different around her,” Katie nudges her daughter, “Azzi you’ve always been just a little bit in love with her and she’s always been just a little bit in love with you too. The two of you have just been a matter of time.”

Azzi closes her eyes, and unlike other people, she doesn’t see darkness or little spots of light, she just sees Paige. Her mother’s words wash over her, like acid in her self-inflicted fight the feelings wounds and yet, the idea of she’s loved me too feels like a band-aid being delicately placed on the scars of her heart. 

“And place,” she whispers, eyes still closed, “we never seem to get time and place right.”

“Why do you need to?”

Another exasperated look is sent Katie’s way at that question, “we live on different sides of the country mom, what do you mean why do we need to?”

“I mean the two of you have barely ever been in the same place. But you made it work, when you had even less, when you felt even less. But you’re adults now. You have other resources now. And I know timing is difficult but- it’s you and Paige. What are you so scared of Azzi?”

Azzi sucks in a deep breath, “what if Paige runs away again?”

“What if you run away again?”

“Excuse me?” 

“Who was the last person to walk away, Azzi?,” Katie sighs when Azzi is adamantly silent, “I know she hurt you by leaving. I know she hurt you by pushing you away. But you did the same thing. You chose UCLA,” Katie holds up a hand when a frustrated Azzi tries to interrupt, “and it was the right decision for you Azzi and she should have supported it. But that doesn’t meant you didn’t hurt her and then you chose Zoe-”

“I didn’t choose Zoe-”

“Yes you did Azzi. Sweetheart you’re my daughter and I will always tell you the complete truth even if it’s not what you wanna hear. And the truth Azzi is that Paige might have hurt you in 101 different ways but that doesn’t mean you didn’t hurt her back in 99 different ways too.”

“You think I don’t know that?” Azzi whispers, “that’s the problem mom. It hurts when she hurts me but it hurts even more when I hurt her. I don’t want that for us but I just- I just don’t know how to stop it without stopping us.”

“You haven’t even tried, baby. Paige held out a hand and you ran away.”

“She left first. How am I supposed to trust that she won’t just do that again," all that’s missing from Azzi’s stubborn whine is a foot stomp.

“Because she came back. It took her a little bit, I know, but she came back and she’s ready to fight, the question is, are you?”

“Why are you defending her?” Azzi splutters, “who’s side are you even on?”

“There are no sides to this sweetheart. The two of you are on the same side. So maybe instead of fighting against her, take that hand, fight with her.”

***

The WNBA draft is a momentous occasion this year. With a hyped draft class like no other, and the promise of even greater ones in the future, there’s a sense of celebratory hope dangling in the air. When the invite had first come in, Azzi had known the same one would be sent to a certain blonde in Connecticut as well. And a part of her had wanted to hide herself away from that possible collision, but every other part of her wanted nothing more than to get just a glimpse of the blonde.

One moment Azzi is surrounded by flashing cameras and the echo of her name on everyone’s lips, the next everything around her is fading away her eyes meet Paige’s on the other end of the WNBA draft orange carpet. It’s nothing new really. Since she’s met her, the blonde has commandeered all of Azzi’s attention whenever she’s nearby. Sometimes it feels like all of her other five senses fade away to give birth to a secret sixth one, one that’s solely dedicated to Paige, one that’s terrifyingly all-consuming. And yet, despite the heaviness of we’ve said too many goodbyes, for the first time in what feels like eternity, Azzi feels like she can finally breathe. 

And then Paige looks away. 

And Azzi’s back to struggling for air. 

It’s selfish of her, she knows, to expect something, not when she’d been the one to leave them stranded on different islands. But Azzi doesn’t seem to think logically when it comes to Paige and even as she tries to turn her focus back to posing for the camera, every inch of her body is dangerously aware of the blonde’s every move, just a mere few feet away from her. Her conversation with her mother is echoing in her head, giving rise to dangerous desires of what if i grabbed your hand and we ran away together. 

Paige is a natural on the orange carpet, all dazzling smiles and twinkling eyes. She glides through it, inching closer and closer to Azzi, but never giving away any sense of discomfort. And if it was anybody else, maybe they’d never catch onto the nerves hidden beneath Paige’s facade of calm, cool and collected. But once upon a time Paige used to be Azzi’s favourite puzzle and she has every part of the blonde committed to memory. It’s in the way Paige’s teeth gnaw at her lips for the briefest of seconds, in the way her right index finger is begging to tap a beat against where her hands rests on hips, in the way she’s blinking just one too many times. 

And then with one more heavy footed step from Paige, the distance between them is barely a couple inches and they let out identical breaths of air, both of them keeping their focus on the cameras in front of them. It’s loud, too loud, and still all Azzi can focus on is the sound of Paige breathing. The air around them is thick with tension. It feels a bit like they’re silhouetted against a sky made of words they’ve left unsaid and clouds of all the bitter mistakes they’ve made are hanging over their heads. And when their pinkies brush together, and a jolt of electricity sends shivers of I miss you more every day again her skin, Azzi questions if she’s ever made the right decision when it comes to Paige. 

“Wait wait wait,” Ari cuts in, as she squeezes herself in between the two of them, “I wanna get in between the two of you.”

A harsh cry of no sits heavily on the top of Azzi’s tongue as the older woman forces a break in whatever little bit of contact she’d had with Paige. She feels a little pathetic, the way every little inch of her skin is craving for that touch back. It had been nothing, a barely there moment and still Azzi thinks, when she goes to bed tonight, if that was all she’d get of Paige, then it’ll be the only thing that’ll feature in her dreams. 

“Alright one with just Paige and Azzi,” Ari directs the media, stepping out of the way and pushing the two younger girls together. And it’s laughable that a little brush of their pinkies had Azzi feeling any type of way because when they’re suddenly pressed together, every inch of Paige’s side fitting into Azzi’s like it belongs, the way the world suddenly bursts with light and colours makes Azzi wonder if every moment without Paige has simply been monochrome. 

It comes to them naturally how to pose together, arms winding around each other’s waist, heads involuntarily leaning against the other’s. And the smiles might be for the cameras but Azzi knows hers is the most real it’s been all night. It might be temporary, she might lose Paige in the chaos, but for now Paige is here and Azzi has learned how to be content with whatever little she can get. 

As the media moves to capture other people, the logical thing to do would be to separate, to let go of each other. But instead they stand there, still completely wrapped around each other, heart rates in sync as they breathe in each other’s presence. And then Paige’s hand falls from the small of Azzi’s back to tangle their fingers together and they let out identical sighs of relief, something so cathartic in the purposefulness of that touch. Everyone is too busy to notice that the two of them have fallen into a whole other world, one where there’s only two of them and every emotion that they’ve only reserved for the other. There’s no words exchanged as Paige guides the two of them out of the spotlight, somehow keeping their hands clasped together in secret, despite the ever growing crowd. And Azzi doesn’t know this building at all, doesn’t have the faintest clue where she’s being led to, but as long as it’s Paige pulling her along, she doesn’t care where, she thinks she’d go anywhere. 

Paige stops abruptly in a secluded corridor, turning to fully face Azzi. And the sincerity in the blonde’s crystalline blue eyes, as they roam every inch of Azzi’s body before coming to fixate on her face, steals the air away from Azzi’s lungs. Paige has gotten better over the years at building walls, but with every new lock she places on her emotions, there’s a key to open them that seems to always find its way to Azzi. In the delicate golden hue, Paige shines brighter than any star ever could and in the dim light Azzi can make out every bit of hurt and love and please can we just have this moment that Paige can’t put into words. 

“Hi,” Azzi whispers softly, hands itching to reach out and caress Paige’s skin. 

“Hi,” Paige says back, even quieter. She stares at Azzi as if she’s memorising every little detail and then her face crumbles. Azzi feels her heart drop at the single tear that trickles down Paige’s cheek as she lets out a broken whimper. And this, this unspoken power they seem to have over each other, the uncanny ability to just hurt each other without any bit of effort, is what scares Azzi the most. It’s too much. They shouldn’t be able to do this. 

“Paige,” Azzi’s fingers twitch but she hesitates, not knowing if it’s the right thing, “fuck- P what’s wrong?”

Paige doesn’t reply, eyes wandering down to where Azzi’s trying to keep her hands still against her sides and when she looks back up, her eyes are bloodshot, “what’s wrong? What’s not wrong Azzi? You won’t even fucking touch me.”

“I didn’t-” Azzi struggles to speak, “I didn’t think you’d want me to.”

“Can you just- fuck- can you just stop overthinking things for once in your life. Of course I want you to touch- you know what nevermind. This was a bad idea. You made yourself clear and I’m just- fuck- I should- I should just go.”

She sounds adamant enough but all it takes, when Paige moves to leave, is the strangled cry that leaves Azzi’s lips. The sound is enough to pull Paige right back in. She takes one look at the tears brimming in Azzi’s eyes. And then she’s pushing Azzi against a wall, hands on either side caging the younger girl between her body and the hard surface behind. She presses their foreheads together and Azzi feels like every part of her might just be a part of Paige too. 

“I miss you. I miss you so fucking much. It’s barely been two weeks and I- fuck- Azzi- I’ve missed you every single second and now you’re here and I still miss you. And it really fucking hurts.”

“I’m sorry,” Azzi whispers, finally letting her hands cup Paige’s cheeks, and it’s worth it for the way Paige seems to completely melt into her touch, “I’m sorry I keep hurting you. I keep thinking I’m doing the right thing but- I don’t know- I feel like I’m always doing the wrong thing when it comes to you. I don’t- I don’t know what to do.”

“Just let me be with you,” Paige’s voice is wrecked with desperation as she presses herself as close to Azzi as possible, “I’ll be your whatever- whatever you give me- whatever you want- I just- I just want you Az- whatever little bit you’re willing to give me- I’ll take it- and if you want me to wait- fuck Azzi- I’d wait forever- you know that right? However long it takes, baby. Just want you- just want us.”

Leaps of faith are scary. Azzi’s never been great at taking them, too cautious, too much of a worrier. She’s more of a step back from the cliff kind of person. If she doesn’t jump, she can’t fall. But here’s the thing, when she was fourteen, Azzi jumped off of her first hypothetical cliff. It had been on a plane, when after avoiding one too many deep questions, Azzi had admitted to a girl she barely knew,that maybe she could like girls. It was the first time she’d ever let herself acknowledge that truth about herself and the girl next to her was a stranger but there was something about her, something that screamed i’ll hold your hand and if you jump it’ll never be alone. And ever since then, that girl, Paige, has always been there. Hands outstretched, ready to jump off any ledge. Because if there’s hard ground underneath, then they’ll learn how to fly together and if there’s water, they’ll figure out how to swim. With Paige there has always been the promise that, whatever it is, they’ll figure it out together. And it’s with that promise in mind, that Azzi takes the leap of faith. 

“Me too,” Azzi whispers, heart beating erratically. 

“What?” Paige searches Azzi’s face, as if waiting for her to take it back. 

“Us. You. You and me. I want that too,” a ghost of a smile begins to creep onto Azzi’s face, and for the first time in god knows how long, she feels feather light, a little bit like she’s floating on a rainbow. 

“You mean it?” Paige asks earnestly, hands moving from the wall to clutch at Azzi’s waist, “don’t play-Azzi- okay- you mean it for real?”

“I do. I want this- I want this so much and I’m still- I’m still really scared and maybe it’ll be a disaster but I- I want to try. With you.”

Azzi used to think she knew all of Paige’s smiles. Her small, not quite fake, but only for cameras and people she didn’t quite know, smiles. Her just for my friends smile that was filled with mirth and childlike joy. Her basketball smile that transformed into a smirk when she got too cocky. Her only for Drew smile, soft and filled with so much adoration and pride. Her Azzi smile, the one only the brown-skinned girl gets to experience, a smile that made Azzi’s her heart swell with love. But the smile that stretches across Paige’s face now, is one Azzi’s never seen before. This one throws Azzi’s entire world of balance, so bright, so big, so full of emotions. If she could, she’d tattoo that smile onto her skin forever. 

“We’re really doing this?” Paige asks, still a little stunned. It wasn’t what Azzi had planned for tonight. She hadn’t really had any plans for what would really happen. But then Paige had walked in and all Azzi could see was forever she was tired of fighting against. 

“We should take it slow okay-” Azzi wraps her arms around the older girl’s neck, keeping their foreheads still against each other’s, “I don’t- I don’t wanna rush into things and fuck it up. I can’t- fuck- I can’t lose y-”

“You won’t,” Paige swears, squeezing at Azzi’s wait, “I won’t let you. We can take it slow. We can take it however you want- I just- we’re doing this?”

“Yeah,” Azzi can’t help the grin that fills up her entire face, “yeah we’re doing this.”

And as they surge forward to claim each other’s lips, and as they meld every inch of themselves into each other, and as they smile and cry into the kiss simultaneously, and as they etch promises into each other skin, and as they let themselves finally fall into each other, for each other, it feels a lot like coming home. 

***

July 2024 

The early morning sunlight casts a dark shadow across Paige’s face, causing the still asleep blonde to scrunch up her face in irritation. Azzi, who’s been awake for nearly half an hour now, can’t help the fond smile that creeps onto her own lips. She shifts herself to block the sun and Paige lets out a content sigh, burrowing herself further into her pillows. And the thing is every moment with Paige is special but there’s something about waking up to her in the morning. Azzi’s always awake first and it gives her ample time to just admire the girl in her arms, blond hair tousled all over her pillow, lips parted slightly open, and one arm always, always, splayed across Azzi’s torso, holding her close. Over the course of time, Azzi’s found out that the second she moves, Paige seems to feel her leave, waking up instantly. 

There had been an adjustment period if Azzi's honest. It had taken her a while to shake that fear of Paige not being there in the morning. The first morning, she’d been scared to open her eyes, even if she could feel Paige’s presence right next to her. That had been one of the few mornings that Paige was fully awake first, hovering above Azzi to wake her up. And when she finally did get the courage to open her eyes, the first thing Azzi had seen was Paige, blue eyes sparkling with unfiltered adoration, a smile filled with promises of every morning just like this. And that had been enough. 

Azzi reaches out to brush a hand through Paige’s soft blond hair, mesmerised by how pretty Paige looks in the morning glow. A lot of Paige belongs to the world now and Azzi’s not opposed to sharing really, because someone so fucking perfect, deserves to be celebrated like that. But there are some parts of Paige that belong to Azzi and Azzi only, some parts Azzi cherishes as being only hers. This is one of them and Azzi takes a snapshot of it, knowing she’ll need it to function in a few months, when she won’t get the real thing. 

“Are you watching Paige sleep?” Azzi almost jumps at the sound of Drew’s voice at the doorway, having been too immersed in Paige to have even heard the door open, “that’s kinda creepy Azzi.”

“Jesus Drew, whatever happened to knocking?”

“I forgot?” Drew grins, before he plops on the bed, the force of it making the whole frame shake a little bit. 

“Drew!” Azzi chides, “you’re gonna wake her up.”

Drew cocks his eyebrows, sparing his sister, who seems unphased by the sudden little bit of chaos around her, still fast asleep, an unimpressive look, “please she can sleep through anything. Besides, it’s already 9. I thought we were gonna do things. I been up for aaaages.”

“She’ll be awake soon,” Azzi smiles, ruffling the younger boy's hair. Drew rolls his eyes and it’s remarkable how much he resembles Paige, not just by face, but the mannerisms too. 

He huffs for a second before his eyes sparkle with an idea, “what if we pour water on her!”

“Drew!” Azzi chastises again, trying not to giggle. 

“Boo,” Drew crosses his arms across his chest, “you used to be so cool Azzi.”

Azzi laughs as she’s reminded of a younger version of herself, scheming with Drew on how to wake Paige up. And it’s not that she’s beyond that really, tucking the water idea for a rainy day, but Paige looks too peaceful this morning and she wants to preserve that look of serenity on the older girl’s face for just a little bit longer. 

“Hey Azzi,” Drew says after a while and Azzi hums in response, “when you and Paige get married, I can still be a groomsman right? Even if there’s no grooms?”

“Wha- where did that come from?” the brunette’s eyes widened at the question, sitting up a little straighter. 

Drew peers up at her with all the innocence of a pre-teen, “you are gonna get married right?”

“I don’t-”

“It’s too early for your yapping Drew,” Azzi’s saved from answering by Paige’s tired voice entering the conversation. She looks over to find Paige’s eyes already on her, a soft smile playing on her lips as she looks up at Azzi. If Drew wasn’t sitting right there, Azzi would lean over and kiss her and let Paige deepen it until they were both satisfied. 

“Oh thank god,” Drew cheers dramatically, “I thought you were gonna sleep forever.”

Paige scoffs, the arm that’s still wrapped around Azzi’s torso tightening its hold, “I wish.”

“Well you’re awake now so get up,” Drew whines, moving from his spot on the end of the bed, to flop on top of Paige’s body instead, “get up, get up, GET UP.”

“Get off,” Paige groans but there’s no real force behind it. Azzi watches with a fond smile, as Paige flips Drew over so that she can tickle him, eliciting rounds of laughter from the younger boy. Something in her heart flutters, her mind going back to Drew’s question. She’s never really been one to think too hard about marriage and children and that domestic suburban life, leaving it up to fate, but now- well, maybe. 

“Okay aight aight enough. Go get ready for breakfast and we’ll be down in a second,” Paige says, ushering Drew off of the bed. 

“You can just tell me you want me to leave so you can kiss Azzi you know?” Drew scrunches up his nose, “you two are gross.”

Paige sends him a stern look and gets a dramatic eye roll in return but as he always does, Drew does as he’s told, mock saluting the two of them and skipping out of the room. 

“He’s right by the way,” Paige says softly, turning back to where Azzi’s leaning against the backboard, “I do want to kiss you.”

Azzi smirks lopsidedly, “what’s stopping you?”

She squeals in surprise when Paige pulls her, the force of it causing both of them to tumble onto the front-end of the bed. Azzi ends up on top of Paige, hands resting around her neck, the blonde’s hands holding her waist in place. 

“Good morning,” Paige grins, clearly proud of herself as she chases Azzi’s lips to pull her into a searing kiss.

“Good morning,” Azzi whispers back, thumb caressing Paige’s left cheek.  

“Just so you know,” Paige pulls away, a determined glint in her eyes, “we’re so getting married one day.”

***

October 2024

Azzi’s mood has been rancid for the last couple of weeks. It’s terrible she knows; it makes her irritating to play with and a nightmare to live with. But even if this had been expected, that she would be on one end of the country and her heart would be on the other side, it doesn’t stop her from constantly being in a state of missing Paige. And it’s different from before, now that there’s a certain surety of of course i’ll see you soon but soon never really feels soon enough. 

“Azzi can you please get the door,” Kiki calls from her room when the doorbell rings. 

“I’m busy,” Azzi grunts back, snuggling further into her pillow with a book she isn’t actually reading, “you go get it.”

“Azzi please, I’m literally in the middle of getting dressed,” Kiki yells exasperatedly. 

If it wasn’t for the fact that she’s pretty sure her teammates are about this close to plotting her murder, and deservedly so, Azzi would sink back onto her bed and let the incessant doorbell noise continue. But she does love her teammates, thinks Kiki probably deserves to change in peace, and it forces her out of bed, grumbling away about annoying visitors. Until she actually gets a look at the visitor. Paige stands on the doorstep, confident as ever, a bouquet of roses and peonies and lilies in her hand. 

“You’re here,” Azzi breathes out, staring in awe. 

“And thank fucking god she is,” Kiki quips from behind her, “maybe we can finally get our old happy Azzi back and not this bitch.”

Paige laughs, “watch how you talk about my girl Rice.”

“You’re here. You’re really here,” Azzi whispers again. 

“I heard you missed me baby,” Paige says, her cocky smirk betrayed by the softness in her voice. And then Azzi is flying into her arms, throwing Paige off balance. 

“So fucking much,” Azzi admits into Paige’s neck, eliciting a giggle from the blonde, “Kiki’s right. I have been a bitch.”

“Just a little bit,” Kiki calls out again but there’s a new fondness in her voice. It’s funny how her team, even the haters, have slowly become Paige fans. They’d been hesitant at first, just like the UConn girls, but now well, it seems the basketball world’s Montagues and Capulets have learned to accept their star players’ relationship. 

“Missed you too Az,” Paige’s tone is vulnerable as they break away, “alright, go get changed, I wanna take you somewhere.”

“Or…,” Azzi presses her lips to Paige’s neck, leaving a trail of open-mouthed kisses, “we could stay here and do something else.”

Paige shivers under her touch, stepping away to keep some semblance of control “n-no I have plans,” but she can’t help but kiss Azzi’s pout away, “it’ll be worth it, I promise. Besides,” she bites at Azzi’s ear, “there’s always later.”

***

“Your big plans are to bring me to the supermarket,” Azzi cocks an eyebrow as they walk down one of the many aisles, “you turned down sex for this? Should I be offended?”

Paige doesn’t say anything, concentratedly looking at signs, trying to figure out a specific section, before an aha! moment dances over her face, and she pulls Azzi with her, the younger girl going willingly, despite the eye roll. She stops triumphantly in front of the sushi section and Azzi looks at her quizzically. 

“I’m getting you supermarket sushi,” Paige says pointedly, “and then you can get me mac and cheese.”

And if you brought me sushi I’d have brought you your favourite mac and cheese. Oh. The realisation of what Paige is doing trickles around Azzi a little bit like rain after a long summer drought. She thinks back to the bouquet, everything suddenly making sense.

“You’re such a dork Paige Bueckers,” Azzi says softly, tapping the older girl’s nose. 

“Your dork,” Paige grins cheesily, “now hurry up and pick one. I don’t wanna miss the sunset.”

***

Once she catches on it, it doesn’t surprise Azzi to find that Paige has everything planned out perfectly, down to the exact spot in the park- the one by Paige’s recovery airBnB, the one they’d taken countless walks in trying to repair their friendship- where the two of them can be away from everybody else, in their own little bubble. And she has a picnic blanket, that’s a little small but they don’t really want space from each other anyways. They lean against a tree, food set up in front of them, Paige’s laptop, carefully piled on top of a couple of books to be the perfect height, set a little bit further away. 

“So what NBA game are we watching?” Azzi asks with a smile and Paige groans, “what? Was that not part of the plan?”

“Dude come on. It’s the beginning of October. Please tell me you know the NBA season isn’t happening yet,” Paige rubs her temple, only a little endeared by the comment, “are you sure you’re a basketball player?” 

“There are games in October. I swear I’ve seen them before,” Azzi says sceptically. 

“Yeah at the very end of the month, not right now.”

“Well then close enough,” Azzi says indignantly, “I don’t need to know the exact day.”

“Whatever you say baby,” Paige acquiesces with a smirk and it earns her an elbow to the stomach, “what the fuck? That shit’s domestic violence you know?”

“Big words Bueckers, didn’t think you knew them,” Azzi teases, placing a kiss against Paige’s offended expression, before settling herself against the blonde’s side, sighing contentedly when she gets a kiss on her temple in return. They’re cliché enough to put on Love and Basketball, but Azzi doesn’t really end up watching much at all. In between slow kisses, she almost falls asleep a couple of times, the comfort of Paige’s arms like a blanket wrapping her in the warmth of this is my fairytale. 

“THE POLAROID,” Paige’s shout breaks Azzi out of her haze as she feels her body being shaken off, the blonde rummaging through her bag for the camera, “we have to take the polaroid. My wall needs it.”

“Oh yeah a tiny polaroid picture of us inbetween all your Lebron posters, a perfect fit,” Azzi drawls only to be met with a scathing look from Paige. 

“It’s for important things and Lebron is the most important of them all,” Paige explains with complete seriousness, as she finally finds the polaroid camera and shimmies back to Azzi with it in hand. 

The sunset is beautiful. Pink, purple, orange and blue, all blending together to create the perfect picture. But Azzi thinks it’s not nearly as beautiful as the girl in front of her, not nearly as beautiful as the date Paige had planned, not nearly as beautiful as the future she can so clearly see now. Her mind drifts back to the night of the phone call, and she can almost hear Paige’s sobs again, can still hear her own voice breaking. Back then, they had seemed impossible, a butterfly like dream that danced out of their grasp. 

“Hey,” Paige captures her chin with two fingers, “where’d you go?”

Azzi shakes her head, “nowhere. I’m right here. With you. Where I should be.”

“Sappy goof,” Paige snorts but she kisses Azzi like she’ll take those words and hide them in the labyrinth of her mind, protect them there forever. 

Taking the picture is a task, both of them bickering about angles and lights. It’s unnecessary arguing, in true Paige and Azzi fashion really but there’s something so mundanely domestic about it that Azzi finds herself wanting to memorise this moment too. They finally get the frame just right, somewhere in between what they both wanted. Azzi smiles at the camera, her Paige smile, as the blonde in question presses her lips against her cheeks. 

Click. 

And Azzi hopes, that however many years later, when they have a home of their own, amidst all the photos that they’ll take over the next years, this one will be hung somewhere on their wall, a testament to finally realising every dream they’d dared to dream together. 

***

December 2024 

There are pebbles being thrown at her window and Azzi has to stop herself from laughing when she peers down to see Paige, freezing cold in the Virginia December air, staring up at her with a goofy smile. She shakes her head when her phone rings, knowing it’s Paige and answers it with her own foolish grin. 

“What exactly are you doing?” Azzi asks, “come back to bed.”

“You said I was unromantic. I’m trying to be romantic,” Paige’s teeth chatter in the cold, as she balances her phone in one hand, still throwing rocks with the other. 

“I didn’t say that and throwing rocks at my window is supposed to be romantic? You’re going to wake the whole house up.”

“That’s what they do in all the good rom coms. And you said and I quote ‘we’re kind of boring’. You might be boring Azzi Fudd but I most definitely am not.”

It had been a throwaway comment Azzi had made at dinner with some friends from high school. One of her friends had been going on and on about some adventurous trip that she and her boyfriend were going on, and then asked Paige and Azzi if they had any of that planned. To which Azzi had replied that they were a little too busy, considering they were college basketball players still in season, and besides they were “kind of boring” people. She hadn’t meant it in any type of way. Personally, Azzi likes boring. Paige however, seemed to have taken the comment to heart and Azzi had woken up at 2 a.m. to an empty bed and the sound of something being thrown at her window. 

“Okay I’m sorry. I’m sorry. You're really interesting baby and the most romantic person in the world. Now will you please come back to bed,” Azzi concedes, already missing the feeling of being cuddled up in her blankets with Paige’s body heat keeping her nice and toasty. 

“No,” Paige says indignantly, “come down here.”

“Paige, it's freezing. It’s gonna start snowing any minute.”

“Exactly. That’s exciting.”

“Sleep is exciting,” Azzi whines, but she’s already padding around her room looking for a warm sweater, grumbling under her breath about the warm California sun she’s missing. She tiptoes down the staircase, wincing at the one step that creaks just a little too much, before pushing herself out the door. And it’s freezing cold, there’s sleep in her eyes, but it’s all worth it Azzi thinks, it’ll always be worth it, just to experience Paige’s smile. 

“Knew you’d come,” Paige grins cockily, mittened hands pulling Azzi into her.

“Yeah yeah. What are we even doing?”

“Azzi Fudd,” Paige bellows dramatically, “may I have this dance.”

Azzi stares at Paige’s outstretched hand wondering if this is some sort of cry for help, but one look at Paige’s face tells her that the girl in front of her is being absolutely serious. 

“This is your idea of exciting? Dancing in the street while it’s freezing with no music?” Azzi raises an eyebrow, but she takes Paige’s hand. 

“It’s spontaneous,” Paige says the last word with a flourish, as she spins Azzi, “why not dance in the street when it’s freezing with no music?”

And well, that’s a fair point. If anyone were to look out their window that night, they’d probably think the two girls were somewhat crazy. Laughing and giggling and tripping over each other as Paige hums a melody and Azzi occasionally joins in. It’s ridiculous and corny and cliché and perfect. And then the first little bit of snow falls, white drops circling around the two dancing girls, snowflakes catching on their eyelashes. The dim glow of the streetlight is enough to catch identical smiles on the two girl’s faces as they revel in each other. 

“You know some people say if you make a wish during the first snowfall, it’ll come true,” Paige whispers, still waltzing the two of them around, cheek pressed to Azzi’s, “you wanna try?”

And the thing is Azzi doesn’t really believe in all of that, in magic but something about Paige, something about this moment feels magical. It makes a believer out of Azzi. 

“Yeah,” Azzi smiles, “let’s make a wish.”

They stand still, holding hands, eyes closed, both a little breathless, as they make their wishes. And when they open them, if it feels a little bit like maybe their wishes have already been granted, well they’ll share it in a secret smile but never out loud. After all, wishes don’t come true if you speak of them. 

***

April 2025

7 seconds to go in the National Championship and Azzi’s UCLA Bruins are down by two points. It’s her last chance, having already declared for the 2025 WNBA draft, to win a national championship, to bring home their first basketball national championship since the 1978 team that had won the AIAW championship, to win their first NCAA championship ever. It had taken some sheer luck to get to this point if Azzi’s honest. As a two-seed in the Spokane region, they’d benefitted from their one-seed having been eliminated early and then getting to face a Cinderella six-seed in the final four. On the other side of the bracket, UConn, the favourites coming for a repeat, had been stunned by another team, the team that UCLA was now facing. That had caused a bit of a second-hand sting and Azzi’s not really trying to take revenge for Paige, but it'd be a lie to say the get back at them for me babe from earlier this morning isn’t ringing in her head. 

The play is simple, set screens for Azzi, get her open, get her the ball. A two would get them to a tie and three would win it outright. Either will do. It’s a little too reminiscent of last year when Azzi had failed at tying the final 4 game and she can still feel that loss on the tips of her fingers. They break out from their last timeout, breathlessly running to their spots on the floor. The whistle blows, Kiki inbounds the ball and everything is a blur. All Azzi knows is the shot clock is winding down. She runs off of what feels like a million screens. And then she’s open on the wing, for a millisecond. A perfect pass from Kiki makes sure the ball lands straight in Azzi’s hand. And she doesn’t think, doesn’t breathe, doesn’t even notice the defender put up a hand, she shoots the ball. There’s two people on the court that know for sure that ball is going in the minute it leaves Azzi’s fingers, the shooter herself and her biggest fan in the stands, who’s been just a little bit in love with that shooting stroke, since before anything else had even begun. 

With a delicate swish, the ball falls through the net, the buzzer sounds around the arena, the crowd explodes in blue and gold, as the UCLA Bruins win the 2025 national championship. 

Everything stills in Azzi’s brain for a second, her thoughts taking a second to catch up to reality. She’s never really been one to emotion on the court, keeping herself steely guarded through most games, even at the very end. But now, triumph and pride and just utter happiness at finally achieving one of her biggest dreams, comes roaring to the surface, manifesting itself throughout her entire body, as she lets out a scream of joy. Her teammates engulf her and she gets lost in a sea of hugs and tears and bright, decadent smiles. 

As thing start to calm down, there’s really only one thing on Azzi’s mind and Paige’s words echo in her ears, because if I’m gonna end up fucking crying, then I want it to be on your shoulder. And if I’m gonna end up celebrating, I want it to be in your arms. And Azzi thinks maybe Paige had discovered one of the biggest truths of their life with that, the truth that at the end of day, in any moment, big or small, happy or sad, the one person Azzi wants next to her, is her Paige. It’s been that way since she was fourteen, and too young to really understand the meaning of wanting someone forever, and she thinks if she has her way, it’ll be like that for the rest of her life, the rest of their life. 

Paige is beaming in the crowd, standing next to Jon and José, a #35 jersey proudly adorning her torso. She waves when she catches Azzi’s eyes, always her biggest cheerleader. And Azzi throws caution to the wind, fuck it, not caring that there’s still a large crowd or that cameras are likely to follow her every move. She pushes her way into the stands, stopping right in front of the blonde. 

“On a scale of one to ten, how bad would kissing you right now be?” Azzi asks, still a little breathless. 

A myriad of emotions flicker through Paige’s face before settling on a mischievous smirk, “probably pretty bad but you should do it anyways.”

Azzi grins before merging their lips together and everything else fades to the background, until she’s consumed by nothing but Paige. They break apart far quicker than either of them would like and Azzi expects to feel just a little bit of fear at what she’s just done, likely given the media a spectacle they could run a million and one stories about but instead, with her forehead still pressed against Paige’s, she feels nothing but calm. 

“I’m so in love with you,” Azzi whispers and Paige’s eyes widen. They’ve known it for a while now but it’s the first time either of them have said it. 

“Say it again,” Paige demands. 

“I’m so in love with you,” Azzi says again, grinning so hard, she thinks it might become her permanent expression, “like really fucking in love with you.”

“I’m so in love with you,” Paige whispers, pulling Azzi into a bone-crushing hug. 

And this might not be the moment where everything finally comes together. There’s still so much life left to live, so much that they still need to work through, so much they’ve yet to deal with. But for now, Azzi has a national championship and she has the love of her life, the rest will work itself out, or so she hopes.

[steddieunderdogfics]

This week’s writer spotlight feature is: thisapplepielife! @thisapplepielife has 37 works posted to AO3 in the Stranger Things fandom and 24 of them are in the Steddie tag!

Our anonymous nominator recommends the following works by @thisapplepielife:

Tuesday's Gone With the Wind

Take the Money and Run

You Oughta Know

Never Not Mine

Let the Boy Be Merry

"They are my favorite Corroded Coffin writer. I found by accident their fic “Tuesday's Gone With the Wind” and loved everything they wrote since!" -- Anonymous

Below the cut, @thisapplepielife answered some questions about their writing process and some of their recommended work!

Why do you write Steddie?

Steve Harrington. I found myself not connecting with S4 when it premiered, and decided that I probably just needed to rewatch the other three seasons again first, since it'd been a while between seasons. Well, Steve was always my favorite, but I left that re-watch with his voice fully lodged in my brain. So, I had to write something for him, just for myself. That was You Oughta Know. We all knew Eddie identified as a runner, and that just felt like the story to tell. Then somehow, for some unknown reason that I still cannot possibly explain, I decided to actually post it. I still don't know what possessed me to do that, honestly.

What’s your favorite trope to READ?

I love a good second chance fic: A divorced couple that eventually rekindles. A missed first chance that they get to take another crack at, later in life. I also like a good heartbreaker of a fic. I know, I know. Don't get me wrong, I still love happy endings, but I don't require them. Break my heart. Do it.

What’s your favorite trope to WRITE?

Slice of life? Is that considered a trope? I know I like to write about things we all deal with in real life, from the small and inconsequential: a mattress with a bad spring. The delight of clean sheets. Or the bigger: the real life heartbreak of unavoidable loss and grief.  And older Steddie is my favorite, I think. I love to spend time writing for them. These boys that turned into men, who made a full life together, and it's great. Maybe not perfect. But they wouldn't trade it for the world. That makes me happiest.

What’s your favorite Steddie fic?

The One in Which a Time Loop is Fucking Exhausting by badpancake is the one I think of that grabbed me first, and did not let go. I still need to read the final part of the trilogy! My fic TBR is so, so long because I definitely struggle with writing and reading at the same time. I know there is amazing work out there that I've just never read yet. But I look forward to it, absolutely. It's just something I've never figured out how to manage well. Joining Tumblr has helped that immensely, though! Reading the shorter fics here has been wonderful, and I've enjoyed it so much. There are amazing things being posted every single day! And I gotta say that don't start (too late) by Ark is one of the best "first time" fics I've ever read in any fandom. Eddie's inner voice is wonderful. I believe every word he thinks while he experiences this brand new thing with Steve.

Is there a trope you’re excited to explore in a future work but haven’t yet?

It's not brand new to me, but there's a found family one that I've been tinkering with for a very long time, and that excites me.  And I do love events for tossing me situations or prompts to write for that I may not have thought of, independently. @steddiemicrofic especially has been so, so fun. I think it was the very first event I wrote for on Tumblr, and the challenge of having a very limited amount of words, but still trying to make it feel like a whole story has been told, has been a blast. Thanks to @wynnyfryd and @steddieas-shegoes for challenging us all each month!

What is your writing process like?

I don't outline or anything. I just write, and edit, as I go. And I'll edit obsessively. I'll tweak and change small things over and over, ad nauseam. And even then, I know I still miss mistakes. But my mistakes are my own, I have no beta, because I kind of like being solely responsible for anything I write. Right or wrong. Here it is, take it or leave it. I also talk things through things in my own head a lot, especially dialogue, or I'll open a document, and just see where that takes me. And if I'm writing a long fic, like Tuesday's, I write totally out of order when scenes come to me. I wrote on every single year of that fic all at once. Then kept writing until they'd stitched themselves together into a full story. That's my last part of writing. Putting in the transitions from one scene to the next, when needed.  Sometimes ideas are more fully formed before I start putting words to the page, and other times I literally just start and figure it out as I go. There's one fic I wrote for Steddiemas last year where I sat Steve down at a mall food court and then just started writing. I had no idea what that was going to be. (It was Eddie turning up as the Mall Santa.)  Also: Research, research, research. I love the research aspect of writing. I'm curious in general, and if I can even think to look something up to see if it's true, or of the right time period, I will. And I like to add mixed media to my fics. That was a huge part of Take the Money & Tuesday's. All the newspaper articles and such. I felt like they were needed to make it feel like this really happened to these characters we all love so much. I did newspaper articles all throughout writing Tuesday's. In fact, I think that main article, the one at the top, was written and designed very early on in the writing process. They weren't all done at the end, they were done as the story needed them.

Do you have any writing quirks?

Short paragraphs. I love 'em. You'll pry them from my cold, dead fingers. Also see: Long sentences.  Honestly, I do like to throw out the rules, a bit. I write by feel. How does it sound, to my own ear? If it works, for my character, my fic or just me in general, I'll use it. "Don't use two "ands" in a sentence." Okay, but sometimes I'm gonna when that flows the best. Or: "That's a run-on." Okay, but I like the way it reads. "You don't need a comma there." But, I like the way that it breathes, so it's getting one. All this is especially true if writing from someone's POV. I know I don't always think in proper grammar, and I don't expect them to either. I don't want things to feel hard to read, but I do want them to feel natural. If that makes sense. I walk around, pacing as I write or edit on my phone, as if the moving somehow lets me see it differently. I think it does! And I don't know if this is a quirk, but some of the characterizations formed while writing Tuesday's have stuck, hard. Gareth is Gareth Jones, and where you find him, you'll probably find Di. Freak is Goodie. Jeff is Jeff Williams. These things have been decided in my brain, and now I feel compelled to take them with me, fic-to-fic. I didn't intend to build a headcanon I wouldn't be able to shake, but here we are.  I feel like I can transplant Steve and Eddie anywhere, into anything, and be comfortable changing things up. But the Corroded Coffin boys are cemented, as they were created, for the most part. Maybe that's because I did have to do so much shaping for them. Steve and Eddie, we know. We're all working off a decent amount of canon content. Corroded Coffin only had a few moments on screen to help flesh any of us flesh them out into real characters. And now that I've made my choices, for good or bad, they're here to stay.

Do you prefer posting when you’ve finished writing or on a schedule?

Finished, definitely. My three long fics were all mostly written before I started posting, and I still struggled to get the last part of All of Across the Universe out in a timely fashion. Tuesday's was posted over one week, one chapter per day, and I really enjoyed that fast schedule. It didn't give me any extra time to overthink the finished product. It was going out, and that was that. I had to trust that I knew what I was doing when I deemed it finished.

Which fic are you most proud of?

Tuesday's Gone With the Wind. I truly thought I was done after Take the Money and Run. And then this idea slapped me in the face, and I spent five months just lost in their world. These versions of the characters came so naturally, and they are still with me today. I feel like most of what I've written since then is shaped by those versions. Also, that was the last fic I wrote without anything else coming down the pipe. The last one before I joined Tumblr. The last one that had my full, and utter, undivided attention. It's really special to me, and I'm beyond grateful to everyone that has embraced it and recommended it to friends. I know it's got some scary warnings, but for those that have dove in and let me know that it spoke to you in some way, you've made me so happy. It spoke to me, too.

How did you get the idea for Tuesday's Gone With the Wind?

By watching the documentary "If I Leave Here Tomorrow" about the band Lynyrd Skynyrd. As I was watching it, there was an interview section where one of the band members spoke about their assistant road manager, saying: "He was like a bartender roadie. Where he took care of us really good, you know? Anybody who was sick, or needed a little more attention, he was just there for you. He was like the big brother, and sister, and your mama and everything." My brain whispered, Steve Harrington.  And that was that. Corroded Coffin were going to get Road Manager Steve Harrington, and he was gonna take care of them as they headed towards this unavoidable disaster. I wrote like 5k words the first night. It was just in there, waiting to spill out, somehow. And I think it's also an anomaly for me, but I'm fairly certain I started that fic with what turned out to be the opening. That first bit of Eddie's first interview section. I think that's where I started telling the story, and it held throughout. That's pretty rare for me. (Fun fact: I wrote all the interview bits in a separate document, and then just fit and tweaked them into the story, as needed. But not that opening. That was the launch pad into everything else.)

When writing Tuesday's Gone With the Wind, what was something you didn’t expect?

It's not exactly a Steddie answer, but - Gareth! Gareth Jones, my beloved. I wasn't on Tumblr when I wrote Tuesday's or any other social media in a fandom way. I was in my own bubble, doing my own thing. So, I didn't know the fandom had given him a fanon surname. I chose my own, and now he's just Gareth Jones to me, and always will be. He's also Eddie's best friend. I've pondered on more than one occasion on if Take the Money and Run would be different if I knew that first, lol. Just exploring my version of a character that had so little screen time to work off was incredibly fun. And has remained fun. Gareth is definitely gonna show up again in my future works. He's to Eddie, as Robin is to Steve in my head now and forevermore.

What inspired Take the Money and Run?

These lyrics from the song "Me and Paul" by Willie Nelson: Almost busted in Laredo But for reasons that I'd rather not disclose But if you're staying in a motel there and leave Just don't leave nothing in your clothes I had a literal shower thought that made me laugh. And thought, well, why are they even in a motel? Oh, they must be on a road trip. So, I wrote that little scene mainly in my head, but jotted it down, just in case, and assumed that was the end of it. But then I just kept writing it. Until I was knee deep in maps and mileage and research trying to figure this road trip out from a logistics standpoint. All because I thought it'd be funny if Eddie left weed in his pants and Steve got all put upon because of it.

What was your favorite part to write from You Oughta Know?

I loved getting to include all the fun 90s things, since that's when I was a teen, and can remember a lot of it very distinctly, first-hand. And I loved getting to use El's powers to look in on Eddie, so while they might not know where he is, they did know that he seemed to be doing okay out there in the world. Also, if I could go back and change one thing about it, I'd fix that I said Eddie's never had an acoustic guitar. I didn't notice his acoustic in his room until my re-watch. Oh well. This version of Eddie didn't, I guess, lol. (This might be from the second part, Eddie's POV. But still. It's my Roman Empire. I think of this mistake at least once a week and beat myself up. If I'd been on Tumblr at the time, I feel this would have never happened, because someone would have blogged about it, drawing my attention to it, surely.)

How do/did you feel writing Never Not Mine?

This one is heavily inspired by the Taylor Swift song imgonnagetyouback. It was fun to dig into a slightly angstier world for a bit. Because things don't always work out, or if they do, not always the first time around. I like to think they'll find each other again, in any universe, but they might not take the easiest path. They aren't perfect, and that's realistic.

What was the most difficult part of writing Let the Boy Be Merry?

Crying while writing it. This one slapped me around a little while writing. Life isn't always as romantic as fic leads us all to believe which, the audacity, honestly, lol, but the kind of love and relationship in this fic? That feels real to me. Old, and familiar, and even as well as you know a person, you can't read their mind. You don't always get what the other needs immediately, you don't get how important things can be to them, but figuring out how to compromise is love. Real, lasting love.

Do you have a favorite scene and/or line from any of your fics?

This question was hard! I'm gonna pick two from Tuesday's: For the first, I cried while writing and then cried again while editing the scene where Eddie and Steve hash out how serious their relationship is, and realize they've kind of been on different pages. There are two scenes in Tuesday's that got to me, and made me cry while writing them, over and over, and I don't even know why. (The other is Gareth picking that fight with Steve. Yeah, yeah, I know. Neither of these parts are the saddest parts of Tuesday's. But they stripped me raw, for whatever reason.) And a second, more fun, favorite: I'm gonna go with the scene where Eddie's naked and tripping on mushrooms in the backyard while Steve hangs out with him, and Eddie thinks they've written "Tom Sawyer" by Rush. That was so fun, and just a feel good write, if that makes sense. That whole summer they spent at the lake I look back on writing fondly. They are so in love there. They are all happy. And this scene is carefree in a way that they won't always be, due to circumstances coming down the pipe.

Do you have any upcoming projects or fics you’d like to share/promote?

I run @corrodedcoffinfest and I've got a whole list of planned pop-up events coming up over the next few months for that. Steddie is absolutely welcome, so if anyone would like a little more Corroded Coffin works in their life, consider coming to join us! I also finally updated my masterlist, so everything I've written for Stranger Things is finally gathered together. There's a lot that's still only on Tumblr and not on Ao3 at this point.

Outside of these questions, Is there anything YOU would like to add?

Thanks so much for including me and my works in this! And to the person who nominated me, thank you, thank you! You really made my day. It was fun to think about these fics again, and answer these questions. I've really enjoyed writing for Steddie, and I've also enjoyed making friends in the fandom. Thanks for welcoming me. Thanks for showing my fics love, and commenting or leaving kudos or reblogging. Just, thank you all so much. And I'm sorry if these answers were too long, lol. As a habitual "end notes" kind of writer, that's just the way I roll. 

Thank you to our author, @thisapplepielife, and our anonymous nominator! See more of thisapplepielife's works featured on our page throughout the day!

Writer’s Spotlight is every Wednesday! Want to nominate an author? You can nominate them here!

[gojocumeater]

Warm hands

꒰ genre ⤑ SMUT

꒰ warnings ⤑ CRINGE , f.reader x college boyfriend!gojo, dom!gojo, sub!reader, swearing, hand kink, teasing, touching in public (with consent obv) , orgasm denial, finger sucking, fingering, choking, dirty talk, marking, hair pulling, unprotected sex, penetration, rough sex, pet names, size kink, big dick!gojo (act surprised), praising, creampie, cockwarming

꒰ words count ⤑ 3.4K

꒰ A/N : hi hi, here's a little something I wrote awhile ago. I'll finish editing it later, I wanted to post it tonight so it's a bit rush. I hope you'll like it. Thank you for reading my last fics, I really appreciate it. (lil reminder, English is not my first language, sorry for the mistakes). PLEASE DON'T BE A SILENT READER, FEEDBACKS ARE VERY WELCOMED! xoxo - sunny

M RATED

Satoru's hands were one of the many things you liked the most about him. They’re so attractive, so delicate in their ways…

You were sat in front of him, at this cute little café you went after every courses to either study, spend time with your friends or most of the time with your lovely boyfriend.

For some unknown reasons, you couldn’t take your eyes off his beautiful hands. You thought about the way his veins were prominent sometimes when his fingers are tapping swiftly over the keyboard of his laptop or the way his hands looked when he cooks, writes or the way he mindlessly plays with the pen between his long fingers when he’s daydreaming. It made you feel some type of ways..

It made you think about how it feels when he places them on your hips when he’s standing behind you, or when he caresses your sides when you’re cuddling, or the way his fingers move insid-

“Y/n?”

Your eyes were glued on Satoru's hands as he grabbed his soft drink to take a sip from it, “y/n?” he called out softly again.

You were too into your, perhaps weird thoughts, that you slightly jumped when he grabbed your hand gently “oh” he chuckled, his pretty smile making your heart melt.

“Where are you?” he asked still smiling, “huh?” your confused face making him laugh. “well, I was talking but you weren’t listening."

You’ve probably been staring at him weirdly..

He squeezed your hand softly making you gulp, your gaze dropping to his veiny hands again making you sigh deeply. “you good?” he asked concerned this time.

“y-yea yea don’t worry. So what were you talking about?” You cleared your throat before offering him a small smile.

“so I was saying, while I was working on my essay earlier I’ve-…”

and again, your eyes dropped down his large hands, fingers tapping softly on the table as he explained whatever he was saying.

Satoru stopped talking, looking at you suspiciously “so that’s how I choked Suguru, I shoved a living fish into his throat. What do you think about it?” he stared at you intensely waiting for you to reply.

"oh yea ..yea I agree! Of course.“ you cleared your throat again looking back up at him.

Satoru sighed before dragging his chair closer to yours "baby tell me what’s wrong?“ he pushed some strands of hair behind your ear.

He laid his warm hand gently on top of your thigh making goosebumps raised under his touch.

Your boyfriend didn’t miss the way you shivered. Your heart started beating faster as you watched him realize why you were so absent.

Satoru chuckled as you turned your face away from him.

”so you’re horny, is that it?“

”Shut up! you’re talking so loud.” you hid your embarrassed face behind your hands.

Your boyfriend decided to tease you a bit “so.. my hands huh?” he whispered, his fingertips slowly dancing on your thigh.

”are you always turn on everytime you look at them? Huh?“ He murmured into your ear, his warm breath hitting your skin.

He leaned his body onto your side, his large hand grabbing the flesh softly. “Or when I do this.” his fingers teasingly sliding closer to where you needed him. He smirked when you suddenly grab his hand stopping him from going higher.

“Satoru.” you warned him quietly “we’re in public."

He sighed releasing his hand from your grip before placing it again on the top of your thigh. He looked into your eyes deeply, drawing random little patterns on the smooth skin.

“tell me if you want me to stop.” he whispered before kissing your cheek.

His fingers danced their way up to your panties slowly looking at you for any sign of disapproval. You gasped when the tip of his finger came in contact with your lightly covered clit. You put your hand in front of your mouth, cheeks warming up. The idea of getting caught in a public place doing such “daring” stuff made you feel lightheaded.

You lowered your head watching as his hand disappeared under your skirt. You spread your legs a little making room for his hand to slide between your thighs.

Satoru applied a light pressure on the throbbing pearl, the feeling making a soft moan pass by your lips. Your surroundings long forgotten now.

He moved his fingers in circle on the little bud making you bit on your bottom lip to stay silent. Your panties now damp at how turned on you were.

“f-fuck.” you breathed out.

You started feeling the familiar knot in the pit of your stomach as he rubbed faster. “S-Satoru.” you whimpered softly ”I’m close."

Satoru retracted his hand as he grab his drink to sip on it.

“A-are you serious?” you whined disappointed, your climax vanishing.

“Sorry I was thirsty.” he smirked before grabbing his bag and yours from the floor as he stood up. You looked up at him confused.

He held his hand out for you to take it “let’s get out of here. We’re going to my dorm. I’ll take care of you properly there.” he bit his lip teasingly, a smile plastered on his face as you laughed.

You gasped as your back hit the wall, Satoru closed the front door shut with his foot not wanting to break the long kiss you started from the elevator.

The drive from the café was fast when you think about it, much more faster than usual.

He threw the car keys onto the counter, your arms still wrapped around his neck. You hummed as his large hands stroked your sides gently.

"we’re lucky Suguru is not here." Satoru muttered before grinning as he peeked toward the living room, the tv turned off and the balcony’s doors locked. 

Usually when, Suguru, his roommate and his best friend was here, the tv would be playing some series, the balcony doors would be wide open. Some snacks would be all over the table accompanied with either two or three empty cans of beer, and not forgetting his bottle of water "to stay hydrated" like he always says.

You both took your shoes off before entering the "dorm" - which looked more like a nice apartment. Satoru helped you with your things, putting your coat on the chair with your school bag.

"let’s go to my room." he said grabbing your hand gently in his, guiding you to his bedroom.

He opened his door slowly revealing his "not-so-neat" room.

"I’m sorry." he scratched the back of his head embarrassed "I didn’t clean my room this week... yet."

You chuckled "it’s not that bad… compared to the last time I came over." you reminded making him scoff.

"well, m’aam it wasn’t my fault." he glared at you.

"oh yea.. we’re gonna say it’s Haibara's dog fault huh." you crossed your arms over your chest making Satoru grin.

"exactly!"

"so you’re saying that when you brought his dog here he drunk cola and just left the empty cans on the floor? Or he just put a pile of dirty clothes on a chair? homework papers laying everywhere but on the desk? Or-"

"ok enough!" he pushed his tongue on the inside of his cheek knowing well he’s putting his bad habits on the poor dog’s back.

"I decided to have good habits now. See! I put the dirty clothes in the basket there." he pointed toward the basket full of clothing next to the connected bathroom’s door.

You nodded "so it’s, perhaps time to do the laundry.. it’s kind of full." you looked back at him.

Satoru smirked "well, not as full as you’re gon-"

"argh shut up!" you rolled your eyes cheeks burning.

"oh, you’re shy now darling?" he teased as he bumped your nose.

"you not funny." you pouted making his heart melt, you were just so cute when you’re embarrassed.

"gosh you’re so cute, come here." he pulled you to him by your hips, bending down a little so he could rest his forehead on yours.

"I can’t wait to ruin you." he said lowly, his hand caressing your cheek softly as he looked into your eyes.

You gulped at the sudden change of attitude. He was just so hot.

Satoru licked his lips, before enveloping yours in a loving kiss.

"I love you." he whispered.

"I love you." you smiled.

He backed you slowly toward the bed until the back of your knees touched the edge of it. He laid you gently on the mattress, the soft sheets welcoming you before he hovered over you.

"now I have you all to myself." he stared down at you with his cerulean eyes, bottom lip caught between his teeth. His arms rested on each sides of your head as he bent down to kiss your neck making you sighed pleasantly.

Satoru nipped at the smooth skin, leaving little reddish marks. Your hands went to grab on his broad shoulders as his lips travelled down to your collarbone biting on it, not too hard but enough to make you moan as you gripped harder on his shoulders.

"fuck, you like it when I bite you?" he asked looking up at you as you avoid eye contact.

"you’re really something huh." he smirked, fingers playing with the hem of your shirt "can I take it off ,darling?"

You just whispered a quiet "yes." as he didn’t lose time and threw the shirt away, his hands going down to your skirt looking up at you again, a silent request for your consent to get rid of it too.

"please." you whined impatient.

He complied again, the clothe landing somewhere on the carpeted floor.

"fuck." he sighed lowly.

"look at you." his eyes wandering over your body "you’re so fucking pretty."

His fingers grazed over the lacy bra, your cheeks heating up as he stare down at you in awe.

Satoru breathed deeply before kissing down your chest, lips caressing gently on the unmarked skin of your breasts. He peppered soft little kisses down to your stomach before biting on the soft flesh, making you grab on his white locks.

"Satoru." you moaned breathlessly.

"yes, my love?" he licked over the reddish spot on your tummy, eyes locking with yours as he looked up at you.

"I want you." you whispered impatiently.

"you do?" He raised his eyebrow teasingly as his beautiful fingers dance over the delicate skin of your stomach.

"tell me what you want baby." he asked seductively.

"your... your fingers." you closed your eyes feeling dizzy already. Just the thought of his fingers buried deep inside of you, made you close your legs.

"ditching my dick for my fingers now?" he chuckled making you cover your flustered face.

"but I don’t mind, if I still can satisfy you." his fingers slid down between your legs as he spread your thighs for him.

His fingertips came in contact with your covered clit making you whimper, the light pressure making you lose your mind again.

"hmm, you like that?" he pressed a bit harder making you sigh.

He suddenly drew his hand back and raised it in front of your face "suck." he ordered, tapping his fingers teasingly on your lips.

Satoru knew how to turn you on because, you were so damn horny right now.

"C’mon, open up princess." you felt your heart beating faster at the nickname.

You opened your mouth slowly allowing him to slide three digits inside "now suck."

You complied, your lips tightening around his long digits. Your saliva wetting them as your tongue swipe over them.

You moaned furrowing your eyebrows as he pushed them deeper.

"such a good girl for me." he praised before retracting his hand, a faint trail of saliva still connecting your lips with his fingers.

"You love my fingers that much?" he asked, thumb sliding over your bottom lip. You just stared up at him, no words daring to come out.

"cats got your tongue, hun'?" he tilted his head to the side chuckling.

"lost of words and I didn’t even fuck you with my fingers yet." he sighed, acting disappointed.

Satoru smirked as he glided his hand down your body before dragging your panties down your legs. He caressed your thigh up to your core before pressing his fingers on your glistening lips, before entered two fingers inside you making you close your legs around him.

"tsk, open those pretty legs for me love." he glared at you. You swore you could had cummed right on the moment, the effect he has over you was insane.

He started thrusting slowly inside you as he spread your legs again.

"you’re so good baby, swallowing my fingers like that, gosh you’re so hot." he muttered.

He moved faster making you grip the sheets as you felt your high coming already.

“I’m close!" you whimpered loudly.

Satoru rubbed his thumb on your clit, almost pushing you to the edge but just before you could come, he pulled his hand away, your orgasm vanishing. You looked at him, tears in your eyes as he stole your second orgasm of the day.

"why? why would you!?” you glared at him.

"don’t look at me like that, princess." he warned.

"but why?" a tear rolled down your cheek as you felt like you’ve been overstimulated. You wanted- you needed to come so bad.

"don’t cry pretty girl." he stroked your cheek, wiping the tear with his thumb.

"I didn’t want you to cum on my fingers, i want you to cum around my dick, baby.”

He got off you, standing before you to take his shirt off maintaining eye contact.

He extended his hand for you to take it, helping you sit down. He placed your hands on his belt and you got the hint as you started unbuckle it. Satoru helped you pushing his pants down his muscular legs as your eyes met the painfully confined bulge in his boxer.

He got rid of the garments covering him from you, discarding it away on the pile of clothes on the floor. You looked away feeling a bit hot as he stood there proudly naked with no shame.

"is my princess shy again?" he chuckled, his smile making your heart melt.

"look at me." he asked gently lifting you chin up "listen carefully." you nodded waiting for him to continue.

"I’m gonna fuck you dumb, my love." he bent down kissing you, his hands coming behind your back to unhook your bra.

Satoru laid you down again, spreading your legs to make room for him to lay between them.

"You look so pretty like that under me." he smiled admiring your flustered face, laying one of his hand on your bare waist.

He lowered himself more, his head buried into the crook of your neck as he started leaving little wet kisses making you turned your head to the side giving him more access.

"'toru." you whined as he teased your entrance with the tip of his erection.

He placed one your leg over his waist, rutting forward against your core making you moan loudly "stop teasing!"

"you no fun baby." he pouted making you roll your eyes.

"please." you pleaded just wanting to feel him as he kept on rubbing his erection between your glistening lips.

"As you wish y/n." he slapped the head of his cock on your throbbing clit making you hiss before penetrating you slowly making sure to not hurt you. You threw your head back into his pillow, gripping on his shoulders as he bottomed out.

"you good?" he made sure you weren’t uncomfortable "tell me whenever you want me to stop." he reminded, making your nod.

Satoru licked your jawline before sucking softly on the skin leaving little marks.

"you’re so- fuck." you whimpered at the painful yet delicious stretch, his hips moving carefully slow.

He picked up the pace making you clenched around him. He groaned into your neck, his grip on your thigh tightened as he adjusted it higher on his hip, the new position helping him hit deeper.

"you feel so good princess."

"you take me so well." he moaned as he felt you scratch his back.

He looked down between your bodies, grabbing your hand guiding it down to press it on the bulge in your lower stomach.

"look at you.. so small we can see my cock." he breathed out, his words making goosebumps raised all over your skin.

You arched your back off the bed as he hit deeper "Satoru! I'm so close." you breathed out, eyes closed.

"fuck! Look at me. Look at me when I’m making you feel good." He asked, his hand travelling up to your neck, fingers wrapping around your throat. He applied a light pressure enough to make you lightheaded.

You opened your eyes meeting his lustful ones. You wanted to look away, his stare making you feel small under him.

"you’re such a good girl for me, aren’t you?" he snapped his hips into yours making you cry his name out.

Satoru couldn’t take his eyes off your face. You looked so pretty under him, forehead covered with little beads of sweat, eyes half-open, moaning his name loudly.

"oh my- don’t stop! Right there!" your boyfriend bit on his bottom lip, the flesh turning white. Your fingernails were buried deep into the flesh of his scratched back.

"You feel so good." He groaned loudly as he felt you tighten around him "so warm and f-fuck!"

You threw your head back as you felt the oh-so-familiar feeling in the pit of your stomach.

"I’m so close." you moaned grabbing on his bicep.

"I got you baby." he kissed your lips, his hand traveling down your bodies until it reached your bud of nerves. He drew little circles on your clit with his thumb lazily making you arch your back off the mattress.

You looked down, mouth ajar, at his fingers, the way his veins were prominent on his hand. You bit on your lip, pleasure getting unbearable.

"Satoru!" you cried out loudly as you came around him.

The way your walls kept on convulsing around him push him closer to his climax as he dropped his head on your chest, his breathing unsteady. Satoru didn’t take much time to come inside you, his warm cum filling you up to the brim. You pulled harshly on his white hair as he rode your orgasm.

He collapsed on your sweaty body, his head buried into the crook of his neck.

"damn." he said after a few minutes making you both laugh.

"yea damn." you caressed the back of his head.

"that was awesome." he hummed satisfied against your skin.

"I agree." you hummed closing your eyes.

Satoru was about to pull out but you hug him.

"let’s stay like this for a moment … please?" you asked timidly.

"I’d love to." he smiled against your skin.

"I love you 'Toru" you kissed his forehead earning a cute smile from your boyfriend whom look up at you.

"I love you" he hugged your body tightly.

—

"should we tell them?" Shoko asked Suguru.

The dark haired boy man paused the game before putting his controller down on his desk "what? that we’ve been here the whole time?"

Shoko shrugged "he’s your roommate. I’d tease him if I was you." she smirked.

"you’re saying this like he’s not your friend too." Suguru laughed.

"I don’t live here. But well, I don’t mind teasing them. I'll tease y/n later when we will be in our apartment." she smirked before getting up from the floor, throwing her cigarette outside by the window.

"Shoko! the ashtray is just over there." he pointed desperately toward the small receptacle, he bought especially for her, placed on the window's edge.

Suguru shook his head disappointed.

"where are you going?" he asked confused following his short best friend.

"oh yes! yes! y/n! you're doing so well." Shoko yelled from the living room with a -bad -imitated- deep voice "you’re so good ahhh".

Suguru fell on the couch laughing at his friend "stop it or he’ll whine about it all day."

"the fuck!?" they heard Satoru opening his bedroom’s door.

Suguru looked at Shoko trying not to laugh but failing as they both see the shirtless man standing before them.

"you guys are so dead. See you both later." he glared at them before returning to his room, leaving his best friend dying from laughing.

[fanofthelamb]

lovely art you make please never stop!!!

WAAA TOO SWEET. thats it. MOREEEEEEE ART DUMP!!!!!!!! im not sure how many of these i posted but!! i think mostly it's all new!!!!!!!

I wonder if this'll become a thing for me. BAHAHAH

scrapped ref page i've made before ^^^^^ it was similar to nari's except it turns out the red's color jitter was too extreme.... the grren was AMAZING tho. Comments with the pieces btw!! and 30+ pics I think?! So expect a long ass post. :) this isn't even all the unposted art, just the stuff I thought was good enough to post!

First thing's first! How about a comic I never posted? I was kinda embarrassed by the writing of it, but this WAS just something to help Rue. (You might notice a lot of the art in this thread was sent to Rue and never posted. Sorry Rue. little of this is new for you. sone is tho. orzzzzz)

Woah? The lamb has feelings? The lamb has bad feelings about their past?? Who knew. Shocker. (also LMFAO AT NARI IN THIS HE REALLY SAID "oh ur crying? I'll give you a reason to cry")

something to kind of help storyboard out the animation i'm tryna work on. its not going well. turns out that shit is hard.

and some beyond the grove narinder. yall eat BTG nari UPPPPPP.

speaking of BTG? how about some panels of a future page? Chapter 1 still. feel free to laugh at how strangely i draw the draft. ti works for me!

back to normal nari. IN PANTS!!!!!!!!!!!

THIS isnt actually a drawing it's a real image taken of me and rue

i dont know if i posted this or not, actually. i am not a big fan of it, though.

i need to draw leshy and val more </3

idk if i posted kalladad either BAHAHAHAHA

also, i dont know if i posted THIS either. i dont SEE it but i could be wrong ?

now how about a couple of kissing booth scraps?

long with the scrapped comic where narinder kills and eats the face of the goat. </3 rip that thing (the goat LOVES fighting and LOVES someome who can beat thier ass almost as much)

and some heket bullying her brother (she wuvs him tho)

i dont know which acc i posted this to, actually. i drew this bc rick kept reposting halflife shit BAHAHAHH

oh and here's a vent piece or two i made with annona. they seem harmless enough to post i guess? i wish i made more content with them.

i jsut wanna chew them between my molars like a marshmallow.

this si also sometihng i made for rue BAHAHAHAHAH HAVE I POSTED IT? IDK.

and of course, the least toxic totally-not-abusive-as-fuck pairing of lamb and the red crown. this isnt exclusively BTG related but I dont know how much interest people would have with him being a character on FOTL? he is 1000% having his own role as his own charavter in BTG though.

oh, and this guy i wanted to post forever ago, but i needed time to adjust to his design. this is the best i have made of him and it might be what sticks. he's leshy's uncle. (took worm baby in after both his siblings went missing)

more nari, because he's my most popular scrumplie. probably bc i draw him the most and a lot of my stuff is nari centric. nude nari because i literally couldn't think up what i wanted to draw on him. i was gonna edit clothes on later and forgor BAHAHAHA

i actually dont know if i posted this too? this is tyar and baal <3 baal was pretty shocked to have learned vitas was tyar's spouse. he's still not ready to talk about it, but he does want to ask the lamb about it one day.

and some childhood memories i never finished.

i MIGHT have posted this one ?

i posted pieces of this page but here's the full:

[lozchi]

*INHALES!!*

TAEHOON WITH A FIGHTER READER!.. please..🥺🥺 like imagine him being attracted to the reader.. because he thinks she's strong 🥺🥺.. like he'll follow her around, not exactly knowing what to do or say.. like he'll try to "challenge" her out of nowhere.. forcing her to join the dojo.. 🥺🥺.. and imagine if the reader declines because she want to prioritize her "studies"..

SORRY IF IT'S COMPLICATED 😂😂

A/N: It's not complicated at all since I actually daydreamt of this scenario so many times, all good! LMAO I MISSED HIM SO MUCH I'M CRYING (not proofread, I'll probably edit this later haha, I dunno.) For you, @geto-s-one-n-only !

Pairing: Taehoon Seong x Reader | Request had a fem reader in mind but there are no pronouns, this is gender-neutral.

Themes: you're a badass and Taehoon is whipped.

wc: 2,222 words

You were a NewTuber who gained a large following by teaching martial arts with clear instructions, impressive techniques, and a charismatic personality. Your channel has turned into a popular destination for fans of martial arts, attracting viewers globally, including the famous Hobin Yoo.

One day, Hobin himself reached out to you, intrigued by your skills and eager to collaborate. He saw the potential for a dynamic and inspiring partnership that could benefit both of your audiences. While you were excited by the opportunity, not everyone shared the same enthusiasm. Taehoon, upon hearing about the collaboration, remained indifferent. He had his own standards and wasn’t easily impressed.

However, the rest of the HYC held immense respect for your moves and teaching methods. They had seen your videos and were keen to create content with you. Hobin, recognizing the value you could bring, arranged for a one-on-one session to showcase your talents. Gyeoul attended the session and was thoroughly impressed by your techniques and teaching style.

Despite the respect from the crew, you were aware of Taehoon's dismissive attitude and decided to challenge him to a sparring match. Confident in his own abilities, Taehoon accepted, exuding his usual cocky demeanor. However, as the match progressed, it became clear that he had underestimated you. Your skill, strategy, and precision in the fight ultimately led to his defeat.

Taehoon’s loss was a humbling experience for him, and he couldn’t get you out of his mind after that.

-

It was a regular afternoon, and you had just finished recording a video on how to improve your kicks. Feeling satisfied with the session, you took a shower to freshen up, then retreated to your room for some much-needed rest. As you lay back on your bed, you decided to grab your phone and check your notifications.

To your surprise, you saw a message from someone you didn't expect: Taehoon. His message was brief and to the point:

Taehoon: wyd

You quickly responded, curious about the unexpected communication.

You: Nothing much, I just finished a vid :D

You sent the message and noticed that he had read it almost immediately. But then, there was no reply. Minutes turned into a considerable amount of time, and you found yourself left on read. It was a strange occurrence, but you shrugged it off, figuring that Taehoon might have had other things to attend to.

Just as you were about to put your phone down, it buzzed again with another message from Taehoon.

Taehoon: fight me.

I want a rematch.

-

It turned into an almost regular thing; every now and then, you'd have a sparring session in the dojang with Taehoon. These matches gradually evolved into regular hangouts, where the two of you would spend time together outside of training. One day, you both decided to grab ice cream after a particularly intense session.

"As I was saying, those cramps worsened over time since I forgot to stretch." you said, licking your ice cream as you recounted your story.

"Huh, never had to deal with that even as a beginner." Taehoon remarked with his annoying smug expression. Suddenly, his eyes darted to something behind you. "What's that?" he pointed somewhere behind you.

Instinctively, you turned to look, and in that brief moment of distraction, Taehoon leaned over and took a lick of your ice cream.

"Why you-!" you exclaimed, smacking his arm playfully.

"That's what you get for being an idiot." he retorted with a smirk.

"I'm not an idiot!" you shot back.

"Oh yeah?" Taehoon raised an eyebrow. "Your ice cream's melting and dripping down your hand right now, and you don't even notice."

You glanced down and saw that he was right—your ice cream was indeed melting and making a mess. With a frustrated sigh, you tried to salvage what you could.

"Tsk, I can't with you." you muttered, shaking your head as Taehoon chuckled, clearly enjoying the moment. 

You checked your phone and saw it was getting late. "Hey, I had a lot of fun today, but I need to go and study." you said, getting ready to leave.

"I'll take you home." Taehoon offered without hesitation.

"That's sweet of you, but I can do just fine." 

"I'm not asking for permission. I'm taking you home. It's dangerous at night." Taehoon insisted, his tone firm.

"I can easily beat you in a fight. What makes you think I can't go home by myself?" you challenged him. Grrr, take the hint.

"I go easy on you sometimes, y'know?" he scoffed, not willing to back down.

You groaned and turned to leave, but he followed right behind you. "You should train in our dojang sometime." he suggested as you walked.

"Well, that's not really necessary. You already know I have somewhere else to train."

There was a brief silence between you, the sound of your footsteps filling the night air, until Taehoon broke it again.

"When can we fight again?" 

"Not sure," you admitted. "I'll be putting off my vids for a bit since I have exams."

"I'll help you study." he offered, surprising you with his sincerity.

"That's nice of you, but we both know you're just gonna end up distracting me." you said, shaking your head with a smile.

"Yeah, that's right." he admitted, laughing lightly.

"Yeonwoo can probably be more helpful than you," you added, trying to gently let Taehoon down while keeping the conversation light.

"You're comparing me to a nerd? Tch, seriously?" Taehoon retorted, clearly annoyed by the comparison.

"A really kind, good-looking, strong nerd," you added with a smirk, knowing this would get under his skin.

"Tsk. Whatever." he muttered, but you could tell he was slightly flustered.

You seized the opportunity to tease him further. "Aww, are you jealous?"

"You're getting way ahead of yourself, idiot."

"I'm not an idiot!"

The two of you continued to bicker playfully, your voices filling the quiet night as you walked. The retorts and comebacks only fueled the banter.

As you finally reached your doorstep, you turned to face Taehoon. "Well, this is me."

"Yeah, yeah." he replied, his tough exterior cracking just enough to show a hint of a smile. "Don't stay up too late studying."

"I won't," you assured him. "Thanks for walking me home."

"Whatever."

"Good night~"

"Good night."

-

Exams were nearing, and you were studying your ass off, as promised, taking some time off from your NewTube channel to focus on your exams. The pressure was intense, and you spent countless hours buried in textbooks and notes. Despite your dedication to studying, Taehoon wouldn’t leave you alone. He seemed determined to keep you company, whether you liked it or not.

You found yourself sitting on the floor, textbooks spread out around you as you racked your brain over a particularly challenging problem. You sighed in frustration, feeling the weight of the upcoming exams bearing down on you.

Just then, Taehoon leaned in, his face inches away from yours. "This has the same solution as problem 6."

"A-ah, yeah. Thanks." you stammered, trying to focus on the problem at hand while your heart raced.

The day after your exams, you received your results and were thrilled to see that you had passed with a good grade. Eager to share the news, you sought out Taehoon and showed him your grades.

"Turns out the idiot isn't an idiot at all," Taehoon commented with a smirk, clearly impressed but maintaining his usual teasing demeanor.

"Huhuhu~" you laughed triumphantly, feeling a rush of pride and relief.

"So, are you free to—" Taehoon began, but you cut him off with a grin.

"Let's train together. You, me, at the dojang."

"Alright, let's see if that brain of yours can keep up with your fists."

"You'll be eating those words soon enough."

-

As you entered the mat, you could sense the well-known surge of adrenaline. Taehoon was positioned in front of you, staring intensely into your eyes with a competitive spark.

"Ready to get your ass kicked?" he teased, his usual smirk in place.

"Hah. You wish." you shot back, a confident smile tugging at your lips.

As the minutes passed, the fight grew fiercer. You managed to land a solid kick, but Taehoon quickly recovered, countering with a series of rapid attacks. 

In a swift, unexpected move, you managed to sweep Taehoon's legs out from under him. He fell to the mat, and you followed through, pinning him down. Breathing heavily, you looked down at him, a triumphant grin on your face.

"Got you." you said, breath hitching.

Taehoon, still catching his breath, looked up at you with an expression of surprise and admiration. As the adrenaline began to subside, the intensity of the moment shifted. His hand reached up, and with a gentle touch, he brushed a stray lock of hair from your eyes.

-

Look, whatever happened after that fight might have slipped your mind, but for Taehoon, it was etched in his mind 24/7. It haunted him for weeks—maybe even months, who knows? The intensity of that moment had a profound impact on him, and despite his usual demeanor, he couldn't shake the feeling of wanting more.

He respected you as a fighter, admired you as a friend, but he was greedy. No matter how difficult or complicated it might seem, he wasn’t ready to let you go.

One day, as you were discussing various things, Taehoon suddenly interrupted. His tone was serious, and there was an intensity in his eyes that caught you off guard.

"Date me." he said, his words coming out with surprising bluntness.

You blinked in confusion. "Ah—Huh."

 Then, it hit you, and your eyes widened in disbelief. "HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUHHHH?!?"

"You heard me."

"But—" you began, trying to process his unexpected confession.

"I'm not asking for your permission, I'm—" he started, but you cut him off.

"You already know my answer. You always call me an idiot. Hmph." you retorted, trying to play it cool despite the rapid fluttering of your heart.

"So it's a..." Taehoon trailed off, waiting for your response.

"A 'yes', you nutjob."

-

Being in a relationship with Taehoon didn't bring about significant changes; the main difference was the increase in intimacy.

While practicing alone, Taehoon occasionally observed you from afar, showing his admiration through his eyes. It was a fresh, more subdued method for him to display his backing and love–or like, whatever.

Still, his friends couldn't help but observe the change in Taehoon's behavior. 

“Taehoon is a simp, haha.” Snapper said with a grin.

“Shut the fuck up, you're just sad you don’t have a girlfriend.” Taehoon shot back.

“Hey! That’s a little uncalled for!”

“Haha, you deserved that.” Hobin added with a chuckle.

“Seriously though, how did you pull a complete 10?” Snapper asked, genuinely curious.

“Simple, I’m not you." Taehoon replied with a smirk.

Hobin burst into laughter at the retort. Despite the teasing, there was a genuine sense of pride and happiness in Taehoon’s voice. His expression softened as he looked at you. Seriously though, he felt so lucky to have you. The light-hearted banter among his friends only underscored how much Taehoon valued you. It was clear that, despite his tough exterior, he was deeply appreciative of the connection you shared.

Taehoon felt incredibly fortunate to have you in his life. It wasn’t just about having a sparring partner, though that alone was something he deeply appreciated. Training with you was a thrill; the intensity and skill you brought to the mat pushed him to be better, and he enjoyed the challenges you presented.

But you were so much more than that. You were his cuddling machine. Whether it was after a grueling workout or during a quiet evening, the way you nestled against him provided a sense of peace and closeness that he cherished deeply.

You were a thoughtful listener to him as well, truly hearing him out when he talked about the latest fight tactics or shared thoughts about his day. Your capability to listen without criticism and provide considerate replies established you as a reliable confidant in every way.

On top of that, you were his favorite yapper. Your lively, animated nature kept things interesting and full of life, adding an element of fun and spontaneity to your time together.

Taehoon felt immensely lucky to see your face every day. Simply seeing your smile or witnessing the sparkle in your eyes when you were happy brought a sense of joy. All these moments, whether significant or minor, accumulated into a profound gratitude for the special and irreplaceable impact you had in his life.

He took immense pleasure in admiring your moves, both in and out of the dojang. Whether it was the precision of your kicks or the graceful way you moved, he found inspiration in every aspect of your skill. Watching you train, grow, and excel was a sign of how lucky he was to share his life with someone as talented and remarkable as you.

Taehoon felt extremely fortunate to have you as his. Every day he spent with you only reminded him of how unique and invaluable you were to him.

When you and Taehoon faced off, you couldn’t help but notice a momentary lapse in his focus. "You taking this seriously or nah?"

Taehoon glanced at you, refocusing his gaze. "Relax, babe. I was just getting started."

[wings-of-ink]

Hear ye, hear ye!

All of you who have been anxiously awaiting Chapter 4 can send a big thank you to the Microsoft mayhem that happened on Friday. Because of it, I have had two entire, unprecedented, days off of work during which all I did was write and edit chapter 4! Stuff like this never happens to me either, so I ate it up. My work computer is still super broken too, so who knows what will happen tomorrow, lol.

So, chapter 4, barring anything disastrous that I do not yet foresee – is coming very soon. Like, any day this week soon. For now, I am looking for bugs and other errors until I feel comfortable getting the update loaded. I will also be updating the warning list and some things on the itch page. I keep feeling like I'm forgetting something I wanted to do, and am having a hell of a time remembering what it was…

Anyway, if it interests you, more details below!

In going through some of the Google Error Reports, I had a couple that I either could not resolve or find.

It was reported that checking player stats in chapter 1 would not work – that it would flash only for a moment. I could not recreate this. If anyone else has seen this, please let me know.

In the end of chapter 2 where there are multiple ways to spend your time there seems to be some issues with how choices become unselectable after certain clicks and it just doesn't seem to function correctly. I have fixed the issues I have found, but could not recreate all of the instances that were reported. This section may get an overhaul in the future since I understand the coding a bit more now.

It was also reported that fonts are not changing. There is definitely a weird issue with this and it will take some time for me to sit down and hammer out. The fonts do change for me, but notably, I don't think they are switching to the correct font types. They don't even appear to be the same fonts from when I first starting this project, lol. This issue is on hold for now.

The last 2 bonus segments for the end of chapter 3 are being pushed aside for the time being. I kept finding myself feeling like I was hammering them into the chapter and it was a little exhausting. If I force it, it will be less enjoyable to read. The segments that are missing are the ones for hanging out with Zahn and Nathanael. Zahn's is easy to wiggle in elsewhere at least, but I'm not sure if Nathan's will make it in or not. We'll see, my motivation was purely for chapter 4, so now that it is ready to go, I'll have another crack at it before I drop or move them completely. They aren't super important to the story, but are just for fun (and if Oswin got his, it's only fair that Zahn gets theirs too). That last section of chapter 3 ended up way too long, so it may get adjusted later anyway.

As with any work in progress, I can't guarantee that your old saves will work. That's probably how we are going to have to roll for a bit until I really get things nice and smooth. Eventually, I will add an option to start from a later chapter and go through and make the (MANY) relevant choices to skip ahead. This may be implemented when Chapter 6 is ready to go since all the ROs will be available.

I also want to figure out how to implement named saves to make it easier for you to sort. I appreciate IFs that feature this, but I do not yet know how to do it, but I'm going to research. I like to play through with several MCs, and I'd like to offer enough info in the saves and/or Stats Menu that you can do this and easily know who you are playing as. Let me know what you would like most in the Player Stats Menu too. Note, that some options do not appear here until you choose them in the story.

Coming up…

Since Chapter 4 is down, I will soon be posting a big poll about future IFs. I've been compiling info for it here and there for a couple weeks on possible options for me to write in conjunction with God-Cursed. So, stay tuned for that in the coming days.

I will FINALLY get to my inbox in earnest as well! I will keep reaction asks paused until further notice since they take me the longest to answer. Feel free to still send in comments or quicker questions. If your question is too spoilery to answer, I will not be able to post about it.

Anyway, hope you are all doing well! I can't wait to see what you think of chapter 4. I hope you enjoy it. I'll get it out just as soon as I feel comfortable enough with it. ^_^

[infiniteanalemma]

Nobility in Baldur's Gate

Edited to add: I never expected my silly, niche post to get as much attention as it has! I'm giving you all forehead smooches! 😚💋 I've gone through to clean up some things up as I've found new information. I also added a list of nobility that I've found in game and other sources to the end of the post. Thanks, y'all! I'm glad I'm not the only one to wonder about this stuff. Good stuff in the reblogs, too!

Baldur's Gate has dug itself deep in my brain, so I apologize to my poor mutuals who didn't follow me for BG3 content getting this onslaught of posts. Please bear with me until my hyperfixation wears off. 🙏

Now, I'll admit up front that I'm no expert in DnD lore*, so if I get things wrong, please feel free to correct me or just add in stuff I may have missed. I'm going off of what I've found in-game and my Google Fu skills.

That said, I do know enough about DnD to remember that Baldur's Gate nobility are called patriars, and that there are only a relative handful of actual patriar families. I was thinking about my "canon" Tav, Velassa, and her background in BG3. She's a modified OC that I plunked in-game during Early Access, so I made her a noble. It was just part of her existing character that I didn't think too deeply about. It was only after I starting playing that it occurred to me to wonder what exactly "a noble" is to a native Baldurian.

That got me digging a little more into the current state of the Baldurian nobility as of BG3. I don't know who--if anyone--needs or wants this, but I put this together for myself and decided to share it for anyone else who might be interested. I realize that this is probably pretty niche and it's rambly and long af, so I'll put it under a cut.

So, for starters, here's a list of all the patriar families, including "fallen" houses that are barely hanging on: Belt, Bormul, Caldwell, Dlusker, Durinbold, Eltan, Eomane, Exeltis, Gist, Guthmere, Hhune, Hlath, Hullhollyn, Irlentree, Jannath, Jhasso, Linnacker, Miyar, Nurthammas, Oathoon, Oberon, Portyr, Provoss, Ravenshade, Rillyn, Sashenstar, Shattershield, Silvershield, Tillerturn, Vammas, Vannath, Vanthampur, and Whitburn

From what I've gathered, Exeltis, Provoss and Ravenshade are all more-or-less destitute. Also, the Szarr family (Cazador's family) were patriars, but were believed to be entirely wiped out. No living descendants makes them a dead house, rather literally. 😏 (No, I'm not sorry.)

Now, we learn that Wyll's father is Ulder Ravengard, the Grand Duke. This brings us to the first point: There are four Dukes, known as the Council of Four, and the Grand Duke's job is to be the tie-breaker.

Traditionally, one of the Dukes is also the highest ranked officer of the Flaming Fist--that's Ravengard, who was a Fist promoted up through the ranks. Wyll tells us that his father was born lower class, and quite a few of the patriars seem to scorn him for that. The other Dukes are Belynne Stelmane, Dillard Portyr (more on him later) and Thalamra Vanthampur (more on her later, too). Of the four, two are patriars: Portyr and Vanthampur. We don't know much about Stelmane's past, except that she was a brilliant businesswoman, politician and--as we find out later--member of the Knights of the Shield. Apparently, you can't buy your way into the patriars, but maybe you can buy your way into being a Duke.

Skipping ahead a bit, when the player shows up to Gortash's coronation, there are a group of mostly patriars sitting in the boxes leading up to the front of the room. I'm listing them by seating arrangement, with box 1 and 2 being the left and right closest to Gortash, and 3 and 4 being farthest. (I don't know what, if anything, the seating arrangements imply. The second box has eight people, compared to four for all the rest.)

Lady Ailis Belt, Baron Callem Bormul, Lord Rugger Shattershield**, and Lady Alia Durinbold**

Lady Ruth Linnacker, Lord Sarken Eomane, Lady Freida Oberon, Lord Raylen Jannath, Lord Myer Ravenshade**, Lady Madeline Whitburn, Lady Beatrice Provoss, and Duke Dillard Portyr

Lady Winstra Hullhollyn, Admiral Peil Hullhollyn, Lord Randolph Vammas, and Lady Eshvelt Guthmere

Lord Milon Tillerturn, Lady Silifrey Sashenstar, Lord Petric Amber**, and Lady Haeril Birch**

Here's some pictures of the nobles sitting together. (Sorry for the terrible quality! I slapped it together for my own reference. 🙈)

The characters marked by ** aren't human, which is interesting because the information I found said all the patriar familes are human except the Shattershields. Myer Ravenshade is listed as human if you examine him, but he has a dwarf model. That might be a mistake, but I'm including him anyway. Alia Durinbold, from a presumably human patriar family, is a wood elf. Again, this could be a mistake, but unless Larian winds up changing it, it could mean that interracial marriages that once may have been looked down on are now becoming more acceptable. Petric Amber is also a wood elf, and Haeril Birch is a high elf.

Those last two are interesting because they are the only ones in the boxes who aren't patriars. If not for them, I'd have assumed the coronation was simply a demonstration for the patriars alone. Their inclusion means this is something else.

Digging around, my conclusion is that all the listed people are members of the Parliament of Peers--a 50 person advisory party to the Council of Four. However, what I found says that it's pretty rare for all 50 to attend meetings, and the usual group is between 20-30. There are exactly 20 named individuals listed, plus a group of unnamed "patriars" standing at the front.

Here they are, for what it's worth:

One thing I noticed here is that most of those listed here are Lord/Lady, but there are three other titles: Duke, Baron and Admiral. I've already talked about the Dukes. Looking into the patriars, the Hullhollyn family are notable for having a fleet of ships, so it makes sense that one of them would be an Admiral. That leaves the Baron.

I couldn't find anything about what it means to be a baron in Baldur's Gate. Going on real-world peerages, a baron/ess is generally the lowest "rank" of nobility. Basically, it's someone who was an official landowner (usually of an "important" bit of land) under the feudal system. Well and good, I suppose, but presumably all the Lords and Ladies of the patriars own land within the city. This particular Baron is also a patriar, but given that one doesn't need to be a patriar to become a Duke (normally a higher peer than a baron), that may not mean anything.

(Apparently, the term "Duke" was originally meant somewhat jokingly. That said, it still carries the weight of a title even if not the conventional one.) We don't see any other titles between Duke and Baron, so what does that mean?

This isn't canon, but my assumption is that it means the Baron owns important land outside of the city. This would make sense for Baron Bormul, given that the Bormul family apparently have investments in silver mines and vineyards. Assuming they own the mines/vineyards, that may make those lands "important" enough to the city for their owner to earn a title. Alternately, the Bormul family also has counterparts in Amn, so maybe baron is an Amnian title that got passed along. That's getting a bit far afield for me, though. 🤷‍♀️

Anyway, among the group at the coronation, pretty much everyone supports Gortash becoming Archduke, with the exception of Lady Sashenstar (an old woman who really isn't too impressed with this commoner) and Duke Portyr, who expresses some hesitation at the whole thing.

Duke Portyr is interesting here. Except for Ravengard (who is thralled and conducting the ceremony), Portyr is the only Duke present. Now, Stelmane is already dead, so that explains her absence. Vanthampur is also missing, which is interesting. Portyr first, though: he was Grand Duke before Ravengard. He's the one who re-instituted (Edited: and originally created!) the Parliament of Peers to make the day-to-day decisions of running the city, and ceded the title of Grand Duke to Ravengard. He's described as being conflict-averse, so it makes sense that he'd go along with Gortash's coronation, even though he's clearly unhappy about it. Also, the current leader of the Fists is also a Portyr, likely still Liara Portyr, the Duke's niece and Ravengard's second-in-command.

Thalamra Vanthampur is an interesting character, too. She's the head of the Vanthampur family, and part of the Descent into Avernus story. Apparently, she's the one who got Ravengard to go to Elturel before it sank to the Hells, intending to take his place as Grand Duke. From what I read, she also conspired with the Dead Three's cults to murder people in a bid to discredit the Flaming Fist. (The murdery bits were undoubtedly left to Bhaal's cult.) We never do find out anything about Thalamra Vanthampur in this game (I assume that's probably cut content). (Edited: She is mentioned in one of the in-game texts as having been killed, which was one of the possible outcomes of Descent into Avernus. Larian chose that as their canon, just like the fate of Elturel and Zariel.)

The only Vanthampur we do meet is Carnelia Vanthampur, who is in the Guildhall and describes herself as "a peer of the Parliament". She's willing to work with either the Guild or the Zhentarim. Nervously of course. Also interesting is that, on the Bloodstained Parchment hit list, is a Varri Vanthampur, whose gravestone you can find in Candulhallow's Tombstones shop, reading: "Varri Vanthampur. Unwanted in life, welcomed in death."

Interesting, hm?

Also on that hit list is Fridrik Hhune. The Hhunes apparently have links to the Knights of the Shield, from what I looked up--the same group the Emperor led with Stelmane. The only Hhunes we meet in-game are Blaise and Gheris Hhune, two of the werewolves in Cazador's ballroom who are brothers according to the dev notes. With them is another werewolf of a different patriar family, Duver Rillyn. This suggests Cazador has been going after members of patriar families, which sort of fits with what we know about his plans. We really don't find anything else out about them except that they consider Cazador to be their master and Astarion says they're new.

We also can talk to a Flaming Fist who mentions that Hurlbut Hhune is the father of Henrietta Hhune, who used to be secretly engaged to the Fist in question, only for her father to decide to arrange her to marry fellow patriar Derque Rillyn, who the Fist describes as "a major arsehole."

That conversation is interesting for a few reasons. For one, it tells you that arranged marriages within the patriar are a thing. Also, this Fist is a Manip (essentially a Sergeant) who can't ask the other Fists for help because "the Fists don't mess with wealthy patriars, they've got the Watch to back them up." That's aligned with what Devella can also tell you: "There are patriars on the murder target list. I'm oathbound to secure them first, so I'll be heading to the Upper City next." If you say that the Fist should protect everyone: "Not from around here, are you? We're in Baldur's Gate - this is just how things work."

This brings me back to my original issue: what is a Baldurian noble? The patriars are canonically nobles, of course, and they're undoubtedly seen as the "most important" of the nobility. From there, it's not much of a stretch to say that anyone who has earned the title of Duke is now a noble, even if they aren't patriars. I'd go so far as to say anyone on the Parliament of Peers (and their family by association) is a noble^, given that non-patriars Petric Amber and Haeril Birch are considered Lord and Lady. The information I found about that is that there are approximately twelve non-patriar members. If Amber and Birch are two of them, that leaves another unnamed 10.

^Edited: Looking at the dates, I realized that the Parliament of Peers is a very recent change to Baldurian governance. Duke Portyr originally created it after the three other Dukes on the Council of Four were assassinated. It was clearly meant as a temporary measure, but my guess is that the patriars liked having more official say. Not to mention the non-patriars who managed to get a seat. This has all happened within even the youngest of Tav/Urges' lifetimes.

Personally, I'd also assume that branch families of the patriars probably also count as nobility. By branch family, I mean those that marry out of the main line but whose ancestry stems from a patriar family. From what I've seen by naming conventions, Baldur's Gate seems to use patronmyic lineage--ancestry is generally passed to the sons, and wives take their husband's surname. So, if a daughter marries out of the family, she'd no longer be a part of her father's family lineage, but still would be considered nobility. These branch families likely still maintain powerful influence and connections from marrying into wealth, which would make them a good political/financial choice of marriage alliance, despite no longer having the main branch patriar family name. These families are also probably the ones most likely to find a place on the Parliament, too, but likely have to jockey for position if their "representative" dies (or otherwise leaves) and a new opening in the Parliament is created.

If you've read this far, as a treat you can have some crappy close-up portraits of the nobles at Gortash's coronation, grouped together in their respective boxes. 😚

* For what it's worth, I'd count myself as a casual DnD player. I have some knowledge of DnD--I've played BG1 and 2, Planescape: Torment, along with some general cultural osmosis. I've had friends who played the tabletop version, but for one reason or another, I've never played it myself.

[averysmolbear]

Caught in the Act

Pairing: Reiner Braun x f!reader

Word count: ~ 5.2k

CW: Minors do not interact, smut, f!reader, modern AU, slightly self ship coded (but not in a noticible way, I hope!) basic pet names used (princess, babe, etc), established relationship, light teasing, male masturbation (briefly), fingering, unprotected sex, creampie, cursing, not proofread, and if I'm missing any tags, please let me know so I can add them!

A/N: It's been awhile since I've tried writing smut so this is the first time in awhile and I'm still rusty so it's not nearly as descriptive as I could be but hopefully that'll come back to me as I attempt to write more little bits like this. This wasn't proofread so it'll probably have some mistakes that I'll maybe edit later.

Summary: You and Reiner have the day off but as you have plans earlier in the day, you decide to text your boyfriend a teasing photo while you're out. When you return home, you catch Reiner in the middle of pleasuring himself, which leads to you facing the consequences of sending the photo to him in the first place.

Reiner hated that he wasn’t going to get to see you nearly as much as he wanted today. The two of you had the next two days off but you had appointments scheduled and you planned on going to lunch with your best friend. All of which meant that he was going to have to find things to do while you were out. You had already written out the grocery list and as much as the blond man didn’t want to go shopping on his own, he knew it would be something he could do so he didn’t spend all day at home pouting because he couldn’t cuddle with you on the couch.

As usual, Reiner woke before you and as much as he wanted to wake you up with kisses, he knew where that would lead and you had already warned him last night that he would have to keep his hands to himself as much as possible until you got home again. So he settled for gently brushing some hair out of your face before softly saying your name.

You woke up, blinking slowly as your eyes adjusted to the dim light in your bedroom. You smiled lazily at your boyfriend and leaned in to steal a soft kiss, laughing when Reiner grunted when you pulled back. You rolled out of bed, feeling Reiner’s honey colored eyes watching your every move. You glanced over your shoulder at him with a raised eyebrow and watched as he climbed out of bed as well.

“I’ll go make us breakfast,” you said by the time you were halfway out the door.

Reiner watched you walk out of the room with a sigh before getting out of bed as well. He dug out some clothes from the closet to pull on, not worrying too much about what he was going to wear. By the time he joined you in the kitchen, you were already cooking pancakes for the two of you. He huffed softly as he sat down at the table to watch you. What he really wanted to be doing was standing behind you with his arms around your waist but he didn’t want to incur your wrath either so he was trying harder than usual to behave himself.

You laughed as you glanced back to see him sitting at the kitchen table with his head in his hand, pouting. You shook your head at Reiner’s dramatics but didn’t beckon him over like you usually would. If he was going to try to keep his hands to himself, you weren’t going to try to tempt him. You didn’t have much time this morning before you knew you had to leave for a handful of routine doctor’s appointments. Today was the first day you had enough free time to schedule the appointments. Had you known in advance that Reiner was going to have the day off today too, you would have put off the appointments a little longer so you could have today and tomorrow all to yourselves.

You set a plate down in front of Reiner before sitting down by him. Your foot absently started to brush along his calf and he nearly choked on some of his breakfast when he felt it. The only reason you stopped was because you could see the way his face started to flush and how his chest was starting to rise and fall erratically.

You both chatted a little, with you reminding him that you should be home around 3 that afternoon and then you would be all his. It was a lot of time for your boyfriend to try to fill so he wouldn’t think of you too much but Reiner thought he could do it. When you got up from the table to get ready to clear it, he jumped up to do it first, shaking his head as he took the plates from your hands.

“Go get ready, babe. I’ve got this,” he said before leaning down to kiss you, the plates balanced in one hand. Unlike when you kissed him earlier, Reiner was slower to pull away from your soft, plump lips. When he did, he grinned to himself at the slightly dazed look on your face. “I’ll see you around 3.”

You headed for your bedroom, laying out your outfit for the day on the bed, before you shuffled off to take a shower. Reiner heard the water running and groaned to himself as he finished loading the dishwasher. The temptation to try to join you in the shower was almost too much for him to take. He headed down the hallway, stopping at the bathroom door and taking a deep breath. He had to steel his nerves before opening the door because he didn’t think he would have the willpower to stop himself from joining you otherwise.

“Y/N?” Reiner called out softly, poking his head in the door. If he stepped into the steamy room, he knew he would lose all resolve so he lingered at the door. “I’m gonna head out to go grocery shopping. If you think of anything that you need or want that’s not on the list, just text me.”

“Okay,” you said, not even bothering to look over toward the door. You knew what would happen if you did and you were still trying not to tempt the blond man. “Everything should be on the list though.”

“Mhm,” was Reiner’s absent-minded reply as he stared at the glass shower doors, just able to make out your form as he watched you. He suddenly shook his head when he realized what he was doing, clearing his throat. “I’ll see you around 3. I love you.”

You turned off the shower just as Reiner spoke but you didn’t move to exit the shower just yet. “I love you too, Rei.”

He quickly shut the door, feeling his pulse already starting to quicken the moment the water turned off. Reiner closed his eyes as he leaned his back on the door, trying to get his mind off of the thought of you naked on the other side of the door. He knew he could resist but part of him really didn’t want to wait until later today to ravage you. When he heard the blow dryer going, Reiner took another deep breath and pushed off of the door to put on his shoes.

It wasn’t long before he left, not wanting to linger too much longer. If he focused on the errands that he had to run, he would make it through the day. At least that was his hope. He knew he could probably even run to the gym to work off some of the sexual tension that he was feeling this morning. Anything to keep his mind off of you.

You hadn’t heard Reiner leave but you slipped out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around yourself nonetheless. The house was quiet so you knew he had probably left. When you got to the bedroom, an idea started to form in your head. You wanted to give Reiner something to look forward to so you made sure you put on his favorite bra and panties set. It was one that he had picked out for you when you had been out shopping together and any time that you wore it, Reiner couldn’t keep his hands to himself.

Once you had it on, you moved to the full length mirror on your closet door, snapping a picture of yourself. You smiled a little at the photo after taking it and decided to wait to send it to Reiner later. You checked the time and knew you had to rush to get ready but you were out the door just in time to hopefully make it to your first doctor’s appointment on time.

*** *** *** ***

You had finished most of your doctor’s appointments and were now waiting in line at the pharmacy to pick up your prescriptions and some vitamins and supplements when your friend texted you about lunch. You texted her back that you would meet her in 20 minutes. Since your phone was still open, you smirked to yourself as you quickly sent Reiner the picture you had taken earlier with a ‘can’t wait to see you at 3’ added for good measure. You already knew what Reiner’s reaction would be when he saw the photo so you knew you would be in for it when you got home but that was the whole point.

Once you got everything and paid, you headed out to your car. Your phone went off and you checked it once you were in the car only to find what amounted to a keyboard smash from Reiner. It was quickly followed by a text calling you a little minx, telling you he was going to make sure you won’t be able to walk tomorrow. With a smirk, you texted back to tell him that was your hope before tucking your phone away so you could drive.

*** *** *** ***

Reiner knew he was going to need to work off the sexual frustration he was starting to feel after your text. He had gotten it while he was eating lunch at a small cafe. He had already shopped and put all of the groceries away at home, busying himself as best as he could. He had even gotten a bouquet of flowers to put on the kitchen table to surprise you. Since he didn’t want to be stuck at home, he had decided to go grab some lunch and to make a stop at a shop that he knew you liked where they sold handmade chocolates.

He had barely started to eat his lunch when the text arrived and immediately Reiner was shifting in his chair, trying to readjust himself. Your response hadn’t done anything to calm him down either. Reiner closed his eyes and softly groaned, trying to think of anything other than that photo you had sent him. That was when he decided the gym would be his next stop instead. His gym bag was still in the trunk of the car so he wouldn’t have to stop at home for anything.

He put his phone in his pocket to stop himself from looking at it again before he focused on the food in front of him. It was taking more of his willpower than he thought to keep his mind off of you though. But he knew he could do it. Because he knew when you got home, he was going to bend you over the arm of the couch if he had to so he could remind you how much he missed you.

*** *** *** ***

You had been surprised that Reiner hadn’t tried calling or texting you again but you made it through lunch without hearing from him. Your last appointment, the one with your therapist, was canceled due to your therapist having a family emergency so you headed straight home, hoping to surprise your boyfriend. You parked and headed for the door with a little bounce in your step, excited to see Reiner again after spending most of the day away from him.

When you opened the door, you heard the soft sounds of Reiner moaning and whimpering from the living room. You bit your bottom lip softly, feeling your breath catch for a moment before you slipped off your shoes. You quietly set your keys on the table by the door and left your purse by the door. You didn’t want to disturb Reiner after all as you started toward the living room. The sounds only got louder as you got closer and you could already feel your excitement growing.

You stopped in the doorway, softly gasping at the sight before you. Reiner was sitting on the couch, his t-shirt pulled up to expose his abs and a bit of his chest. He had his sweatpants pulled down just enough to free his cock, which he was furiously pumping with one hand while holding his phone in the other. You didn’t have to get any closer to know what it was that he had his eyes fixed on as he fucked his fist.

You could feel your body heating up, the throbbing between your legs starting to grow. If you kept silently watching Reiner, you knew that feeling would become unbearable but you also knew that he wouldn’t leave you unsatisfied once he became aware of your presence. The waiting would make it sweeter or that was what you kept telling yourself as you felt your legs shake just from hearing Reiner whimpering your name as his hand pumped faster and faster.

The phone fell from his hand as his head fell back, eyes closing as his hips bucked up to meet his own thrusts. His chest rose and fell frantically as he started to cum, the sticky stream coating his stomach as he continued to work himself through his orgasm. It was clear that he was trying to coax out every last drop as he grunted and groaned, your name obscenely slipping out from his slightly parted lips as Reiner started to pant softly.

“Fuck, baby,” you murmured but you clearly spoke louder than you had meant because you saw Reiner’s eyes open to fix his soft gaze on your face. Without realizing what you were doing, you had started to walk toward him, watching as his face flushed.

Reiner’s blush spread all the way to his ears as his face heated up with embarrassment. He started to quickly clean himself up, muttering some sort of apology as if you weren’t supposed to see him doing that just now. He pulled down his shirt and pulled up his pants as you stopped at the edge of the couch.

“You act like I’ve never seen you do that before,” you teased, your eyes slowly looking him over. “I’m usually the one getting all shy while you watch.”

Reiner swallowed thickly, shaking his head. “You weren’t supposed to be home yet.”

You let out a soft laugh as you sat down on the arm of the couch. You saw the way your boyfriend looked you over though, his pupils still blown and a lustful look in his golden colored eyes. Your body trembled a little as he started to shift to stand up, looking up at him with your eyes widened. Before he reached you, you slipped off of the arm of the couch and started to back away from Reiner, giggling softly.

He followed you, moving slowly but deliberately. He was like a predator stalking his prey. He wasn’t in any hurry because he knew it wouldn’t be long before he had you trapped. You weren’t looking at where you were going but Reiner knew that soon your back would be up against the wall. You let out a soft oof as your back hit the wall and Reiner chuckled, quickly closing the gap between the two of you now.

He pressed his large muscular body against yours, licking his lips. He looked like he was about to devour the most delicious meal ever and honestly that wasn’t too far from the truth because he was ready to devour you. His hands moved down the sides of your body slowly until he was able to lace his fingers with yours. He chuckled when you offered no resistance to him, pinning your hands above your head.

Reiner held them there with one large hand wrapped around both of your delicate wrists. He looked down at you with an almost lopsided grin on his face. He used his other arm to lift you easily and you immediately wrapped your legs around his waist. He pressed his hips hard against yours and you let out a gasp as you felt that he was hard again already.

When he captured your lips in a kiss, it was rough and hungry. His tongue didn’t politely ask for entrance into your mouth. Instead he pushed his tongue into your mouth forcefully but you didn’t hesitate to part your lips for him when you realized what Reiner wanted. You moaned against his lips, your hips rolling a little against him but he didn’t stop. He wanted to remind you that you were his with this heated kiss.

Just when you started to feel dizzy, needing to catch your breath, he finally pulled back from your lips. His lips were soon trailing messy kisses along your jaw as he worked his way toward the side of your neck. You tilted your head enough to give Reiner more access to the soft, sensitive skin of your throat and he took full advantage. He soon had you moaning and whimpering his name as his lips and teeth grazed your skin. He made sure to suck on the most sensitive spot at the crook of your neck, leaving a mark behind.

You were panting as he pressed himself against you a little harder, rocking his hips so his clothed cock rubbed against you. You whined softly, his name falling from your lips once more as you struggled slightly in his grasp. There was no getting away from him and he enjoyed the way you tried to squirm with his body pressed up against yours.

“You’re not going anywhere, princess,” Reiner roughly whispered before his lips brushed against your neck again.

“Please, Reiner,” you whined, begging him for something. It was difficult to say if you were trying to get him to loosen his hold on your wrists or if you wanted more of him although it was likely a combination of the two. You wanted to touch him, to show him how much you wanted him. The best you could do while pinned to the wall was to attempt to grind your hips against his.

He groaned as you moved in just the right way to create a delicious amount of friction between your bodies. It was only a hint of what would come but his hand released its hold of your wrists as he moved to slip that hand under your shirt until he was cupping and massaging your breast. You gasped but one of your arms wrapped around his shoulders as your right hand slipped into his hair.

As your nails lightly scratched his scalp, the movement of Reiner’s hips became a bit more deliberate. Each movement was nearly a thrust of his still covered cock against your still clothed pussy. Your back arched away from the wall as much as you could with your much larger and stronger boyfriend still pressed against you.

Reiner pulled you away from the wall, one arm firmly holding you against him although your legs around his waist helped. He didn’t say a word as he carried you to the bedroom, leaning down so your back was now pressed against the firm mattress of your bed. Immediately his lips were back on your throat even as he started to undress you. You were just as eager, pulling up his t-shirt and whining when you couldn’t get it over his head because his lips were still attached to your skin.

Reiner chuckled softly but he pulled back and let you remove his shirt, taking the opportunity to do the same to you. Both pieces of clothing were haphazardly tossed to the floor and soon after almost all of the clothes you both wore were lying in random spots on the floor. Reiner was completely naked but you were still in that bra and panty set you had put on this morning to tease him. He smirked as he looked down at you, letting his fingers play a little with one of the straps of your bra.

He let his eyes slowly drink in your form as you laid beneath him, a hunger in his eyes that was greater than any you had ever seen there before. He was kneeling on the bed, his knees on either side of your thighs. “Mm, kinda wanna fuck you just like this, love,” Reiner said, almost growling the words as he let his fingers trace the curves of your breasts. Soon his hands were trailing down your body and he chuckled as he watched you shiver and squirm beneath him.

His hands stopped at your hips and it wasn’t long before you were trying to spread your legs a little more for your boyfriend as one of his large hands slipped down between your legs. Every brush of his fingers on bare skin made your whole body tingle but when his hand reached the crotch of the lacy panties you wore, you nearly whined for more. He let two fingers slide in the side of your panties, slowly teasing you as he let his fingers explore a bit.

Reiner smirked at the soft whimpers that fell from your lips as your hips rolled upward slightly. You couldn’t seem to form words while he took control like this, your head too dizzy to focus on anything that wasn’t Reiner’s touch. He tsked softly and shook his head even as the tips of his fingers dipped inside of you, making you gasp.

“You’re so wet already for me already,” he said even as he pushed his fingers deeper, watching your eyes flutter closed. Reiner reached his left hand up, lightly grasping your chin and tugging to tilt your head up slightly. “Uh-uh, princess. Eyes on me.”

You slowly opened your eyes as you felt the pad of Reiner’s thumb brushing and tugging at your bottom lip. You parted your lips and bit down on his thumb before leaning your head up enough to take the very tip of his thumb into your mouth to suck on it softly. If you weren’t so wrapped up in the way Reiner already had you feeling dizzy as his two fingers pumped in and out of your pussy, you might have smirked at him when you heard your boyfriend grunt softly at the feeling of your lips on his thumb.

His long, thick fingers continued to work your core, groaning as he could feel your walls tightening around his fingers. Reiner slowly pulled his thumb from your mouth and reached down to pull the crotch of your panties to the side a little better, allowing him to push his fingers even deeper inside of you. His thumb, still wet with your spit, started to lazily circle your clit, making your back arch gently off of the mattress.

“You look so pretty like this,” he softly said as he quickened his pace, his cock almost aching. But Reiner wasn’t stopping until he made you come undone for him with just his fingers. He could feel how close you were already but he didn’t let up the pace, wanting to give you every bit of pleasure he could. “Fuck, y/n, you feel so good.”

You wanted to respond but anything that wasn’t a moan or Reiner’s name seemed to die on your tongue before you could form a response. Your hands were gripping the sheets beneath you, tugging on them as your hips rolled up to meet the thrust of his fingers. He knew just how to touch you so it wouldn’t be long now but you also knew if Reiner wanted to prolong this, he could. His fingers found that sensitive spot inside of you, hitting it just right with each thrust to make you lose all sense of thought.

“A-almost,” was the only word you could gasp out before your back was gently arching off the mattress again, your lips parted in a soundless moan.

Reiner groaned, his thumb changing the pattern he used to rub your clit. He felt your walls tighten even more around his fingers and his hips actually bucked at the sensation but he never took his eyes off of your face. He could see the blissed out look your features took on as he felt you starting to cum.

“That’s it, baby,” he cooed even as you whined softly, your body writhing beneath him. His fingers continued to work to draw out the pleasure you felt. He was almost certain that the sheets would be soaked by the time he was through with you tonight. “Shit, you look so good like this. Just a mess for me.”

You couldn’t keep your eyes open as Reiner continued to finger you through your orgasm, your toes curling as you repeated his name like a prayer. Your hips were rolling to meet each thrust of his fingers and you felt his cock brush against your inner thigh, which nearly caused you to cum all over again.

Reiner slowed his thrusts as he heard you whimpering, easing his fingers out of you with a self-satisfied smile on his lips. He waited until you were looking at him again, your chest heaving as you tried to catch your breath. Then he slipped his fingers, wet with your slick, into his mouth. He hummed around his own fingers, licking and sucking every bit of wetness off of them.

“Reiner,” you whined, your hips rolling gently in anticipation. You wanted more. You wanted him inside of you. You wanted all of him but you could tell Reiner was enjoying the tease right now. Still you watched him intently as his fingers slipped out of his mouth and he started to lean toward you.

You reached up and pulled him down toward you, making the blond man chuckle at your eagerness. Still he pressed his lips against yours, taking his time as he kissed you. You could taste yourself on his lips as you parted yours to brush your tongue along his seam of Reiner’s lips. He moaned as his lips parted and you slipped your tongue inside his mouth. Your kiss was hungry and filled with your desire for him and he started to ease the tip of his weeping cock inside of you as you continued to kiss.

Your nails lightly dug into the back of his broad shoulders as you moaned into his mouth. His hips moved to ease more of his throbbing cock inside of you as your right hand slid up until your fingers tangled into his short cropped blond hair. Your hips rolled forward as if to help him enter you completely and Reiner’s hands slid down until he was gripping your hips, holding you still as he paused his movements.

You whined softly as he pulled back from the kiss, trying to wiggle gently against his hold but it was no use. You weren’t going anywhere as Reiner kept his cock sheathed inside of you, both of you breathing heavily. Your eyes rolled back the moment that Reiner’s hips began to move again, pulling back and snapping forward. You tugged at his hair as his pace began to build slowly.

“That’s it, princess,” Reiner cooed, his voice rough with desire. His thrusts were growing rougher with each movement that he made. His eyes were heavy lidded but he didn’t pull his gaze from you, wanting to see every expression as he pounded into your pussy. “Take it. Take all of it.” 

It wasn’t long before the only sounds filling the room were the lewd sounds of skin meeting skin with each thrust of Reiner’s hips and the desperate whines and moans coming from each of you. He reached one hand out to grip the headboard while the other held on to your hip to keep you pinned to the mattress. Each of you panted and whispered moans as Reiner’s pace quickened.

“Ahh- ahh- fuck!” he groaned as he felt your walls tightening around his cock. His hips stuttered a little before he recaptured that steady rhythm from moments earlier. “You close, baby? Huh? F-fuck … come for me then.”

Your heels pressed a little into the backs of Reiner’s thighs, causing his thrusts to become shorter but no less rough. If anything, he found that he was able to fuck you harder and faster this way. Your eyes rolled back as your neck arched gently and Reiner took the opportunity to kiss and suck on the soft skin of your throat, trying to leave more marks on your skin so there would be no doubt who you belonged to.

Your orgasm ripped through your body suddenly, like a coil in your belly suddenly snapped, and it seemed to pull your boyfriend right along with you. He was whining softly as he came without warning, filling you with his cum. His thrusts were erratic but they didn’t stop as he rode out his own wave of pleasure. Reiner was panting as he finally slowed to a stop, pulling out of you with a sigh.

Your eyes fluttered open as you fixed your slightly dazed eyes on the man that was leaning over you. He was supporting most of his upper body weight with his arms as he watched you start to come back down from the high of him making you come. You couldn’t feel it yet but in the morning your body was going to be sore and there would be bruises on your hips and anywhere that Reiner had deemed fit to bite down or suck on your skin. Right now you were still running on adrenaline as you smiled lazily back up at Reiner.

He reached out and lightly brushed away some of the hair that had stuck to your sweaty forehead. He heard you hum softly, making him laugh. You were clearly still too blissed out to form words. Once he had caught his breath enough to speak, however, he shifted slightly to lay on his side beside you, pulling your body tight against his own before softly whispering near your ear.

“I’m going to get a bath going for us,” Reiner said as you turned your head toward him. He watched you nod and laughed yet again as you attempted to steal a kiss although your lips connected with the tip of his nose instead. “I’ll strip the bed and get the sheets washed too. Okay?”

You nodded as you felt him carding his fingers gently through your hair. You attempted to get up when Reiner moved and he shook his head at you. Still you stood on shaky legs, causing your boyfriend to swoop in and scoop you into his arms, carrying you bridal style as he headed for the bathroom.

“So stubborn,” he teased and you laughed softly as you rested your head on his shoulder. He carefully set you on your feet near the toilet and you held on to the counter while Reiner started to run the water, checking the temperature before plugging the tub to let it fill with the warm water.

“I’ll be right back,” he said as he headed to the door and again you nodded silently.

Once he was out of the room, you stripped down and quickly used the bathroom. You tried to clean yourself up a little but you ended up sitting on the lid of the toilet as you waited for Reiner to return. He smiled softly as he saw you sitting there before he quickly turned off the water. He held out his hand to you and helped you into the tub, moving to sit behind you. You sat between his legs and leaned your back against his chest, letting out a soft sigh.

In the quiet of the bathroom, the two of you let your bodies relax and your tense muscles unwind. Reiner held you, placing soft kisses along your shoulder occasionally. And while the two of you still had the rest of the night to yourselves, this moment was all that you needed.

[ubejamjar]

Ube's Gpose Edit Process

Disclaimer: I have no idea what I'm doing, this is just-- *gestures vaguely*

For @oneiroy!

Okay so, I'll be using the Candle Autumn - Gameplay preset. It's my usual preset, but I do toggle some effects for gposing. We'll get into it later. All my gpose settings are at default except for 'Depth of Field' and 'Character Lighting'. (Please ignore my sliders for Lighting 1, I'm not going to be playing with lighting here. It's a pretty neutral shot without any strong light source, so I dont feel like I need it. )

before vs. after of 'character lighting' being turned from 53 to 0

'Character Lighting' gives the effect of even lighting no matter where they are. I usually turn it down to 0. In this situation, it's because she's standing under the dock roof thing with even natural lighting. When I work with light, turning it to 0 helps me understand exactly how light is hitting the subject and where my shadows are.

Now I'll mosey on over to Reshade. I've turned off the 'DoF' here as well. I prefer to do my blurring in post :D

I'll enable 'MxaoFFXIV' and mess with the settings until I have shadows appropriate for the lighting situation. Again, there's no strong light source here, so I want soft shadows that hint at objects being close together.

Next I enable 'HDR'. Just in case we don't know-- HDR stands for 'high dynamic range'. Essentially it makes our shadows darker without turning them black and our highlights brighter without making them white. 'HDR' picks up more details and is great for making those HQ screenies.

Now I mosey on over to my Windows photo editor.

I like to start by blurring the background. The auto-detect isn't always great so I'll go in and make sure the mask (the blue stripes) doesn't overlap Ajisai too much. If I don't, there'll be a strange glow radiating from the blurred spots. I also want to add the mask to any pieces of the background auto-detect missed.

Here's some problem spots:

Hopefully you can see here that the background isn't completely blurred in image 1 & 2. In image 3, the problem is the feather is almost completely blurred when I don't want it to be.

Now I edit! I usually don't push the values too hard. Except for vignette, which I turn up to max because I like it. It's probably just a phase, mom.

Done! I'll put some process pictures below to show how we were looking: 1. Pre-Reshade + Character Light 53 2. Reshade + Character Light 0 3. The Final days Image

Hopefully this was helpful and I apologize if I explained something you already knew ^-^;;. Thanks for the opportunity to break down my process, this helped me understand what in the Fury's name I'm doing.

If anyone has any questions about why I did what I did, feel free to ask. I'll do my best to answer!

Bonne chance and happy gposing o/

[oh-no-its-bird]

Ok so trying to find my old alien stage x starwars crossover post bc someone asked to see it, but tumblr is acting up again and wont fucking let me find it, BUT I have it saved in my notesapp where I originally wrote it (get fucked tumblr) so were just gonna repost it here!

So yeah, no real context needed Alien Stage x Starwars crossover ft. Till bc he is my favorite.

(this was all written around round 5's release, if I remember correctly)

All I'm saying is that if Palpatine tried that "yes, strike me down, embrace the darkness, let it consume you . . ." shit on Till, Till would go *fuck you old man I'll take that bet* and beat him to death w no regrets then probably write a song about it later

Is your crush since childhood (presumed) dead?? Your childhood friend / rival of sorts confessed his love for you with a desperate, (unwanted) kiss then died at your feet to make sure you survived????

New therapy idea just dropped: beating an old man to death !! Reviews are in and they say it's HIGHLY effective !!!

Who would be funniest for Till to bludgeon to death w a guitar actually? Maul or Ventress are the most likley for him to not only just find out in the wild but in a situation where he can both actually interact w him without getting shot instantly by like, guards nearby and also be, yk, motivated to take that shot by them committing obvious crimes he may take issue with

Palpatine is the most obviously funny one and would solve a lot of problems.

I feel like Dooku would be the out of pocket one actually, a lot of fics leave him either alive or vuagley off screen when it comes to fucking shit up in clone wars era.

I want people to recognize Till actually. I want alien stage to be a morbid fascination for a good portion of the galaxy, maybe the usual do gooders like jedi can't interfere bc its technically legal in the specific corner of the galaxy its hosted in. Something something politics something something the senate doesn't want them to interfere idk. Its in the outer rim I don't think they touch things there all too much anyways

Anyways: Till beats Count Dooku to death with a guitar on live holo and the very first immediate reaction for a chunk of the galaxy is just. Is that. The pop star? I. Is that that one alien stage death game pop star???

Like imagine if you were just some guy living ur life and a pretty ugly looking war is looming overhead but you're doing your best to keep your head down, stay safe, all that. And then you go on twitter and everyone is posting videos of Hannah Montana beating Vladamir Putin to death live on stage with her microphone

And you're like "what the actual fuck" and your friend is like "does this mean the war is off now" and you don't KNOW but damn if all these new Hannah Montana edits everyone is dropping don't go hard as fuck

Till and Anakin would either get along concerningly well or fucking despise eachither. Like it's on sight.

Pick your poison! Is this fics obligatory "small silly reason why Anakin is too busy to be tempted into child murder by Palpatine";

A) he's an alien stage enthusiast and cant miss out on its live streams to meet w the old man sorry Palpatine

Or B) he's too busy programming little droids to start screaming every time Till opens his mouth to speak

"I don't know if Till would actually kill someone " / "Ok but Till is like just a dude. Not even a particularly strong or skilled one. He wouldn't last 2 seconds against a sith or literally anyone with actual training to fight."

Ok counter argument: it'd be funny. Now get back in the basement. I'm trying to cheer on my favorite space pop king as he beats an old man to death

fun scene where he sits in a cantina somewhere, clutching a drink as his own voice and Ivan's play over the radio as they sing Cure. His heart beating faster and faster in his ears till it hits the part where Ivan died and he just hunches in on himself, like if he curls tight enough he can shield the voices from reaching his ears.

He's so fucking depressed and visibly out of it in all the recent videos, I feel like he needs to find something to respark that rage. (Obligator *fuck I can't wait for Luka to try and get a rise out of him in the next round) maybe in this fic that spark is committing violence against the evil elderly who knows

Mmmmm Till sleep walking through the refugee camp, his eyes downcast and shoulders slumped and defeated as he blends in with the crowds of people who've escaped their own situations. Nothing special to see here, nothing special at all. His force presence is quiet and weighed down, hardly even visible if you aren't looking.

He's dissosiating like 80% of the time and that's what let's him get the jump on Dooku, who's probably there to poke at Obi-Wan and was NOT expecting the guitar to the back of his head.

Instant kill !!!! The clones are all pointing making pog faces everyone cheers the galaxy is saved etc. Etc.

[pokemon-card-of-the-day]

If you dont mind the ask, what are some of your favorite pokemon cards by moveset, design, and/or art?

Ooh, I like this ask, I think I'm going to dig in and make this my post for the day and put some work into this.

Electrode was the coolest Pokemon in the first generation because blowing up to what would become 2 of any Energy let some cool strats with otherwise slow Pokemon work. It's a shame that it was so weak to Energy Removal, but at least Lass existed to help.

Kabuto from Neo Discovery goes in the art category. Was the first of the clay Pokemon by Yuka Morii that I ever got, and those cards are adorable. I'm glad there was a series of these throughout the years.

Town Volunteers was one of the first Supporters, which was a very positive change to the game, but was also used for art in the Lumiose Museum in XY. I love that they used old cards in that.

This was probably the first deck I used that was really, really good, as I actually got all the cards together for a functional version of it. I couldn't go to many events for various reasons but I'm fond of it anyway.

Flygon here had a lot going for it. It was one of the Delta Species, which was a very cool concept and one I wish they'd go fully back to someday. Tera does some of that but misses out on the Weakness diversity within a type thing, which I know they're actively trying to avoid now. It also let you play with a variety of Delta Species at once with that Poke-Power, so it was fun to mess around with.

My favorite Pokemon may have never been good in the games (does ADV ZU count as good? Probably not) but got one of the best cards of all time. Any deck could use this as 2 of any color of Energy, though you had to return an Energy back to your hand so it worked best alongside things like Blastoise ex or Meganium ex. Those decks could just work with any Pokemon that needed 2 or fewer off-type Energy, so that translated to the vast majority of Pokemon in the game. It was still useful in decks without that to an extent. Oh, and it was also a starter Pokemon for basically any deck running a lot of Delta Species Pokemon, even if it was just the Basic versions to evolve into something else. Incredible card.

Crystal Beach isn't here for design or what it does, it's for story reasons. One person that could possibly read this will know what I'm talking about here.

I didn't get to play a ton in the DP era but I do remember this being silly. 90 for no Energy was such a fun concept, and it was actually pretty good at the time.

The attack is called Everyone Explode Now. What's not to like?

---

I think I should stop here for now, got out of hand a bit. I think I'll put out a second edition of this tomorrow evening with later cards since I rarely write anything after therapy anyway and that'll be a fun easy thing. Can go back to normal posts Wednesday. Thanks for the ask here, that was fun to do!